Christmas cookie baking day!

Today is the one time of the year that I have to let every little ounce of my perfectionism and type A personality go...for I let my children help me make and decorate cookies! We made the standard sugar cookies that the boys frosted and 'sprinkled', and by sprinkled I really mean smothered with sprinkles and candy! They also loved rolling out the worms for the candy cane cookies. And I tried a new recipe, the roly poly Santa cookies this year. Without help from the boys it still took me over an hour to make 12 cookies! They turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself!

I had to go for a run today because I can't just make the cookies without sampling every other bite of the dough! I was proud of myself because I managed to run the entire time!!!!!! First time in a LONG time that I've run 3 miles without stopping to walk! Now the goal is to get faster, and I'm going to sign up for a half marathon in May! After watching the Biggest Loser last week, I've decided that I'd like to be in the 1% of Americans that have run a full marathon! But rather than start so big, I'll challenge myself with a half this spring!

Anyways, picture of the day is of the boys decorating cookies. They had fun...you can tell because they made a HUMONGOUS mess!!!!

Off to a girl's night out with one of my best friend's, Sarah. Shall be fun!! Until tomorrow!

Run Forest, RUN!

Felt good to get outside and go for a run! I'm still recovering from the crud, so I didn't push too hard. And I was forced to walk in a couple of spots because of the snow/ice covered sidewalks. I only lost my balance once, but caught myself in time to avoid an embarrassing fall on my butt! Running is a love hate relationship for me. I LOVE how good I feel afterwards, but it's this gigantic head game that I play with myself during the actual running. I have to encourage myself with little things to trick myself into thinking that I like to run. So today's picture of the day is of me in my winter running get up. My fuzzy pink hat, my pink fleece top and my PINK gloves. A picture is worth a thousand words they say...couldn't be more true in this case. I think about these items while I'm running, and imagine that they make me run faster, etc...distracting my mind from the hatred of the actual running, distracting me from the monotony of the activity. Thank goodness for the Black Eyed Peas, Usher, Sean Kingston and Lady Gaga...for without their music pumping in my ears, I'd be hosed! The beat pushes me, and for a few seconds here and there I allow myself to get lost in the music.

Casey is home today, had an extra day off that needed to be used up before the beginning of the year. He and the kids accompanied me on my weekly grocery shopping trip. It may be a regular occurrence for a couple of weeks in January, for today we realized that I will be unable to lift a gallon of milk, and or a 12 pack of pop. I'm going to have to come up with something creative at home as well for these items so that I can get milk for my cereal and my kids, and still be able to drink my pop...lord knows that I cannot go for any length of the day without my Cherry Coke Zero! : )

Until tomorrow!

Swim lessons

The boys are on week 12 of 13 for this session. It is fun to see how much they've progressed in just 12 weeks! Lucas was TERRIFIED of the water, and can now hold his breath under water for 9 seconds, and float on his back unassisted for 11 seconds! Zach started off great, refused to get in the water at all week 3, and is now like a fish in the water. He can hold his breath under water for 6 seconds, and can float on his back with very little assistance. He at least gets in the water without being forced to, and he has a good time again!!!

My picture of the day is of Lucas with his Old Maid cards. We played several rounds of several different card games this morning before heading out to swim lessons! I love my mornings with my boys. Not much longer before they're only available on weekends with both boys. I'm glad that I'm in a situation where I can afford to stay home with them 5 days of the week!

Off to the chiropractor to get my wrist adjusted again...hoping this is one of my last visits!!

Until tomorrow!

Better day today!

After dropping Lucas off at preschool, my little big helper man, Zach, and I tackled some more Christmas shopping. I'm feeling better today, FINALLY, and with that comes a desire to get a million and a half things done.

I did take a moment this morning to observe the Christmas spirit, and the magic of the season through my children's eyes. We have 2 things that we use to countdown to Christmas. The first is a reindeer advent wall hanging. There are 24 pockets, filled with a dime for each boy. Each morning they get to retrieve their dime and deposit it in their piggy bank. And then they get to take turns with the advent Christmas tree. This is the tree that is decorated solely by my children! There is a drawer for each day, starting December 1st. In each drawer is an ornament. They get to hang the ornament on the tree each and every morning. They are both so ecstatic about it this year, and they really look forward to seeing what kind of ornament is in the drawer each morning. So today's picture is of Zach, removing an ornament from the drawer. Coincidentally, it's an ornament this morning...purple no less (which is Lucas' favorite color)...we shall see what tomorrow brings!

Back to the Christmas card business while the boys are watching the Princess and the Frog and having snacks! Off to a CE tonight...since I did the immunization class this past summer, I only have 1 law credit left to do...I'm quite sure that I've never had my CE credits finished before the beginning of the new year, especially since they aren't due until June 30th! : )

Until tomorrow!

Terrible day

Woke up feeling a million times worse today. Nobody to call in sick to, and the pharmacy can't open without a pharmacist, so I trudged in to work. Vultures were circling the parking lot 15 minutes before we even opened...knew it was the wrong decision. My head feels like a giant zit that needs popped...

I survived. I'm sad that I feel this way, SICK + Unable to breathe well = NO ZUMBA = VERY sad panda!!

On a brighter note, my CTMH shipment of new stuff for January's mini catalog arrived yesterday, a day earlier than planned. And it was a welcome sight for my sore eyes when I arrived home from hell today, so it is my picture of the day. Tomorrow can only be better!!!!

Oh yeah, and Biggest Loser is on tonight...only 2 more episodes until the new Loser is crowned... how exciting!!

All systems go for upgrade!

After dropping the boys off at daycare and preschool, I arrived home to check and see if the time off request had been approved...best news of the day by far, it HAD!!!!! So I checked with the hubby to make sure I had final approval to schedule the surgery, then checked with Grandma to make sure she can take the boys while we are in Utah, and then VOILA...called and scheduled that baby!!! So, we'll be flying to Utah to get those girls their upgrade January 18th! : )

I feel like crap again today, and know that I'll be regretting my decision to go into work once I'm there and hating every moment of it, even more so than normal. But this news puts a little extra spring in my step, and joy in my heart! : )

My picture for the day is of Lucas. He has share day at preschool today, so he took the new Jenga game to share. He had a hard time deciding...first it was going to be his new superman/batman cape, then his PJ Funnybunny nighthat, and finally the Jenga game. He gets very excited about share day at school, and it's fun to share that excitement with him!

2 days strong! Hoping to keep it going!!

I'm still alive and kicking!

I have no idea where the last several months have gone! But I am feeling guilty about my original intent for this blog...wanted to do one post a week, to serve as a journal of sorts, for the year. I have failed MISERABLY!!! One of the other CTMH consultants did a picture a day, and a journal entry a day for an entire year, leading up to her 50th birthday. Sounds daunting, but I always seem to find time for facebook each and every day...and that's just a waste of time, as we all know. So I've decided to make better use of my 'play' time, and I'm going to take the picture/blog post challenge and see how I do. Wish me luck!

Today's picture is my hubby and little men playing Jenga. Our first experience with Jenga, and a good one at that. Lucas is hooked. Zach is still too tweeky! But Zach builds a great fort with the wood pieces!! I bought the game for my work Christmas party last night, but since Lucas is sick and so am I, I decided to give the germ free gift of us staying home...leaving the 'white elephant' gift for the family's gain.