Beached Whale

Hey there-
I know I'm supposed to blog about Chloe next, but she's starting school on Friday and I wanted to wait until I could get some first day of school pics. That's my excuse.
And I have a few other summer events to discuss, but we'll get to that later.
But first, I wanted to show you this picture. 

No, let's make it bigger, get the full effect.

 

I'm so....*sigh*....SO glad I gave the camera to my sister to take this picture of me in Hawaii. Please lather the previous sentence with a heavy heaping of sarcasm. I'm not sure what I was going for in this shot. Maybe this?

Shoulda just stuck some posts in the sand and roped me off so tourists could come take pictures.
Now I have a story to tell. Once upon a time, I went to Hawaii. On that trip, my brother and sister decided to take a 13 mile hike to a secluded beach on Kauai, and my mom and I decided not to go, but instead, the day after they left, we went on the first part of the trail to a waterfall about four miles from the trail head. I made it up there no problem. The waterfall was beautiful (as pictured in this post HERE). The way back was a different story. Halfway back I ran out of water and as we started an uphill climb in the hot Hawaiin sun, I started to die, basically. A slow, agonizingly difficult death. I stopped. A lot. My mother, who is a little less than twice my age, was patient and pretended that she had to pause after a particularly difficult stretch a few times to take pictures of the same view she took pictures of 20 yards down because this point was better. She let me have some of her water. She made friends with the tourists hiking by while I gasped and trudged slowly behind her, not bothering to haste and catch up because surely she would know by now that there were precious moments left of my life, no rush hurrying them. But soon a miracle happened, the trail became shaded again and started a quick descent back to the parking lot and I made it home without my mother having to bury me in the sand and push on alone.
We made it back to the condo, I drank some water, then took a filthy two hour nap on the nice white feather comforter on my bed without showering. I barely had the energy to take off my shoes before I hit the pillow. That evening my brother and sister made it home in one piece and we all went out to dinner to celebrate our triumphant returns, mine the most triumphant of all of, course, because let's face it, I almost died. No, really. Dead. I bravely recounted how I slipped a few times on the steep rocks coming down from the waterfall and how when the sun hit and the water ran out, the temperature increased about ten thousand degrees and I bravely placed one foot in front of the other until we made it home and hey, it was no big deal, in fact, it was easy even though, you know, death was a knocking.
Later, while I was talking to my sister, I admitted, as sisters do with one another, how hard it was for me to finish that hike. I paused and turned to her and said, "I'm 26...", realizing for a moment that I am by no means too old to handle such exertion. Instead of consoling me, she nodded solemnly and replied, "The prime of life!". The prime of life. I was envious of her and Addison's trip down the Kalalau trail, because I would have LOVED to go camping with them out on a remote beach in Hawaii, and the only reason I said no was because I knew I was in no physical shape to go. And I should be.
Fast forward to today. It's taken quite a bit of work and consistency and failed attempts, but I am turning over a new leaf in life. And I am enjoying it thoroughly. I hesitate to post this yet, because I was going to wait until I meet my weight goal completely before I talk about this, but since it's become such a big part of my daily life (because really it's been a life changing decision, somehow I thought it wouldn't work that way, but of course it had to be) and I love hearing others' stories and successes, I decided to share some of my progress.

(Sorry for the weird smile) I tried to wear the same clothes, and this is (obviously) just from my phone, but there's some improvement there. 20 lbs of improvement, actually. 50lbs is my goal, and I'm still rolling, but I feel much better, much stronger, and TONS more energy. At the beginning of the summer I was starting to worry that something was wrong with me because I felt like I had to take a nap every afternoon. I don't feel that way anymore. I can take care of things around the house without feeling like I ran a marathon at the end of the day. And I enjoy dressing myself in the morning, that's a big thing for me. Before I hated just about every piece of clothing I had, but my wardrobe and me are friends again. 

Some things that are helping me: 

• My Fitness Pal app on my phone: I can track my calories every day and add in the exercise I've done as well. 
• Track-o-meter from runningmap.com (another app): I start it when I start my run and it tells me how far I've gone and how long it took me to do it. I can also see a map tracking where it was that I ran in case I forget. :-) 
• My stationary bike from Schwinn. LOVE it. Also tells me how far I biked, how long it took me to do it, at what average speed, and how many calories I burned. 
• My brand new Mizuno running shoes. I was in denial about getting a new pair of shoes, but it makes SUCH a difference, and in the end I decided a new pair of shoes was less money than paying for an injury. 
• My dearest friend Alli Howe for being an inspiration to me and showing me that eating healthy really does make a difference. Check out her blog here, we are making all kinds of changes as a family and this has totally helped spur some ideas for adjusting a piece at a time in getting out of the "crap trap". Don't Panic Mom!

My easy-going schedule is pretty much going to flop on itself next week as I start teaching seminary (YIKES!), Chloe starts school, and we welcome two adorable babies into our home to help out some working mom friends. I have a tentative schedule for workouts and running, and I'm hoping it will work out, but I supposed we shall see how it all goes.
Anyway, I have some hungry kids here waiting patiently for a snack, so I better get going. I'd love to hear tips and stories from anyone who wants to share!

The Children, an update. Part two: Linus

It is a warm, breezy night as I sit here and think about my son. My little boy. My terror. My joy. My most up and down of my days. 

Oh little Linus Cooper. What a bundle he is. I don't have teenagers yet, so I'm not sure I'm qualified to say I know what "Parenting 501" looks like, but he's gotta rank me up there in the upper level courses. Every day is sort of a manic roller coaster with him, ranging from exclaiming how pretty I am after I shower and get dressed in the morning to yelling at me like I killed his best friend or dog or something when he wants to ask me for a cup of water. BUT, he does have the best little giggle in the whole wide world. I love to hear him belly laugh and love watching the way his mouth curves around his little four year old teeth when he busts a gut. I swoon a little bit.                                                                                    
Linus enjoys routines. I've been puzzled the last week or so as to why Linus all of a sudden has been falling apart over more things than normal and I think it is because once summer started any semblance of routine has sort of flown out the window. But he keeps us on schedule as best as he can, starting off the mornings bright and early with a request to use the restroom, even though we tell him every morning that he no longer needs to ask or inform us when he has to go potty. He does anyway, every time. And often informs us as to what exactly he's going to perform in there before he goes in. Sometimes publicly and quite loudly. He often remembers things upon waking that no four year old should remember, so if he's not requesting to use the bathroom upon waking up, he's reminding us of something. Craig will roll over first thing in the morning sometimes in bed and gasp loudly as he suddenly realizes Linus is standing right by his face.  
"DAD" he whispers loudly. " 'member you said that I could have a popsicle after dinner wast night?" Craig scratches his head and rubs his eyes and replies, "Linus, that was two weeks ago, we can get you a popsicle after dinner another night," which will either be followed with a persistent insistence that he needs a popsicle right now to make up for the fact that he forgot two weeks ago or he quietly submits and climbs back into bed, and there really isn't a particular rhyme or reason to when he will comply or not. Flip of the coin really.

His mind is always running a hundred miles an hour. Our days are filled to the brim with questions and comments and reminders and anything that comes off the top of his head. He loves to know what time it is. If there is a future event coming up that he is excited about, we hear about it all the time until we go (let it slip that we are going camping earlier than we meant to, and he has not quit talking about it since). I think he doesn't think that we listen to him (and I suppose after all he says all day long, it's hard to remain excited about everything he says), and often he'll as a question about something like, "Mom, what is this?" "That's a can opener, Linus." "No, Mom, what is this?" I look back at the object he's pulled out of the drawer. "A can opener, Linus, it's can opener." "NO, Mom, THIS!!!!" and then I have to physically walk over to him and grasp the can opener in my hands, look him in the face and say, "This is a can opener, it opens cans for us, Linus, this in my very hand is a can opener..." before he acknowledges that I've said anything at all.
He loves to be outside all the time. He loves playing at the park and running around the backyard with water balloons. He does not like getting his ears wet. Ever. Bath time is all fun and games until we have to wash his hair and then everything sort of explodes and I usually end up soaked at some point. He loves to pick dandelions for me and tell me that I'm pretty. He loves catching bugs and looking them over like he's the first person to ever discover it. He loves helping Mommy when I ask him to do special jobs for me like bringing Grandma a can of olives next door or cleaning up a particular area of the house. He makes his bead every morning and loves to run downstairs and bring me up to show me his clean room and made bed (he does a really good job of this- I see so much of his Dad in him sometimes it's scary!) He loves to watch me bake, cook, clean, work, whatever. If I can get him to keep his hands out of whatever I'm making, some of my most cherished conversations with him are while I'm putting something together in the kitchen and he just sits and watches and asks questions and talks to me. He loves to dance and only likes to listen to "cool songs", so I have to change songs in the car/ at home until I find one he likes. He and Chloe both almost know all the words to "Tonight" by Fun. (as if you don't hear that song enough already) and enjoy belting it out together around the house. And he has a really good ear and picks up a lot of the primary songs we go over at church, even the ones that we have barely started learning. He sweats like no other kid I've ever met. It's kind of comical to look at his pillow when he gets up from his nap or to use the bathroom at night. Just have to wash his sheets a little more often than the other two. He is ambidextrous. I watch him color and draw all the time and I really have no idea which hand he prefers. Not sure if I should be encouraging this or not, but Craig sure seems excited about it. I suppose the prospect of an ambidextrous athlete for a son is exciting and he highly promotes it when they play together.  He likes oatmeal, carrots and cucumbers, cookies, cheese, grapes, cherries (he is very proud that this year he can spit the seeds out himself), apples, oranges, tomatoes, crackers, raisins, frozen peas (all my kids love these, great summer time afternoon snack!) and popsicles, among many other family meals. Hates potatoes.
I'm both nervous and also looking forward to starting preschool with him this year. Mostly just glad for the one on one time I'll get to spend with him and see how focused he can be when we work together. Here's hoping for the best.

I completely understand that he draws attention to himself dramatically when he gets upset, especially in public situations. I laugh it off and we work through it together, but it dawned on me while I was working last year that I may be the only person who loves him like I do in this world. There is nothing like the friendship and understanding that exists between a mother and her little boy when they are young. They change so much when they get older and this is really the only time that I have with him when I am really his best friend (although he insists that it's his cousin John, whom he adores even though he only sees him once or twice a year). It made me really sad at the time to think that I could be the only person who really tries to understand him like I do, but then I realized how privileged I am to be the one who gets to help him through this life. I get to be the one that he loves more than anyone else on this earth too, and it totally changed my perspective of our relationship. I am so....SO SO SO SO SO grateful that I can be at home with him. As difficult as it is with him some days, I would not trust this job to anyone else.
I love you, Linus, from the very center of my heart, you warm me over with that smile and that laugh and your never ending bright and inquisitive mind. Not to mention your kindness, however hard you try to bury it sometimes. Never give it up.

The Children, an update. Part 1: Odell

There are just so many things that my children do everyday that I don't want to forget, so it is time for my semi-annual individual updates, starting with the baby.

Ohhhhhhh-dell. What a treasure she is. She has grown up a lot in the last six months or so, it makes me so sad. She's not quite to the terrible twos yet (although I would definitely say she's in the "pre" stage, we've seen a few moments that I'm sure will give a good indication of the storm to come) and I finally have a baby that loves to cuddle while she's still little. My older kids love to cuddle now, but they didn't care much for it when they were little, always too busy with the rest of the world around them. Not Odell. She loves to walk up to me like she wants a hug, I squat down to give her one, then she pulls away, points down at the ground and demands "WAP!", which is her way of saying, "No, Mom, sit down and let me sit in your lap. Right now." She would sit there all day if I let her. She follows me around all day just waiting for me to sit down so she can crawl up and snuggle with me. She still makes that obnoxiously loud clicking sound with her tongue when she is happy and content. I'm surprised it's hung on this long, and sometimes you look at her and go, "Wow. That's really loud, how does she do that?" I don't know. But it's sort of her trademark now. One time she was doing it in the back of the car and I was chewing a piece of gum, so I started popping it really loud in my mouth to match her and she stopped, then stared at me for a minute as if to say, "Whoa, Mom. I'm impressed!"
She's talking a lot more now. I know everyone does this, but I love looking back when my kids are older and looking at all the funny ways they used to say words, so bear with me. Here is a list of words she is working on right now:
Wap: Let me sit in your lap, or time for prayer
Hadadell??: Where's Odell??
HeeKAboo!: Peekaboo!
Aiyayoo!: I love you!
'Too: I love you too
Eye, no', mow, shinnn, eeeow, heeeks, had, han, e'bow, bee-awee, shoe: Eyes, nose, mouth, chin, ears, cheeks, head, hand, elbow, belly, feet.
No: No or Yes
Yesh: just repeats it, but doesn't know what it means
Gum: Okay, yes, sure, whatever. She says this for pretty much everything.
Wha-yer: Water
Peees: Please (with hand sign)
K'you: Thank you (with sign)
Moh: More (with sign)
Eh! Eh! Eh! Eh!: PICK ME UP PA-LEEEEEEEASE!!!!!
Hish: Fish
RUFFRUFF!: Dog
Eeeeeow: Cat
Hewp?: Can I help set the table?
Mmmmaahh!: Kiss
Nana: Banana
Oh-meeoh: Oatmeal
Kacker: Cracker
Huck: Hug
Ssssssshhhhat!: I'm not sure what this means yet, but I've gotten a few looks in public when she says it so I should probably try to determine what it is she's saying.
Poh-Pee!: I pooped my diaper, change me now!
Poh-Pee!: I peed my diaper, change me now! Looks like I'm going to need to get out the potty soon...
Na-Naieee: Goodnight

Her favorite conversations with me go something like this:
Odell: MAM! MAM! MAM! MAM!
Me: ODELLODELLODELLODELL!
Odell: *laughing* Whattt-uh?!
Me: Hi Odell
Odell: Hi Mommeeee....MAM! MAM! MAM!
Me: Yes, Odell?
Odell: Hi Mommeeee
Me: Hi Odell
Odell: HEE-UH!
She says that last word a lot too, sort of like a end of conversation word, or a "good" or "okay" or "yes" or "okay now I have your attention and I just need to say something" kind of word.
She loves to laugh. She loves mac and cheese, grapes, bananas, will eat heaping bowls of oatmeal mixed with applesauce for breakfast every morning and scarfs it down before either of her siblings, will eat vegetables only when I sneak them in with other food, unless it's Grandma's snow peas out in the garden, loves my bread, but won't eat many other rolls or other kinds of bread, loves pasta with any kind of sauce on it, cheese sticks, and juice, of course.

I've walked into a room where she's in to find her rolling on the floor on her back like a dog in a mud puddle, she does this on any kind of floor surface and seems to genuinely enjoy it. She doesn't get into many things or make huge messes around the house, the only toy she really seems to like to play with is a bag full of plates and cups and utensils for play food that Chloe got for her birthday. Or she likes her baby doll or the stroller. I can take her pretty much anywhere, she loves it when it's just us at the grocery store and she doesn't have to battle for my attention with the other two kids. She loves naptime and goes down without a fit everyday. She will certainly let you know if you are doing something she doesn't like by shrieking loudly (defense mechanism with Linus) OR grabbing your glasses off your face (defense mechanism with Chloe). It seems to have worked with Chloe because she doesn't ask to sit next to her in the car anymore (which put her in reaching distance). Linus just thinks it's funny and rebuttals with a louder shriek like it's a game. That's always fun. She lets her siblings give her a hug and a kiss before bed every night, though, and loves to be silly with them when they goof off at the dinner table by shaking her arms and shoulders around and yelling gobbledy-gook at the top of her lungs when her siblings' focus is no longer on her. That usually sets them off laughing hysterically. They think she's a hoot.
I'm so grateful we have her in our family and it's so fun to see her personality come bursting out amidst all the chaos of our day to day lives. We love our little Odell.

Oh Summer

It is 99 degrees out and we don't have air conditioning in our house.
Sick.
I keep finding excuses to open the freezer and get a blast of the motherload of amazing coming outta that thing. I think I'm going to get a big ol' honking chest freezer, have Craig mount it to our ceiling in our bedroom in lieu of the fan, hook it up, and just leave it open, pouring all it's goodness over us as we sleep. Ahh....I feel a little better just thinking about it.
Aside from this disgusting weather (which is not helping the High Park fire any, no rain in sight for the last week and none to come this week either), the sun has been our friend now and again. Since I got back from Hawaii, we've been out and about enjoying all the things that three kids and a stay at home can enjoy. LIKE:
Catnapping

 Getting our hair cut

 Hanging out at the town barbeque/concert in the park and following Craig around while he works there for his practicum.

 Also facepaint. A MUST.

 Praying for the fire to be contained. :-(

 Getting family pictures taken!! Thank you Candie Giesey, she took a load of wonderful shots for us, here are a couple that I edited. Check out her work HERE. Love her to death.

Reorganizing. 

 And celebrating.

 Making use of old gifts.

 Goofing off. A MUST.

 Learning how to make a BUDDY BURNER at the relief society activity in my backyard. AMAZING. Ask me how to make them, they are really great for fun family activities and really useful in case of an emergency.

 Going to the library a lot. The Denver Zoo came and the kids got to see some of their animals and participate in the activities.

 

Chloe: MOM. I don't want to touch the animals. 

 

 Going as a family to the temple with our primary. A very sweet and fun experience.

 

 Stopping at Krispy Kreams on the way home for a pre-Father's Day treat.

 Getting up early and making caramel apple french toast with bacon and a donut for Daddy on Father's Day.

Just in case anyone didn't already know who we're dealing with here. Greatest Dad EVER. And yes he wore that to church.

In the meantime, melting away in the sauna otherwise known as my living room. LUCKILY we are headed out to Grandma's house in Denver this evening and will hopefully get to dip in the pool to cool off. Maybe by then a nice breeze will come and save our house from opening the portal to the fiery furnaces of the underworld by the time we get back...