A Fun Filled Weekend

We had an awesome weekend!  A weekend that started with Kennedy scoring her very first soccer goal!  Ashby & I didn't go to her game because I had some errands to run before leaving town, and wouldn't you know it, Marc sent me a text during the game saying Kennedy just scored!  For real!  I was so bummed to miss her very first goal, and hope that she has a repeat performance in her next game!  Way to go, Kennedy Rae!

After the game, we packed up & headed to Portland for my nephew's baptism.  Before we headed to my sister's house, though, we met up with my good friend Kate.  She is pregnant with a little GIRL & we were excited to hang out with her & Chase for a bit.  It had been a few months since we saw them & I couldn't wait to rub her cute belly & catch up.

The girls had a blast hanging out with the two of them, especially Chase.  They both immediately took to him, holding his hand to & from the park.  It was so cute & we all got a glimpse into the future of how he is going to be with his little girl!  So sweet!  We were only able to hang out with them for about an hour or so, but it was so great to see them & are already counting down the days until we can hang out again!

When we got to my sister's house, Brian & my dad were out picking up pizza for dinner.  Perfect timing.  It was a delicious dinner that was quickly followed by bath & bedtime for the girls as both did not get naps on Saturday.  After the girls were in bed, I pulled out these little treats!

I had just received my Velata starter kit (which is launching tomorrow!) & we enjoyed some yummy fruit & chocolate.  I warmed the chocolate caramel & it was delicious!!!  Can't wait to try the other flavors!  

Sunday morning was Greyson's BIG day & I was privileged to be asked to be his godmother!  What a special day! We were honored to be a part of it & so happy to be able to spend this special day with Brian, Rachael & Greyson.

After his baptism Brian & Rachael had everyone over to their house, where we enjoyed a delicious brunch!  The girls loved playing with Greyson & could not keep their hands off of him.  I don't blame them!  I enjoyed some special GG time too!

I forgot about my camera for most of the weekend, but my sister was great about getting some great pictures.  She just emailed me this one of my baby girl & me.  I think it's my new favorite of the two of us!

Congratulations Greyson!  We are so happy we got to spend your special day (and weekend) with you!  

BIG Mommy Fail

While I am impatiently waiting for my sister to send baptism pictures from this weekend--where are they Rae Rae?!--I need to record an OMG!  Seriously?!  I'm Losing My Mind moment I had on Friday.

For over a month now, we have had Kennedy's Kindergarten Entrance Test scheduled for this past Friday, April 27th at 3:30 pm.  I've looked at my calendar at least a dozen times since making this appointment, and every time I saw the date, I mentally made note of the appointment.

Friday was a busy day.  Really, what day isn't though.  You know?  After dropping Kennedy off at school, Ashby & I headed to my annual eye doctor appointment.  I like to say annual even though the last time I was there was 3 years ago.  Oops.  And I also wanted to talk to the doctor about lasik eye surgery.  I've worn glasses since I was 3 & am so ready to ditch them for good!

The good news:  Ashby did fabulous & the staff kept commenting how well behaved she was. *proud Mommy moment* And my eyesight has improved!  Yay!  

Now for the bad news.  He says that I do not qualify for eye surgery.  Even though you need to have a -150 (is that even the right terminology?) & my eyes are -200 & -250, because my eyes are improving every time I see him, I would not be a good candidate for the surgery.  He says that as I continue to age, my near sightedness will continue to improve while my far sightedness will get worse.  So if I get the surgery, in 5 or so years I will still probably need glasses to see up close.  Not to mention, I do not have good tear production & with lasik eye surgery, one of the risks is dry eyes.  So he said not only would I need glasses again in the future, but I'd probably be buying stock in eye drops.  He said at $1750 an eye it just wasn't worth it.

While I am very appreciative that he told me the truth & just didn't take my $3500 & run, I am super bummed that I will have to wear glasses & contacts for the rest of my life.  Oh well, it could be worse.  Right?!

Like having to get your pupils dilated & having to wear these fugly things out of the office.

No way was I going to pick Kennedy up from school wearing those hideous looking things!  So what did I do?!

Yep, I put these pretty glasses on instead!  My sunglasses were at home (who needs sunglasses in the Spring when it rains 90% of the time?!) so these were the next best thing.  Kennedy & the teacher got a good laugh out of them, but I needed to wear something.  My eyes were going through pure torture if I didn't cover them with something.  

So we got home from school & everything close up was a blur.  I couldn't make the girls lunches, read the caller ID when incoming calls came in, read my text messages on my cell phone (gasp!) and even worse, couldn't do any work on the computer (double gasp!).

So, when the girls went down for rest time so did I.  What else was I supposed to do?  I was not having a productive afternoon so I declared it nap time.   I got a good hour nap in, and when I woke up, my vision was luckily getting back to normal.

But in the midst of this busy & chaotic day, I totally forgot about Kennedy's entrance test!  So when Mrs. Moses called at 3:55 pm to ask if we needed to reschedule, I about died!  How in the heck did I forget about this very important appointment?!  This very important appointment that decides if Kennedy is ready for Kindergarten or not!  OMG!  I am a horrible parent!!!

After profusely apologizing to the teach about a billion times & feeling like the worst mother in the world, she graciously told us if we wanted to come right now, she could still evaluate Kennedy on Friday.  I quickly took her up on that offer & drove sped to school.

Kennedy, of course, knocked Mrs. Moses' socks off & charmed her way through the test.  She was super impressed with how much Kennedy already knows & says she is more than ready to start Kindergarten in the Fall.  *proud Mommy moment times a million*

Too bad the same can't be said for me.  I was seriously mortified when I got the call on Friday afternoon.  I used to pride my self on how organized & put together I was.  But ever since having the girls, I am stupid.  Seriously.  I feel like I have lost every brain cell that I once had & cannot remember things for the life of me.  It is so frustrating.  And no matter how organized I try to be, I do stupid things like this all of the time.  Sigh.

I still do not think what I did was remotely funny or humorous, but I am hoping that years down the road when I read this post, I can laugh about it all & see how insignificant it is in the grand scheme of things.

But until then.  Let me just put a big L on my forehead. :/

Get Fit Friday

Week #8 of P90X is just about done!  It's been an interesting week, what with being out of town for most of the week.  I did work out three out of the four days I was there, however, my diet was not perfect.  Unless you count pizza & Velata chocolate as being healthy.  Ha!  Overall, though, it was a pretty good week!

This week was Recovery Phase which was actually a good thing since I was away.  Lifting & abdominal work were not included this week so it was just Core Synergistics, Yoga & Cardio workouts.  That worked out well as I could just do the elliptical & treadmill in the hotel.  I did Core Synergistics the night I got home & did an Insanity workout yesterday & will do it again tomorrow.  

While I was at Scentsy training, we met with Coach Lee who is the head of the Wellness program with Scentsy.  I LOVE that they encourage health & wellness amongst their Scentsy employees, and even have a gym for them to work out in, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Even though I was a registered dietitian in my past life, I will admit that I don't always eat the healthiest.  I'm all about moderation, but sometimes my moderation includes too many carbohydrates & not enough vegetables.  Some important tips that I took away from Coach Lee's presentation & want to really focus on in the upcoming weeks were:

* You have to take care of yourself FIRST before anything or anybody else.  If you don't take care of your health & wellness, you will not be able to take care of your Scentsy business (or any business for that matter), family & home.

* A healthy lifestyle is 70% nutrition & 30% exercise.  I am very guilty of thinking that I can eat whatever I want as long as I exercise regularly.  I guess I can if I want to keep the body I currently have, but if I really want to see results, I must focus more on balanced, healthy nutrition.

* Never be hungry, never be full.  I have a hard time of stopping when I feel content.  If there is food still on my plate, especially yummy food, I have a hard time stopping until I feel full.  Sometimes really, really full.  I need to focus on listening to my satiety cues & stopping when I feel content.

He made us some super yummy smoothies & a delicious Oat Bran Flax Muffin while we were there.  The muffin tasted amazing & you never would have believed it was super healthy for you too.  Here is the recipe:

Yields: 12 Muffins

1 1/2 C All-Purpose Flour

3/4 C Ground Flax Seed

3/4 C Oatmeal & Bran, Mixed

1 C Splenda Brown Sugar

2 TSP Baking Soda

1 TSP Baking Powder

1 TSP Salt

2 TSP Cinnamon

3/4 C Skim Milk

2 Eggs

1 TSP Vanilla Extract

2 TBSP Vegetable Oil

2 C Carrots, Shredded

2 Apples; Shredded & Peeled

1/2 C Raisins

1 C Mixed Nuts, Chopped

* Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

* Grease muffin pan or line with paper liners.

* In a large bowl, mix together flour, flax seed, oatmeal & bran, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt & cinnamon.

* Add milk, eggs, vanilla extract, and vegetable oil.

* Mix until blended.

* Stir in the carrots, apples, raisins, and nuts.

* Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter.

* Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

I also tried Fage greek yogurt this week, and I have to say that I actually liked it better than the Chobani greek yogurt.  It was much smoother tasting in my opinion.  I tried the Fage Total 2% Strawberry flavor.  At only 140 calories & 12 grams of protein per container, I give this brand a big two thumbs up!

It's hard to believe that I am about to start on Phase 3 of P90X.  The last phase of the program!  I've really enjoyed this program & am starting to see some really good results.  I'm super happy that I decided to do this program, and cannot wait to see my transformation at the end of the program!

Only 51 days until Punta Cana!!!

My Most Important Job

This morning I was quickly thrust back into my role of a stay-at-home mom.  Making meals, doing laundry, driving the girls to and from school & swimming lessons, cleaning the house, referring fights, wiping booties.  You know, the fun day to day stuff us stay-at-home moms get to experience.  A lot of days it feels like SSDD as my sister & I affectionately call it: Same Stuff (or another not so nice word on a really bad day) Different Day.  But today I actually enjoyed the simple, often mundane, activities that come along with being a stay-at-home mom to two little girls.

Today I remembered why I became a stay-at-home mom.

It's not always easy, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Home Sweet Home

I'm home!  I arrived late this afternoon & was greeted by two very excited little girls.  And a very relieved husband.  Ha!  Seriously, though, there is nothing more precious than my girls running into my arms, smothering me with kisses & repeating over & over how much they missed me.  Such a great feeling & a moment I want to bottle up & remember forever!

They surprised me with a dinner at my favorite restaurant, Cheesecake Factory.  It was, as always, delicious!  During dinner we talked about their favorite part of the week & Kennedy said it was Sunday, the day that Papa arrived.  And Ashby said her favorite day was today because I came home.  *melt my heart*  Ashby sat next to me all dinner & kept giving me hugs & kisses, telling me how much she missed me.  I think my mini-me is very glad that I am home.

I had an amazing trip to Idaho.  One that started with an awesome visit with some college girlfriends.  Man, how I miss them & wish I could see them more often.  My friend, Jen, and I went out to dinner on Saturday & then she hosted a brunch at her house on Sunday.  A handful of my girlfriends & their kids came over & we enjoyed catching up while the kiddos played.  It was a great visit & I really appreciate Jen getting everyone together while I was in town.  I miss them already & am counting down the days until I get to see them again.  

And then Director training was Monday through today.  To say that these past few days were incredible is an understatement!  It was a life changing event that I am so thankful I was able to be a part of!  I have to thank Scentsy for giving me this opportunity to become a better wife, mother, and  Scentsy Director!  I am so blessed to work for such an amazing company & cannot wait to watch my life continue to change for the BETTER in the next days, weeks, months & years!

And the weather?!  It was beautiful!  In the 80's & sunny almost the entire time I was there!  Dare I say that some days were a little hot?!  But I enjoyed every second of it & was sad to come back to rainy Washington today.  Although I was told it was also beautiful here while I was gone.  Go figure.

Tonight as I head to bed, I am so thankful for an incredible husband & dad (thanks Papa!) who watched the girls while I was away.  So in love with two little girls who I missed like crazy & was so happy to cover them head to toe with hugs & kisses. And so very blessed to be working for an amazing company.  A company who genuinely cares about their employees & continues to show them day in & day out their appreciation for everyone who works for them.  They are a very special company that I am so honored to be a part of.

And with that, one last picture of me & my girls.  

So happy to be back home where I belong!

Papa And His Girls

While I have been in Boise, Marc has been wonderful about sending me pictures of the girls.  They always make me smile & I love receiving them.  There are two pictures, though, that just melt my heart.

How adorable are these pictures?!  These girls sure to love their Papa!

And I'm pretty sure the feelings are mutual. :)

Leaving On A Jet Plane

As I write this, I am sitting in a hotel room.  Enjoying the peace & quiet.  No children.  No husband.  Just me & my roommate.

I am currently in Boise for Scentsy Director training. 

Today was our first day of training, and oh my goodness, was it great!  Such a great day learning about how to be a better Director and leader to my Scentsy team.  It has also been great meeting other Scentsy Directors, learning from them & taking away things that I can implement with my team when I go back home.  I cannot wait to see what is in store during the next couple of days!

I even got to meet our wonderful CEO's, Orville & Heidi Thompson!  They are such amazing people & it was great to talk to them for a bit today.  I've even been asked by a couple of consultants if I am related to Heidi because they think we look alike.  As I look at the picture above,  I do see a slight resemblance.  What do you think?!

And the my girls?!  They are enjoying four days alone with their Daddy & Papa.  I miss them like crazy but know the girls are having a blast with them & are getting spoiled rotten!  I cannot wait to hear all the fun things they did while I was gone!

Soccer Star

Kennedy started Spring soccer season last week.  Her friend is on the team & her friend's mom is the coach, so they asked if Kennedy wanted to sign up too.  But since it was after the registration deadline, they made me assistant coach so they could squeeze Kennedy onto the team.  Ha!  Really, I am just the team mom & in charge of organizing the snack schedule, but I like the sound of being the assistant coach...even if I've never played a day of soccer in my life!

This is Kennedy's friend, Claire.  Isn't she adorable?  The girls are only 6 months a part, but thanks to baby girl inheriting mom's short stature, Kennedy looks like she could be Claire's little sister!  She is such a good friend to Kennedy, and we are going to miss her & her family when they move this summer. 

Kennedy likes soccer.  She has fun running around with her friends & kicking the ball around.  But she isn't very aggressive.  The ball could be right at her feet, and she would let the other kids get to the ball first.  What can I say?!  She just loves to share! :) 

But she has fun, and that's all that really matters.  She may not be the next Mia Hamm, but she is learning how to be a team player & in life that is much more important than if she can kick, dribble & pass a ball.  

And Ashby cannot wait until next year when she gets to play!  Sitting on the side cheering on sissy is great, but playing would be MUCH more fun!

Here's to an exciting season for the Bumble Bees!

School Days

Yesterday was Sibling Day at Kennedy's preschool.  Ashby was super excited to get to go to school with her big sister!  I was a little apprehensive on how she'd do, given her bad separation anxiety, but I was hopeful that since Kennedy was with her, she would do just fine.

And she did!  She had a blast at school & keeps asking when she gets to go back again!  She told me she did art projects with Kennedy, played in the castle room & danced.  And the teacher said she did great, even leaving Kennedy's side once in awhile to play on her own.  I was so happy that she did well AND had fun!

And what did I do during the 2 1/2 hours by myself?!  Grocery shopping, of course!

It was so nice to roam the stores in peace & quiet and take my time getting groceries.  Exciting?  No!  But enjoyable?  YES!!!

I think I can get used to this!!!