Birthday Boys

The big boys turned FIVE this weekend. I can't believe it. I must post the requisite newborn photo comparison shot, right!?

Nail polish isn't just for girls

Here are some shots of Owen painting his nails. :) The minute he was done, he said "OK wash it off," but he had a good time while it lasted. :) And here is a fun group shot of me and the kids lounging on the couch:

Also check out a pic I added to the weight loss pics today.

Wednesday No-weigh-In

I've only skipped a handful of weigh-ins since last August. Usually because I was galavanting around Paris or had other random plans! But last night I didn't go because I felt like I might have gained! For the last 3 weeks I have lost at weigh-in and last week I went below 170 for the first time in FOREVER and I was too scared to go back to 170 last night! I didn't have a good week food-wise, the first week of summer threw me off of my routine. I vowed that I would get my act together THIS week and go back next week and hopefully lose or maintain.

This morning I attempted a 4 mile run, made it 3 miles and then walked the last 3/4 of a mile home. It was just what I needed to jump start this week! I am starting my pre-pre-pre training for the Richmond Half Marathon. This consists of running and other exercise to build my mileage before the REAL training starts in August. This is the plan for this week:

Thursday - 4 m
Friday - off (Jillian's level 3 shred, though)
Saturday - 5M
Sunday - Spin Class
Monday - off
Tuesday - 3M run
Wednesday - stairmaster and weights at the gym

On a completely unrelated note, here is a picture of the boys that Todd found on his computer. So teeny!

Snowed out!

My first Wednesday weigh-in in 24 weeks was snowed out tonight! I can't believe it. Might be a good thing, though, because I am feeling a bit down this week - and not scale-wise. Some pics to brighten up the snowy day....Charlotte demonstrating the 0 point ww carrot:

The boys with the snowman they (read: Todd) built tonight. Henry has a bloody nose. Oh well.

Cute haircut pic:

Cute Charby smiles:

Tom Bergeron? Hi, it's Jane calling. Will THIS video make it on the show??

Me scaring the boys with the Scary Maze website.

"Take the keys and jolly bolly, fa mana na na nana na na"

Christmas morning at our house was fun and crazy. Charlotte loved opening her gifts - here she is bringing one to the carpet to open:

Here is Henry with his new crane and Owen with his new dump truck:

Todd and Char opening a gift together, and then Owen watching the next gift:

Can you spot the real animal here? It's like ET!

Winter break begins! (wednesday weigh-in, too)

The kids had their Christmas program tonight - and it was a adorable. Here are the boys singing their songs, and a picture of Char working on her gingerbread house, grumpily....

WW weigh-in: +0.6

Feeling: Good, despite the gain. I didn't track OR exercise this week. So, back on track. Hooray for Christmas!

We are 4!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE MOST WONDERFUL BOYS ON EARTH!!!!!

You will not even believe the amount of catching up we have to do.

A while ago, there was a carnival in our neighborhood. So we went, and the boys loved it. Here are some shots of that:

Same weekend, we went to a Pumpkin Race - the boys did a dash and Todd did a 5K.

Different day, adorable Charlotte outfit at the park:

This week the kids got to go to a pumpkin patch for their first field trip! Here are some pics of that:

Wednesday Weigh-In

Down 1.2 pounds tonight at Weight watchers. Anna and I went to the GYM before WW tonight, what a success!!! I am super sore. Back when I was skinny (pre-marriage I was super skinny!) I would do the stairmaster at the gym (the best gym ever, Centre Club in Gurnee, IL) and this afternoon I decided to jump right in and try it again. It was freaking hard. But I did 30 minutes and went 70 flights. It is definitely a harder workout than the elliptical, which I usually do. Then I did some situps and some back exercises. My lower back seems very weak and sore, I am hoping to find some good exercises to strengthen that. Any suggestions?

Tonight's weight watchers topic was portion control. It was kinda boring. But it was the first meeting where EVERYONE in the meeting lost weight! So, a good week for all.

I have noticed my clothes are fitting better, and yesterday at Girls on the Run it felt much easier to keep up with the girls. So, that's good. I just want to weigh 53 pounds less and I'll be over the moon.

In other news, boys got new beds tonight. Henry screamed for a bit after bedtime because he wanted his little bed back. He better get over that shit. Pictures to come - they picked out some super cute bedding.

Catching up

Found these pics and thought I'd share. The first is pre-haircut of the boys at the playground. The 2nd is a cute pic of Char in a cute highchair at a friend's house. Isn't it the cutest chair? Thanks for the pic, K! :)

boys will be boys?

Yesterday after bath, the boys went downstairs to play. Before they went, Todd made them take an oath saying they promised to come upstairs if they had to poop. They were wearing just underwear (yeah, what?) and after about an hour of playing, they came up naked. "Where are your underwear?" we asked. "Downstairs. We peed on the bed," one of them replied. "What? ha ha ha," Todd answered. "We peed. On the bed." Todd and I exchanged glances, not sure if we heard them correctly or not. I made the move to go check out the basement.

Sure enough, a big puddle of pee was slowly seeping into the mattress. There was no remorse from the pee-ers, either. They heehawed it up and kept talking about it until bedtime. We threatened to give away their toys, and Todd seriously considered peeing on their beds in retaliation. (He said the only thing stopping him was that he'd have to clean it.) When we reminded them of their oath and asked why they didn't come upstairs to pee, they said, "We didn't have to poop, Daddy!"

Is this how boys behave? Sheesh.

The look of defeat, left, in Henry's face....Why? Because Owen pooped on the potty before he did. Owen got a new harmonica and you can see his look of triumph below. Hooray for Owen!

Seasonal Affective Disorder = SAD

The winter blahs, anyone?

Yesterday it was about 45 degrees when I picked up the kiddies, so we booked it over to the playground before the sun went down. It was good for them. Until 1 minute later Owen fell down and got a bloody nose.

Sigh.

It's hard when it gets dark so soon, it's too cold to take them outside, and there is no break until spring break.

The Most Depressing Day of the Year, according to TIME magazine, is Jan. 24.

January is a rough month overall, I think.

Do you agree??

celery is an awesome teether!

It's also awesome when the waitress puts the tray full of delicious chicken wings in reach of baby and she gets hot sauce all over her hand. At least she is getting the experience necessary to be a lifelong lover of B-Dubs.

The boys in their awesome sweatshirts from Aunt Lynn:

au revoir 2009!

2009 has been year of ups and downs for me. The beginning of the year began with the agonizing fight and loss of Tuesday Whitt. I met Tuesday in 2007 with her sister and Mom. We knew each other through our twin group, and they are a great family. Very funny, real, and alcoholics like me. We got along great.

Another big loss for my family and me this year was the loss of my grandmother June Bills in February and her husband of 50+ years and my grandfather, Howard Bills, in June. Charlotte and I went on our third flight together (in utero) for June's funeral, and she accompanied me to Howard's funeral when she was only 3 weeks old. She would have loved to meet them both; and likewise.

The highlight of our year was the addition of our beautiful Charbaby! She is a light in my life when I am frustrated, spent, or sad.

The other lights in my life are the boys, of course! They make me laugh at least once a day and say the craziest things. I can't imagine my life without them. We had a lot of adventures this year - a fun summer at the pool and the beach, endless playdates with friends, birthday parties, temper tantrums, hospital visits, countless works of art, and millions of hugs, kisses, high fives, and peaces.

Favorite quotes of this year? Oh, so many choices....this one, from the Inauguration. Anything that made me laugh said by Sarah Palin, Tiger Wood's "coming out," and mostly everything said by Obama. Oh, and everything on "Family Guy" and "30 Rock."

There are those that make resolutions each year, and inevitably break them. I know I am guilty of it. Every year I plan to exercise more, eat healthier, be nicer, work harder....and January 3rd or 4th rolls around and I have given up already.

This year my goal is to be happier by making others happy.
Let's see if I can do it.

chugga chugga