Good Morning! We made it!

Camping!  And not only did we "make it" as my title suggests, but we ROCKED it.  Ok, so we're not exactly shopping around for deluxe campers complete with strings of lights, nor are we feverishly booking our next trip to the great outdoors; but overall, camping was a huge success.  So huge in fact, that tears were actually shed by the littlest Wheaton when he was told it was time to pack up to head home. 

Of course, as my hot-mess luck should have it, my camera died as soon as I snapped the first picture on Saturday morning, so all memories of our first family camping trip must now reside in our heads.  EPIC FAIL.  So sadly, pictures didn't happen this weekend. But in no particular order, here are some things that DID happen:

• Bodysurfing in the lake
• Building sandcastles
• Neighbors who played their music too loudly til 2 AM
• Baby bunnies
• Live music on the beach
• Doritos, potatoes, bacon, marshmallows, ice cream cones, lemonade, basically every other unhealthy food you can possibly think of
• An air pump that wasn't charged up enough to blow up the air mattress
• A trip to the camp store to purchase a hand-held air pump
• Playgrounds
• Walking in the woods with flashlights
• Basically every other activity that boys enjoy, including but not limited to, both peeing and brushing teeth outside. 
• Mistaking an adult drink for a kid drink... and then being asked to perform a sobriety test in the form of Follow The Leader.  (Just kidding, that didn't happen.  OMG YES IT DID. We were scared out of our minds that our 5-year-old was gonna be wasted. But thank God he was totally fine.  There was hardly anything left in the cup anyway. Maybe the sobriety test was a little over the top...)
• The phrases "I wuv tampin'!!!"  and "Woah, camping is so awesome!!"
• Passing out and completely missing both marshmallows and glow-in-the dark bubbles the second night.

So here we are, home again, and I am fatter than ever.  I'm pretty sure that I gained 50 pounds while away so it's time to get things back on track. 

Here's what's happening on the workout front:

Monday- 4 mile walk (dare I say Power Walk?) with the stroller/ 1-hour Power Body class
Tuesday- (yep, that's today) Arms with free weights/ Zumba = Dunzo!/ Hopefully "hiking"(walking on a trail) with boys later if it's not a million degrees out.
Wednesday-Friday- some running, more weights, maybe another cardio class or 2, hmmm... the possiblites are endless 

What's on your workout agenda for the week???

Have a healthy day,

J

Trying Not To Lose My Cool

It's only the beginning of the second week of a very long summer break, and I already feel like these kids are sending me over the edge.  What the freak am I gonna do for the next two months with these heathens?

There are two things that my children do not know how to do: walk and speak quietly.  They have, however, mastered both running and yelling.  They do not stop talking from the time they open their eyes in the morning until their eyes shut (always involuntarily) hours after their intended bedtime.

Loving each other has taken on a new form.  Yes, they still invade each other's space, touch each other incessantly, and must be doing the same exact thing at the same exact time.  However, they are now fighting more than ever.  As in, screaming, tattling, toy-snatching, bickering and "you're not my brother"-ing ALL THE TIME.  The problem is that they won't just fight and leave each other alone for a while.  Ohhh nnoo.. they'll fight like crazy, someone (the 3-year-old) will cry loud enough to wake up the neighbors, I'll flip my lid, and they'll be back playing, touching, laughing, and being too rough all over again.  And so it goes.  All. Day. Long. 

See how nicely we're playing? 
We may or may not start whipping those little Army guys at eachother's faces at any second.

How in the name of God am I supposed to deal with this vicious cycle all flipping summer long?

I will admit, I am often my own worst enemy.  I'll think, "No problem, I've got all day to do anything I want.  I'm on vacation, Baby." Only to get to the end of the day, fall on to the couch after screaming up the stairs for a final time that "Everyone needs to shut their eyes NOOOWWWW!" and wondering, "What in the world did I get done today??" UGHHH!!  What a horrible feeling that is.

So I am trying my hardest this summer to build a routine and stick to a schedule.  I am very quick to forget that while I was all too excited for my schedule to change come June; the boys were not too pysched about how drastically their's changed.  One of them stopped going to school (and therefore stopped seeing his friends all the time). Their babysitter whom they loved stopped coming over. They have no set routine anymore; and no one to hang out with except themselves and their mother. 

I am vowing to break our days up in to kid- time and mama- time.  I will get them around their friends, but I won't overload them with activity.  I will force them to play with the gazillions of toys they have, and I won't step in every time I hear things starting to go awry. I will let them make a mess in the house, but will force them to pick up after themselves.  I will clean while they're watching TV, and will not feeling bad about sitting down when they actually decide that napping is fun. 

And I will pop a Xanax when s hits the fan. 

Have a healthy day,

J

Hell Yeah For Summer Vacation!

First things first- did everyone check out my debut on Skinny Mom? I'll be on there every Wednesday and Friday, so you can hit me up over there all the time. Tell your friends and tell your enemies.  And then leave me a comment telling me (and the editors) how much you love my posts.  Please and thank you. 

Ok, now. Let's talk about more important things.  Like the fact that I am on summer vacation!!  And it has gotten off to a great start. I've had a week full of playdates, field trips, cleaning the house, swimming, showering, and working out. (And yes, I know that last cross-out is grossing you out.  Sorry.  Not-showering much is happening.  I'm aiming for once a day.  Whether it comes 5 minutes after a run or 12 hours after is another whole issue.)   

I know I've said this before, but early morning runs are good.  It's not always easy to get out of bed on a non-work day to strap on the sneakers and move your legs, but it's *always* worth it.  By Monday morning at 7 AM, I had already run 2 miles and done a load of laundry.  I thought, "Wow, I might actually be productive over these next couple of months".  On Tuesday morning, I slept through my alarm.  Oops. But I did walk 4 miles with the stroller.  That counts, right? (Even though I stopped at my sister's house 2 miles in and ate some strawberry shortcake? Just kidding, that didn't happen.  Ok, fine, maybe it did.)  Maybe "productivity" will take on a few different personalities this summer.





Anyway, moving on.  Strawberry picking happened on Monday, too.  Fun!  This is the last week for strawberries around here, but the first week for raspberries.  The boys had fun gorging themselves on berries straight off the plants, and my mom and I collected as many as we could. Since Monday, we've had them sliced, in parfaits, frozen in smoothies, in shortcake, and as stovetop jam.  Yay strawberries! 


 CJ got to see some of his preschool friends for a sweaty playground playdate (and Ty got to be totally miserable cuz his brother dissed him for a while). My spoiled kids have gotten to swim, ride bikes, go to a (kindof weird yet oddly entertaining) singing/drumming show put on by a crunchy guy with bare feet and an animated face, meet a totally bootleg Superman,  and play at the gym while I've worked out.  And it's only Thursday!  I'm already tired of this entertainment s*#t.   There's gotta be a camp or something that starts soon.  After all,  I need to clean my house sit down.

Happy Summer everyone!!  What fun things are you doing to get this season started??

Have a healthy day,

J

PS- pics to come.  I know you're anxiously awaiting their arrival.  My camera battery is dead.  Chill out, they'll be added soon.