Trip to Six Flags

Ok so apparently I still can't figure out how to put a picture then a caption but trust me some day it will click and I will have it all figured out!

So when we got right out side of Eureka I told Blake where we were going and when he saw the huge ferris wheel when we parked that was the first thing he wanted to ride. I am not a fan of heights and every possible scenario runs thru my head of what could happen while on a ride. But Blake loved it and then we rode the Mine Train which he liked a lot more than me and the Tony Hawk Big Spin which I was also not a fan of. I made sure to never show him that I was nervous or uneasy about a ride and let him pick and chose. We visited the water park twice he only wanted to float in the river and then in the wave pool. He decided he wanted a tattoo and really wanted a bull head but had to settle for a monster truck which he thought was equally as cool, he also picked out my tattoo for me which I have had lots of compliments on so it must look real. We had our old time western pictures taken I thought he wanted to be in the pictures alone but nope he said I had to do it with him but he had to hold a shotgun and wear a cowboy hat! It was a great day just the two of us and I decided that next time we need to invite friends to go along it would make for more fun. We were there from 10 am until a little after 6, I was plenty wore out when I got home and still had to fix dinner and do bath and bed time for him and Nathan but it was well worth it.

Blake's big surprise....

Tomorrow I am taking a vacation day, and to any of you that know me also know that I rarely take a day off. I can count on one hand how many times I have taken off for something other than doctor appointments or for kids being sick. But tomorrow I am taking off and taking Blake somewhere super cool and fun....

Six Flags!!! I am so excited that he is tall enough for most rides and that I get to take him on a special day just him and me. I dont think I have done anything with just him since Nathan was born and I hope he thinks its extra cool and special. He knows we are going somewhere and was worried who would pick Nathan up from daycare which was sweet.

Yesterday I found him a new bright yellow shirt so I can see him all the time and new swim trunks. Today I got myself a bright green tank top and new shorts. Then got lucky and found a tankini top on clearance! I am nervous and feel odd not having the whole day planned out. When I used to go to Six Flags in the summer with my cousin we would have what ride was first second and so on for the whole day all planned. But I have decided tomorrow I am going to let Blake pick what we ride and in what order and my controlling nature is disliking me at the moment but I think it will be fun to be spontaneous.

I bought a disposable waterproof camera for our big day and I hope to have lots of pictures to share next week!

Signs Blake is growing up.

Last Thursday night I took Blake and Nathan to watch a friends son play baseball. It was super hot and I was a bit worried Nathan would be crabby having to sit in his stroller for a whole game. However he did awesome liked watching the people in the bleachers and the kids on the field. Blake loved the game but would have rather went to watch his friend Mike play which was odd since Jacob is 9 and was who we were watching and he got to play with Jacob's sister and a few other kids on the playground.
The playground well that part made me uneasy and nervous as it was back behind the bleachers and across the parking lot, mind you we were in a small town where everyone knows everybody I trusted the kids he was with  but I was very anxious and uneasy when they would go off and play. So I would wait about 10 minutes then go check on them and see that they were fine. This was the first time that Blake got to play out of sight of me and out of sight of any adults and I did not like it one bit. And even though I know he will be fine I doubt I will allow that to happen anytime soon.
He now brushes he teeth all on his own without being told morning and night which is great and the dentist said he is doing a good job on his own so we let him have at it.
So odd all of the little things that he has done to show his age and Independence no they haven't all happened at once but are adding up rather quickly, and his new favorite is he can wipe when he goes to the bathroom. And I do believe its my newest favorite too!
I am so happy to see him growing up and changing and becoming an all around great kid who is very smart and seems to know right from wrong. I just hope that continues when he starts school and that he don't find a "friend" that will get him in trouble or lead him down the wrong path and become hateful unminding and non grateful.

Nathan's new diapers

Here is him on his tummy I had him sitting up and he saw something way more interesting before I could snap the picture. I really seem to like the new diapers and ordered two more today! They are much more absorbent than the store brands and are way cuter. I have also noticed he is no longer red down below and when you take them off their skin is dry unlike the store brands that leave them damp feeling.
I have been using the shells of GroVia diapers as his swim diaper for when we are in the pool. I am still working on getting a good picture with out me in it to post.
Saturday morning I put him in the fuzzi bunz diaper and ended up going to the bank and then to town for a few things and by the time I got home to change him it had been over four hours and he had two bottles and I think the diaper would have lasted several more hours, I was shocked. I will still have store diapers for when he visits family and stays overnight somewhere but for home and weekends I believe this is the route we are taking.

In less than a month Blake will be 5!!!

In less than one month Blake will turn five and in less than two months he will start kindergarten. I am happy to see him grow but sad as well. Today I went and bought his birthday present, he doesn't need any toys he has every John Deere tractor that Walmart, MFA and Family Center has and he plays with all of them and all the attachments and trailers daily. So I got him a new bull riding vest and real chaps, he has been wanting to be a bull rider since he was 2! Each year for Halloween he wants to be one and all through out the year he puts his vest, hat and chaps on and pretends to ride a bull. I keep thinking the stage will pass but it hasn't and its fine by me he makes one heck of a cute bull rider.

I need to learn how to put a picture on then write something by it or under it anyway bear with me. The picture of the chaps and vest are his present this year. The picture of him on his tractor is from Halloween 2009, the other picture is from Halloween 2008. I didn't have a picture from Halloween 2007 on my computer but he was a cowboy then as well.

Nathan's new diapers

Nathan's new cloth hybrid diapers arrived via UPS on Friday. I took them home and started washing the inserts it said to wash them at least 5-6 times. In the meantime of washing those I put him in one that has the disposable inserts and he seemed to like them plus they were easy to get on him and to change the insert.
Last night I put him in one of the diapers that has the cloth insert and he did good crawled all over and it never leaked even though when I took it off of him the liner was soaked. I do plan to watch for sales on more of them and switch to those while at home and on weekends and maybe switch him at daycare as well.
They seem to cost a lot less than buying diapers weekly and as long as they don't make him break out or leak I feel they will be well worth the time and the investment.
I will do my best to take some pictures of him tonight and post how cute he is in them.
The big benefit will be not having to take trash twice a week due to diapers and the smell!

Food, weight loss and exercise

I have been doing a lot of thinking the past few months about food weight loss and exercising.


Here is what I used to think worked and what I have learned:

Skipping meals means less calories and lower number on the scale, what I have learned is that doesn’t work and it took me oh 12+ years to figure that one out

That you can eat what ever you want but stay at within a certain calorie boundary, Ha well I was told that doesn’t work last week. Now I am trying new healthy foods to fill my calories for the day. Thanks to a friend who totally called me out and got all Jillian on me for my food logs. But as harsh as it was it flipped that light bulb on and I made a change.

Used to believe that by skipping a meal I was not only saving calories but saving money, what I have realized is that you skip a meal you are more likely to get hungry later in the day and then eat everything in sight which may include a trip thru a drive thru or to a convenience store and get what ever looks good. Which by the way everything looks extremely delicious when you haven’t ate all day.

Exercising for an hour doesn’t mean you can go eat that milkshake that looked good earlier. My husband and I used to go to the gym several years ago and undoubtedly we would leave drive past Steak and Shake and stop his motto “we worked out and burned calories we can have a shake”

My highschool favorite was track each calorie then try to work out to make sure I burned each and everyone and was in the negative before bed. Well when you don’t eat enough your body starts eating away at muscle. Not to mention really screws with your metabolism.

Weigh each morning noon and night and several times in between, if the number is up don’t eat if its down eat a little. Well I am proud to say I have broke that cycle and no longer weigh. Yes I still step on the scale occasionally at work but I don’t let the number affect my mood or food for the day. The first week or so was hard because I didn’t know where I was but now I just go by my food intake how I feel inside and how my clothes feel.

So what am I trying now????

Well I no longer weigh religiously, I do however step on the scale at work when I am changing to go workout at noon but I don’t dwell on the number or let it affect me in any way.

Have completely changed the way I think of food and the types of foods I eat. Started buying more veggies and trying to get Blake to try them which is near impossible some days.

My salads now consist of more than just plain lettuce. I have red cabbage, carrots, cucumber and some sort of protein.

Oh the biggie is giving up Mountain Dew, I love the stuff and still do but I know if I allow myself just one it will be all down hill. So I drink tons of water and occasionally an unsweet tea.

My workouts well they are getting longer and more intense. I am still trying to fit in workouts of an evening around my chores and taking care of the kids but I am slowly finding a groove. Lucky for me Blake love taking walks and riding his bike so Saturday mornings if Kenny has to work we go to town and I push Nathan in the stroller and Blake rides his bike. Its no strenuous major calorie burning workout but its better than nothing and both kids love it.

Not skipping meals which is hard for me on weekends and some week nights if we are busy. I don’t realize I am hungry until I am starving and want to eat everything in sight.

Trying to cut back on getting food from fast food, gas stations or restaurants because I know its not healthy and we find ourselves eating out way way to much. I want eating out to be fun for the kids not something they expect x amount of times a week.

There is probably more I could write about but I will stop with that. I am not sure anyone will read it but I have wrote this for myself so that in a few months I can go back and read this and either be pleased with progress or see that I have fallen off track and need to get back up and going.

A neat website I have discovered

http://www.walkjogrun.net/

I have always walked on routes that have been marked but noticed a friend on Facebook using the above website. So today I walked a different route came back tow ork and checked it out and it gives you estimated calorie burn mileage and your average pace. Pretty cool site, so I found our gravel road and mapped out two walks that I plan on taking Nathan and Blake on soon!

I decided to alter the one with both boys since it looked odd due to it being shady where the pool was. The picture of just Nathan was taken 6-5-10 and it was his very first time in the water and he seems to like it.

Just Blah

It figures when I have the time to write and post blogs my mind draws blanks. I haven't been in a very good mood and having way to much stress this week to make any posts that anyone would want to read.

But today is Thursday and I just checked my order tracking on Nathan's Hybrid Cloth Diapers and they are currently sitting in UPS in IL so they should be here tomorrow. Which excites me more that I will get them in time for the weekend to try them out and see if I want to order more next week.

Blake is still totally in love with his swimming lessons and thinks his teacher is cute (I saw a picture and yep she is pretty) tomorrow is his last day of that then I am thinking of treating him to 6 Flags in a couple weeks. I can't wait until both kids are big enough to go to 6 Flags and ride the rides together. Nathan loves the pool too and as soon as I figure out how to get the photos off my phone and on the computer I will post a few.

Other than those happy thoughts most of my thoughts this week are stress related, along with worrying about family and friends.  Maybe next week I can come up with something worth reading or at least have a post on my new diapers!

Misc. Pictures

The boys with their matching shirts and jeans.

Sunset I captured last night.

Hybrid Cloth Diapers

This morning after some research and deliberation I have opted to order three Hybrid Cloth Diapers and a box of inserts for each brand. The awesome thing is that 3 diapers and inserts are what I pay for one month of diapers, the inserts that I will buy monthly are half the price of one box of diapers. I plan on using them at home at first to see how I feel about them then talk to the sitter and she what her take is. I would think it would be easier on her since she can just throw out the insert or put them in a bag for me to take home and wash. But I will still have regular diapers for overnight and long car rides or days where we are out and about a lot.
I always thought that cloth diapers were a thing of the past, or that they hadn't improved or changed and you had to mess with folding and pinning. Glad to see that they have improved just wish that I would have talked to Bethany sooner and I could have saved tons of money by starting them when he was born. Better late than never and since we are at 8 months and still have at least a year and a half left of diapering I feel its worth the investment.

Riding horses

I decided to play around with some pictures and do editing and I am by no means good at this but it was fun. Anyway the picture with Nathan is from May 2010 and the picture of Blake is from May 2007. Chad got the privilege to be the first one to give  my boys their first experience on a horse. It is also the same horse in both photos.

Pig Roast and Camping

This was the third year that we camped out at the Pig Roast it just seems easier than packing your car each day driving over then going home that night. Plus Blake really likes to camp there with his friends (most of whom are my age but play with him like they are kids too) and he loves the tent.
Friday night after work I picked the kids up from daycare Blake knew it was camping time so we headed home to wait for daddy so we could load up the rest of the stuff. Well when he came he gave me news I didn't want to hear "I have to go help someone pull a well you will have to set up camp alone" I was mad but didnt want to show Blake I was upset so we packed up I took both kids to the lake. We get there and there are tons of people there but none noticed I had two kids and was trying to set up a tent ALONE! Finally Tim came over and offered help and boy was I glad. Most people said I should have just stayed home and waited for Kenny but I am stubborn and independant and was determined to set up camp and not dissapoint a four year old who looks forward to the pig roast each year.
Saturday morning bright and early Blake was up ready to shoot the pig, he doesn't understand why he is to young to shoot (I bet it wont be long and it will be his turn) but this year April got the honors and did a great job. I didn't post any of the yucky pictures from shooting til cooking. But I did post one of the pig on the cooker ready to come off.
All around was a great weekend both kids had fun. Blake got to play with a new friend Desmon they became buddies quickly and played well together he also liked playing with the girls. I am very glad that he is outgoing and likes to be around other kids big or small.

More pictures from Memorial Weekend

Memorial Weekend and some big firsts for Nathan

Not only was it Nathan's first time camping and first Pig Roast it ended up being a whole weekend of firsts for him. He had his first popcicle a green one that he loved and ate the whole thing and was less messy than kids older than him. He also sat on the tractor for the first time with Blake and Dwayne and he looked happy and content. Sunday he rode a horse for the first time and seemed happy and never was scared, I have to admit I was a bit nervous but I trust Chad and knew he would do everything possible to keep him safe. He also sat in the grass for the first time on Sunday. We had a great weekend of camping and I will make another post with more pictures soon.