School Vacations Suck, but Goals are Good

So at this point there have been plenty of other posts about why I hate when the kids are on school vacation -- so I won't go into to much detail....so here is the overview of my lovely day today:
- Kids woke up at 5:30 am (that is 2.5 hours earlier than they usually do)
- Aidan decided that he would get himself some breakfast sometime before 5:30 any guesses? Yup, I found him in his room eating a box of Cheez-Its -- ah, the breakfast of champions!
- The kids were jumping on Aidan's bed and Haylee got pushed off... very pretty purple bruise on her chin
- The jumping on the bed lead to the breaking of a support brace on Aidan's bed
- Jumping wasn't interesting anymore so they decided to take Aidan's bed apart
- There were so many other things that happened today that my Mommy brain has just blocked out...
So needless to say they were fed, bathed, and in bed by 6:30. It was definitely a bad mommy day!

On another note, my weight loss challenge is going OK. School and life has been VERY stressful this semester so I haven't been exercising as much as I would have liked, but I have made an effort to make it to all of my appointments with my trainer which has been very helpful! So as of this morning I was down to 220 lbs -- only 50 or so to go, right?!?!?!

Goal Update...

Since I said that I would keep the cyber world up to date on my health adventure, I figured I should post an update....

I have increased my yoga to 50 minutes 4-5 times a week, I run/walk for 30-60 minutes 3-4 times a week, I meet with my trainer every Tuesday for an hour, and I am hoping to go to the gym 3 times a week.

With all that said, I have to share that I have finally surpassed the 230 point that was plaguing me... I am down to 228! YEAH!!

I think that about covers it.... I think I have officially lost my mind to be publishing my weight on the web....isn't there some sacred female code I am breaking??? Oh, well....

Running and me...

So for the past many years I have taken care of all of my family members and not myself, per say. So this year I decided that it was the year that I get to focus on me... call me selfish....but I think it will be a good thing. I didn't set any "New Year's Resolutions" per say because I generally break those; but I did set a few goals for myself this year since I am VERY goal oriented.....

1. Run (not walk) in the Old Home Day 5K in June
2. Loose 70 pounds
3. Participate in the 2010 Susan G Komen 3-Day Walk (60 miles)

So to accomplish these goals I have reevaluated my eating habits and have done a complete diet makeover. And I have started to exercise, in some form, 6 days a week which includes Yoga and the use of the Treadmill (thank you Nana and Grandpa for letting me have your treadmill)!

So I started in the end of December at 242 lbs. And as of this morning I was down to 230 lbs and I was able to run a full 1/2 mile on the treadmill after walking 2.25 miles. This is a BIG deal for me because when I started a little under a month ago, I couldn't run more than 60 seconds without feeling like I was going to die! I wish that I had had the confidence to start running this morning a little earlier because I had to stop running at 1/2 mile because I ran out time. So tomorrow I am shooting for 3/4 of a mile!

I will also start working with a personal trainer next week at school. I will be able to work with him every Tuesday for 12 weeks. So I am excited! Wish me luck and I will keep cyberspace up to date so that you all can keep me on track!

Snow.....AGAIN!

So, it is snowing again. It seems like that is all it has done all month! Atleast it is pretty....I would love to post a picture of the prettyness -- but the kids broke my camera (note the bitterness in that).

Anyway, Church was canceled again today. Jesse and I were talking and we both agree that Church has been canceled more this year than in all the proior years combined! In one way it is noce to be able to stay home and drive on a Sunday morning, but I actually miss going. Yes, it is spiritually uplifting, but I miss seeing my friends and catching up on what is going on with them! Oh, well maybe next week it won't snow....although I am not holding my breath!

It's 10:00, do you know what your children are doing?

I can tell you what my son is NOT doing!!

So it was a really bad day with the kids... every time I turned around they were getting into something they know they are not supposed to touch. So I spent my day trying to do housework and make dinner while constantly running around taking things away from them and telling them to "knock it off" (NOT one of my finer days to say the least)!

When it came to bedtime, VERY early I must say, I was happily surprised that Aidan stayed in his room, instead of coming out five thousand times like he normally does. I figured he realized how mad I was for his behavior during the day and was giving me a break. Hehe, how foolish of me!

So I went about my evening finishing the housework I didn't get to do during the day and walking on the treadmill to blow off steam and then settled in to watch a little Grey's Anatomy before going to sleep.

Just as I get comfy and Jesse gets out of the shower, after working 2 jobs today, Aidan starts to cry. I hear Jesse going to check on him so I stay all snug in my comfy bed.... then I hear "OH, Aidan what did you do..."

Well there goes me being snug in my bed! I jump out of bed and go into Aidan's room and am greeted with this....

For those of you that cannot tell that is pink, purple, white, and blue PAINT all over the wood floor and walls!! Yup, the Autistic child that doesn't like gooey things on his hands decided to unlock the childproof lock on his closet door, climb to the back of the top shelf of his closet, and pull out some of my paint!

Aidan himself was also covered in paint (sorry no picture but I was way to angry to look at him), but Jesse being the supper smart person that he realized that I was much to angry to wash Aidan -- so Jesse washed Aidan and I hit the floor. I must say that scrubbing the floor at this time of night is not my idea of a good time!!

I also learned that when the lovely children found the camera this afternoon and where playing with it, that they broke the shutter -- it took much effort to get the above picture. That is 2 strikes against my darling child! All I can say at this point is that he is lucky that Jesse was home from work and that Jesse was able to stay calm!

Anyone know how to get paint out of the grooves in the floor?

What are we up to?

So I know that I have dropped off the blogger planet the last little while, but I have been busy! So here is a run down of what we have been up to....

Jesse:
- Working hard
- Working
- and more Working
- Keeping the fire going while we had no power

Chris:
- Studying for finals
- Aiding the ailing at Clinicals
- Shopping for the Holidays
- Wrapping
- Getting over illness after illness
- Finishing the semester with a 91.58%!
- Trying to keep the house running
- Working for the College

Aidan:
- Talking up a storm
- Playing with lots of toys
- Trying to be nice to his sisters
- Waiting patiently to go back to school
- Saying hilarious things such as "That is ridiculous" and "That is not appropriate"

Cora:
- Loving school -- before the power outage
- Playing
- Trying to be nice to siblings
- Giving lots of hugs
- Decorating and redecorating the Christmas Tree

Haylee:
- Giggling
- Playing, of course
- Enjoying the snow
- Perfecting the art of undressing, apparently clothes are overrated!

So I think that sums it up! It has been a roller coaster the past few weeks as we lost power during the ice storm for four days and had to move to Mamie and Pa's house since they have the fire place. It was a good practice of our emergency plans and with little exception it went off without any problems.

And as I write this it has started snowing again...it is very pretty...I just hope that the roads are safe for Jesse to get home from work OK.

Anyhow, we would like to wish everyone a very happy holiday season and we hope that you and your families are safe and joyous time together!

I don't want it to shut down, I want it to shut up!

So I am a slacker, well not really... I have just been out straight crazy busy with the kids, school, family, life... you know! Anyway I thought I would just give you all a general life update, so here we go...

1. The kids: So the kids are all doing great! I had a meeting at Cora's school last week and they are going to increase her program days, she will now attend school 4 mornings a week. She is excited to get to take the bus almost as much as Aidan! Speaking of Aidan, he is great! He is loving school and is getting to be such a little man. He loves to have computer time (he enjoys the games at pbs.com), though we try to limit this activity. So the other day his computer time ended so I went and shut down the computer and he looked at me with his little puppy dog eyes and said, "Momma I don't want the computer to shut down, I want it to shut up." Needless to say I laughed uncontrollably the rest of the day! So that leaves Haylee....she is growing up way to fast! She is incredibly independent and has no problem letting you know what is on her mind. Though I must say she and I are enjoying having 4 mornings a week with just the 2 of us!

2. School: Have I told you lately how much I LOVE school? Well I do! A couple of weeks ago I started a Hospital clinical rotation and I am having a blast! There is so much to do and learn there! As for the course work -- there is a lot! Lots of reading and paperwork and exams! Although I took my midterm last week and I was happy to learn that I earned a 94%!!! YEAH!!!

3. Work: I am still working part-time at the college. I really enjoy working there, but I have had to cut back on my hour to just a few a week. I work with great people and our whole job is planning and running programs for the students to have fun! How could you not love that?

4. Jesse: Let's see, Jesse is doing OK. He is still working both jobs and it is starting to take a tole on him, but he is a trooper. He is excited, he leaves for hunting camp tomorrow. He will be gone for a week, which will be tough for me, but he will have fun and needs his yearly break!

5. Family: There has been so much family stuff going on!! We will start with my brother Rick -- he came home from his mission a couple of weeks ago and looks great! It has been so nice to have him home again! As for Danny, he left a week after Rick got home and headed to Utah! He seems to be having a good time, but we miss him at home. Then there are my Sisters, Allison and Jessica. Many of you may know that I have been trying to get back in contact with them for awhile now. Well we finally found each other and have been communicating via e-mail for a month or so now. It has been awesome to have them back in my life again! I have missed them so much! This past weekend I was able to actually go and see both of them and it felt awesome! It was so natural for all of us to be back together again, although it is a little strange for me to see them all grown up! They are my little sisters after all and will always seem "little" to me I guess! I only hope that we have many more adventures together and NEVER lose contact again! I am hoping that they come over for dinner this weekend, we'll see!

I think that is it in a nut shell, and i have to get Aidan ready for school. Here's hoping life settles down a little bit -- although I have had so many blessings during this hectic time, that I don't want to lose those either! Oh, well...