Dear Diary,
I am writing to you because I somehow let my creepydarling husband talk me into starting the P90X exercise program. What is P90X, you ask? It’s a modern day torture system extreme exercise program. It’s stands for Plyometrics 90Day Extreme. Which basically means a combo of cardio, Kenpo, kick-boxing, strength training, yoga, and stretching all to the extreme, in other words you go until you fail (or can’t go anymore). The torture sessionsworkouts change everyday so that your body doesn’t have a chance to get comfortable and you don’t get bored. So, we are on day 6 out of 90. Luckily on the 7th Day, just like the Almighty, we rest. Ahhhh!!!! Saturdays rock even more now! And for the record… there will be no before pictures and no reporting of measurements until there is a significant improvement! Some things are even too personal for a diary. Someone might read this!
Day One: Core. This works out your abdomen and all around body strengthening. I quickly came the sick realization that am I completely and utterly out of shape! I thought that I knew this and therefore it was the reason for signing up for this program… but GEEEEEEZZZZ!!!! It was bad enough that we have to get up at the crack of dawn 6:00am, but to do something I truly hate, exercise and to completely get winded a few minutes into the hour routine. (Boy is this going to be a LONG 3 months). I am counting on the fact that I am going to have a six pack someday and drop my two-liter. I really admire people who love to work out. I don’t get it… but I admire it!
Day Two: Cardio. Okay, my abs hurt so bad that I can’t sit up out of the flippin bed without turning on my side and using my arms to push me up. It was like being pregnant all over again. Randall and I both groan at the alarm clock and then proceed to grunt and groan our pitifully sore bodies across the room to change and head downstairs. I think my house got taller… there are WAY more stairs than there were yesterday. You would think that we were 90 years old the way we were grumbling and grunting from the pain. So, honestly the cardio workout was actually pretty cool. It was reminiscent of my days of TaeBo. One of my precious attempts at getting in shape. I actually enjoyed it, but I did feel muscles that I forgot that I had. Did you know that there are butt muscles?!? They are not comfortable when overworked!!!
Day Three: Shoulders & Arms. Being a woman (I know, shocker!) I am NOT built for upper body strength, so this workout was a little torturous for me. I mean REALLY, how many times do I need to raise these dumbbells (appropriately named, I must say) and work my quads, pecks, bi-ceps, tri-ceps, blah-ceps, etc. I was amazed at how heavy my 5 pound weights got after 45 minutes. I think there is a manufacturing defect that I need to report. People all around the nation are being burdened with this! I should file a complaint. And by the way… I think the guy smiling on the screen was getting more irritating by the minute… maybe it was just me?!?
Day Four: Yoga. Ahhhh, Yoga. I was SOOOO looking forward to this one. We saw that it was 1.5 hours so decided that since I have to be at my women’s group at 7:00am, we would have to get up at 5:00am to do this, Are you kidding me? so we decided it would be an evening activity. I was looking forward to a nice evening of Yoga. I even purchased a thicker mat for full comfort. Well, I put the DVD in and started the stretching then burst into tears was shocked and dismayed when Mr Smiley said that this was Yoga EXTREME. “It’s YOGA for crying out loud, what’s so EXTREME about that?” One and half hours later I was reduced to a puddle of jelly on the floor. I have never felt so inadequate to do exercise in my life. I now HATE Yoga.
Day Five: Kenpo. My aching body could NOT get up at 6:00 to save my life. No really! Thank God no fire alarms went off or there was any need for me to be of any use to anyone before 8:00am. Thank you God for letting me kids sleep in that day! Did I mention that Yoga sucks?!? So, I did another evening of exercise. This day it was Kenpo. LOTS and LOTS of karate kicks and punching. I really liked this one. My arms are going to rebel the next day, but this was actually fun! Mr Smiley was so much more attractive today.
Day Six: Legs and Back and Ab Ripper. WHAT DID THAT SAY?!? Ab “RIPPER”?!? Son of A For the record I am typing this entry right before heading downstairs for an evening that I expect to be torture… because I don’t expect to be able to type afterwards, It is the one workout that I need the most. You see Diary, my abs are a mess, actually they are totally absent or more acurately buried! Sigh! And my legs, oh… who am I kidding… This sister has some serious Back, and side, and front. I just need to keep telling myself… “you will have rock hard abs in 3 months…” and “you will have thighs and a butt that won’t make you run screaming in terror when someone mentions a bathing suit.” Only 84 more days to go. Lord please help me.
Day 7: REST Tomorrow will be such a lovely day!
Final Note: I must have a mental block in regards to exercise… I misspelled it EVERY time I wrote it. Thank goodness for spellcheck.
We recently went to a friend’s house who has a toddler slide/playscape. Sydney (and of course Anthony) played on it all evening. I decided that it would be great for Sydney to have one at our house for her climbing and balance. Well, I took a shot and asked my wonderful friends on Facebook if anyone had what I was looking for. I was willing to pay money or barter for some handmade jewelry and two friends said “Come get it out of my garage/yard” and “No, you don’t need to pay for it”. So, BIG thanks to Chris for the slide and to Jessica for the playscape. Sydney and Anthony are having the time of their lives on it. Gotta love “free stuff”! Look closely and she is smiling her huge smile… just not looking at the camera.
Today was such a beautiful day that after dinner, Anthony, Sydney and I decided to go for a bike ride. Ahhhh, so sweet! Well, I should have known that I wasn’t meant to go riding when I went out and my tires were flat. “NO PROBLEM” I thought. I will just grab the bike pump. I started pumping and the air is hitting my foot…. Argh, the pump is broken! NO PROBLEM, Randall “the gadget guy” has an air compressor. I plugged it in and totally felt like a girl. I couldn’t figure out how to use this thing. After some fumbling around, I figured out how to use this very loud contraption and pumped up my tires. Okay, NOW we can go.
I buckled up Sydney and we are off. It is such a nice evening. It’s about 75 degrees with a blue sky with big fluffy clouds! What a Norman Rockwell moment, riding my bike with my baby behind me in the babyseat and my son riding his little bike next to me. So serene…. until we went around a corner and our serene bubble is popped when a dog starts chasing us. No worries, we can out run it (or ride it), and we did. Then as we are riding further suddenly Anthony suddenly out in a panicked voice “MOM, Syndey is standing up!”
Me: (What did he say?!? Sydney is standing up, WHAT!?!?) I turn around and sure enough she is STANDING UP FACING BACKWARDS!! HOLY CRAP! Of course there is a car coming and we are about to pass a parked car, so I can’t just STOP! So I reach around behind me and grab Sydney’s shirt and try to pull over to the side without letting go. I come to a screeching halt successfully pull over and secure my stunt-riding child. You will be glad to know that I didn’t die of heart failureshe is fine. Now, Sydney is known for LOVING to stand up and I KNOW that Sydney could give Houdini a run for his money, but I DID securely buckle the lap belt, but she didn’t just slip out of the seat belt, IT BROKE! When I went to buckle her again, I realized that one of the straps was completely bare of all hardware. LUCKILY there are over the shoulder straps that are tight, but work.
As I was buckling her back in and trying not to freak out about what COULD have happened, a woman walks over and said that she tried to say something but her words were stuck in her throat, and she was relieved that my son yelled out to me. The woman was more shook up than I was, but I think that was my adreneline that was keeping me sane. So, I made sure that Houdini Sydney was nice and secure and we went ahead and continued our ride. I mean really, what else could happen? REALLY…, yup, you guessed it, more drama to come. We round the corner and Anthony yells “MOM, STOP!” His chain fell off of his bike.
Me: ($%&*(#@ Are you kidding me?) I am standing on the side of the road trying to hold up my bike with my body while attempting to re-chain Ant’s bike. After about 10 minutes of awkward fumbling along came a teenage boy to the rescue!! YEAH!
We made it home in one piece. (WHEW!) The kids are in bed and I think I am going to have a glass of wine and try not to picture what COULD have happened. Thank you God for watching over Sydney!
Doesn’t she look so sweet?!?
Looks can be deceiving. My sweet little angel is nearing two years old… only two more months. Little Miss Sydney is starting to really become independent. She has a new “I can do it myself!” Her defiance comes out in her new word “STOP!”, shaking her head “NO” when she doesn’t want something, putting her hand out in a toddler version of “talk to the hand”, and a new “ARGH” when she is frustrated. I miss my cuddly baby, but this new independence will do her well. She is on the verge of walking. She is toddling around the house behind her push toys. YEAH!!! We just bought new shoes to help her little ankles to straighten out and we will get her arch supports next week. I need to get the video camera out.
I am hoping to get more pictures up soon. We have done lots of fun things lately, but lately the days seem to go by so fast, and by the end of the day, I am too tired to edit and write much. I will leave you with this adorable picture that shows some of her new attitude. (BTW, she hasn’t eated toast again, ugh!!!!!)
(to the tune of Oliver’s “Food Glorious Food”)
Toast, Glorious Toast… Oh how we love thee!
Sydney ate toast yesterday! Woo Hoo! For those of you who have been following our adventures in eating, you know that this is a big deal!! Sydney has decided up to this point that the only food that she will consistently eat is baby food. UGH! She will eat some foods once in a while, but when it comes to food, it is an uphill battle. Believe me when I say that three times a day I mentally I put on my camouflauge, then armor up to prepare to sit at the table to eat.
I have always heard that you have to introduce foods up to 13 times before a child will take to it. In my experience with both boys, this theory was poppycock. Well, the came my darling Sydney who is proving the theory to be true; much to my chagrin. I have tried giving her toast MANY times before… (picture Forrest Gump… plain toast, toast with butter, toast with strawberry jelly, toast with grape jelly, toast with blackberry jelly, peanut butter toast, cinnamon and sugar toast, wheat toast, white toast, etc. etc. etc.) Well, yesterday I once again cut up some toast with butter and gave it to her with EVERY expectation that I was actually feeding the dogs in the end. You see, Sydney just tosses what she doesn’t want on the floor and Boomer and Chuy are happy to fill the roles of living vacuum cleaners. (BONUS: I rarely have to pick any food up off of the floor. But, of course they don’t mop! rats). Anyway, Sydney ate about 2/3rds of a piece of toast! YEAHHHHHH!!!!! I was doing the “Happy Mommy” dance and told everyone. I know people think that I am nuts, but who cares! I don’t know if she will ever eat another piece of toast again (which would follow the typical eating pattern), but for one stinkin’ day…. we celebrated the consumption of TOAST!!!!
So here’s a toast to TOAST!!! “TOAST, Long may my daughter want to consume it!”
NO…. I AM NOT PREGNANT!!!! Get that thought out of your head, NOW!!!! LOL!
Last week, as you know from the last post, my Aunt Jeanette and uncle Don just got reacquainted after only having met once in 1991. It was wonderful and I am SO excited about having my family expand to include her children and grandchildren. As if that and my dad’s graduation wasn’t enough excitement for one week, we got a call from Randall’s mom a week and half ago telling us that she got in contact with his birth father! She said that they talked for over an hour and that he wants to meet Randall…. was Randall interested in a reunion?!? OF COURSE!!! Randall has spent his whole life (42 years) wondering about the man who gave him half of his DNA. So, they were introduced through email. They both typed lengthy letters back and forth and then talked on the phone last week… again for quite a long time! I have rarely seen my sweet husband so excited about something. He was shining… no BEAMING from his very core! His dad sent two pictures and my jaw dropped… It was like looking at Randall with a few minor adjustments. Even the two boys said “That looks like Papa!”
He is named after his father so Randall (my hubby) met Randy (his father) yesterday. He lives about 8 hours away in a small town outside of El Paso. He is a baptist preacher (Randall’s dream is to go to seminary someday) and they look SO MUCH alike it is scary! Anyway, Randall and I gave my parents two one-way tickets back home to Arizona for a graduation present. That way they would have a little more time together at home before they head off to Reno (to see my ailing grandfather). Randall drove their car and U-haul back to Arizona and made arrangements to meet his father. It was a joyous reunion. I am so bummed that I could not be there with him! They took some pictures, but I am including the only one that I have so far. Randall flies in tonight at midnight (ugh). Apparently they have a lot of similar mannerisms as well as looking alike. Genetics are a funny thing! Randy’s wife and daughter were repeatedly giggling at the two of them holding their hands/arms/faces in the same way and not even realizing it. Dang, I wish I was there!
We are making arrangements to get the whole family together next month. I am thrilled! So, not only does Randall now have a long lost father… but some aunts and uncles, a grandmother, several half-brothers and sisters and lots of nieces and nephews! WOW! I am finding that words just cannot express the joy in my heart. Randall has always had a hole in his life that was never really identifiable… I think we found a big missing piece. Now he has another connection to the world. God is amazing how his timing works. He brought the two of them together (and the rest of us family members) at the right time and place.
OH, I almost forgot (sometimes I can be so flaky! No comments, please) Randy’s wife Charity has a 38 year old brother with Down Syndrome!!!!! Can you believe that?!?! WOW! She left a comment on the “STOP, STOP, STOP” post last week. I can’t WAIT to meet her and talk to her…. and someday meet her brother! AGAIN, God is so amazing!
Okay, enough rambling…. here’s what you want to see.. Check out the pictures…
This week we celebrated a major accomplishment. My father graduated seminary! He is finally getting into his dream career. His first career was 20+ years in the Navy on nuclear submarines. He retired in 1985 and began career #2 spending another 20+ years working in a nuclear power plant. Now, he is finally in a place to answer God’s call to the ministry. You see my father has been “working” (a.k.a. volunteering) in some form of religious leadership for many years. He started a Spanish ministry in his church in Arizona several years ago and was hooked. I could go on for paragraphs about how he got here, but all that matters is that he made it! I have been honored to have him here in Austin for the last 9 months while he was attending a one year seminary program. I have enjoyed spending every Sunday with him and the holidays. I am so VERY excited for him, but am very sad to see him go back home to Arizona. In this last few months, I have witnessed first hand what a loving and caring spirit he has. I have always know him as “dad”, but I got to see him as a spiritual man and a leader. God’s flock is getting a wonderful Shepard in my father. Dad, I am so proud of you! He will go on to a stent as a hospital chaplain and will officially be ordained sometime in the next year.
An added bonus to this week was that my dad’s sister, Jeanette (great name, huh?) came. There is a long story behind this that I will cover in another post, but I have only met her once in my life and that was in 1991. So, this was a wonderful reunion.
What a great week!
My mom and dad with Jeanette and her husband Don.
My two favorite men!
Me and Sydney cheesing it up! Love the piggy tails!!!
There is a little boy named Noah who is 5 months old and is sitting in a hospital tonight fighting for his life. He was shaken by his daycare provider and has spent the last two weeks in the hospital. He has suffered brain damage and bleeding behind his retinas. His mother and father do not know what his future holds, they are just praying for their son to return to them. Please add Noah and his parents. You can follow their story over at Noah’s Road. When I read this, my eyes just poured tears! I immediately thought of the song “He’s My Son” by Mark Shultz. It is a powerful cry to God in a similar situation. I am embedding the Mark Schultz’s song. It is not Noah’s story, just a video. but the song is amazing!
Please grab a kleenex, watch the video… then PRAY!
When I am done with this post, I will go and kiss my sleeping children and Thank God for them being safe in their beds.
I promised something new from Sydney… so here it is. Before I tell you this story, keep in mind that Sydney only verbalized two words, “KITTY” and “UH-OH”. So, on to the story, we were at Burger King the other night, trying to get a quick dinner in before Wed night church, when Sydney surprised us all. While we were eating our dinner and Randall was sitting next to Sydney and apparently bouncing his knee up and down. It’s one of those fidgety things… when Sydney reached over and put her hand on his knee and looked directly at him and said an irritated “TOP!” We both looked at each other and I said “Did she just…” Randall replied “Yes, I think she did!” My daughter just said STOP! So, being the project managers that we are, this is not considered a process unless it is repeatable… sooooo Randall started bouncing his knee again. Sydney, who was enjoying a nice french fry, minding her OWN business. sees the bouncing knee out of the corner of her eye and again reaches over and puts her hand back on his knee and says again “TOP”! We all giggled, then proceeded to torment the poor child by continuing to bounce Randall’s knee, grabbing the camera, and seeing how many times we could get her to say it. Here is a quick video of Sydney’s NEW WORD!!
