Soccer Fall

Crisp air and blue sky always remind me that Fall and soccer season are in full swing. Screaming fans and the directions from the coach push them on to victory. The team cheers in triumph, congratulates their rival team, and asks the coach, “Where’s my snack?”

Youth soccer is one of my favorite things to watch. I may be a little partial since both of my daughters have played since they were 4 and I have since been forced – loving, of course – into the world of shin-guarded snack-mongers. Moms want their kids to play to have fun. Dads want their kids to play to be the best. Kids want to play to get snacks after the game. Ok, so mine do LOVE playing and never want to be taken out of the game, but the more snacks you bribe them with, the harder they’ll play.

The excited squeals of little girls running around the wide open field chasing each other – for reasons so innocent that they don’t even know what the next few years of hormones will throw at them – are by far some of the best sounds I’ve heard.

Knowing what is ahead for my little girls (coming very quickly for my 9 year-old it seems), I tend to appreciate that they can solely concentrate on one thing and do that one thing with all their passion and no worries of being judged on what they look like or what boys think.

So for the time-being, here are the beautiful thoughts of my little soccer players while they are on the field playing their heart out…

• Where is the ball?
• I want the ball. Don’t care that my teammate has the ball, I want it.
• Get the ball, keep the ball, lose the ball, take the ball back and RUN.
• Get the ball into the goal. SCORE! I rock!
• Is the game over already?
• Where’s my snack?

Innocence – An amazing way to spend a crisp Fall evening.

Life is a Poker Game: Why I always pay to see the flop

You can’t change the cards you’re dealt, but you can change the way you play the game.

I have no poker face. All of my emotions show on my face and I cannot hide them. A career in acting was NEVER on my list of things to do. I simply can’t lie. I can’t even pull practical jokes on people because I can’t keep a straight face. Because of this, I have to learn to play my game. My other weakness is that I tend to always trust people and feel that most people are basically good. While I feel that is a worthy way to think, I have learned that many people do have a good poker face and will always play the game while bluffing. Some can, and do, lie very well. This continues to be a hard lesson for me. Now my game strategy has to change, but I know that whether you win or lose is determined by your decisions, not the decisions of the other players.

I have also realized that you won’t win every hand or every job or opportunity, but if you don’t play, you’ll never win at all. If you fold every hand before you see the flop you’ll never know how good your hand really was. You’ll never know if that opportunity would have been the one that wins you the millions.

Some are in it to be 1^st or nothing. I’m perfectly happy with winning just a few hands here and there – as long as I know I tried.

I look at every opportunity or major conversation as a new hand. Typically, I will pay to see the flop – I want to see how the opportunity plays out. Yes, in life this tends to involve risking something, either money or my time, but if I never paid to see the flop, I definitely wouldn’t win…or learn, or grow. However, I am ok with folding after the flop if it doesn’t end up the way I want. I am ok moving on to the next hand or next opportunity. I know that I don’t have to win every time.

Some feel that if you have to pay, then the opportunity is only worth pursuing if there is a guaranteed payout. If that were the case for me, I wouldn’t have gone to the game in the first place. But I came to play. Let the opportunities abound. Deal me my cards and I’ll see what I can do with them.

Some people can take horrible cards (or horrible circumstances) and turn them into a winning hand. Others can be dealt the bests cards possible (or have everything given to them), and still manage to lose. It’s all about how they play the game. It’s how you read and interact with the other players that determines how far you go and how many friends you have left when you get there.

How do you play your cards?

My Amazing Husband

Just wanted to share my husband's amazing idea to encourage our children to help out more around the house. Since our 9 year-old has been doing just that for the last week, he made her a "Get Out of Trouble FREE" card (that can also be redeemed for staying up an extra 30 minutes at night). This just might be the best new invention in our family.  Yay for the man that helps me stay sane! You rock, hubby!

My Blissfully Sweet Life of Organized Chaos

Hubby:            “Has anyone seen my shoes?”

Me:                  “Under the table!”

Hubby:            “Which one?”

Me:                  “The end table where they were kicked under, like always.”

Hubby:            “How about my keys?”

Me:                  “Downstairs on the arm of the couch.”

Hubby:            “My phone?”

Me:                  “Stuck between couch cushions in the living room.”

Hubby:            “Wait, what about my wallet?”

Me:                  “You left it in the console of your Jeep.”

Hubby:            “Oh yeah. Has anyone seen my hat?”

Are you KIDDING me? Thank goodness I adore this man.

This is my life of organized chaos. We’re a fun loving family that stays very busy. A family of 4 with two Chihuahuas and a rotating door that invites houseguests at all times of the year. We are currently opening our home to house guest #3, our 18 year-old niece that is going to beauty school. So, that officially makes us a family of 5 with 2 crazy dogs that think they are Dobermans and bark at every knock or doorbell ring on the TV. My daughters are amazing. At 5 and 9, they could keep me laughing from morning ‘til night, if I wasn’t at work all day. They are creative, inventive and love doing projects with Dad. “Dad, Can I use the nail gun?” is a common question we here. They and their dad absolutely make the chaos fun and the work day worth working.

My ultimate goal is to have everything organized and to simplify our lives. This would mean that everything has a place, closest are perfectly organized and labeled, my books and files are where I left them in my office, and shoes can find their own way to the closets. ~ I’ve since come to my senses and I’m settling for being able to see the kitchen counters and not get anything stuck to my feet when I walk on the wood floors in the living and dining rooms. Yes, it’s not my idea of “clean and organized,” but as long as others are helping out, I’ve decided to not be such a perfectionist.

While things are certainly crazy all year round, I feel that summer is the craziest. With the entire family home, other than me, throughout the day, the house has no chance to sit and enjoy being clean. That is, three people here to dirty the house all day and the one that cleans is at work and does NOT want to spend her entire evening cleaning.

Enter here…the chore list. Sometimes they get done, sometimes they don’t, but mom’s rule is that if it’s not done before I get home from work, you don’t get allowance for that day. It tends to work with my 9 year-old and I’m hoping that rubs off on the 5 year-old soon. However, she tends to be a walking tornado…things literally fall on the floor as she walks by. I’m thinking about having her tested for a sixth sense…what do they call it when you can make things move without touching them?

At least with a system of chores...(written down and posted on the fridge counts as a system, right?)...and some family members that help…(Kudos to my amazing 9 year-old!)...we can typically find the things we need to make our family function without too much freaking out…on good days. This is what I call Organized Chaos. Now, who has my pedometer and why is the dog in the baby doll stroller?

MISSING CHILD

Lindsey is still missing!!! Please keep her photo out there.

There is a missing child from our small town that they've been looking for since Friday night. Please, everyone, look at the link and picture to see if you've seen her. She could be anywhere at this point!

Thank you!

http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_063009WAB-Mccleary-girl-search-LJ.1fc0b759.html

Blinky Eyes

Setting: Sitting on the front porch swing with my daughters, ages 8 (aka Drama Queen) and 5 (aka Monkey), enjoying the summer sunshine.

Me: Well girls, we need to go over some rules for the summer so that you guys don’t just sit around all summer and drive daddy crazy while I’m at work.

Drama Queen, 8: What?!

Me: Yup. Rule one – no more than 2 hours of TV per day.

Monkey, 5: What if there is a movie on that we want to watch that is longer than 2 hours?

Me: Well, I guess it depends on if it is a special occasion. We’ll have to decide when that happens.

Monkey, 5: Or, I can just use my blinky eyes on daddy and he’ll let us. (Demonstrates her head tilt and eyelash batting technique.)

Me (thinking to self): OMG! I am really going to lose this round. I wonder if she’ll end up using her power for good or evil when she’s older?

Today and Tomorrow

What can I say? My 3-year-old is smart, quick and can stump me any day with her questions. How did she get this way at such a young age? I’d like to take all of the credit for her personality, but I know there are many factors other than my genes that influence her to be a strong, confident toddler.

While my talkative girl seems to know her mind and is ready to speak it in a moment’s notice, I can’t help but see what her toddler traits my one day bring her.

Today she is…                   Tomorrow she will be…
An instigator                      A leader
Stubborn                             Determined
Strong willed                      Confident
Horney                                 Argumentative
Opinionated                       Charismatic
Messy                                   Creative
Loud                                      Vocal
Energetic                             Outgoing
Self-reliant                          Independent

So, while at times I tend to stress the little points, I know that these toddler traits will lead her in the right direction to adulthood with complete confidence in who she is and what she stands for. Does her ability to fight to make her point and get her way lead to law school? Does her sensitive, caring side that worries when anyone gets hurt lead her to medical school? Or does her incredible ability to copy me with her baby sister and take care of her dolls when they are “crying” lead her to be a multi-tasking mom who can handle anything (well, almost anything)? While any of these or any other direction is fine with me, I hope she doesn’t take the easy road and instead will challenge her own mind, follow her heart and find her dreams. She, her sister and their dad have definitely helped me find mine.

Go Figure

As a first time mom, I had all the same worries that any other first time mom has. Will I be able to tell what my child needs and when? Will my child be healthy? Will I be comfortable nursing in public? Will I ever be able to get back to that pre-mom shape??? My head flooded with questions that multiplied by the hour. After two and a half years, I feel confident in my ability to know what my child needs and when she needs it. We survived nursing and it was almost a breeze. No, my child is not completely healthy with the multiple bouts of ear infections she has had to deal with. But, as these issues arise, my husband and I are able to conquer each task and are proudly raising a very happy, outgoing and smart little girl. It is the last question of getting back my figure that seems to have gone unanswered.

As I think back to what my figure was in high school, when my (high-school sweetheart) now husband and I first met, I wonder why I hadn’t relished in the days of jumping, flexibility and eating anything without gaining an ounce. With the new metabolism that graciously protrudes itself around my mid-section; I can’t help but feel that those skinny days were just a dream. Of course, I have the pictures on my fridge and my husbands’ memory of cheerleader skirts and skinny legs to remind me that, no, in fact, I have gained quite a bit of weight. And while I have tried many diets, I quit drinking soda pop, and I exercise during my only hour to myself most days, the weight seems to cling to me as much as my daughter does when she has a high fever and an ear infection.

Why can’t I lose this? I have no idea. So, this is what I propose…A new way of looking at what I have “gained”.

v  I have gained a wonderful daughter who looks more and more like me everyday and who, for the moment, loves her mom terribly and wants to do everything she does. I know I’ll miss these days when they go.

v  I have gained the admiration of my husband who does remember to tell me what a great mom I am when I tuck in our little girl in the middle of the night and read “Good Night Moon” for about the millionth time.

v  I have also gained admiration for my husband who, before our daughter was born, would not dance in front of anyone without a nice amount of alcohol in his system. Now they constantly entertain me with their many new dance styles. Let’s hope these days last as long as possible.

v  I have gained a sense of pride at how happy out little family is and I wonder in amazement what Samantha will say and do next.

v  I have gained patience that I never knew was possible. Food dumped on the carpet…no problem…just get the vacuum. Crayon pictures on the wall…well, I guess we did need a little redecorating.

v  I have gained a new kind of love that every new mother gains. It’s not the kind of love you have for your husband, your parents or your siblings. It’s a protective kind of love where you would do anything to keep this little person happy, safe and healthy. This came only with a new addition to our family.

So, while I may have gained a little around the middle, I have also gained many wonderful emotions and memories that take my mind away from the fact that my stomach is now and forever lined with shiny stretch marks. To that, I say…”Go Figure?!”

Kid Comments

Recording the funny, thoughtful and thought-provoking things my kids say:

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Drama (age 8):  "We need to have a family meeting. This family needs to be more green. I will be issuing "Being Green Reminders". Dad, you need to turn off the TV when you're not watching it. Monkey, you need to turn off the water when you are brushing your teeth. Mom, you're doing a great job! Keep up the good work! "

10 minutes later...."Mom, you should have printed on both sides of this paper."

~ She is such an awesome kid!! At least with her on the case, we might save a little money bring green :)  However, when it comes to playing in the sprinkler...somehow, conserving water isn't as important to her ;) ~

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Dad: We're having macaroni for dinner tonight. Sorry it's nothing fancy.

Drama Queen (age 8): It's ok. We're not fancy people. (Using her best English accent and her pinky in the air) Fancy people talk like this!

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Working to convince me that to drive to her field trip with her friends' mom so that she and her friend can ride home together, Drama Queen uses a 3rd grade guilt trip on me...

"Mom, you have to carpool! You want to save the earth, don't you?!"

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Ericka Corban - An amazing woman following her dream

I just wanted to take a moment to introduce everyone to my friend, Ericka Corban. She is an amazing singer, songwriter, and musician. I am constantly amazed by her upbeat personality and her ability to pursue her singing career while becoming a first time mom last year. She just finished recording her first album and I can't wait to hear it.

I met her a few years ago and we became instant friends. If you'd like to hear some great music by an absolutely amazing person, please check her out on MySpace...
http://www.myspace.com/erickacorban

Enjoy!

Weightloss Journal

Hoping that updating this journal will keep me accountable to the lifestyle change I am hoping will stick with me.

Starting weight: More than I would like

Goal weight: 40-50 pounds less

Day 10 update: 4 pounds lost

Day 20 update: Well, after 10 days of my weight bouncing back and forth and then a weekend of camping, I am still at the "4 pounds lost" mark. Ugh! I think Smore's may be evil. I've also started using caloriecount.about.com to see if that helps me keep track of everything.

Day 30 update: Ok, I'm not sure what day I'm on from starting this whole thing...because now I have a new count down and I'm on day 3 of 28. I hired a personal trainer this week so that someone will hold me to my workouts. I am sore from the first week of working out more intensly than I have in years...but it's a good sore. I've found muscles aching that I didn't even know I had. Going great so far. As for the number of pounds lost, I've been banned from the scale for the month since I evidently focus too much on that number and not the important ones. I will keep you posted on how that is going. Thanks for your support, everyone!

Update (1.5 weeks into new program): Things are going great. I'm exhausted from the workouts, but they are working very well and the food on the program is actual food! Amazing! I've almost finished the 2nd week of the program and can't wait to see how the rest of this first month goes. The best part is that it is all retraining me to workout and eat right...no more dieting! Here's my trainers website if anyone is interested in learning more.
www.jowerstraining.com

Update (3 weeks into the new program): I no longer feel like I was hit by a mak-truck. I am making it through the workouts...asking if they ever get easier. The answer..."No, because if they get easy, I'll just make them harder." Ok, so I guess that's the point of having a personal trainer - to have someone pushing me to the point of exhaustion. I am still banned from stepping on the scale, but the end of my month is near and I will get some numbers then. I know that I am losing inches...a lot in some areas, but I don't yet know what the bottom line is. Waiting...and working my a$$ off in the meantime.

Update (4 weeks into the new program): I am on the last day of my new eating program that is retraining me to eat better. It will now be up to me to pick the right foods from the provided lists...which is still a lot of pressure, but I definitely realize that eating better has helped me feel better. In 2 days, I will have my actual weigh-in to see how much I've lost in pounds and inches. I know the inches have dropped, but I just don't know how much. Fingers are crossed. X

Update after 28 day program: Lost: 10 pounds, 5% of my body fat, AND the need to drink an energy drink every morning! Yay! This eating healthy and exercising thing really works! I'd call that a productive month. Now, it's my turn to make the right decisions and push myself to keep with the new eating and exercise plan. Thanks to JowersTraining.com.

Update: Smores...not so good for the healthy eating plan. Hiking...good :)

Update: Wow! Need to reset my frame of mind in this area. Ugh... So frustrating! I wish chocolate taste like seafood and made me gag. I think then I would be able to resist my comfort food.