Exercise

I have to admit that it was just nice playing volleyball today. My kids played nicely off the court with the other little ones there and I played pretty well. Not great, mind you, but pretty well. There's something to be said about great sportsmanship. I can't tell you how many times I heard "Great set" or "Nice dig" or "good hustle", but it sure makes it easier to swallow the mistakes you make when the only things that are pointed out are the good plays that you do.

Cycling

I have to admit I'm feeling pretty good about myself today after a 45-mile bike ride. The last time I did this ride, it was painful just to finish and I totally hit "the bonk". But today, I felt good and when I got home, I didn't hit "the bonk" (although I was a little calorie starved and I put away 4 snickerdoodles in about 1 minute or less). It's always nice to have goals and see them getting accomplished. Happy cycling!

Dentist

I have to admit I still hate going to the dentist, whether for me or for my kids. My kids are 5 and 3 and 3. You'd think with good hygiene, no cavities and such that it wouldn't be too bad to just do a checkup for three little ones. Wrong; think again! Somehow with x-rays, a VERY brief look at their teeth from the dentist (we're talking literally about 20 seconds per child), an abbreviated fluoride treatment and polishing and somehow they wanted to charge me $642!!! Really?! Do you really think that you earned that much money from what you did?! How is it that we don't have anything wrong with our teeth and we're shelling out that kind of money? Luckily for me, I had the "new patient" discount and it ended up only being $303 (because we don't have any dental insurance). I was told over the phone that it would be $68 for the visit per child. But because she asked if I wanted the fluoride treatment and failed to tell me that it was going to be another $33 per child for that, I had to pay $101 per child. As evidenced by the numerous exclamation points throughout this post, I am pretty frustrated. I'm all about paying for things and being willing to put out good money for good care, but I must say that I don't feel like I got $642 worth of work done on my little kids' teeth and I certainly didn't appreciate having to pay for something that I wasn't told was going to be extra. Ethically speaking, I just would appreciate everyone to make sure that we all know what we're going to have to pay before they up my bill from a mere $204 to well over $600.

Auto Repairs

I have to admit I am always grateful when I can find a car repair place that not only does a good job on the repairs I go in for, but also is looking out for me. I took my car in for just an oil change and the man doing the job rotated my tires free of charge and helped me out of what could've been a very disasterous situation. He brought me out to look at one of the tires, and even me, who knows nothing about them, could see that it was only a matter of just a few miles before that tire would blow out. The side was completely shredded and looked like it already had been blown out. This sweet man put the spare on for me (it seriously took him 45 minutes because whoever had put it back last hadn't done it properly) and did a really thorough safety inspection--even finding the solution to a problem that we've been having...a problem that I didn't even mention to him. So anyway, I just wanted to give another huge thanks to this man, even though I know he'll never read this. Oh, and did I mention that it only cost me $29? What a deal! I will always give this man my business.

Illness

I have to admit I don't get worked up over much when it comes to illness in my body, but after my scary pregnancy and delivery of my twins and the blood clot that followed, any bruising, bleeding or vein pain has me VERY nervous. Lately, when I play volleyball, I get these terrible bruises that no one else gets when we play. It's been making me nervous because I can see the vein bulge before it actually...burts? and turns into a bruise. My wonderful father in-law has been with me every step of this bizarre journey and with a few blood tests behind me, I now know that my blood is healthy and I'm not at risk for more blood clots at this time. Woo-hoo! So if you see me with strange and enormous bruises on my hands or arms, never fear, it's normal...at least for me.

Frozen Pipes

I have to admit we had our pipes freeze for the first time and it's now 11am and they're still not unfrozen. Like an idiot, when I went to check that our pipes were insulated, I saw that they were...but not all the way. Lesson #1: Make sure that they are ALL the way insulated, otherwise they may as well not be insulated at all. Lesson #2: Make sure that you have more than just bottled water because washing hands and such becomes VERY tedious with little bottle after little bottle. Lesson #3: Your kids are going to be EXTRA thirsty if you tell them that the pipes are frozen and they have to drink the water in the bottles because they can't get water out of the faucets. And lesson #4: Don't ever leave the dishes at night so that they are sitting around waiting to be done in the morning when your water is frozen. It just makes the whole situation much worse. Happy wintering, everyone!

December

I have to admit (as you all could already tell) December was not a great month for blogging time. I was busy and we had some wonderful moments. But probably my favorite one was going to James' preschool concert. How wonderful it is to see your children learning and growing. While at Grandma's house for Christmas, we had a chance to swim in the pool there and James swam across the whole pool. (It's probably 20m long). It's so gratifying to see your children progressing, even when you can't take any credit for it!

Christmas Concert, Preschool Style

I have to admit, I'm having one of those proud parent moments today. My oldest is having his first preschool performance and I am more than excited to go tonight. How fun will it be in 12 years when he brings dates home to show them his cute preschool performances? Just kidding, I'm not the kind of parent to embarrass my kids (too much) but how fun will it be in 12 years when he gets his drivers license to look back and see how little and adorable he was at his first Christmas concert, singing "We wish you a Merry Christmas" and "Feliz Navidad". These are the moments that are so wonderful as a parent. Looking from the outside in, I'm sure people wonder how scores and scores of parents can ooh and ahh about their little ones singing totally off key and off beat, probably not even singing the right words and be proud as peacocks, but hey, natural instinct kicks in and you find yourself reliving the last 4 1/2 years of that little one's life in those short seconds and realizing your babies are growing up. They are learning and growing and becoming their own person. How can a parent not be absolutely proud of that?

Volleyball

I have to admit I haven't played volleyball in years...since high school. Not on a team, mind you, so don't think that I'm just slipping back into something that I've known how to do. I simply played for fun with friends and family occasionally. I've had the opportunity this week to play with some people from my church and it is a BLAST! I'm no good (of course) but it's fun to be with people that don't care. I serve underhand (hopefully one of these days I'll have enough practice doing overhand serves that I'll attempt it, but I just don't want to make a fool of myself), I hit some of the "spikes" into the net (let's me honest, it's more of a tap than a spike anyway) and I don't know all the jargon, but it is fun. Thanks to everyone who is bearing with me as I get back into the swing of things, and hopefully even improve on that.

Mommy!

I have to admit that some days, being a mother is the MOST DIGUSTING JOB OUT THERE!!!!! I'm going to vent about my latest potty-training mishap. I had let me three little ones outside for a few minutes so that I could relax and take a breather for a few minutes before I dived into cleaning the house for Thanksgiving. I had just picked up a book, gotten less than a page read when, "MOMMY!!!! My sister took off her diaper again". Here we go again, I thought. But this time, things got worse. The pants and diaper were in fact off, the grossness all down her legs. But what was that on her hands? My goodness, yes! She had somehow managed to get it on her hands as well. Super! Well, I needed to get the diaper and pants quickly and I told her not to move. (Stupid me, I know). So I ran to get the missing clothing and when I turned around, wait a minute? What's that on her face? Honestly, had she just wiped it on her mouth and nose? I sprinted to get her in the shower before it could make it anywhere else. But on the way up there stairs, there went the hands to the face and nose again trying to get the icky smell away. I whisked her into the shower where she put her hands all over the walls. Could this experience be any more gross? Oh yes, I got her all cleaned up, only to find we'd left some presents for ourselves on the way up the stairs. Truly I hope and pray that this nightmare of potty-training will end soon. When will the light click on for my girls and they will do everything they need to do IN THE POTTY instead of EVERYWHERE ELSE?!?!?!

Gratitude

I have to admit with Thanksgiving coming up, I am finding myself grateful for so many things. I've tried to encourage my four year-old to include things he doesn't regularly offer thanks for in his prayers. He thanked God for the ceiling and the floors one night and when he was done praying, I asked him why he was grateful and he said, "I'm grateful for the ceilings because they keep the rain off us. And I'm grateful for the floors because they keep us from falling downstairs into the rooms below." Obvious reasons that they are good, but I was so happy to realize that he wasn't just naming things off that he saw, but that he really thought about why he was grateful for these things. I hope that I may be more child-like in my approach to gratitude and see the gift in everything around me, especially those things that I may tend to take for granted.

Anniversaries

I have to admit I am so proud of my parents. They just celebrated 37 years of marriage a couple of days ago. They have 11 children, 7 children in-law and (almost) 25 grandchildren to show for it. Though Dad has always had a good job, they have never been "wealthy", mostly due to the number of children they chose to bring into the world. My adoring Mom stayed home with all 11 of us--no small feat I'm finding with my own 3. Daily I wonder "how did she do this X 3 1/2?" I know that alot of love and effort went into their parenting, but I'm also realizing as the years go by in my own marriage (I can't believe it will be 10 years in a couple of months since we got married!) that putting all that effort into your children is not enough. To truly have a successful family, you have to put just that much effort or more into your spouse, DAILY! This is so difficult, especially in today's world. Even when you can keep yourself from buying into the worldly ideas of success, it's so difficult to put as much blood, sweat and tears into family as my parents have and always will put into ours. What a tremendous blessing to have such parents. So to Mom and Dad (if you even read this blog) here's my anniversary wish for you: may each year you continue to nurture our family and each other bring as much happiness into each of your lives as you have brought into mine. I love you both so much!

Voting

I have to admit, I went and voted at 6:30 this morning. I didn't know when my husband was going to be home from work this evening, so it seemed only smart to get that done quickly and check it off my "to do" list. I'm so grateful to live in a country where I can have a say. I was trying to explain to my 4 year-old this morning how important it is for us to be able to be a part of choosing what our laws are and who our leaders are. What a responsibility and what a privilege. Sometimes I know I totally take it for granted that I can wear what I want to wear, marry who I want to marry, worship Who I want to worship, and really be who I want to be. Too many people in the world can't say that. And what's more, I look around at how well off I am, just because I live in America, and I'm grateful. I hope that I never lose sight of all the blessings I have because of where I was born.

Les Miserables the Movie

I have to admit I just now watched the Les Mis trailer for the film coming out on Christmas and I'm truly excited. I've seen Hugh Jackman in Oklahoma, but I've never watched the others in musicals, but I think they are tremendous actors and actresses espectially Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway. What a truly difficult part to play because it's been done so many times on stage with such amazing talent. How hard would it be to try to create this film that would be everything that you as the actors and actresses want and everything that the audience expects. How difficult! I'm confident they will deliver...Christmas is going to be good this year!

Pranks

I have to admit I'm such a mean mom sometimes with the pranks I play on my kids. They're not really mean (I hope) but I do like to jump out at my kids or just startle them when everyone's sitting quietly reading. I know! I'm terrible! I didn't realize how often I must do it until my son started trying to scare me about 2 months ago. He's not that sneaky, but he certainly tries to startle me whenever he can. He's only succeeded once, but I just know that he's got my mischevious side and will scare the daylights out of me some day soon when I'm not on my toes. I hope that it makes me giggle as much as it does when I do it to him. How terrible would it be if I was not as good sport as he is about it? I'll let you know how it goes when it happens.

Music for my Mood

I have to admit that when I feel like I need to blow off some steam or just vent some energy, I like to sing...LOUD! My kids probably don't appreciate having Phantom of the Opera or A Thousand Milesbelted as loud as I can sing, but it does the trick. My Mom used to say she knew what mood I was in by the music I played on the piano. I think that must still be true today. When I'm feeling extrememly happy with lots of energy, I play my favorite memorized songs as fast as my fingers can go. When I'm frustrated, I sing EXTREMELY LOUD. When I'm sad, I play melancholy, slow tunes. When I'm happy, I sing whatever. I don't have enough "frustrated" music though because I realized tonight that I was playing the same song over and over again. Hmmm...I'll have to fix that.

The Next Big Thing

I have to admit I was just thinking today about "the next big thing" and wondering what it will be. I've lived long enough to see so many "next big things" come out. I actually remember when we got Windows on our computer for the first time. I also remember the CD craze and the movement from tape decks and boomboxes to CD players and headphones and then again to mp3 players (mostly iPods) and the earbuds. I also remember the movement from VHS to DVDs. And then again when Blue Ray came out. And do we all remember when beepers were the next big thing? I chuckled to myself as I remember that it was the dream of every kid my age to have a beeper. Older siblings had them and it was "totally in" to have one. And now when I think about it, I realize that big craze is completely obsolete now. So here we sit with our cell phones, our flatscreens and our Nanos. We keep up with friends, acquaintances and enemies through Facebook, Twitter and any other means available to stalk them through the internet. And I sit here wondering what else is out there that will be "the next big thing"?

Cookie Dough

I have to admit, I am a sucker for cookie dough, but over the last several years, I have gotten sick everytime I try to eat the stuff. Naturally, I've stayed away from it. But the other day, I was browsing through pinterest when what should I behold but a recipe for EGGLESS chocolate chip cookie dough. So of course I had to try it. It was scrumptious! And I'm a bit embarrassed by the fact that I scarfed it down in less than 24 hours (I did have some help from the kids and my hubby). Oh well. What's life if you can't really endulge sometimes, right?

Potty Training Revisited

I have to admit I am ECSTATIC that one of my daughters is nearly potty trained. Yesterday in church she was giving a taletell sign that she needed to go potty, so my husband leaned over and told me he thought she must have a UTI. So when I looked and saw what she was doing, I rushed her out and she went potty--at CHURCH! It was awesome! She stayed dry all day without any accidents and so far so good today with no accidents. I was even daring enough to let you take her nap with a diaper today. (We'll see how that goes).  Unfortunately, not much luck with my other daughter. I know it will come in time. But hey, 1 out of 2? I'll take it...for now.

Bonking

I have to admit I totally bonked after I did a bike ride to today. I was totally fine when I got back and felt great, so--like and idiot--I didn't rehydrate and replenish nutrients the way you should after a hard workout. So about 2 1/2 hours after I got home, I slowly got weaker and weaker until...I hit the BONK! Now for those of you who have never reached this point, I'll try to explain it as best as I can. It comes when literally all your energy is gone. You can get up and move, but your muscles ache because the lactic acid is there and every time I stand, I start blacking out. You really just feel like you have to just sit because you can't to anything else. In fact, if there was anything that required less energy, you'd do it because sitting is just too exhausting. What's the quick solution for this? I'll tell you, a tall glass of juice. It's got a high sugar content that goes quickly to your bloodstream; just give it 5 minutes or so. Then, with your newfound energy, you must make a beeline for the kitchen and find something of substance so that when the sugar wears off, you have some real energy to replace it. So there you have it everyone, THE BONK! A word of advice, don't do the ridiculous like me and do this to yourself. It's NOT WORTH IT!!!!