Another little quickie...

Just a quick update b/c I have 1.1 million things do be doing tonight...


Super good news...drum roll please...my weigh in went well...I lost 2.4 pounds for week 1 of the challenge. I'm so excited!

The kids came in 2nd place with all their points...not good enough for a prize but I was so proud of how well they ate and how much they were active this week.

Another good thing...they are coming to pressure wash the house tomorrow and get it ready for painting...so in the next 3 weeks we can finally get it on the market.

Bad thing is...crap we are really doing this and I need Clean Sweep BAD! I think maybe just a bulldozer might might be a better option...we just have so much stuff! And I really need to de-clutter, get ready for a garage sale (which I feel confident if we could sell everything for $1 we could make a $Million$ since that's how full our garage is.

And they cancelled our opening baseball weekend b/c everything is flooded and it's still raining. So now I'm bummed b/c I LOVE baseball season and am so ready to watch my boys play.

And since it's raining and everything is cancelled I don't have an excuse of why I can't get the house clean and de-cluttered at this time.

Another bad thing...I cannot procrastinate anymore...gotta get busy!

So I'm on a hiatus...hiding the computer...and getting busy around here...see you Monday...and have a good weekend!

Nit Pick Thursday

Today is brought to you by things on my list of irritations.

#1 Why do Girl Scouts, who are supposed to be all about helping Americans and all that yadda yadda, sell their freakin' cookies at the beginning of spring? People are trying to lose weight to get ready for bikini season...and these flippin' little cookie pushers are on every freakin' corner around here with their cute little voices "Would you like to buy a box of Girl Scout cookies?" I purposely did not order any this year knowing full well I'd eat them all. But now they're camped out at every store I frequent. It's like they're taunting me.

#2 Why do they tell you to weigh yourself naked first thing in the morning? After all people see us with our clothes on...why not call that they weight you really are. And when you go to the doctor they don't ask you to remove all your clothes...and I can't ever seem to get an appointment first thing in the morning before I need my coffee and breakfast. My frustration for this is because our weigh in is at 6:00 tonight and I have to keep my clothes on after a full day of eating. I've decided to wear the same outfit to every weigh in b/c this will give me a true picture of my weight loss.

#3 What's up with this stupid new Shake Weight gadget? Have you seen the commercials for this? Obsurd! It loks obsecene and I can't believe people actually would purchase this thinking it would make their arms super tone. Why not just walk around flaling our arms about?

#4 Women on their cell phones at the gym! That's a big one. On the elliptical I have enjoyed many conversations between young girls fighting with their boyfriends. And during Zumba cell phones ring and people actually go to answer them. "Hello?" (Like they don't know who it is with caller ID) "Oh yeah hey. At Zumba...Can I call you back?" Ugh! I just want to turn around and say "HELLO you're interupting my groove." But then I'd call attention to myself and I'd rather leave the attention on yappy chic in the back.

#5 Why do Lifetime movies always suck me in when I have a million things to do? I don't even know why I turn the channel on.

#6 Why do my kids come banging on the door of the bathroom the second my rear end hits the seat? It's like the house is on fire and there's this huge emergency. Do they really think I won't come back out?

#7 Why is it raining so much it's flooding the baseball fields and ruining our opening weekend? I really want to see my little cuteies in their uniforms.

#8 Why can't I see the floor of my laundry room? Just one day of wearing clothes around here seems to add up to two more loads. And then they want to use clean towels to shower! As I was loading the washer after baseball practice the other night my husband says "Just imagine when all 4 boys are teenagers and all playing sports. Man you'll have a lot to do." First of all he's lucky I didn't deck him for say "you'll". And then my future flashed before my eyes. I could smell them! Ick! Oh lord I have a lot of training ahead of me.

#9 Why did my daughter get an eye for fashion? I was a tom boy growing up. I was very much into sports, jeans wearing, and tennis shoes...She loves skirts, and fancy shoes, and cute tops...she enjoys fashion magazines. When I take her shopping for new clothes she believes that means entire outfits including matching shoes and accessories. Heck I only own about 6 pairs of shoes...and 3 of those are cheap Old Navy or Payless flip flops. My running shoes are pricey...but other than that I'm not a big spender on shoes. But I guess if I was as cute as she is then I would enjoy a little more fancyness:) But heck I work from home and endure lots of snot noses being rubbed on me, wiping off sandy hands on my pants, and spit up on my shoulder.

#10 Why do women get the crap jobs? It must have been in the fine print! Carry the babies for nine months, gain a lot of weight, work hard at losing the weight, nursing the babies, smelling like sour milk, monthly visitor keeps coming back...and so on. While the men just get to hold the nice clean baby after it comes out, they can shower and shave and be ready in 5 minutes, no pushing involved, and only monthly moods no messisness attached. My husband can just say the words "walk" and "no more Coke" and he can shed 10 pounds...no working out involved...and no dieting. I get the jobs of cooking and cleaning while he gets to enjoy the wrestling and playtime. I guess I do enjoy lots of snuggles and kisses though. But it would be nice for them to call "DADDY" at the top of their lungs once in awhile.

On the upside of Thursday here's my workout from last night and today.



And when we were down in Tampa the Rays Fan Fest they were giving out lots of free stuff. Here's what I got


So what's on your "nit pick" list?

Last Chance Workout!

(This is our whole group ready for the challenge. I'm right in front in the middle sitting next to Antoine.)

Today is that day! Last chance workout day to be exact! That's because ladies tomorrow is weigh in day. Tomorrow marks one week of our Biggest Loser Challenge.

Last week I piled my cuties in the van and headed up to the school for one of the most motivational talks I've ever heard in person. Antoine and Alexandra from The Biggest Loser came and talked with our school to get us all started. They had some great advice about staying motivated and had great in site into getting started. They also spoke about their own stories, what made them change, and how it's been a great learning process for them. Antoine really made it clear that "It's up to you. No one else is going to do it for you." Isn't that true with so many things! And one of the best tips Alexandra gave was "if you're really craving something and are having a hard time giving it up have it right after weigh in (or the next day). That way you get it out of the way and can work it off. And start each week fresh. I love this idea! So we decided as a family that since our weigh in day is Thursday we could have our eat out night be Fridays...pretty convenient if I so say so myself:) Now my plan is to still choose healthy things when we eat out, but I can afford a little splurge:)

So we weighed in. Made a pledge to lose a certain amount of weight. And the kids were given activity sheets to keep up with and earn points for various things...eating vegetables, fruits, 30 min. of activity, giving up video games, no soda...they earn the points while the parents lose the weight. Now I don't have as much to lose as many of the other families...so I do not foresee us winning any major prizes; however, I'm gonna give my all and challenge myself.

My pledge was to lose the last 15 pounds ( the challenge is 10 weeks long and if I stay on track I really think I can do it). I also made a few extra promises to myself. I want to make one new low-fat dish a week that the whole family will enjoy (not just mom) and I want to try one new class or workout routine a week.

This week I did really good. I made a yummy low-fat Waldorf chicken salad on pita bread. It was so good! Oh and I tried some WW sorbet bars. Mmmmm Good! I have a hard time giving up ice cream so this is perfect for me...and they are big too:) I've been eating the skinny cows and WW chocolate (anything) but this is something other than chocolate and it's only 2 points!

And I tried a new class last night. It's called 20/20/20....it's 20 minutes of cardio, 20 minutes of sculpt, and 20 minutes of abs. I am so comfortable in my Zumba class and I felt a bit out of my element. But I kept up and really enjoyed it. So when the time allows I will keep this one on my list.

I had plans today for a run, but from the looks of my flooded backyard the rain has no plans of letting up. So, I thought maybe I would try the Boot Camp class at the Y tonight. I have to really pump myself up for that because it sounds really intense.

I'm Bringing Barney Back

When Princess was just a wee one back in the day she loved a good episode of Barney. At the time I knew it was a sure thing for giving me about 30 minutes of time to do the dishes, laundry, cook dinner, or maybe even a mini nap for myself. Of course it was also extremely annoying. She wanted to listen to the darn tape (yes I said tape) in the car. If I didn't play it she would scream. And not just any scream mind you....a blood curdling scream that makes you want to swerve off the road and crash your car so you have something else to think about.

The only thing I didn't realize at the time was how important, wonderful, and greatly appreciated listening to those Barney songs 783 million times would become.

Let me bring you to present day...

Location: Target (what a great store)
Children: All 5... BY MYSELF
Me: trying to get important things for our daily lives....feminine products, shampoo, diapers, wipes...you get the picture
Happenings: Oldest 2 children arguing non stop, little boys asking for everything and anything in a package, Little Monkey screaming about the buckle being on...being off...being on blah blah blah

When out of know where (after my head was spinning, my eyes were glazing over, and my ears were hurting from my excessive words of please stop, be quiet, no, yes, sit down....)
I start to hum. Hmmm hmmm hm hmmmm hm hm hmmmm hmmm hmm hm hm hm hm....After few minutes I realize I'm humming Barney and it's getting louder and louder to drown out the noise of these obnoxious children.

They stop and look at me. They have a little bit of a puzzled look. But after a second go back to what they were doing. And all of the sudden I belt out (w/o realizing it) "I love you. You love me. We're a happy family." They all turn w/ mouths wide open....as if to say "Is she really? No can't be. Is she crazy?" They stare and I hear "Mom! Really?!?!

We walk a few more feet. I continue adding the supplies to my cart that I need. The arguing ensues...and now Princess is asking for something. I have said no a million times by now I think. She gets louder with her pleading. "Mom! Mom! I'm talking to you. Mom!?!? Answer me (I'm doing my absolute best to ignore her.) I begin to sing...more loudly now. People are looking at us. I don't care. I don't know them...they don't know me. I'll never see them again right?

But the best thing is occurring. My kids are more than mortified that their mother is singing in the store. Barney of all things! But they are quiet. There is no more arguing, and they are hurrying to the check out. Of course Little Monkey loved this and he began trying to sing with me. And he just laughed and was really happy the rest of the way out of the store.

Princess tried to argue about that too but I only got louder. So she stopped. Like really quick!

Today, we had to grocery shop. I usually don't take all of them, but I had to see if my new found parenting skill could possibly work twice. After all every book says to try things out more than once before giving up. It was great. I didn't even have to sing the words...I just started humming and they immediately stopped whatever they were doing.

So to all the mommies out there....one day your children will be embarrassed by you no matter what. So why not give them a reason to be! After all how many tantrums have they thrown that have caused many o' glares? So write this down for your future teenage and preteen kids. I think I'll add it to my book I will someday write:)

And I'll leave you with a little picture of the weekend workouts (cause I'm a copy cat...thank you Melissa).

Embracing the Crazy...because that's what it truly is!

Today I'm linking up to Kelly's Korner in Show us You Life...A Day in the Life.

Hold on to your hats your in a for a wild ride!

6:00 am wake-up get myself semi presentable and take out the dogs
6:20 COFFEE!!! and feed dogs
6:30 1st daycare child arrives and I wake up the 2 oldest boys for school....the older boys argue loudly with the Princess who has already taken over the bathroom. I shhhsshhhhh them several times so they do not wake the 2 little boys.

6:45 breakfast for my school age kids and the 2 daycare children that are now here.

7:00 begin freaking out that the boys are going to miss the bus. It's a mad scramble of gathering book bags, stray papers that they haven't packed, and snacks...sometimes lunches, combing wild and crazy hair, shoe and jacket searching. Another child (or 2) is arriving during this time.

7:05 Bus time! YAY 2 kids out the door.

7:10 Prepare breakfast for daycare children, clean up the boys messes they left behind, microwave coffee for the 3rd time, catch a minute of GMA and try to listen to Princess who has been talking my ear off since she came down at 6:45 to tell me about her obnoxious brothers (as if I couldn't hear what was going on) and as I'm multi-tasking between spilled milk and hearing "I don't like this" and "I gotta go potty" Princess proceeds to tell me funny stories about kids at school in such a such class and "can you believe that" stories.

7:30-7:45 The last of the daycare children arrive, Princess heads off to school irritated because I told her she has too much make-up on and made her wipe it off, or her skirt that we bought 3 yrs. ago is too small and she has no clothes and I'm a horrible mother because I want her to be embarrassed and go naked. Like I would do that....it's against the dress code after all!

8:00 My 2 little boys wake-up and are ready for breakfast. Feed them, change all the daycare kids and take some potty, clean up breakfast, break up the 315th fight over a ball or riding toy, all the while singing songs about it being a beautiful day...even if it's crazy cold and snowing out. Tell the voice in my head to stop begging for the candy bar hidden in the cupboard.

8:30 Answer texts from the husband so he doesn't get too excited about his plans of cashing in my life insurance policy...catch up on a few e-mails from baseball parents (did I mention I'm team mom to 2 of the teams this season and hubby is coaching 2 and assisting the 3rd), try to rewind to hear a story on GMA, break up another fight, sing another song, change diapers b/c they held their poop in until they had a clean diaper, warm coffee again and fill up the cup.

9:00 Snack time, circle and learning time, sing lots of songs, read lots of books, art and writing time....keep Little Monkey off of the table and stop him 1.2 million times from pulling the chair to the counter to climb into the medicine cupboard or where the snacks are, stop the Little's from eating the crayons and feeding them to the dogs, chase Little Monkey down who is scaling the baby gate to get upstairs with a Sharpie in his hand that he has already colored all over.

9:30 Catch up on e-mails and texts, break up the 483rd fight, remind everyone how much fun sharing is, potty, diapers, quiet the screaming voice in my head about the stupid candy or chocolate it knows we have, clean up and head outside by 10:00.

10:00 Run, play, push, shove, and chase each other and the dogs. Play with the parachute, freak out over bugs, find poor worms to give a bath and make homes for and fight over the 5 pushing trucks, 2 bikes, and numerous balls that cover the yard. Wash out the mouths that have eaten the sand and wipe faces covered in dirt or grass.

11:00 Clean-up, prepare lunch with 8 little people under my feet playing the pots and pans or singing and dancing along side me - which to an outsider might look more like screaming hungry wild animals that haven't eaten their prey in months.

12:00 Clean-up, wash hands and faces, change diapers, potty time...chase them all down and put 6 kids to sleep for nap. Put my 4 yr.old and his buddy on the computer to do some pre-k work while I clean the kitchen. Eat my lunch and give in to the screaming annoying voice in my head about the chocolate so it will shut up.

12:30 Cover up the littlest who have gotten up to play with the toys or turn on the TV...and rub backs this time so they don't move again. Regret eating the stupid chocolate and sign a contract that I will never do it again!

1:00 6 asleep 2 on the computer...time for me to pay bills, sweep, mop, dust, clean bathrooms and prepare afternoon snack.

1:30 catch up on blogs and Facebook, read e-mails and respond to parents who think I fell off the earth, return phone calls, make appts. etc...

2:00 Think about what to make for dinner, hear someone stirring and pray hard they fall back to sleep, break up the argument between the 2 older boys and shsshhh them for the 40th time so they don't wake the others up, check the mail, get the puppy off the table, rock the baby...

2:30 All up, change diapers, get snack, big boys home from school

2:45 Get my boys started on homework, argue a little about why they can't go outside or get on the computer, remind them of their chores, and tell them to stop wrestling when I'm talking

3:00 Break up 849th argument, tell everyone to share, get them ready to go outside, searching for socks and shoes and jackets...

4:00 Daycare kids begin leaving, wash hands and faces, find all shoes and socks and blankets, put everything by the door...parents arrive, search while they wait for socks, shoes and blankets they have lost again.

4:45 Begin dinner, Princess is home by now and telling me more stories, remove children from climbing on tables, clean up toys and vacuum, keep cooking dinner in a mad rush to get ready for baseball practice...argue with boys about why their homework isn't done, they should be getting dressed for baseball.

5:00 Last of the daycare kids leaving, searching for missing baseball socks, dinner on the table by 5:15, dad arrives home wanting to know why the boys aren't ready, scarf down food...

5:30-6:00 Out the door for baseball practice, argue with Princess about going to the gym, make her feel guilty about having too much alone time, pack little boys in the car after searching for socks, shoes, and a sippy cup...Head to the gym.

6:30-7:30/8:00 Listen to my IPod while running pretending I'm running away and hope the poor kids will survive without me or try to keep up during Zumba and not get upset at the skinny mini in front of me showing all the world her humungo tatas w/ a shirt on that says Fab U Lous! And trying to move away from the old bitty who smells like moth balls who keeps invading my Zumba space.

Pick up little boys from the daycare and head home, argue about why we can't stop for ice cream, listen to Little Monkey yelling our "icweam icweam peas icweam" b/c her heard Princess ask about it.

8:00-8:30 baths, teeth, chase down Little naked Monkey and hold him down to get his PJ's on, read a few books and say good night to the moon about 115 times, tuck him in, go in to rub backs of the other kids and argue for a few minutes about the TV time or lack there of, listen to the big boys tell me about baseball practice and how cold it was, and how dad wouldn't let them stay in the car, and how they got hit in the nose or they think their legs are broken....plead to please be quiet and just go to sleep we can talk in the morning.

9:00 Princess is off to bed, hubby and I speak briefly about our day and say "hello" for the first time, argue about who will clean the kitchen and fold the clothes (I always lose b/c I just get tired and want it done so I can sit down), take a bath and drink more water
10:00 finish up the last few minutes of a show and decide it's a good think we have a DVR, talk with hubby for a few more minutes, finish answering e-mails or blog reading and head to bed by 11:00.

Phew....I'm tired I think I'll put my feet up now and take a nap! Ha that would be a good post for what would happen if I took a nap!

Honest Scrap, Defeat, and Victory

Melissa awarded me the Honest Scrap award last week and I'm finally getting around to talking on my blog about it. Thank you Melissa! I am so glad I joined the blogging world. I have truly "met" some awesome people. And Melissa is such a great inspirational motivator.

But a few other updates first. This week has been crazy because I've still been trying to catch up from being out of town the week before last. The kids were let out of school early yesterday @ 10:30 because of snow moving into our area which threw off my entire day. My kids and daycare kids were all willy nilly due to this craziness. Then this morning they decided to delay school opening for 2 hours....but daycare kids still started coming early which threw my whole day off today. Trying to feed 6 kids breakfast, one baby a bottle, and juggling getting my boys ready for school and on the bus gave me a crazy start. I did however get an hour alone before the first child arrived and before my crazys came downstairs. I enjoyed a nice cup of coffee that didn't have to be warmed 5 times and I even got to watch the news and a little Good Morning America. The whole time I was thinking "this would be a great time to workout". But never got my booty off the couch before I heard stirring upstairs and there was a knock at the door. Oh well!

Anyway, I have not worked out since Saturday...ahhhh. Aside from cleaning the house of course. I can see the bottom of my laundry room so there is a VICTORY like no other. And I have vaccuumed and steam cleaned carpets this week. But looking at my kitchen...well lets just not go there.

My eating has been horid! I will say I have my second monthly visitor this month. Hello!?!? WTH! I did not sign up for this "friend" to pay me two visits this month. She is not welcome and needs to hustle on out. I'm guessing it's the crazy pills they switched me to.

As I ate yet another yummy treat last night I wondered if before the contestants go on The Biggest Loser they eat everything they think they might not ever get to eat again. Because that's what I have done this week. Never mind that I've been doing WW for the past two months and I haven't been eating too much "crap"....my belly hurts. Ick! That will teach me to "binge" on junk.

But no more! Today the BLC starts at the school and I couldn't be more excited. My GF on Facebook told me when I'm done I'll be wearing a bikini to the grocery store just b/c I can! Well if that isn't motivation I don't know what is:) And I'm very excited to meet Antione and Alexandra tonight and hear them speak.

And I'm exccited to report while at my hair dresser this week the receptionist said "You have 5 kids! But you are so tiny." Oh how I love her!

So much more

Do you ever feel like what you are doing isn't enough? I have this constant thought in the back of my head that tells me daily "You can do so much more". Not that taking care of children and raising mine isn't a lot...but cleaning poop, wiping noses, disciplining, breaking up fights and enduring an extreme amount of tattling seems to over shadow the fact that I'm teaching life skills, educating our next generation, and providing a safe learning environment for other parents who are educating America's youth.

I often feel my brain cells are slipping away. There is so much more for me to do. When I was in school I loved learning. I think that's why I became a teacher so that I could help others find their love of learning. Every 26 seconds a teenager drops out of high school. Why? That's sounds insane to me. Do they not realize the opportunities they are giving up? I truly believe when I was in school someone should have steered me in another direction. I was extremely good at math and science. And I think if someone would have pushed me in the direction of the health care field I could have done great things. If I knew then what I knew now....don't we all say that....but those high school's need someone to show them what they are capable of.

For the last four years I have dreamt about going back to school to be a nurse or midwife. I love being in hospitals! I enjoy watching all the delivery shows on tv. If over the last four years I would have known where to start I could be doing that career now. But I have no idea where to even start. The only time I have right now would be for online classes...but I don't want to get duped into a program that isn't any good. I've considered going back to the KSU where I graduated from with my BS in Education....but the commute and the fact that I have 5 precious babies that all have their lives and activities I haven't figured out how to fit it in. I have to work so classes during the day are not a possibility. My husband's work schedule is never the same so I can't depend on that either.

But I know there is a way. And if you want something bad enough you'll figure it out, right?

I just need to take the steps now so by the time Little Monkey goes to school I can have my career!