P90X Report Card

I have to post this somewhere (I'll spare you the photos). I finished the program the second week of Janurary. Overall, I was happy with it. Unfortunately, The past 90 days I had 4 Major Diet Sabotaging Holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years) and that darn kidney stone. However, I ended up losing 12 lbs and went down a size. I felt like I was in pretty good shape prior to starting, but it is pretty cool to see what you are capable of if pushed hard enough. I still cannot do a pull up with out the help of a chair. Perhaps after round two.

Has any one done Sean T's Insanity? That is looking "fun"to me.

A photo update

Eli bought me a new camera a while back, but it doesn't work on my computer (which is now deceased to due a drowning accident over the holidays). Hence I have a hard time uploading photos. So here is a much ove due photo diary.

A new park was built right next to our home. We had to try it out before it got too cold. Kylee loved it
Good thing we did, because it snowed shortly after.
The weather dried up and we made a dent in some much needed yardwork.

I didn't have a chance to share some photos from Thanksgiving (due to my rock hard--lithotripsy resistant, $3,000 arch enemy kidney stone). I was proud of my place cards for the gathering.

Gearing up for the holidays, Jake and Eli made *A* ginger bread man. Jacob ate the entire being.

I had to catch a photo of Mason in her clicky church shoes as she in now grown out of them. She loved to walk around and tap, tap, tap her feet.

Christmas was a blast minus Mason having a cold and being a whiner. It was so fun to see Jacob's face on Christmas morning. I have never seen his eyes get so big (and over the littlest stuff too... I'm talking cheap junk from the dollar store).

Now for New Years and Resolutions:

Even though he seems little and cute, I will not let my 3 year old take a sink bath with my laptop (or any other electronic device) anywhere in the vicinity. Jake experimented with the spayer (which I could have sworn was broken) and that was the end of it. But, 3 cheers for those new windows in the back ground. Now my kids don't have to wear snow suits to bed.


Next, I will not try to hide the fact that I accidentlly bumped into Eli's car even though it only shifted my bumper a tad and didn't even leave a mark on his car. I thought I was in the clear as it had been a few months and he hadn't noticed. But, it came back to haunt me in the form of ripping the bumper off when I went through the car wash. I think it adds character. I am still hoping this car will last until our next child-- 4 or5 years? With that bumper?! I may have to reformulate things.


It wouldn't be January without Kylee's birthday. We hosted a party at our house because Nathan and Corinne were in the middle of packing for their move to Las Vegas. They left this past week. I can't blog about it or else I will get emotional.


A little girl party would not be complete without a barbie in a fancy dress cake (decorated by her daddy btw)
We had to play pin the new knee on B-Roy. Tis a shame.


Lastly we are left with winter in Washington. The time of year I try not to think about why we live here and choose to get so soggy.




To wrap things up, one time in high school I was told my my art teacher I have a face like a cartoon character. I didn't really understood what that meant at the time. With that in mind, I think Mason must take after her mama.

Laughter-- The Best Medicine

I had lithotripsy on the 13th. A "surgical" procedure in that you are under general sedation and intubated, however no incisions are made. They take an ultrasound machine and pound on your side to try and break up the kidney stones. They pounded for an hour and a half, 4000 joules pounding my side, penetrating my organs. They take X-Rays intermittently to see if the stone is breaking up. I also had to have a CT scan prior to the procedure to assess its orientation in the kidney. After all this radiation, I fear any future children will have webbed feet and hands. Unfortunately my 8mm nemesis didn't respond so well. So I am left feeling like I have had the crap beaten out of me and I still have a stone. To top it off, the kids picked up a respiratory infection and both are coughing like crazy and poor Jake with his asthma coughs so hard he vomits. Sunday was not a good day.

On a lighter note, Eli, my amazingly wonderful Diabetic Shoe Fitter husband received an emergency phone call last night around 11 pm just after we had laid down to go to bed. His patient, an elderly female, frantically called to say, "I can't find my shoes". I got such a kick of
Eli's swift response in deescalating the situation. Ah, the thrills the being a diabetic shoe fitter's wife.

I hope we are all feeling better by Christmas. I am ready for some fun.

The Sword and The Stone

I am gaining empathy. I have been in some pain. It feels like a knife in my gut. It is the kind of pain that makes one think, "put me out of misery and let me die" type pain. It all started last Saturday after Eli and I went out for some Pho. I thought maybe it was just indigestion. Ate a bottle of tums, took a hot bath, and put a heating pad to the area. The pain resolved. I was fine until Wednesday. I had been prepping for the Thanksgiving dinner we were having, when all of the sudden the sword in my stomach and through my back returned. Unfortunately Eli was traveling and couldn't get home right away. Jacob did his best to care for me and Mason. While I was writhing on floor yelling out orders, he was doing his best to get Mason a diaper, get me my phone, get Mason some crackers (which ended up being marshmallows). I actually ordered a pizza from my phone. Once delivered, I opened it up on the floor and let the kids have at it. Poor Eli walked into a thrashed house, half naked kids, and a wife on the floor wanting to die. Pain resolved, went to bed and was fine until Thursday.

We were sitting down to dinner, Eli, all his brothers and their spouses and his parents. Ten adults, 2 preschoolers, 3 babies. A beautifully decorated table and a tasty thanksgiving feast.
Pain is back and I am in bed with a heating pad. Lasted all night. Woke up friday morning, felt okay. Went in to work. Got in to see Tricia, the other NP at my office. We both thought maybe gallbladder, gastritis, something upper GI. She ordered an ultrasound. Started me on a regimen of acid blockers.

Ultrasound Diagnosis: An 8 mm stone in my left kidney.

Bam! And it still needs to pass. This is going to be an experience.

Stuffed Kids

Gearing up for Halloween

I have taken a break on the home improvement project (for few days) and tried not to ignore the kids quite so much. It is hard to say, "No wall. I am not going to paint you even though you are kinda beat up and the cabinet just got the ultra shiny white deluxe treatment". I have a gallon of tan-gray "cedar key" waiting to adorn my kitchen walls.

P90X is going well. We have been faithful with the workouts. We were doing the meal plan, but blew out grocery budget in the first 2 weeks of the month. Now were are trying to do a more budget friendly version.

The kids are good. Still tons of fun. Mason isn't the napper she used to be. She just wants to play. I can't blame her. She was sentenced to nap after nap the months of August and September in order for the cabinet refinishing project to be completed. I feel crummy for being a negligent parent, but I learned my lesson. (#1- Just Buy cabinets from home depot. #2. Don't buy a fixer)

Let's move onto some photographic relief:

She flies through the air with the greatest of ease....

First things first after church. Pants--off. Cowboy hat and boots-- on.Jacob's beloved "cowboy" hat (actually it's an old hat of mine with a black bow in the front) went missing. My sister in law lent this massive sombrero. It just wasn't the same-- in got in the way while trying to make playdough and kept hitting Mason in the face on the stroller ride to the store.

Now this little pachyderm looks sweet enough, but if you have food or anything that has the slightest ressemblance to any food she will fight you for it. And yes.... she does know how to wrestle (I will save that for another post).

Oh Jacob, I know it is hard to part with your monkey costume (size 6-12 months) but i think it is time buddy.


Naughty girl. I don't know what makes the tumble down 30 stairs so appealing?


Thank you for listening.


My favorite part of the season... The Pumpkin Patch



More pictures to follow.

The First Triple Birthday

Eli spent all day making an amazing cake for the three of us.
My litte girl is 1. Sigh. Mason is so fun. Eli describes her as, "a good sport"; Always happy, ready to play, wrestle, or be turned into a canvas for Eli's artwork. I am just amazed how quickly this day came.

How crazy it this? 3 generations all born on the same date.
While in Vegas we checked out the children's museum. They had a stage, costumes, and best of all Disney songs playing. Jacob had a blast performing as Mickey Mouse to "Supercalifragilisticexpalidocious" and "Bippety, Boppety, Boo".

P.S. I probably ate about half of that cake. It was awesome-- my dad's part: German chocolate with a layer of chocolate ganache in the middle, my part: yellow cake with fresh raspberry filling. Mason's was more for show--confetti cake with pink lemonade frosting. Good thing Eli purchased P90X for my present. We start on Monday. I'll spare you the before photos.

Also, my lack of blog updates is due to my current zeal for home improvement projects. In the last 2 months I have refinished the cabinets in our kitchen and bathrooms, painted the garage and some of the house, and pressure washed the deck with plans to stain it soon. It feels good to finally be fixing up the fixer upper.