P90X Update

P90X seems to be going alright as of now! We have 2 weeks down and 11 to go. We are not very far into the program but I can already tell a difference. When we started the program there were exercises that I could not even imagine doing and I thought to myself: *Are you kidding me? I will never be able to do this/that!* I can proudly say that I am able to do most of those exercises now! I may not be able to do as many reps as the people on the DVDs but I can do some of them now. I have also noticed that I have more stamina. I probably should not even admit this but… I had a hard time doing jumping jacks for 30 seconds straight (try it and see if you can do it!) but in just 2 weeks I am now able to go for close to a minute. I am not trying to sell anyone on the product I am just stating my personal opinion. I have not noticed a drop in my weight or in inches anywhere on my body yet but I have hope that it will come later down the line. All in good time, right?! They also have good variety within the program. I have tried other exercise videos and they get so boring after a week or so but these make me want to do them every night!

One of the drawbacks that we did find is that you need to be dedicated both with time and finances. The time issue is alright for me because I work out at night after the kids all go to bed at 8ish. But for T he has had to do homework late one or two nights so he had to make up his workouts. The program itself is not that expensive (around $140) but we found after buying the program that there were a lot of things that we needed to buy in order to get better results. For example, they (P90X) said you could use weight lifting bands or dumbbells. We got the bands -because they were cheaper- and found that the dumbbells are actually better and you get more out of your workout. So we got some of those. Next we needed a push-up/ pull-up/ chin-up bar, whichever you would like to call it, but we only need to use it during one DVD (so far). Not to mention the need for: yoga blocks, yoga mats, heart rate monitors, & good shoes. We decided, actually I decided, that we are not going to get crazy about the food aspect of the program. P90X sends a brochure/book about what types of foods to eat, how much of each food group, recipes, and meal choices. I just don’t feel that it is realistic for us to use their food program.

1)The kids would not eat half of the meals so I would have to make extra meals for them.
2) The recipes call for food items that we don’t typically have on hand.
3) TIME. I just don’t know where I would get the extra time to measure everything meticulously to keep track of calories, number of servings for each food group, the size of each serving, etc.
I know that we may not get the best results that we could possibly get because of the diet aspect but we are making a conscience effort to watch what, how much, and when we eat.

*And my absolute FAVORITE part about P90X is that T and I are able to do it together! I know that sounds sappy but it is fun to do something together without the kids (don’t get me wrong I love my kidsies), but it is like a date every night. = )

Happy 2nd Birthday N!

Today is another special day in the B home. TWO years ago today I had the privilege of bringing my second daughter into this world. It is hard to believe she is 2 already! I could write a post about how fast time goes but I am sure you all know just as well as I do! So… April 7^th, 2009 went a little like this:

We were scheduled to be induced that morning so I called Labor and Delivery at 6am and we were told to arrive at 7 or so. Woohoo they were not full so we were good to go. I made a quick phone call to our neighbors (the Js who just so happen to have had a baby 2 months prior so mommy E was home on maternity leave) to let them know the induction was a go. They were kind enough to watch/ take care of J and E while we were at the hospital. We got all our things ready, gave the kids kisses, and were off.

Once we arrived at the hospital we checked in and I got all hooked up. They started Pitocin and we were expecting things to progress quickly. We were wrong! After about 3 hours of Pitocin they finally called the doctor in because N ‘s head was so high they could not break my water (for fear that the cord would slip down before her head and cut off the life supply to her). My doctor finally broke my water around 11 and once again we expected things to pick up. I was contracting and labor felt like it was progressing but her head was not low enough to work on dilating the cervix. Eventually I dilated to 9.5 cm and we were ready to go. This is where her story gets good.

I pushed a few times (15 minutes or so) and her head was almost out and then panic set in. My doctor (who has 30+ years of medical experience was almost *sleeping* [old hat for him]) jumped off his chair, the nurse who was assisting me jumped on top of me and ripped the emergency cord out of the wall. My delivery room was FLOODED with medical personnel. Once N was born she was moved to the other side of the room and surrounded by nurses. My doctor was trying to get me to stop bleeding (sorry if that is TMI) while keeping a close eye on N. I vaguely recall him asking if the baby was moving. I was so out of it I just kept asking if the baby was a boy or girl? (We did not find out ahead of time!) And then I told T to go and take pictures! (Typical mommy I guess) He said he was going to stay out of the way. I got a couple shots in my leg and finally was able to sit up.  And eventually see my baby GIRL from a distance.

I did not get to hold her or even get a good look at her before they rushed her off to the NICU. That was a scary moment for me because I had no idea what was going on! I was finally able to see her at about 9:30 or 10 that night when I hobbled down to the NICU so I could at least touch her on the day she was born.

So what went on during my state of absentmindedness? Over the course of time I learned what actually happened… N had SEVERE shoulder dystocia (Her shoulders were too big to come out). Our doctor had to make a split second decision: break her clavicle and have her born right now or push her back in and perform an emergency C-section within minutes. I guess that is what happens when the baby weighs 9lbs. 11ozs.! N was in the NICU for about 24 hours and then we came home the next day. After doing a bunch of research, after the fact and now that T is in medical school, we have learned more details that I am glad we did not know at the time. This could have been very dangerous and possibly deadly for N and/or myself. I guess that is one of the many reasons I went back to my OB doctor. He is fantastic!

So that is the condensed version of how ‘little’ N came into this world.

Happy 5th Birthday J!

I am proud to say the 5 years ago today my life changed FOREVER. I was given the gift of my daughter J. That day went a little like this:

It started as a typical morning; got up to go to the bathroom around 5ish and then back to bed. But wait, it felt like I was going to the bathroom more! In bed! What is going on here? I woke T up and told him about it and he just kind of laughed it off. We were clueless as to what was really going on here. After it happened a few more times we thought it would be a good idea to call the Labor & Delivery department of the hospital and make sure everything was alright. Turns out they wanted me to come in to be checked. Since J was not due until April 14th we did not have anything ready to go. I mean ANYTHING! We were rummaging through papers on the desk looking for the Lamaze packet that had a suggest list of things to bring to the hospital. We finally found that and packed a bag or two. We were running all over the place.

We made it to the hospital around 7:30ish. We admitted and then I was checked. They did a swab of the fluid to make sure that it was amniotic fluid and yep it sure was! J was on her way 2 ½ weeks early. SURPRISE! After sitting for about an hour or so T went out to our vehicle to get the rest of our stuff (or so I thought). Apparently there was some miscommunication and he thought he was supposed to go back home and get all the things that we forgot. So I sat there in the bed waiting for 15-20 minutes and he did not come back. After about 45 minutes of waiting I was getting a *little* mad and then after an hour I was mad. –Since our hospital (at the time) did not allow the use of cell phones I could not call him & if I would have called him from the room it would have been long distance or collect– Where the heck did he go? He finally (what seemed like hours to me) came back with all our things and then I found out what took him so long.

They started Pitocin and I was progressing; smooth and steady. We went for a walk (or two or three), rocked in a rocking chair, sat on one of the labor balls, and breathed through all the contractions. It did not seem like too long and next thing we knew J was here. She was born at 2:53 pm, weighed 6 lbs 8.3 ozs, and was 19 ¾ ins long. And she had a mop of RED curly hair! She was beautiful. My first experience as a parent began and it was perfect. We could not imagine our life without J, then or now. We love you ‘baby’ girl!

P90X!

Time for the Xtreme! In the past I have generally lost my baby weight but this time I am getting a little restless. I am not large by any means but I am not the way I would like to be either. I think deep down inside every female has some sort of insecurity of how they look physically, regardless of whether they express it or not. SO… with that said, I am ready to say good-bye to my love handles! T and I decided to try P90X! It was hard for us to justify a gym membership anywhere since time is such a struggle for us. We decided that if we got P90X then we could do it TOGETHER after the kids go to bed. We started on Wednesday of this week and it seems to be going well. We are enjoying it so far. Many people spoke of how terribly hard it was and that it just destroys your body. I have been taking it in strides. I am pushing myself to the point that I can feel the ‘burn’ and working my body but not so hard that I feel like I am going to die. If I do that I know that I will not stick with the program and it would just be a waste of time and money. I really want this to be a positive experience for me. I honestly don’t care if I lose weight; I would just like to tone and strengthen. My poundage number is not important to me. I really enjoy the workouts too because the trainer (Tony I think his name is) does a great job of encouraging you while you are moving. He emphasizes that it does not matter if you finish the reps or how high you can get your legs up or whatever; what matters is that you are doing it! He also points out (in my words) during each video that ‘the people we are watching on tv are used to these routines’. It helps me remember that my form is not going to be perfect all the time and not every exercise or position is going to look great; but if I am trying that is all that matters. I will keep posting our progress and if we like or dislike anything, whether you want me to or not. = )

Mommy’s Weekend Away!

Many of you may know that I am addicted to my kids! I just LOVE them. It is not very often that I get a break from my kids, especially since I am a stay at home mommy. And to be quite honest when I don’t have my kids around I really don’t know what to do with myself. I am so used to doing 101 things at a time that I am almost lost when my hands are empty. Anyways. One of my friends got married so I toyed with the idea of going to the wedding with just little O (I can’t get rid of him yet since I am breast-feeding). T was not opposed to the idea of having the three big kids alone for the weekend and it worked out great with his school schedule since he was still technically on his ‘week 10 break’. So I left Friday (18th) around noonish and set out for the 5 hour drive. Little O was ready to go with a full tummy and a much needed nap. We made it to the cities for the weekend and I was able to see my entire immediate family and some of my extended family. I got to spend most of the day on Saturday with friends that I had not seen in years. It was GREAT! Then we had a nice brunch on Sunday and I was on my way home.

T’s weekend however was a little different than what he is used to. He was an amazing SUPER daddy. I had no doubt in my mind that he could handle everything and do wonderfully. However, I do think he was happy to see us Sunday night and he has a better understanding of how busy staying at home really is. Many people think that stay at home moms sit around all day and play. THAT IS NOT TRUE! Being a mommy (full-time) is honestly one of the hardest jobs, but it is by far the most rewarding too!

So all in all, it was fun to get away but it was great to come home and have my kiddsies give me oodles of loves!

I am not 100% sure but I think the big kids missed little O! = )

Monday Morning:



Decisions, decisions, decisions.

As a parent we have many decisions to make that will affect our children. Our HUGE decision right now is if we should send J to public or private school. We just don’t know what is best for her (and the siblings that are to follow). Here is why we are having a tough time…

1) We don’t know where we are going to be after the 2011-12 school year. We won’t know until December of this year where T’s 3 & 4 year of Medical school will be. Do we want to go through the work of getting her into a private school for only potentially a year here?

2) Private schools are expensive. I am going to look into how expensive they are in our area and see if we could even afford it.

3) Smaller class size with minimal children that would require special attention. I am sure some of you may be shaking your heads right now but hear me out. There are many children that have special needs or behaviors in the regular classroom that require extra time and attention from the teacher. I don’t want to appear mean but I feel that children with special needs are different. They will always be different and there is nothing that will change that. I do realize that it is important for my children to see other children that have special needs but I don’t want it to affect their education.

4) Food allergies. I struggle with this one a lot. There was just a segment on the TODAY show on NBC yesterday about this. There is one child at the school J will be attending that has a peanut allergy so the school is a ‘Nut-Free Zone’. I don’t think it is fair that all the children in the school have to make sure that every item they bring is ‘nut free’. That is a hassle and inconvenience for hundreds of families! If the child is that severely allergic than they should eat in their classroom with a friend or two and wear gloves around the school. We were told that if our child has peanut butter for breakfast they have to thoroughly wash their hands and faces before they come to school in the morning. Now I would not send my kid to school dirty regardless but I don’t think it is fair to put so much pressure on all the other parents.

These are just a few of my concerns. I just don’t know what we are going to do this fall. She will probably end up in a public school somewhere but I am just not sure yet. *sigh*

Kindergarten Registration

The big day came for J! It was time for Kindergarten registration in our school district. She was so excited she could barely stand it. She got all dressed up in a skirt with tights and dress shoes. She looked so cute with her tight red curls bouncing around!

When we got to the school we had to wait in line to get the packets of information and the woman asked her if she could write her name on the name tag. J did not answer her too loudly but just picked up the marker and began to write. She is not perfect yet so I was expecting a minor melt down (as mentioned prior she tends to get upset when things are not perfect!) but she did just fine. Once we found a spot to sit she wanted to get up and go play with the other kids. So off she went! She did not even look back!!! Then it was time for the kids to go with the teachers while the parents stayed in the gymnasium. I thought she would be alright but then she seemed a little timid when I told her to go follow the teacher with the black shirt on. She looked back a couple times but ended up going along pretty quietly. After 45 minutes of adult information we were lead to the Kindergarten classrooms and she was having so much fun. They got to make an art project, have snack, listen to a story, and sing/learn a new song! All in 45 minutes!!! When we got home she was all excited to tell Daddy and E about her day (hour) at school. I think she is going to have so much fun.

Here is her 'masterpiece':



Week 10, again.

We love week 10 around here. This is T’s ‘vacation’ from Medical School. As long as T passes his block exams we get to see a whole lot of him during week 10! I do feel a little bad for him though. Since I can (usually) count on him having this time off I try to schedule a large amount of appointments during this week. Which makes our days revolve around schedules instead of being on ‘vacation’. It is so much easier for me to take one or two kids to an appointment than taking four by myself. And it is all about me, right?! Seriously though, I don’t mind taking all the kids if I had to but if I don’t have to than I would rather not.

Here is our week of appointments and activities:
Monday: O doctor in the am. J haircut in the afternoon. Oil change in the evening.
Tuesday: N 2 year pictures in the morning. B haircut in the afternoon.
Wednesday: J 5 year pictures after lunch.
Thursday: Grocery shopping in the morning. O 3 month pictures in the afternoon.
Friday: B and O leave for the weekend after lunch.

*O is a little stinker! He has become a strong thumb-sucker and sucks during the night. Only his left thumb though so he is getting a little flat on the back left side of his head. I met with a PT to see if there were any stretches or anything that could be done now so in a month or two we could possibly avoid a helmet. We are not opposed to a helmet but if we can avoid it that would be great!

*J got a little cut off the ends and a long layer added which makes her curls bounce even more.

*Oil change turned out well except we discovered that the car has a leak by the oil gasket. Doesn’t sound like a big deal but in order to fix it they have to take the gasket out, reseal it, and put it back. Still doesn’t sound too bad but runs around $200!

*N’s 2 year pictures turned out alright. She was not a huge fan of staying in the studio area and wanted to run around. The photographer did not realize that N would get attached to a teddy bear so her pictures are with a random teddy. O well. I was just happy that N was not crying/ screaming and smiled for her picture.

*I got my hair cut, actually trimmed, and enjoyed an hour or so without kiddsies. = ) It is fun to be an adult sometimes.

*J’s 5 year pictures turned out great! I was a little skeptical as to how they would turn out. She is at that awkward stage that for some reason she does not know how to smile. When you tell her to smile she makes a big smile, does not show her teeth, and closes her eyes. Not what I was looking for to remember her at 5. But she did wonderful and smiled beautifully. She had a good time being the center of attention for an hour or so. = )

Disney, Here we come (in July!)

BIG NEWS in the B home… We are going to Walt Disney World!!! The trip is all set. All we need to do is pack and get on the plane… in July! We are lucky that my mom is able to get the time off from work and wants to come with us on this journey. The kids are so excited to see and meet Mickey Mouse!

Here is what we have planned so far:
Day 1: Fly to FL and check-in at our resort. We are staying at the Disney Wilderness Lodge Resort. Then dinner at Chef Mickey’s so the kids will get to see Mickey on the FIRST day in FL.
Day 2: Magic Kingdom. Plus T and I are going to see a show that night.
Day 3: Magic Kingdom in the morning and Epcot in the afternoon and evening.
Day 4: Rest and relax at the resort! This resort has a beach (not to swim in though), 2 pools, a huge playground, and trails to walk on. Plus at night they have campfires with Chip and Dale along with an outdoor movie (Disney of course) under the stars!
Day 5: Animal Kingdom.
Day 6: Animal Kingdom in the morning. Hollywood Studios in the afternoon. We have lunch scheduled with Goliath (JoJo’s Circus), Leo, June (Little Einsteins), Handy Manny, and Special Agent Oso! Then dinner at ‘Ohana to end the night.
Day 7: Fly back to MN and drive back home.

We have been doing a ton of research and found out a lot of things online to help our vacation go a little smoother.

Strollers: We can travel with strollers on the airplane at NO CHARGE! At first we were just thinking about bringing wheels for O and N but then after doing research found that many parents suggest bringing strollers for kids even as old as 8! So we will be taking our double, single, and umbrella strollers. We were also debating if we should bring O’s infant carrier. We thought it may be too hot but then read a review that stated it was nice to have because if your infant falls asleep and you go to a sit-down restaurant then you can just bring in their seat and not have to wake-up your child (strollers are not permitted in restaurants, which makes sense).

Dinner reservations: If you want to eat at a sit-down restaurant you have to make reservations, which can be made up to 180 days in advance! We did not think it would be necessary to do so but we were just checking and there were quite a few restaurants that were already full for days that we are going to be there from 4pm to 8pm. After finding this out we decided to plan each day where we were going and what restaurants we would want to eat at while we were there. For example, one restaurant sounded good and had meals that we would have liked but then we read some reviews and several people commented that they were at said restaurant in February of this year and got FOOD POISONING! Hmm, no thanks. Next.

Dining Plan: We went back and forth about getting a meal plan while we are there and ultimately decided that the meal plan would be the best for us. We will each get 1-Quick service meal, 1-Sit-down meal, and 1-snack per day. By figuring out our restaurants ahead of time we were able to get the “biggest bang for our buck”. We chose sit-down restaurants that adult entrees were around $30-35. I will not go into specifics but this is going to be a great deal and hopefully save us a lot of money in the long run (I will have to let you know after our trip!). We could have got an extra meal per day but decided that we would save the money and just eat breakfast in our ‘home’.

Lodging: Since we have so many guests that will be on this trip it was hard to find proper accommodations. We could have stayed in a deluxe room but they did not honor a military discount for these rooms. We could have stayed in two hotel rooms but there was no guarantee that they would be adjoining or even on the same wing or floor. Or we could stay in a ‘home away from home’. We were able to get an apartment basically. It has a full kitchen (with a dishwasher), two bedrooms, living/sitting room (with a DVD player), full sized washer and dryer, and concierge service (which will get groceries for us if needed). We were able to get a military discount on this ‘home’ and saved substantially.

This will be the perfect way to end our summer before T goes back to Medical school and before J starts Kindergarten!

getting ready!!!

In the B home lately it has been all about getting ready to go to school for J! She is so excited to start Kindergarten this fall it is unbelievable. However, since I have been in a Kindergarten classroom quite a bit, I know that there are a lot of things that she needs to work on and learn before she is ready. Here are a few…
*eating: with utensils, without a bib, cleaning her hands and face when she is done
*bathroom: wiping her bottom when she is done with #2, consistent hand washing
*playing: not crying when she doesn’t get her way, being patient when she doesn’t do something perfect the first time.
… and the list goes on. So (the inner teacher that I was educated to be) decided it would be important to work on these things now instead of throwing her into school this fall blind. We also felt that it would be ideal to get her up-to-date on some of the things that will be expected of her by the end of Kindergarten so she can perfect these things during the year. I printed off the standards and benchmarks for K from the public school website and she can do over half of them! Her weaknesses are in reading and writing; which makes sense to me because we have not really worked on these areas with her too much. I found some Kindergarten workbooks online and the kids LOVE them. Every day after I put N down for a nap we do a few pages. They feel so smart and enjoy showing T what they learned that day. E is enjoying the workbooks too although he is not too big on the writing yet. I don’t know if it is his age or if he just doesn’t care. J on the other hand loves learning how to write all the letters, UPPER and LOWER Case! The other day she wrote her name all by herself! No help from me or even looking at her name anywhere else. Some of the letters were backwards and spread out but hey SHE DID IT! I was so proud of our *little* girl! I absolutely can NOT believe she is going to be FIVE at the end of the month. Wowzers!!!! Some of the reasons I am trying so hard to get her a little ahead is because 1) she is easily frustrated and will shut-down resulting in a crying fit 2) she is pretty shy (probably since she did not go to daycare too long) and 3) she is a tad emotional sometimes and will be heartbroken if kids make fun or tease her. And let’s face it: kids are mean, regardless of how old they are. : ( We feel that school is sooooo important and want her to have a positive experience her first year. We want her to LOVE school!