Sense & Sensibility

I finally finished "Sense & Sensibility". I enjoyed this book much more than persuasion. I got to know these characters so much better, and there were so many interesting side characters too. I'm no good at reviewing books, but if you're interested I found a good book review written by someone else.

Now I will move on to "Northanger Abbey". And staying true to form, I'm also reading a Yoga book and got a nice thick book that will hopefully help me gain a little bit more knowledge of HTML and CSS.

If anyone who reads this post is particularly good at HTML, web design, or anything like that let me know. I need all the help I can get.

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Over the weekend my husband and I watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". I really enjoyed the movie, but one part in particular brought me to tears. The part near the end after she realizes that he is her father and finds all the post cards that he wrote to her. One for each year of her life that he missed. This hit me particularly hard because had I made a different decision in my life, I would've been doing the same thing for my precious Jackson.

In 2004 I was pregnant, dating a loser, trying to go to school, waiting tables, and poor as crap. I think adoption is a beautiful thing. But adoption would've been so wrong for me. I had the love of my parents who promised to support me whether I kept my baby or not (as long as I didn't marry the donor). I was able to finish school and have a good way to support my baby. If I had chosen to give him up for adoption I would've regretted it every day of my life. I would be lost.

I know that movie/book is fiction, but it really got me thinking about how my life would've turned out if I'd made a different decision. I'm so lucky that I didn't have people pushing me in one direction or the other. I wish that every young girl who finds herself in such a precarious situation would be so lucky to have love and support while she makes such a life changing decision. Maybe if they had the opportunity to really take time to consider all their options there wouldn't be as many abortions, babies born in bathrooms then thrown in trash cans, or children abused and neglected because their mother didn't want them in the first place.

Teenagers

I was at the park with my boys yesterday and overheard something that I thought was quite funny. This park is a rather busy one. The park is part of the military housing community, but the community isn't an active base so anyone can come into the neighborhood. A lot of people in the surrounding community use the park even though they're not supposed to.

The park was a lot busier than usual yesterday. There was a huge group of moms with their kids ranging in age from newborns to 15 year olds. I think they were some type of homeschooling group.

Anywho. There were two teenage boys standing alone on one of the smaller jungle gyms. I was pushing Payton on the swings and was in close enough proximity to hear their conversation. Just like any other normal boys, they were quoting a movie and talking about how awesome it was. I kept hearing lines that I recognized over and over again, but couldn't remember what the movie was. Then it finally hit me. They were quoting "The Fugitive". That's right. Harrison Ford. Tommy Lee Jones. 1993. It was so funny to me to hear these boys quoting a movie that came out before they were even born like it was the most current and most awesome movie ever made. I'm not criticizing them though. If I have to hear a random conversation between two teenage boys I'm glad that's the one I had to hear.

Feeling So Good

I've only been doing "The Fat Flush" for two days but can I just say one thing? AMAZING. I haven't felt this good in a long time. When I started it I was sure I'd lose a little bit of weight. I figured I would feel a little bit better. But never in a million years did I think that I would feel this great so quickly.

The diet consists of TONS of cranberry water (to cleanse the liver) and whole foods. (no dairy, except for eggs, and no wheat) So I'm just eating lean protein and fruits and vegetables. In two days I've lost 4 lbs. My skin already looks so much healthier. I haven't been craving junk food, which is a major accomplishment for me.

I've also started up Yoga again. I used to do Yoga regularly when I was in college. I was depressed and trying to calm down "the crazy" so I did Yoga every day. After having kids I just didn't make time for it anymore so I haven't done it in years. I'd been wanting to get started again but just didn't have the will-power to do so. I'm really serious about treating my auto-immune diseases naturally so Yoga was a logical step to take in the healing process. It's amazing to me the things that Yoga can do for you mentally and physically. I'm seriously having a love affair with Yoga.

baby, baby, baby

I REALLY want to have another baby. But now just isn't the right time. We're moving back to Utah in September, then my husband will be off doing military training for 6 months after that. I hate this feeling. It makes me think of all the ladies out there who are unable to have children. If I'm this sad about waiting 1 year to have a baby I can't even imagine what it must feel like when there is no chance of giving birth to children of your own.

Maybe I should get a puppy.

The Fat Flush Plan

I've been very lazy as of late. You might say that in a way I let myself go. I'm not technically overweight. My BMI is under 25 and I'm right within the "healthy weight guidlines" for my height (just barely). I say I've let myself go because I threw all my nutrition rules out the window and totally quit working out. For a while my husband was a reasonable excuse. When I was trying to eat healthy he wasn't, and since I have a MAJOR sweet tooth I would always give in to the his desires for treats. Then something changed. He started working really really hard and being very diligent about eating healthy and working out. What did I do? I kept buying treats and eating them when he wasn't around. He just lost 10 lbs. He's totally inspired me!

In the past week I've really taken a step back and taken some time to evaluate what I want out of life and what kind of life I want to provide for my kids. They deserve a healthy, active mom that has the energy to get outside and play with them for hours. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to look really good in a nice pair of jeans. I haven't gone swimming in years because I can't bear the thought of putting on a swimming suit.

My other desire for getting healthy is because I have a few auto-immune diseases that I would like to treat naturally. I did a lot of research this last week and I think I will see major improvement if I clean out my liver. My whole life I've eaten tons of junk food and processed foods. I've been feeling the effects of that for the past couple years and I don't like what I see/feel.

This whole process has taken a lot more soul searching than you might think. I have emotional ties to food. But, the change happens now!!

I read this book and I've already started the program. I feel great and I'm excited to see how I'll feel in two weeks when I've finished the first phase!

I don't abuse my kids

Just as the title of this post suggested, I DON'T ABUSE MY KIDS. I have however passed on a little tradition that my Dad passed on to me.

Sometimes when the boys and I are playing around and "wrestling" I'll say, "Do I need to spank your butt?" And they'll say, "No!!" But then wait for me to bend them over my knee and spank them. (But what I actually do is put one of my hands on their bottom and lightly hit my own hand. We all get a good laugh out of it, then go on our marry way playing another game. Seriously.)

Yesterday the boys and I had to make a Target run. We got out of the van and Payton (my two year old) chose this very busy time of day to run to the back of the van and repeatedly hit the back taillight and say over and over, "I'm gonna spank your butt!" Only in his exact words it's, "I'm O spank yo butt!!"

At this point all the people passing by look at me with a quizzical look, probably wondering if I really do abuse my kids. But really, how could you abuse a kid that is this cute?

Adventures in Food Storage

Living in a military community is different than living in a regular neighborhood. The scene is always changing because people are constantly moving in and out. Many times people have to be ready to move at a moments notice. In their rush to get moved they realize that they either have too many things to fit on their truck (if they are over the weight limit they have to pay the military, as opposed to the military paying them), or they just can't take everything because they are being moved overseas. Often times they don't have time for a yard sale, or to even drop things off at Goodwill. So it's a regular occurrence to see perfectly good furniture and other belongings out on the sidewalk. And it's common knowledge that it's all free for the taking.

Now, when Mormons move out it's an even bigger bonus because they usually can't take their food storage with them. This was the case last week. I got a call from our old Relief Society president asking me if I could take some things to Goodwill for her (in my new van!!!). I had loaded everything in the back and was about to be on my merry way when she came running out of the house. She asked me if I wanted to take some of her food. I figured she had a few canned vegetables left over and maybe a couple packages of unopened pasta. I was wrong.

This was only 1/3 of the food that she was giving away. It totally made my day and will save me tons on groceries!!

Persuasion

I had a hard time getting into this book in the first few pages. I think that had to do with my experience with Pride & Prejudice. I watched two movie versions before reading the book so by that time I was well acquainted with all the characters. I didn't instantly feel that connection to the characters in this book.

Once I got past that I completely loved this book. I love that Anne Elliot was a level-headed, smart, sensible woman despite having two very selfish sisters and an even more selfish father who didn't much care for her.

I especially got a kick out of Mary. She reminds me perfectly of someone close to me who will remain nameless. She is so ridiculous and maddening that she actually becomes comical.

I admire Anne for her ability to deal with everyone with patience and kindness. Especially the two girls that become Captain Wentworth's potential loves.

I've enjoyed the two Jane Austen books that I've read because she writes realistically about the pain and heartache that goes along with love. I could feel Anne's regret about ending her engagement to Captain Wentworth and found myself completely miserable thinking about him with Louisa. In the end when he wrote her that note my heart was racing with the possibilities of what it would say. It was as if I was Anne Elliot reading the note that would change my life forever.

I highly recommend this book to anyone. As for me, it will now go on my shelf and I will read it again in a couple years.

Darling Keanu

I usually read at night after my kids go to bed but my husband has gotten really annoyed because he wants me to hang out with him. Last night he says, "Are you going to be reading books for the rest of your life?" And I say, "Are you going to be watching ESPN for the rest of your life?"

So, I put my book mark in "Persuasion" and we watched a movie together. "Speed" just happened to be on Cinemax last night and we watched it. I hadn't seen it in at least 10 years so I'd forgotten what a tasty little treat Keanu Reeves was in that movie. Seriously, so dreamy. Hey, 1994 Keanu Reeves, come have lunch at my house! (just kidding, I totally have a hot husband) but seriously though, call me!

Classics Challenge 2009

I'm a sucker for a good book. After I became a full-time mother I found it hard to fit reading into my busy schedule. This year I decided to put more of a priority on reading BIG GIRL books as opposed to such books as "Green Eggs & Ham".

About a year ago my mom was on this huge Pride & Prejudice kick. She has two versions of the movie and she read the book. I turned up my nose and had no interest in it (mostly because Kiera Knightly was in the most recent movie, and I've made it a priority to not like her).

A few months ago the boys and I had a play-date at a friends house and she told me I had to watch the Kiera Knightly version of the movie. I tried to say no, but I was afraid she might shove it down my throat so I took it, and amazingly, I watched it. To say that I love it would be an understatement. For about a week I watched it twice a day. I felt guilty sleeping next to my husband because I knew that at some point every night Mr. Darcy would make an appearance in my dreams.

After watching that version of the movie I needed more. In my laziness I decided to watch the long Collin Firth version of the movie. That one was hard for me to watch because aside from Collin Firth, all the other actors bothered me. So I finally got a copy of the book, read it, and of course I loved it.

I found a classics reading challenge on another blog so I signed up for it and figured I would just read two more of Jane Austen's books. This is where my love of books got me in trouble today. I was ready to start reading, but the library didn't open until 10:00. When I have my mind set on something, I want it right then. It's a really bad characteristic. So I figured I'd just go to the book store and buy one of the books. Then I'd just go to the library later in the day and get the other one.

The problem here is that I hate checking out books. I love having my own copy so I can read, re-read, then put it on my shelf and read it again in 5 years. It didn't help me at all the Borders was having a buy 4 get the 5th one free sale. I went in the the store with the intention of spending $7 on one book, walked out of the store spending $30 on 5 books. These are the moments when I wish I had more will-power. (But hey, having a book addiction is better than having a crack-cocaine addiction)

So, in light of my purchase of 5 Jane Austen books, I decided to assign 6 books to my challenge (since I've already completed one).

I'd Like To Think It Was Divine Intervention

Yesterday afternoon was a weee bit stressful. Payt, my 2 year-old had a fever and was coughing non-stop. And seriously, when I say non-stop, I mean NON-STOP FOR TWO HOURS. The dilemma here is that now it's a big no-no to give young children cough syrup. I can agree with that. I'm really not hot on the idea of drugging my kids up. But honestly, he was miserable. Have you ever coughed so hard for so long that your body just hurts everywhere. He couldn't even nap because he was coughing so much so that made him even worse. He just looked so miserable and I couldn't stand it anymore. I called his doctor to see if she could prescribe something in a safe dosage and she flat out refused (right after telling me it was my decision if I wanted to give him cough syrup).

So I decided to head to Target and buy some cough syrup. I called my mom of course and got some advice from her. By the time I got off the phone with her Payt was coughing and crying and Jax was whining begging me to go.

When I get stressed out in situations like these my first reaction is to buy me a yummy treat. And just so happened to be in close proximity to the Ice Cream. So I meandered down there to pick out some of this:

But in my rush to grab it and go while trying to distract the boys so they didn't see it, I inadvertently grabbed this:

I didn't realize it until I got home. I was pretty sad and depressed at first. But once I got back to my senses I realized that someone up there was looking out for me. Someone saved me from an instant 5 lb. weight gain. I seriously would've eaten ALL of that Ice Cream before going to bed last night.

Thanks.

A Little Bit of Alone Time

I think most moms are just like me when they sit down and think about all the things they need to accomplish in a day and think, "How many of these things can I do this evening after the husband gets home?" My husbands schedule doesn't allow me enough time to even consider doing the things that I need to do after he gets home from work.

So I've had to come up with "creative" ways to keep the kids under control while we're out and about doing the things we need to do. At the grocery store I always used to put my boys in those little truck carts that have two steering wheels. But it always seemed like they wanted to other steering wheel. So they spent most of the time screaming at each other, and I spent most of the time poking them and telling them to leave each other alone.

My solution to this problem was to get a regular cart and put my 2 year old in the seat, and let my 4 year old walk along beside me. It sure kept them from fighting with each other, but created a whole new problem. Jax was now free to grab everything within his reach and take his sweet time. My solution to this problem was to walk to the isle with the fruit snacks as soon as we walked into the grocery store and let him pick out his Transformers fruit snacks. (Payt also gets Mickey Mouse snacks) Jax gets to hold onto his treats the whole time we're in the store. The deal is that if he doesn't whine, complain or ask me for anything else he gets to take his treats home with him.

Some people might criticise me and say, "you shouldn't have to bribe your kids to get them to behave!!" I say, "I'm not bribing him. I'm simply giving him incentive to be the good boy that he is and not run around like a crazy man." That seems like the more logical thing to do as opposed to the alternative, which is each one of us getting frustrated with the other.

Today Jax had pre-school. They also have an hourly care program there so I decided that I would give myself a break and put Payt in hourly while I did my running around. The first 30 minutes or so were glorious. I was walking around Target taking my time and enjoying the silence. But then a funny thing happened. It was too silent. I didn't have Jax asking me questions. I didn't have Payt asking me for chocolate. I had no one to talk to. No one making me laugh. No one screaming at me telling me that they wanted to go home.

I'm pretty used to having Jax gone to school. He's been going to pre-school for a year (two days a week) and it's a little bit easier to let him go. But I've never really been away from Payt. I missed him so much that I went to pick him up early.

I guess when it comes down to it, running errands with two wild-men isn't so bad at all.

My Affair

Oh, Burger King. Why do you taunt me? Why do your greasy disgusting French Fries taste so good. Why does your Whopper Jr. make my mouth water?? Why does my 2 year old have to yell your name and demand to see you every time we drive by? Why can't we just end this love affair? Why can't I quit you? It seems as though the only way I'll be able to stay away is if I completely change my life.

Find a new place to do my grocery shopping.

A new place to buy clothes.

A new book store.

A new pharmacy.

You're everywhere. How can I make a clean break when you just won't leave me alone? You're on every corner. In every town. You're on T.V. I swear you were in my bedroom last night watching me while I slept.

When will it end? When will it end.......