Well both of my boys are in school and I finally have some "me" time. You ask "what have you done with your free time" I answer "watch TV". Seriously I was so behind on some of my favorite shows, so I took the first week of school and watched my shows. Now I am all caught up and am looking for something new to do.
In the midst of looking for something to do I was talked into running a 5K with some friends. I did it without much thought or any training. After all I ran in high school and college and in my mind I have not aged a bit (haha). So I started my first 5K in 13 years with no hopes of even running the whole thing let alone running it well. I ended up running the whole thing and finished it in a little over 29 minutes. Pretty good for someone who has maybe ran 20 miles in the last 10 years. At the finish I felt it, I felt what I have been missing all these years. I felt that sense of accomplishment that sense of doing something all by myself. I did that alone, no kids, no husband, no one!!
There was a point in the run that I even unplugged my ipod and just ran, listening to my breathing and my footsteps. It was wonderful, powerful, freeing and so many other feelings that I cannot even put into words. I felt free and I loved it.
Now I am planning on running more 5K's and running regularly throughout the week with a running buddy. I feel like I have a piece of me back. A part of me that has always been there but I ignored it or maybe I just forgot about it.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Early Detection
I am not writing this blog post to get sympathy, I am writing this post to raise your awareness.
On August 11, my father had a colonoscopy. He is 53 and the doctor felt that it was time to have one done. He was getting an upper G.I. anyway and the doctor just basically said "since you are already going to be there..." Well that basically saved his life. While conducting the colonoscopy the doctor removed a polyp. The polyp caused extensive bleeding which in turn caused the doctor to speed up the lab results showing him what he already thought - cancer. So on August 12 my dad was informed that he had colon cancer. On August 17 he had a colon dissection and had the cancerous area removed.
In less than one week my dad went from having colon cancer to being cancer free. The cancer surgeon said that if he would have waited even three months the polyp could have grown and required chemotherapy and if he would have waited 3 years the cancer would have spread.
Today, August 29, I visited my doctor and scheduled a colonoscopy. I know that I can wait until I am 43 (10 years before my dad was diagnosed) but why wait, why not get screened now and not have to worry about it for 10 more years!
Early detection is critical in all forms of cancer. Please get regular physicals and go to the doctor if you feel that your body is trying to tell you something. It could save your life.
On August 11, my father had a colonoscopy. He is 53 and the doctor felt that it was time to have one done. He was getting an upper G.I. anyway and the doctor just basically said "since you are already going to be there..." Well that basically saved his life. While conducting the colonoscopy the doctor removed a polyp. The polyp caused extensive bleeding which in turn caused the doctor to speed up the lab results showing him what he already thought - cancer. So on August 12 my dad was informed that he had colon cancer. On August 17 he had a colon dissection and had the cancerous area removed.
In less than one week my dad went from having colon cancer to being cancer free. The cancer surgeon said that if he would have waited even three months the polyp could have grown and required chemotherapy and if he would have waited 3 years the cancer would have spread.
Today, August 29, I visited my doctor and scheduled a colonoscopy. I know that I can wait until I am 43 (10 years before my dad was diagnosed) but why wait, why not get screened now and not have to worry about it for 10 more years!
Early detection is critical in all forms of cancer. Please get regular physicals and go to the doctor if you feel that your body is trying to tell you something. It could save your life.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Top 5 items in my kitchen
I like to cook. I am not an amazing cook but my family enjoys my cooking (at least I think). Being a stay at home I have extra time to prepare meals. I do more cooking in the winter months because I am not outside chasing my kids up and down the street. I also use a lot of Rachael Ray recipes. I know there are people who don't like her but the recipes are easy to prepare and taste good. A few years ago I did thirty meals in thirty days. I tried to cook a different recipe everyday for thirty days. It was fun trying all these new and exciting food concoctions. After all these years of cooking I have found that there are 5 things that I must have in my kitchen to cook. I am going to reveal my secrets to you here today.
1. Music. I like to listen to some tunes and dance while I cook. My kids enjoy it as well.
2. Onion Chopper. I am not a fan of crying while I cook so I purchased a "Vidalia Chop Wizard" it is the bomb. I love onions so this item gets used just about every day.
3. Trash bowl. Our trash can is in the pantry and I use a trash bowl on my counter for all the scraps and empty containers so I don't have to make numerous trips to the trash can. In short, I am really lazy and I just pile all the trash up in a bowl.
4. The Dog. Duke is a huge helper in the kitchen. He cleans up any messes that I make on the floor. He also likes to sample the food and he is a good judge. He has been known to spit out something if he does not like it or sniff it then walk away. If the dog won't eat it either will the family.
5. My kids. My favorite item. I love letting the kids measure ingredients and mix items into bowls. It is a great bonding experience and I hope that I am teaching my two boys a valuable lesson that they will carry on into the future.
Oh, I forgot one!!
6. Beer. Not to cook with but to drink. It makes the dancing better!
1. Music. I like to listen to some tunes and dance while I cook. My kids enjoy it as well.
2. Onion Chopper. I am not a fan of crying while I cook so I purchased a "Vidalia Chop Wizard" it is the bomb. I love onions so this item gets used just about every day.
3. Trash bowl. Our trash can is in the pantry and I use a trash bowl on my counter for all the scraps and empty containers so I don't have to make numerous trips to the trash can. In short, I am really lazy and I just pile all the trash up in a bowl.
4. The Dog. Duke is a huge helper in the kitchen. He cleans up any messes that I make on the floor. He also likes to sample the food and he is a good judge. He has been known to spit out something if he does not like it or sniff it then walk away. If the dog won't eat it either will the family.
5. My kids. My favorite item. I love letting the kids measure ingredients and mix items into bowls. It is a great bonding experience and I hope that I am teaching my two boys a valuable lesson that they will carry on into the future.
Oh, I forgot one!!
6. Beer. Not to cook with but to drink. It makes the dancing better!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Life in numbers
Wow is has been three months since my last blog post, it hardly seems that long ago. Time seems to speed up once you have kids. I have been a stay at home mom for FIVE years. Here is an example of some of the amazing things I have done in the last five years.
5 years = 1825 days = 43,800 hours = 2,628,000 minutes
I have loved about 90% of those minutes. In those minutes and hours and days I have changed approximately 11,000 diapers, done 1,800 loads of laundry and made or prepared 5,475 meals. I know that every mom does all of this, but I just wanted to quantify it. Maybe I just wanted to use some of what I learned in school for once! I mean I did go to college for 3 1/2 years and I did get a Bachelor's Degree which I really needed in order to stay at home with these children. Some of the classes that have served me well include Time Management, Human Behavior, Economics, Logistics and Psychology (more like reverse psychology). Some of the classes that I should have taken include How to cook for your family without making the same thing over and over, How to deal with a child throwing a temper tantrum in the middle of the store, and maybe the most important How to become one of those put together moms that you see at the store with her make-up on and her kids acting well behaved. Seriously I want to learn how to do that!!
I have learned more in the last five years than I ever learned in school. However the skills that I have developed in the last five years probably will not help me get a job if I ever decide to go back to work unless they count eating with one hand while soothing a screaming baby with the other a valuable skill because I can totally do that. I can also dance so wildly that I make my children roll on the floor laughing and I can make a mean grilled cheese. What more do you need?
5 years = 1825 days = 43,800 hours = 2,628,000 minutes
I have loved about 90% of those minutes. In those minutes and hours and days I have changed approximately 11,000 diapers, done 1,800 loads of laundry and made or prepared 5,475 meals. I know that every mom does all of this, but I just wanted to quantify it. Maybe I just wanted to use some of what I learned in school for once! I mean I did go to college for 3 1/2 years and I did get a Bachelor's Degree which I really needed in order to stay at home with these children. Some of the classes that have served me well include Time Management, Human Behavior, Economics, Logistics and Psychology (more like reverse psychology). Some of the classes that I should have taken include How to cook for your family without making the same thing over and over, How to deal with a child throwing a temper tantrum in the middle of the store, and maybe the most important How to become one of those put together moms that you see at the store with her make-up on and her kids acting well behaved. Seriously I want to learn how to do that!!
I have learned more in the last five years than I ever learned in school. However the skills that I have developed in the last five years probably will not help me get a job if I ever decide to go back to work unless they count eating with one hand while soothing a screaming baby with the other a valuable skill because I can totally do that. I can also dance so wildly that I make my children roll on the floor laughing and I can make a mean grilled cheese. What more do you need?
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Spring Break Staycation - Success
Our spring break staycation was a success. We did almost everything on our list and I surprised the kids with an indoor campout. We started spring break off with some snow but we overcame that by going to eat at Fritz's and seeing Gnomeo and Juliet. It was the two year olds first movie and he did ok. He did not sit through the whole movie and we had to go out to the lobby once but I would say it was a successful movie adventure. Plus the movie was cute.
We also went to Zonkers the zoo and out to dinner a few times. All in all I enjoyed spending the week with my boys. To top off our week I set up the tent in our living room and the boys and I slept in it. We had hot dogs for dinner and made s'mores in the oven. I think I am a pretty cool mom for letting my kids have so much fun. I actually had fun also so maybe I did it for myself just as much for them. Now it is time for me to find some adventures for our summer. So far we have camp, gardening class and swim lessons but I am sure we will have more planned as we get closer to school being out.
We also went to Zonkers the zoo and out to dinner a few times. All in all I enjoyed spending the week with my boys. To top off our week I set up the tent in our living room and the boys and I slept in it. We had hot dogs for dinner and made s'mores in the oven. I think I am a pretty cool mom for letting my kids have so much fun. I actually had fun also so maybe I did it for myself just as much for them. Now it is time for me to find some adventures for our summer. So far we have camp, gardening class and swim lessons but I am sure we will have more planned as we get closer to school being out.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Really!!!!
I mean really. Can't my kids have one day without destroying something. I am pretty sure that the two year old put coins in the Wii so now the four year old is MAD because he cannot play his games. Oh dear what will we do. We will have to resort to actually interacting with one another and not depending on our electronic gadgets to get us through the day.
My husband gave the four year old his old iphone, it doesn't make calls but he can play games on it. A few days ago we were working on memorizing our phone numbers and when we told said four year old our cell numbers he asked what his was. We told him that he cannot make calls on his phone but he insists that it is a cell phone and it should have a phone number. After having his "cell" phone for a few hours he got himself grounded from it for hitting his brother with it. So now he has gone three days without a cell phone and based on his reaction I am going to hate to see what he does when he is grounded from his real cell phone in the future.
OK, no "cell" phone and no Wii. I guess I am going to have to actually pay attention to them and teach them the way it used to be back before we had all this technology. Back in the old days when we actually entertained ourselves with...I cannot remember what we did back then.
My husband gave the four year old his old iphone, it doesn't make calls but he can play games on it. A few days ago we were working on memorizing our phone numbers and when we told said four year old our cell numbers he asked what his was. We told him that he cannot make calls on his phone but he insists that it is a cell phone and it should have a phone number. After having his "cell" phone for a few hours he got himself grounded from it for hitting his brother with it. So now he has gone three days without a cell phone and based on his reaction I am going to hate to see what he does when he is grounded from his real cell phone in the future.
OK, no "cell" phone and no Wii. I guess I am going to have to actually pay attention to them and teach them the way it used to be back before we had all this technology. Back in the old days when we actually entertained ourselves with...I cannot remember what we did back then.
Spring Break Staycation
For Spring Break this year we are going to explore our surroundings. We are not going anywhere because traveling with a four and two year old sucks! Instead we are going to see what Kansas City has to offer. My four year old has started a list of things he wants to do, it is a pretty good list.
-Zonkers
-See a movie
-the zoo
-Fritz's and Crown Center
-Leaping Lizards
-go to the park
-play at the gym
I would say he has some pretty good ideas. I am all for it if I can get both of the kids to cooperate. I have a hard time even taking them to the store to get milk. The two year old makes me want to pull my hair out and the four year old eggs him on. The are such a joy!
Any ideas or suggestions for our staycation would be appreciated. Oh and if any of you are interested in going on adventures with us just let me know. The more the merrier!!
-Zonkers
-See a movie
-the zoo
-Fritz's and Crown Center
-Leaping Lizards
-go to the park
-play at the gym
I would say he has some pretty good ideas. I am all for it if I can get both of the kids to cooperate. I have a hard time even taking them to the store to get milk. The two year old makes me want to pull my hair out and the four year old eggs him on. The are such a joy!
Any ideas or suggestions for our staycation would be appreciated. Oh and if any of you are interested in going on adventures with us just let me know. The more the merrier!!
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