A post from the observation room

So - have I mentioned that swim lessons twice day for two weeks can lead the Mommy and the very patient Brother Bear to finding some creative ways to spend their time?

I am currently reading Fast Food Nation (which is fascinating) and the little buddy is halfway through Pride and Prejudice.


-- Post From My iPhone

What do you do if you are two and your sisters are taking swim lessons?

Take pictures of stuff with Mommy's phone of course!  

Love this one - self portrait of little feet in Cwocs 

Exploring every angle 

The little guy really is a photographic prodigy don't you think? 

Different day, different shoes, 

same old story 

In the Weeds and Followers

OK so I admit it - I have been in the weeds! No time to blog, no time for anything it feels like! (In the weeds is a restaurant term for being really really busy. I actually looked it up because I was curious and there is an entire wilkipedia entry on diner lingo which I found strangely interesting.) 

Anyway ..........  I can't wait for things to calm down - what - 10 15 more years? 

Then on to followers - is someone playing with me? I get 71 followers, then 70, then 71 then 70 - what am I doing? I want you back? Can I stand outside your window with a ginormous stereo above my head (Say Anything reference - best movie ever) and win you over or would that be creepy? Is it the same person signing up every time or different people? Anyway - those are the two things that are on my mind as I type furiously with a two year old pulling one pant leg and a pug named Penelope pulling the other. Guess it is bedtime and Pug chow time. 

Gotta run! 

H 

Priceless

Trips to and from the dance studio 

90

Trips to the University for dress rehearsals 

2

Length of recital 

2 1/2 hours 

Cost per month of dance lessons 

130 for both girls 

Hours spent sitting outside of classes 

90

Cost of recital costumes 

64 dollars each 

Cost of tights 

10 dollars per pair 

Cost of shoes 

New - 30 dollars ish - Once Upon a Child if you are lucky - 10 dollars ish - hand me downs FREE :) 

Time spent putting wriggling little girls into tights and buns - approximately 15 minutes for each girl for each dance class - you do the math. 

Watching both girls dance their hearts out on stage 

PRICELESS! 

“There are always two choices. Two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that it's easy.”

Help! Cupcake Button Chaos!!!!!

"Toughen up Cupcake! You're not the only fat chick in the gym!!!!!" 

These were the words that gave us the inspiration to truly change our bodies - to get to the gym and try until we cried and really be the best Mommies we could be and thus......

the Cupcake Club was BORN! 

My Mom is a Cupcake now - on her fourth day of Water Aerobics at the Y. We have friends left and right saying, "Hey I Can Do This Too!!!!!!" I even have bloggy buddies that are jumping on board. 

So come on Cupcakes - help me pick a button!!!!! (Once again - how great is Mimi - my Mom - for making me so many choices????) 

This is me as a baby :)

I Heart Faces

Well - they said choose your all time favorite face photo - I had A LOT of trouble because I have three little faces and one big face that I love very much so it is hard to be selective. :) I finally chose this one because - well - it is my all time favorite face photo of my Ladybug.  Years and years and years from now I will look back on this photo and remember her so well - her teeth and her hair and the tan skin...... sigh - she is getting too big too fast!!!!!!!! 

I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb book photo contest. If chosen, I grant I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites.

Mantra Song of the Week

OK so I am a musical person - I am moved by music, inspired by music - pretty much live my life to a soundtrack. I have different songs for different situations. I work out harder to great music. My kitchen is cleaner when the music blares. My mood is better - my life is happier. Thought I would share my new favorite song of the week :)

The song is called Free to be Me and it is by Francesca Battistelli
The kids are cute - I have been playing this song a lot in the kitchen and they said "play the me song play the me song play the me song" :) (I just moved it to the top of my playlist - so it is the song playing first.) 

Gotta couple dents in my fender

Got a couple rips in my jeans

Try to put the pieces together 

Perfection is my enemy

On my own I'm so clumsy (the graphic below actually has the lyrics to ANOTHER Holly mantra song to be featured at a later date) 

But on your shoulders I can see

I'm Free to Be ME!!!!! 

Not Me Monday!

We did NOT have an awesome weekend and we NEVER missed a bedtime! 

We did NOT go play cards at a friends house and there is no WAY that I would have let the kids stay up until 10:00 watching Scooby Doo on their couch while we played on.

I did NOT go to 3 spin classes, a spinyasa class, a fitness yoga class, and a master swim class last week. 

I am NOT really really sore. 

We NEVER missed any baths around here this week - nope not us - cleanest house on the block. 

We do NOT consider swimming bathing - totally unacceptable. 

There is also no WAY in my desperation with our Daddy out of town last week that I drove through and bought the kids McDonalds for dinner last week - NO WAY did I do that especially after all my "oh we don't eat fast food - trying to eat organic whole foods" talk lately. How full of a cuss word I am not comfortable typing out would I be if I did that? 

I have NOT discovered this.....

My 

is NOT scared.

I did not find this


at all funny. 

I am NOT working on this post instead of my kitchen - nope NOT ME! 

:) 

Friday Foto Finish Fiesta

A fun friday with friends following our fearless foxy Mommies far and wide. 

(You know what I love about this picture? The little feet - little kids are so bendy. :) 

Have a great weekend! 

H 

An Award

I won an award! Liz at Avo Creations 

gave me an award and I am supposed to list 7 awesome things about myself - this is not necessarily something I am great at - naming awesome stuff about myself so I am going to go ahead and name 7 awesome things in my life! 

1. I serve an Awesome God and I am so proud of that.

2. I have an Awesome husband. I have to say - he really is a good guy and we are lucky to have him. Does he have faults - well sure - we all do plus he is a man so what can you do? :) All in all - we love that Best Daddy and he can have the Awesome Dad award any day. 

3. I have an Awesome 7 year old - she is funny, pretty, smart, is hernia free, and will soon be tonsil and adenoid free! Been a big 7 year old year for her but she has handled everything like a complete champ! She is one Awesome Ladybug! 

4. I have an Awesome 4 year old - she is  quirky and sweet and a fighter and a lover all in one little bitty very noodle like body. :) Love that Noodle. Our Best Daddy is 6'5" and our Noodle is really trying hard to catch up to him quickly. At her last doctors appointment she was off the chart in height and we were excited that she had put on some pounds so that she could finally hit that 45 percentile for weight - like I said - a very long Noodle. While I am on the subject of the Noodle - the way that she earned her nickname was that even as a teeny tiny baby - she was so good and so relaxed. She loved Mommy's Milk and I could walk all over the house with her literally slung over my shoulder like a noodle (or sack of potatoes but Noodle was a much cuter nickname). Ok enough about that Awesome on to the the next.....

5. I have an Awesome 2 year old. Our first (and last and only) boy - the Brother Bear. He is his Daddy's Mini Me and such a special little guy. He has a wonderful story that I will share one day about how lucky we are that he is still here with us - it is it's own post so keep checking back for that one! 

6. I have an Awesome family -  a BUNCH of them so to help keep this post brief - I will just say 'nuff said on that one. 

7. I have Awesome friends - really really awesome girl friends both in bloggy land and real life. Friends that help me be a better Mom, a better wife, a better Christian, have a better body, pull off a healthier meal, not lose my mind - you know - all the things you need Awesome girl friends for! 

Now to pass on the award....... hmmmm let's see who is awesome - I say that if you come to my blog and read it and leave a comment - you are Awesome in my book! If I get more creative and want to narrow the pack down a little bit - I might come back and add some names but otherwise - if you are reading this - I say you win! 

:) 

H 

Toughen Up Cupcake

You're not the only fat chick in the gym!!!!!!

That quote from Tara on the Biggest Loser has been our inspiration. My friend Stephanie and I decided that we were not going to sit back and watch our athletic husbands play with our athletic children while lounging in our soccer mom extra wide super comfy chairs. We could change our bodies and we could do it and still enjoy our soccer mom chairs but look good sitting in them covered in kids and holding the team snack.

It started with spin class

which I have to say - I now LOVE!!!!!!!

Then came The Olympics at the gym - basically we are on a team and we have to do 4 classes a week in each heat (so far we have kick boxed, water aerobed - not a word I know, stepped, and spun)

The lifestyle food change has been great. When we started this the "baby" was 2 and I had hit my all time Non baby Holy Cow I can't believe it weight after New Years of 170 pounds! That was when I decided it was time for a change. I weighed in yesterday morning at 158 and I am excited to say that those numbers on the scale just keep dropping! I am now a small, still slightly round, still 18 more pounds to my first goal, kickboxing (I hate to admit it but I was REALLY terrible at the kickboxing in all honesty) , spinning machine and I am proud to be a

I haven't talked about this a lot on the blog - but I am going to keep updating and let you know how things progress!

Now back to the original point of my whole story - Tara did not win last night!!!!!!!!! I was bummed - I liked Helen ok and did not want Mike to win but still - I was rooting for our Cupcake! (Did I mention we are going to get T Shirts made up?)

Go Cupcakes!!!!!

(Aren't they pretty?)

I Heart Faces - Laughter

Hooray! I get to use one of my all time favorite pictures of my Noodle. :) This was in South Carolina watching the dolphin's last summer! 

Not Me Monday

Well - this is going to be a CRAZY Monday so I thought I would go ahead and get my Not Me Monday post up!

I did NOT get to go see the Star Trek movie. I did NOT thoroughly enjoy myself and I was NOT surprised that people were surprised that I wanted to go see it. :)

While at the movie I did not eat this

covered in buffalo wing sauce and this

while dipping in two ranch dressings.

Not me - are you kidding? We have had a major lifestyle change over here!

I did not have to bring this

to my Sister In Law's house to snack on instead of her yummy appetizers on Mothers Day to make up for Friday night. Not Me.

I am NOT very excited to announce that I have to clean out my closet this week so that I can find some pants that fit in the back dusty recesses of skinny (er) pant land. :) Nope - not gonna brag about that one.

I am NOT having some strange formatting issues right now that may or may NOT affect this post!

I am NOT working on this post when I should be jumping into high gear - no way Not Me!

Happy Mothers Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not much to say beside that but still......

Have a great day! You deserve it! 

:) 

Holly 

Pray for Tyson Update

So - one thing I will share before I post his update is why this little guy is so on my heart. Now - his Mommy and I are friends from Moms club - we go way back but live in different towns now and even when we were in Moms club - we saw each other - liked each other - lived busy lives - you know? Anyway - she and I found out that we were "accidently" pregnant with our 3rd right around the same time. As a matter of fact - I wound up telling my Moms club friends at a pokeno night about being pregnant with the little buddy when I was literally a second pregnant. I can't remember if Molly told us that night or before but we were both the big news of the night - that is for sure! 

 They were each our third, each baby boys. Tyson was born first and then my little buddy. 

 Then poor little Tyson started his up and down in the hospital very difficult journey and I won't lie to you - I felt guilty. I would sit and look at my perfect healthy baby boy and my heart was sick for Tyson's poor little sick heart and more than anything - my heart was sick for his Mommy's heart that was just as sick as his. 

Anyway - that family has been in my prayers since the beginning and I am asking you to please send them on to your prayer lists as well. I can't do anything about this - I can't do anything for them - but I can rally up my prayer warriors and we can sing our praises to the King that knows why all this craziness goes on. Please help me pray for Tyson. 

Here is her latest update: 

Well I wasn't expecting to go in and hear all good news but I was hoping for better than what I did get. His left lung will be totally removed soon. It is putting pressure on his aorta in his heart and there is no longer any blood flow to the lung either. They are not sure in full the damage done to his heart due to the shifting but will now once they go in to remove his lung. Since this is major surgery and with his heart disease Dr. Tam, his heart surgeon will do this. Usually, it would be a general surgeon. Our next step is a conference with Dr. Tam on the actual procedure, review damage and go over risks and complications. The removal of his left lung has always been an idea but since it was in good condition even though not working they didn't want to take it out unless they had too. Since it is getting no oxygen they think it is what has kept him sick the last 9 months. I will keep you all posted on when this might happen but I am waiting to hear again about the meeting with Dr. Tam but I expect sometime this month or next. Right now we are loving everyday we have with our Tyson and thank God for each day we have. That is all I can ask for at this time, one more day. Molly

I Heart Faces

A Man in a Hat 

:) 

Not Me Monday

I am NOT a Germaphobe. 

I have not used A LOT of lysol this week. 

We did NOT have a stomach virus in this house on top of the impending big flu and that is certainly NOT adding to my neurosis. 

I am NOT sick and tired of everyone belly aching about the swine flu on Facebook -  come on people - have you never heard of karma? 

I did NOT wake up at 4:40 this morning to go to Spinyasa. 

I was NOT delighted to see that I burned 562  calories.......

No way I was a big enough dork to bust out my phone and try to take a picture in the dark spin room! Still - do you see it - do you see it? 43 minutes - 572 calories!!!!!!! 

I did not pay 275 for Penelope the Pug's very upset tummy.

I am NOT very thankful that we have Pug insurance. :) 

Well - off to read naptime stories! I have to say that I love love love love love having all three kids hunkered in with me this week and we are having a GREAT first day of our week off because of the flu! 

Ready for Recital

It has begun - the yearly gathering of foofy things that we like to call - 

Recital is almost HERE!!!!!!!! 

Two little dancers this year - the Mommy is very excited because you will remember.....

I Heart Bowheads! 

:) 

Have a wonderful Sunday - please go squeeze your family. 

H 

Giveaway Winners

Buttons and Stuff ......

 was the subject line in an email that Mimi (my Mom - the greatest) sent me..... 

This was her text: 

I think we should give all of those little ladies buttons and headers for the giveaway. There are only 8 of them and they sound like they would really like the help.

:) How great is she????????????? 

Sooooo - long story short - EVERYONE who entered is a winner! I will start emailing you all right now. 

:) 

Why all the mini vans park here.......

Because of the sidewalk here.............

:) Don't forget to enter the giveaway HERE