Reasons I'm Late

As much as I try, it always seems inevitable.  I'm going to be late.  No matter how early I get up, how soon I start getting people ready and no matter how many times I go through that crumpled mental checklist in my head, it always seems to happen.  So I've figured it out... Why I'm late.  I wonder if these are valid excuses.

REASONS I'M LATE

My child has to poop and we just came from the potty.

I can't find my keys.  They're in my hand.

I said we're about to leave 100 times and no one knows.

The children are outside following the imaginary yellow brick road instead of getting in the car.

This is the perfect time to decide we're thirsty or hungry.

Someone turned the TV off out of spite.

Someone is having a meltdown because it is their job to turn the TV off.

Oh, are we actually supposed to EAT breakfast?

Someone is wearing breakfast.

Breakfast is the perfect time to argue whose banana is the yellowest.

I don't know where my phone is. 

I don't know where the kids are.

Leaving seems like the perfect time to discuss the causes of World War II.

Someone needs to sort legos immediately.

Someone decides they need to find something that has been MIA for 6 months.

One is having a hysterical fit because insects like flies, butterflies, and bees actually live outside.

Where are my kids?

I need to stop and pray.

The kids have stopped to play.

We can't find the baby Moses book.  It's in the bag.

Oh, we need to put shoes on to go somewhere?

Why are you wearing long sleeves when it's 100 degrees outside?

Someone decides they need an immediate wardrobe change.

Someone is throwing a fit because they can't find their 50 cent and God forbid we stop at a store.

I'm still praying.

We're going outside?  Let me get my scooter, bicycle, bouncy ball, hoola hoop, football, and Frisbee.

Take it back.

We are having withdrawal symptoms because we want a pacifier. 

Mommy can't think.  Where are my keys?  They're still in my hand.

God's Little Voices take the Georgia Aquarium

It's been a fun and busy weekend.  Our littlest youth choir (God's Little Voices) went on a summer trip to the Georgia Aquarium on Saturday.  It was a pain getting up at 4:30 in the morning but the kids had a blast.

Cate is the only one on the GLV.  She is also on the older youth choir as is AJ.  Caleb just goes to "school" (Bible Study).  Calling it school is the only way I can get him to stay in the room.  The hubs and I were chaperones.

Here's a few pictures of the kids on the trip

 

Caleb checking out a fish bigger than he is.

We are trying to touch stingrays without the sting.

 

 

 

 

What's that daddy?

 

Our Little Crew

Fitness Friday- 30 Day Shred -Day 17

Today makes day 17 of the 30 Day Shred and I CAN"T WAIT UNTIL THIS CRAP IS OVA!!!

In my opinion, level 2 is horrible.  I say that simply because I have 0 upper body strength and most of the video consists of some type of plank, pushup, and shoulder excersice.  And then she has the nerve to say,

"I want you to feel like you're dying!"

Shut up! I do feel like I'm dying!

 

Of course, she isn't here to yell back at me. 

 

My arms and shoulders felt like they were on fire.  There were a couple of times I just wanted to cut that video off and call it a day.  Oh, and eat a big ole bowl of ice cream.  But I didn't, I kept going.  I kept hearing these other annoying words in my head.

 

Uhhggg!  Lord give me strength. 

 

Though as much as I feel like I'm dying through the workout, I feel like the energizer bunny after the workout.  Well, not directly after.  Directly afterwards I feel like I've been hit by a bus.  I've also done The Biggest Loser Cardio Max twice this week.  I'm telling you these videos don't make you just sweat.  It's like you're continually trying to fix a leaky faucet. 

And did I mention that my faithful and dedicated husband has punked out on me and left me stranded.  Talking about, "That lady crazy."  You doggone right, she crazy.  But what happened to for better or worse. LOL!

 

Oh well, in the meantime, I'll be counting down the days baby, counting down the days!  I thought I was going to hang with Jilian for 2 months but I might just hang with that cardio max for July.

 

Letter B Activities

Well, I'm finally posting our activities for letter B.  2 letters down and 24 more to go.

I always search YouTube for the videos to use.  These are some we used these two weeks. 

Elmo sings the letter B song

Another hip song -  My kids love all the videos by this group.  (Have fun teaching)

This is an interactive game not for a two-year old, but good for a preschooler.  We didn't use this one but I like it anyway.

Crafts and Activities:



All the kids jumped in on this.  We tossed balls into buckets and used bouncy balls to try and bounce them into the buckets.  

Someone just couldn't wait their turn.  Photo-bombed.

   

  B is for balloons... water balloon that is!  What else to do on a hot day?  Hold your other children hostage for a few seconds with a taped letter Bb on their shirt.  One was the uppercase and the other was lowercase.  Where's the letter B, Caleb?  LOL.  They all ganged up on me later.   Buttons on Bb   Painting Bb   Hand print Boat - Used a paintbrush for the water, a cotton ball to paint clouds, and half of a make-up wedge to create the sails.       Build-A-Boat and Make it Float   Directions - take a foam plate or tray and cut a shape out of it.( thicker ones are better)  Use a toothpick to stick in the middle, or wherever you prefer it to be.  Get a drinking straw and cut a piece about the size of your toothpick.  Use construction paper to make a sail and tape it on the straw.  Slide straw on top of your toothpick.  Fill up a pan with water and let it sail.  The kids had a contest to see who could blow their boat to the other end the fastest.    

Father's Day

A daughter's first love and a son's first super hero.   

I hope that all the fathers had a great Father's Day.  Here's a few pictures of ours.

 

 

Daddy's slept in long enough.  It's time to wake him up.   The kids are up cooking breakfast for daddy.   Let's just see what the yolk feels like.  There's no telling what we ate.       AJ wrote a rap and Miss Cate wrote a little something.   No time for resting daddy.  Get up!   The guys   Daddy and the princess     This turned into a bunch of little monkeys jumping on the bed.   What dad doesn't love to fish?  I think the little ones about took over.  

 

Fitness Friday - The 30 Day Shred Day 10

I'm still going!

I did skip 2 days this week, Saturday and Tuesday.  One day was do to a family issue, but I continued on out for the rest of the days.  So I am actually on day 10 instead of day 12.   It has been hard, very hard and completely exhausting!

I'll admit my stamina for the workouts has increased from the beginning but after each workout I'm covered in sweat and I feel like I'm about to keel over.  I usually just lie on the floor and thank God that's it's over.

(I had just finished)   After looking up some results from others that have done the 30 day shred, I noticed that most of the people were hardly losing any weight.  Most were losing like 1.45868698 pounds or gaining pounds due to muscle.  That just wasn't going to work.  I knew that I needed to burn fat and this here was a lot more than 1 pound.   (Day 1 of 30 Day Shred)   That camera is adding 5 pounds!  It looks like a 5 month baby bump and no I'm not pregnant.  Am I?  Okay, no.  Sometimes that belly has me fooled.     So I was faced with the problem of trying to figure out how and when I would get a little more cardio in.  I had to seize the moment.  This week I ended up adding 2 miles and the Biggest Loser Cardio Max to the mix.  Oh, My!   At this point, I wondered if I could pull a "celebrity stunt" and be hospitalized for exhaustion.  My body was worn out.  I've been sleeping until 10 and 11:00 almost every morning.  The kids have missed story time at the library and 2 shows for the summer reading program.  I felt so guilty.   The house was still standing so the kids didn't burn it down.  I had no idea what they were doing but they knew how to fix a bowl of cereal, and they had easy access to tv and toys.  But just hold on, before you put the Department of Family and Children Services on speed dial, the hubs has been home and was watching them.  Crisis averted.   Well as for eating, it's been okay.  There are days when I do great and then there are days..... I might need to repent.  Well, they weren't that bad, but let's just say I bought a mini bag of recces and kitkats to treat myself.  Sometimes, I don't like to share.  Oh and I had French fries the other day on a trip to see my sister.  I can't remember the last time I had eaten a French fry.  Those were the best French fries ever.  So long dear friend.   I've seen others take their measurements before starting the program but of course I didn't.  I didn't even think about it.  So I took them on day 7 and then I lost them.    (Day 10)   The hubs says he can notice a difference in me but you know husbands.  He had BETTER said that!  He's even decided to join me in this workout madness.  Now, just a bit of background info...my husband is an ex-football, ex-basketball, ex- track, ex-whatever athlete and currently plays softball.  So, I can't tell you how over filled with joy I was as I watched him DYING through his first day of the 30 Day Shred.  It was wonderful, especially since I had build up my stamina.  Victory was mine!  Of course, that just added to his competitive spirit.  We love to joke around.    (We'll see who makes it to the end.)   So I'll move on to level 2 tomorrow.  I'm sure it's going to be more than a challenge but I'm more than a conqueror.  I'll get there! Wait a minute, we'll get there!

Just Believe

Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh - Is there anything too hard for me?
Jeremiah 32:26-27

We serve a powerful, almighty God who can do all things. We just have to believe in Him and know that there is nothing that He cannot do. You may be going through situations and have given up hope that your circumstance will get better. But God does not stray from His promises. He is able to make a way out of no way. Everything that is destined for you shall come to pass. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. (John 6:37) Go to God in every situation, regardless of how big or small you think it might be. Believe and trust in the Lord and know that he is a faithful and capable God. The Lord still waits for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for him to help them. (Isaiah 30:18)

I'm choosing to trust and believe in God regardless of the situations that fall on me, regardless of the way the enemy tries to steal my joy, regardless of the way the situation might look.  I believe that the best is yet to come.  I believe that victory is mine.  I believe that my God has already worked it out.  I am the head and not the tail.  I am above and not beneath.  I will prosper and prevail by the grace of God.  Everything is possible for him who believes.  (Mark 9:23)

Fitness Friday - Back on Track!

Since I've been having a hard time getting a run, walk or both in since the kids have been out for the summer (and prior), I decided to try and get the videos out.    This has been working for me since Caleb has been pre-occupied with big brother and sister and because daddy's been home from work early all week.

 

I decided on the 30 Day Shred with fire breathing Jillian Michaels.  It's brutal.

There are 3 levels: 1, 2 and 3.  I'm on level one and I'm currently on Day 5.  The workout is intense.  I'm fighting to catch my breath on some parts and my body is usually on fire.  Well, it must be working.

 

The eating habits are back on track.  Mostly because it's been too hot or too wet to go to the store.  It's been raining daily.  We did manage to go on Wednesday, though.  I've been eating a lot of wraps, soup, fruits and veggies along with some "regular meals."  Meals are still being spread out during the day and I'm better at portion control, even with ice cream.  I have been sucking on a few jolly rancher chews at times during the week but I have really been wanting some chocolate.  I didn't give in though. 

 

 I'm praying that I can stick to it for the whole 30 days and maybe beyond.  That will make month 3 with some real CONTINOUS effort of getting back into shape.  I think I just might have a new body to go with this new hair. Ha!

 

Have a terribly terrific weekend! 

 

Father's Day Book

 

One of the gifts we made my husband over the years was this super hero book. We happened to pull it out the other day and the kids couldn't remember ever making it. They were very young.

 

We took turns telling something we liked about daddy on each page and made a picture to go with it. AJ was practicing writing.

  This was Cate's page.  I let her hold the pencil with me and we tried to write together.      

The kids get a kick out of looking back at the book. We each made two pages. AJ was almost 5 and Cate was a little over 2. We laminated the pages, punched holes in the side, and tied it together. We also put their exact ages on the back.

 

I  think it's a cute Father's Day activity.  Hope you like it.

Gotta Check Into Rehab!

This has gotten completely out of control.  He just can't stop.  And his withdrawal symptoms turn into screeching wails blazing like wildfires that won't subside until his addiction is met.  I'm at a lost.  I keep trying to minimize his contact.... out of sight, out of mind.  Not so the case.  It's a problem, a big problem.

That darn paci or "Ba" as he calls it. 

This child is addicted to that thing like a meth addict to meth.  Through all the kids, I 've never had one as attached to the thing as he is.  He has to have it.  You would think that as long as he doesn't see it that he'll forget about it, but this here is something serious.  Doesn't the name Caleb mean a "different spirit?"
This child will pat you down like you're at airport security.  He's checking your pants pockets, your jacket pockets, and your pocketbook.  He will even go as far as to say, "It's at grandma house?"  Really?   So when he doesn't have it, withdrawal starts to set in.



You know how some kids cry that soft cry and you can barely hear them.  And their parents are like, "Oh be quiet, I'm tired of that crying."  I'm like, "what crying?"   Caleb is not one of those criers.  He will howl like he's trying to call a meeting with all the wolves in all the forests around the whole Earth to wake the dead.  It's horrible and to make it worse.... he follows you.  Follows you and screams.  Are these my genes?  Was I like this? 

Is this his way of carrying out Mathew 7:7 - Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.  We need to talk Lord.  I need strength.  As of this moment, right now, this child has been crying off and on for an hour and a half, "MOMMY, I WANT BAAAA!" 

Oh, please let it get better.  We try to only give it to him at nap time and bedtime unless he is completely going insane.  Then, we sometimes give in, so we don't join him in his insanity plea.  The little manipulator. Surely we're going to need rehab to break this addiction.  Rehab for a two year old over a paci.  Lord, help us.

Chopped: The Journey To Natural Hair

Well, I've did it.  Fully Natural Now.  But here's a few pictures of me along the way.

Relaxed Days

I was in elementary school when I fist got a relaxer in my hair.  I'm not positive about my age but I'm thinking maybe 8.

Fall 2011   December 2011   Mother's Day 2012   Sometime last year 2012     Transitioning Days I was going to transition for a year and a half before chopping it all off.  My transitioning days were good at times and then there were times where I wanted to take a handful of something and smash it into the mirror. lol.  I ended up transitioning for about 10 months.  

I was in the thinking stage here.  Around 3-4 months post relaxer and about 90 percent sure I was going to go natural but still shaky.

Transitioning style:  Bantu Knot Out gone wrong.  My hair was still very wet but didn't have time to do anything else to it.  Stuck the pantyhose around my hair and went on.

   Curled hair with hair rollers and stuck the band around it and then here you can see the new growth coming in.

Attempted to do a "curl hawk" 

Not a great picture.  Hair half pulled back into a pony.  I was trying to convince the hubby to let me go ahead and cut it off.  I told him this is what I'd look like.

A Little Chop

Saturday night as I alternated between reading my Bible, watching a movie on lifetime, and researching this natural hair ( I know a whole lot of things going on at once-kind of like this blog), I just got the urge.  Every time I put my hands in my hair and felt those thick roots and straggly ends,  it seemed to just drive me crazy.  So at 1:00 in the morning, while Andre was asleep and I was still up, I took a pair of hair scissors and just started cutting.

After I cut a lot of my hair off.  I put twists in it and rolled the ends so I would look half decent for church.  I'm aware it looks like I'm doing the potty dance in this picture.  Not quite sure what's going on there.  lol  But check out the slack in those pants!  Size 14 falling down.  I had to keep pulling them up.

 

That night I cut a little more.  Andre was scared to help me.  He thought he would mess it up.  It was coming off anyway and he couldn't mess it up anymore than I was going Edward Scissorhands on it all day long.

 The Big Chop!!!

My hair is kind of wet in this picture.  I had just completed day 1 of the 30 day shred and showered.  

   

 The day after. I'm all the way natural and to be honest, not self conscious or anything at all.  I surprised myself!    The Inspiration       I would have NEVER decided to go natural if it wasn't for this little girl who first put the idea in my head.  I wanted her to feel comfortable with her hair and felt like I had to set the example.  It took a while to jump on board, but I finally did. Notice heavily spoiled baby in arms, just waking up after a ride back from the dentist.         A better view of the hair even though Miss Caitlyn was too busy scoping out ants.  She has a fear of any kind of bug...ants, butterflies, bees, spiders ...  Like mother, like daughter.    Note:  The hubs didn't really care if I cut the hair off but he was nervous too.    This journey wasn't always easy.  I was annoyed half of the time, frustrated, and thought about quitting. (like with working out)    The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong.... Ecclesiastes 9:11   You can apply a scripture to anything.    Let me know what you think!