Fill in the Blank Friday (A Link Up)

 

Hi!  Happy almost weekend.  And a three day weekend at that.  I'll bet all of you 9-to-5ers are psyched today, huh?  Me-well, not so much.  I'm one day closer to sending my baby off to become a big school kid.  (Are you sick of hearing about that yet?  Too bad.  My kid is going to kindergarten and I'm freaking out.  Get over it.) 

Anyway, I've never done anything like this before, but today I'm linking up with Lauren from The Little Things We Do. She posted this thing called "Fill in the Blank Friday", and now a whole ton of bloggers are doing it.  So since I love a good bandwagon, I've decided to jump on.  Here we go:

 

 

 

1. Over this Labor Day weekend I will be   crying my eyes out about Kindergarten starting in approximately 3 seconds, eating too much at our friends' BBQ, and celebrating my baby brother's 27th birthday.  Oh shoot, I really need to get him a present...

2. With the political debates going on right now, my thoughts are, "Can these people please stop slamming each other and just tell me how they are going to make things better? Whoever is going to realize that public school kids need to be educated as whole people and not just as standardized test-takers will get my vote".

3. Today  the boys and I had an awesome playdate with a group of friends we started playing with when the oldest ones were 1 and the babies couldn't even sit up.  That's a long time, and we were all sad when we said goodbye. 

4. The best thing I've cooked recently was   some buffalo chicken in the crockpot.  Just one more example of why I am in love with Pinterest.  Holy Man that stuff was good.

5. The last thing I bought was  2 backpacks, some Sharpie markers, and a pack of pens.  Boring with a capital B. It's really great that my students don't even bring a pen to school with them.  I love supplying them with stuff.

6. The best movie I saw this summer was ummmm.... did I even see any movies this summer? I watched this movie on Netflix the other night about this girl who found out at the very beginning that she had cancer.  It was horribly sad and I did that awful shaking cry through the whole thing.  I think I may have even wiped my nose on my shirt. 

7. The best book I read this summer was   50 Shades of Grey.  HaHa, just kidding. I am an English teacher, true.  But I don't think it takes an English teacher to realize that the writing in that book was ridiculously bad.  But if you're looking for a GOOD book, then you should read Room by Emma Donoghue. Trust me on this one.

 

 

Have a healthy day,

 

 

J



So Long, Summer

I went back to work yesterday.  A full day, and I about died.  Meeting after meeting after meeting.  I'm pretty sure that the highlight of my day was walking in to my classroom after having set up the desks exactly how I wanted them last week, only to find that someone went in there and took all but 5 desks out.  Those 5 were arranged in a neat little row down the center of the room.  Um, bring me back my effing desks.  And thanks, but rows? C'mon.  Everyone knows that rows are SO uncool. So I decided to actually get on top of things for once in my life and make a poster I want for my first day activity.  A very special shout-out goes to whomever took ALL of the supplies out of the supply cupboard.  I'm really looking forward to going out and buying ALL new stuff, breaking a sweat while moving furniture down a hallway, and oh yeah, meeting all of my parents tonight.  Good times. 

On another note, my kid had Kindergarten screening this morning. I'm not exactly sure what they were screening for, especially since his tiny school only has one Kindergarten class, so it's not like there's a lot of options.  He was super excited to go, but definitely started crying when I was about leave.  I was totally unprepared for the tears and it sucked.  And what sucked even more is that when I went back an hour later to get him, the teacher said that for the last ten minutes he kept saying he just wanted to play with his brother. They are gonna die without eachother this year. Poor Ty has to wait for 2 more freaking years before he gets to go.  Horrible planning on my part.  He totally should have been born 3 months earlier than he was. 

Much to their dismay, they are NOT actually twins.

So that's what's happening over here.  On a different note, I did a double workout session on Monday (ran and did free weights in the morning; taught Power Body at night), and then tried a new class last night.  It was a series of one-minute intervals (I'm certain she was lying about them only being 60 seconds) of cardio and strength.  The whole thing was done while holding a medicine ball.  It literally kicked my booty.  As in, my butt is so friggin sore today that going up the stairs is actually a chore.  It's looking like today may need to be a rest day, unless I can squeeze something in before I go to Open House tonight. 

 

Have a healthy day,

 

J

 

 

5 Boys And A Cat

Yep, that was my life a couple of days ago- I had 5 boys and a cat.  In my house.  And miraculously, everyone got along.  I had two five-year-olds, two three-year-olds, and the chubbiest, happiest 9-month-old I've ever seen.  We've known these guys since CJ was a baby, and I can't believe they still get along.  But they do, and for a split second while they were here, I contemplated quitting my job and opening a home-daycare.  And then I remembered that my own children drive me bat-shit crazy half the time, so there's no chance that would work out in anyone's favor. So alas, I will return to work next week...

Blah.  Next week already.  I'm so not ready to face the fire.  But I am ready to get back in to the routine of things.  Even though the thought of Kindergarten (already?!?) is making me sick, I'm psyched about the school he got in to, and even though I complain about my job a lot, I've got a pretty sick schedule. (Like that double entendre?  Wait, it is called a double entendre, right?) I'll get to pick both of the boys up from their respective schools every day, and that makes the control freak in me ecstatic. 

I've got some good ideas (well, at least I think they're good) for my classroom, and I'm excited to get in there and set it up.  Should the ideas in my head actually come to fruition, I'll post a pic or two.  Because after all, I know that you are obsessed with seeing and understanding ALL aspects of my life, right?

On the workout front, I am probably going to have to switch up the schedule again once September hits.  But that's really okay because my routine has been all over the place this summer.  So I'm looking forward to locking something in.  Maybe I'll actually stick to it this time around.

One would think that with all this control freakishness in me that my house would be immaculate. And yet it's just not.  Whatevs.  Summer's almost over and we've got way more important stuff to squeeze in before it's gone for good.  It's gonna be looking like this all too soon.





Olympic Depression

Anyone else going through withdrawals today? 

I'm so freaking sad that the Olympics are over.  You'd think that I was an elite athlete or something. 

(I'm so not.) 

Which sport left the greatest impression on you? 

Was it Women's Soccer?



 Abby Wambach and I went to high school together.  She was a year behind me.
We weren't friends, but she was friends with all of my sporty friends.
She is the only celebrity that I even kinda-know.

Was it Men's Swimming? 

Ryan Lochte is from here too.
I did not go to high school with him.
I do not even kinda know him.

Some of you know and some of you may not know that back in the day, my husband was a nasty runner.  (As in, had he focused a little more in college, he could have competed at the Olympic trials nasty.) So although we had the Games on every single night, he was really waiting for the track stuff to start.  And for the first time, I got completely sucked in. I was enthralled with the athleticism of these sprinters. Not only did I want to be friends with these people, but I started wondering if there's still time to start training for Rio 2016. (Oh wait, you have to be incredibly talented and driven in order to do something of that caliber, and it's not actually as easy as they make it look?  Boo.)



You, Usain, are the fastest known person in the entire universe.
Therefore, you are allowed to be arrogant.

Of all of the Olympians by whom I am now enthralled, one has become my all-time favorite.  So Gabby Douglas- I think you are phenomenal.  Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh- outstanding and amazing to watch; and all of the Rhythmic Gymnasts whose names I cannot pronounce- I highly enjoy watching you even though some people may think that you belong in Cirque Du Soleil insted of the Olympics.  But my award for personal favorite Olympian of the London 2012 Games goes to this girl: 

Sanya Richards-Ross. 

As I'm sure is totally normal in any household, our children love watching their father and me compete at stuff.  Last weekend, they insisted that we race in the pool.  In a brutal attempt to win, he slammped his hand in to the side and thought he broke his finger.  It swelled up instantly and was throbbing, but he demanded we go again. (Yes, it was that close.  And yes, it's that important to him that he beat me.)  So that got me thinking about my Number One Olympian. 

She is married to an NFL star (so now they have both Olympic gold medals and Super Bowl rings in their house.  How awesome is that?!) They have twin boys.  (Yet another reason I LOVE her- she had two babies at once, and still has those hot abs and the drive to compete internationally.) I want to be there when their boys make them race.



Things That Make Me Happy

Miniature shoe boxes: I mean, how could this not make you happy?



He can now jump off the diving board and swim to the shallow end by himself.
He *will* make you call him Michael Phelps.

He *will* walk around the entire edge of the pool drawing X's in a line, and then
wrap up and pretend he was swimming.  He's not dramatic at all, as noted in the
"I'm not smiling" face.



Healthy dinners: some egg casserole, a quesadilla with salsa, and some chips.
 It happened. And it was good.





Awkwardfamilyphotos.com
I may or may not have the paperback version sitting on my nightstand.







Doing something I never thought possible





Watching a pre-soccer practice pep talk.
 The guy in blue is a great dad.  Lucky for me, we're married. 



family time

Date night. Martinis.

Just kidding. Creepy guys in bootleg superhero costumes do not make me happy.
But it's kinda funny, right?

My life.  I get to work a little, play a lot, and spend time doing stuff I love. I complain sometimes, but I need to knock it off.  My life makes me happy.  I am a lucky gal. 

Have a healthy day,

J



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

Supplements, Ramadan, and the Summer Olympics

Before I get in to anything that is relevant to that ever-catching title, I'm gonna be a little bragadocious for a second. Today marked the second day in a row that I crawled out of bed before dawn to complete a workout, and the third day in a row of working out.  NBD for a lot of people, but when you don't really have any other place to be, getting up at 5 or 6 isn't that easy.  But I did it.  Wow, I am so fit.

This is not me, and this is not my doctor.
But this is what happens during muscle testing.
 Source

Ok, on to supplements. Do you take them?  I know I've rambled before about my trips to the holistic practitioner, and I went again yesterday.  I got muscle tested again, and once again (third time in row now) my stomach showed up as a problem area.  Last time, I brushed it off and decided not to make it a priority, but she said it seems to be spreading now so we really should.  (And how she can tell it's spreading from touching me with one finger while pushing on my arm, I'm not sure, but I'm going with it).  So I ordered a few crazy expensive totally necessary supplements to help aid my digestion and metabolism.  I'll report back in a couple weeks when I am suddenly being asked daily if I am a fitness model.  Because I'm positive that's how effective these things will be.

And now Ramadan. I was raised Catholic, but I believe that Ramadan started recently, right?  That means that a lot of people will no longer be eating when it's light out.  My sister and I decided that this is a genius way to lose a few L.Bs. Is it appropriate for just anyone to observe Ramadan, or is that actually pretty disrespectful?  (I'm kidding people.  I only thought about observing it for a split second and then decided I really don't have that kind of will power. ) So if you actually DO observe this, then good on you.  I give you a lot of credit.  Even if it is religious based.  OMG... soooooo inappropriate...

Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics are on Friday.  We love the Olympics here in the Wheaton house. My husband doesn't talk about it a lot, but back in the day, with a little focus, he actually could have made it to the Olympic trials.  Yeah, he used to be crazy fast.  As in, ran a mile in 4:12 fast.  Luckily for us though, we will not be home to watch the world come together on Friday night to support and celebrate one another.  Instead, we will be fighting with a tent and a fire as we embark on our first ever camping trip with the boys.

 If you believe in God, now's the time to start praying.   Good Lord, I hope we make it out alive.



This may or may not be my spouse, the last time (also our first time) camping.
Yes, he camped in plaid shorts.  No, he did not know what he was doing. 
Don't judge. This weekend will be FUN.

And that's all I've got for now.  The glorious guy I married (see above) decided to pan sear some tilapia last night even though I wanted it to go on the grill.  He then decided to leave the pan in the sink last night and close the kitchen window.  The smell that is permeating from my kitchen right now is literally making me want to barf. 

Have a healthy day,

J