The Grocery List

So on our fridge we have a magnetic pad of paper which is where we try to keep our grocery list. Last night I got it down and started putting some little things on there that we need, but I didn't put it back on the fridge. So this morning as I am taking a shower Lucien comes in and asks me how to spell soap... so we sound it out then he leaves. He comes back in to tell me that he has added to the list soap b/c he is almost out of his green soap in the shower. He then decided that we also need gogurts and capri sun's so those are now on the list as well!!!

HOW. DID. THIS. HAPPEN. He is my baby right?? Wasn't it just yesterday that he was just learning to roll over, or crawl or walk???? Now he helps me figure out what we need from the store (seriously I have asked him in the store if we are out of something... and he usually knows) he helps take the trash out, put away his own laundry, helps me clean the house (he loves to dust and vacuum... I know strange) grrr time goes by too fast!!! Lucien is an awesome kid and I love watching the person that he is becoming.... I just wish it would slow down, just a little bit!!!

Oh and here is what he added to the grocery list, he started to write apples but then realized that we still had some...

Wake up call

It is funny to me how much we really sweat the small stuff and don't even realize how trivial it is.

The past few days in and around Oklahoma have been intense, with the tornado in Joplin then the tornado's in Oklahoma and Kansas last night... When I was driving home from work yesterday late afternoon the news was already talking about the HUGE storms and tornado's making their way through Oklahoma and the news anchor's saying that the size of SOME of the tornado's could be as large as Joplin's. Now living in Oklahoma all my life I really don't scare too easily regarding tornado's. It is rare that I actually hunker down, normally I am outside watching for them heading my way... but last night I was actually worried, more than worried, downright concerned. I did something that i have never done before... I packed a bag. I packed a bag that contained all important information, my nice jewelry, clothes for Lucien, Michael and myself, toothbrushes, got some of our water bottles filled up, threw in some of Lucien's cereal bars and waited... and watched the storms move through OKC, through Bartlesville and finally they moved into our neck of the woods. For some reason the way the storm curved south Tulsa got hit a little bit later than mid-town and downtown so we got to watch video of everything going on downtown, foreseeing what was coming our way.Luckily for us, we only got some crazy strong winds and a lot of rain in a short amount of time.

But, it called my attention to what I had packed in our bags, what was really important.. one thing that I did not mention that I packed was Lucien's baby book, baby scrapbook and Michael's and my wedding photo album. I think overall the baby book was the most important thing to me that I packed.. and then I think of all of the people that lost everything, many most likely didn't have time to grab their children's baby books, and that can never be recovered. Some people have lost loved ones in the wake of these storms, the 16 month old baby that was killed in Oklahoma last night, the woman that had a heart attack and died when she was told that her father was killed in Joplin and my heart just breaks.

I then received some gut wrenching news about some friends of mine and Michael's this morning. I won't tell their story as it is not mine to tell, but they now have their own storm that they will have to weather... and all over again I realize how trivial so many things are. It is so easy to get bogged down in day to day activities and not really think about what is important, and for me that is my faith and my family. While the storms were heading my way Michael and I were discussing where we could go in our house that would be the safest and it was determined that Lucien and I would go in one closet and Michael in another (we have a really open floorplan so there are not a lot of good places to go) and I realized that if we had to quickly move to where it is safe my only thought would be about my child, my husband and my family taking cover in other homes... no bags, no important papers, just the people that I love the most... I guess that was my wake up call.

Ugh....

So things have gotten a little crazy and I have not posted in a while!!!!! I am still working out 3, 4 or 5 times a week and I think I am seeing some results. The end of our current contest is in two weeks so we will see how I do!! What I am most excited about is Kendall, Ryan and Izzie coming in for a long weekend this weekend. If it is nice we are going to the lake... eeks that means wearing a swimsuit!!!!! Oh well at least it is just family!
Besides working out a lot I have been working a lot.. down at The Broadway, which is great but also tiring. I can't believe how popular it is, we have almost every single Saturday booked for the REST OF THE YEAR!!! Yeah we might have to end up hiring some help otherwise between my mom, Tom, Matt, Michael and me, we will be working every weekend.. but we see how it works out!

Michael's last day or work was April 27th and he is going stir crazy at the house... one day I came home to him telling me that he had done all the laundry in the house - there was nothing else to wash - no towels no blankets - nothing!!! He is having to mow like crazy b/c of all the rain, and he cleaned up the backyard, and trimmed the bushes in the front, keeps the house picked up (most of the time) takes Lucien to and from school, goes grocery shopping.. oh yeah and he HATES IT!!!!!!! But!!!! He has had some promising interviews and got a call back about a job that would be right up his alley so hopefully we will know something soon... before he goes crazy. (And a side note to all of my stay at home mom friends... he told me that he does NOT know how mom's stay at home... meant with the utmost respect!!!)

So without further ado... pictures from the last few weeks!

We went to the TU Spring Game - it was really cold. We left and went and saw Rio!

Sarah's 30th Birthday Dinner

At the Zoo with KT, Quinn and Addie

Before church on May 15, 2011 when Caroline got baptized!

Just before C's baptism.

Scales, roller skating & swimsuits

So... I need a digital scale. How do I not have a decent scale???? Maybe its because I HATE weighing myself!!! I like to see my results by how my clothes fit... but I think I am going to break down and buy a digital scale, just so I can better track my progress. I bought a pair of jeans right before I went on my family ski trip in March... right before spring break, so mid-March - and YEA now they are almost too big!!! So, this weekend I actually dried them, in the dryer!!! EEKS, I never dry my jeans, but I really like these and want them to fit for a little bit longer so we will see how that works out... So while I might not know my current weight I do know that I am still losing weight and/or inches. I have been sooooooo good!!!! Lots of fruits and veggies, salads for lunch, light dinners, protein shakes for breakfast... pretty boring but it is paying off.

Again I missed a workout last week but I did some cardio on my own which kind of makes up for it. This week my goal is to go work out FOUR times plus do at least two days of cardio on my own... and luckily for me on Wednesday night I get to go ROLLER SKATING!!! I love roller skating!!!! When I was a kid I had my birthday party at the roller skating rink every year for like 10 years (well at least it felt like it) and at church we would all skate or rollerblade all over the parking lot and at lock-in's we would skate all night in the gymnasium!!! So that will count for cardio right??? Lucien has never been roller skating so I am sure most of the time I will be hauling him around so that will totally be a workout!!

Then this morning I found out that I MIGHT need to be in a swimsuit this weekend... WHAT swimsuit season is still months away right???? RIGHT?????? So at lunch I went swimsuit shopping, yes I know I have swimsuits, but I have had the same ones for YEARS now, so no big deal I will go pick out a swimsuit at Target... and try them on.... in bad lighting.... oh dear. So maybe I will just purchase a new cover up... but talk about some serious motivation!!!!

All shapes and sizes update!

One thing I didn't mention in my last blog that while Michael had gotten weighed and measured (hence the 14 inches lost) I had decided NOT to weigh in and measure!!!! After being gone for a week on Spring Break and then being sick, getting on the scale and getting measured was the LAST thing I wanted to do!!!! Then I put on my big girl pants and decided that being accountable also meant being truthful... so when my trainer sent out another email about weigh in's I told him I was coming in...
Oh last Wednesday was so nerve wracking, I was really careful about what I ate that day, and drank a lot of water (yes I know silly, but that is just how I roll!) and prepared to be mortified by how little I had done since January. Then as I was getting measured (I will say that I wouldn't look down at the scale this time, sorry!!!) he was saying that i had lost some inches here and there... then he said I had lost quite a few on my waist!!! My poor mama belly - it really likes to be loose and jiggly, it tries to thwart my every attempt to make it smaller and firmer.. but I prevailed, I am losing INCHES!!!!! Talk about motivation!!!! I can do this, I have done it before, it just seems harder the older I get (I know I'm ancient at a ripe old age of 32...) but I can do this!!!
So I have stayed on track with working out... I didn't go once last week, b/c I was in Urgent Care with my son, he fell and busted his chin - it is a legitimate excuse!!!! Then Thursday we got a special workout - and I was so sore the rest of the weekend I could hardly walk - which I guess is a good sign...
So, I am back at it again this week. I went to the store and got tons of fruits and veggies for this week and actually made a menu for dinners, nothing too fancy but still!!!

I CAN DO THIS!!!!

All shapes and sizes

So.. I have been doing an awesome workout program for the past 6 months or so - it is in interval training at Tulsa Fitness Systems in Jenks and it is awesome!!! But, I have not been the best about keeping myself accountable and always going, eating right....you know the hard part of trying to stay healthy! In fact over the past 3 weeks I can count on one hand how many times I have gone (ok I will give myself a little bit of a break b/c I was gone on vaca for a week then had a horrible sinus infection) but still it is time to get back on the wagon.
Even though I was sick last week I was able to do some light workouts at my house, but this week and I back at it, and I am MOTIVATED!!!!!! I know that people come in all shapes and sizes and I will never look like a super model, but I want to lose two dress sizes before summer officially hits! And why am I writing all of this in a blog for all the world to see (ok so maybe just a few people read this but still...) to keep myself accountable! If I tell everyone what I am doing then it makes me feel more accountable, and I will be posting SOME pics during this process, don't worry they will be tasteful... I wouldn't want to blind anyone with A) my whiteness - b/c seriously I glow and B) there is no way I would post pics of me in a bikini or a sports bra and shorts... NO ONE WANTS TO SEE THAT!!! HA HA! And for those of you that have looked at my pictures on FB yes there is one or two of me posing in a bikini... but I was 17... I looked a lot different back then...

So two dress sizes... the reason I put it that way is that weight can be misleading, when I got down pretty thin a couple of years ago I was not much lighter on the scale than I am now, but I was muscular, which is smaller even though it weighs more.

So, my goal is to work out at LEAST 5 times a week (I get three from my workout classes) to eat a LOT better and drink a ton of water - shouldn't be too hard but we will see!!

Here is a recent photo of me - I know I am carrying Lucien but you can kind of see me...

Oh, btw, Michael has been working out at the same program that I am, and he has lost over 14 inches overall, just since January! Which is AWESOME!!!
At this point he eats better than I do, so I say again, it is time to get back on the wagon!!!

If anyone has any tips suggestions, on how they stay in shape I would love to hear about them!!!

Emily

Ski Trip, broken ribs and a sinus infection

Skiing, love it in the spring!!! When the sun is shining and it is "warm"!! We had the best spring break in Pagosa, the entire Wright/Krause/Johnson/Shell/Buckley clan was there and we made it memorable. We went skiing of course, one night the guys went gambling while us girls went and got massages, we shopped, we cooked... Lindsay fell down on the first day and broke her rib... WHAT?!?!?! Yeah on the first run the first day, but we had no idea we told her she had most likely bruised it... then she skied two more days on it, and got a massage and went swimming... she is a trooper!!!

We got to have family photos that hopefully we will get to see proofs of by the end of this week or early next, with our big crazy family there is no telling how the photos came out! But, we had fun, had a great photographer (he made really cool animal noises to keep the kids looking at him), and he sat down afterwards and had a scotch with us (and with us I mean Eli!!)

Then on Sunday we had to get ready to go home, and I woke up with a terrible sinus infection... ugh so not fun to fly in a small plane with. Luckily Lucien was tired so he just laid down on me and went to sleep.. as did I.

We made so many memories during that week and I cannot wait to do it again next year. Here are a few photos from the week...

I promise he loved skiing, it just took him a little while to warm up to the idea!

Sweet Izzie - just lounging!

Hiding in the bushes again.

Still hiding!

The whole crew minus mom, tom and Ryan & Izzie - I think they were all taking photos (not Izzie of course!)

So excited after a great last day of skiing!!!

We got to dump the kids with the g-parents and go get a drink together!!!!

And on to planning the trip for next year!!!!

"That's not fair!"

THAT'S NOT FAIR!!! How many have us have said those words to parents, employers, friends, and spouses, and those of us that are parents from our children!!!! It was a favorite phrase of mine growing up until one day my step dad responded with "LIFE IS NOT FAIR SO GET OVER IT" and continued to say that he never wanted to hear me say that again.. and guess what, that is a phrase that I do not say anymore.
Now as an adult it is easily recognizable that life is not fair. Some people struggle daily to make ends meet while others seem to have wealth fall into their laps - it isn't fair... and it never will be.

But, what I don't understand is why some adults think that life should be fair!!! There are some obscenely rich people in our county and our government wants to tax them more since they make more . In a sense I can see how that would make things more "fair" to those people who cannot or will not provide for themselves, or so those who don't make as much money don't have to pay as much to our government.... BUT!!! how is that "fair" to the people who are having to pay extra in taxes?  Those people earned that money (or at least someone in their family did) so how is that "fair" to them? The top 10% of income earners in the U.S. pay almost 75% of all taxes, with the top 1% paying 40%, and a third of US Citizens do not pay ANY taxes into the government - how is this "FAIR"? Another thought that I had is the top 10% of income earners in America account for 25% of charitable donations... what happens if we tax them more (so we can keep everything fair) they don't have as much $$$ so they don't give as much to charities... so then the government has to pay out more to help those in need...

I had someone tell me one time that they were so excited that the government might start paying for college for students if they did so much charity work or something to that effect... I then asked them where they thought that money to pay for that schooling would come from, and that somewhat stumped them. When I had friends buy cars on the cash for clunkers - granted it was a good deal - all I could think of was that some of what I pay in taxes helped people get into new cars....

When the rich are rich... they start companies that hire people, the buy more stuff which in turns creates more jobs... we want them to be rich!! We want them to stay here and keep their money here and buy all their stuff here!!! Is it hard to watch them continue to make money while many of us are struggling - YES!!! but if they have less money then it could cause a hardship on all of us!

Here are a small list of things that I think every person in the United States needs to remember
1) LIFE IS NOT FAIR - GET OVER IT
2) The world does not revolve around you
3) You are not ENTITLED to ANYTHING except life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

Life is not fair, it never has been and it never will be.

What I have learned these last 2 weeks

Wow, all of us in Oklahoma have had a taste in really brutal winter weather! With kids being out of school, roads turning into ice skating rinks and setting new record lows in our state, it has been an interesting two weeks!

So what I have learned these past two weeks

1) I would not make a good home-schooling mom... seriously I do not have the patience. I got a workbook for Lucien - it is huge - it is supposed to be a years worth of activities and it has math, reading, science, comprehension... all sorts of good stuff in it! He really enjoys doing it, most of the time, but there are times that he just doesn't even try, doesn't want to try and I just sit there and try not to fume... then I tell him that is the last page and we are done. I think I get the most frustrated when I KNOW that he knows it - as in he did it five minutes ago and for the past week - but now all he says is that he can't do it!!!! Yes we continue to do the workbook, but for those moms and/or dads (or any other relative or friend) that home-schools, you have my shout out to you, because it is HARD!!!!

2) I LOVE the SNOW, and I HATE the COLD!

3) How fast time flies!!! Earlier this week I told Lucien that he has to have a haircut - he was so shaggy and without much protest he agreed! And when I say that he needs a haircut, I mean I have to give him a haircut. So I gave him a haircut - with very little crying involved. Now, when Lucien was little and I had to give him a haircut he would scream and cry and be so upset (same thing when I had to clip his nails... seriously Michael would have to hold him down!!!) and this time he even went and got the chair for him to sit in... and he gave me his opinion on his haircut when we were done (he loved it btw!). Then I looked at my little boy and it hit me again, he is not a baby anymore, when did this happen??? He is supposed to look like this




or even this

But he doesn't... he looks like this!!!!!!

And he is ok with me cutting his hair, and he helps his daddy shovel the driveway (well he uses the snow Michael piles up as a big slide, but I digress), he tells me how beautiful I am and that I am the best mommy in the world (ok so I like those last two). But the time has gone so fast. For some reason that hit me this week.. he is not a baby anymore... he likes to pick out his own clothes and tells me about his "job" and all of his monster trucks and what they can do...

4) I have learned when you make pumpkin bread (or banana or poppeyseed or whatever) you CANNOT fill it up to the very top of a somewhat smaller pan.. it rises... a lot... and bubbles over into your oven and starts to burn and it really smells... and it makes your house really smoky, which makes your husband look up at the smoke alarm in concern. But the bread can be salvaged if your husband can get it out of the oven for you and put it in a bigger pan...

5) I need to buy a sled.

6) I am really happy that Michael has a 4 wheel drive vehicle.

7) I am ecstatic that I have a husband that will shovel my side of the driveway (twice) so I can get out of the garage... though making it into the street is a totally different problem!



This next week the temperature is supposed to warm up, a lot as in up into the mid 60's... I think next week while I will revel in the warmth and the sun, I will learn how very much I hate mud.

Trying again!!

So my last attempt at blogging failed with a big fat F, but I am going to try again. A lot of time has come and gone since my last post, we got Eli and Selena married way out in Portland, and Lin and Jay married at Big Cedar and both were wonderful and fun!!

We were also able to go out to California which was a great vacation (lots of Disneyland) and we got to see Nana G one more time before she went home to the Lord. God's plan is crazy sometime - she wasn't even feeling bad the weekend before we went out there but while there she took a turn for the worse, but we were so glad that we were there so Lucien could see her one more time, she passed away once week after we came back from CA.

We survived the holiday's and we just got done with round one of Snowpalooza 2011 here in T town. With record snowfall and high winds we got our first blizzard... and the city shut down. Now round two is supposed to begin tomorrow so it looks like it will be another short week at work.

Also during my hiatus of blogging, my baby boy turned FIVE!!! I can't believe how fast it has gone, I mean really wasn't he just a baby??? We had his birthday at the Jenks Aquarium and he loved it, as well as all of his friends... seriously we must have had at LEAST 15 to 16 kids there, plus all our family and all of his honorary aunts and uncles, it was crazy. Next year we are probably going to scale it back down, but 5 is a big one and we wanted to really do something big for him so Mission Accomplished!

Also, Izzie got through her first round of chemo for her retinoblastoma but we just found out a week ago that it has come back in her right eye with four more tumors. We are praying for her and my sister and brother in law. At this point we don't know what the doctors are going to propose for treatment for her - the doctor was supposed to call last week and let them know but as of 3:15CST on Monday they still have not heard anything.

Here are a few photos of the past few months.