This Old Chair

It’s funny how much sentimental value this old, brown suede chair has. Dave and I brought it home from a clearance furniture store nearly 10 years ago, around Thanksgiving. It was our first piece of nursery furniture. I wanted a comfortable chair for midnight nursing sessions and found this bargain for $88. 

It held me while I wept those nights after I was released from the hospital and Leland was still in the NICU. The room was empty because his crib and other furniture had not yet arrived, and I sat in it, exhausted and sobbing and praying, when I got up to pump every 2-3 hours for days until he came home. 

Then Leland came home, and it was our quiet spot while we figured out nursing together. Even when we were home alone, I often came here to nurse because it was comfortable. When Alden came around, it was our quiet refuge from a loud big brother and daddy playing. When Olivia joined us, we attempted to use it as our quiet space, but the boys just followed us. They never wanted to be far from their sister. It has seen roughly 53 months of nursing/pumping. 

Alden

My view while rocking Olivia

I’ve spent countless hours sleeping and rocking in it while comforting sick babies. Sleeping upright to help with their coughs. Rocking them until their fever broke. Sleeping by myself in it to listen to their breathing in case we needed to go to the hospital. Rocking them after bad dreams.

So many nights spent like this.

Sleeping in the rocker with a sick baby

I took all of their monthly photos in this chair, with the same bear for size comparison. Thirty-six months of photos in this chair. 

Olivia

Alden

Leland

Sometimes we just snuggle in it. 

Leland, Alden, Kennedi, and Elli

It’s been a favorite reading spot for all three of my babies. Sometimes they pile on my lap to read. Sometimes one at a time. Sometimes they read by themselves in it. Sometimes they read to each other.

Lately, it’s mostly held Olivia’s giant Minnie Mouse. 

But last night, it had another night of rocking.  During a middle-of-the-night tantrum about wanting to sleep in our bed, Olivia started thrashing around on the floor and ended up hitting her eye on her bed post. It bled a little and she was scared. So we rocked. She laid across my lap, feet hanging off the side because she’s so long now, wrapped up in a blanket, and she slowly drifted to sleep in my arms. I held her for a while because even though I was tired and my bed sounded so nice, there is nothing better than your baby sleeping in your arms. Even when that baby is four years old (inching so close to five 😭) and her whole body doesn’t fit anymore. I held her until she woke up complaining that she was too sweaty and said she was ready for her bed again.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt sentimental about furniture, except our crib. But this chair holds the stories of my babies and I don’t think I considered that for one second when I was buying this $88 bargain. 

Busy, Busy, Busy

Sooo...it's been awhile. My posting will probably be pretty sporadic for the foreseeable future, just because of general life busyness. Kids, school, household responsibilities, Beachbody (working out, food prep, coaching) - they all take a chunk of my time, so there's little left for the ol' blog. But I do enjoy journaling, so I won't let it go completely.

Here's a little catch-up.

For Christmas, I gave Dave the "12 Dates of Christmas." We have enjoyed two dates so far. In January, we went to Crystal Mountain, a ski resort about 30 minutes from our house, for a horse-drawn surrey ride.

It was chilly (duh), but fun. The ride was about 40 minutes. Some of it was nice and quiet, and we just had an adult conversation (crazy, right?), and some of it was spent chatting with the driver. Afterward, we warmed up by the campfire and had some hot chocolate before we headed home.

This month, our date was supposed to be a show at the Traverse City Comedy Festival. I set aside some money for tickets, but the festival was moved to April this year. I told Dave that he could just choose something for us to do with the money and he chose to go out for a Sunday brunch buffet. There's a restaurant just down the road from us that has a pretty big spread for Sunday brunch, and we had been wanting to try it out. So we went this past Sunday and filled up on Belgian waffles, omelettes, biscuits & gravy, prime rib, fruit, bacon, sausage, and so much more. I ate more there than I usually eat in a whole day. The discomfort following was worth the deliciousness. It's okay to indulge sometimes. :)

Leland has started going to preschool three days a week instead of five. He goes to daycare with Alden the other two days. That's probably best left for another post. Maybe I'll be back sooner than you think.

Our house has had the sickies over the last two weeks. It started with Leland having a cough and fever, and now Alden has bronchitis, so he's been home sick the last two days. We're hoping he'll be able to go back to daycare tomorrow.

He was pretty miserable at the doctor's office until they gave him a juice box. Then he perked right up.

This won't mean much to most of my readers, but for my own documentation, I feel the need to share that I recently became an EMERALD coach with Beachbody. This is the first rank above just coaching. I'm pretty excited. While I didn't expect my coaching "business" to do much, I'm pleased with the direction I'm heading. The extra money each month is helpful to my family, and my big scary goal is to buy Dave his dream truck by the end of this year and pay for it (monthly payments, not all at once) with ONLY Beachbody money.

I have a couple of other posts in mind: Leland's daycare/school happenings and Valentine's Day goodies. So, those will be up sometime soon. :)

Breaking the Cycle

I've started this post in my head numerous times but never found the time to sit down and actually write it. So, here goes nothing.

For most adults, at least most adults I know, a night out with friends or a Christmas party or a date night usually involves some adult beverages. Whether it's wine, beer, cocktails, etc., alcohol is usually involved and looked forward to. Not for me.

When I was younger, I definitely indulged in drinks and there were certainly nights that I had too much. But as the years have gone by, I find myself less and less interested in alcohol. When I was pregnant and nursing, I loved that I couldn't drink. When people asked why I wasn't drinking, it was a great excuse to pull out the "I'm nursing" card. I still am nursing once at night, but it's hardly an excuse these days. I miss that.

Because the truth is, I don't like drinking. I mean, I like the taste of some drinks - mixed drinks and some wine - but I have no desire to drink. Like ever. I much prefer to scarf down a giant chocolate dessert than drink alcohol.

So why did I drink when I was younger and I don't now? Well, as I've gotten older, I have come to realize that pretty much every member of my family struggles with addiction. For some, it's alcohol and for others, it's drugs and/or cigarettes. And then there are those who hit the trifecta and are addicted to all three. It seems to be a common thread in my family and that scares me. It terrifies me to my core.

It's not that these addictions are just starting to surface, but I never noticed them when I was younger. I do now, and when I think about things that happened in my childhood because of alcohol and drugs - the physical, emotional, and verbal abuse I witnessed (still witness) and was a victim of - I simply want nothing to do with it. Addiction obviously runs in my family and I am absolutely terrified of it latching onto me. I will not be controlled by any substance (except chocolate...chocolate never hurts anyone; it just makes them fat). I will not let my children experience or witness the abuse I did. I will not let them see me struggle with an addiction and the subsequent depression. The cycle of addiction and substance abuse ends with me.

Last year, my mom attempted suicide as a result of depression and substance abuse, and that only confirmed for me that alcohol just isn't for me. I never want my boys to see me in the hospital like that. And I never want to see it again myself.

I have no problem with others drinking, or being around it. I just don't desire it. Without knowing my story, most people don't understand, and will continually offer me drinks even after I decline. So I usually come up with some kind of excuse or plan on being the DD. The funny thing is that Dave is not a big drinker either; sure, he drinks sometimes, but it's pretty rare. Usually at a work party or BBQ, but that's about it. Just like I prefer to indulge in desserts, he prefers pizza and Mountain Dew. We go together nicely that way.

So there you have it. Why I don't drink. Now, if I'm ever at a party at your house, you'll know you don't have to offer me a drink; just bring me a brownie.

Back to Blonde

Once upon a time, I had very blonde hair.

25th birthday - June 2008

5 year anniversary photos - August 2008

My hair is naturally a dark blonde, but I would get highlights to make it brighter.

When I was pregnant with Leland, I started to get low lights with my highlights to go slowly go darker. I liked it darker. It was something a little different and I felt like it matched my skin tone better, so I stuck with it for a while.

Leland's newborn photos - January 2012

Fall photos - 2012

Sometimes I would do more highlights than low lights and my hair would be a little lighter, but not SUPER blonde like in the past.

13 weeks pregnant with Alden - April 2013

Around 34 weeks pregnant with Alden. I got my hair highlighted just before pics were taken - September 2013.
This is probably my favorite style of my hair ever. Pregnancy did amazing things for my hair!

Alden's first birthday - October 2014

The last few years, I have enjoyed having my hair slightly darker. It was a nice change from years of super blonde and it was easy to maintain. But lately I've been missing my lighter hair, so this weekend, my sweet friend Magi (who is a hair stylist) highlighted my hair. Our boys played together while she brought me back to blonde. And I'm really happy with how it turned out.

It's still not as light as it was pre-Leland, but definitely lighter than the last few years. Yay for being blonde again!

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers

A few days ago, Shannon posted about the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award. She was nominated and therefore had to answer 10 questions and then nominate 10 more people to answer her own questions. Well, she cheated and didn't nominate anyone. She just said anyone who was interested should do it. And since I'm a sucker for these kinds of things I've decided I'll do it.

1) Who is your role model and why?

Hmmmm...I would say my Grandma Josie is my role model. Not because she's done anything extraordinary in her life. I mean, she didn't cure any diseases or start a charity or anything. But she's simply the very best person I know. She is funny. Through all of the difficulties in life, including her Parkinson's Disease, she maintains her humor. She is just fun to be around and everyone adores her.

2) If you could only have chocolate or cheese for the rest of your life, what would you choose?

Yikes! My two favorite things. I think I would have to go with chocolate.

3) How different is your life now versus how you expected it to be ten years ago?

Ten years ago, I would have guessed that I would be teaching, but probably at a different school. I always thought I would start having kids younger, so at the age I am now, I would be done having kids. But I'm not. At least I hope I'm not.

4) What are your three favorite physical features on the sex you're attracted to?

Smile, eyes, and a clean shave.

5) Who was your first childhood crush?

Besides New Kids on the Block and Zach Morris? I'd have to say my friend Ryan. We were boyfriend and girlfriend for most of elementary school and junior high, and then we were just good friends. We still keep in touch, and I went to his wedding last year.

6) If money was no option, where would you vacation to this year?

Australia or a Caribbean cruise

7) Favorite movie of all time?

Mary Poppins

8) What is your biggest fear?

I have two. One is something happening to my children. And the other is something happening to me or Dave and leaving my children without a parent.

9) How do you relax?

I sleep. Especially now that Alden finally sleeps through the night consistently. This is a new development in the last 10 days. Glorious!

10) Do you feel confident enough to poop in a public restroom?

Ha ha ha. Hey, if you gotta go, you gotta go.

So, I've answered Shannon's questions. Here's the kicker, I'm going to cheat even worse. Not only am I not going to tag anyone, but I'm not going to write my own questions. I'm not sure I could come up with questions better than Shannon's, so should you decide to participate, I think you should use her questions.

Life Lately

I didn't intend to go ten days between blog posts, but well...life is weird right now. It's busy, like usual, but not really full of much to blog about. Here's what we've been up to lately...

Leland got sick. He started vomiting one night and continued to do so intermittently for four days. I started to worry that he might be getting dehydrated so I took him to the doctor. Turns out it was strep. Who knew?

As much as I hated seeing him sick. I sure enjoyed the extra snuggles and having him fall asleep in my arms.

Waiting for our prescription.

Alden is cutting four molars right now. Which means he's sleeping pretty crappy again. Oh, how I long for some dang sleep. (This is part of why I haven't been blogging. I'm just so tired.)

He loves books now. He brings them to me all the time and says "ree, ree, ree." Not sure if he's saying "read" or just babbling, but I love it.

I've tried a few new recipes from my Against All Grain cookbook. Just kind of practicing for my whole30 which I start in about two weeks (though some of these recipes are still not whole30 approved because they have honey in them, it's at least a step in the right direction). Last week, I made zoodles with spaghetti sauce which we all enjoyed.

This week, I made sesame-orange chicken with cauliflower "rice" which was a huge hit. Dave actually said he preferred the cauliflower instead of normal rice. I also made mini meatloaf muffins. Yum!

And Leland helped me make some zucchini muffins. I don't love them, but Leland does, so at least they're not a total waste.

My big helper

We celebrated Dave's 34th birthday at home. He was happy with his gifts of turkey jerky and a new DeWalt nail gun.

I started filling out enrollment forms for preschool. 

Our school has an enrollment lottery because we're a charter school. So the forms have to be in by the beginning of April. I'm pretty sure he's guaranteed a spot since I teach there, but I figured I should still get my forms in on time. I can't believe he'll be in preschool already! We're planning on two days in the fall, and then three days starting next January. The following year, he'll probably go full time. Part of me is so excited to have him in my school, but part of me wants to keep him in daycare forever.

That's pretty much it. Lots of puking. Lots of food. Some random stuff and a crap ton of report cards (another reason for no blogging). That's life lately. Hopefully I'll be back soon with something more exciting.

The Bear

If you've been reading my blog for very long, you've seen this bear before.

It was in Leland's monthly pictures and now it's in Alden's monthly pictures.

What you don't know is that I have had this bear for nearly 13 years. Dave gave me this bear when we first started dating. It was Christmas and we had been on a couple of dates. We weren't super serious yet, but we also weren't dating other people. It's sort of hard to buy a gift for someone when you've just started dating and you don't really know them all that well. And when you care about them, but you don't really know where it's all heading. I got Dave a hoodie, and he got me this bear. I thought it was pretty much perfect.

Ten years later, I started using this bear for Leland's monthly photos. Something for him to sit next to every month so we could compare photos and see his growth from month to month. And then I used it for Alden's monthly photos.

Leland loves this bear. He likes to carry it around, snuggle with it (you can see them just chilling in that picture above), pretend to tickle it and feed it, and treat it like his very own baby. He sleeps with it most nights and he calls it his bear.

 And Alden likes to climb all over it.

I don't have the heart to break it to them that it was mine first.

I love that this bear in all those photos has a story - a connection to their parents' dating days. A connection to when it all began. Hopefully they don't destroy it with all of their crazy boy-ness and it can stick around for many more years.

I used to be a brat.

Last week, my mom brought me a box filled with my old school papers. She had stuff in there from preschool all the way through high school, and she kept everything.

When I say my mom kept everything, I mean she kept the usual report cards, conference notes, and projects. But she also kept behavior referrals. When I went through it, I started with upper elementary, and, let me tell you, my 4th-6th grade years were interesting. I was a pretty smart kid - I got good grades on assignments and tests. School wasn't too difficult for me. But, man, was I a brat.

I saw referral after referral of me not listening and being disrespectful to staff members, as well as arguing with classmates. I had to stay in for recess, write sentences, write notes of apology, etc. Basically, I was a major pain in the arse. I remember those years being particularly difficult for me - some issues with a close friend (which led to being teased/bullied for much of 4th and 5th grade), not feeling like I "belonged" in my family, and being somewhat bored academically. Apparently, that all came together and fueled some serious attitude toward everyone. Also, despite my being pretty smart, I struggled to complete my assignments and turn them in on time. I would like to apologize to my teachers from those years; I bet they would have never imagined me becoming a teacher.

(Also, I went to a school in a "high risk" area. Low income and drug and alcohol use was/is fairly common. Many of my classmates from elementary school didn't graduate high school, and very few went on to college. So there were a lot of behavior problems in my school. While I look back with embarrassment about my behavior, I wasn't the worst-behaved student - not even close.)

But looking back further, I wasn't so bad. In my preschool-3rd grade years, I was a friendly (though shy) and sweet. My teachers had wonderful things to say about me. In those early years, I was a teacher's dream.

I had a good laugh looking back at all of it. I can't believe my mom saved behavior referrals. And bus suspensions (junior high was pretty rough as well). Who saves that stuff?! Thankfully, I ditched the attitude around 9th grade and returned to being the sweet, shy, polite girl I once was. Though my husband might argue that I'm still a brat.

Me Time

This summer, I have been working at the coffee shop on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:00-1:00. The boys go to daycare on those days, and since the time I get out is about the time they go down (or have already been down) for nap, I have some time to kill until they wake up.

For the first few weeks of summer, I tried to spend that time running errands or just finding things to do around town. I was trying to save gas money by not going home and then going all the way back to daycare later. The problem with this is that, while in town, I pretty much always end up at some store (usually Target), which inevitably means I spend money. I'm pretty sure I wasn't saving us any money by staying in town.

After a few weeks, I decided to go home on those days. There are lots of things I wanted or needed to do at home, and it was nice to have that uninterrupted time to do it.

For example, scrapbooking. I love to scrapbook and I keep a book for each of the boys. I used to work on it after the kids went to bed, but Alden's sleep continues to be rough, to say the least. With him waking every 1-2 hours, I don't have time to do any work on my scrapbooks. So a few days, I went home to work on them, and I am almost caught up now.

A few days I did some chores around the house. A few days I attempted to organize the basement bedroom. I had it how I wanted it, but then we went through more things upstairs, so I have more organizing to do. One day I redeemed a massage gift certificate. And a couple of days, I met friends for late lunch dates.

I was hoping to work on a painting for Alden's room during this free time, but I haven't yet. I still have two weeks until I report back though, so maybe I can still try it.

It's a very rare occurrence that I have a couple of hours without kids, and it feels good to take this time for myself. Of course, I miss them and usually count down the minutes until I can pick them up, but I know that time alone is good for me. And since it's coming to an end soon, I am taking full advantage of it.

Working Girl

Taking a break from my usual posts about my adorable littles to talk about myself.

People are often surprised about how many jobs I have had - I find myself saying "I used to work there" a lot in various conversations. So I made a list of previous jobs that I have had.

I don't know if it's the law all over the US or not, but in Michigan, you can get a job at age 14. I was so excited to get a job when I was that age. I was applying for jobs for a month before my 14th birthday. I did some babysitting before this (since age 12), but I was DYING to have a job. To make my own money. To feel like an adult. Yeah, I was in a hurry to grow up and start working. There was definitely something wrong with me.

A few days after turning 14, I got my first job. And I have always had at east one job ever since; for many years, I had more than one job at a time. So here's my list of jobs, mostly in order.

• Subway - 1998 (age 14)
• Mancino's Pizza & Grinders - 1998-2002 (age 14-18ish)
• DairyVille - 2001-2011 (age 16-26) - I started here when I was 16. I worked here and Mancino's and remained at DV in the summers for the next 10 years.
• American Eagle - 2001 (age 16) - I also worked here while at Mancino's and DairyVille. I only worked there for one summer.
• La Senorita (Mexican Resaurant) - 2001 (age 17) - When I quit Mancino's I got a job there as a hostess. I hated it and only lasted a few months.
• Hungry Howie's Pizza - 2001-2003 (age 17-19) - I worked there for a few years and became Assistant Manager.
• Abercrombie & Fitch - 2003 (age 18/19?) - I worked there one day a week so I could get the discount. I didn't last long there though; even with the discount, I couldn't afford their clothes.
• Kmart - 2003 (age 18/19?) - When I quit Hungry Howie's (without notice because my boss was a jerk), I was desperate for a job. I was still working at A&F, but that only paid like $5.50 an hour or something, so I quickly got a job as a cashier at Kmart.

(Please note, I am still working summers at the DairyVille.)

• Grand Traverse Pavilions Childcare Center - 2003-2005 (age 19-21) - My first job in childcare/education. I loved it. But after a couple of years, they changed their scheduling policies and I couldn't make it work with my class schedule.
• Cleaning for MAC Custom Homes - 2004 (age 20) - One winter, I worked on the weekends to clean the houses (for the company Dave works for) before the homeowners moved in. Good money, but a lot of work.
• Menards -2005 (age 21) - When the Pavilions made their scheduling changes, I was in need of a more flexible job, so I worked at this home improvement store as a cashier.
• Teddy Bear Daycare & Preschool - 2005-2007 (age 21-23) - I worked at this home daycare/preschool for two years. When I started my student teaching, I needed a night/weekend job.
• Old Navy - 2007-2008, and again in 2010 (age 23-24, and 26) - During my student teaching, I worked here a few nights a week and on the weekends. That was the worst year ever as far as work goes. Working full time for free (student teaching/classes), and then working 40 hours nights and weekends.
• Babysitting/Nannying - 2003-2011 (age 19-27) - I babysat a lot during college, student teaching, and the first few years of my teaching career. I also nannied for a summer job one summer.
• Trinity Lutheran - 2008-2009 (age 24-25) - Preschool teacher
• Summer Camp - 2009 (age 25) - One summer, I worked for the local public schools' summer day camp (and still at the DairyVille nights/weekends).
• Grand Traverse Academy - 2009-now (age 25-30) - Finally offered my dream job as a lower elementary teacher!

(For a few summers, I still worked at the DairyVille until it burned down. I also continued babysitting until Leland was born.)

• Twice Trendy Tots - 2012 (age 28) - A children's resale shop. I worked there for one summer.
• Coffee Bean Cafe - 2013-now (age 29-30) - Local coffee shop that also makes amazing muffins, cookies, and other yummy things. I worked there last summer an this summer.

And that's it. I'm pretty sure that's all of the jobs I have had. Nineteen jobs in 15 years. Crazy, right? But like I said, most of them were two or three at one time.

Nicest Boss Ever (and also, I'm cheap)

A couple of days ago, I had some time to kill between getting out of work and picking up the boys from daycare, so I did a little shopping at the mall. I went to my usual favorites, determined to find something I liked: a shirt, pants, a necklace, anything.

I don't shop for myself often, but I wanted something new to wear for our family pictures this weekend. My sister-in-law is going to take them for us. We're going to keep it pretty simple (my goal is ONE good picture of the four of us), but I wanted something new. You know, just tired of the same old stuff. Plus, after two babies, the same old stuff doesn't really fit the same old way anymore.

So I went to a few stores and had zero luck. Finally, I stepped into American Eagle. I can't tell you the last time I was in there - it's been YEARS. (Side note: I used to work there when I was 16. I had another job as well, but I there worked one day a week strictly for the discount.) But I found a pair of cropped jeans that I liked and that fit me. AND! They were on sale for $19.99. Score! I'm kind of cheap, and I refuse to buy a pair of pants for less than $30, but sometimes I'm even cheaper than that. I was way excited to see these on sale.

Only, when I went to check out, they were $29.99, not $19.99. The girl said that the pants on the other end of the table (like, four feet away) were the ones on sale. Ugh. I was so annoyed. You know how I won't buy pants for more than $30? Well, that goes for pants that I can actually wear year-round. I won't pay that much for a pair of pants that I can only wear for three months of the year. I left without them.

The next day, I was at work and I was complaining to my boss about how I am having a hard time finding clothes that fit because I'm between sizes, and I pretty much hate all of my clothes. She was sympathetic and agreed that it totally sucks when you can't find anything you like, but it sucks even more when you do find something you like, but you don't like the price.

And then, before I left for the day, she handed me $10 and said, "I'm giving you this $10 so you can buy those pants if you want. I know how frustrating this is for you. And if you don't want to buy them, you can keep the money for something else."

I didn't know what to say. It was so sweet of her. I mean, it's my fault I'm cheap, and $10 wouldn't kill me, but I just can't bring myself to spend much money on myself. I wasn't sure if I was going to buy the pants or not - I was still super annoyed that their signage sucked. But in the end, I bought them.

I'm not the greatest at selfies - I promise these look better in person. :)

I am so thankful to have such a wonderful friend and boss in my life. She listens to all my complaints and always offers amazing advice or just a listening ear. And on top of that, she helped me buy a pair of pants.

That Awkward Moment

Last week, I had my six month check up at the dentist. I wasn't really looking forward to it. Not because I have a fear/dislike of the dentist, but because I was tired and just wanted to take a nap. Or get my hair done. Or do something with my kids. But I went.

As I mentioned, I was tired (My kid doesn't sleep, remember?). I was yawning when the hygienist called me back from the waiting room. She kind of chuckled at my yawning and I said something like, "Sorry, I'm really tired today for some reason." And she said, "Well, I can imagine!"

I thought it was a bit of an odd comment, but maybe she was just referring to me being a mama of two little ones. I shrugged it off.

Then I sat in the chair, yawning again. I couldn't help it! And she asked me how many children I had, and I said two. And then she said...

Wait for it...

"So this is number three? How's it going?"

Uhhh...what? I was so confused (maybe because of my fatigue), and I just gave her a confused look. And then I realized what she was saying. She was asking me how my pregnancy was going. How my freaking PREGNANCY was going! And I'm NOT PREGNANT.

She mumbled something about how she must have seen it on my chart from last time, and quickly changed the subject. On the outside, I just laughed it off. But on the inside, I was all, "Crap! Really? I still look pregnant?"

I'll admit, it wasn't the best comment I'd heard all day. I mean, I know I have some work to do. I am at my pre-pregnancy weight, but not my pre-pregnancy size. I still have some (or...a lot) of belly flab and my clothes don't fit quite right. I haven't made much of an effort to fix it. Okay, I haven't made any effort to fix it. I eat whatever I want, whenever I want, and I rarely participate in any form of exercise. Nursing is seriously the greatest gift in the world to allow me to lose the weight without even trying. But it doesn't help in toning. Not that I was ever that toned to begin with, but you get the picture.

So yeah, the comment hurt my ego a bit at first. I didn't think I looked pregnant - a little flabby, but not pregnant-looking. But then I figured she probably did see it in my chart, and since the last few times she has seen me, I have been pregnant (or recently gave birth), it's an easy mistake for her to make.

After a few minutes, I wasn't quite so upset about it, and I actually felt embarrassed for her.

But it was definitely the kick in the pants I needed to try and work on this body of mine. I don't have any expectations to wear a bikini or be super skinny - that's just not me. But I would like to get back into running, perhaps eat less sugar (I don'twant to eat less sugar, but I should eat less sugar), and just feel better about myself.

I've started running again, just a few times, and not very far or very fast, but it's a start. And I have been eating less sugar. So I'm off to a decent start. Let's just hope I don't have any more of these awkward moments in the future.

New Baby and Tractors

Last night, we went to a little party to meet our newest niece, Emily (Dave's sister's baby). 

However, I didn't get to spend much time with her. See, the party was at Emily's grandparents' house - not my in-laws, but her paternal grandparents. And they have all kinds of fun toys for the kids to play with, and Leland ran off to play with them before we made it inside.

He saw two of these toy Gator tractors and fell in love. Leland had never ridden on a PowerWheels or anything like it, but Leland is the least apprehensive child I've ever seen. He jumped right in, and his cousin, Lukas, drove him around.

And then after a couple of minutes, he was ready to try it on his own. He did great with the foot pedal, but not so much the steering. I had to run alongside him and turn the wheel every now and then. But he had so much fun!

Grandpa Bob also has some real tractors, and Leland couldn't resist climbing on one.

This is Heaven for Leland.

Leland has been asking to drive tractors ever since. I think we may have to invest in one of these this summer.

Our Weekend in Pictures

Dave was working on Saturday, so I took the boys out for a bit. We went to Michael's to get materials for my students' Mother's Day crafts. 

Then we went to Toys R Us. I figured an entire week sans paci was deserving of a new chugger for Leland. I didn't tell him that's what it was for, because my strategy in losing the paci is to never talk about it. Leland chose Hodge for his new toy. And bonus! He came with a hopper car!

Later that morning, Leland put on my winter hat and walked around like this (hands in his pockets) for a good half hour. 

After nap, we had a little dance session. Here we are "gettin' jiggy with it." Leland loves him some 90s jams. 

Sunday, we went grocery shopping, and Leland loved his ride on Sandy, as usual. 

Alden has nearly perfected sitting up on the last few days. He's still a little wobbly at times, but is doing very well with it. 

Leland and I made cookies. 

Leland's favorite part is mixing, but he also loves tasting the dough.

And while Daddy took Leland outside for a little while, Alden and I enjoyed some snuggle time. 

Nothing extraordinary, as far as weekends go, and that's perfectly alright with me. I love our simple, laid back weekends.