My little ladies man

The other day after gymnastics, Nahshon let out a big, frustrated sigh and said, "Brielle wants to be in love with me, but I was already standing next to Addison! Ugh!"  Oh dear, Nahshon, what ever will you do?!?

The Paradoxical Commandments
by Dr. Kent M. Keith


People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

how DID I do it?

That is the question of the evening.

Tonight Gennavieve, Elijah, Isabella, and Issac are all off on an adventure with grandma, at the pond. (that means my four oldest kids, my helpers, are gone)  Tonight I'm home with four kids aged 4 and under, and it's been............. challenging.  As I'm settling Abby, Nahshon and Micaiah seem to have found donuts in the kitchen.  While dealing with the donut issue, Noah has helped himself to 600 pieces of construction paper.  In the middle of cleaning up the construction paper I suddenly remember we own a dog, who has been sitting quietly in her kennel for....... crap, five hours! (quietly, that is, until I remembered she was there, then suddenly started barking like a mad man; not that I blame her of course)  Take the dog out, get her fresh food and water, and Abby wakes up and screams. And round and round we went all night.

Beyond frustrated, I kept asking myself what was so different tonight than what life was like not all that long ago when Genna, Elijah, and Bella were three under three?  Well, there is the obvious of the fact that tonight there are 4 kids.  We didn't own a dog back then.  We lived in a slightly smaller home (an apartment), that had baby gates. Baby gates = no access to the kitchen! (sadly, that doesn't really work in this house)  Genna, Lij, and Bell were nothing like my little guys are now; daredevil, base-jumping, crazy climbing, body-slamming, monkeys! As I was trying to make a quiche for breakfast tomorrow, I remembered that I didn't cook back then.  Of course I cooked a bit (spaghetti anyone?), but nothing like I cook now.  I also never baked. We had less stuff (kind of goes hand in hand with having less kids), and I didn't have my husband trying to build a business in my dining room.

If my other group of kids had been here, Genna would have taken care of the dog, Bella's super sugar sniffer would have found out Nahsh and Cai the moment they got the donuts out and she would have cut them up into small pieces so they could all have a little treat without getting over sugared up, Elijah probably would have already been doing art and would have given Noah paper and crayons before Noah even had a chance to make a mess, and Isaac would have been waiting with open arms to hold Abby if my time and attention was needed elsewhere. It was nice having a night with my little ones, but when the rest of the crew comes back, I'll be sure to think back to this evening the next time I feel like I'm having a chaotic day.

I love it when kids misspeak

Isaac let out a long, dramatic sigh yesterday and proclaimed:   I'm really dumbed out today.

Interesting choice of words my son, interesting choice.

don't ask her, or she might not tell

I could hear an argument brewing on the other side of the house, but since I encourage the kids to work things out themselves when they insist on acting like drama queens, I wasn't paying attention to the cause of this particular dispute. (perhaps you've notice a recurring theme here?)  Bella wanders out to the living room, lets out a big sigh, and says, "don't ask me what they're arguing about. Just don't ask me." I nodded vaguely and thought to myself; awesome, 'cause I wasn't gonna ask.  I guess Bella couldn't read my thoughts because she then said, "don't ask me what they're arguing about, don't ask....................... they're arguing about a remote, just in case you were going to ask." OK then.  I still wasn't going to ask, but I figure it's good to know I can care less than I didn't care before, now that I know they are having a dust-up over trivial dribble. So, thanks, I suppose.

I guess he's a moto-moto man

Last night Isaac and Nahshon were having a squabble in the next room.  I could here they were arguing, but couldn't hear what they were arguing about. (nor did I care, actually) Nahshon thought I deserved to have my share of the conversation, and burst into my room the way only a 4 year old can when they are desperate to tattle about something insignificant:

Nahshon looked me straight in the eye and said, "I didn't say I liked butts! I said I liked big butts." 
me: *blink**blink*
him: *blink*blink*
me: *blink*

and with that he turned around and left the room, mumbling under his breath "and I cannot lie"





And with that, I part you with a song. Enjoy.

So I've heard

Word is, people who tell others they are trying to lose weight, are more successful. Well, I'm all for success, so that's what this post is about.  I've been at it for a month now, and have already dropped 10 lbs!

My goal: have all my extra weight, from all my pregnancies, gone by Christmas. 

Here's how I plan to do it:

Exercise: My goal is daily, progressive exercise.  I'm shooting for daily workouts, that way when I do miss a workout, it really won't be that big of a deal.  For the entire month of January, I only missed 3 workouts. (1 on Nahshon's birthday, 2 for being too sick to hardly move)  By progressive, I plan for every 10 pounds I lose to add a new element to my workouts.  I started with just cardio on my eliptical, and now that I'm down 10 lbs, I'm going to add a little free weights.  After another 10 lbs, I'll add another element to my routine, etc....

Diet: I don't "diet".  I believe in whole foods, and cutting calories through portion control.  I'm much happier following a french diet and eating foods I love rather than having bowl after bowl of plain steamed broccoli day after day. Crusty bread and olive oil? Yes, please, but just a little! ;)    Since I'm nursing Abigail, I can't cut my calories too much though.

Motivation and Rewards: I'm setting little milestones for myself, and as I reach those, I'll reward myself to help keep myself motivated. First up, a little pampering with a mani/pedi!  Jeremy and I also have a weight loss competition going, and the winner gets............. anything they want!!!

Wish me luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Because sometimes, you just have to tell it like it is

What a dad said to a certain 4 year old tonight:

You shoved a bead up your nose? You're an idiot.


*that might seem really harsh, if in fact that certain 4 year old hasn't watched us fish beads out of the nose of a certain 2 year old time and time again.