A {Linky} Sound Bytes

Since it's the end of the month, we are gonna try something a little different (and hopefully I can get it to work) Beginning today, and on the last Friday of every month I'm going to give YOU the opportunity to share your Sound Bytes of the Week.

Don't be shy...I know you have some doozies. So either link your blog post, make a comment or comment on my Facebook link. I can't wait to read them!

On to this week's ...

3. "Make sure you don't pick out a funny shirt that will make me laugh and pee my pants."
Ummm. Ok E. Will do. FYI these were the shirts I was choosing from.

Not sure how funny they are. Maybe to a three year old they are hysterical ... who knows?

2. "Good morning pee machine." 
This is the pee machine and let me tell you E is not lying. I think G's diaper weighs ten pounds in the morning. Ok, that's a little TMI. Sorry.

1. "The spitter had a spit-free day."
Hallelujah! I'm not a religious person, but right now I'm thanking God for the first spit-free day in over three weeks. I knew as soon as I "outed" his nasty habit he would prove me wrong. Well, I'll take it! GREAT job E. You deserve a treat and trip to Barnes and Noble.

Paybacks are a Bitch

This is E and he's three (fast approaching four) and he is giving me and B2 a lesson in patience.

See my son is, how can I say this, a pain in the tush a strong-willed child.

He's reached that point of boyhood where he wants to assert his independence. Everything and I mean everything (even eating, and going potty) have to be his idea or you will hear a loud emphatic "NO!" Over 90 percent of the time it's for no reason other than to just disagree. Take yesterday for example

Me: "E would you like some ice cream?"


E: "No, I hate ice cream."

Hmmm, really?

And the worst offense ever ... he's resorted to spitting. Ugh! This is the WORST! It's the most disgusting, nasty, gross thing EVER. Especially for a germaphobe like myself.

I partially blame this phenonmenon on the two strangers at the Hawkeye basketball game who laughed hysterically when E made a face and blew a raspberry.

*Note to everyone, don't laugh at kids doing the following (no matter how funny) raspberries (unless it's a baby), stuck out tongues, burps or farts because you will doom the parents forever.

We've tried to come up with ways to redirect the "spitting energy". Enter in stress balls, having him clap his hands or stomp his feet, tucking (covering his head and taking three deep breaths) and even hugs.

I even told him he could spit in the sink. To which he responded with the dreaded "No, I don't want to spit."
Huh? Ugh.

We've done timeouts, confiscated toys, used stickers on calendars and rewards (Batman PJs, TV shows). I'm about to resort to paying him to stop.

Out of all of this nothing has really worked. Maybe it will for a while, but he's a strong-willed resilient child and if you take his favorite toy he will just find another, and so on.

So I sit and wait. Hoping that this "phase" will run its course.

And while I wait, my mom's words echo in my ears "Wait till you have kids."

Damn, paybacks are a bitch.

A {Blundering} Virtual Coffee

Happy Tuesday everyone!


Welcome to virtual coffee.

I linked up to Amy's Blog and fell in love with this concept, so here we go!


First of all I need to apologize to Amy for not posting a virtual coffee last Tuesday when I linked up. I'm a virgin blogger and still need to understand the etiquette.


Moving on ...


First of all, if this was a REAL coffee I'd have to be drinking water (because of the workout plan). Even though I'd really want this...

Hi Kitty.


And then I'd warn you to keep your distance because while smiles are contagious, so is a cold. Bleck! I solely blame it on the outbreak monkeys (aka the boys). Saturday morning was a chorus of coughs and sneezes. Hopefully you don't get it because it's awful.

Then I would of course have to share our super-exciting news that little G decided to hit every milestone this weekend. The changes are bittersweet, but still exciting. All of us mommies feel that way when our youngest grows up. Right?


So he is now officially eating EVERYTHING in sight ...

And movin' and shakin'.

And so it begins the inevitable "mom he has my toy!"


A toy segregation is underway. I have ordered play table from Land of Nod for E's room and it can't get here quick enough.


So did you have a holiday yesterday?


While we did have the day "off" from school, I think the day was even busier than a work day. Don't you hate it when that happens? After I went to class, G's nine month well baby appointment, a chiro appointment (ahhhh) and lunch with a friend.


The day was supposed to end in one big two hour nap-fest for both boys. However, coughing spasms prohibited E from sleeping, and in an effort to get him to at least rest for a little while I said "let's nap together." In other words, I took a half hour nap while he bounced on the bed and poked me in the face, but I didn't care.


Well, I got to go work is calling.


Thanks for joining me today, and enjoy the short week.

A {Jedi} Sound Bytes

I hope everyone had a wonderful week...FYI it's almost over...YIPEEEE!!! It's been a rough one at our house and we are closing in on the weekend with two sick kids and possibly two sick parents. I'll let you know how we do during Tuesday's Virtual Coffee (more on that later).

For now sit back, relax and enjoy this week's sound bytes.

3. "What you get is what you give...life's tough but if you don't give it everything you've got, your results will reflect and you'll always feel like you shorted yourself."
Oh Shawna, you are like my own personal confucius. Love it!

2. "I hermit crabbed myself."
Yes, Sierra we all need to do this from time to time and picking the coldest day of the year is the perfect time. I might be doing that myself this weekend...if the outbreak monkeys (aka the boys) succeed in spreading their germs.

Without further adieu this week's top Sound Byte is . . .

1. "Just let me know when you need to squeeze your balls." 
The "balls" to which E's teacher Megan is refering are his stress balls. Yes, my three year old has stress balls. Brought to school in an effort to diminish his spitting habit. Is it working...ummm...I'll get back to you on that. Oh and at our house they can't just be plan old stress balls...

Congrats to Megan on having the top Sound Byte of the Week. I'd give you a prize, but alas no sponsors, so you just have my undying gratitude and an E-free day today.

May the force be with all of you this weekend. Ciao!

Play it Again Sam

I sang to the radio on my way to work this morning.

Not a surprise I know. I'm sure everyone does it.

But today I didn't do the quiet humming, I'm not really moving my lips because I don't want other drivers to see me kind of singing. I BELTED IT OUT! Deep from the gut with the Christina Aguilera head toss and everything.

I'll warn you I'm not American Idol material (maybe William Hung). I'm also FORBIDDEN to sing if B2 is in car, and E has told me on many occasions "stop singing mama." OUCH!

So when I'm alone in the car, I LET 'ER RIP! Just like this morning.

This morning's jam of choice. Katy Perry's Firework.

I have now dubbed this my new theme song. Yeah, I have a theme song - Ally McBeal style baby!

The songs have changed over the decades. Matching my moods and the changes in my "oh so crazy" life. Each genre has been accounted for over the years. Hair bands, Bon Jovi anyone? Or cheesy club music like the Spice Girls. Even country (yes, you heard me right). Some are bittersweet. "Butterfly Kisses" was the father daughter dance at my wedding and most recently played at my father's funeral.

But no matter what emotions all these "theme songs" invoke, each one represents a key element of my life and who I am. A veritable soundtrack of my life so to speak.

Who knows what next week's theme song may be but for today it's this

So play it again Sam, cause I'm ready to crank it up and BELT it out.

Do you have a "theme" song? LET 'ER RIP!

YAHOO! A Love Story

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I'll be honest Valentine's Day wasn't my favorite holiday. I never had flowers sent to me (unless they were from my parents...lame), never went on romatic getaways and never had that mushy feeling for the big VDay that everyone else seemed to have.

Until...

I met B2 then all that changed. So in honor of Valentine's Day I thought I'd share our love story.

On a whim and dare I posted an ad on Yahoo! Personals, and while this might not sound like a big deal, back in 1999 it was a big deal. This was WAY before Match.com and Eharmony this was cutting edge and fodder for Dateline specials, not the way you were supposed to meet Mr. Right.

The first question everyone asks is why did I do it? Well, I was bored at work, and I was curious.

I vaguely remember what I wrote. It was something like this:

"I'm a social butterfly who likes to dance the night away, but would be just as content hanging out at home watching Real World marathons and eating takeout Chinese food, etc." 

I also mentioned that I looked like Laura Leighton (you know Sydney from Melrose Place).



A couple of days later I checked to see if I had any responses, and nada, nothing, zip, zero, zilch. "See," I told my friend, "these stupid things don't work." Famous last words, because when I checked it a week later I had over 100 responses.

It was pretty easy to weed through the weirdos. Here's the criteria. Send me a naked photo, can't form a sentence, spell or only write a two word response and you're history! Oh and they had live in the Midwest, I wasn't traveling to Australia to meet someone.

After that, I was left with a handful of potential possibilities. I decided to take the plunge and meet a couple of them...ummm, yeah. Not my type AT ALL!!!

During this time there was one response that I kept going back to and reading over and over. So after a VERY long time I wrote him back and we kept writing. Sharing the common questions about family, music, where you're from, etc. I remember I'd get so excited each time there was an e-mail from him in my inbox.

After numerous e-mails we upped the ante and decided to exchange photos. This threw me for a loop, because I had no clue what I would do if, 

1. I didn't find him attractive or 

2. If he didn't find me attractive. 

Not that I'm a shallow person, but there has to be some chemistry ... right?

Well, this is what came to me in my e-mail.

Woot, woot! He's hot! So no worries on my end, but then he had to see mine.

Ok, so I got LOTS of crap for this pic, because it was only a headshot. But he must have liked what he saw because we set up a date, and ironically it was on Valentine's Day (no pressure).

Word to the wise I did EVERYTHING wrong in preparation of that date. I gave him my phone number, had him pick me up at my apartment and drove alone with him from CR to IC. Can we say potential Dateline story here...YIKES!

But all ended well and from that day on we were inseparable.

However, our Valentine's Day love story doesn't end there, because two years later on the Saturday after Valentine's Day, B2 proposed. Why not on Valentine's Day? Just to make me squirm and because it's so cliche'.

So that's how Valentine's Day and B2 won their way into my heart.

Love ya babe, and here's to another wonderful Valentine's Day!

Halfway There!

My Farrell's Friends Becky, Me, Mycah and Ashli

This Saturday, I had my five week testing at Farrell's. If you aren't familiar with Farrell's check out my post here.

I was a little nervous about testing. First of all we have to run, and we all know my feelings on running. Granted it was only a mile, but still...there's lots of snow and it's cold out (do I sound whiny?)  Second I worried that I hadn't made any progress and this whole thing would be for nothing.

Well, I soon found out...

They had stations set up for measurements, BMI, weigh -in, and stretch test.

I decided to get measured first
*Please ignore my morning hair and 80's headband.

The smile on my face is because I actually saw results. Here's how I measured up.

Chest / 37 to 35            
Waist / 35 to 31.75
Arm / 11 to 10.5
Thigh / 21.5 to 20.5
Hips / 41.5 to 41.25

Overall I'm pretty happy. A little disappointed in the chest measurement (I can't afford to lose anymore in that department), but otherwise VERY pleased. Especially with the waist measurement. I've been noticing a difference in my pants (no more muffin top...yippee!)

Next I tested my flexibility.

Again I saw marked improvement went from 19 to 22 inches. Nice! Especially since the previous measurement was taken in the afternoon after I was stretched out, and this one was taken at eight in the morning.

Then I headed over to the dreaded scale. I was warned from the beginning NOT to base any results on the scale. Since I'm building muscle the scale might actually measure higher than my previous weight.

Well...

I LOST A POUND! Hey at least it's something. The guy in front of me lost 10 pounds...UGH must be nice. Although men have it so easy. They can stop drinking soda and lose 10 pounds. Well, I'm happy even though it was a pound...I didn't expect much, so it was a nice surprise.

Then came the true test of weight loss. The BMI test.

Not bad ... I went from 32.2 body fat to 28.3.

Then came the push ups and sit ups. I despise push ups, and to make it even more difficult they don't count unless you can touch your partner's hand with your chest. (Note to self stuff your bra next time).

Here's the results:
Push ups / 20 to 31

Sit ups / 25 to 32

Not bad, but definitely some room for improvement.

As for the run. Well...I lucked out. Due to all the snow and the thin layer of frost / ice that morning they canceled it. Smiles and cheers all around.

So all in all a great five weeks and I'm looking forward to the next five. Who knows what may happen. I might even go out and buy a pair of jeggings.

*Photo credit to Ashli and Mycah (thanks ladies) 

A {Short and Sweet} Sound Bytes

This week's sound bites are short and sweet. We are just trying to stay warm, and looking forward to next week's heat wave. Break out the shorts (ok, maybe it won't be that warm, but we can dream)

3. "It's a Glee-tastic night."
I indulged in a Glee double feature while B2 was at the Hawkeye bball game. Sometimes, those nights are the best,,,kids asleep, hubby gone and the TV all to myself ... ahhhh.

2. "Any way you want it. That's the way you need it. Any way you want it."
E and I singing to Journey on the way to school. Oh yeah! It wasn't until I listened to the lyrics closely that I realized they might not be appropriate. YIKES!

This week's is my favorite and not just because it's from me...

1. "He sucks me into the vortex of cuddles and I can't get out." 
I'm sure other moms can relate to this scenerio. You tuck your little one in, then they pop out of bed and ask you to cuddle, and then you are never let go. Nice. Unless you want to eat dinner, clean the kitchen and go to bed. I know one day he won't want to cuddle and I should take advantage of this as much as possible, but sometimes mama needs to eat!

Photo by Mebraldy Photography

If at First You don't Succeed TRI, TRI Again

Well I did it! Last Thursday I bit the bullet and signed up for the Quad Cities Triathlon.


Let me preface this by telling you that I've done this triathlon once before and earned a totally CRAPPY (yes CRAPPY) time.

2:27



Ugh...just saying it makes me angry. I think at the time I just wanted to finish. NOW I want a better time. I've caught the competition bug...and I want to CRUSH IT!

 

Nothing like a body hugging wetsuit to get you motivated.


There are some people for whom doing triathlons, marathons or 5K runs are an everyday occurrence. However I am NOT one of those people. Heck I don't even consider myself an athlete. I HATED gym class with the passion of a thousand flames (except for when we had bowling...that was fun). Particularly when we had to participate in the state physical education testing...OMG that was my own personal HELL. I remember vividly how I dangled precariously from the chin up bar while my extremely masculine (female) gym teacher kept yelling at me. Or the time we had to run the 500 (I think) and I tripped and fell and everyone ran past me as I ate their dust. 

Traumatizing to say the least.

It wasn't until a terrible, horrible, awful relationship and break-up that I eventually turned to running. I wasn't a runner at all (even then), but heartbreak and emotional turmoil turned itself into something VERY positive.



I kept running until...I met B2...then things took a different turn...working too many hours, too long of commute, too many excuses. Which lead to too many pounds and not enough endurance.



While I was married I went to the gym (sporadically) and made sure my clothes fit, but nothing athletic. It wasn't until after I gave birth to E that I decided I needed to do SOMETHING.




Smiling for the camera on my old lady bike

 Part of it was about losing the baby weight, but the other part was about achieving something. I wanted to set an example for my son, and show him that if you set you mind to it you can accomplish ANYTHING. (Even unathletic me).

So I did it!

Nervous as HELL with my mom on the sidelines I swam, biked and ran my way to the finish line.



Me and my mom. Tri-suits are so unflattering.



This June I'll do it all again, and this time I'll ROCK it!





Crossing the Finish Line!



Saturday Skate Date

I haven't been skating since Jimmy Carter was president (Wow! That gives my age away) Anyway, I was pretty good, I couldn't skate backwards, but I could stay on my two feet. Which was a big accomplishment.

Well, last Saturday I was rolling the "rink" again. It was my bestie's idea as we sat a the kitchen table late one Sunday night. "I really want to go rollerskating," she said to me. My first thought was oh crap, but I rolled with it and thought it would be a good opportunity for E.

So on Saturday night we packed up the kids (her nine year old daughter and E) and headed to the Robert E. Lee Recreation Center in downtown Iowa City.

I've never been there, and let me tell you it was a little interesting. There were surveillance cameras in the locker room and there was a sharps container in the public restroom. CRAZY!!!

That weirdness aside the place wasn't so bad. They had skates in every size, even the little guy's, and IT WAS FREE!!! I'm serious, when in the world is anything ever free.

Edison tried on his skates first, and it didn't go so well. I think he had fun, but it was a little hard to tell since he spent most the time on the floor. After a couple laps he just wanted to ditch the skates and run around.

Then it was my turn. Whew, I was barely on the floor when BANG! I fell flat on my ass...OUCH!!! It's a much harder fall when you're old. For a split second I thought I broke something (gosh I'm old). I finally made it all the way around (holding on to wall for dear life and dodging E as he kept trying to run into me.)

Meanwhile, my friend was cruising the floor wind in her hair having the time of her life. For a minute I thought I heard "Borderline" by Madonna on the radio, and a glimpse of leg warmers whiz by me.

Snowzapalooza 2011

We are "celebrating" Snowzapalooza here in the great state of Iowa. It started last night and cumulated in craziness this morning.

G keeps playing oblivious to blizzard blowing out the window.

This morning on the deck we found this.

Our neighbors were trying to dig themselves out.

A little snow even made it inside the house.

E "shoveling" snow with the neighbor girl. It's almost up to his waist!

Rosy cheeks from being outside.

So that's February in Iowa...WOW! Happy Groundhog day, and hopefully this is the last we see of the white stuff.

We are diggin' (no pun intended) our snow day so far. Watching Super Friends, playing with Play-Doh, and slurping hot chocolate. 

How are you spending your snow day?