Wordless Wednesday - Kitty and kids (AGAIN)

Knotts Berry Farm

When I took the kids to Disneyland last spring, even though a lot had changed since my last visit 12 years prior, the essence of the park was the same. It was nostalgia at its finest for me. So many of the attractions were exactly as I remembered them. Unfortunately, I did have the same experience when we went as a family to Knotts Berry Farm theme park last week, taking advantage of their Veterans promotion. What I always loved about Knotts was the rich history, especially since I was obsessed with Little House on the Prairie. I loved the Calico Mine Ride, the Log Ride, panning for gold and especially all the artifacts from the late 19th century, particularly the miniature replicas of the California missions. So imagine my dismay when we went looking for the missions, only to find out they had been removed to accommodate some massive new roller coaster. The Calico Mine ride was still there, but it was closed for repairs. You could still pan for gold, but it cost $7 a person.

The one thing they did still have that the kids absolutely loved was the log ride. It's kind of like Splash Mountain at Disney. We went on it twice.

The rest of our time was spent in Camp Snoopy where their was plenty of attractions that the kids were able to enjoy.

Airmail:

Planes:
Crossing the bridge:

The kids on their first solo roller coaster ride:

Snoopy Bus:

The truck ride (note Jake driving below:

The log pedaler, which I thought for sure they would think was too much work, but they loved it:

And of course NASCARs:

And here is Jadyn and I with Snoopy. Jake had no interest in meeting any of the characters:

And the kids very first ferris wheel ride:



Maybe it wasn't the same theme park from my childhood, but we still managed to have a great time.

Magoomba Monday #23

1) First things first, yes I have been MIA with my blog for over a week now and it wasn't planned nor for any real good reason. Life just got in the way and on the rare occasion I actually had time to sit down and blog, I simply didn't feel like it. Yes we have been busy - but I have been plenty more busy on many a week where I still managed to publish a post or two. I promise though, everything is fine.

2) This week, however is quite a big week. Thursday (technically Friday) at midnight I will be watching the much, much anticipated sequel to Twilight on the big screen. I have not followed all the hoopla associated with this movie quite as much but I am still very excited - this installment was my favorite from the series and it looks like they turned out a much better adaptation. I am currently re-reading New Moon right now to brush up before I see the movie.

3) Then of course on Friday morning, Jake is having his hernia repair surgery. I am starting to get nervous but I know everything will be fine. I sat down and explained what Jake could expect - that he was going to the doctor to have his belly button fixed, that they would help him sleep so he wouldn't feel it when they did it and that I would be there the moment he woke up. He is not all together excited about "sleeping at the doctors" but he does want to know what the surprise is that I promised him afterwards.

4) Last week was Veteran's Day of course and we celebrated by doing the one thing Joe absolutely loathes the most - we took family photos for our annual holiday card. Although our photo shoot was everything Joe feared it would be (kids not cooperating, over 200 photos snapped in various poses), my friend Rose from Beyer Life got some absolutely fabulous shots and I am super excited about how our card turned out. Let me just say, it has flavor.

5) Earlier in the week, we did get to do something a little more fun that was also at least in part, thanks to Joe's veteran status. We got to go to Knott's Berry Farm Amusement Park for FREE! It was our first time taking the kids and our first visit in about 12 years at least. More on this later.

6) Once again soccer season is over as quickly as it began. Jake had his end of the season party after his last game and then last Tuesday, the division wide awards ceremony. More on this later too.

7) It would appear that our Indian Summer has come to an end. We are usually warm through Halloween and this year, save for a short cold front back in October, the comfortable temps hung around a few weeks longer - and we are still averaging highs in the 60's. However, between the earlier nightfall and overnight lows, the evenings have been getting pretty chilly. Still wanting to spend time outdoors, Joe and his ingenious ideas found a way to give the kids Power Wheel vehicles, "headlights", which the kids of course got a major kick out of. Here they are going for an evening drive:

And enjoying themselves next to a cozy outdoor fire after doing several laps around the house:

Hope everyone has a great and productive start to their week!

Funny Nose Friday - Sometimes they make you cry

Yes, a Funny Nose made me cry yesterday and in front of other people no less (anyone who really knows me will realize the significance of that).

So I volunteered in Jake's Kindergarten class yesterday. During recess I overheard Mrs. B. tell Jake how wonderful he was at sharing his mommy with his classmates (and I would have to agree).

After recess, all the kids were sitting on the ABC rug in the classroom listening attentively as Mrs. B explained what task I would be helping individual kids with next when Jake raised his hand. When Mrs. B called on him he proceeded to ask, "Can I go give my mom a hug?" to which she quickly agreed.

As Jake eagerly dove into my waiting open arms, Mrs. B told him to hug me good and tight because this was something I would remember when I was a much older like her. And as I found myself unable to hold back the tears that pooled up in the corner of my eyes, I couldn't help but agree that I would cherish this moment for as long as I lived.

Menace II Society

Well I officially lost my Mommy of the Year award this last week and it wasn't even for endangering my own children. I have so much guilt over this that I almost just tried to sideswipe the whole issue and not blog about it but we all make mistakes, right?

So as I mentioned in the Halloween post, Jake came home from school last Thursday feeling "yucky". On Friday, when he woke up with a low grade fever, I decided I didn't want to chance anything since he hadn't been vaccinated with either flu vaccine (H1N1 or the regular Influenza). Since his ped's office was closed, I hauled him to urgent care and the doctor assured me he had an upper respiratory infection and to give him lots of fluids and wait it out. I requested that he be swabbed for flu and given Tami-Flu, just for peace of mind and the doctor basically gave in, I felt just to get me off his back.

So when Jake started feeling better that same afternoon, even before his first dose of Tami-Flu, I decided that I had indeed overreacted. He had no fever and said he felt fine, even before he realized what he would have been missing. Therefore, we proceeded to take him trunk-or-treating at his school. Then on Saturday, we let him play in his soccer game and that night we went trick-or-treating as well. The only activity we bypassed was going to my brother's house for their Halloween party.

By Sunday, Jake was fine save for a minor cough, which is his MO for most viruses but that night Jadyn woke up with a sore throat and crying that she didn't feel good. No real surprise that Jake had passed on his illness to her. Monday morning, Jadyn was laid up with a fever but Jake was more than ready to return to school.

So imagine my surprise when I get a phone call from the doctor at urgent care around 2pm Monday with Jake's test results, which were POSITIVE FOR H1N1. Oops. Actually that doesn't do it justice. Major oops!

Jadyn's fever broke later Monday evening but now knowing what we were dealing with, we kept her home from preschool and everything else for the past two days. Jake is no longer contagious, although if I would have known, or even thought that his swab was going to be positive, I would have kept him home all weekend and home from school on Monday too. I am usually the one to err on the side of caution when it comes to making sure my kids don't infect others.

So I am trying not to beat myself up over this. It was an honest mistake. However, I still feel kind of bad. The good news is that now we have it out of the way and it was rather mild (I highly recommend the Tami-Flu by the way). So far Joe and I (knock on wood) haven't exhibited any symptoms but I am starting to think when I was sick a few weeks ago, that I may have had it then. The symptoms were definitely similar.

And cold/flu season hasn't even officially began. It's going to be a LONG winter.

By the way - the picture of Jake and Jadyn from yesterday's Wordless Wednesday was taken Monday night. Jadyn was laying on top of Jake with her arms draped around him and they were being complete hams. That shot of them has instantly become a classic favorite in my book.

Working it Out Wednesday

Preparing for the holidays.

With Halloween over, holiday planning is in full swing. That does not mean I need to hear Christmas carols and see fully decorated trees in stores but I do like to plan ahead so I can enjoy a stress-free holiday season as much as possible.

Ever since having kids, I have been guilty of going overboard with Christmas and after last year, Joe and I decided that it was time for us (read: me) to tone it down a notch before the kids came to expect being spoiled every year. To help with that end, I am using a little saying that someone passed on to me via the April 2004 birth club on Baby Center. I just love it!

Each child will be receiving the following from Santa:

Something they want

Something they need

Something they wear

Something they read

I am hoping to start a tradition in the Funny Nose household based on this little diddy and now that the kids' lists to Santa have been made, I am going to serve as Santa's helper and start shopping for deals. FYI: I do not do Black Friday but I have found that A LOT of retailers do some great deals between Halloween and Thanksgiving so my goal is to be 75% done with ALL of our holiday shopping before Black Friday even hits.

And what I love most about those I have met through the kids' birth clubs and my blog, is that I am not alone in my constant need to plan ahead. However, Joe likes to point out that just because I can find people like me through the internet, it doesn't mean I am not crazy. It just means I can find people just as crazy as me. LOL! How is that for working it out?

Wordless Wednesday - Do they look like they are sick with H1N1?

In Character

As I have mentioned before in a previous post, our family has recently jumped on The Hogwarts Express and become devoted Harry Potter fans. Both Joe and I have read the entire series (Joe twice) and as a family, we have seen all the movies probably about 4 times each, if not more.

One of the ideas I tried to pimp for Halloween was to have the kids dress up like Harry and Hermione (you know how I like to coordinate)! I was even going to join in the fun by going as the Sorting Hat. However, my idea was rejected. So it was pretty ironic when only a week prior to Halloween, I found the kids running around the house using toy sticks as wands, waving them with a perfectly timed swish and flick and exclaiming, "Expecto Patronum!" To further get into character, Jake had put on his glasses and Jadyn was carrying around one of her stuffed animal cats who was acting as Hermione's cat Crookshanks. They then proceeded to use the linen closet as an elevator and very seriously told me of their plan to catch Malfoy.

Yes, they are definitely characters alright.

Tricks and Treats

It was a treat when Jadyn decided to be Princess Belle from Beauty and the Beast. First of all after wavering between several costumes last year, this year once she chose her costume she stuck with it. Second of all, out of all the Disney princesses, I felt she most resembles Belle because of her beautiful brunette hair.

However, the trick was getting her hair to actually look as good as Princess Belle. Not an easy task considering how uncoordinated I am doing other people's hair. I am the one that still does not know how to braid, let alone French braid so getting a poof/bun was not something I was looking forward to. A quick search of some hair blogs led me to this style and after two days of practicing and pulling poor Jadyn's hair every which way, I finally got it!

So here is Jadyn on Day One of Princess Belle for her preschool Halloween party - her third annual as she went to the last two years of Jake's preschool parties:

Here she is enjoying the party with her buddy Hayden and her friend Stephanie, both of whom have older brothers that were good friends of Jake when he was in preschool (Gavin and Chris):



It was a real trick helping Jake decide what he was going to be for Halloween this year. He scoffed at every suggestion I made, insisting that he only wanted to be Dale Jr. again, which is what he dressed up as last year. While most moms would be happy to save the time and money on getting him a new costume, I was secretly disappointed that he wanted to be the same thing over again.

So it was a real treat when I finally convinced him to dress up as something different. He was really interested in several characters from Star Wars, but I was afraid a mask would not go over so well so we finally decided on Anakin Skywalker.

Things go tricky again when on Thursday Jake came home from school declaring that he felt yucky. He then proceeded to fall asleep at 6:30pm that evening and not wake up until the following morning, something he has NEVER done. Sure enough, he was running a low grade fever and was not able to attend the final day of Red Ribbon Week at school, which was Pajama Day since the school district does not allow Halloween costumes at school.

But it was a real treat that while we felt for sure our Halloween weekend was ruined, Jake's temperature subsided by that afternoon and he was feeling much better. So much so, that we were still able to attend the first Annual Truck-or-Treat event at Jake's school. We participated by decorating our vehicle and passing out candy. I passed out the candy while Joe took the kids around to the other cars:

A personal favorite:

And after keeping things fairly low-key on Saturday and missing the chance to celebrate with cousins Madison and Ethan, we were still able to take the kids trick-or-treating on Saturday evening and they had a blast! The trick at this point was trying to keep up motivation to curl and manipulate Jadyn's hair for a third and final time.

It was a real treat to see my little girlie-girl INSIST on wearing her high heel Belle dress-up shoes for the entire trek around the neighborhood we take them to, even after Joe tried to convince her to wear tennis shoes on TWO separate occasions. I was so proud of her.

And it was also such a treat to see Jake, his usual sweet and thoughtful self, guiding his little sister up to each house and back to the car after they had trick-or-treated to their hearts content.

But the final treat, was seeing these two smiling, shining, happy faces as they hung off the monkey bars at the playground afterwards.

A perfect end to yet another great Halloween that was full of more treats than tricks

Wordless Wednesday - Posing at the Patch

Pick of the Patch

So as I mentioned we went to the pumpkin patch last week and I took a whooping 166 pictures to ensure that I got some good shots. I always view the pumpkin patch as two things - for one it is a great photo op for Halloween/fall time but also it is a great and fun experience and I wanted to capture both posed and candid photos of our trip this year. Hence the embarrassing number of photos. So many in fact, that I have to split the trip into THREE separate posts. Three of my favorite posed pictures were featured in my Wordless Wednesday pumpkin patch preview last week. Today I will focus on a narrative of our trip and all the fun activities we took part in and finally tomorrow, I will wrap up with some great photos of the kids individually. Phew!

Every year the Live Oak Canyon Tree Farm Pumpkin Patch does a unique and special display at the entrance, usually the best place to take posed pictures. Here is this year's:

I was determined to find a way to be some pictures, even though Joe was not with us. Sooo, I let each of the kids take a picture of me with the other one. That's right folks, Jake took this picture and it only required minor editing:

And Jadyn took this picture of me and Jake. I was so impressed that she didn't end up taking a picture of the ground, not to mention that by letting them take part in the picture taking, they were way more receptive to letting me take pictures of them:

The kidlets at the entrance:

While Jadyn still manages to keep a pretty natural smile (even though her eyes seem to wander), Jake on the other hand has started producing this new cheesy grin that he has invented. I had been warned that this would eventually happen:

Aunt Tawnya and cousins Madison and Ethan joined us at the patch and here is the whole group on top of the hay castle, a yearly tradition at the patch. It was sheer coincidence that Madison and Jadyn had on the same candy corn pants:

New this year was a giant corn maze. Here are 3 out of the 4 kids holding hands as they lead us through:

And Jake's excitement as he lets us know, "This way!"

Almost to the end. It was Ethan who finally found the way out:

Bouncy slides. The kids were told beforehand that we were limiting the rides to 2 each because a) to me that is not the point of the pumpkin patch and b) it gets expensive quick:

Here are all the kids running through the actual pumpkin patch:

And Jake and Jadyn's teamwork in lifting this big pumpkin up:

After Aunt Tawnya, Madison and Ethan left, the kids wanted to go on one more ride - a ride that in the 3 years prior Jake had been too scared to go on. Not this year:



Back around to the hay castle where Jake and Jadyn enjoyed jumping off over and over:

Then we made a stop at the petting zoo to feed and pet the goats, amongst other animals:


Towards the end, Jadyn started to get tired and she kept hugging and leaning on Jake. It was really cute:

It was here under the pumpkin tent where we finally made our purchases, including the two big pumpkins that we will be carving later this week:

So stay tuned folks and try to hang in there. One more day of pumpkin patch pics before I put this one to bed. And I have to say that this was the best year ever as far as getting good pictures AND having fun. The kids had an absolute blast, even though Daddy's presence was definitely missed.

Magoomba Monday #22

1) Jake's hernia repair surgery has been rescheduled for November 20th due to a conflict in the doctors lecture schedule. This is both good and bad news. The good news is that I no longer have to worry about him having surgery on Friday the 13th. The bad news is I will be out late the night prior to his surgery as that is the night of the midnight release of the Twilight Saga: New Moon (and yes tickets have already been purchased). I decided that even though I will be tired the next day, this is really good news too because it will be something to keep me distracted from unnecessarily worrying. Plus, Jake will have that whole next week off from school for Thanksgiving break, even though the doctor assured us he wouldn't need the extra downtime. So in the end, I think it is good news all around.

2) Speaking of New Moon, a couple of you had asked about the soundtrack from the movie and yes, I finally did pick it up. Although I wasn't not initially impressed, there are some tunes that I really like including Death Cab for Cutie's Meet Me on the Equinox, Band of Skull's Friends, The Killers White Demon Love Song and of course, Muse's I Belong to You. I still favor Stephenie Meyer's personal playlist for the book, which you can view and listen to here, but I understand what they were trying to do with the soundtrack and it is growing on me.

3) Last Monday we went to the pumpkin patch and I took a total of 166 photos to ensure that I got some really great shots. There will be a separate post with major pic overload forthcoming.

4) Tuesday, Jake's school had their annual "Lunch on the Lawn" event for the kindergarten class in which parents are invited to come join their students to eat lunch in the quad. Jake and I had quite a nice little picnic lunch with a few of his friends and their parents. It was a very nice relaxing time in which Jake and I got to spend special one-on-one time:

5) Jadyn and I on the other hand get plenty of one-on-one when Jake is at school and I took some of that time to get what I consider to be a classic shot of Jadyn posing with her baby pumpkins from the patch:

Jadyn has these funny little quirks like for instance, with this one particular baby pumpkin. I have them sitting out on our kitchen cart as decoration and every time I turn around it is gone. She keeps hiding it in our bedroom closet. When I asked her about it she explained that the baby pumpkin has pretending baby pumpkin friends in the closet that she wanted to be with. I really can't argue with that can I?

In other Jadyn news, this week she started coloring, and I mean really coloring. I sat down with her one day and showed her how I would go about coloring a princess and she took note and followed my lead. Now she is obsessed with coloring full pictures and not only does she stay within the lights pretty well but she has an eye for detail. Growing up I was never particularly artsy but I did love to color and particularly girls in pretty dresses because I loved to come up with color schemes for their outfits. I think that is a pretty evident part of my personality even now as an adult as I love to coordinate colors so it makes it even more special to me that Jadyn has apparently picked that up from me.

6) I just wanted to be clear that no, Joe has not fallen off the edge of the earth. He has however, been very busy between work and school. Last week he clocked in 40 hours by Tuesday (being called in both Saturday and Sunday of last weekend) hence the reason he was not able to go rock scrambling or to the pumpkin patch with us. On top of that he is nearing the end of his second session at school and has a 10 page term paper due this week. I am so proud of him for taking classes so he can earn his degree. Go Joe!

7) Saturday Jake had a soccer game and Grandpa Bob and Grandma Anne made the trek to come watch him play. He scored 2 goals and had an awesome assist during the game and when he was playing defense, I got some decent action shots, which will also be forthcoming. After the game we enjoyed a nice breakfast out with the grandparents and Jake was so excited that they were able to come see him play.

In other Jake news, he has decided that when soccer is over he wants to try and play basketball. While I played both soccer and softball growing up and Joe was big into baseball, neither of us play or watch basketball so this should be interesting. Not to mention the fact that Jake's physique does not really lend itself to the sport but, it is a nice gap filler between soccer and baseball season and Jake really likes to stay active and seems to love a variety of sports so we will just have to see how it goes. We might just be surprised.

Busy week ahead with Red Ribbon Week at Jake's school and plenty of spook-tacular Halloween activities planned. So I hope everyone's week is off to a wonderful and productive start!

Wordless Wednesday - Pumpkin Patch Preview

Rock scrambling at Indian Cove

One of the biggest reasons the Morongo basin has grown on me is the fact that Joshua Tree is in our backyard. We may have to drive an hour to get to the nearest Target, but who else can be in national park in less than 10 minutes?

And after a wonderful spring in which we went on numerous trails to view the wildflower blooms, I am determined to take advantage of the mild fall weather with more hikes and short trips like the one we took this last Sunday to the Indian Cove area of the park. After Jake and Jadyn spent a good amount of time at the beach this summer climbing the rock jetties, we knew that taking the kids rock scrambling would be a big hit. They even confessed that they had more fun climbing up, over and through the rocks than if we took them to a playground or back to the carnival.

Before I get to the pictures, the following two observations:

1) Being surrounded by nature's unspoiled beauty, I couldn't help but think that this is all I need. For me personally, this is my church:

2) It's pretty ironic that I took the camera with me having every intention to get more candid photos of the kids, only to have them pose every time they climbed a new rock, even exclaiming "Look at me Mom, take my picture!"

On the way to take the kids to school this morning I heard a very interesting fact that makes today's post even more appropriate; this month marks the 15th anniversary since Joshua Tree National Park was created by the California Desert Protection Act passed by Congress in 1994.

And completely unrelated but I would remiss not to mention it; as of today the official countdown begins. Only 30 more days until The Twilight Saga: New Moon hits theaters on November 20th. Can you tell I am excited?

Pioneer Days

We finally decided to stop being snobs and participate in this year's local Pioneer Day festivities. I guess after living here for 6+ years, it's about time we start considering this our home. Last year the weekend of Pioneer Days, we went out of town to go apple picking. We did not have the greatest experience but I was initially willing to try one more time again this year because I think it could be a fun and educational experience. Mother nature had other plans however, as an early spring frost severely limited the apple picking season so it really wasn't a feasible option.

We kicked off Pioneer Days on Thursday by visiting the carnival for 25 cent ride night - the only night we were willing to go to the carnival because otherwise those rides are a complete ripoff. Jake was not only able to enjoy several rides but we ran into his buddy Sam from school, so he was able to enjoy them with a good friend. Unfortunately, Jadyn was only tall enough to go on the carousel. I would have to say she was a pretty good sport about it. Joe took her over to the playground so she could play while I helped Jake blow through his gaggle of ride tickets.

Here is Jake and I going down the slide. I had to go down with him TWICE before he would brave the slide without me:

Jake and Sam on the motorcycles. This was his favorite:

Jake and Sam on the dragon roller coaster. For some reason Jake wasn't the least bit scared to go on this one:

And Jadyn giving Daddy a pageant wave from her horsey:

On Saturday morning, we went out to support our local firefighters by attending their annual pancake breakfast at the firehouse. This was for me anyway, the highlight of the Pioneer Days weekend because it was kind of neat to eat at the firehouse for one, and two I never allow myself to eat pancakes with real butter and syrup. They were yummy and the kids and Joe enjoyed it as well. Here is Jake and Jadyn in front of the one of the firetrucks before leaving:

Finally we headed over to city hall to watch the parade. Hard to believe but this is the first time I have taken the kids to a parade. I have been a little spoiled in this department, having gone to the Rose Parade several times while growing up. So while our little town parade cannot quite compete with the Tournament of Roses, the kids seemed to enjoy the marching band, tanks from the base, horses and a few little floats. Here they are (again with Jake's buddy Sam) watching the parade:

Jadyn dancing to the music:

Kicking back for the show:

One of the floats:

Jake dancing around with Sam:

They are quite chummy and thankfully too since they go to school, play t-ball and soccer together:

So all in all it was a pretty good time and I am pretty sure that the 25 cent carnival ride night and pancake breakfast will become part of our fall traditions. Because after all, that is what Pioneer days is all about - celebrating those that came here before us and starting traditions. While many people may wonder what would possess someone to settle in such a hostile desert environment, after 6 years of living here, I am starting to get it. And one of the biggest reasons why this place has grown on me will be the subject of my next post.

Chase for the Cup

So as I have mentioned Joe won tickets for us to go see the practice and qualifying for the Pepsi 500 at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. It's so exciting to have the Chase for the Cup come here to the west coast! Our whole family is NASCAR fans but we have been reluctant to try and go to an actual race because a) the cost, especially since the kids each need their own ticket and b) we are not sure the kids (especially Jadyn, but even superfan Jake) would actually enjoy sitting through an entire race. However, going to see them practice is a whole other story.

The minute we pull into the parking lot and hear the telltale signs of cars racing around the track at high speeds, my adrenaline starts pumping. There is just nothing more exciting then that sound. When you actually get into the stands, the deafening buzz as the cars zoom past is second to none.

It is kind of ironic that Jake is so into this sport, being that he has an aversion to loud noises. But as soon as you put those ear plugs in, he is happy as a clam and good to go. The look on his face as he watches those cars and rattles off the name and number of all the more well-known drivers is simply priceless.

Here is Jake and the kids in the stands:

Some of Jake's favorites as they make their way to the pits -

Jake and I leaving the stands:

But as much as we enjoy it, after awhile it does get old. And that is when we take a stroll through the various vendors set up behind the stands at Opportunity California FanZone. This is every race fan's dream come true with NASCAR merchandise galore, freebies and contests, as well as some pretty cool little toys like these super fun remote control vehicles, which we spent a good amount of time watching:

Pretty cool that is until you start to look at their $1000+ price tags. Ouch!

Once we were done at the track, we hopped on over to Ontario Mills mall for some shopping, a delightful dinner at the Rainforest Cafe, which the kids really enjoyed and capped off with a trip to the Lego Factory Store. What happens when you set two children and one big-kid Daddy free in this store is a marathon build and shop-a-thon. I think Legos are such a wonderful toy. They inspire creativity and imagination as well as utilizing critical thinking skills and I am so glad that Joe's love of Legos has rubbed off on not only Jake, but Jadyn as well. As everyone saw from the Wordless Wednesday picture, we have quite the collection of Legos, especially when you combine Joe's sets from growing up, our existing sets and the purchases from our trip on Friday (which were Joe's, yes Joe's birthday gifts by HIS choice). Yes, our cup runneth over.

Working it Out Wednesday

An update on working out.

I was sick last week so I only walked once but the general consensus from the week priors post was that I need to add strength training. I had many good recommendations but then I remembered that I had purchased the "Abs Diet for Women" workout last winter and couldn't do it because it aggravated my back too much. I attempted it again last week with much more success and I would highly recommend this DVD. Here is what I love about it - the focus is on building a stronger core but it is a VERY well-rounded workout and you can pick and choose the segments you want when you are short on time. It has a warm up, two ab circuits, a cardio interval, total body strength training circuit, pilates a yoga cool down. While my main goal is to add 2 to 3 days of the abs and total body strength training (requiring a mat and 3 or 5 pound weights), the cardio interval is a great compliment for the days I don't do the walking/running intervals and she even says that you only have to do it a minimum of once a week IF you are doing other cardio on your own. The instructor is informative and not overly annoying the way most are - she reminds you to breath and focus on proper form and of course they have someone doing a modified beginner version if you need it. I am in love with circuit combo strength training! Talk about multi-tasking. Anyway, I don't know how this DVD workout compares to say Jillian Michael's 30 Day shred but I think this is exactly what I needed. It is challenging but very manageable and I know I have made progress because I do the entire workout with exception to the back extension twists and it doesn't aggravate my back. I also love that I can still do pilates and yoga (although admittedly I skipped the pilates because my muscles were pretty fatigued between the cardio and strength training.). One last comment - the yoga cool down does assume you are already familiar with basic yoga poses. She doesn't take the time to talk about positioning and proper form, which fortunately works for me since I have taken classes before.

As for my personal goal of losing a few more pounds, the scale finally became my friend when it showed me 2 pounds down AND all of my jeans from last fall/winter still fit (albeit some slightly more snug) EVEN my size 6 jeans from Old Navy so I think I was just stressing over nothing (gee, like I have never done that before).

The calorie counting was pretty eye-opening too as I found out that their are many days I eat just at or more than my allowance of calories even when you subtract the calories burned from working out. I think that part of that comes from South Beach, which does allow a lot of calorie dense foods like peanut butter and nuts, eggs and lean meats. I think I just need to find the right balance of eating the RIGHT carbs, cutting back on sugar and watching my overall calorie intake but I still refuse to count calories long term or diet.

So that's the latest on my quest to be the best me I can. While I definitely feel like I am headed in the right direction, I am certainly still trying to work it out.

Wordless Wednesday - Invasion of the Legos

Magoomba #21

I am not even going to pretend that I tried to do a blog post on Monday, especially considering it was a holiday Monday and Jake had the day off from school. Now, I am going to see exactly how random I can be:

1) What is everyone's problem with sweats? I know there is this stereotypical picture of the frazzled moms with baggy sweats and unkempt hair dropping their youngsters off at daycare or school but that doesn't mean sweats cannot be a sensible part of a stylish mom's wardrobe. I consider myself a fairly stylish mom but when I am headed straight to the park to sweat it out on the track for 3 miles then yes, you are going to find me in sweats or gaucho pants with a t-shirt when I drop off Jake at school. So what?

2) The cats are right now as we speak, at the vet's office getting their final set of shots and being fixed. I can't wait until this afternoon when we get to pick them up. Groggy and recovering kitties are always entertaining to watch. And no, I am not all evil. I do sympathize with them.

3) I dodged a bullet - for now. I woke up yesterday with pain and swelling in the back right side of my mouth. When I woke up this morning and it wasn't gone, all these worst case scenarios started swirling around (because that is what I do). I could just hear the oral surgeon who just 4 months ago could not give me a compelling reason to have my impacted wisdom teeth taken out saying, "I told you so". Luckily, a quick trip to the dentist confirmed that I simply chewed up my cheek and gum in my sleep (sorry for the TMI, I know it is gross). Unfortunately, it is most likely caused from the position of my wisdom teeth so I now have my compelling reason. This has always been a big fear of mine, hence why it has not already been taken care of. I am now looking at having it done after the first of the year. Fun times!

4) I cannot thank everyone enough for all the supportive comments and thought-provoking conversations that resulted from my post about faith and religion. I will be sure to keep everyone updated.

5) At the dinner table last week, Jake was skipping numbers (aka counting by 2s, 5s, 10s, etc). Joking around, Joe asked him if he could skip by 6s and to our utter astonishment Jake looked at us and without so much as a blink of his eye rattled off the numbers 6, 12, 18, 24 and 30. With a little more thought he continued to "skip" by 6's all the way to 100! Jake definitely has a way with numbers and we have to give credit to his Stars Wars Leapster game for helping us realize this.

7) Speaking of dinner, I am really trying to find some new quick and easy or make ahead/crockpot type recipes. Yesterday we made chicken and dumplings in the crockpot. It was okay, definitely needs some modification for next time. I would recommend less biscuit dough in smaller pieces, adding veggies and maybe a few more spices. it is SUPER simple though. Here is the recipe for those interested (read the comments for suggested modifications)

8) Jadyn's newest saying is "cute as pie". I think she means "cutie pie" but she will go up to the cats and squeeze and hug and love on them and say, "oh, you are as cute as pie".

9) Last week we were all down with a cold, but we were all feeling better enough to make it to Fontana for the Nascar practice/qualifying on Friday, Jake's picture day and soccer game Saturday and a trip to the Living Desert on Monday (pics to come). Right now I am trying to figure out when we can go apple picking and make a visit to the pumpkin patch. Until then, here is a sneak peek of the kids in their Halloween outfits:

I hope everyone is having a wonderful and productive week!

Gotta have Faith

Thanks to Lindsay's Crawford House for her post about faith. It finally gave me the courage to publish this post that I wrote 4 months ago.

This is a subject that has been on my mind a lot lately and there have been numerous occasions where I have contemplated blogging about it but since it is a touchy subject usually avoided in diverse arenas such as this, I have up until this point not talked about it. However, in the end I must remember that first and foremost this blog is for my children and I would want them to know exactly where I was at this point in my life and theirs. I also have faith that even though the subject is sensitive and people who read this will have a multitude of views regarding it, that in the end we can have a civil and respectful discussion about it without judging or critcizing others beliefs. The subject I am speaking of is religion. Now I am sure at some point or another during this post I will probably inadvertantly manage to offend each and every one of you and please do not try and take it personally. I don't mean to and you can chalk it up to my general ignorance from a lack of true personal experience with religion. That's right folks. You heard me correctly. I am not a religious person.

My Mom comes from a Luthern home, although I do not believe she grew up going to church every Sunday. My Dad comes from a Catholic home and although I do not know for certain how often he went to church, I do know that my Grandmother attends service regularly and always has as far as I can remember. That said, as a family we never attended church. Growing up I would go to catholic serve with my Grandmother and I loved it. I had a children's bible she gave me as a gift and I read the stories from there on a regular basis. As I got to be a pre-teen, the need for religion in my life waned until in junior high school I began attending a youth group and Sunday service at a Baptist church on my own, but to be honest my main motivation was to get closer to a boy I liked whose house was right next store to the church. That is not to say however, that I didn't take anything away from the time I spent at that church and to be honest what I remember most was how judgemental they were of people who did not beleive exactly the way they did. They carried an air about them that they were better than people of other relgiious beliefs and while I certainly understand that it very well may have been that particular church and NOT the Baptist denomination, it has definitely stuck with me.

Once I got my driver's license, I decided to try out a couple churches on my own, namely luthern since I was familiar with the catholic faith my father had been raised into, I felt it only fair to give my Mom's family religion a fair chance but I never really felt comfortable at any of the services I attended. In college I took a world religion course as well as a followup course focusing on Western religions. I found the study of religion academically to be fascinating and philisophically speaking I felt most comfortable with the Buddhist religion but I still never found a religion that fit with what I already believed nor did I find anything compelling enough to make me want to change those beliefs. I also studied atheism and found that just like I was not willing to take that leap of faith with any of the religions I studied, I was also not willing to believe with any certainity that God did not exist because that is exactly what atheists do. I therefore labeled myself agnostic, which is what I have considered myself from the time I was 21. I do not know if God exists and question whether or not there is any way to ever truly know. There, I said it. The one thing I am most afraid to tell people and now here it is on blog for friends, family and strangers alike to read. Makes me feel pretty vulnerable honestly because for those who hold so dearly to their faith, I honestly am afraid of how they will think of me now. Then again it is also pretty liberating to just come out and say it because this is who I am. Amongst my good friends I count a studying Jehovah's Witness, Mormons, Catholics and Non-Denominational Christians. I respect their beliefs and I would hope that others would not think less of me for what I believe.

Just because I am not religious does not make me a bad person. One of the most powerful statements the pastor made at my Dad's funeral was about the fact that he did not regularly attend church. He said, to paraphrase, that some people can attend church on Sunday and then think nothing of stabbing a co-worker on the back Monday morning. Going to church does not automatically make you a better or more religious (spiritual) person. And that is how I feel about my life. Even though I don't know what I believe, I still try to lead a moral and just life. I still make mistakes and I still fall but I also think if there is a God, would he approve of this or that. If there is a heaven, I want to know I led a life deserving of being there and also believe that God would not hold it against me that I may not have gone to church on Sundays or even that I questioned his existence. Because I try every day to be a good person. And just for clarification, I want to add that most of the family and friends I know take their religion very seriously and they carry it with them beyond Sunday service into their everyday life. The above example was speaking about someone who thinks that they can just do whatever they want with their lives and that attending a church service once a week makes it all okay.

Joe, who was also raised Catholic but did not attend church regularly as a teen or young adult, believes similarly to me but we also knew when we had kids that the subject would have to be reevaluated because we both want to expose our children to religion. And that brings me to the reason why the subject has been on my mind lately, because we are at that point in the children's lives were we think they are ready for that exposure. Not only that, they are craving it and starting to ask questions. Most notably, Jake had been taught to say a prayer before snack time at his public preschool. I have no qualms about this. In fact, I rather like that he was taught to be respectful, take pause and be thankful for all that he has. Well, about 3 or 4 months ago, he started wanting to say the prayer before dinner and before you know it, we as a family are all now praying before dinnertime. Again, this is not anything I am opposed to but it is obviously time to start making some decisions about exactly what religion/denomination we want to expose the children to, to what extent and what it means for our personal beliefs. This is a big decision with a lot of implications and I don't want to make a mistake.

And so I have been doing a lot of reading and talking to all of my friends about their various beliefs and I am about to start "church shopping" based on all of my research. My goal is to find a something that is a good match for our family. I need to feel completely comfortable with what I am going to expose my kids to with the understanding that they will be able to make up their own minds when they get older. Ultimately, it would be great if I found something that changed my mind, something that spoke to me in such a way that I was willing to give up my undecided and "we have no way of knowing" label but so far that search has honestly been disheartening and disappointing. I am trying with every fiber of my being to be open-minded.

And so in the end I have to have faith. Faith that that the right decision will make its way to me, no matter what that decision may entail - a life change? Maybe. Taking the road less traveled? Possibly.

You just never know. Spoken like a true agnostic.