Mother's Day Weekend--A Mother of a Day?

I know I'm late, but it has taken me a few days to recover.

The weekend started out on Friday afternoon (finished work early) where I went grocery/essentials shopping in order to free up my Saturday for other planned events...more on that later. The grocery store on Friday afternoon is an interesting place. It was a definite freak parade--all I can say is it takes all kinds. I was glad not to have my 2 year old with me; she is famous for asking inapporiate questions in a really loud voice and pointing for exclamation. Shopping complete? Check!

Go pick up girls from daycare/school, come home, finish last load of laundry (7 in one day), and cook fabulous meal for family. After meal complete, help hubby with little girl baths. Clean up after meal because hubby is too tired after a long day at work! (It must be nice to only have one job--I have my work-work and home-work) Make gift for mother-in-law with Mr. Henry. Fall in bed exhausted? Check!

On Saturday, we woke up at 5:30am. Mr. Oswald and Miss Pretty don't understand the concept of sleeping in yet! Getting up early was OK; we had a lot planned. We went to pick up MIL at 8:30 and off to the zoo by 9:00. If you've never been there, the St. Louis zoo is fantastic. The admission is free and everything the first hour open is also free. So, in that first hour the kids rode the carousel twice, petted the stingrays, and went through the children's zoo. During the day we also saw the Penguins (or pink-ones, according to Mr. Oswald), elephants and zebras. The high point for all three girls was a toss up between the train ride and the sea lion show. They loved them both!

We left the zoo by 1:30 and went for some fantastic BBQ. Hubby and I saw a BBQ place features on Man v. Food (a new Food Network show). It was pretty close to the zoo, so we decided to try it out. It is a small place called Pappy's Smokehouse by St. Louis University campus. It is fantastic! Definitely worth the drive.

We dropped MIL off by 4:00 and were back home by 5:00. Everyone was asleep by 8:00!

For Mother's Day, I decided I wasnted to be alone with my family. It may sound selfish, but I didn't want to host a family get-together or share my day with the rest of the family. I always host all family events--I just wanted a day off!

Hubby, the three girls and I went to a local brunch that was devine! We were going to go to a quilt exhibit at the Frenchtown museum, but it didn't open until noon. Miss Pretty was too tired to last that long! Instead we went home, hubby mowed the grass, Mr. Oswald and Miss Pretty took naps and Mr. Henry helped me with her quilt. It is almost completely pieced. I only have one border left to put on it.

Being able to sew uninteruppted for 3 hours was a devine gift! There were other gifts from the girls and hubby. Mr. Henry got me a the latest Sookie Stackhouse novel, "Dead and Gone". Mr. Oswald and Miss Pretty got me some bath salts and creme in lavender vanilla scent. Best of all hubby got me a new jewlery box. It hangs on the wall and the front has places for 16 photos. It will be nice to finally have a place to put my jewlery.

I hope everyone had a nice mother's day. I know I did, even if it completely wore me out.

Weigh in Friday

Well, it's Friday and time to record my progress--which was nothing.  Still holding at 251.  I have been really careful about my food intact and getting my exercise.  In fact, I have joined Annette's May Challenge and increased my daily workout amount.  I am hoping that the increase in exercise has caused a temporary water weight increase.  I will stay faithful to my plan and I know I will see success.

Also, a funny kid story.  Mr. Oswald (my middle daughter) decided that she can get rid of any monsters in the house.  She goes into a dark room and announces, "Any monsters left in this room when the lights come on will get a spanking!"  So far, she is monster free when the lights come on!

Challenge Day 1

Well, I did it. I managed to do 30 minutes on the treadmill and 15 minutes of exercises on the stability ball. I stayed away from chocolate as well. This was not easy! I am a complete Chocoholic!

We tried the best recipe last night--California Bowls. It has all the ingredients of a California roll, but in a bowl. There was sushi rice (I made mine with brown rice), imitation crab, shredded carrots, cucumber sticks, green onion and avocado. You put all of this in a bowl and top it with a dressing made with chicken broth, soy sauce and wasabi. Seriously, the best thing I have tried in a while. Everyone enjoyed it. I think this may become a summer favorite.

I am working on a quilt for my oldest daughter, Mr. Henry. It is an easy pattern, blocks and bricks, but it is going together well. I haven't created a quilt without a direct pattern in a while, so it is a great exercise in creativity. This is someting I really needed. I feel like I get caught up in the black/white, numbers in boxes world of work too often and lose touch with my creative streak.

May Challenge

Annette has a new challenge for May. Add 30 minutes a day to your exercise routine and give up one crutch food, beverage, etc.

I have decided to join in on this challenge. I am currently doing 3 hours of Tae Kwon Do a week. I want to add a couple of hours of Tae Kwon Do practice outside of class and some jogging. This is doable--I just have to make myself!  The challenge for me will be finding a time of day that works.  I have to let go of the excuses!

As for the crutch, this is a hard one!  I am going to give up chocolate in all forms.  I measure, weigh, and account for all calories eaten--but, it isn't necessary.  If I can get over this it will be a huge victory for me.

Weigh In and Finding Balance

Another Friday and another weight in....and the results are positive. I lost another 1.2 pounds for a total of 10 pounds lost. Progress is slower than I would like, but it is going in the right directions.

As a part of my commitment to renew myself, I signed up for Tae Kwon Do in January. I have been attending with my oldest daughter Sarah. Through the class, I can feel myself getting stronger and more in shape. More importantly, I can feel myself re-gaining balance. I have made a point that these 3 hours a week are mine--nothing gets in my way. I am finding balance between my job, my family and me. That's the point of all this.