This weekend, our weather was absolute heaven. Highs in the mid-60's with a slight wind. We decided to take advantage and took Kaleb to the park after our Saturday morning workout at the gym. He has gotten a lot better with being dropped of at the Kid's center at the gym. They have lots of toys and some computers he can play on so he is happy. We had so much fun at the playground. He was very active and wanted me to slide with him. I had Paul video us because I thought it was hilarious. See for yourself!
We also got invited to my sister's house for a cookout last night. I asked what they were cooking and she informed me that they were grilling the elk that Chad had killed in Colorado. Ummmm.... OK. Having never eaten elk before, and not being a big fan of deer meat, I asked my sister what it tasted like. She told me not to worry, that it was delicious and tasted like beef. Little did I know, but she had never had elk before either! Sneaky, sneaky that woman! =) But luckily, she was right. It was very good. That had marinated it for over 20 hours, so there was not the gamey taste that I was expecting. Another reason we love going over my sister's is to visit my 'nephew' of the four legged kind. Kaleb absolutely LOVES Denver and I like to think that he loves him back just as much. We don't have a dog (not for lack of trying on my part), so I get my dog fix with Denver. He is the sweetest thing and Kaleb is hilarious playing with him. He will throw the toy, then start yelling really loud and really fast "Get it, Get it, Get it!!!" And Denver (or Bubba as Kaleb so lovingly calls him) will go get it and bring it right back, dropping it at Kaleb's feet. This is something he will not do for anyone else. If we throw something, don't expect to get it back because he will take it to Kaleb everytime!
That pretty much sums up our weekend. Sunday was another pretty day so we did something we love doing on lazy Sundays. We spent the day riding around in the car, going into Open Houses in the area. We love looking at new houses, gathering ideas of the future house we will someday build and grow old together in!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Super Bowl Sunday
Sunday was the official end of the football season. Normally, Paul and I don't watch professional sports, but when the Super Bowl rolls around, we try to get involved with all the festivities. And this year was no exception. My sister called and said they were hosting a party at their new house, and just the next day, a mom of one of the kids from Kaleb's daycare calls and invites us over to their place with a bunch of other daycare kids. So, I explained that we were going to split our time (1st half with the kiddos and second half with the sister). It was tons of fun!
First, we went to Karen and Kevin's house, whose son Breckin is in Kaleb's daycare class. They are from the area so we got to meet a lot of new people and get to know some parents from Kaleb's daycare. There ended up being four ~3-year-olds (3 boys and one girl) and two 5-year-olds. We found out quickly that boys will be boys and fight over any and all toys. I don't know how many times we looked outside and there were at least 2 if not all 3 crying over something! But we had a great time and look forward to getting together with everyone again soon.
At half time, we packed up and headed over to my sister's new house. I had planned it this way hoping that Kaleb would wear himself out with all the kids and fall alseep on the way to Melodie's. The skies must have been aligned just right because, low and behold, that child fell asleep in the car and stayed asleep the whole time we were there. Again, we got to meet lots of new people and also catch up with some we had met before but not seen since summer.
We ended up only watching the final two minutes of the game. (I actually had picked the Patriots to win, but oh well. I really didn't care one way or the other).
The funniest time of the night was right before we left my sister's to head home. One of Chad's coworker's had a newborn baby with them at the party. She had been asleep the whole time and woke up right as everyone was leaving. Melodie was holding her and handed her over to Chad, when she started to pass gas! Chad mentioned how warm she felt and discovered that the diaper apparently had reached it's load-limit! Uh Oh! Gross and hysterical at the same time!
First, we went to Karen and Kevin's house, whose son Breckin is in Kaleb's daycare class. They are from the area so we got to meet a lot of new people and get to know some parents from Kaleb's daycare. There ended up being four ~3-year-olds (3 boys and one girl) and two 5-year-olds. We found out quickly that boys will be boys and fight over any and all toys. I don't know how many times we looked outside and there were at least 2 if not all 3 crying over something! But we had a great time and look forward to getting together with everyone again soon.
At half time, we packed up and headed over to my sister's new house. I had planned it this way hoping that Kaleb would wear himself out with all the kids and fall alseep on the way to Melodie's. The skies must have been aligned just right because, low and behold, that child fell asleep in the car and stayed asleep the whole time we were there. Again, we got to meet lots of new people and also catch up with some we had met before but not seen since summer.
We ended up only watching the final two minutes of the game. (I actually had picked the Patriots to win, but oh well. I really didn't care one way or the other).
The funniest time of the night was right before we left my sister's to head home. One of Chad's coworker's had a newborn baby with them at the party. She had been asleep the whole time and woke up right as everyone was leaving. Melodie was holding her and handed her over to Chad, when she started to pass gas! Chad mentioned how warm she felt and discovered that the diaper apparently had reached it's load-limit! Uh Oh! Gross and hysterical at the same time!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Update on Friend
So, it's not leukemia! That's the good news. Bad news is that she was sent home from the hospital yesterday with no definitive answers. Her platelet levels keep dropping to below 6,000 when they should be between 150,000 and 450,000! She is going to try this supplement treatment called Blood Well since no medication seems to be helping. I'm sure she would appreciate the continued prayers for healing or just answers!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Prayer Warriors Needed
So, I don't ask for much but I have seen the power of prayer work for Lucy, so I thought I would throw out a prayer request for a woman that works with me. She has been having health issues for a while now. A few years back, she actually had a blood clot in her lung. Lately, she has had so many issues and has been hospitalized so many times, without any real answers. The answers she has been given were: Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Raynaud's Syndrome AND Sjogren's Syndrome. (Did I mention she is only a year older than me?!) All of these are considered autoimmune diseases, which means her body thinks her own cells are foreign and is trying to kill them. Talk about sick! Well, the treatments for these diseases are steroids and immune suppressors which make her even more susceptible to germs/sickness. She got really sick earlier this week and had to go back into the hospital. Today, I was informed that they think she might have Leukemia and are going to draw bone marrow for biospy. So, I was just wondering if you could add this wonderful woman (Tracy), to your prayer list.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Can we really keep this diet thing up?!
You bet-cha! That's right, we are still going strong! Luckily, there is one cheat meal per week allowed. She just says to be sure to cheat on a day that you are super active to help burn any extra calories and to not go too overboard. So, Saturday night, Paul went to town to get us some mexican. But we were good and got one chicken fajita and one steak fajita and split them between the two of us. They tasted SO good. Not sure if it was that good or we just hadn't had mexican in that long! =) But Sunday, we were back no our best behavior. We got Lenny's for lunch (no mayo for me!) Their hot pepper relish and a little spicy mustard made me not miss the mayo at all. We got some groceries Sunday afternoon and really stuck to our shopping list. It really makes it easier to eat healthier when that is the only option you have in the house. Don't buy junk and you can't eat junk! Simple, really. And I am really proud to say I have been taking my lunches to work and not eating out! That is really an accomplishment seeing that I have cash in my purse to buy lunch with but am sticking to it. Sunday night we decided we didn't want to cook anything because we really didn't feel like cleaning anything, so cereal it was. Monday for lunch, I took advice from my friend Jimbo (who is really obsessed with canned tuna), and made some barbecue tuna with brown rice. You take a can of tuna, pour in two tbsp barbecue sauce (only 45 calories per 2 tbsp) and heat it up in the microwave for 30 seconds. Sounds wierd but tastes just like leftover barbecue! Added a few dashes of hot sauce to my brown rice and had a filling and protein-packed lunch. Dinner were the Tuna Stuffed Peppers again, but this time I made the sweet potato fries with it! But my favorite thing was desert. Yes, you heard me, desert! It was a Protein-packed Cinnamon Swirl Bread. Found the recipe through the Muffin-Top Less website. And it was DELICIOUS! Even Paul thought it was great. Tasted like cinnamon bread pudding to me. And only 55 calories per square. Here is the recipe:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/docs/2011/cinnamon-swirl-protein-bread.pdf
She has a video of her making it here:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-easons-livefit-recipes...
The ingredients are a little out there, (I couldn't even find Xylitol, so I substituted Truvia for both it and the Stevia since I had it on hand). But they turned out great. Very moist. Had two squares for breakfast this morning.
The workouts are going great as well. I have been trying to workout as much as possible. I had been working out in the past, but have never felt it like I have been lately. I have been waking up in pain (the good kind) every day from what I worked out the day before. Just tells me I am challenging my body in ways that haven't been challenged in a long time, probably since high school actually.
Paul is always picking up Fitness magazines and Healthy Cooking magazines. We were going through them last night and they had an article about different apps for your phone that can help with diet and exercise. I downloaded the free ones (I'm kind of cheap that way), and they are really good. My favorite is the MyFitnessPal app. It lets you put in your current situation, your goals, and then tells you how to meet those goals. You can keep a diary of everything you are eating (very big catalog of all kinds of food), so it can tell you how you are doing everyday. The others were SparkRecipes (people like you uploading healthy recipes they have tried), Locavore (tells you what fruits and veggies are in season in your area, and then tells you where you can find a local market), and Fooducate (helps you make better decisions in the grocery store by telling you what additives are in foods, etc... also has a barcode scanner to make it easier than searching for the product). As I said earlier, all these were free apps, so you can download them and let me know what you think!
This really is a hard adjustment to make in our lives, but we both know that is it simple too. We have to set a good example for Kaleb. We want him to see his mom and dad making good choices, not just in big decisions, but in the simple ones too, like what to eat. It seems like such a simple thing, but it impacts your life so dramatically. He is such a picky eater, I just hope when he does grow out of it, he learns to make the right food decisions. If I can make those decisions easier for him, he will have more time and energy to focus on the bigger decision he will face in life.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/docs/2011/cinnamon-swirl-protein-bread.pdf
She has a video of her making it here:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-easons-livefit-recipes...
The ingredients are a little out there, (I couldn't even find Xylitol, so I substituted Truvia for both it and the Stevia since I had it on hand). But they turned out great. Very moist. Had two squares for breakfast this morning.
The workouts are going great as well. I have been trying to workout as much as possible. I had been working out in the past, but have never felt it like I have been lately. I have been waking up in pain (the good kind) every day from what I worked out the day before. Just tells me I am challenging my body in ways that haven't been challenged in a long time, probably since high school actually.
Paul is always picking up Fitness magazines and Healthy Cooking magazines. We were going through them last night and they had an article about different apps for your phone that can help with diet and exercise. I downloaded the free ones (I'm kind of cheap that way), and they are really good. My favorite is the MyFitnessPal app. It lets you put in your current situation, your goals, and then tells you how to meet those goals. You can keep a diary of everything you are eating (very big catalog of all kinds of food), so it can tell you how you are doing everyday. The others were SparkRecipes (people like you uploading healthy recipes they have tried), Locavore (tells you what fruits and veggies are in season in your area, and then tells you where you can find a local market), and Fooducate (helps you make better decisions in the grocery store by telling you what additives are in foods, etc... also has a barcode scanner to make it easier than searching for the product). As I said earlier, all these were free apps, so you can download them and let me know what you think!
This really is a hard adjustment to make in our lives, but we both know that is it simple too. We have to set a good example for Kaleb. We want him to see his mom and dad making good choices, not just in big decisions, but in the simple ones too, like what to eat. It seems like such a simple thing, but it impacts your life so dramatically. He is such a picky eater, I just hope when he does grow out of it, he learns to make the right food decisions. If I can make those decisions easier for him, he will have more time and energy to focus on the bigger decision he will face in life.
Jump, Jump, Jump!
Saturday, Kaleb was invited to a birthday party for a girl, Rylie, in his daycare class. If you read the previous post, you know that I took Kaleb to the party while Paul attempted to put together Kaleb's train table he got from his Nana and Pop for Christmas. The party was being held at a local establishment called Jump Zone (think smaller Pump-It-Up). It was really fun getting to see Kaleb play with all his little friends from school. They are all so adorable. Kaleb was a little hesitant at first, but he got over it quickly. He really loved the little obstacle course they had. He got to climb over, under, and through all kinds of things. He wasn't really into the slides, big or small, so that was good for me seeing I would have had to help him to the top of it! There were only a few bumped heads, nothing a little kiss from Mommy couldn't heal.
I got to meet a lot of the moms and dads too, which was nice. I realized I might have the anti-social kid in the class though. Everyone kept asking kids names, trying to put faces to the names that their children talk about everyday after school. I kept nodding and smiling like I was right there with them, but to be honest, Kaleb NEVER mentions any kids from daycare. Except Brooks, our neighbor, but that is only if he sees him across the street and wants to play with his toys. If I ask him about his day, or mention any of the kids from his class, he just goes "No Mommy. Bye, School!". I'm pretty sure he thinks if he mentions any of the kids, that means he is going to school. Oh my, Oh my. What do you do? I will ask him: "Kaleb, do you like Brooks, or Christian, or Breckin, or Temple, or Rylie?" and he just keeps saying "Nope". But I know he likes them, because I see him playing with them everyday when I pick him up. And the parents always say how much their kids talk about Kaleb.
Another way I know he likes them was watching him at the party. There was a little girl jumping in the castle and started yelling "Kate, Kate, Kate". I didn't understand him at first, but he ran into the castle to play with her and I asked the mom was her name was, and that's when it hit me that he was yelling her name! So cute! And he was obsessed with playing with Breckin and Christian and Rylie. He would follow them around. But there were still moments where I found him jumping by himself, which he seemed completely content with too.
It was a really great, fun party UNTIL.... it was time to open presents and eat cake! I mean, how do you tell a bunch of 2-3 year olds that they have to stop jumping in these awesome bounce houses, sit down to eat cake and watch a girl open presents that aren't theirs! EEK! Not good! Kaleb wanted nothing to do with the cupcake, the presents, or anything for that matter. He wanted to jump! So, after a bathroom conversation, we decided to wish Rylie "Happy Birthday", thank the mom and dad for inviting us, and head home. I was really hoping he would be worn out and fall asleep on the way home. I even rode around for an extra 15 minutes hoping for him to nod off, but he was having none of it. Every time I would peak at him in the rearview mirror, he would laugh and smile at me! So, I gave up, and we went home to his own bounce house and to ride on his tractor. That's when we found Paul attempting to put the train table together. It was really a beautiful day, so we soaked up as much sunshine as we could before the clouds rolled in that afternoon. All-in-all, it was a very fun and productive Saturday!
I got to meet a lot of the moms and dads too, which was nice. I realized I might have the anti-social kid in the class though. Everyone kept asking kids names, trying to put faces to the names that their children talk about everyday after school. I kept nodding and smiling like I was right there with them, but to be honest, Kaleb NEVER mentions any kids from daycare. Except Brooks, our neighbor, but that is only if he sees him across the street and wants to play with his toys. If I ask him about his day, or mention any of the kids from his class, he just goes "No Mommy. Bye, School!". I'm pretty sure he thinks if he mentions any of the kids, that means he is going to school. Oh my, Oh my. What do you do? I will ask him: "Kaleb, do you like Brooks, or Christian, or Breckin, or Temple, or Rylie?" and he just keeps saying "Nope". But I know he likes them, because I see him playing with them everyday when I pick him up. And the parents always say how much their kids talk about Kaleb.
Another way I know he likes them was watching him at the party. There was a little girl jumping in the castle and started yelling "Kate, Kate, Kate". I didn't understand him at first, but he ran into the castle to play with her and I asked the mom was her name was, and that's when it hit me that he was yelling her name! So cute! And he was obsessed with playing with Breckin and Christian and Rylie. He would follow them around. But there were still moments where I found him jumping by himself, which he seemed completely content with too.
It was a really great, fun party UNTIL.... it was time to open presents and eat cake! I mean, how do you tell a bunch of 2-3 year olds that they have to stop jumping in these awesome bounce houses, sit down to eat cake and watch a girl open presents that aren't theirs! EEK! Not good! Kaleb wanted nothing to do with the cupcake, the presents, or anything for that matter. He wanted to jump! So, after a bathroom conversation, we decided to wish Rylie "Happy Birthday", thank the mom and dad for inviting us, and head home. I was really hoping he would be worn out and fall asleep on the way home. I even rode around for an extra 15 minutes hoping for him to nod off, but he was having none of it. Every time I would peak at him in the rearview mirror, he would laugh and smile at me! So, I gave up, and we went home to his own bounce house and to ride on his tractor. That's when we found Paul attempting to put the train table together. It was really a beautiful day, so we soaked up as much sunshine as we could before the clouds rolled in that afternoon. All-in-all, it was a very fun and productive Saturday!
This is Kate.
This is Rylie, the birthday girl
My little Turkey
It is so hard to get a picture in focus with him bouncing around
Peek-a-boo
Pretty sure he was telling me to stop with the pictures in this one!
One Last Christmas Gift
For Christmas, my mom and dad got Kaleb a train table. Mom called back in November and asked what was something that she could get him. I told her about a train table at his daycare that he really loves. We were going to get him one but I told her they could get it for him and we would get him the bounce house. Mom said that was a great idea and sent me the pic of the one she ordered. It was great and even matched the furniture already in his room.
We had discussed wether or not to put it together for his Santa seeing that we would have to bring it all the way home, not knowing if it would fit in the back of Paul's Tahoe for the ride home. But we decided that it would be fine and we really wanted to see him playing with it Christmas morning. Well, I got a call the Thursday before Christmas informing me that Kaleb would have to get excited about a picture of a train table! Mom and Dad opened the box to put it together and there were a billion pieces! Not really, but the box even said 100+ pieces! The instructions were pretty little pictures and 5 pages long. So, needless to say, Kaleb got his train table but didn't get to play with it until later!
This past Saturday, a little girl from Kaleb's daycare was having a birthday party (see next post for details on that), and I told Paul I would take Kaleb to the party if he would put the table together while we were gone. We got home to a partially put together train table and a frustrated Paul! =) It wasn't that difficult, just a lot of pieces and minimal directions. He finally got the table and accessories put together, and then came time to assemble to tracks. OMG! There were 30 pieces with a labeled diagram where each piece should go. Easy right? Not quite seeing the pieces weren't labeled to match the diagram! Eventually, we got it together with a little teamwork (Wonderpets anyone?! What's gonna work... Teamwork!)
The hardest part of the entire thing was keeping Kaleb away from it while trying to put it together. Every time we would put a part on the table, he would pull it off to play with it!
But we got it together and Kaleb loves it. He woke up Sunday morning and started playing with it! He is so funny! Mom is supposed to be coming down in a few weeks and I know she is going to be excited to see him playing with it.
We had discussed wether or not to put it together for his Santa seeing that we would have to bring it all the way home, not knowing if it would fit in the back of Paul's Tahoe for the ride home. But we decided that it would be fine and we really wanted to see him playing with it Christmas morning. Well, I got a call the Thursday before Christmas informing me that Kaleb would have to get excited about a picture of a train table! Mom and Dad opened the box to put it together and there were a billion pieces! Not really, but the box even said 100+ pieces! The instructions were pretty little pictures and 5 pages long. So, needless to say, Kaleb got his train table but didn't get to play with it until later!
This past Saturday, a little girl from Kaleb's daycare was having a birthday party (see next post for details on that), and I told Paul I would take Kaleb to the party if he would put the table together while we were gone. We got home to a partially put together train table and a frustrated Paul! =) It wasn't that difficult, just a lot of pieces and minimal directions. He finally got the table and accessories put together, and then came time to assemble to tracks. OMG! There were 30 pieces with a labeled diagram where each piece should go. Easy right? Not quite seeing the pieces weren't labeled to match the diagram! Eventually, we got it together with a little teamwork (Wonderpets anyone?! What's gonna work... Teamwork!)
The hardest part of the entire thing was keeping Kaleb away from it while trying to put it together. Every time we would put a part on the table, he would pull it off to play with it!
But we got it together and Kaleb loves it. He woke up Sunday morning and started playing with it! He is so funny! Mom is supposed to be coming down in a few weeks and I know she is going to be excited to see him playing with it.
Daddy's little helper
The finished product!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
