So Much To Be Thankful For

I guess you can tell from all the smiling faces that we had a fun Thanksgiving!

We left for Oklahoma on Tuesday evening. We arrived at my grandparents' house just before midnight. The kids fell asleep about 30 minutes from their house, so they were wired after they woke up. We stayed up for a while talking and laughing at the kids, then we called it a night.

On Wednesday, we made a big breakfast and went for a walk. My grandmother went with us and, let me just say, she kept a pretty good pace for an 80 year-old woman! We walked down to the creek and back. Addison walked the whole time, too. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed walking and talking. We have four-wheelers up there, but I like to get out and walk too. You can see so much more when you are walking than you can when you are riding. I want the boys to see the deer tracks, mushroom, flowers, bugs and any other fun thing we pass along the way. You can't do that from the seat of a four-wheeler.

Thursday, we decided to just have cereal for breakfast and eat Thanksgiving dinner for lunch! Drew and I had fun making all the side dishes. We spent about 3 hours cooking and everyone was stuffed in about 20 minutes. We didn't make a whole turkey this year. We just had a turkey breast. We also had ham. We don't get all fancy or anything up there. We just keep things simple. No one to impress up in the woods in Oklahoma! I didn't even matter that I forgot my entire make-up bag at home!

Friday, Drew, Bryson and I went on a hike across the creek. We always try to do this at least once while we are there. Jackson had a bad experience hiking last year, so he didn't go with us. He stayed back at the house with Addison and my grandparents. The water in the creek was so COLD and I have to mentally prepare myself to cross it. We only got wet up to our knees, but when it is that cold it is pretty painful. The creek is about 30-40 yards wide, so we were in the water for several minutes trying to cross. The water was rushing pretty fast and the rocks are slippery, so we had to go slowly or risk falling in.

On the other side of the creek is a steep incline that we climbed. Once at the top (maybe 100 yards up) we walked along the ridge to the waterfall. This is where we always go when we cross the creek. It has been fun to see it in each of the different seasons and how it has changed in the years we have been going. Bryson slipped and fell in at one point, so he was in a HORRIBLE mood for part of the trip. I was surprised to see two hunters up the creek, also. We have never seen any other people and I was a little scared when I heard men's voices. They did ask why we weren't wearing orange. I guess we should have thought about it being hunting season. Once Bryson fell in the water, though, we didn't need orange on. His crying and wailing announced our presence to all around! We hiked for about 2 hours that day. The weather was absolutely beautiful.

Today we spent the morning playing in the fire outside and sitting around talking. We finally made our way back inside and got ready to leave. We hate to go, but we will be back for Christmas. Bryson just cries his little eyes out every time we leave. It just breaks my heart. He loves it up there and loves all the attention he gets from my grandparents. I remember my sister and I crying the same way when we had to leave. I am so glad my grandparents are still around to spoil my kids with attention and affection. I am thankful that they get to experience some of the same things I did as a kid. I feel at home up there and want to enjoy it as much as I can while it is still available to us.

I took about 250 pictures this week. I will post most of them on Facebook.

She's Got Legs...

and she knows how to use them!

While Drew and I were "helping" Jackson with his turkey project, Addison was playing dress up or dress down in her room. She came out looking like this. She was also singing. She was a sight to behold! I just had to share!



This is Jackson's turkey project. He may or may not have had help from Drew and myself. I think his cowboy turkey turned out rather cute.

Blood Pressure

I began having trouble with my blood pressure when I was pregnant with Bryson. At least, that is when it was first diagnosed. I took blood pressure medication throughout all three pregnancies and some in between. High blood pressure and heart disease run on both sides of my family. I have always struggled with my weight. (Being raised on McDonald's, Taco Bell and good home cooking definitely had something to do with that.) I have always been fairly active, so I know that has helped. Almost a year ago I decided that since I was finished having kids I needed to focus more on my health. I began watching what I ate and tried to change up my work outs. I lost some and then just stalled. I tried to tell myself I would start losing again, but I never did. I tried to focus more on the health benefits of exercise instead of on the number on the scale. Some days it works and some days it doesn't. Today I got some concrete evidence that all my hard work is paying off. I give blood several times a year and they always check your blood pressure and cholesterol during their screening. My blood pressure today was 100/65! That is unheard of for me! I am usually around 130/high 70's. I will get to see in a week or so what my cholesterol is. I am going to TRY to focus on the fact that I feel so much better now than I did this time last year. I know what I am doing is working. It is hard when the number on the scale doesn't go down. I would like to see it go down so I could feel like getting up during the week at 4:15 to work out is worth it. I KNOW it is worth it, but I would still like to see a smaller number. Anyway, I won't talk about the number on the scale since I just said I was going to focus on how good I feel! This IS going to be hard! At least I KNOW the inside of my body is healthy. The outside may not be so great but the inside is BEAUTIFUL!

I Cannot Be Trusted

I have proven, once and for all, that I cannot be trusted. After Halloween I separated the "kid" candy from the chocolate "Mommy" candy. I told myself I could have one or two small pieces whenever I had a craving I couldn't ignore. That lasted about a day, maybe less. I decided that if I froze it I wouldn't be as likely to want it. I still wanted it. I wanted it even worse than when it wasn't frozen. I tried to tell myself that one or two pieces every once in a while wouldn't hurt anything. Once again, I was WRONG! One or two pieces turned into three or four pieces EVERY night. I couldn't stop myself. Well, I didn't really try very hard to stop myself. So, tonight, while Drew and the boys are gone, I did the UNTHINKABLE. I. Threw. Away. The. Candy. The WHOLE gallon bag. Gone. In the trash. I almost put it in the deep freezer in the garage, but I knew that wouldn't keep me out of it. So, there. I did it. It is out of my freezer and out of my house. (Technically, it is still in the garage, but I would have to be really sick to dig it out of the trash can. I do have standards.) Starting right now, not tomorrow right NOW, I am going to try to kick this sugar/chocolate habit for good. If you see me crying, just know it's all about the chocolate.

Poo Poo: A Conversation

Addison: Mommy, I poo poo.

Me: Addison, why did you poo poo?

Addison: I don't know.

Me: Where are you suppose to poo poo?

Addison (singing): Poo poo goes in the potty, not on your body.

Me: That's right, Addie. Poo poo goes in the potty. Why didn't you tell me you needed to poo poo?

Addison: I don't know.

Me: Why did you poo poo in your diaper?

Addison: I don't know why I did that. It just came out.

She will get it one day. She will get it one day.

A lot, but not so much!

I don't really have much to say, but I know my grandparents look forward to reading my blog posts so I will just start typing and see what comes out of my head (er, hands). (I think that is a serious run-on sentence, but I don't really care to fix it! My high school English teachers would shudder! Shoot, Drew teaches English. He is probably shuddering too!)

Saturday two friends from work, Katie and Laura, came over for dinner. Drew said he would cook for us. He made boneless ribs and chicken, salad, potato salad, asparagus, rolls (He didn't actually make those.) and cheesecake (He didn't make that, either). It was so good and I really enjoyed hanging out with them outside of work although we mostly talked about work! I hope we get to do it again soon. We really enjoy having people over and Drew likes to cook for our company, so it works out nicely! I must say that he is such a great husband/friend and I really don't tell him enough how much I appreciate his care and attention.

Sunday I was able to go to lunch with some friends from our Sunday School class. We went to Carrabba's and the food was so yummy. I really enjoy hanging out with them, too, we just don't get the chance very often. Jaclyn will be moving soon and I am really sad that we didn't get to know each other better.

Sunday evening we had an appointment to have family pictures taken. The last time we had family pictures taken was about two years ago. Addison was about five months old at the time so I wanted some newer ones. Of course, she was in no mood to take pictures and she refused to smile in most of them. Oh, well. We will remind her one day about what a little toot she was and we will be able to laugh at her sullen face. That was not something I was willing to even worry about. At least she wasn't screaming!

This week at school I am teaching one of my all-time favorite games~ Ultimate Ping Pong. I only teach it to the 3rd-5th graders. The younger ones just aren't developmentally ready to play it. I have been taking the little ones outside to play with the parachute. Both of these things are a lot of fun, so the week is going by quickly. I am so thankful for the wonderful weather that allows me to be outside at least part of the day.

The big count down to Thanksgiving has begun. (It actually began about 2 months ago!) I am really looking forward to some much-needed rest and some time in the country. I love going up to my grandparents' house in Oklahoma. It is my most favorite place in the whole world. (Yes, it's true that I haven't been to many places in the whole world, but I'm sure if I would have been to many places in the whole world Oklahoma would still be my favorite!)

Football season is over for Drew. Well, he still has to scout for the high school his middle school feeds into, but for the most part it is finished. I didn't think I would survive this season. I don't know how high school coaches' wives do it. They live football. Drew doesn't live it but the schedule dictates that he is gone most nights. So, I am glad it's over, but now basketball season begins. At least it's not as time-consuming. Silver lining, people, silver lining.

If you are still with me, bless your heart. I owe you something! Maybe you could come over to hang out and Drew could cook you dinner! For not really having much to say, I really had a lot to say~ a lot but not of much significance! Anyway, thanks for reading and I am sorry you will never get this 5 minutes of your life back! :0)

Therapy, Anyone???

I think I am beginning to realize that I can't be "perfect" at everything. Let me just say that I am FAR from perfect, but that doesn't keep me from striving for perfection every day.

For example, if I don't get up at 4:15 to go to the gym I spend several hours beating myself up and putting myself down for being "lazy." I know in my head that my body needs a break every once in a while and that it is okay to sleep in one morning a week, but I still feel guilty when I miss a morning. All day long I will think of ways to fit in a workout that day or try to find some time to "make up" what I missed. I am trying to be okay with taking a break one day a week, but it's hard. I feel like if I miss a day I am not "perfect" in my workouts. Anyway, today I slept in. I tried not to worry about it. I mostly did okay. I noticed, about mid-morning, that I wasn't yawning. I actually felt awake and I didn't feel tired today. I did do a short "workout" at home while my wonderful husband made dinner, but I don't feel so guilty about my lack of workout this morning.

I beat myself up if I don't eat perfectly, too. You can tell by looking at me that I am FAR, FAR from perfect in this area. I still think of some foods as "bad" and some foods as "good." I KNOW that moderation is the key, but I still label foods. I don't want to spend my entire life thinking about what I put in my mouth, but right now I label everything! It doesn't keep me from eating "bad" foods. I just feel guilty when I do.

I also feel the need to be the perfect mom. I worry about if I am doing enough with my kids academics, social life, church life, etc. Some days I feel like I do a pretty good job. Other days I hope I can just make it through without causing any permanent damage. I (we) try to teach the kids how to treat people nicely and how to love each other. These, to me, are very important life "skills" and I hope we do an okay job with those. I don't feel like we do a very good job with "enrichment" activities. I don't really talk to my kids about money (other than what they cost me!). I don't cook with my kids. (I hate to cook!) I don't get outside and play much with them.

I guess what I am trying to do is find a good balance. I jokingly say that my motto is "Mediocrity is O.K.," but I really don't believe that. I put so much pressure on myself to be perfect, but there is not enough time in the day to do everything I need to do perfectly. I have blogged about this a few other times. I guess I am just trying to get over the guilt of not being "perfect." Why do I put this pressure on myself? I don't expect other people to be perfect. Why do I think I can be perfect?

I am obviously not the only person who has ever been a wife, teacher and mother. How do other people do it? How do you decide what is worth the time and what you can let slide? Maybe one day I will figure it out. Until then, I will just try to keep my head above water and hope I don't cause my kids and Drew to seek out long-term therapy!

Do other people struggle with these same things or am I the only crazy person in blog land? Please tell me I am not crazy! :0)

A Jackson Funny and Weekend Wrap Up

Jackson finished his bowl of cereal on Saturday and forgot to take his bowl and spoon to the sink. Of course, Drew quickly noticed and asked him how he expected the bowl and spoon to make it to the sink. Jackson replied, "Well, the dish DID run away with the spoon." Pretty witty for a 5 year-old! Drew didn't see the humor immediately, but he came around.

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We had a pretty good time this weekend. (I will post pictures later.) Friday I stayed home with Addison. She started running a temperature Thursday evening. She was real cranky and wanted to be held most of the time, so I called in a sub and stayed home. For some reason I was SO sleepy that day. I ended up letting her watch about 6 hours of Sesame Street while I dozed on and off and played around on the computer. She never watched this much TV, so I tried to not feel too bad about it. That night our Sunday School class was having a get together. I hated to miss it, but I didn't want to risk taking Addison and her getting somebody else sick. Drew and the boys went and had a good time.

Saturday started off in it's usual way. I went to the gym for some alone time. Before my kickboxing class I ran 3 1/2 miles. I started to feel so weak by the time the class started. I kept telling myself to just make it through the next song and I could leave. I ended up staying for the whole class, but it was so tough. I started thinking that maybe I was coming down with something, but I never did. I did take a nap that afternoon instead of going to the church festival. The boys didn't seem to mind missing it. They were waiting for some friends to come over later on in the evening and were too excited to even miss the festival.

That night Drew made hamburgers and hot dogs. My friend Stefanie and her son Connor came over and Kecia and Brea came, too. We had fun eating, trick-or-treating and just hanging out. I like laid back affairs.

During the night Addison began coughing. I didn't hear her, but Drew said she coughed for a while. I decided to keep her home from church, just in case. I did a short workout in my living room with some hand weights. It was a struggle to get through it, but I managed to do 30 minutes of lunges, squats and weights. When I finally sat down, I was so sleepy I couldn't stay awake. I turned on the babysitter (Sesame Street) and fell asleep. Addison would wake me up when it was over for me to start it again! She watched three episodes! (I know, bad mama!) At some point she even got one of her blankets and covered me up!

When Drew and the boys got home (I found out later that the "ditched" church, as Bryson called it!) they wanted to put up the Christmas trees. Yes, read the sentence again, I said Christmas trees! They hauled all the decorations out of the attic and put up two of the trees. We will eventually have small trees in the kids' rooms, but there just wasn't enough time to do it all yesterday. Around 3:00 I decided to take Addison for a walk in her jogging stroller. I had been inside all day and thought some fresh air would pep me up. It pepped me up but put her to sleep. Then we had a cranky little girl all evening when we had to wake her up.

So, the weekend was good, but I don't know why I have been so tired and sleepy. I thought the time change would help, but it hasn't so far.

Today is the last weeknight football game for Drew to coach. Words cannot express how happy this makes me. This has been one LONG season. I am so glad it is almost over.


I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving break in a few weeks and I hope to catch up on some rest then.