The "Animal"

How many parents out there have nicknames for your child(ren)?  Now, I'm not talking about the nicknames like Sue from Susan or Pete from Peter!  I am talking about those nicknames that a child gets because of the way they are!  For instance, I believe I was called 'Wreck-a-Bek' when I was a kid.  Who knows the real meaning of that and I never wanted to find out.  Anyway, nicknames... 

Which will bring me to my story about a certain little boy, name M-A-I-S-O-N or as he's known often around me, the 'Animal'.  Which will be nickname #1 for him.  As you read you will find that he has more than one.  Now, some of you may think that's harsh and if so then you have never raised boys and if you have raised boys, never one like mine.  

Boys are supposed to be more active than girls, yes, that is true.  Let me ask you a question.  Have any of you had to keep a baby gate up at the bathroom door so a little person won't go in there and make a mess of it?  When I say make a mess, I mean destroy.  Nickname #2 - the 'Destroyer'.

We recently went to visit friends of ours that also have a 2 year boy.  When they introduced him to us, they called him the 'BEAST'.  Now, I didn't feel so bad calling ours the 'Animal'.  So, the Animal and the Beast were introduced and it was double the terrible 2's!  A lot of tantrums and a lot of NO's!! 

There have been times when I have had to carry him like a football in the mall just so we could leave.  Do I believe in spanking?  Yes, I am a Mom that spanks.  So, yes, I spanked him in the mall, but nothing was working.  So this brings me to my nickname #3 for Maison and that is 'The Holy Terror'.  

Despite all the ranting I am doing about this little animal of mine, he tends to always bring joy to my heart and makes me laugh.  Although he tells me NO when I try to give him kisses and hugs, he smiles and laughs when I sneak one on his cheek!  Even though he gets an attitude, says NO, and crosses his arms, I can't be mad.  Instead I pray, pray, pray that he will grow out of it very, very, very soon!  His Mommy and Daddy are tired of the little attitude.

As I am writing this, he is fast asleep in his room.  It is peaceful right at this very moment, but soon the 'Animal' will awake and it will start all over again.  Bring it, I am ready!!  

I know this moment will not last forever.  Someday my little Animal will turn into a man and I hope one day he can enjoy a little 'Animal' of his own!!  

Get Up, Get Moving, and Get Out There!!

So, up to now, I have been pretty quiet on the blogger scene, but I feel like it is time for me to get back on here and share what I have been up to these past few months.

Back in March, I turned 35 and I was unhappy with the way I looked.  You know that feeling when a camera is around and you do everything you can to avoid being in the picture?  Yeah, that was me.  I would rather take the pictures than be in them.  So, I decided to get myself back on track and start doing that app I heard people talk about, Couch to 5K.  

After I got a little more comfortable with the way I looked I wanted to start doing some 5K's here and there.

The very first one I did was the Glow Run 2013!  First of all, the group I went with fibbed to me and told me that we were going to be walking, NOT running!  Secondly, it was at night, so when the group I was with started running without giving me any notice at all, nobody could see the pain and agony in my face!  So, I guess night races have their perks after all and it's not just the deliciously cold beer waiting for you at the end of the line.  It does help you get to the finish line a lot faster though, but anyway, I am getting off topic...  Needless to say, after no warning of running and no stretching beforehand, I was sore the next day or so.  Yikes!!  I felt so old!  

I actually started doing the Couch to 5K app a few months after this painful, yet motivational race.  

My best time ever and have not been able to beat yet was with my sister.  We did another Glow Run - June 2014.  She runs all the time and recently did a Triathlon, so I was a little intimidated to run with her.  She got me through it though.  She encouraged me with a little push to get me across that finish line.  Although, I might add that this was also a night race, but little perks at the end (no beer), just a banana and a bottled water.  So, chances of me doing this one again is slim to none.

Onto another race, I think this was the Royal Ball Run for Autism - June 2014 and this time I talked my 11 year old son, Peter to run it with me.  Now, remember I asked him to run it "with" me.  The reason I remind you of that is because he did NOT run it with me.  He left me in the dust, literally!  I couldn't find him, he was that far ahead of me.  He did it 5 minutes faster than I did.  He was at the finish line passing out waters to runners crossing the finish line.  

The next 5K my son and I wanted to do was the Firecracker Run - July 4th, 2014.  I learned my lesson from last time though and decided to have a friend run with me this time, since my son loves having me pay for his runs, but never actually likes to run with me!  He's a really nice kid.  I wasn't worried this time though because I had a running buddy with me this time and she wasn't going to leave me in the dust, right?  Wrong.  Again, my son passed the finish line before me and so did my runny buddy.  Did I give up on 5K's?  No I didn't!!

The last 5K my son and I did "together".  I use the word "together" loosely since we always start out "together' but he always winds up sprinting ahead of me and we are no longer "together".  Anyway, it was the Freedom 5K - August 2014.  This time I learned my lesson though.  No running buddy and no son to run with.  I was now going to solely depend on my new friend Pandora to give me the push and motivation I needed to get me across that finish line!  Thanks to Pitbull and Usher and many more on getting me there!  His time was quicker than mine as usual, but it still felt good to do something with my son.

So, I want to tell everyone reading this, you can do it!  If I can do it, so can you!  Dust off those sneakers, find a good sports bra that fits (cause you want those girls in there tight when you are running in public), and last, but not least, make time for yourself.  

I will start sharing my fitness routines with you and tell you what works for me.  I also feel like I should share with you the people that inspired me to get into shape, but I will still share stories about my kids and family life because that's still #1!  

I want to encourage people to GET UP, GET MOVING, and GET OUT THERE!!

What are you waiting for??  

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

How long has it been?  Way too long I think!  Absence makes the heart grow fonder right?  

Well, here is a little update on my crew:

My kids are growing up way too fast!  Peter is 10 years old, 5th grade, and he claims he is a "pre-teen".  Who ever came up with that word ought to be slapped!!  He just finished basketball and now taking a break from sports to do some sledding down some slopes this winter.  

Abigail is 4 years old, home schooled in pre-k, and loves to pretend she is a little Mommy!  She has started taking tumbling and loving every minute of it!  She sleeps pretty good those nights.

Maison is 20 months old already and DESTROYS everything!  Now, when I say destroys, I mean, completely wrecks everything.  I have never had to put baby gates up like I do with him to keep him out of things.  Although he has the cutest little smile that just warms my heart that I can't help but hug him - even if he just pulled everything out of the bathroom drawers!  

Maison

Peter - 10, Maison - 20 months, Abigail - 4

Peter, Abigail, and Maison

Happy New Year!!

The men in my life

It has been awhile since I have posted anything, but I thought since it was Father's Day yesterday I would write a little something about the special men in my life.

1 - my father - he has been there since I was born, the good, the bad, you name it.  I have fond memories of laying under one of the cars he was working on and checking it out.  I also remember following him with my hands in his back pocket too.  Now, that I am older, I look forward to our little talks.  He is a good father and a grandfather and I am thankful he is in my life.

2 - my husband - the 2nd man that came into my life.  Right away he was a step dad and he didn't care.  He treated Peter like his own and for that I love him.  We have had our ups and downs, but through it all, I am so proud of the husband and father he has become.  

I found this poem and I thought it was fitting for the special men in my life and for all the other Dads out there:

Only a Dad

BY EDGAR ALBERT GUEST

Only a dad, with a tired face,

Coming home from the daily race,

Bringing little of gold or fame,

To show how well he has played the game,

But glad in his heart that his own rejoice

To see him come, and to hear his voice.

Only a dad, with a brood of four,

One of ten million men or more.

Plodding along in the daily strife,

Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,

With never a whimper of pain or hate,

For the sake of those who at home await.

Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,

Merely one of the surging crowd

Toiling, striving from day to day,

Facing whatever may come his way,

Silent, whenever the harsh condemn,

And bearing it all for the love of them.

Only a dad, but he gives his all

To smooth the way for his children small,

Doing, with courage stern and grim,

The deeds that his father did for him.

This is the line that for him I pen,

Only a dad, but the best of men.

So, in closing, I hope all the fathers, biological and step, and grandfathers had a great day enjoying time together with family!  

There is no 'I' in Team...

Well, I haven't posted anything in awhile, but this was definitely blog worthy!  First, I must warn you, there are a lot of pictures.  Second, they are mostly of Peter playing ball, and third, I can only take credit for the team picture.  The other pictures were taken by my Uncle Mike with his really great camera!  

So, after years of being on different little league teams, he finally landed a good team!  All the kids get a long, play well together, and have been making the parents really proud of all their hard work!  

Now, I have to tell you because I think it is funny.  Who is your worst critic?  You, right?  Well, that's what Peter was doing to his pictures and noticed that he looked a little constipated while he was pitching!  It is also from the mouth of a 10 year old! 

Here is Peter's #1 fan!  So happy to be outside! 

The weekend was filled with 5 games.  The boys had 2 on Saturday and 3 on Sunday!  They did awesome! They ended up getting 1st place in the mid season tournament!  So proud of the team and the coaches!!  

It was a long weekend in the sun, swatting away gnats, and not so healthy concession eating, but it paid off and the boys took home a nice medal!!  

Let the demo begin...

Ok, so my husband and I decided it was finally time to do some remodeling on our home.  My husband has been helping friends and family with their renovations and is finally able to get to ours!  I am super excited about this, but not so excited at how our house looks presently.  Our kitchen is all a mess, our hallway is down to the plywood, we have the dining room table and chairs in the living room, and everything from the kitchen cabinets is also in the living room.  Yes, it has put our normal routine out of whack, but the final outcome will be amazing!

What are we doing to our home you ask?  Well, we are taking the creamy white carpet up in the living room, hallway, and stairs and putting wood laminate down there.  We are also pulling up the flooring in the kitchen and doing the wood laminate out there as well.  Now, when I say "we" in my post here, I am not trying to make you think that I am doing any of the renovations.  I just want to make that clear right now.  I am not going to take any of the credit.  I am giving it ALL to my wonderful husband!  

Day 1 - ripped up carpet and trim in the hallway.

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Day 2 - ripped out the 4 layers of flooring in the kitchen /dining room .

The next step is to pull out the rest of the stuff in the cabinets.  It is also a good time to decide to decide if I want to keep or throw away anything I haven't used or forgot that I had!  The items that get pushed way back in the cabinets and you don't miss them, probably are the items that should just be tossed!

Well, today I have the toughest job of all - deciding on which color I want to paint the cabinets in the kitchen!  Reza doesn't care.  The only things he cares about is that I make the decision soon (TODAY) because the flooring can't go in until we paint!

Cheese + crackers = 2nds please

I currently found a recipe for homemade cheese crackers and wanted to try them since, 1) the recipe didn't call for an off the wall ingredient that I was going to have to buy this 1 time and never use again, 2) easy to make, and 3) I was in the mood for Cheeze Its!  As most of you know most of the recipes I find, make, and eventually post are from Pinterest!  So, here is another one of my Pinterest finds, Homemade Cheese Crackers.

In they go!

The recipe only called for flour, milk, cheese, salt, butter (I used unsalted butter since I was already adding salt), and crushed red pepper flakes.  

Out they come!  My house smelled like cheese!  I tried them on all my kids, husband, and my Mom.  Thumbs up from all of them!  I will definitely make them again.  Next time I will roll them out a little thinner so I get more crackers.  These were gone in a day!  

The 2 things I will probably do differently with them next time is to roll them out thinner and do half whole wheat flour and half regular flour.  Other than that, they were yummy!!

Oh, I almost forgot to leave you the recipe:  go to this yummy site and make them today!