Friday, April 30, 2010

Rodney Yee

S.E. and I did an hour of yoga at home yesterday. It was awesome. New respect for Mr. Rodney Yee. It was called Power Yoga: Total Body with Rodney Yee. I do not have a lot of experience with yoga because all the other videos I've ever done has been slow. This one was a quicker pace and I was able to follow along without wanting to take a nap. What was impressive was S.E. was really good at yoga. He loved it and we can't wait to do it again. Here's S.E.'s comments during the session:
"Mom, why is that man on a mountain by himself?"
"I like the music"
"Why does that man not have a shirt on?"
After doing warrior pose three (balance on one leg forming a T)..."Mom, I hope he doesn't make us do warrior five pose". Note: each warrior pose was harder than the previous. Whew. Warrior three was it. Fun.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

long run day...no...make that a short run

I ran 4 miles this morning and I've got an ache in my left ankle that caused me to turn home. I hope this is not something that will continue to bother me.

Springfest

What I love about living in a university town is all the events that are available to the public. One such was the Springfest carnival. This event had three large rides, three giant inflatable jungle-gyms and free refreshments. The cost was $5 for the general public and free to the students. This was the ideal carnival for us because there was not a lot of kids so S.E. and Koo got to do the obstacle course ride and jumping castle room for almost the entire time. The best part was when they were thirsty-there were coolers full of refreshments provided by the university.

They got to take pictures with Spongebob Squarepants, Minnie Mouse, and high-fived Butch the mascot. Also, there was this synchronized trampoline act that was AMAZING.

This carnival was ideal for me because: no huge crowds, stinky smells, or long lines. I wished I didn't forget the camera and had called everyone I knew to go-we just happened to drive by it and decided to go. The boys absolutely LOVED it which of course made me happy.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Homemade rolls. Piping hot out of the oven. Tempting huh? Not if you are my kids. They no longer are excited about baked breads and rolls because they don't know it's not the norm. Anyway, they haven't been excited about my homemade, baked goods in a long time. Well, here's the recipe:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 TBSP sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp SAF instant yeast
1 egg, lightly beatened
1 to 1 1/3 cup hot water
Mix all together in a Kitchen-Aid mixer with hook attachment for around 3-5 minutes or until smooth and elastic looking. Roll into ball and place in greased bowl covered for 1 hour. Punch down, make into small balls and place in greased baking dish. Cover and allow to rise for 40-60 minutes or whenever it doubles in size. Bake at 375F for around 15-18 minutes.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Susan Elizabeth Phillips

She is an author I am madly trying to get through all her books. They are mainly romantic comedy with a flair of heart-warming transformation of her main characters from fall and rise from grace. Just thought you might want to check out her books. My favorite ones are: Natural Born Charmer, Ain't She Sweet, and Lady Be Good.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

100K Relay Race




Today I ran in a 100k relay race with nine other women. There were nine women teams and we came in third place with a team time of 9 hours and 17 minutes. I ran 7.9 miles most of it downhill. My leg of the race was the second longest with it rated at moderate/hard because of the straight downhill. I averaged a 10 minute mile which was excellent for me.
The weather was perfect-low 70's with a breeze. Lovely. I felt wonderful but here's what I learned from this race: no matter how fit I am getting, my legs can only stretch so far. Someone with long legs jogging can kick my hinny with me running-NOT jogging. Alo, I just don't have the competitive spirit it takes to muster any extra ooomp to pass other runners. I just run. I can go for a long time at a jogging rate. I'm not sure I am good for relay teams. The other runners were definitely faster than me, but they were also a lot taller and in better shape. Two years ago when I first about this race-I remember thinking "Wow, I don't think I could ever do this". Well I did it and got a ribbon for my efforts.
The only thing I didn't like was I was gone for 11 hours with not enough food and I MISSED my husband and boys so much I almost ran home at one point. If I do this again, I will make a point to have my husband and kids meet me and bring more food.

Now the gross part, I was dirty, sweaty, and had to use port-a-potties the entire day and when I finally got home, I couldn't get to the shower for over an hour later. I was rank. Still, I'm so proud of how far I've come from the gal that would take 35 minutes to run a 1.5 miles back in college. My long term hope is to inspire my boys to not ever give up.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Koo

How do you teach a little four-year old boy not to be so impulsive and break his spirit? He has to touch EVERYTHING, especially when you tell him no touch. Petrified poo, used gum stuck to a side of a building (super ewwhh) or touching public toilets without hestitation-if it turns your stomach, he's touched it.

Also, this kid has one speed-fast. His give-mom-a-heart-attack-move is running full speed down a hill, look over his shoulder and speed up. Sometimes he doesn't fall, but the times he has-it hurts but apparently not enough to stop this practice. There's not a fort, structure, or project of his big brother's that he doesn't destroy as soon as it's left unattended. I'm sure this is typical behavior for a boy but I'm having a hard time because I feel like I'm a broken record with all the "STOP!" and "NO!".

On the bright side, he is so lovable. Very affectionate and has a killer smile and is just spunky. I love that he still loves to cuddle with me.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Holiday Craft Grinch

I have a confession. As crafty as I am, I hate making projects for holidays because you spend a LOT of resources making them and then you have to store them for 355 days until the holiday comes around again. Then, you have to remember to dig it up and display them. Too much effort for too little display time. That's why I have a FULL drawer of Christmas fabric that still have not been made into decorative Christmas crafts.

Why am I ranting about this today? I surf at a lot of crafty bloggers and am amazed that a lot of women have time to work on holiday crafts. For example, there are a lot of felt bunnies and mod podged eggs being cranked out. Amazing work. Too much effort for me to even attempt.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Hiking adventures

We have been going for mile long hikes behind our home this past week. There is a "forest" beyound the wheatfields which hooks up to another neighborhood and the elementary school. The boys loved walking there to play at the park. Yesterday, Koo was walking ahead and as we approached him, he was poking at some black, petrified, tubular mass. I frozed then screamed when I realized it was dog poo. "Get away from that son!!" After all the panic and fight to keep my dinner down, we asked why he touched it. He thought it was pine cones. UUUhhhhh...this maybe one downside to living amongst wheatfields and a newer neighborhood with not a lot of mature trees. My kid mistakes poo for pine cones. Needless to say, the boys showered and scrubbed down ASAP.

Friday, April 9, 2010

A Thrifting I will go...

I went thrift-store shopping in a big city about an hour and half way. Without kids. With a budget of $40. Spent most of it. The best part was to go with a friend with such great love for kids and has the wisdom of someone whose experienced a lot of life and willing to share her knowledge. Loved it. All I can say is "When can we do it again?".

Thursday, April 1, 2010

strawberry paradise






Strawberries have been in abundance this past two weeks and we have been in paradise. We made fresh strawberry pie, strawberry cake, smoothies, freezer jam, pretty much have had fresh strawberries with almost every meal. I am on borrowed time because as much as the boys love strawberries-if they eat too much, they break out in a rash. I just love how much fiber, vitamins, and flavor strawberries have. I can't help myself. I even made an apron with a strawberry on it. The apron was made using fabric I made drapes for the boys' room. The rick-rack was in a free pile from a garage sale and the strawberry was