Wordless Wednesday........More from Spain

Out of the mouth of Gabe....

Here's a short conversation I had with Gabriel earlier today.

me : "Honey you need to eat more fiber"

Gabe: "Mommy I don't want to eat fire."

me: " Not fire...fiber"

Gabe: " fire"

me: (slowly) "fiber.....fiber"

Gabe : "FIBER"

Hello from Spain...

This will be brief, just wanted to say we are having a fabuloso time in Spain. We got here on Monday evening and have immersed ourselves in the culture. Last night we went to the Feria in Jerez and it was one experience I will never forget. I am loving the food, culture, and people here. I'll write more later.


Flamenco dancers in Jerez

Seafood and chicken/pork paella

Sangria

Trent & I at the beach

Have you seen these guys?

The Numberjacks are Gabriel's current obsession. He watches this show everyday and even though it's in Italian he sings along and seems to figure out what they're saying. This show is made in the UK...thus I can't seem to find their DVD's in the American market. I don't know if this show is shown in the states, but the only place I can seem to find it in English is on You tube. Even then it isn't an entire show just different clips. I'm hoping that we can easily find these DVD's on our planned visit to London this summer because he absolutely loves them.

Childhood obesity....

After reading an article this morning on childhood obesity it got me thinking about the things my children put into their bodies. The health and physical fitness of our children is very important to me. I may serve healthy fare in our home, but my kids don't always eat it nor do they always make healthy choices when it comes to snacking or eating out. As their mother, I need to help them improve different aspects of their diet. For example,while Lesley is not afraid to try new foods and eats a variety of fruits/veggies she often skips breakfast because she isn't hungry. {which I hate 'cause it's the most important meal of the day} The boys on the other hand are picky eaters and really need to expand on the variety of fruits and veggies they eat. All I want is for them to have a balanced healthy diet, eat junk food sparingly in moderation, and to always be active.

Kids can be so cruel....

The story below is so heartbreaking. As a mother of an almost 11 yr. old my heart goes out to this beautiful little boy's parents and family. I am thankful Noah is able to learn in an environment free of peer pressure and bulling. Some might say I'm being over protective, I'm sheltering my kids, or bulling/harrassment are just a part of life,but I completely disagree. That type of behavior is not just a part of life, nor should any individual have to put up with it anywhere. {school,work, etc...} The author Barbara Coloroso has a book out on this subject and recently spoke to Anderson Cooper who was talking about 11 yr. old Jaheem Herrera. She was here just last month speaking to the all the military kids on this subject. ===================>

Note to self...

How are you going to set a short term weight loss goal in the morning and then head to the commissary to buy 3 half gallons of ice cream at noon???? Duhh...ya ice cream freak. Straight from the lips to the hips!!!! Yes I'll be at the gym tomorrow doing damage control :D

No medicine mommy...

Trent has duty which means he is in charge for the day and has to spend the night at the hospital. This morning I got a little taste of what my life will be like while my honey is deployed. Hectic and stressful at times, but with the right attitude every thing falls into place.
I was about to drive Lesley to the school bus stop when Gabe started throwing up all over himself in the car. Thankfully I covered him up with a small blanket because most of his puke landed on it and not him or his carseat. I automatically wiped him up and carried him inside to give him a drink of water. The first words out of his sobbing mouth as we walked in the door were "No medicine mommy"....which he repeated in between sobs. Poor thing!!! I placed him with a towel on the couch and tried to make him comfortable.
All this caused Lelsey to miss her bus. I had to deal with a sick toddler who may throw up again soon and trying to get her to school on time. Plus Noah my homeschooler is still in bed so he needs to wake up and get ready so he can go with me to the base 10 miles away to drop Lesley off. {Lesley's bus stop is at the end of our street }
I did manage to get out the door and have Lesley at school just on time. When I got home though Gabe threw up again in the car. At least it didn't happen while I was driving. Currently he has a fever and I was able to give him Tylenol via the suppositories his pediatrician gave me at his last visit. Hopefully this will stablize his temperature.
Get well soon little man.

Time to pick up the pace...

Alrighty..... I am in the process of finishing some travel plans for a short vacation we are taking to Rota, Spain in two weeks. I am so excited ...especially since our hotel is right on the beach. Lesley and I bought new bathing suits yesterday...which as every woman knows can be a dramatic experience, but I'm happy with what I got. Let me tell ya I have been working out very hard, but for the next two weeks I am setting a new short term goal. I want to weigh in at or below 120 lbs by May 11th the day I leave to Spain.;D {Yes, I may have weighed in at 121.6 lbs. today, but my diet can be bad when I'm hanging out with the girls.} I am really going to need to focus on my diet during the next couple of weeks because my appetite tends to really increase around the time I start menstrating. Uugh....like you really want to hear about that stuff!!! Anyways....that's my new goal and hopefully I won't over indulge at tomorrows drunko....I mean bunco get together. LOL

Ahhhh.....I can't wait to be lounging around here in two weeks. Whooo...Hooo

Mother's Day gift ideas for moi....

Okay everyday with my family is a gift and yes I know you guys love me. BUT if you really want to make me feel extra special and greatly appreciated this Mother's Day here is something I'd really like. ;D

The Ipod Touch:

My baby girl....

Here are Lesley, Layna, and Rosabel being camera happy at Carney Park this past weekend. I tell ya one minute you're changing their stinky poopy diapers and in the blink of an eye next they're a teenager doing things teenagers do best......driving their parents CRAZY. Nahhh...Lesley is a really good kid and we are really proud of her.

Wordless Wednesday...that's not so wordless. :D

Lajolla, CA 2006

My nephew Julian with Noah & Lesley at Seal's Beach ....can you see the seals and their pups laying on the beach. Pretty neat....huh!

Gabe and Trent at Scripps Birch Aquarium

Edible cells

Noah has been learning about cells in science. I've included several pics of some stuff we've been doing.Below he is using the computer to view interactive cells.

He also made edible cells this past Sunday

This week he needs to finish a venn diagram comparing plant and animal cells. Hopefully everything he's learning is sticking. LOL

I'll end with one of my favorite quotes-

... "Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire." --- William Butler Yeats.

Quick and challenging workout....

My handy dandy jump rope is breathing new life into my otherwise boring cardio workout. I really am enjoying it mainly because it's something different and fresh. Basically I am using some of the boxing warm up training I used to do and my ipod music to keep the tempo up. No I'm not talking about your average Joe jumping at a slow pace, but rather the fast pace you see boxers do. Here is my quick 25 min cardio workout playlist....and I must tell ya I have been known to break it down when I miss a jump because the music just makes me want to dance. :D LOL

Jump rope playlist:

Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow

Lady Gaga- Poker Face

T-Pain- Freeze

Jamie Foxx- Blame It

Akon- Beautiful

Metro Station- Shake It

Farewell Mr. Mamón....hello withdrawals

For clarity I have to mention that we call a binky ..a mamón in our home. As you can see from the pictures below Gabe and his buddie mamón go way back. He could always count on the mamón to calm, soothe, and bring him comfort. It has been there everyday for him through happy milestones, crankiness, traveling , laser blasting, bedtime, 1st haircut, baptism, theme parks, Aunt Jenny's visit, and so much more.

As of the first week of March his mamón left on a journey to the moon...where it would be given to smaller babies who needed it more. ;) wink* When he found a stray mamón under his bed two weeks later he was so excited..... it was as if he hit the jackpot. I thought we would have to go back to square one, but I distracted him with our nightly book reading that evening then snuck it away and he forgot about it. This has been a hard adjustment for my little guy.

It has been close to 6 weeks that the mamón has been away, but just this week at bedtime he asked me to please get his mamón from the moon. It is especially dificult for him at bedtime and I have caught him sucking on his thumb and blankie as a substitute. They both just don't do for him what his mamón could do. I've noticed that since his mamón was taken away he now has nightmares, is crankier than usual, he needs a lot of comforting (only from mom cause dad just won't do), and he also has developed the habit of waking up during the night and coming into our bed. He hardly did that before. Pobrecito I love my Gabey so much ...I'll give him all the time he needs to adjust. :D

A few more pics from this weekend....

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Weekend drama,hormonal mood swings,baseball,park fun, and weight update in that order...

Friday night we were supposed to go out to dinner with Trent's coworkers, but that all changed after Trent gave me word as I was about to get ready about his discussion with the detailer. The word is " ......deployment up to one year which consist of combat training and 7 months boots on the ground in Afghanistan." I immediately lost my appetite and no longer was in the mood to do anything. Truthfully I cried and to make matters worse it was not a good day for that kind of news because of the onset of my PMDD symptoms. I could handle 6,7,even 8 months of separation, but a whole damn year...that's just asking a frickin' little too much from me!!! LOL Hopefully my mood will improve in two weeks....because I can guarantee life with me during the next two weeks will be a BiATCH! =) I'll try my very best to push all that worrying to the side and maintain my focus on my health, fitness, and exercise routine.

Frankly I think Trent got himself in this situation because of a discussion he had with his specialty leader last summer and because he doesn't tell people that are trying to groom him to be this asset to the Navy that he has never planned on staying in longer than his obligated 21 years.
Ahhh....I can taste the BITTERNESS in my mouth! LOL I guess the one good thing to come out of this deployment is that I get to go home finally after 15 yrs.

Anyways, Noah's baseball season started on Saturday. His team lost their first game =( , but they played well. Noah is a really good first baseman....he did get upset about a call the umpire made while he was at bat. Gabriel got to hang out and play with a few of his pals while we were at the park. Lesley and her friends found a hedgehog while they were taking snapshots by the woods. He looks a little sickly, but it could just be that he was afraid of us. He curled up into a tight little ball and stuck out his little quills.



On the topic of fitness. Here is my current weigh in pic below.

My goal was to weigh in at 121 lbs. this week, but I just missed it. Below are pics of Gabe expressing excitement over eating brisket, rice, and beans. My old middle school friend Larry (who is stationed here) and his wife cooked it.....

YUMMY......

Wordless Wednesday....Girl's night out