I got a contest still on at this LINK!
Check it out!
Open for a couple more days to celebrate my 100th post!
TTFN
Contest 2009
The New Year, Fatigue, & A Plan!
It continues to be a battle… unlike before, when it was a constant every day drag on kinda battle, the fatigue is now springing surprise attacks on me… With Baby Boy on solids alone now(insert a sad sigh here) things have gotten a lot better. I am able to do so much more in a day. Being able to do a few jobs each day and run errands on my own again has made me very thankful but I don’t like the surprise days where the couch is my confidant once again…
I see two contributes, ok maybe three and I want to list them and take aim one at a time. You could say this is a resolution post but I am not the competitive type and I am more likely to not do something if there is a hint of competition involved so lets not go there…
- FORGOTTEN MEALS, when I deviate from my high protein diet, as recommended by my doctor, I crash the next day
- STRESS, creates a bad cycle… when I deviate from my high protein diet I get stressed easier and then I eat less due to stress and then I… well I think you can see the picture…
- WIMP, this girl is not in shape, for so long I was told to not do to much (including exercise) because of weight lose issues when pregnant and nursing and now I think it might be time to turn my head around and start working out so that I feel stronger again…
If I can just come up with an inspiring way to get fit again and continue to eat high protein while at it I just might win. Doctor warned though that I must raise my protein intake even more if I start working out… This seems like some kind of twisted game but I am starting to figure out how to play ball.
The holidays are always kinda bad for me. Without meaning to I skip meals and get stressed and then get sick, stuck on the couch, warn out every couple days…
January, in the past, has meant seasonal depression till the thaw…
Looking back I see a lot of that was having to be stuck in doors so much and I think things can be different this year. I have always enjoyed the outdoors year round and now that I am getting set up for winter again I think things will be better.
I finally have skates again, I found some trails so my cross country skis can be waxed and used again and with proper winter wear I am enjoying the local toboggan hill with the kids already! When we first moved to the city I tried the gym, even swimming and I just kinda felt like a hamster on a wheel but being outdoors is sounding more and more inspiring!
Here is to a new year and here’s to hopes of a great winter!!
TTFN
Capelets!
Last year about this time I posted about the pleasure I find in certain accessories and leg warmers had a very romantic tug at my heart last Christmas. I found two adorable pairs for ONLY a dollar each on an out of season sale,late spring and finally got to use them this year. 
This year capelets have caught my eye! I have been an obvious lover of sweaters, wraps and mini jackets for a long time now but when I started to see handmade capelets on etsy I fell head over heals for them! They have such a romantically old fashioned appeal that draws me like a magnet to a fridge! I love the classic looking ones, adore the pretty hand knit ones with BIG flowers attached and can’t keep my eyes off the more modern ones with color and character! Oh I hope I will find some eventually as I did the leg warmers!
TTFN
The Little Moments, My Freedom and Being Eccentric!
(Little Woman wanted to see if our stockings would make good hats…)‘Little Woman’ insisted on staying up way to late tonight… and Garnet and I let her because we where feeling relaxed and just wanted to snuggle up with a good movie… we knew she, of all our children, is the only one who could possess the ability to be quiet and still. So she got the big couch while we had our snuggle and our good movie on the love seat… when the movie ended (most of it having gone over her head) she informed me ‘Mama, I am now going to my room and my bed.’ I smiled and said ‘Alright, give a kiss chick-y.’ She giggled and we bent toward one another and my kiss caught her on the nose instead of the mouth. She gave me a funny look and laughed at me ‘You missed.’ I replied ‘Silly silly!’ and off she ran to bed.
Just looking for moments…
I adore it when I find enough self control to really notice the now and the moment… I believe it has become a passion of mine. When my will power is strong enough to really grab hold of it I truly feel like I am living and not just sleep walking.
Once I grab hold I feel my emotions so intensely it is almost over powering… so I write about it and once the words have settled down upon the page, the over powering emotions become just right and they settle down again into my heart, forever remembered.
It is in those nows that I find my freedom… the random moments when I could respond as I always do or embrace my limitless opportunity. When my child asks for a hug I could tell her I am too busy, I could quickly hug her or I could surprise her with bear hug, direct eye contact and a dance around the living room!
Eccentric…deviating from the recognized or customary character, practice.
As a child I told everyone when I grew up I wanted to be eccentric and all I really meant was aware of my freedom from the silly social expectations, thus happy! As a teen I refused to respect the rules and social customs of my peers because they didn’t respect me and so why would I respect their cruel rules? As an adult I don’t really dream about big places or fancy things… I find my adventure in the next ordinary opportunity…
Some how this passion for life makes me feel light as a feather and full to bursting all at the same time!
TTFN
Try To Take A Picture!
This was the best we could do.My man thought these where so funny he wanted me to blog them. I just wanted to get a nice picture of the two of us dressed up for Christmas day!!
First try, the flash is obviously WAY TO MUCH!
My honey is still trying to recover from the flash:)
He thinks we should just give up at this point… I am not convinced…
Smarty pants took a pic while we where distracted by our son…
I wasn’t as angry as I look… think I just said ‘not yet’ and trigger happy man thinks it is cute when I am angry.
As you can see the relationship survived the photo shoot…Being able to laugh in a relationship is essential!
Wowza!TTFN
The Christmas-y View From Here
I have to say, I am tickled that we finally got some real snow!
Last night I was out VERY late at a ladies study (which was a real blessing) and as I drove home on Circle Drive I was pretty much alone on the roads. It was very snowy, big fluffy slow snowflakes where falling. The sky was an amazingly warm red color in the middle of the night. The city seemed SO QUIET and STILL… it was so lovely to be embraced by such a dense quiet.
This morning I woke up before the kids! With a yawn I wrapped my favorite wrap around my shoulders and pulled open the curtains to see a beautifully Christmas-y world blanketed in thick snow! The frost on my window was a piece of art and the quiet I had enjoyed the night before had carried over to the morning. I sat alone and just listened to and breathed in the silence…
After a bit I turned on the Christmas lights, for the house stays dark till almost noon lately! I got wiggly and ended up rushing around fussing with my house, for it feels like Christmas is really coming after all!
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!
With my last blog I totally missed the special 100th post and the 200th and so on and so forth, but this time I have been watching the number count up to 100 and I want to celebrate cuz I like celebrations so I shall do a give away as many others have.
I noticed blog surfing is down this time of year so your odds of winning might be pretty high. I have a little something Christmas-y in honor of the time of year this 100th post arrived and if you comment on this post I will draw from those names and send it on to the winner.
TTFN
Chemical Soup For Christmas
We have been accused of being food-y nuts, specifically healthy food-y nuts, ignorant organic lovers, snobby sugar hippies and so on and so forth (snicker snicker snort)… but this Mama broke out of her shell for tis the season… for TREATS! I actually bought the kids some CANDY CANE CHOCOLATE FUDGE CRACKLE ICE CREAM! They where so tickled (can’t remember the last time we have had ice cream in the house) and I figured it was an easy way to surprise my little foursome.
It is so cute to watch them digging in to their little bowl of Christmas ice cream… one fist holding on to their bowls like we might change our minds and take them back; their other fist clasped in a strangle hold on the spoon just shoveling in the treat… eyes sparkle with the realization that this has LOTSA SUGAR and grins covered in chocolate and candy cane streaks spread wider and wider as the sugar hits the blood stream…
It is even funnier to watch Daddy as they eat… he spends the whole time giving me a disapproving look and mutter things like ‘instant insanity in a bowl…toxic waste for dessert… smells like chemical soup in a cup…tastes like a candy store’s dumpster exploding in your mouth’… (chuckle), he cracks me up! Note, he doesn’t have the heart to take the treat away or throw out the carton in the freezer, so he isn’t the big scrooge he pretends to be:)
TTFN
Jingle Baby
Many a little jingle bell tree ornament has bit the dust this holiday season.
Chubby little hands reach up and snatch a jingle bell ornament.
Chubby little legs run from Mama and Dada as fast as they can go.
Chubby feet pound at the floor as Big Girl, Big Boy and Little Woman take up the chase…
but this little Chub Chub is always caught to late…
Chubby little fingers rip apart the decoration so a chubby Baby Boy can carry just the bell around.
Chubby little cheeks spread in a jolly grin as Baby Boy shake shakes the bells to his hearts content.
He dances and sways as he jingles his little bells and he stashes them away under the couch, where he can collect them when ever he desires to take up his holiday song and dance once again.
Chubby little hands reach up and snatch a jingle bell ornament.Chubby little legs run from Mama and Dada as fast as they can go.
Chubby feet pound at the floor as Big Girl, Big Boy and Little Woman take up the chase…
but this little Chub Chub is always caught to late…
Chubby little fingers rip apart the decoration so a chubby Baby Boy can carry just the bell around.
Chubby little cheeks spread in a jolly grin as Baby Boy shake shakes the bells to his hearts content.
He dances and sways as he jingles his little bells and he stashes them away under the couch, where he can collect them when ever he desires to take up his holiday song and dance once again.
P.S. They where our lest expensive tree ornaments and placed near the bottom of the tree for exactly this reason and I think we will be buying dollar store jingle bells each year to carry on this song and dance (wink).
TTFN
A Jolly Jealousy
The sun was very warm this winter day.
The snow was coming down slowly in stuffed size snowflakes.
There was no wind and the air was crisp.
We all went outside while Dad pushed the slight snow fall from the drive way. His job more of an excuse to get out and get some fresh air then an actual necessity.
Big Girl and Big Boy spent an hour pulling one another around on the sled, up and down our front lawn’s almost imaginary hill.
Little Woman had found a toddler’s chair and moved it about on the lawn, trying to find the best spot. Once the best spot was found she sat for only a moment and then followed her Daddy around, like a shadow, throwing snow at him while he pushes the drive way.
The snow was coming down slowly in stuffed size snowflakes.
There was no wind and the air was crisp.
We all went outside while Dad pushed the slight snow fall from the drive way. His job more of an excuse to get out and get some fresh air then an actual necessity.
Big Girl and Big Boy spent an hour pulling one another around on the sled, up and down our front lawn’s almost imaginary hill.
Little Woman had found a toddler’s chair and moved it about on the lawn, trying to find the best spot. Once the best spot was found she sat for only a moment and then followed her Daddy around, like a shadow, throwing snow at him while he pushes the drive way.
Once in side with Baby Boy I warmed up in no time. I watched the rest of my little family trudge off to the park to see if the tobogganing hill might have just have enough snow to sled on. As they marched down the back alley, in an adorable straight line, Little Woman sitting upon one of the sleds, pulled by her beloved Daddy, I felt a pinch of jealousy… if Baby Boy wasn’t so sleepy, and so pron to lung issues, I would have been out there in a split second… instead I watched from the window and waved with a very cheerful Baby Boy… he was completely unaware of my jealousy… ‘Bye Bye’ he chirped and smiled over and over…
I sought to take in the romantic scene before me. My oldest three and my wonderful husband walking down a breathtakingly quiet and still back alley, trees covered in thick horror frost, white fences covered in the same stuffed sized snowflakes that cover the ground and the hats and shoulders of my parting loved ones… it was a warm and chilly moment all in one. It was a beautiful and disappointing moment (only for me) all in one.
I realized how wonderful it is that I could be so in love with this family of mine that I would be like an ill child stuck inside on a snow day, terribly jealous and filled with longing to be out and about on this snowy day with my persons!
I sat down on the floor and Baby Boy walked over to me with a swagger in his step and a grin on his face. He took the ball from my hand, that I had picked up pretty much unaware due to a head full of thoughts. ‘DAT’ he blurted out in a big jolly voice, threw the ball across the room and pointed with an eager ‘fetch mama’ kinda look on his face… I grinned in return… as much as I was wishing to be at the toboggan hill I was also thankful I just took part in a teeny tiny moment with my baby!
TTFN
Little Women!
A collection of fine lady friends of mine went out to a musical theatrical production of LITTLE WOMEN! We brought our little women along (those 5 and older) who could sit still!
Getting ready was a bit tricky. My daughter is a newly declared tomboy so at first she could only worry and go on about what her buddy Max would think about her dressed up. I convinced her to glam up by letting her borrow a pair of my grandmothers earrings… this was the first time I have let her wear earrings in public so she was convinced! I wasn’t at all surprised that she loved JO in the play. “She is rough and fun Mama.” she explained on our way home.
I caught up with two lady friends and their girls at a little restaurant for dinner first! My girl was thrilled to try her first ‘Shirley Temple’. The little girls spent as much time dancing around the table as eating. It was lovely to see my girl with old pals from our home town.
The production was so well written and fun that it was positively captivating! The time flew for me! Plenty of tears came when Beth died… mostly the mom’s where crying… and when it was over… well my friend said it best when she expressed the desire to break out in song at the right moments in life after watching such a well done musical!
I was thrilled to see my eldest daughter’s eyes where glued to the stage the whole time. When it ended she couldn’t stop talking about how much fun it must be to be the actors and we had to go have a closer look at the stage and set. What a wonderful Christmas event! I hope to do this again with my daughter and eventually with my younger daughter as well!
TTFN
