Ever had one of those days?

This may actually be a first for me, though it makes perfect sense that people feel this way. Today, I am not in the mood to be me; have my responsibilities or opportunities. I clearly went through the motions today but tried to change it up a bit. I MADE the boys play outside in the beautiful 75 degree weather, in the grass, on the ground, in the mulch, in the play house, the whole deal. Cole asked me several times if he could go in with Rhys - like Rhys was begging to go in too. After about an hour and a half, I let them go in and I stayed outside for about 5 more minutes and finished my book. It was nice, not being me for a few minutes. I did fall back into the routine when I had my work call at 3:30. The boys had woken from naps and would be ready to eat and it didn't matter how much I didn't want to be me, someone had to feed the children! I managed to work out at the gym for an hour this morning before the outdoor play and then when the boys were napping, I did a 20 minute work out following a sadistic personal trainer on television. I am sure I will feel it tomorrow. Maybe I will feel like being me tomorrow. Either way, being me isn't so bad. I just need to depart from my routine, I think.

Where does the time go?

Chris has been sick for the last couple of days so it feels like it should be Thursday when it is only Tuesday! Cole had preschool again today and his teacher said that he did much better with listening and staying in his seat. I think that he really does live for praise and really does want to please his teachers so he should do fine.

My diet seems to be suffering a little. I haven't really felt like cooking and don't have much appetite for home cooked food - that I am cooking - so I have turned to convenience food for dinner. I am still doing well for breakfast and lunch and not snacking so the weight will find its way off eventually. I am happy with the changes and know that the scale will start showing my good efforts soon. I didn't go to the gym this morning because I was truly afraid that I was getting sick. I have a dry cough and sore throat and am sort of run down and knew that I had a busy day ahead of me.

Sure enough, I took Cole to school after I printed and packed up the things I needed for both work and him. Rhys and I were at the bank by just after 9 and we opened the business bank account for The World Benefits, LLC. PHEW! We made it home just after 10 and he napped while I worked until about 11:15. I packed our lunch and woke him up in time to pick Cole up from school and head to the park for a picnic lunch and playground time. We came home, I bathed them - the playground was especially muddy today - and here I am, back at the computer, back doing some work. Between loads of laundry and determining what is going to be for supper, I don't have time for anything else! So much for feeling like I would get a lot done around the house today.

Flexibility

I have done some at-home yoga lately and find that is an acceptable bridge between home and the gym. I love to stretch and am pretty flexible so a good stretch takes a little effort for me and I seem quite contorted at times. I feel that being flexible in body and in spirit is important to get by. Cole is learning to be flexible at preschool. I am sure he will resist some of the rules he will be obligated to follow and he will struggle with learning some new and challenging things. He must be flexible. Rhys is learning to be flexible and nap on our new schedule and make the most of mommy time when Cole is at school. I am stepping back from a current project and what I thought was a plan and reminding myself that I can be flexible. While the plan was moving toward a certain date, it is okay if the date changes. I can make adjustments and accommodations for the new plan and just go with the flow of things. I am not a tree holding the water back, I am a twig flowing down the river - sometimes it rages, sometimes the waters are calm. Either way, I go with the flow.

Cole - ready for his first day of school.

Wine(ing)

At our house, the weekend starts on Thursday - which means that happy hour begins when Chris gets home. I really look forward to Thursdays. We usually have a nice meal - the recent trend is beef in the form of steak. Tonight it was flank steak over a very large salad filled with Romaine lettuce, spinach, mushrooms, CSA carrots, CSA baby cherry tomatoes, celery, and cucumbers. I even topped the salad with a fig that was offered by the CSA host house and picked up with my share by my dear friend Jessica - THANKS JESSICA!!! I made the dressing with balsamic (overheard pronounced BALLS-mick by a chick at McDonalds yesterday - makes me chuckle, Chris thinks I am being elitist) vinegar, dijon mustard, chopped garlic, freshly ground pepper, dried onion, rosemary, oregano, and basil. Chris brought the wine and we dove in. The boys have been well-behaved and Rhys has mastered - in his 17 month old way - the stairs so he has the freedom to come and go.

I feel like I have made some headway with work stuff. I have a working to do list and the desk is clean so things are getting done and I am well pleased with that. I am really really happy right now and it could be the wine talking but I don't think so.

I spent Tuesday cleaning and purging the house of clutter and trash. The kitchen is clear and lovely as are the other living spaces. I still need to tidy our bedrooms but don't feel like the walls are caving in.

I look out at the tree and know that what ever was causing it stress has been annihilated. I can go out on the deck and see that the garden is weeded and tomatoes are riping on the vine.

My children are mildly well behaved, Cole will be starting preschool, Rhys is only lactose intollerant and digesting his food like normal again. He is beginning to use words and this is such an exciting time for my boybies.

I am exercising at the gym every day and the new diet is resulting in a pound lost every day. Now that I am indulging in the wine, I am sure that trend will have a brief pause but the plan tomorrow is to workout first thing and then head to the pool. What a great life I have. Things start to cave in when I spend too much time on one aspect of my life but right now, today, this week even, I am in balance...bliss.

Categories - update

I have so many different and different items to update so I am going to categorize them here:

Personal Wellness:
I have been to the gym 9 out of the last 10 days and have burned a minimum of 400 calories each time. On Monday, I started a muddied down version of the Sonoma Diet. Basically, I eat 1 cup of plain yogurt topped with All Bran cereal and a packet of Splenda and a shake of cinnamon for breakfast with a cup of coffee and a big cup of water. After breakfast, I go to the gym and treat myself to about 10 almonds in the car on the way home. I have another big glass of water while I get things done around the house or do some work. I eat a whole wheat tortilla with a small amount (about 3 ounces) of lean meat, a wedge of Laughing Cow spreadable cheese smeared across it and whatever veggies I can throw in - today it was a little pork tenderloin, some steamed mushrooms, and about 2 cups of raw spinach. I load it, I MEAN LOAD it up with spinach. I eat a string cheese as a snack in the afternoon and then for dinner, I have 4 ounces of lean meat, about 1/2 cup of whole grain, and as many veggies as I can fit on the remaining part of my plate. In the evening, I have broken all the rules with a couple of squares of dark chocolate and a couple of Sam Adams Light. So, for those of you following along, I have now adjusted my diet AND am exercising. The reward? I am down 3 pounds since Sunday night. YIPPEE!!! Tonight, I had McDonalds - a grilled chicken sandwich - no mayo - and a side salad (460 calories and 11 grams of fat)...more about why Micky D's later....

The Garden:
My onions never came up so I am done with planting new things for this year...at least I think I am. I am still battling the dog for the back lawn. She likes to dig a hole and sit in the cool dirt under my fledgling baby grass seedlings. I weeded all of the unwanted out of the strawberry patch and pulled some of the strawberry plants that were invading the tomato area. I have SO MANY tomatoes. Throughout the growing season, I have clipped back the lower branches and kept the suckers at bay. It has really paid off. One branch has 8 tomatoes about the size of a stress ball.

Upon close inspection, I found that the tree in the front yard was infested with some type of boaring insect. As a result, there is decaying matter and moisture so it also was infested with tree slugs and earwigs. My poor tree! I immediately employed the use of pesticides. I watered the base of the tree with the poison as per the package instructions on Saturday and tonight there is no sign of any of the three buggies. I have peeled back the dead bark and fed the tree. The pest treatment is good for 12 months so I am hoping we caught it in time and the tree can get to healing and be all better come spring. Again, here's hoping.

Work:
I am in charge of our October workshop and don't feel like I am on schedule. That is just about how I feel about that right now. At the same time, I know it will all get done and get done in plenty of time with our team doing it all together.

Rhys:
Rhys is starting to talk and clearly understands what we are asking him. He likes to climb and slide on the toddler slide here and on playgrounds. He is starting to be a little pickier with his eating and is still lactose intolerant. He does like Soy Milk so I don't do supplements every day which is really good. We went today to get his passport so we will be all set for our trip to see Nana and Grandad. He loves Cole and will do anything that his big brother commands. He will miss him when he starts preschool next week.

Cole:
Tonight was Preschool Open House and Cole had a chance to meet his teacher and explore his classroom. He chose McDonalds as the place for dinner and afterwards, we headed on over. He is in a class of 15 students and seemed to be excited about everything. I am thankful that he is in the same class with a friend of his - with a mom who is a friend of mine...safety in numbers, for sure.

Chris:
What can I say, I am a lucky girl. Shout out to the hubby who fills in the gaps for everything that I don't have time or energy to do.

That just about does it. You are now up-to-date.

Music influence

On Saturday morning, I decided to watch CMT music videos at the gym. It was airing on the screen that usually displays the Today show and I am a creature of habit. Anyway, I was fascinated by some of the funny lyrics and story lines of the videos themselves. I saw the one for "Toes" by Zac Brown band. As a little taste, the song starts like this: "I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand. Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand Life is good today. Life is good today. " Sounds good to me too! The next song was "Jesus take the wheel" by Carrie Underwood. I knew that one but it never fails to speak to me in many ways. I love the symbolism. After that, I kid you not, I watched in mock amazement as a band called Trailer Choir had a contest in their video for the twenty-something who was to be crowned as the best bar maiden who was "Rockin' the beer gut". The winner had a very toned mid-drift so I didn't get it. Finally, I was introduced to a beautiful singer named Sara Evans. She sang a song about a cheating boyfriend or husband who is living in an old trailer, driving a beat up car, etc. because she left him and he should have thought about all of that when he was cheating. Anyway, I got the full flavor of country music with those few songs and it was fun to experience some new versions of the old themes.

My friend, Janelle, and I went to see 500 days of Summer at the movies. It was great and had a lot of great songs in it too. We listened to the soundtrack on the way home and, once again, I was reminded of my own musical diversity.

Yesterday, we went to the Virgin Mobile Free Festival and I was there long enough to see Jet, some unknown DJ scratch out some beats, another unknown band put forth their best effort and Public Enemy remind us all that we can Fight the Power, shake our fists in the air and demand peace all while spurting out expletives and referring to the late great musicians as larger than life figures. They lost me when they called Michael Jackson the Prince of Peace - are you serious? Anyway Flavor Flav was there with the giant clock dangling from a chain around his neck and I got to see my friend, Paul recite the lyrics of many of their songs: way to go Paul! I had to leave before the headliners because I wanted to get the kids from my friend's house before it was time for them to go to bed and it was good timing because she and her husband were fighting their own bedtime battle with their boys when I got there. Rhys went straight to bed but Cole stayed up with me and enjoyed his 9:00pm happy meal while I also pigged out on junk food and settled down from my musical weekend.

My little snacker

Recently, Cole has taken to snacking between meals because it is SO hard for me to say no when he tells me that he is hungry. For him, a snack is something healthy like a banana or popcorn but I am drawing the line. He won't have but one time to snack in school and he must learn to fill his tummy up at mealtime. I feel like a terrible person - not to mention a terrible mom - when I deny him food but lunch is only 45 minutes away and his belly will be filled with food then! Meanwhile, I may be denying him snacks because I don't want to be tempted myself - maybe. At any rate, we both have to wait for lunch.