Setting goals and breaking habits

(my trusty sneakers and yes, that is my diaper bag in the background)

Wait. It's not the New Year. It's the END of the old New Year. What's wrong with me? I'll tell you what's wrong. It's that dreaded ol' word -- habit. It's such an elephant in the room for me. But I let him stay around because it's too hard to move him. Most of the time. Well, in spite of my human nature, I'm moving that elephant. I've set a new goal. Run a 5k. Are. you. serious? Let me tell you all something. Over the course of the past year, since having our second child, I have occupied myself with various forms of exercise. Staying in shape, or in somewhat shape, is pretty high up on my list of priorities. I enrolled in a cardio class 4 months after having Roma and once that was done, I started walking thirty minutes every morning before David left for work and after that, doing exercises to a work out DVD. Jillian Michaels is. brUtAL. Love it. She helped me shed those last eight pounds in less than thirty days. Being out here, in PA, has been like standing in front of a full length mirror. You see so much more than the little mirror in your bathroom. My idiosyncrasies have come to my attention with a blaring truth and harsh reality. It's embarrassing. So in an effort to better myself, I have set numerous goals to attain while we're here. I enjoy changing up my routine because the days become stale and so predictable, it takes twice as much effort to stay awake. So, I'm setting MORE goals. My infatuation with playing the guitar hasn't faded and I'm aiming to be able to sing and strum in church soon. But that is for a whole other blog. Let's keep to the subject at hand. Running. Running a 5k with the thought of possibly training for a longer run. Be still my aging heart. I CAN do this. The first time I tried jogging a mile I almost puked. It was horrible. We live in a very hilly area and it will knock the wind right out of you. And in my case, the puke. My second and third time weren't so bad. And then I did it -- I changed it up. I moved my course to the opposite side of our block. And when I say 'block' I'm using that term VERY loosely. Our 'blocks' are contingent on how large the farmer's field is. At any rate, I switched my jog to the other side and it was like I grew jogging wings or something. I could run and run and run and it actually felt GOOD! I didn't feel like puking, or dying, or walking. I started to feel inspired instead of extremely tired. And oddly enough, in my life outside of fitness I'm starting to feel inspired because I'm exercising parts of myself that have long since been dormant. We'll see how this thing turns out. One thing for sure, I won't be the same. That would be a crime...

Every once in a while

You might see me blurb on something I'm trying to win. And this happens to be one of those times! Go check this out ... they are soo cute :)
http://intheknowmom.net/?p=2230#idc-container

Coupon Diva

I'm not QUITE a diva. But I'm getting close. The amount of money I save every time grocery shopping comes around just makes me smile. I started putting away all of the extra money that I saved into our savings account. Novel, huh? The picture up top is my coupon envelope. I love that thing and wouldn't be caught day or night without it. Since I don't have a proper coupons organizer I had to reinforce my envelope with packing tape. It's transferred from bag to bag and never far from my finger tips. I spend about two hours a week scouring coupon sites and coupons from the newspaper. I recently found that the library, here, offers coupons to those who have the patience to filter through, literally, hundreds of coupons that have been clipped and donated by the community of library goers. Granted, most of the coupons I find there are for Miralax, Centirium and dog food. A testament to the dense population of fifty and older in this area. Every once in a while I happen upon a nugget of gold like a $1.50 off Huggies. And then, I hope and pray that Huggies are on sale in the stores. Sometimes, I call the store to see if they are having a sale because not all Targets or Walmarts participate in the sales that you find online. Saves me a trip. Somehow the hunt to find coupons and match them to the sales going on in the stores has become a wonderful game of hide and seek between the hunter(me) and the hunted(those juicey sale items). I challenge myself to see if I can save more and more each time I go out. The most I've saved in one outing was $45. I couldn't believe it. The more I do this, the better I get. I've learned to look at the CVS insert and try to match my coupons to what they have listed on sale that week. I shop and find the items that gaurantee when I check out my receipt will be accompanied with a print out of coupons I can use on my next visit.

I would be remiss if I didn't share a couple of the sites that I frequent regularly. Have fun and try to save a buck or two.

http://sisterlysavings.net/

http://bargainhuntingmoms.typepad.com/

http://print.coupons.com/couponweb/offers.aspx?pid=13903&zid=xh20&nid=10

For youth is the smell of innocence...

If you raise your children right... those flowers above were picked for me by Cylas. He came in and handed them to me proudly, "Mahma, you so bleuu-ful". My heart melts every time he does that. He prides himself in being a skilled flower picker. He'll find weeds that have flowers and he'll gift them to me and I make sure to place them in water and set them out for all to see. There are so many thoughts that flood my mind when he does special things like this with me specifically in mind. It shows he loves me and I'm not too far from his thoughts. Is this type of gift giving love on the road to respect for me and his papa? For some reason, I think that love and respect go hand in hand. Yes, he's only three but he's learning what it's like to care for someone and be concerned for someone he loves.

I may be his mother, but Romalise is definitely his little sister. He shows his love and concern for her in different, more violent ways. Well, not always. If she's crying, he'll come to me and say, "Get her, mahm. Take her." And if she looks bored, he'll take every stitch of clothing, sheet and or stuffed animal and pile it on her until it's a writhing mass of toys and stuff. She'll be screaming/crying/laughing and I'm running through the house trying to find out where she's at. Then I'll spot the convulsing pile of stuffed animals and rescue her. Of course, Cylas thinks it's the greatest accomplishment in the world to bury his little sister in all of his worldly possessions. Ahhh, yes. And then there is the curious obsession of sitting on her and seeing how long he can get away with it. Why? Squashing your sister like a helpless bug is never a good thing. But for Cylas it's pretty stinkin' cool. He'll grow out of it soon enough, right?

With all of these fun adventures and new lessons to learn and teach, I pray that I can continue to cultivate this love and respect for me and David in my children and that respect for others will be second nature. What more could a parent ask for than responsible citizens and true Christians.

War

This morning the alarm woke me up. No, not my children, but an NPR interview with the new general. General McChrystal. I lay there, still fuzzy with sleep, trying to make sense of what I was hearing. And for some reason, through the fog, this exchange of information spoke to me. During the night, Cylas ran into our room and was snuggling on D's side of the bed and early this morning Roma woke up and wanted to be fed so I just left her in bed on my side. With my two children within arms reach and my husband snoring soundly, I couldn't help but think that I have a huge responsiblity to raise my children in this war zone of life. Honestly. Deep thinking for 7:30 am. But I promise that this was all going through my head with rapid clarity. The responsibilities I have as a parent require me to tacticly out maneuver what ever enemy might be seeking out my children. One quote from the general spoke to me. When asked how his method was different from the past generals he said, " You have take to away what the insurgents want most. Access to the people". Then he framed this with his thoughts on how to accomplish this. He said to "arm the people" with knowledge on how to protect themselves. Give them something to want to protect. Amidst my thoughts, I'm laughing at myself for being so literal this early in the morning, but laughing at my inner monologue did not stop me from thinking. And I still agree with myself when I say that raising my children to be armed with knowledge, wisdom and a deep love for God is the most difficult task I've ever set my foot to.

Picnic in the van

I'm sure all mothers can relate with this especially mothers with two or more children. How many times have you started your day with the determination to be out before lunch time. I usually aim for 10am. It's not too early and it gives me enough time to run around while Roma is sleeping and Cylas is still full from breakfast. But somehow one o'clock rolls around and I'm STILL flitting around the house. It's a gogeous day and I really want to take the kids out for a little picnic after a quick stop at the library to get some books. But...
My day: Roma naps while I try to get us on the road but before I can load her into the van Cylas decides that it's time to poop. Thankfully I bathed them both this morning so a quick wipe down should be good. I'm hurrying all the while thankful I managed to get a shower and make our bed. But in spite of my frantic cleaning, the house looks a little worn out because Cylas dragged all of his bed covers and several HUNDRED stuffed animals all through the house, leaving the mass of them on our bed. And where did the ants come from? Why do I have ants crawling all over my kitchen? The dishes were done, the floor was mopped and I'm fighting a small army with soap and scrubbie. Ick. Ick. Sitting in the cool library never sounded so good. But how to get out of the house. I just want to be around people. So, now, the little munchkins are piled in the van and I'm proud of myself because I've packed a lunch for Cylas, but now I'm hungry. No time to eat. I need to get going before it's HIS nap time. I make it to the library only to find out that my card has an ASTRONOMICAL fine and I can't check out any books! So, to make my harried day a little more interesting I'm on library card probation. Yeah, the young mother of two can't even drag herself to the library to keep up with the due dates. And I'm still hungry. *sigh* Good thing I packed Cylas a tuna sandwich with goldfishes and a banana. I think I'm going to get Taco Bell and sit in the van for our picnic.

I'm sorry but..

This is really kinda funny...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1ZABV7AQdA&feature=rec-HM-r2