Officially a Soccer Mom

Well it is official, I am now a soccer Mom! HJ had his first game on Saturday. It was really cold! HJ had a blast though and played super hard. He takes it so seriously. He was so happy his team won! Next time, I will bring my telephoto lens. It was all super cute to watch, shivering on the side lines.

My Baby Boy is Missing!

Has anyone seen my baby boy? I seemed to have blinked and he was gone and I can't find him anywhere.

There is a little boy that lives in my house but he could not possibly be MY baby. My baby boy loves to be cuddled and rocked. This little boy has no time for things like that, he is too busy to sit still. My baby boy loves to play peek-a-boo and patty cake but the little boy in the house has no patience for games that do not involve skill and fast pace. My baby boy loved to hold my hand for support when he toddled and walked but the little boy in the house never walks, he runs! My baby boy loved to babble to me and make up words for things he could not say. The little boy in the house talks so grown up and without trouble he could not possibly be my baby. My baby boy was such a mama's boy, he loved to be comforted and held by his mama. The little boy in the house identifies so much more with his Daddy and now wants to do everything like and with his Daddy. Where is my baby boy?

As I watch my baby bow grow into a little boy, I am so proud of his accomplishments and can't help but be charmed by his absolute boyness, but I can't help but miss the baby that is disappearing in him so fast!

More Bathroom News

Well I had hopes to have the finished kids bathroom to proudly display by now. However, we have run into a few minor glitches (I knew there had to be some.)
Glitch #1: The refinished cabinet doors have to be redone. When Drew was refinishing the cabinet, he showed me each individual door before they were finished drying to get my approval. They all looked great individually and I was happy and blissful. Then the doors were hung on the refinished base and then I was not too happy. All the sudden the doors no longer looked antique and Old World but they looked dirty. I felt awful and did not know what to do as I had approved the doors before they were dry. Individually they looked great but when put together in a big picture they become dirty looking. So we decided to live with it a little while and see if it was just me not used to looking at the cabinet in its new form. Nope, every time I went up there, I was disappointed. So being the picture of adult maturity, I made KJ call Drew and tell him (even though I am in the house with Drew most of every weekday.) Drew very graciously said that he would redo them when he refinishes the guest bath cabinets. He also chastised me and told me to tell him from now on if something is bothering me.

Glitch #2: The mirror. At Lowes they have this great section of mirrors that are really medicine cabinets. They are all very current looking (forget the ugly medicine cabinets that we grew up with) these are really pretty and the draw was they can be hung without cutting into the wall. This is how they are all hung at Lowe's and they look great. You can't really tell they stick out.
Well, let me rephrase this, you can't really tell they stick out at the store because they cleverly did not hang any vanity lights above them. Drew hung the mirror and I loved it and then Drew hung the light and I hated it! The mirror stuck out further than the light and looked stupid So the mirror has been removed and is waiting on Drew to finish the tile in the guest bath and then he will recess the mirror into the wall. Yes, I realize the mirror could be returned and a normal one purchased but I now have my heart set on the cabinet storage behind the mirror and would be very disappointed to lose what I had for one day! So my darling, sweet husband is allowing me my storage indulgence and paying Drew extra to cut a big hole in the sheet rock to hang my precious mirror! Gotta love a man that will keep his wife happy (or keep his wife from throwing a hissy fit to get her way), either way he is a keeper!

Glitch #3 The light we bought is too big to go above my wonderful mirror. Even when the mirror is recessed in the wall, the light is to big. We are going tonight to get a new one with a coupon we got in the mail. (Thank you Lowes!) So I have no light in that bathroom to even take pics.


In other news, the tile work in the guest bath is almost done and looks incredible. I will have pics soon!

Running Challenge

I have know for sometime that God has been calling me to better fitness and I will tell you something else I know what he wants for me for my cardio workouts. I have felt Gods call for me to start running. But you see what God seems to have misunderstood about me is that I HATE TO RUN! I have been having this little argument with God for some time and he just doesn't seem to understand that I HATE TO RUN. I even tried at the beginning of the year. I got out there in the morning and tried real hard for about a week and then I noticed the flyer for the spinning classes at the YMCA. I thought that sounded a whole lot more fun than running and so I went and continued going as a bargain with God that maybe he would stop bugging me to run if I went cycling. No such luck! You see when you are running it is just you and God. It is a time when I am forced to rely solely on him and talk to him and pray to him and gasp at him and yell at him as to why I have to be running when I hate it (among other things)! It is also a time when I have to confront my shortcomings and sinful nature (while gasping for air and making my body move in a way it doesn't find natural). I wonder why I gave it up!

I have always admired runners. I have always wanted to be one of those people that just could not get thru a day without a run. However, the few times I tried it, I realized it is not as easy or graceful as experienced runners make it look. It is a lot of very hard work! So anyway, I am going to be obedient to God and run. I know that he will bless me in countless ways but I am not happy about it right now!

I also realized that I needed a better plan than to just get out there and run as it was not working for me. I was getting to frustrated and burnt out (thus the switch to spinning which involves lots of people, an enthusiastic instructor telling you exactly what to do and encouraging you on, and rocking music.) I have also found that running takes a whole different set of endurance skills than spinning. After 2+ months of spinning you would think I might be a little more in shape to get out there and run. Maybe a little, but not so much! I felt a little vindicated Monday in spinning class when a girl who started a couch to 5K program in January came to a spinning class for the first time and couldn't make it thru the class. However, it illustrates the different endurance level needed for running that I just DO NOT HAVE, oh and I HATE RUNNING! So anyway, in my effort to set myself up for success I got a program for couch to 3K in 9 weeks. It gives me a little more direction that putting on shoes and going for a run. It is still not easy. I started today. The goal was to walk briskly for 5 minutes, then run for 60 seconds, and walk for 90 seconds and repeat for 25 minutes. I finished but it was really hard.
Wow, I am really letting everyone know how out of shape I am by telling you that running for a minute at a time was really hard!
However, the blessing in all of this was getting out there while it was still dark and seeing the sunrise! It is really breathtaking. Being outside all alone, gasping for breath, and telling God how much I hated it really put me in a good mood (I am not being sarcastic, it really did!) The moral is that when you do what God tells you to do, good things happen. However, I still have to keep running which is a little disheartening!
All that to say, the reason I am telling you this is to ask if anyone wants to take this couch to 5K challenge with me? It is a 9 week, 3 times a week, 30 minute challenge. I would love to have someone to email encouragements and frustrations with! If not, no biggie but I thought I would throw the challenge out there to see if I had any takers. I am planning on running in the mornings before KJ leaves for work.

12 Week Challenge

You are probably wondering where I have been. Since getting back from Ktown, I have again been battling the moving blues. I have been trying to combat Satan's lies to my heart with truth and prayer. It is slowing getting me back in good spirits.

Anyway, in other news, on Monday I started a 12 week Body For Life Challenge. It basically combines eating super healthy (but allowing for the occasional indulgence) with cardio and weight training. You are supposed to see amazing results in your body and mental strength. Since moving, I have felt Gods call to me to get healthy and active. I am such a lazy person! However, I really have felt the motivation come from above and so hopefully this will help me stick with it more. I have so many reasons for doing this but God's calling is number 1. I also want to get healthier for the sake of it. Cancer is so prevalent in my family (every generation on my Dad's side has seen cancer in at least one person if not multiple). By eating healthy and exercising I will reduce my risk and if I do get it I will be in a stronger, healthier place to fight it. I also want to set a good example to my kids of eating good and exercise. HJ has really been putting it all together in his head: the connection between healthy food and exercise with growing and being strong. He asks me all the time what would be the better choice in terms of food. He asks me to include leaves (as he calls salad greens) in his lunch. He also will ask about my exercise and what it is doing for me. He also asks me if it would be healthier for him to walk or ride in a buggy at Home Depot. It is neat to see him put it all together in his head and want to make healthier choices and move his body more (now if I could just convince his father of the same!)My kids are stuck with double whammy genes from both Mommy and Daddy. Unfortunately from me they inherit a pretty bad predisposition to cancer and some heart disease and from KJ some pretty sever heart disease. If I can get them thinking about the relation of all of this to food and exercise and give them a good example to follow that would be great!
Lastly, I am motivated by wanting to look better. I know I am not fat or obese but I am soft. There is no real muscle definition to me and basically I am soft and squishy all over, instead of trim and toned. This does not lead me to feel great about myself. I know if I looked a little trimmer and toned, I would feel more confident and better about myself.
Okay, however, with all these great reasons, I still struggle! My flesh is so weak. I am a stress/emotional/boredom eater (that is super lazy and doesn't like exercise.) That is the reason I am in this predicament. I like junk food and I do not like to exercise (although I don't mind spinning to much, but would still prefer lazing around to it). With God's continued whisper to my heart, I have made the commitment to up the ante and have set a twelve week goal that I hope will lend itself to a complete lifestyle change. I like goals and having an something to work towards with a structured program/routine to follow. I need someone to tell me this is what you do, instead of having to rely on myself to do it. I have been pretty good about going to spinning at least 3 times a week and I have started resistance training with my personal training class. With this program, all I have had to add in is 2 more cardios and one more weight training day, oh and yes giving up 99% of the junk food in my life.
I have been turning to scripture and some inspirational reading to prepare for this journey as this is a spiritual journey for me. One that I am convinced God has called me on and through him I will rely on to break my flesh of its laziness (both physically and spiritually). I need to fortify my will so I can let it guide me instead of my emotions and feelings. So I will leave you with these three things that struck a cord with me.

Romans 12: 2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind...

Romans 8: 5-6
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death but to set the mind of the Spirit is life and peace.


"It is sometimes thought that the emotions are the governing power in our nature. But I think all of us know, as a matter of practical experience, that there is something within us, behind our emotions and behind our wishes, an independent self, that, after all, decides everything and controls everything. Our emotions belong to us, and are suffered and enjoyed by us, but they are not ourselves, and if God is to take possession of us, it must be into this central will or personality that He enters."
-Hannah Whitall Smith

Meet Uncle Brent

For those that do not know, yes, I have a baby brother who was a bane to my existence while I was growing up. His name is Brent and he was a pain in the butt while I was growing up. I imagine that all little brothers are a pain to their big sisters. However, somehow he and I managed to grow up without killing each other.
Brent has been missing from our life for awhile now while he went off to find himself. He is back now and dare I say all grown up, mature, and responsible. I almost don't know who this man is. (Did I say he was a man? That is weird to think about, much less say!) I guess for the most part I will always think of him as a little brother and not a grown-up man!
The kids think he is super cool because he does neat things like rock climb, drive a pick-up truck, work with big tools, and he used to play football on a real team, not just in the yard! HJ is in awe of his Uncle Brent because of all of this and the fact that Uncle Brent is taller than Daddy.
So when we sat down for an early Easter dinner, Uncle Brent joined us. My Mom made a great dinner of roast, baked potatoes, homemade bread, and a strawberry spinach salad. She also made chicken nuggets for the kids because she does not believe the kids should have to suffer with eating anything they don't like at Grandma's house. So anyway, Brent was talking to HJ about how good the salad was. He offered HJ a spinach leaf out of his salad and said lets eat it together. HJ looked really skeptical about the whole thing after all it was green, in the shape of a leaf, and looked suspiciously healthy. I went on to tell HJ that Uncle Brent is taller than Daddy because Uncle Brent eats a lot of veggies and they make him grow tall. HJ was sold. He and Brent popped the lettuce leaves in their mouth and HJ chewed it all up and proceeded to eat about 8 more leaves with Uncle Brent! That is just amazing for my little boy, who gags when I make him eat anything green. HJ wants to grow tall so bad that having an example of someone eating veggies and being taller than Daddy was enough in his little mind to make him eat. It didn't hurt that after dinner Grandma measured him again and he had grown 1/4 of an inch more than the last time he measured. He is now 40.25 inches tall! He is on quite the growth spurt. Anyway, he attributed this growth to eating spinach and has said that he will continue to eat spinach leaves now! What a wonderful thing for Uncle Brent to do! For someone not used to being around kids he is turning into a great uncle.
However, in my effort to keep it real and give everyone a clear picture of my life, I feel like I should include this story about my little brother. After all, I am still the big sister and it is my job to torment him (and I don't think he reads my blog and this is pretty funny!)
Anyway, years ago, when my Dad was sick, he enjoyed making all of us sit around with him and watch old home movies. You can imagine how much fun this was for my brother and husband. However, they were both such good sports about it. We all sat around and pretended to be as fascinated with these old home movies as my Dad was. Anyway, we never knew where Dad would start with these historical videos. Would he pull something recent like Brent's football days or would we have to watch endless videos of babies? You could hear the inward grown of the men (again I say that hesitantly about my baby brother!) when the video started and on the screen there was a young woman holding a baby and talking to it. Now in all fairness, in the typical style of the 70's you could not tell whether this baby was a boy or girl because of the beautiful and fashionable dress used back then. I think the baby was dressed in harvest gold or burnt orange or some other awful color. Anyway, the lady caught Brent's eye and he looked surprised and blurted out the first thing to come to his head "Wow, she is hot! Who is that lady holding the baby?" At that point in the room there was a stunned silence as we all collectively whipped around to look at Brent. I can't remember who said it but I think it was me that said "That is Mom holding me!!!" At that point Brent turned the reddest I have ever seen anyone turn and then the red turned to green as he fought down the sickness upon realizing that he had just been attracted to his own mother and thought she was hot! We were all on the floor rolling laughing. That one cracked even my stoic Dad up. Brent has still to this day not lived that one down. It is a classic!
So there, now you have a more fair picture of my brother. The super uncle/sporting champ and the bumbling boy. All together they make for a man I am proud to call my brother!

Red Meat

We don't eat a lot of red meat in our house. I will almost always substitute ground turkey or chicken for any recipe calling for ground meat. I usually don't ever miss it and haven't eaten any red meat since Valentine's Day. I have even stated I am not a big steak eater. However, yesterday I was craving a burger in a big way! Not just any burger mind you but a Chili Dog Cheeseburger. I wanted one so bad I dragged both of my children to the grocery store to buy some ground beef, never mind that I had the makings for 3 other dinners at home. I wanted myself a burger and golly I was going to have it! Just so you know how much I wanted a burger, HJ pretty much makes my life miserable when I take him shopping of any kind. In the typical male fashion, he would rather have his teeth pulled than shop and is not at all afraid to let me know this any way that he can. I avoid shopping with him at all costs. Yesterday though my need for the burger overrode my vow to avoid shopping with my son!
Now I am sure you want to know what a Chili Dog Cheeseburger is and I am going to tell you (even if you don't care and don't want to know, I am going to tell you because it is my blog and I want to!)
The recipe for this unique burger comes from a great little fun cookbook by Rachel Ray, titled, Rachel Ray 365: No Repeats. It is a great fun cookbook. I love Rachel Ray and her simple, fun, fast (usually all can be prepared around 30 minutes) recipes. Her writing style is fun and matches her personality. There are a lot of great recipes in this cookbook! But I digress, yesterday the one I wanted was recipe #174: Chili Dog Bacon Cheeseburgers and Fiery Fries. (I am baconed out so I left out the bacon on ours.) Here is this fun recipe that is a super man pleaser!

8 slices thick cut bacon
1 sack crispy style frozen french fries
1 lb lean ground beef
2 hot dogs cup up in small pieces
2 TBLS chili powder
1 TBLS grill seasoning such as McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 TBLS plus 1 tsp hot sauce
2 TBLS ketchup
Oil for drizzling
4 deli slices cheddar cheese
2 TBLS unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1/2 cup chili sauce
Hamburger buns

Cook the bacon until crispy if using it

Bake the fries to package directions

While fries cook, make the burgers. Preheat a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Mix the beef with chopped hot dogs, chili powder, grill seasoning, Worcestershire, 1 tsp of the hot sauce, and the ketchup. Form 4 large patties. Add drizzle of oil once around the skillet and add the patties. Cook the burgers for 6 minutes on each side. Then top each with 2 slices of bacon and one slice of cheese. Turn heat off and cover the pan with a loose foil tent and let the cheese melt for a couple of minutes.

When fries are extra crispy remove them from the oven. Place the butter, the remaining, TBLS of hot sauce, and garlic in a small dish and microwave on high 20 seconds. Transfer fries to a large bowl. Toss the fries with the butter mixture and season with salt.

Slather chili sauce on top of the split buns and put burger on the buns. Serve with fries and enjoy!

Note: I thought that the 1 TBLS of hot sauce mixed with the fries would be to much for the kids. I used about 1 TBLS chili powder in place of the hot sauce for the fries. I also just brushed the mixture over the fries using a pastry brush and then just stirred them in the baking pan as I did not want to dirty up a bowl. It worked fine!

Anyway, this is a really different way to do burgers and dogs but they are a really good treat!