On Ice!

We had such a great Sunday together as a family.  I just love our weekends...so many great memories made!  This weekend was no different.

First, we hopped in the car after lunch and drove around to look for some open houses.  We love to look at houses, but we don't do it often because it gives Jarrod ideas and all of a sudden he wants to buy a new house.  :)  Usually, we find a house that one of us loves and the other is just so-so about, but on Sunday, we found a house that we both LOVED!  Of course, we can't buy for close to two more years because of the short sale on our Ohio home AND this house was about 75,000 more than we can afford, but you know...we can dream!  It was gorgeous and it was right by Gavin's school.  That's one of my biggest dreams...to be able to walk the kids to school.  I'd LOVE that so much!

Back to the house - it had a gorgeous white kitchen....the more houses I look at the more I fall in love with light, white kitchens.  This house had more than enough room for us.  We most definitely wouldn't outgrow it - four bedrooms AND a gigantic bonus room.  I kept visualizing all the things we could put in that bonus room.  A sleeper sofa for guests with a big TV, all our toys, a sewing/craft station....  The laundry room had built in cubbies with hooks for coats and backpacks, plus a drawer we could use for each person's shoes.  Underneath the stairs was even a little place we could us for a storm shelter. As you can see, I've already moved in inside my head! 

After falling in love with the house, we surprised the kids with their first trip to the ice skating rink.  Unfortunately, the smallest skate size they had was a 9; Riley only wears a 6.  So, they wouldn't let her skate, but she was surprisingly ok with it and Gavin was excited to try it out, so we went!  They were so thoughtful though - they let us pay for one adult and Jarrod and I traded skates so we could each make a couple laps with him while the other entertained Riley. 

He wanted Daddy to go first...
 

 Considering Jarrod and I haven't been on ice skates since we were teenagers, getting back on them ourselves AND trying to help a very wobbly 5 year old was a little challenging.  But, they made a lap around the rink and after a short break, Gavin was ready to go out again!

I honestly thought Gavin would be ready to be done after one lap.  He kept saying it was hurting his hands when Jarrod was trying to hold him up, so he ended up grabbing hold of the side and walking himself around.  The have little walkers for the kids, but they were all being used so we had to make do without.  He really was enjoying it!

 

While Daddy was skating with Gavin, I chased this beauty around while she collected leaves and waved to Gavin through the glass.

Then, instead of saying he was done like I expected, Gavin was ready for me to join him on the ice.  As hard as it was for him, he really seemed to enjoy it!  And, it was nice that a walker got turned in and we were able to try one.  I'm excited for Riley to get bigger so we can go skating as a family (but that probably won't happen for another couple years).

Moving to 'Green'

Gavin ran up to me after school yesterday in the car line, just as he always does, giving me a big hug before hopping up into his seat.  As soon as we started to drive away, he started telling me about his day, how his teacher was gone and they had a new substitute, not his usual one, and she wasn't his 'favorite.'  My mind flashed back to the subs we had in our building - some were amazing, and some you wondered why they even applied to be a sub.  I braced myself, wondering if I was going to hear a story about the latter, but instead he told me that she moved him to green, but he got to go back to the parking lot later.  Of course, he 'couldn't remember' why he had to move to begin with, but I was just proud of him for telling me about it.  The other time he had to move out of the 'parking lot' he never told me; his teacher ended up telling me about it a week later.  So much like me...afraid to tell me because he didn't want to get in trouble or for me to be upset with him!

A few hours later, I got an email from his teacher.  Another teacher had told her he was upset during the day, and she just wanted to check on him.  I told Gavin she was asking about what happened and that I really needed him to remember why he had to move to green so I could tell his teacher what happened.  That's when he shared that he hadn't turned in his morning work on time.  So, I replied to Mrs. R's email and explained what happened, reassuring her that he was fine and no longer upset.  Her response made me smile and I wanted to document it.
"Gavin is such a sweet kid!  He is a clone of a kid I had that is now in 3rd grade.  Super sweet, kind to everyone, super smart, but sometimes takes forever to get work done!"


It's been the only thing we've heard all year that he needs to work on - using his time wisely and finishing tasks.  Our little perfectionist takes forever to do his work!

Learning a lot

Almost two weeks ago, I began a 30 day health/fitness challenge.  My reasoning was simple - I just wanted the motivation and accountability to get back on track and make sure I am in shape for Cancun in a few months.  I did NOT realize, however, that as part of the challenge, we'd be asked to go at least the first 14 days dairy and wheat free.  I thought she was crazy and I did not know how I was going to do it.  But now, 12 days in, I've learned so much. 

I don't want to continue to be dairy and wheat free.  That I know.... I miss my creamer in my coffee, I'm eager for a big pasta dinner with garlic bread, and I'm itching to bake something.  Anything!  But, I sure have realized why she wanted us to do this.  My stomach is flatter than it's ever been {well, since having kids, I should say!}.  The other night, we made lettuce wraps and I used Bayou Bourbon, as always.  I thought I was doing good because I skipped the noodles we serve on the side, but I didn't realize the sauce has wheat in it....and my stomach was so bloated that night.  Crazy.

Jarrod has welcomed some of the changes with me.  We're not eliminating both from our diet, but we both realize now that we should cut back a lot.  We're switching to almond milk, corn tortillas instead of flour (most of the time at least), skipping the cheese, etc.  We've tried new foods over the last two weeks - spaghetti squash and quinoa, to name a couple - and I've started drinking green tea more.  Little changes that will benefit us in the long run, for sure!

On top of the nutrition changes, I'm being held accountable for my workouts.  I started taking yoga (loved my first class!!) and lifting weights.  My heart rate monitor just died, but I'm excited to get a new one because watching the 'calories burned' increase during a workout is so motivating!  I definitely recommend everyone workout with one.

I weighed in at the beginning of the month so I could track my progress, as well as taking my before pictures and measurements.  I'm planning to do more pictures and measurements on Sunday, the end of my dairy/wheat free days, and then again at the end of the 30 days to see what kind of a difference I made in the course of the month, but as of this morning, I have lost 7.2 lbs this month!  Crazy to think that is almost half of what my goal was for the next three months.  Can't wait to buy myself a new bikini for the beaches of Cancun!

Thirteen Thursday

Another attempt to get me back into blogging regularly....bringing back Thirteen Thursday!

Thirteen Things on my To-Do list right now...

1. Organize TS stuff in  closet

2. Clean out the catch-all basket

3. Wipe down the blinds

4. Deliver food kits to Jen and Abbey

5. Send postcards

6. Finish sending team emails for this month

7. Start to tackle the toy room

8. Finish frames for bathroom

9. Make growth chart

10. Renew my license

11. Fill out survey paperwork to send back

12. Start compiling tax papers

13. Schedule Gavin's haircut

Wordless Wednesday

(Feeling nostalgic}