Day 6 - 40 Days of Blogging

A Checkup.

We went to Zay's Thyroid checkup yesterday...and made it into a fun little Mommy & Zay day! I have to say, this little guy is a keeper. He generally will go with the flow and the older he gets the more fun it gets to hear him interact with others...in this case the nurses and doctors! 

It's beginning to be tradition...picture in the mirror at the UofI hospitals & clinics!

It's impossible not to love this kid!

Waiting room fun...or not so much. ;)

Blood pressure reading...he's a pro at this stuff!

Mommy's got this down...wait to bring out the snacks until we are in the patient room waiting (again) for the doctor. (I honestly can't complain...they normally see us pretty quickly, but there is bound to be some waiting!)

Zay's thyroid doctor...she's pretty great.

After the blood draw! They were pretty proud of him, so let him chase some bubbles!

"Zay, show me how tough you were!"

He loves the escalator...we usually can't take it because we have Ellie in the stroller, but today we could!

I stopped for a quick snack on the way home...I tried to convince Zay that he could get a 'special treat' (he can have skittles)...but he informs me "I don't like those, Mommy!" But he's thrilled with his own bottle of water! Love him! ;)

Day 5 - 40 Days of Blogging

Dinosaur Train

This last weekend we had the opportunity to take Zay to a Dinosaur Train performance at Gallager Bluedorn. I had a photo session earlier in the day, so since we were in town it worked out to go to this show with the Duncan family! And to be completely honest, Zay doesn't love this PBS show, but he REALLY enjoyed this live show! It helped that he has his little buddies with him!

Tiny, Shiny, and Buddy...and Mr. Conductor!

BIG dinosaur...I can't remember his name! ;)

Meeting Buddy and Tiny after the show!

And since Travis works at Gallager...he got us into the bounce house room - our three boys had the place all to themselves!

Silly, but happy little boys!

Day 4 - 40 Days of Blogging

Exercise.

Now here is a post for ya...2014 seems to be the year that I might actually consistently exercise for the ENTIRE year. Well, maybe I shouldn't get that excited about it, but so far so good this year! It's only been about, ummm, maybe...4 years or so since I can say I've worked out consistently. That might be an exaggeration, but not by much. ;)

For some reason, it takes me a while...a LONG while to get back into the whole exercise thing after I have babies. It's probably something to do with a little thing called sleep. I need it. And when I don't get it...well the idea of doing anything beyond the necessary daily tasks is a bit overwhelming.

Zay didn't consistently sleep through the night for TWO years...(he had many health problems that didn't help this cause), and Ellie was a bit better, as she started sleeping all night around 4 months, and was doing it consistently by 6 months. Yay!

So...now that I get to sleep, I feel like I can wake up and get a workout in...most days! I don't think I would be nearly as excited about this if it weren't for my extremely dedicated husband! I call him "trainer Shane", because if I need to know anything about working out - he's my guy. He researches a lot about fitness and then practices what he preaches! Good motivation!

Here are a few of my favorite workouts...I really like body weight workouts. Something to get my heart going, give me variety, and maybe even make me feel a bit sore the next day to prove I did work hard! ;) I'm not really competitive...as in, not at all, I just want to feel accomplished with my workouts. And these workouts are just modified ideas from blogs, instagram feeds and facebook pages I follow. I am NOT a trainer, so these workouts could be horrible, but they seem to work for me. And I do try to switch things up every so often, too! :)

Day 3 - 40 Days of Blogging

Zay has the BEST preschool teachers!

I received this picture as a text yesterday morning. It said "Isaiah wanted u to see what he made. :)"

I am absolutely not surprised that my little man convinced his teacher to text me this! Seriously, he is so into sending texts, pictures and emails! And I'm totally okay with it...because for one - I really think technology is okay for kids. It is the future. I always wonder when Zay will take 'keyboarding' in school. I bet whenever his little hands are big enough he will be at a computer typing away! And I also love it, because he is so into spelling words...see it's an educational activity! And hence, him being proud of spelling his name! He can sit for hours asking me how to spell different words. Just this morning - Shane and I were downstairs working out, and I had to help him write "40 Push ups" and "40 Pull ups"........that was 'his workout' he was going to do! ;) 

And here's one more pic...he spelled his sister's name. 

Anyway...I was super excited to see a tiny tidbit of Zay's day at Preschool. I always wonder what he is up to, and some days I get very little feedback from him. He knows that I'm always going to ask him who he sat by at snack time...so he coughs that info up right away! ;) 

Day 2 - 40 Days of Blogging

Eeeek! I can't even believe I'm going to show this...but this winter has got to end. I'm ready to SPRING CLEAN our home...and some open windows with refreshing spring air blowing through would be lovely too! Our poor coat closet has had it. Ick...check this out!

Bad, huh!?!

(I just want to note...I often give Zay and Ellie the job of taking shoes from the front/back door and put them away in the closet........and this is the results you get!!!)

This little girl was a BIG "help" in this 20 minute cleanup task! And notice...she discovered how fun it is to wear her brother's rain boots! ;)

Ahhh...much better!

Anyone else getting ready to do some spring cleaning? Have you heard of the 40 bags in 40 days challenge? I've done versions of this 'purging' challenge before and I'm making some strong attempts to do more cleaning/purging/organizing in the next few weeks!!

Day 1 - 40 Days of Blogging

Hide and Seek.

Some days Zay will beg me to play hide-and-seek. And seriously...this might be my least favorite game. It simply expels a lot of energy...that well, I need to save for laundry if I plan to ever attack the mountain at the end of my bed. But all-in-all, I have learned the great art of hollering 'I wonder where Zay could be!' in a great curiosity-infused tone! I do this while walking into every room pretending to look in every nook and cranny, turning around in circles, because you know he can definitely see me from two rooms down, so I want to make certain my acting is legit. All the while, I can hear where the soft giggles are coming from and I know with almost guaranteed certainty that he is in his normal hiding spot...mom and dad's bed! And even though I really don't enjoy going through the motions of hide-and-seek I can anticipate the the huge smile it will bring to MY face when I discover him...sitting patiently on our bed. And he can't stop from hiding his heartfelt thankfulness that I am playing his game. 

I often wonder...do we sometimes think that we are 'fooling' God while we are busy having fun, giggling our way through life? Like He doesn't know exactly where we are at? What our hearts are feeling? Do we think that we can really 'hide' from him? And when He finds us and brings us close...I can just imagine a great big smile on His face. And me...why yes, I am most definitely filled with thankfulness for God to once again reveal that in this life He is seeking me. He is finding me even in my silly games of hiding from Him. Amen to that. 

40 Days of Blogging

When my little boy was born 4+ years ago this blog was about the best thing I could have invested in. It simply was an outlet to write my thoughts, document my dreams and journal about my new role as a mom. Now...years later I dream about having the time and making the disciplined decision to sit down and keep up with this priceless diary of our family's memories. Not an easy task.

The challenge: 40 days of blogging! 

That's right - I have NO IDEA if this is attainable, however each year at lent I try to change something in my life. Usually something that will bring me closer to God...in the past it's been running/exercising (I usually have great quiet time while on runs/exercising), reading the Bible EVERY single day, sacrificing something...Facebook, sweets, etc. This year...I'm doing a blog challenge. The way I view this blog is when I look back on things I've written or photos I've documented I am sooooo thankful for all God has done in my life. This blog has been part of my testimony. Even when I read of the trials we went through...God was so present and I'm able to see this on the other side of the trial.

So...even if it is simply one sentence, one picture, heck...even one word! I will do my best to blog for 40 days. I pray that God is glorified by my simple and grateful heart.

Phone Dump - April

Just getting a few photos off the phone and onto the 'ol blog! Enjoy! :)

The good thing about little girl pants that are too short... We can just call them capris and they are just as cute!

Chewing like the teeth are coming. False alarm thus far.

Kinnick & Charley got nothing on you... Bailey-got-back! #doggiebuttpic

God makes beautiful things!

Uh, Zay... Why is all of your stuff in the hallway? "Ceaning my room, Mom!"#thatisonewaytodoit

Oh, ya know... Just doing a little measuring and math to see what Ellie can eat today! #pku

Daddy and Zay hit up the John Deere dealership this morning. Bongo joined them...wearing his socks and all! #sosilly

Bath before nap can only mean one thing. It was a great morning of outside play! #boy #noisewithdirtonit

Aaaand... Let a summer of four-wheeler rides begin! #funatpapas

This can't be comfortable...

Big brother pushing little sister.#shoeshoppingforgrowingboy#lovetarget

Upside down belly laughs!

Basically our morning.#zaydecidedjustonesockwilldo

The black blur is Bailey...running from grabby hands!

Our ability to entertain ourselves with little or nothing is astounding.#lotsofgigglesthismorning

She still flops over sometimes!#weallneedsomebodytoleanon

The birthday celebration began a bit early! :)

Daddy calls this my "chew toy"... And boy do I need it today! #noteethyet

Sister's helping a brother out with the Lincoln Logs

We were out of coffee this morning... Thank you husband for bringing this back for me! #heisthebest

"Mom! Ellie woke up! I play with her!"#goodbigbrotherstrikesagain

Our sweet baby girl has been giving her parents (and grandparents) some things to worry about. We've gone through a series of tests trying to pinpoint what could be causing high blood pressure that showed up at her last two scheduled pku appointments. Ultrasound of her kidneys, blood work, echo cardiogram and meeting with renal team today to try to figure out what's going on. None of the tests have shown answers (praise God for no serious issues thus far). As of now, I will earn another college credit in my "mom nursing degree" and take blood pressure readings at home. Phew... I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength... Even the things I don't want to have to do.

Zay: Mommy, what's that? Me: "That's foundation" Zay: "Hmmm, I've never heard of that... " (that's weird... in his three years of life I would have thought he had heard of foundation before, I mean really... 3 yr old boys know these things.)

Time to workout. #itsbeentoolong

He will be running with me soon! Mommy had ahold of him the entire time. #safetyfirst#nowhekeepsaskingtoworkout

Daddy helping Zay "workout"#itsafamilyaffair

Pulled out the colorful pants and pretending it's 70+ degrees.#readyforspring #seriouslyready

Jammin. #unclesarethebest

Rockstar at the dentist!

Good boys get rewards#heissoawesome

Zay's favorite part of the day? Getting water from panera!

Based on the piles of laundry I have waiting for me, I have no clue how my family is not running around naked!#thereisanotherhugepileyoucantsee#ohmy

Showed up to my 10am dentist appointment at 8am...It's 10:11am and I'm still waiting...#mightbetimetofindanewdentist