Saj Advice

You Capture: Week 5-Reflection

I wasn’t so sure what to do this week. Suddenly it’s Wednesday and I want to get the picture taken so I don’t have to stress about it Thursday. Here are my entries:

Here’s my favorite:

I think it looks like he’s really kissing himself, or his twin, which doesn’t exist! It’s a miracle the mirror is that clean!

Trying some new motivation

Okay, so I’m not very pleased with my body lately. I know I’ve already talked about this lately, but it’s definitely been on my mind about 17.5 hours a day (just not when I’m sleeping). I recently ordered a book and a DVD from Amazon.com that is supposed to help with my diastasis. The book is not terribly impressive. I think I may return it. I’m still waiting on the DVD. The latest downturn in my attitude is the fact that most of my jeans have gotten a bit tighter than normal. I wear them when I’m “out and about” (like Noah), but as soon as I get home, I’m running upstairs to put on my sweats so I can breathe again and my skin can recover from the imprint of the button from my jeans. My “favorite” pair of jeans from just a few short weeks ago is now practically my least favorite pair.

I’m not sure what’s going on. I’m still working out an average of 4.53 times per week (per my “Lean You” workout log), but that just means I’ve “worked out” for at least 30 minutes. I admit I’ve been having a hard time running the whole 30 minutes on the treadmill. And when I come downstairs to use my hand weights and do planks and push-ups, I may not be working out for the full 30 minutes. I do much better when I can run outside, but it’s still quite dark when I’m up running in the morning (damn you, Daylight Savings Time!), and it’s still pretty chilly at that time (even though I did run on New Year’s Eve this year in 17 degree weather with a much colder wind chill!). I can’t even make it through and episode of Friends on DVD without looking at the time on the treadmill, hoping it’s been at least 15 minutes! But I’m still pretty active.

I don’t think my diet has been that much worse than normal. I admit that I don’t really monitor my calorie intake very closely. I don’t believe in “dieting.” I truly believe that if I start depriving myself of my favorite foods that I’ll overeat at some point. I try to eat a good amount of fruits each day, as many veggies as I can tolerate (not the best veggie eater here!), and I try to cut down on the carbs. But I’m a carb junkie. “Hi, I’m Saj, and I’m a carbaholic.” “Hi, Saj.” I could eat seven bowls of Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast. I could eat about 3 slices of peanut butter toast for lunch. And I’ll gladly polish off a plate of dinner rolls with a pile of spaghetti if given the chance. I’d have a huge belly ache for about 19 hours after that, but it would be worth it.

Oh, and did I mention my addiction to baked goods? Brownies, cake, cookies, breads, these new cherry bars I’ve discovered at the grocery store…all major weaknesses for me. I also really enjoy some cookie dough or tiramisu ice cream on occasion. I suppose it’s more of a sugar addiction than just baked goods, huh? Keeping a bowl of M&Ms or jelly beans on the counter doesn’t help much, either.

So I’m feeling the need to jump start my ass off the couch (where I sit reading about all of my new “friends” on their blogs as my food from the day takes up residence on my hips and belly). I’ve been following Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry (she’s also the one who hands out our “You Capture” challenges) and she’s part of this group at The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. I was intrigued. I feel like my jeans have been shrinking (and I only wash them in cold, sometimes warm, water, and I only dry them on low heat!). But I had to think long and hard about joining this group. Did I really want to publish my weight every week? Do I really want to focus so much on weight? I’ve always believed in just paying attention to how my clothes fit. But then I realized I needed some more motivation.

So here I am. I weighed myself this afternoon, fully clothed, after a lunch at The Original Pancake House, where I scarfed down 5 chocolate chip pancakes and a piece of bacon (did I mention my sugar and carb addiction?). I’m at 128.0. Not so thrilled about that. So let’s go! I’m ready for a change! Maybe I can put off my desired (but totally unaffordable!) tummy tuck!

Anyone else want to join?

The makings of Star Wars junkies

We’re watching The Empire Strikes Back with the boys right now. It’s raining outside, it has been all day, and we have no energy to entertain the boys with anything but the TV. So it’s “Star Wars number 5” (according to Noah) night. Noah and Caden got to watch Star Wars with my parents a few weeks ago. They’ve been asking to watch this one ever since.

Here’s what it’s like to watch this movie with a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old:

“Is Darth Vader in this movie?”
“When is Darth Vader going to be on?”
“What is that thing? What’s a Ton-Ton?”
“What is that spaceship?”
“A speeder?”
“When will the zoomers be back on?”
“Do you mean the speeders?”
“Yeah, the speeders.”
“Where is Darth Vader’s spaceship?”
“It’s Darth Vader’s spaceship!”
“How does Darth Vader talk?”
“What was that thing? A worm in a worm hole? Was the spaceship in that?”
“Who is that?”
“Is that Yoga?”
“Yes, it’s Yoda.”
“What is he doing?”
“What’s that floating?”
“Why is the x-ray so dirty?”
“The X-Wing?”
“Yeah, X-Wing.”
“Is that Obi-Wan?”
“Is Obi-Wan dead?”
“Is he in space?”
“When is the Stormtroopers going to be frozen?”
“Not the Stormtroopers, Han Solo.” (sorry Mom!)
“How did he get frozen?”
“Caden, just stop and watch.”
“Okay, I’m going to watch. Just tell me.”
“They’re going to the Millenium Falcon!”
“Why’s P’s-3’s-P-O all tighten?” (HUH?)
“Is is night time?”
“Caden, it’s space.”
“What happened???”
“He chopped his hand off.”
“Oh.”
“Is he falling off?”
“What happened to his eye?”
“When’s he going to go down?”
“Oh, he fell.”
“Where’s he going? Where is he? Is he in a slide?”
“Is he stuck?”
“JUST WATCH!”
“Where’s he going? Where is he?”
“There’s no way to get down!”
“Just watch, Caden?”
“How did he get upside down?”
“There’s Princess Leia!”
“Is Luke stuck on a pole?”
“They’re gonna get him! Are they going to put out their missles? Their protector?”
“Their shield?”
“Yeah.”
“Where’s Luke Skywalker going?”
“Caden! Just watch!” (from Noah this time)
“Is his hand put back on?”
“Are they friends?” (about Luke and Leia)
“Are they mom and dad?” (again about Luke and Leia)
“Cool!” (Noah after the movie)

The other day Noah got talking about how Luke Skywalker and Han Solo put on Storm Trooper’s outfits. Then Noah started wondering if the Storm Troopers are people in suits, or if they are always like that. I said since Luke and Han were able to put on the outfits, there must be people inside them. He seemed satisfied with that answer.

This is what my life is going to be like with two boys, isn’t it?

Uninspired

I just finished looking through my Google Reader, catching up on the (too) numerous blogs I’ve gotten into. I thought I may find something to inspire a blog entry today. Not so much. There are wonderful things being written on those many blogs, and I guess I feel I don’t have anything terribly interesting to say. I wish I were more eloquent with my writing. I love to read, but I’m unable to write as well.

Anyway, Andy and I are watching Vicky Cristina Barcelona and I’m trying to figure out why, about a half hour into the movie, we still haven’t seen Penelope Cruz? Wasn’t she nominated for an Oscar? Don’t you think she would have played either Vicky or Cristina? Nope. Still haven’t seen her.

But this movie is making me realize how much I’d love to travel to Spain. I suppose any travel at this point is desired, but Spain is looking lovely. I’m also realizing I want to work on learning Spanish. I’d also like to brush up on my French. And I’d love to get the boys learning Spanish. Oh, and sign language! Yeah, I’ve got a few things I’d like to do. I suppose I should get off the computer!

Betty Brinn

The other day, I took the boys to Betty Brinn where we met their friends, Maddie and Katie, and their mom (my friend), Steph. It was a little chaotic. There are tons of things to see and do, and numerous places to see and do those things. Add a couple of field trips and other kids there with parents and it makes for a challenging time keeping track of the kids. It also didn’t help that all of the kids from one of the field trips were in red t-shirts-just like my two boys. But we managed. Here are some pictures:

(Notice Caden in the upper left corner mid-jog!)

I just love Caden’s facial expressions in the next pictures!

Krazy Kid Kwotes

A few days ago, I discovered yet another pair of Noah’s jeans were on the verge of tearing at the knee. Seriously?! Anyway, I said something to Noah about it, and he said, “I’m a knee holer!” No kidding.

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The other day, it was pretty sunny and the sun was shining in through our living room windows. Caden all of a sudden said, “Sun fuzzies!” Yep, plenty of dust flying through the air, getting caught in the rays of sun shining in. I like the idea of “sun fuzzies” rather than excessive dust!

No dice

This morning, I called the open enrollment coordinator who was out of the office for the past two days. I got her voice mail again! But I left a voicemail, and she called back a few minutes later. Noah is 29th on the waiting list-for 12 spots. “You should probably think about some other options.” Um, ya think?

I was kind of at the point where this district wasn’t my first choice, even though it’s the school district Andy and I went to. I just want Noah to get into one of the two. We have one more district we’re waiting on. We should hear in less than 3 weeks. I’m still going crazy!

The silver lining: Noah’s name was the 41st drawn out of 104. We’re in the top half!

Mom’s Day

Yesterday at Noah’s school, it was “Mom’s Day.” The moms are invited to stay at school for the first 45 minutes. Noah’s class sang us two songs: “We Love our Mommies” (sung to the tune of “Where is Thumbkin”) and “I Had a Little Turtle”. Then we had a snack served on placemats that the kids made for us. After the snack, the kids could show us their favorite things to do in the room. We ended up building a jail with Duplos with a few other boys. Noah often tells us that’s what he does at school.

The kids also drew pictures of us which are mounted on a sheet with their answers to questions their teacher asked them. Here’s what Noah said about me:

“My Mommy’s name is Sara (I don’t think she asks how to spell it)
and she is 31 years old. (close-thanks Noah!)
Mommy has blue eyes and blonde hair. (yes)
I think she looks pretty when she dressed up for her wedding. (awwww)
Her favorite color is blue. (most days)
Mommy’s favorite food is spaghetti (not necessarily, but I do like it)
and her favorite restaurant is McDonalds. (definitely not, and when I called Noah on it, he said, “Well, it’s my favorite restaurant!”)
My mommy’s job is a physical therapist at the Hospital (yup)
and my mommy’s car is a Honda van. (close, but it’s a Toyota-we’ll work on that!)
My favorite thing to do with her is go to the park and sled. (We only did that a couple of times this year!)
Mommy’s favorite thing to do is play Clue Jr. with me. (I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite thing.)
My mommy’s favorite TV program is Today show. (Yes, we watch it every morning, but my fave is really Grey’s Anatomy.)
When I go to sleep at night mommy reads me books and tucks me in.” (I think the teacher was getting at what I do after he goes to sleep!)

Cute, no? Last year, I liked pizza, my job was “homework”, Noah’s favorite thing to do with me was “play diggers in the sandbox”, my favorite thing to do was tucking Noah into bed, I still liked “the News” and he never got to find out what I do when he goes to sleep. Funny!

It was a fun day with Noah!

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Only in Wisconsin can it be 75 degrees one day, and then 48 hours later it can be 25 degrees! 50 degrees colder! It was really chilly tonight!

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My mom sent me the link to this YouTube video today. Here’s the info that came with it:

This commercial was shot at the Liverpool Street Subway Station in London 2 weeks ago (15 jan ’09). Only the dancers knew what was happening; the general public didn’t have a clue what was about to unfold. This youtube site has had over 2 million hits.

Cool!

You Capture-Shadows

So this week, I kind of cheated. And Beth, the assigner, specifically said we’re supposed to “break out our camera and take pictures based on the assignment.” So I feel a little guilty. The assignment was shadows and as soon as I saw the assignment, I knew the picture I wanted to use.

I took this in June of 2007, with my point-and-shoot camera (pre-Nikon days). I specifically was drawn to take the picture because of the color of the balloon showing up in its shadow. If you look closely, you can see the emblem of Andy’s company on the balloon. We were at the summer picnic.

Sorry for cheating! But I really love this shot! I did take a few pictures of shadows while the boys were on their scooters the other day, but I liked this one best.

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Update:
Remember this post? Yeah, so I called the lady at the school district today (I tried yesterday afternoon, but I think she was gone), and she’s out of the office until Friday! Seriously?! Doesn’t she know what a HUGE deal this is? Maybe that’s why she takes a couple of days off… Anyway, still waiting around here!

Out of hibernation

Look what we found today!

(Notice just my feet got to see daylight-haven’t shaved for a few days!)

It got to 75 degrees here today. AMEN! Spring is really coming! Of course, it’s going to cool down a bit for the next couple of days, but it’s expected in March in southeastern Wisconsin. So we took advantage of the weather this afternoon before dinner and played basketball, soccer, baseball, and scooters. What a day!

(He kicked the ball which knocked his hat off his head!)
First skinned knee award goes to Caden!