Sleep!

In actuality, it's been over 5 years since we have received a full night's rest. I think that Daniel has probably gotten a tiny bit more sleep than I have since he was deployed for 6 months. He says that bombs, automatic guns and planes kept him up at night during that time. Either way, we are tired. When Eli was born our lives revolved around him. I fed him on demand, rocked him long after he fell asleep in my arms, and during his night feedings I just let him stay in our bed because it was easier.

 At 3 months old, we moved him from California to England. It was an 8 hour time difference and it was rough. During those first few weeks in TLF, he and I slept until 2 in the afternoon and stayed up until midnight. It was incredibly exhausting and miserable. It was like a constant state of being hung over. After we moved into a house, we still rocked Eli to sleep, put him in his crib, then in the middle of the night he would wake up crying and we would put him in our bed. Apparently the one night that he didn't get in our bed I became pregnant with our dear Andrew. I'm sure you know the story, but Daniel deployed shortly after my second trimester began and we went back to Alabama since he wouldn't be back until the baby was 3 months old. 

I just couldn't be in a foreign country with two babies and zero family. And not even having been there a year, my friendships were really new and I wasn't comfortable being that kind of a burden on them. 

We changed time zones again. 

Eli was just over a year old, we had moved to England, came back to the US to visit family, gone back to England, then moved back to the States once again for 7 months. Eli slept with me or my parents throughout Daniel's deployment. 

Do you see where this is going?

We went back to England when Daniel returned and although Drew was 3 months old, I was still in that new baby and a toddler fog. The hungover state returned but I had to adjust a little more quickly as 2 children will never react the same way to these types of changes.

We did much of the same things with Drew putting him to sleep as we did Eli but he always struggled to fall asleep. We tried every trick in the book. He would toss and turn for hours and just never, ever, ever, ever sleep. When he did sleep he would wake up within a few hours crying and then would sleep well in our bed until morning.

Blah, blah, blah…time passes…

Every single night for the past two years of living here we have laid next to Drew until he fell asleep. About 6 months ago our pediatrician suggested trying 1mg of melatonin to help him fall asleep with a little more ease. And it worked. Within 15 minutes of laying down he was out. But he was still waking up constantly throughout the night. MOM, DAD!? 

He would sneak into our bed and kick and dig with his feet at 3 am.

Daniel or I would take him to his bed (while very comfortable it's only a twin) and lay down with him and fall asleep until the morning. I am positive that this has shaved years from my life. I don't want to sleep when I'm dead. I want to sleep now.

On Monday night Daniel and I told the boys  that from now on we would be tucking them into bed and they would be going to sleep on their own. We have tried this before but were totally serious this time. Totally desperate.

Eli falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow, so we weren't really surprised that he did so well. Drew was asleep without melatonin within 10 minutes. He got up once for water but went back to sleep in his bed. Tuesday night, same thing. Wednesday night, went to sleep on his own again and did not wake up until 6:45 am! I am so thankful for last night's sleep and how easy (this week) has been. 

Feel free to learn from my mistakes or not. Crying it out was just never an option for us. I am thankful for the snuggles and time we spent with our babies. I will want those nights back some day. I think that this was a long enough run and I am so thankful and hopeful for the more peaceful nights ahead.

Our weekend with Papa

Just last week I was telling a friend that I have been so lucky that at least 90% of the stomach viruses we've contracted have been when my dad is around to help out. There was one when we lived in England that the boys had, but the rest were at my parents' house or when we were on vacation.

This past Thursday my dad flew into town to stay a few days. On Friday he kept the boys while a friend and I went to brunch to celebrate her birthday and do a little shopping sans the Land boys.

 That night we went to eat at S&B Burger Joint and OH MY LAWD. It was the best burgers we've ever eaten. You can order them in whole or slider size. Daniel and my dad got regular size burgers and I couldn't choose between 2 so I got them both as sliders.  The boys always want PB&Js so when these came out I was really impressed, they were grilled and the PB was melted and gooey... we all took a little bite. Then we had milk shakes. S'more milk shakes. Us grown ups were so full that we were in pain that night and still full when we woke up. Throughout dinner Eli was whining about his lower stomach and I thought that maybe his pants were just too tight.

Saturday morning we got up and Papa (Deddy, my dad) made his famous (to the boys) jelly biscuits, sausage and cheesy eggs and I made fresh juice with lots of spinach…this is crucial later in the story.

We got ready after breakfast and went to the zoo. The boys had so much fun showing Papa their favorite animals and we finally got to see the new baby elephant. The boys were very excited because they watched her birth (from a not so graphic angle) online. 

How spoiled boys navigate the zoo.

That night we were at the table and Eli laid his head down and said he wasn't hungry. He fell asleep in my dad's lap pretty early watching tv and when he got Eli to brush his teeth and get ready for bed, all hell broke loose.  Luckily it was in the bathroom, but hell nonetheless. And remember that fresh juice? It was hanging around in his tummy all day. We bathed Eli, cleaned everything up and he and my dad went to bed.

4am my dad comes in my room and says "hey I need a little help, Eli is sick again."

We did the two step all over again and got them into a clean bed. Eli was OK laying around for most of Sunday morning. Later he got up and went to sit on the couch with my dad when I said, "Oh guess he's going to go throw up on Papa again." And no sooner had those words left my mouth, dad was covered in it.

Shower, clean up mess. 

In between all of this craziness he was helping Daniel change out our smoke detectors that decided to malfunction and install a new garbage disposal since ours was causing small floods under our sink. I can't say enough how thankful I am for my dad who always does everything he physically can to help us. His whole life truly revolves around the kids and what he can do to see them and make their childhood memorable. His grandfather was his best friend and he wants to be the same for his grandchildren. I can even remember growing up him joking about wanting to be the best grandfather in the world. I always thought of that little clip at the beginning of Cinderella where the Prince's father was dreaming of playing with his future grandchildren. I have to say he plays the role pretty well.

Doesn't everyone eat breakfast like this?

Marvel Universe Live!

Christmas 2013 we took the boys to Disney's Princesses and Heroes on ice. I knew what it was. Daniel thought that it was actual "heroes"… not the Prince Charming type heroes. I enjoyed it, but I'm a girl and I grew up going to these every year with my mom and Memaw so I knew what to expect. 

This year we saw that the Marvel show was coming to OKC so I started looking at tickets around December and the prices were outrageous. I couldn't justify $50 a ticket, especially knowing that you HAVE to buy souvenirs that cost just as much. The first night it started I saw a few friends post pictures and decided to look at ticket prices again. I use the Seat Geek app for Thunder tickets and have great luck finding low prices there so I was hopeful there would be a few for sale. 

And I was right! 

I found tickets for only $9.50! Our whole family went for $50. I immediately bought them and then it started snowing. And snowing. And snowing. We left the house about 3 hours before the show and it allowed us plenty of time to grab a bite to eat and find parking before the show. We have never actually surprised the kids with anything just for fun. They had absolutely no idea what were going to do other than get lunch. The masks and clothes we had them wear didn't even give it away.

 Thankfully we didn't park far from the arena because it was SO cold. They still had no idea what we were doing at that point since we were at Chesapeake Arena and there was not a game or monster truck show (the only things they've ever been there for.) 

 The cotton candy came with these foam mask/helmets. The kids chose the character that the other had worn that day. I will never understand these boys!

I was so surprised by how great our seats were! This was such a fun day that I hope they remember forever.

Tonsils, Tubes, and Adenoids…Oh my!

About 2 weeks ago Eli went in to have his tonsils and adenoids removed and have tubes put back in his ears. He had tubes for the first time right after he turned 2. We noticed that his speech wasn't quite right, he said a few words but he mostly made funny noises. He only had 2 or 3 ear infections at that point and they were spread apart, but he always had fluid in his ears. When they did the hearing and pressure test they told us to imagine we were in a pool under water and everyone talking to us was above the surface, and that is how Eli heard things.

Sometime last summer those tubes came out and then he started out this new year with an infection quickly followed by two more. This ENT suggested removing his adenoids to help with drainage (after surgery he told us they were blocking 95% of the passageway that allowed his ears to properly drain) and his tonsils because they were enlarged. Every time he went to the Dr they always wanted to do a strep test because of how they looked, and it was never strep. 

We went in early the morning of his surgery and he was such a sweet and big boy. My kids wake up starving every day and he didn't even complain about not being able to eat. God definitely heard my prayers that he wouldn't be crying for food before surgery. It was so different from the first time, amazing what 3 years will do for a boy! He answered all of the nurses and doctor's questions and put on the hospital gown and socks without hesitation. The kid loves new socks and these had the cool grips on the bottom. They asked him if he wanted to color while he waiting and he was in heaven. He would color and draw all day. 

A nurse came and got him just as he finished his pictures and began to get a little restless with the waiting. He walked off with her like such a big boy, it made me so proud and so sad that he IS such a big boy! 

I have to back up and say that during the waiting the anesthesiologist came and talked to us and asked if there were any concerns with the anesthesia and I told him that Eli had been under twice before and has a very hard time waking up and it's very hard for me to control him because he fights us and is much stronger that he looks. Well, at this surgery center they don't let the parents be the ones to wake their kids up and the nurse told me that if he ever has to go under again to use the words "exorcism and violent" when I explain what it's like when he is coming out from under the medicine. 

 oops.

This recovery was pretty rough because there were only so many things he could eat and he had to drink something every few minutes to keep his throat from getting dry. This was much more difficult at night when he was knocked out from pain medicine but crucial because there was one night I didn't get up for 4 hours and he was in so much pain. I didn't do that again. 

We are now trying to get back to normal and detox him off all of the sugary puddings, jello, ice-cream and yogurts he's gotten so accustomed to eating! 

OK

I really feel like you guys have missed out since I haven't been writing about our time here in Oklahoma. This is the first place that we have lived that we truly LOVE. Like really. We have had people in previous assignments that our hearts were broken to leave, but not the actual places themselves. If Oklahoma were closer to the Gulf of Mexico (because not ANY coast will do) I would consider it the number 1 place to live, ever. Without the sugary Alabama and Florida beaches, it's close. 

I started a mental list driving down the road yesterday and I can't remember all of it, but I will try.

In no particular order, this is what I love most about living in Oklahoma:

1. Oklahomans LOVE Oklahoma. The people here have so much pride in their state; and those who live in OKC and the metro area like we do love this city just as much as the state. We really haven't ventured out much in the state but we plan to in this upcoming year. There is just SO much to do within this area that we live in. Oklahomans love Oklahoma so much that there are dozens of businesses that have Oklahoma themed shirts. Not universities, not professional teams, just simply Oklahoma. One of my bosses told me about the Oklahoma Shirt Company recently and of course I joined! You get an Oklahoma themed t shirt every month mailed to you for only $10. I'm a legal resident so…

2. The Thunder. No matter where you go, who you meet, you will ALWAYS have something in common with someone. Everywhere you look you will see Thunder blue and orange, a lightning bolt or the Thunder emblem…cars, clothes, and while not really my taste-I have even seen the theme in a tattoo… We have never lived anywhere where everyone loves the same team. Obviously Alabama has  the Alabama/Auburn rivalry, in California we had the Giants/A's, 49ers/Raiders division. In England I just couldn't care less about soccer. Sorry. So the fact that everyone loves the same thing is just such an awesome feeling of everyone being your friend, and I love that. The Thunder love has definitely rubbed off onto my kids.

3. Food. Anything and everything I do revolves around food and when and what we will eat.  I have recently been turned on the the beauty of being "local" and supporting local businesses. Oklahoma City has so many locally owned restaurants so we are making it a point to eat at a local restaurant once a week rather than getting Marco's pizza or Chicfila (which are both still awesome.) The food trucks even have their own app (maybe all cities do) that let's you discover where they will each day! It's a wonderful life we live in this day and age.  Today we ate at The Wedge Pizzeria and they brought out pizza dough for the kids to play with (and eat) while we waited. Eli said it was "literally the best pizza he's ever eaten in his entire life." Drew said it was the best dough he's ever eaten. They were both correct.  

4. Our church. This year Daniel and I will be married 7 years. 1 year ago, for the first time in our marriage, we joined a church. One day we were just googling churches and reading their pages when we came across WRBC. We haven't looked back. They're a bunch of imperfect people who love Jesus and have loved us. 

5. Mommy and Deddy. It's the closest we've ever lived to family. A 12 hour drive isn't exactly the ideal quick weekend trip, but we luckily have parents who don't mind the drive to see us.

And last but certainly not least..

6. Sonic. I can turn left or right out of my neighborhood and there are 3 Sonics within 3 miles. Most of the babies in my Tuesday and Thursday class gave me Sonic gift cards for Christmas. I had happy hour cranberry limeades nearly every day for 2 months.  

Our happenings...

I feel like so much stuff has happened over night in our household. We went from lounging around grandparents' houses in Alabama to a crazy schedule here in Oklahoma.The first thing that we started was Awana on Wednesday nights. The boys absolutely love being Cubbies and wearing their little vests. If you're not familiar with Awana, it's the Bible based version of boy/girl scouts. If your church doesn't have one then start bugging someone into starting it! They learn weekly Bible verses and it's so adorable hearing these 3-4 year old recite them!

Then, Eli started PreK! At first I wasn't going to send him. There is a large community of homeschoolers here, but I just was not able to focus the amount of time that Eli needed and he longed to be in school like many of his friends. It's only 2&1/2 days a week so it gives him and Drew a nice little break from each other and Drew and me some time to have 1 on 1. He has learned SO much, things that I never would have thought to teach him. 

 We typically drop off Eli, go the the Y, go home to eat lunch, play and nap and then it's time to go get Eli. Someone asked me the other day what we do all day and I feel like I always get this weird look, like "that's all?!" I didn't want to add in the awesome: I also make beds, clean toilets bc my children urinate EVERYWHERE, sweep up what was half of the kids' breakfasts from under the kitchen table, start a load of laundry (I usually forget about it and dry it that night or next morning if it doesn't stink yet), and make the never ending requests for snacks and food that these people require to survive.  

The most exciting thing I've done is a few weeks ago I decided that I would run a 5k with a friend. I kept putting off and putting off training (yes, I know it's only 3 miles but when you're not a runner you've got to train for these things!) until a week before the race. So, in a span of 6 days I ran 18 miles to "train." The run was on Sunday and I finished under my goal by 16 seconds so that in itself was a victory! It was a really awesome feeling and yesterday I even thought about training for a 10k and then maybe a half sometime next year. I just thought about it. 

Today, I started working for the first time since 2008! The Kid's Day Out program at our church was looking for a teacher assistant for the infant class and it is so precious. All these sweet, lovable babies ranging from 6 weeks to not even a year. I get to love on them and smell their sweet baby fresh scent and then their mommies and daddies come and get them. It's perfect. And the boys are each in their own class down the hall. Drew has been adamant about starting school now that Eli goes and it's opposite days of Eli's other school. Eli LOVES that he has so many different friends now. He is such a social kid, totally opposite from Drew! I'm also hoping that it does help Drew's social skills and help prepare him for preK. His teacher said he had a great first day so I hope that doesn't change. 

I'm not sure when my boys became so big but it's so weird and so fun. 

Relationships

Our Sunday school class (full of married people and people who are about to be married or someday want to be married) has split the men and women up and we've been reading For Women Only and For Men Only. And ever since I read my book I am constantly aware of whether or not what I am doing is benefitting Daniel's and my marriage. 

When Daniel and I got married we went to Disney World on our Honeymoon and then I flew with him to California (where he had been living and I would move to after I finished college in a few months) for a week. When we were dropped off at his apartment I noticed that his truck wasn't there. It was his dream truck, a beautiful sporty 4 door Tacoma that he bought right after he had commissioned into the Air Force. It was gone. He had traded it for a Chevy HHR. I laugh about it now. Then, I was shocked. But, now that I look back I see why he did it… For me. It was cheaper than his truck, got a lot better gas mileage, and really he thought that I would like it. It was a really nice car/thing. It was fully loaded and actually rode really well. And let's just say it was nicer and safer than my Kia from college. 

Back to my book I've been reading. A lot of centers around men's egos and how we women hold the key to how they feel about themselves. I think back to a little over 6 years ago. While I didn't freak out on him, I didn't tell him that I loved the car. Heck, I could have just told him that I appreciated that he was thinking of me and wanted me to have something that he thought was great! And I made several comments over the next couple years (how pathetic to hold on to that for so long!) about what a dumb choice that was. Ugh, if time travel was invented I'd go back and punch myself. While he never even said a cross comment about the situation I am sure he was thinking about what a brat I was. And, OH! I  was. 

So, my encouragement to you is…Read this book. Even if you're not married. Even if you have been married for over half your life. It's game changing. Maybe not instantly, but implementing these small things and understand how men's brains work… And I will let you in on a little surprise- it's nothing like we think.

Beauty Blogs

In the past I have been so tempted to start blogging about fashion and beauty products because they are things I like, understand, and enjoy. However, I doubt anyone I know would even begin to take me seriously.

My hair gets washed about once a week these days, either Saturday nights or Sunday mornings, even though I have very oily hair. But I go to the gym every (almost every) morning and it's just annoying to get clean hair all sweaty. 

Then, due to gym participation I tend to stay in a tee and shorts. 

Gym clothes and sweaty hair in pony tail. 

Not quite the fashionista I think I am.

This morning I skipped the gym and washed my hair… although, I'm still wearing an outfit that doesn't qualify as a fashionable choice… and I put on makeup. I had a few stray brows so I began to pluck. Anyone who knows anything knows that when you pluck your brows that you don't want a HUGE gap between the two and you definitely don't want the end that is closest to your nose to begin in the MIDDLE OF YOUR STINKING EYEBALL. Well… I kept trying to even up my left brow and plucking further and further right to left. 

 I'm going to pick up a brow kit later today so that I can use  that to make them look a little more even until they grow back in… 

Broken Arms and Stuff...

Two weeks ago Eli fell and broke his arm. 

Everywhere we go people ask something along the lines of, "Hey buddy! What happened to your arm?" and Eli falls quiet. Last Sunday on our way to church Daniel told him that if someone asked what happened that he should tell them he fell on it and it broke. We laughed and said that he would probably say, "My daddy said to say…"  He has done a pretty good job of answering questions though without sounding like he's covering up a child abuse scenario. And he has thoroughly enjoyed collecting signatures of all his favorite people. After I had explained that once he got his hard cast that he could get his friends to sign it that was the basis for most of our conversations. And that evening he went next-door where two older girls (8 and 10) happily signed and our new neighbors (also two girls) and their mom signed also. 

He's been an absolute dream during this ordeal. He's not complained about the cast itching or being uncomfortable and he's never complained about pain. Not even in the first couple days. The ER did a fantastic job setting the bones back in place and he's only having to wear the cast for 3 weeks total (2 weeks to go!) We also got the waterproof cast that allows him to bathe and swim without having to put a bag over his arm. I'm sure it helps cut down on the stink as well…which is good because Eli is a total smell freak. He will let you know how funky your breath is and he's always the first to detect someone passing gas.

Sorry if this freaks you out but here is his arm after he broke it. The kid hardly cried and this is what his arm looked like. I don't know if it's because it happened so close to bed time or because he really is a super hero. I feel like his staying so calm helped me. I cried a little less than he did. 

Not a whole lot of things have happened since the arm breaking incident other than the temperature reaching a wicked 99º. 

Things Eli said over a bowl of sherbet...

"My sick little Drewboo.  He's so precious.  I need him to feel better so we can play like best friends again." 

In a very Eeyorr tone, "I wish we could go to a partyyy.  And play with friennnndssss. And eat some icecreeeeeam."

"Trying new things is scary. Like swimming.  I want to swim, but I think I'll wait until I'm just a little bit older.  Then I'll be good at it." 

"Sometimes when I say words that start with one letter, it sounds like a different letter.  Like cake. I don't think it should start with a C" 

"I need to start making monies. I need a job. If I'm going to be a superhero I need a costume. Batman wears a really nice costume and has a lot of Batarangs. They cost a lot of monies."

 

"I always want to call that girl Harley Davidson.  But that's not it.  What's her name again!?" 

"You're the best, Mom." 

 

"Joker don't want to mess with me. You know why? Because I'm Batman. I'll slap him really loud, right in his face."

Earlier this morning after sleeping about an hour last night, "Why are you in such a crappy mood, Mom? It's not really nice and I don't like it."

Eli- "I'm gonna kick Joker in the stomach.  I'd kick him in the nuts but you don't like it when I say that."

Me- "Well you still just said it.  That's really not nice to say or do."

Eli- "Right.  That's why I didn't do it, I just told you I would have.  But I didn't."

Me- "uh.  Ok."

No New Clothes

I made a commitment to myself that during the month of April I would not buy any new clothing. I don't know about the rest of you, but this is a big deal for me. 

I don't go on crazy shopping sprees (often) but I do have an awful habit of picking up something here and there and "Oh, it's 30% (heck, even 1%) off, I need it!" I had also tried to get dressed every single day. I kept it up for about a week and then ***thumbs down and mouth fart noises. 

I have gotten better about not going to the store in my workout/lazy clothes, granted I may not have my hair fixed and make up on…but progress. Baby steps. 

I didn't really think through the whole April is Easter thing though but I stuck to it and wore something that was in my closet. And guess what. I didn't die and my family still thought I was beautiful. I'm really ashamed of the amount of clothes I have and how much I love them. I always think that with the change of seasons I need at least 3 or 4 new outfits…so not the case. How dumb. I plan to continue not shopping throughout May! 

 I can do this! 

Silly post, but…it's just my thoughts for the moment!

My Jams

Don't judge me by what I'm about to tell you... But I think the most important part of getting a good workout in is the music pumping into your ears.  I'm not a cool person who knows what songs/bands/groups are popular until they're playing on the radio every other song.  And I'm not the kind of person who gets annoyed by this, unless it's any Frozen song on Disney XM. So, unless these songs are overplayed and you hate them, listen to these songs! I like them.

And this is where the please don't judge me part comes in :)

1. Beyoncé - Partician 

2. Katy Perry- Dark Horse

3. Imagine Dragons- Radioactive 

4. Lorde- Team and Royals

5. Jason Derülo- Talk Dirty to Me

6. Macklemore and someone else- Can't Hold Us 

7. Pharell- Happy 

8. The Lumineers- Charlie Boy 

9. The Temper Trap- Sweet Disposition

10. Mumford and Sons-The Cave

Some of these are good for running and some are good for weight lifting. These are just my top 10. I left off my Miley songs because I know that I would most definitely be judged for those. :)

Easter Weekend

I believe that most military families will agree that one of the best things in life is when family and friends come to visit you. It's really rare for a lot of us families that this happens. And it's understandable, everyone has their own lives and their own things going on. But I have to say, my parents are tops when it comes to dropping things for a weekend and coming to visit us. They hadn't been out since February for Eli's birthday and these boys were counting down the seconds until they saw ChiChi and Papa. They usually take off early on Fridays and drive to us but we found awesome ticket deals this time and their trip was about 10 hours shorter than it usually is. When we got to the airport and when they saw their grandparents, I am not sure who was running harder to the other to get hugs. My parents hugged me after the kids had had enough of the loving. When you become a parent, your parents only care about your kids ;) 

On Saturday afternoon we dyed eggs. This was not good for my nerves. Andrew kept dipping his hands into the dye to get the eggs out and by the time we were finished, his hands were Hulk green. He was so happy about that. Thankfully ChiChi got his hands clean that night at bath time. Daniel and I went to eat and watch the new Captain America movie. I wasn't really looking forward to seeing it, but it was so good! I cried. Sunday morning was a little rainy so we had to wait until the afternoon to hunt eggs. Drew was once again hilarious because he wouldn't pick up the plastic eggs, he only wanted the hard boiled eggs. Sunday night they took us to see Rio 2 and it didn't disappoint. My parents got the first one for Eli when he was about 18 months old and they have watched it a million times. We laughed throughout most of it. It may have even been better than the first. 

We had so much fun, I'm sad it's time for them to go now. Now it's time to start counting down to the beach this summer!

My Life

I pride myself in going with the flow. For the most part, I don't make a ton of plans. If I do, I stick to them but I hate the thought of something looming over my head. And it's hard (for me) to make plans with little kids. You never know if you're going to get the Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde of their personalities...every day, every hour/minute/second/millisecond is an up in the air coin toss. Recently though, my friend Heather (who has 3 small kids of her own) and I have been visiting the YMCA about 4 times a week to work out while our kids go to the child watch area. This is my only "every day" plan. I've gotten better about making sure Andrew takes a nap every day after lunch (although he isn't today). I've never had the boys a set nap schedule and I wish it's something that I had done. Ah well. Can't go back now.

My ADD has kicked in and I've forgotten where I was going with this post. After the last paragraph I looked up to watch my youngest jump on the trampoline for a moment and then had to run inside and grab my camera. I wanted better quality that my iPhone camera. I leave you with a picture that let's you know just what I'm dealing with on a daily basis. I did make him put underwear on after I took this. He thanked me and said, "That's good. I don't want my peep to blow away!"

What I eat...

Oh I am on a roll today! 

Another big question I get is "What can I eat!?" when someone wants to know about the challenge.

And the answer is really simple… You can eat anything (sort of). 

Anything real. During the first 10 days you are cleansing and detoxing. Dairy, white bread, sugar, and caffeine (other that what you get in your Spark) are off limits. Making 80% good decisions (where as I use to make maybe 30% good decisions) is key.

If you see that it doesn't have dairy then I ate it on the cleanse. Most everything I ate on the cleanse portion I carried over into the max phase…I just sometimes put a little cheese in there!

Breakfast Options:

• Oatmeal- Steel Cut or Old Fashion. I would sprinkle a little Stevia bc I just can't eat it bland and add either a couple cut up strawberries or blueberries. A boiled egg or two on the side (sometimes I would eat the yolk and sometimes I wouldn't). I have realized that if I eat more protein at breakfast then I am not absolutely starving at lunch time. 
• Omelet or scrambled eggs bc I stink at making omelets -self explanatory. You can put so much goodness into these! I like chop up spinach, mushrooms, red bell pepper, onion,  and tomatoes and throw them in. You can also have whole grain during the cleanse so a piece of toast wouldn't kill you. I just stayed away from the bread during this part. 

I am not very creative when it comes to breakfast so that's about as crazy as I get. Once the max phase begun I mostly used my meal shakes in the AM. It was just easier.

Dinner (usually had leftovers for lunch)

• Gilled/baked fish/chicken. This was always an easy option. I looked up recipes for salt free seasonings and it was pretty simple. My favorite sides have been roasted asparagus, diced roasted sweet potatoes, roasted zucchini and squash… Get the picture? It's also an easy option. The sweet potatoes have been our favorite. I dice them up, drizzle olive oil and lay them out on a baking pan. I sprinkle with black pepper and just a little garlic powder… I never thought that would make a good combination but it does. I only thought that sweet potatoes went with marshmallows, sugar and butter!
• Anything that I use to cook with ground beef I replaced with ground turkey. We ate burgers without buns, tacos on lettuce, spaghetti with spaghetti squash instead of noodles…It's all about little changes. And to me the ground turkey is just so much tastier. And back to the spaghetti squash, if you haven't tried it, DO IT! It is SO cool! 
• I would make up a whole dish of baked chicken and tear it up for salads. Instead of salad dressing I just mixed half virgin olive oil and half red wine vinegar and drizzled a little so it wasn't dry. Once again adding in lots of extra veggies and berries. I love strawberries on my salad…
• And finally (some people consider this gross) but a can of tuna and mustard. Add a side of veggies and it's a quick meal! 

Snacks!

• Unsalted almonds
• Fresh fruit and veggies 
• Hummus with veggies or my weakness- a warm pita
• Plain rice cake with natural peanut butter and banana…if I'm being bad I add a couple of dark chocolate chips. 
• Apples and natural chunky peanut butter
• Plain sunflower seeds, not the kind you have to open yourself. Ain't nobody got time fo' that!
• Beef jerky- (not Slim Jims) I'm not really sure if that is really healthy or not, but I like it...

What I Dank:

WATER, LOTS AND LOTS OF WATER! And Spark! 

These are just some of the things that I liked to eat and cook while on the challenge, and even now that I'm done. And can I just say, my afternoon slumps are gone. I get up in the morning and most days I  have all the beds made, breakfast dishes cleaned, floors swept from breakfast mess, at least 1 load of washing started and us ready to go for whatever we are doing that day by 9:30. My kids are up by 6:30 every day at the latest. I use to give them cereal, turn on cartoons and snuggle with them until 9. It was so hard for me to get going, even with coffee! Yay for being a functioning morning person now!

Woo hoo!

24 Day Notes

I kept a few notes while I was on the challenge and thought that I would post them here to share with anyone who is currently on the challenge or thinking about it. 

• Day 1: Fiber drink is WHOA. I'm not sure what I expected because…It's a fiber drink. It's kind of sweet but the texture is a little rough.
• Day 2: My mom suggested using a straw for the fiber drink and that made a huge difference. I haven't pooped my pants, so…yay
• Day 3: I definitely feel more energized this morning. Drinking all the water every day is the toughest part.
• Day 4: YAY, no fiber drink…I am definitely more "regular" … I feel lighter but a little like something is missing since I didn't take the fiber drink earlier.
• Day 5: Still feeling good. No crazy cravings.  
• Day 6: I can tell my stomach isn't as bulgy in my clothes. I almost peed myself today. Remember to go immediately before leaving the house. Drinking 1 spark in the AM and one around 3 pm helps get me through the roughest parts of my day!
• Day 7: Going to the bathroom like clockwork for the past few days. No surprises… I was worried this was going to make me "go" a lot…
• Day 8: I was so glad to have the fiber drink back today! After going the few days without it, it was kind of a sweet treat!
• Day 9: no notes…
• Day 10: I put my pictures side by side from today and day 1. I can't believe that just by eating healthier and ridding my body of all the junk I have had such a drastic change. I know I felt bad but I didn't know I felt THAT bad…I feel like a brand new person. And a little psycho for being so excited about this. 
• Day 11: Lots of pills today! Luckily I love vitamins. The green one reminds me of the alfalfa hay we use to feed our horse…Oddly comforting. haha
• Day 12-15: No notes
• Day 16: I started adding in a little whole wheat pita bread. I ate one today with roasted red pepper hummus. It was so good…I felt like I was doing something bad…
• Day 17: I have changed up different days when I drink the shake. I skipped one day so I drank 2 today. I have never liked any meal replacement shakes until this…super yummy…
• Day 18-23: No notes
• Day 24: 8 lbs down and almost 9 inches gone. I can tell that I'm toner in my butt and thighs and obviously my stomach, which has always been where I am most self conscious. Why in the world did I wait so long to do this?!

I don't believe that I ever shared on here my final pictures… On day 10 a light bulb in my bathroom was blown and it made me look tan. I was a little disappointed on day 24 that I really don't look that dark… HAHA. There was not a HUGE change in 10-24 but I can tell my "pooch" had shrunk, and I had gone down an inch and a half in my waist. I should have taken the pics at the same distance and junk but it was always really early in the morning and I wasn't really thinking about anything other than taking the pic and then eating.

Probably shouldn't have said that...

The kids have been bickering since before the sun came up.

Andrew has cried 13 times because his brother pushed/hit/pinched/said something that was not received well.

Eli has cried 7 times because his brother wouldn't follow the rules he had established upon their early rise. 

Me: (in a frustrated plea) Please guys, just PLEASE, no more yelling. No more fighting. Just be kind or stay in different rooms. You two have been acting like fart heads all morning and I just can not take it any longer. I need you to be nice if you want to go swimming. That's it. And if you can't do that the you'll get spankings and have to nap for the rest of the day. 

Eli: (choking back tears) I don't know why you would say that.

Me: What are you talking about?

Eli: You called us fart heads.

Me: No, I said you were ACTING like fart heads. And I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry.

Eli: It's OK. I just don't know what a fart head acts like. (He does a silly face and dance.)

Me: That's the opposite of fart head. That's fun and nice.

Eli: Well fart heads aren't nice?

Me: No. They are mean to their brothers and don't listen to their mommy.

Eli: Well, I think me and Drew ARE fart heads sometimes.

Me: Well, maybe. But let's try not to be. Let's be happy, good boys. And that will make us all happy.

Eli: I will try.

Drew: I want a snack.

I wasn't allowed to say 'fart' growing up. Or 'butt' or even 'pee'…

Someone tooted, their bottom hurt and they had to tinkle…

We were in Target one day and the Despicable Me Fart Gun toy was picked up and Eli enthusiastically announced what he'd found and another mother nearly passed out. She grabbed her kid who was probably 8 or 9 and scurried away. Do you let your kids say fart? I don't really encourage it (which you may not believe due to the conversation above) but I don't scorn them for saying it… Just curious… 

Mommy's Weekend Away

Several weeks ago (maybe even a couple months ago) two dear friends of mine moved to San Antonio for work. Texas is right below Oklahoma so I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity for me to go visit some old friends and have some girl time…

When I googled OKC to San Antonio, I was told that it would be about a 5 hour drive. Maybe from south OKC to northern San Antonio… It took me about 7&1/2 hours each way… Oh my Lord. I didn't need that much alone time. But it was so worth it. I listened to a couple of short Jack Reacher novellas on audiobook which made me realize how grotesquely inaccurate it was for whoever made the movie to cast Tom Cruise in that role. I'm late to the party, I know. Anyway, I made it safely both ways…obviously.

When I got down there Friday afternoon, Daie and I chatted for a bit and then went to dinner at my absolute favorite place that Daniel and I use to eat at, Tiago's and then we went next door to the Palladium to watch Divergent and then next door again to BJ's for a pazookie dessert.  Those 3 things (plus seeing my sweet friend) made the whole day of driving SO worth it. Meanwhile Elizabeth (who is a nurse) was sleeping and then left for work since she was on night shift. When Elizabeth came in from work on Saturday morning we went and ate a delicious breakfast at The Pancake Haus. OH MY WORD. Do Germans do anything wrong? Blueberry pancakes, scrambled cheese eggs and ham plus 2 cups of coffee later I had died. 

Yea, eating like I had just escaped from prison did not sit well in my…system. 

Still, I continued to live like each meal was my last. 

After breakfast Elizabeth went to bed for the day and Daie and I went to the outlets. We came, we shopped, we conquered. That night we went down to what I think was the Pearl District for food. A BBQ joint we went to first was what I can only describe as hipster fancy and not as BBQ-y as we had hoped. So we went to a little food trailer called The Luxury and ordered at a window… We were handed a toy alligator and sat waiting for our food to be delivered. The wait was long but SOOO worth it. I have never had a sandwich as delicious as this and I devoured it in about 6 bites. Daie ordered special fries for us to share that were topped with onions and some type of mayonnaise sauce and ketchup. Heavenly is how I choose to describe this meal. The only thing I did "good" was getting UNsweet tea...

The creepy little toy alligator with babies on its back :/

Elizabeth does paleo and this was her steak salad. The tenderness of that steak was unreal.

my mouth is watering…

Later we went and walked around the River Walk and I introduced them to the dueling piano bar Howl at the Moon… Everyone in there was either really young, really old, or having a bachelorette party. 6 years ago I felt like I fit in a little better…plus, knowing that Daniel was at home with the kids, I felt just a little weird and out of place. But, I am often weird and usually out of place…

Sunday I drove back home to my loving family and was only asked what prizes I brought home after/during the reception of big hugs… Everything is back to normal and no one even remembers me being gone…  

Instagram Post

April Fools... Of course, I'm the only fool in this scenario.  

My Kids

Yesterday the kids and I had SUCH a great day. We got to the YMCA at 930 and they were all excited to go play and I was all excited to go workout. I dropped them off, I worked out, and then I went and picked them up. I surprised them by bringing their swimsuits and taking them to the indoor pool. We get in there and as they're splashing in the water, the lifeguard comes and tells me that the pool isn't open for "open swim" for another hour and a half. All of the parents on the other side of the pool seemed to be staring at the little rednecks ruining swim lessons. oops. So I hurriedly dress the boys and we go get haircuts. They were angels. So I take them to Chifila. Because I am the kind of mom who if you behave, you get rewarded. And if you're bad… you get nothin'. And OH! it smelled so good. But I was a good girl and drank my protein shake... We went back to the Y and the kids had such a blast playing in the water. I took lots of pictures and I was the bestest mommy ever. 

Fast forward to today.

 We get to the Y and Drew starts freaking out. He yells and cries that he doesn't want to play and even though I KNOW that if I just leave he will be fine, I continue to hang around and try to bribe him into going peacefully. Uh, no. So, finally I just bite the bullet and let him over the half wall that separates the play area from the drop off area. Kid is whaling about and hits/scratches me directly in the eyeball. Thank God he wasn't in arms reach because natural reflex may have gotten CPS called by a worried care giver. As I was walking up the the cardio gym my eye is watering and my nose is pouring. Fluids are draining from my face and the only toilet I know of is occupied. Other mothers told me not to be upset, that he would get used to being dropped off. I took me a few comments to realize they thought that I was the one who was upset. I'm not really sure if telling them my terrorist 2 year old had assaulted me so I just said thanks and continued on. When I went back to pick him up he was playing with cars and totally happy. Figures.

Moral of my story:

Some days are good and some days are just full of $#!*

I will never post a picture of my children on Instagram saying how well behaved they were.

I will still post pictures about how cute I think they are. At least that doesn't change.