grateful

Today was our fourth major snow storm of the season (although this one was pretty wimpy -only 4ish inches of snow (thank goodness)).  This most recent storm brought our season total up to 78.4 inches of snow.  Crazy!
The one thing that kept going through my mind as I looked out my window this morning at the blowing snow was how grateful I was that we got out heater fixed yesterday. 

You know what else I am grateful for?

endorphins

I hate exercise.  Ok, correction, I hate working out for the sake of working out.  I would rather clean my house (bathrooms included).  I danced from the age of three straight through college and spent a lot of time hiking and biking so it was never really an issue before.  However, right now I am on a mission.  I am desperately trying to lose the baby weight from Matthew plus an extra 10 pounds.  I put on a good 50 lbs with each of my pregnancies and although I loose it eventually this being my last one I am determined to get rid of it sooner rather than later.
Enter my stroller class at the Healthplex.  If you have a baby in a Crozer hospital you can get a one year membership to the Springfield Healthplex for their Mom's in Motion program.  They do charge a $25 sign up fee but that is it!  Free!  They offer pregnancy classes- including an awesome water aerobics class- and post pregnancy classes.  The stroller class is perfect for me because it is in the morning when my older boys are at school and I can take Matthew with me so I don't have to worry about finding a sitter for him.  I have been going three mornings a week (except for holidays, sick days and snow days) since Matthew was 6 weeks old and have only 5 lbs left of the pregnancy weight to go! 
You would think that pushing a stroller around could not possibly be much of a workout.  You obviously haven't met Beth!  Beth is our awesome, die hard instructor.  She has us outside the Healthplex when the weather is good walking/running up and down hills (I mostly walk with a little bit of jogging in between), doing lunges and plies and using exercise bands to work upper body muscles.  We also stop to do crunches, push ups and dips.  When the weather is bad we are inside on the track doing laps, as well as all of  the extra usual exercises and Beth brings out the weights or exercise balls.  I like the track workouts the best because I can keep track of how many laps.  Yesterday I got in 2 1/4 miles with a stop after each lap to do some sort of strenthening exercise.  It felt great!
Fridays are the kicker!  We set up in the gym.  We walk/jog around the double basketball court for a while and then Beth sets up different stations for us to use.  There are 12ish stations:  jump roping, 3 different abs, weights for tricepts and bicepts, rowing, squats, push ups, planks, etc.  We do one station for a minute followed by either two minutes of laps or a mad dash across the court and back then we come back and do the next station.
So the best thing about the class, beside the weight loss and the company of other moms, is that I feel better physically and emotionally than I have in a LONG time.  All of those happy exercise endorphins are really doing a job on me, so much so that I am thinking that maybe exercise for the sake of exercise is really not such a bad thing.  Plus I get to eat what I want and that is always a good thing!

catch up

I have been blogging in my mind lately but have but have not had time to actually post anything.  So here are a few entries that have been bouncing around in my head.

Nathan's Baptism

Today my nephew Nathan was baptised.  For my non LDS readers, in our church we wait until kids are eight years old (the age of accountability) so that they can make their own decision on whether they want to be baptised.  Anyway, John and I and the boys joined my parents and Tyler and Becca and Theo and our cousin Amber at Lisa and Tracy's home in Virginia for the weekend.  Despite the massive amounts of snow in the past week we were all able to make it here with no problems and we have been having a great time!

The baptism itself was amazing.  The spirit was so strong throughout that half of us were in tears. Nathan is a very special boy.  He has the kindest heart and you could tell by everyone's comments that he is so loved and appreciated.  Lisa and Mom gave the talks.  Tyler did the baptism.  Keri, who was unable to make the flight from Utah wrote an arrangement of the primary song "When I Am Baptised" which Lisa, Amber, Mom, Tyler and I sang.  Tracy also bore his testimony- something I have never heard him do before.  It was incredibly touching and so meaningful to his kids and Lisa.  For the closing song Lisa sang a song from "Women at the Well." There was not a dry eye in the house.

I am so proud of Nathan for making this decision.  I am also extraordinarily grateful to him.  My boys idolize Nathan.  He is always so sweet to them and takes the time to play with all three of them.  I greatly appreciate the example he is setting for them.  His baptism made an impact on them today.

It's Snow Fun

Last week we had more snow dumped on the Philadelphia area (and the east coast in general) in a single season than ever before.  The storm on Saturday dumped around 28-29 inches in our neck of the woods.  We had a second storm hit on Wednesday.  This blizzard dumped about 24 more inches.  It was all fun and games until a giant tree branch crashed onto some nearby power lines and we lost power for six hours.  The house was getting pretty cold by the time power was finally restored.  We bundled up the boys and tucked them into our bed to watch a movie on my laptop which was luckily fully charged.  Matthew was not a big fan of being tucked in!

So my conclusion from this week:  being snowed in can be lots of fun- especially if John gets to take some time off of work and we get time to play in the snow with the boys, however, it is NOT fun if the power goes out for any amount of time and shoveling an estimated 4 feet of snow is exhausting!  Maybe we should move to Texas- oh, wait, dallas got snow this week too.  Ugh!

6 Months Old!

Matthew hit six months old last Sunday.  He weighed in at a whopping 18 lbs 6 oz and 26 3/4 in long.  How can he only be in the 66th percentile for weight?!

Matthew is now rolling from his back to his tummy, saying "DADADADA" and other fun babbling sounds and he has started to notice who is holding him.  He is not so sure that he wants to be passed around so much anymore.  However, he loves to smile and laugh and play with anyone who will give him attention.  He is also trying to sit up on his own.  It may take a while, that is a lot of bulk to move!

We are still working on the whole sleep thing...

don't let the door hit you on the way out

I just finished watching the new PBS version of Emma. I have to say that although it is by far my favorite adaptation of the book (Clueless doesn't count, right?), I was a little disappointed in the ending.  It was not the ending of the story itself that irked, I am a die hard Austen fan after all, but the way it was portrayed in the mini series.  PBS put together a beautiful four hour mini series which took the time to explore the characters and major plot of the book but also included lesser known snippets that added a charm to the production.  However, of that four hours less than ten minutes was dedicated to resolution and the inevitable Austenian conclusion-almost as if the producers were apologetic for exposing us to something as trite as a happy ending.  The last ten minutes, instead of maintaining the cohesive flow of the story like the rest of the script, were a series of snapshots of the resolution.  It felt more like a photography session at Sears than the end of a movie. 
I enjoyed the mini series, I just wish that after having invested the time and interest in the characters and concern for their well-being, that the PBS crew had allowed us time to enjoy the resolution instead of hastily pushing us out the door.  If you are looking for a good adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma, by all means watch this.  But if you want a real ending, read the book.

excuse me

I have been working with the boys on manners.  When I was a kid my mom used to read us "Miss Manners" by Judith Martin.  Any and every small rule of behavior was covered in her books.   We grew up constantly hearing "Miss Manner says..."
Anyway, at dinner the other day I was trying to get the boys to chew with their mouths closed and to stop talking with their mouths full.  However, I made the mistake of telling them that if they absolutely HAD to talk that they could cover their mouths so no one could see their partially chewed food.  So now throughout dinner the boys will cover their mouths, mumbling through a mouthful of food, "Mom, look at me!"  Then they will exaggeratedly demonstrate how nicely they chew with their mouths closed.  Not quite what I was going for, but at least they are trying.

Also, James has discovered burping.  He does it quite frequently- not usually on purpose but certainly more than necessary.  Today as he was talking to me he let out a nice big one.

Me: (trying to remind James of his manners) Excuse me.
James:  No.  Excuse ME!

My kids make me laugh every day!

Oh and Matthew is rolling over and saying "Dadadadadadadada".  Why is it they always say dada first?!

the REAL houswives of Delaware Co.

You gotta love reality tv- mostly because reality has nothing to do with it.  I saw a commercial for "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" or something and all I could do was laugh and shake my head.  Seriously, name five stay at home moms YOU know who actually spend their day at the spa and go out clubbing at night!  It just make me wonder, is that what single people really think we do?  Or are these just the abstract stereotypes from those execs in NYC and LA?
On Regis and Kelly the other day (yes, I admit I was actually watching that show- I turn on the tv for background noise when I clean) they were reading a list out of a magazine on the top fads women hope will go away in the next decade.  Now, I can't remember them all, but here are the few that I do remember:

1)  fake tans
Kelly's reaction:  What?!  Absolutely not!
My reaction:  Whatever, maybe there will be less skin cancer if people stop wasting their money fake baking.

2)  dark nail polish
Kelly's reaction:  No!  I love my dark nail polish!
My reaction:  I am lucky if I get my toenails painted when I wear sandals in the summer.  Forget about fingernail polish, no matter what color!

3)  fishnet stockings
Kelly's reaction:  Well, maybe, but they are still nice to wear for certain occasions. 
(Jeff Probst who was co-hosting that day:  "No way!  Those are sexy!")
My reaction:  That's a current trend?  I haven't worn fishnets since my dance recital when I was 9.

4)  skinny jeans
Kelly's reaction:  I don't know.  They look nice but sometimes it is hard to get them over my heels.
My reaction:  I have had three kids.  There is nothing skinny about my jeans!

5)  ultra low rise jeans
Kelly's reaction:  No!  I love those.  If jeans sit at the waist then you have to pop open the button at dinner.  (Jeff Probst:  They are sexy!)
My reaction:  Not practical for crawling on the floor with the kids plus not very compatible with g's.

6)  big SUVs
Kelly's reaction:  No!  I love my SUV.  How else would I get my kids and their stuff where they need to be?  Of course my next one will be a hybrid.
My reaction:  I have to agree with Kelly on this one.  Seriously, how do you expect to go anywhere with a husband and three kids and all of the stuff that accompanies them in a little four door sedan?! 
(I actually had a friend once tell me that there was no excuse in the world to need a minivan or suv when you could just drive a subaru or four door sedan.  I wanted to introduce her to my neighbor with nine kids or let her see my back of my minivan which was full of a stroller and other necessary baby gear that would not fit in a smaller vehicle.  Of course, that was her point of view before she had kids.  I wonder how she feels now that she has one?)

So my point- (I do have one, honest) is that whoever is producing these shows and magazine articles are so far off base with what average, run-of-the-mill stay-at-home moms think and feel and do.  Or I am a lot more boring than I thought?  Are my other "Mommy Friends" actually spending their days at the spa and clubbing at night in fishnets and skinny jeans?