Anybody out there??

Probably not!  I'm just updating this now for myself, so I can document some more fun things about what the kids are doing right now.  So what are they into these days?

Lindsay - almost finished with 5th grade and transitioning into middle school.  This makes me happy and sad at the same time.  She's growing up!  She just found out she made the Elite team for FC Brandywine soccer so we are excited to try that program out and be closer to home!  She is playing volleyball for BYC for the first team and loves it.  She has decided not to continue with band into middle school.  Since we hope to start piano lessons soon I'm letting that one go.

Paige - is currently very excited to start playing an instrument next year.  She is torn between the clarinet, saxophone and violin.  I can't decide which I think she should do either!!  Band seems to be a little more upbeat and fun, but really who knows what she would like better.  I am reading her the book The BFG.  She is super into gymnastics right now and just landed her kickover from a backbend.  She is doing karate and is an orange/green belt.

Natalie - is finishing up Prek and is starting Kindergarten next year!  Another big milestone!  Right now she loves crafts, especially printing out My Little Pony coloring pages and cutting them out to make paper dolls of sorts.  We enjoy our afternoons hanging out and relaxing after school and before the big girls get home - I will miss them!  She is also doing karate and is a Little Dragon purple belt.

I'll post some pictures soon!  I will maybe try and do this monthly!

Healthy Habits - Tweaking

Ok, during the course of the last few weeks I've been working on the healthy habits and I've had to tweak them a bit.  The first tweak happened to the multi-vitamin challenge.  I found that the new organic whole food vitamin I was taking did not agree with me, so I stopped taking that one.  After some careful thought, I decided to proceed with just taking Vitamin D for now, and possibly some calcium.  Vitamin D is said to be low for almost all people living in the Northeast during the winter.  I plan to get my vitamin D levels checked at an annual physical this year, but in the meantime I'm taking a small dose that would likely be found in a multi-vitamin anyway.  There are so many conflicting theories about vitamins that I decided to stick to the basics for now. 

Calcium I'm not sure exactly how much to take, so I'll be asking my ob/gyn about that (he is the one who recommended the calcium to me several years ago)

The second tweak is to the caffeine challenge.  I found that even the one cup of coffee was aggravating my anxiety, so I eliminated it completely.  *insert sad face here*  After a week or two I slowly added in some decaf, which seems to be fine.  In a few months I will try and add the one cup of coffee back in - I miss it dearly!

So now - onward!  I will post the next challenge shortly, which is where I will finally address exercise! 

Healthy Habits Challenge - Week 3

Had another successful week with the challenge!  I am down to one regular size cup of coffee in the morning and that is it! 

On to Week 3....I was going to make this week's topic be something to do with exercise, but I think I am going to change my mind and put that off one week.  This week's challenge:

START TAKING A GOOD MULTI-VITAMIN

I think this is important, especially in the winter.  Now, there are a zillion vitamins out there so finding one is not an easy task.  I also sort of want to ask my doctor to test some of my levels before I get too far with it - but....my doctor and I have seen enough of each other these past few months, so I'm putting that off for now.  The vitamins I decided on are a brand called New Chapter...they are organic and whole food....which to me sounds like a pretty good place to start.  I have heard several times in the past that the standard, cheap synthetic vitamins we take aren't very high quality and are not very well absorbed.  So I decided to go the more natural route. 

So a summary of the successful habits adopted so far:
1.  Eat a healthy breakfast every day
2.  Limit caffeine
3.  Start taking a good quality multi-vitamin

Next week will be exercise for sure - that is the one vital piece that needs to be added.  I AM doing yoga - but I need some cardio desperately.  I've been afraid to add that back in after being sick but I think I can start gradually adding it back in.

Healthy Living Challenge - Week 2

Well, the first week was a success.  I even managed to avoid the sugary cereal the rest of my family eats on the weekend.  It helps that I LOVE frosted mini-wheats (maple and brown sugar flavored from Trader Joe's, mmmmm) and I consider that pretty healthy, since it is high in fiber.  Some days I had oatmeal, and some days cereal.  In the future I'd also like to add some fruit to it as well.  I acctually was thinking a piece of fruit with breakfast would be a good requirement for the kids too.  (I could never make Chris do this, ha)

Now, on to Week 2 - CUT DOWN ON THE CAFFEINE.   This one will be harder for me, because I love coffee.  I am not trying to cut it out completely, but I want to cut down to about 1 (SMALL) cup in the mornings - 12 oz. or less.  No more the rest of the day.  It really isn't necessary.  Plus I may eat chocolate during most days and that has caffeine as well.  Wish me luck!  And feel free to join me!

Fourth Post

Healthy Living Challenge - Week 1

So I've wanted to start slowly implementing some healthy living habits for a while now.  I decided I am going to add one per week, and report here on my progress!!  It will be a nice accountability.  I actually don't think that I am all that unhealthy right now, but I really want to make sure I am doing everything I can do.  The Week 1 Mission:

Eat a healthy breakfast every day.  High-fiber cereal, oatmeal, smoothie, etc.  Maybe some juice. 

I will report back in one week and add a new habit!

Drive-By....

Just a quick drive-by posting....

• Lindsay lost her 2nd tooth this morning....the left bottom middle
• About a month ago Paige learned how to tie her shoes!
• Natalie started walking for real about a week ago, and will take 4-6 steps at a time by herself!

Halloween!

It doesn't seem like it's been a year since the last Halloween post!! Time passed too quickly this year. Halloween went off without a hitch this year except that Mommy was too sick to go trick or treating. Boo (no pun intended). Lindsay was a witch (of some sort!), Paige was a cheerleader, and Natalie wore the awesome butterfly costume that Paige wore. So warm and cuddly!

Click here to view these pictures larger

I probably shouldn't be blogging but I had to get this down before it is gone....

Paige convo of the day

Paige: We should love everyone in the world, right?
Me:  Well, yes, but I love my family in a different way.  I love my family the most.
Paige: I love my family the most too. 
*Pause*
Paige: Do you love dark-skinned people too?
Me: Yes.
Paige: *look of shock* You do????
Me: Yes!
Paige: Why??
Me:  Because they are nice too!
Paige: Well, I guess Lasya and Shaahed are nice....they are Indian.  (they are 2 daycare kids)
Me: yes, right!
Paige:  You know, Indian world is very far from here.
Me: Yes, India is very far from here.
Paige:  It must take them a long time to get to Kindercare in the morning.
Me:  Oh, no, they don't live in India anymore, they live around here.
Paige: *confused look* They do?  But how can they, this is white-skin world!
Me: *desperately trying to keep a straight face* No, Paige, people with any skin color can live in our country.  Thats what is so great about it.

Dream

Paige just told me about a scary dream she had.  She said she was in a dark cave, and there was a spider hanging down from the ceiling.  She didn't want to go under it because she was afraid it might poop on her. 

Our Sporty Girl

Lindsay just finished her first basketball season.  The practices and "games" were painful to watch and I figured we were one and done for basketball.  However, as soon as the weather got nice Lindsay has started wanting to play basketball every time we go outside, after claiming that she did not like basketball!!  And she actually started teaching me some things about guards, forwards, etc.  Sneaky girl, looks like she liked it after all.  We may have a little athlete on our hands - hates crafts and dance class, but likes soccer and basketball!

Pampering already?

About a year or so ago, I won a gift at a bridal shower (I think it was Melissa's) and it was a spa bath kit.  It had bath salts, bubble bath, a nice poof ........and an eyemask.  

Yes, that is Paige, fast asleep, wearing my adult-sized eyemask.  She claims it helps her sleep.  How do I have these children who are so into beauty products??

Photo Shoot

We had fun with a little photo shoot this weekend to model Natalie's new hat.  Thank you Grandmom Davitt for the Babies R Us gift card!!

So many changes!!

So today was my final day of breastfeeding Natalie.  Although I was ready, it was bittersweet.  It always makes me sad when my babies were are longer dependent on just me to feed them.  But, I am so thankful to have made it at least 5 months.  I had wanted originally to go to six months but life was just getting in the way.  She is big and healthy and strong so it's all good!

She is officially a big girl now too because she started cereal today!  Most of it came back out and onto her clothes, which I think is fairly normal the first time, but she was DEFINITELY interested and tried to eat it.  She got frustrated quickly though - only a tiny bit was going into her mouth and she wanted her bottle!  LOL!  We'll try again when she is not so hungry.

P.S.  I have blogs scheduled to post a few times this week, so check back soon!!

Jar of Hearts

Both of my girls are fascinated with this song, but especially Paige.  She has asked me all about some of the words, particularly, Mommy, why does she say you're going to get a cold?  Why does she say, don't come back anymore?

This weekend she sang the same 4 lines about 200 times:

You're going to catch a cold, from the ice inside your soul, so don't come back for me, whoever you think you are.....

I will try and see if I can get a video of this.  It is priceless.

The whole gang!

And here they are....the whole gang!

Our kids with our favorite Mechanicsburg family

Haircut

I took Paige to get a haircut the other day. We have to keep her hair short because she twirls it into knots constantly. I told the hairdresser that I wanted something chin length - and we ended up with ear length (not a big fan of the Hair Cuttery). However, I have decided that I really love it! It looks adorable on her!

Four Months

I am totally exhausted at night since I started working, but tonight I decided to take a break from thinking about numbers and catch up on blogging! I can't believe our Natalie is four months old! She is super healthy and growing well. Her four month stats:
Weight: 14 pounds, 1 ounce (58th percentile)
Height: 27.5 inches (99th percentile!! - another tall girl!)

She is showing so much more personality now. She smiles, laughs, and is interested in everything going on around her. She is trying to grab things and put them in her mouth. Strangely enough, she hasn't really sucked her thumb very much since she first found it. She is still a binky girl. Time will tell, I guess!

Diary of a Spider

I got Paige a book from the library called 'Diary of a Spider'. When we sat down to read it, I asked her first if she knew what a diary was. She nodded yes, so I asked her to tell me. Her response: "Lots of poop"