Score one for old-fashioned fun

Awhile ago a dear old lady from our church gave us her piano.  She was moving into a nursing home and had no space for it.  We still haven't tuned it, but it certainly provides a general sound for our little family chorus.  

Today, Ellie was on the computer with Owen at her new favorite website (which I also love, it's from the guys who brought us singing vegetables).  I sat down on the piano and found a wonderful rockin' song called "Soon and Very Soon."  I was singing my little heart out (as only a crazy woman would, knowing no one could actually hear her, or at least anyone who knows what sounds good).

And around the corner peeked Ellie.  Her smile said it all.  These rockin' tunes telling of how we are only here for a little while while we wait for our King to come drew her away from the computer and into the dining room where she joined me for several verses (a few made up ones, too).  

Score one for old-fashioned toys.  And music that speaks to the soul.

 

Fighting Back

To combat my previous post's winter hold on me and the fact that despite my serious tries at just willing my belly pudding (funny word...thanks Sarah S!) to disappear....

I worked out.

For 15 whole minutes.  

With the loving support of my Hubs (he set up the TV so I could watch and elliptical at the same time) I did not pass out, did burn all of 100 whopping calories (which I seriously wanted to eat again in the form of some tasty evening snack, but didn't), and did restore my faith in my own willpower (or at least the fear of embarrassing myself as the big winter clothes will soon be unable to cover me up!).  

This whole phenomenon of "working out" is actually pretty new to me.  In all honesty, I haven't had to work out to keep in relative shape in recent years (or so I told myself).  But a recent screening of my cholesterol and my growing belly pudding (I told you it was a funny word) from having baby #3 have catapulted my health front and center. 

I actually think I went through various stages of grief.  I felt that I was losing my youthfulness, or at certainly I was gaining an older body than I was not ready for.  So I was in denial.  "It's not that bad."  But when recently Owen was playing peek-a-boo with an oddly large portion of my stomach sticking out the side of my comfy pants,  I quickly moved on from denial to reality.

Really. Fast. 

So then came anger.  The "what the ?" question would be punctuated with choice words about getting older that I refused to believe or want.  The Hubs was a total dear.  Poor guy listened to rants without saying one word  about how if I was so pissed...well, I should darn well do something about it.  Luckily, I came to that on my own.  He's patient, but not that patient.

So here we are. Day 1.  Exercise+me= a happier me.  Right?

Why am I writing this?   Mostly so that when I'm thinking I don't need to exercise, or that I don't look that bad, I'll remember how good it feels right now to know that I've started.  I've started to care about myself a bit more or at least enough.  

Enough that the only bellies that we'll be playing peek-a-boo soon with will be those of the 2-and-under set.

It's what's for dinner...

I've hit an new all-time dinner-makin' low.

Corn dogs. With pasta.roni noodles. Leftover veggies.

Where did I get that idea?

My dear girl, Ellie.

Why am I listening to her?

The winter-dinner doldrums are hitting hard and fast here in the Midwest.

Ugg.


Ketchup, anyone?

Writing to Remember

I'm writing today to remember. I want to remember a day where I actually thought about how wonderful it would be to homeschool. I could see it now...the freedom to combine my greatest loves...spending time with my kids, teaching, and controlling any situation that I can. I'm finding the more that Josh is in school, the more I still want to influence what he is learning, how it's presented to me, and who his friends are. I suppose this is only natural seeing that up until recently I was in charge of all of these things. Unfortunately, life and the passage of time has a funny way of reminding us that "this too shall change."

I find some of it liberating, though. The idea that, maybe, somebody, may not, absolutely, need me all. the. time. for ev.er.y.thing. Ahh.


Josh was home today on a "wellness" day. We had a jam-packed weekend filled with friends, family and several birthday cakes. Add that with a bad cold he's not been able to shake and I allowed my mommy heart override the teacher in me and kept him home. And as we sat at home today, resting, and playing some of the great games he recieved as gifts, I smiled. I loved that we could just sit there, no agenda, no place to be, just discovering patterns in cards, jumping at the "attack" of an Uno card and occasionally letting my mind wander about how time is passing so quickly (he's seven now, you know...I've been a mom for seven years now).

I've been a bit sad about not blogging lately. I read this post by Jenni recently and felt better, because she wrote exactly what I had been feeling. But still, although I knew that they would remember more that I was there, playing with them, keeping them fed and clean, I wanted to remember the details. The things that photos didn't catch, the things that my momma brain will quickly file under "remember later in a dream, or not at all."

So today was one of those days. It was great. It was relaxing. It warmed my heart on a cold day.

Although, I'm pretty positive in the next ten minutes the kids will remind me why I can't wait for them to go to school...it's the ebb and flow of life with kids. Yep, I think I hear screaming now...