My Weighty Situation

I went to the doctor's a few weeks ago for a follow up to an issue from the fall.  The first stop at the docs is always that dreaded scale and when I stepped on it this time, I voiced my disdain of the numbers that appeared right out loud.  Oh my goodness!  How the heck did that number get so big?  Now, I understand exactly how it happened, I ate way too much.  So, here is my public declaration, I am going to eat less and move more.  I have to.  That number is way too depressing!  I bought a scale a couple weeks ago to track my progress, and though I still cry at the number, it seems to be going in the right direction now.  I have learned to enjoy my elliptical and sweat, and cutting portions has not really been difficult, most of the time.  I'm down about 4 pounds and that is such great motivation to keep away from the bad stuff.  I'll post progress for more motivation.

Enjoying the Snow

Lord of all creation

Of water, earth and sky

The heavens are your tabernacle

Glory to the Lord on high! 

I'm not much of a winter outdoors woman.  I'd much rather sit by the fire drinking coffee and being warm.  But yesterday I put on my snow duds and headed out with my family for some vitamin D and oxygen.  It was so beautiful outside, the blanket of new snow covering all the muddy slush.  Sitting indoors was too hard to resist and I'm so glad that I did.  We went snow shoeing on a few trails that we have yet to check out since moving in.  It led to an open field where there was a little cabin that was put there by the owners when they lived here.  It was so quiet outside and cloudless.  Peaceful is a good word to describe it.  Belle was all about making snow angels but could not ever get herself up with those snow shoes on!  Both girls are so observant and it is fun to see the world through their eyes.  After a bit of exploring on snow shoes, we went back to the house and ran the snowmobiles around the trails too.  Snowmobiling!  One of my favorite things to do in the wintertime.  The smell of the exhaust makes me remember when Hubby and I used to go snowmobiling when we were first together.  We went often before the kiddos came along!  Now it's fun to go with them.  The girls have a little 120 cc snowmobile that was given to them by their big cousin.  They have been having tons of fun running that little machine around.

Daddy giving the safety briefing to Ariel before she runs her snow mobile

Snow shoeing on the trail, heading into the field

Ariel in the middle of the field in front of the house

International Travel

The very first time I saw Hubby in his dress blues I had to know what all the medals and pins were for.  As we were going through his ribbons there was a very pretty one that was rainbow colored.  He told me that was for overseas training.  Of course my mind went exotic and I wondered what cool place he had been to when he told me Canada.  When you live in New England, Canada is closer than New Jersey.  Of course I had to burst out laughing and he giggled right along with me.

Now please keep this little story of mine in mind when I announce that we were international travelers today.   Since our move north brought us even closer to that border, the next stop on the interstate to be exact, we have wanted to cross over.  Why?  Because we can, I suppose.  The town that we went to is not as big as the one we live in, but everything was written in English and in French and that was pretty cool.  Not to mention it was Belle's first time across the border.  It was a pretty uneventful trip, we had dinner over there and came back, but we did make friends with the border patrol officer on the American side.  Always good to have friends.  Of course my camera was left at home by the computer, so guess we'll have to go again to document better.

9 Years Ago

At 5:50 am on this day 9 years ago, labor began and life as Hubby and I knew, was forever altered.  After 9 hours of labor and a Cesarean Section, a beautiful child with red fuzz on her head entered into our lives and turned our world upside down.  I remember crying all the way home from the hospital, hormones raging, knowing that I was not going to know what I was doing as a mother.  We carried her, in her car carrier seat into the living room, sat her on the ottoman, and I remember asking Hubby, "What do we do now?" and at that precise moment, she scrunched up her little face and noises came from that tiny, precious baby that I only thought a grown man could make, to which I responded, "I know what to do now!"  Over the past 9 years, she has never ceased to amaze me with her insights, tenderness and humor.

We are at #1 House and last night Belle spent the night with Hubby's parents, across the street, so when we woke up this morning, it was only Ariel and I in the house.  I had purchased her a set of scrubs for her birthday and gave those to her, but her big present was a bike and we wanted her to be able to pick out the exact one she wanted.  She was very excited about going to school and be with her friends on her birthday, so we made a sheet cake of brownies, frosted them and decorated it with a "Happy Birthday Ariel!" complete with sprinkles and 9 candles.  I picked her up at school early along with a friend of hers, KJ, and headed to the city for a movie and dinner.  We met Hubby at the theater and saw Gnomeo and Juliet in 3-D, very cute, then headed to tell her about her gift and pick it out!  She found a perfect bike at Target, cute, pink and very girly.  Next it was off to the Olive Garden for dinner with Grandparents, Aunt, Uncle & cousins.  They brought her out a cake and candle and made her feel very special.  KJ was a good addition to our family that night and I think the girls got a bit of sleep that night but they did have tons of fun.

As a mom of a 9 year old, I had trouble getting a grip on my emotions first thing in the morning.  Hubby and I have always been quick to remind each other that our kids are going to be grown and gone before we know it.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those moms who is going to need her kids to stay nearby, quite the contrary, I want them to be where ever God wants them, where ever they feel led to go.  I want them to go to college and fall in love and have their own family, where ever that may be, but for now I want to savor them, keeping in mind that the future will be here before I know it.  Nine is half way to 18.  Half way to the future.  Sobering for this mom.  It's hard to remember life before Ariel, she had just brought so much joy to us.  I'm so proud of her and the way that she is growing up, but I just don't want her to grow up too, too fast, but I feel at times that if I blink that I will miss it!  So, I am going to continue to savor it and make many memories with her.

My girl in her new scrubs

 Gotta love the 3-D glasses!!

A card from Papa & Mimi

 Our waitress was wonderful and brought her a cake with a candle!

 Mmmm!  Cake!

A Furreal Newborn Friend from Auntie & Uncle R & Cousins

Thursdays Tied with Love and Laughter

Jen at  Thursdays Tied with Love and Laughter  asks the question, "What is your love language?"

This cracks me up because hubby and I have had many giggles over this.  I love this book and we took a marriage class at a local local church a few years ago and touched on this book one of those nights.  My husband's love language would have to be Acts of Service and Physical Touch.  He's the get it done guy.  He's the I will provide for my family guy.  While I am most definitely a Quality Time girl.  I just want to be with him and hang out with him and have a conversation with him.  So, while he busies himself with loving me, I just go hang around him.  We stacked wood together last week.  Great conversation and a great work out too.  One of these days we just may master loving each other.... 

I got involved in the FRG, or Family Readiness Group, at his Army Reserve Unit, to spend more time with him while he works to provide for us.  This is us at the Army when he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel back in March.

Chicken

We went to McDonalds two days ago.  Belle says, "Momma, I want what I usually get."  The cashier cracked up as I placed her order, "Chicken nugget happy meal, please".  When we sat down, she she was looking strangely at the box the nuggets came in and said, "Why is there a chicken on here?"  I said matter of factly, "'Cuz it's chicken."  She got this look of horror on her face and pushed the box away, refusing to eat it.  I asked her what she thought it was before and she just shrugged her shoulder.  Where has this child been?  She told me that she didn't think that that kind of chicken was that chicken.  You have to hear this other story to fully appreciate what was going through my mind.  I have a friend that when her daughter was around 2 or not quite 2 and was going through the, "What's that?" stage, she did it at dinner time with her potatoes, carrots and finally chicken.  When her mom says, "That's chicken," the 2 year old responds with, "Bock, Bock?" and mom tells her yes, she refused to eat it.  Belle knows this story well and has reenacted it many times.  Which is why I will again ask the question, where has this child been?  Later that night at my in-laws, Mum asked us if we wanted to eat dinner with them the next night to which my kids obviously said yes!  Mum said she would roast a chicken, and Belle looks at me with that look again.  When she went out of the room, I told Mum the story and she thought it was a riot and wondered if she would eat it or not.  Guess what?  She did not eat it!  She loves chicken but that was before she knew it was...well, chicken.

Betwix and Between

Today as I driving south to #1 House, as Belle calls it, so the kids could be a part of Day 100 celebrations, I had the weirdest feeling.  It's hard to put into words, but maybe I can explain it like this.  When I am focused on something, I get frustrated when I am inturrupted.  Maybe it's because I'm not smart enough to have two thoughts at a time in my brain or maybe it's because I'm so intent on doing the task well that everything else dissappears into the background.  My focus recently has been at #2 House.  We have settled in nicely and we do miss our friends, but we have made new friends and focused on making the new place a home.  So, as I'm diving south, I'm thinking it seems strange.  But that thought in itself was strange.  Does that make any sense?  Before settling in up north, before we had a new church family, before we had friends, our focus was on how quick we could get back home.  Now more and more up north feels like home and it feels nice.  I don't have the constant drive to want to come back south.  Don't get me wrong, I want to come back down, eventually, but finally we are content where we are.  My thoughts go the passage in Philippians 4.  Here's what the NIV says:

 ¹⁰ I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Paul is in prison at the time that he writes because of his faith in Christ and his proclomation of faith and obviously I'm not saying that my circumstance is dire as his was, but the message is that our faith in God is where comfort and contentment really is. 

I went to church tonight down here, the girls were excited to get to go to AWANA and I was glad to just be there, but again, that feeling of not belonging crept in again.  It was not because I was not accepted by my friends there, on contrary, I got tons of hugs.  It was me.  I guess I can look at it this way...we are where God wants us up north and we are content.  I've decided this is a good thing.

My Day Book

Link to they Day Book at February Day Book

Today's Day Book for February 15th

Outside my window it is cold and the snow is blowing!  We got about 9" yesterday and last night.

I am thinking that I need to get a jump start on my day, I have much to accomplish!

I am thankful for my kids and the fact that I get to stay home with them and teach them everyday.


From the learning rooms  Belle is doing a great job reading, but she moans every time I break a book out.  I think that I need to make sure that we are reading everyday to make her more confident.  Ariel is learning about Spain and I keep thinking that I want to start her on a foreign language, but it's hard to just get the regular school done, let alone adding another elective.


From the kitchen  Burgers are on on tap for tonight.  We have a friend that raises beef cattle and it is so nice to know where our meat comes from.  Last night we had a special Valentines dinner of gnocci with vodka sauce, Ceasar salad and garlic bread that got a bit toasty under the broiler as I was multitasking.  The girls cut out brownies in heart shapes and frosted them, they were so good!! 

I am wearing my PJ's still.  I got them for Christmas and they are so comfy.  Flannel plaid pants and a thermal shirt are just so hard to get out of in the morning.

I am creating my blog.  It's a ton of fun and addicting.  Next time I head down south, tomorrow, I'm going to bring my scrapbook stuff.  That will be fun to start working on again.

I am going back down south tomorrow.  The girls are excited to be able to go to school and see their friends.  Why is there always so much to do before a short trip?

I am reading  the Red Glove Series by Karen Kingsbury.  I'm having trouble getting into it.  I just may have to swap it out for the David Baldacci book that I bought Hubby for Christmas.

I am hoping  that we get through school easily today.  The girls would like to have the whole day off tomorrow so that we can stop and do some shopping tomorrow on the way back down south but this means that they have to get their work done prior.  They seem pretty motivated, so I hoping!!!

I am hearing the morning news.  Right now there is a story about a sickness from the Playboy Mansion.  All I can do is giggle.  I can also hear the girls in the kitchen getting their breakfast together.  They are being very sweet to each other. 

Around the house  my elliptical is staring at me saying....use me!  use me!  I have been doing really good the past three weeks and I'm waiting to see results.  The whole plan is to move more and eat less!  If I keep repeating my mantra, maybe it will work.  I can tell my cardio is getting better already, that is motivation in itself. 

One of my favorite things  is this nice big chair I'm sitting in.  Hubby has this idea about 4 recliners and a big screen TV in a "Man Cave".  I giggled at first, but as I sit here reclining, I think it was a great idea!  The sun is shining in the window and it's just a good feeling.

A few plans for the rest of the week besides driving south is doing some organizing at our house down south and maybe a visit to a few friends.  Friday is Ariel's birthday and I'm excited about celebrating with her.

Here is a picture for thought I am sharing

The view out my window.  I love how a new snow covers and makes the landscape looks to clean and pristine. 

Happy Valentines Day!

Valentines Day in elementary school always seemed awkward to me.  I tried pick appropriate valentines to give people.  I didn't want to give the "I'm sweet on you!" to any of the boys and I never wanted to give them to the girls either.  In high school the pressure was always on to have a Valentine.  I'm not sure if I ever did have one but pressure remains burned in my memory.  Then college.  Ugh.  More pressure to be working on that MRS degree.  I remember dating a boy and using the phrase "I love you" and feeling strange about it.  I'm old fashioned and wanted that to be reserved for the one.  I really hoped that he was the one, but still using the phrase was odd to me.  I remember talking to my mom one day and asking how a person could know that they were in love.  Maybe she sensed my hesitation and responded something to the effect that if I was truly in love that I probably wouldn't be asking the question.  That left me with more questions than answers.  I truly wanted to fall in love and be with my soul mate, my one and only, the one who God had perfectly designed for me and here's my mom telling me nothing more than, "You'll just know".  I don't like those kind of answers.  I'm a doer.  Tell me what to do, and I'll get it done for you.  I don't like vagueness.  I'm not a good mind reader.  I'm not a game player.  What you see is what you get.  I am me.  So when I ask, "How do I know if I'm in love," I need the Top Ten List of How to Know I Am In Love, or give me a three point sermon and I'll follow it.  Little did I know that at that point my father is praying that I will get through college with out all the distractions of boys.  As graduation rapidly approached, campus became a diamond mine.  It seemed that everyday someone else was getting engaged.  I was happy for them, but wondered where and when it would be my turn.  As only God can do, my path of least resistance got me to a college for an internship where I went to a local church.  I attended there with a friend of mine from college and she introduced me to this very handsome man who asked if I would like to go out to dinner with him.  I accepted and right away I fell for this guy.  I remember calling home to tell my parents that I was going on date #3 with  a boy I met at church and they came up immediately to meet him.  On a phone call only a couple weeks later, I asked Mom if she remembered 3 years back to the how-do-I-know-if-I'm-in-love conversation and she did.  I remember just giving a whoop of joy over the phone to let her know that I knew.  When he proposed only 4 months after we met, I remember mom making a comment like, "I have no idea what took him so long!"  We were married almost a year to the day that we met.  Marriage is not perfect, in fact sometimes it's just hard work, but it is so worth it.  We have had many fun Valentines Days together.  I remember the Valentines Day of 2002, I was 4 days away from Ariel's delivery and I was huge.  Hubby gave me a beautiful necklace with a heart pendant on it that I am wearing today.  We talked about it being our last Valentines Day alone, with out children.  Valentines Day of 2005, Hubby was in Iraq and the girls and I all got flowers for him via his sister.  It's not the presents and flowers that make Valentines special, it's the thought behind it all, the special day set aside to reflect on love and the blessings that God has given us.

This morning I was served breakfast in bed by my two little Valentines.  Hubby and I were ordered back to bed by the little tyrants while they heated up left over pancakes and made coffee.  As we waited, we talked about how quickly they had gotten so big, how time goes by way too fast.  The girls and I went to the grocery store to get our supplies for our annual surprise fancy dinner for Daddy that I started long before they came along.  It's one of my gifts to my husband.  I hope he'll like it....actually, I know he will.  He always has.  He is so good to me!

Belle vs. the Radio

Hubby worked at home for most of the day today.  It was nice to have him around.  Not that he really interacts with us much when he's working, but it's just nice to know that he is around.  It balances out the times that he is away from us.  We were sitting in the same room this morning and he has his radio on, making sure that he wasn't missing anything, and it can be loud and annoying sometimes.  I honestly don't know how they stand it all the time, but I guess after listening to it for 17 years you kind of tune it out.  Something like I do with the kids, right?  Anyway, Belle is eying the radio and scowling when all of a sudden she says, "I just want to push that button and say, 'Shut up!  Mark is on a break!'".  I started busted out laughing but told her not to touch it.  Hubby is giggling himself and says, "Why do you think that you shouldn't do that?" and her reply was, "because I think that you wouldn't have a job any more and I think you like your job!"  Of course her eyes were shining and she was giggling, but she knew what she was talking about.   

An Award!

A huge thanks to my friend, Lisa at The Berry Patch who gave me the Stylish Award!  How cool!  Thanks so much, Lisa, your blog inspires me in so many different ways!

The rules are rather straight-forward....

1. Thank and link back to the person (or people) who awarded you this award
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.

Seven Things About Me

1.  I am married to the most amazing man in the entire world.  Being married to my best friend and waking up next to him everyday is a blessing straight from God.  We met and married with in a year, 13 years ago.  I'm such a lucky girl.
2.  I have two girls that mean the world to me.  They amaze me everyday with the things they come up with and how much they take in.  They are growing way too fast and if I think about it too much, I'll cry.
3.  I have a bachelors degree in Athletic Training from Houghton College which is what ultimately brought me to Maine.  I spent my first year of college at Word of Life Bible Institute, studying the Bible.  I'd recommend it to anyone!
4.  I have lived in 6 states.  My dad was a pastor and we moved often!  I think it gave me a big sense of adventure and ready for anything.
5.  I am an Army Wife.  Hubby is in the Army Reserve and is the commander of his battalion.  I feel lucky that he has only been on one deployment.  He was in Iraq for a year and it was so hard, but by the grace of God, we made it though!
6.  I love to cook!  Baking is so fun!  I enjoy experimenting with recipes and creating new things.  Food network is just about my most favorite thing to watch on TV.
7.  The most important thing to me, besides all of this, is my faith in God.  He has blessed me beyond belief and continues to do so.  It never ceases to amaze me.


Passing it on

I know that I have a few postings dating way back, I really am new to getting into blogging.  I don't have very many blogs that I follow, but here are the ones that I do....

1.  'Sup bros...this is the Breaus!  Laura is a friend of mine and an Air Force wife.  Her hubby is currently on deployment but she is always upbeat and she has many adventures in Japan.
2.  barefoot in barcelona  Keri was my flower girl and is now attending Gordon College.  Her blog is about her adventures in her semester abroad in Barcelona and her stories are so good!
3.  Ross Family  This one is personal to me.  It's my cousin's wife's blog.  I have yet to met her in person, but through her blog, I am getting to know her and their adorable daughter, Emma.
4.  Sylvester Family  This is another cousin, Katie, who I don't get to see often but love to keep up with her blog and pictures of her growing family.
5.  Our Family Forest  This is my amazing friend, Jen.  I have no idea how she does all she does.

That's it!  It's all I got.  4 is a far cry from 15, but it's what I've got!

Wednesday Night Mayhem

Yesterday, Wednesday, we had a great start to our day!  We had a new friend come over in the morning.  She has two little boys, one almost 3 and the other 3 months.  It made me remember how much work little ones are.  The oldest was so cute playing with mine and of course mine ate it up!  Ariel was in her glory playing with the oldest and then switching gears to croon over the baby.  She is going to be a great babysitter one day soon.  The friend left before lunch, we finished school, the girls played in the snow and we made a trip into town.  Valentine's Day is approaching much more rapidly than I had thought it would and I had to get the girls Valentines for their friends and get them into the mail.  So, summing up our great day, I'm not sure when the "grumpies" moved in.  Can adults be over-stimulated?  Oh, you thought I was saying that my kids were grumpy?  Not a chance.  It was all me.  Fast forward to about 5pm.  I'm getting supper together, hubby is running later than I thought, the potatoes are now out of the oven and getting cold, hubby walks through the door hungry, but I didn't want to put the steaks on too soon.  So, I popped the 'taters back in the oven, threw the steaks on to my George Foreman grill and then a quick e-mail check.  Went to check on the steaks a few minutes later and they were looking great.  Hubby likes his a bit more done so I took three off and left one on.  The grill starts smoking a bit and the smoke detector responds appropriately.  This is all well and good because it's not attached to anything, I can just wave it around and move it to another room.  But I didn't tend to it immediately and Ariel, fingers in her ears, runs into the kitchen and starts shouting, THE FIRE ALARM IS GOING OFF!  THE FIRE ALARM IS GOING OFF!  To which I respond, I KNOW!  Then she starts yelling, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!!!!  Seriously, who does that?  What on earth would possess someone to mimic a fire alarm?  Isn't it annoying enough on it's own?  I think this is the point where I started yelling myself.  Of course a mother yelling doesn't really calm the situation down and having a case of the grumpies didn't help either.  Ariel runs off giggling as I'm reaching for the fire alarm.  I'm proud to say that everyone is still alive this morning, but probably a bit deaf.

You're not crazy mom!

I feel like I live on that precipice of insanity at all times.  I think I like it here, not knowing whether or not I will fall over the ravine, kinda makes me feel alive!  I have a friend that is a mental health nurse and I asked her one time, "If I know that I'm crazy, I'm not right?  Because that is the thing that makes me know I'm sane."  Her reply was something to the effect of crazy people do know they are crazy.  Great!  Now what is the benchmark of knowing the sane from the insane? 

Today hubby went into work later than usual, which meant that school was put aside for games of Crocodile and hanging out with Daddy.  Some things are more important.  So at 3:30 pm when Ariel was still doing school work and very frustrated with the whole thing that I decided to inject some humor and just be silly.  She looks at me, like only tween girl can, and rolls her eyes at me.  But I can see that she is no longer in her frustrated state, she has that glint in her rolling eyes that tells me that my silliness is working.  So I said to her, "I know, Momma is crazy!"  Belle, sitting on my lap, pipes up, "You're not crazy, Momma!!!  You are normal!"  To which I burst out laughing as did Ariel.  So I asked her if she was sure and she said she was.  I then asked, "Okay then, who is crazy?" and you know she said it was her sister.  It amazes me how quickly kids pick up on humor and how easily they incorporate it into their everyday language.  I'm so glad that my kids have a sense of humor, it's a good way to cope with the tough things that come along in life.  I'm glad they can laugh at themselves, I think it will make them stronger human beings. 

Hubby is off ice fishing tonight with some of his Trooper buddies.  They have done this for the past several years and it's always a hike to their fishing local.  Funny thing is, now we only live about 20 minutes away from it.  The girls and I are going to get a pizza and have a fun girls night complete with a pajama party in Momma's bed, as they call it.  Often when he is away they want to sleep with me.  Too soon they will be bigger and not want to hang with me.  I'm going to cherish these insane days but fun PJ party nights.

Pretzels

I love to watch Food Network.  One show we all enjoy in Throwdown with Bobby Flay.  One recent episode was Bobby taking on Big Daddy Pretzel from Philly.  They had a soft pretzel throwdown and Bobby actually won!  If you have seen the show you know that he usually does not win.  My family was oooo-ing and ahh-ing at the sight of the pretzels and I was thinking they didn't look to difficult to make.  Food Network posted his recipes and after checking it out decided that it would be a fun family activity and it actually was!!!  After waiting forever for the dough to rise, according to Ariel, all 4 of us formed our snakes and made pretzel shapes popped them into the oven.  Ohmyyummyness, they were good! 

Not every time I find a new recipe or think of a fun thing to make does it turn out okay.  In fact, the girls and I were watching TLC's Cake Boss and Buddy was talking about Irish Soda Bread.  Ariel asked what it was and I didn't know, so thank goodness for Google, we found out.  Looking at a recipe it looked easy and yummy, very similar to the recipe I use for biscuits.  When all was said and done, the bread was good, but burned on the outside and still gooey on the inside.  Guess I'll have to try that again and make sure the oven temp is accurate. 

As far as the pretzels go, we all had a blast and we are looking forward to making them again!  Having something that everyone really enjoys is not always easy, but this was a hit!  Here's the link to the recipe... Bobby Flay's Soft Pretzels