My Sweet Molly

(Please ignore that this post showed up on January 28th. I was busy, people!)

I am fond of 7:37 a.m. At that time the day is just getting started, I've had at least 1 cup of coffee, and most days I get to spend the moment in the quiet of my empty classroom all by myself. Alone. It's 1 of the only minutes during the day that I'm by myself.

I'm particularly fond of 7:37 a.m. on January 27th, 2006. It was then that I got to meet my new, very tiny, sweet girl for the first time. I love remembering that moment, that day. While Molly's arrival was a huge event for our family, her actual birth was pretty uneventful. The most dramatic thing that I can remember is that Dr. H. (the pediatrician) somehow didn't get the memo that my c-section was scheduled for 7 a.m., so we all waited in the operating room for him to arrive--the anesthesiologist with his needle poised and ready. The rest...well I guess the doctors would call it "text book". Though I do remember a certain amount of hurriedness to get Little Miss on the scale because she looked so, so tiny. And, alas, she was! On her chart they rounded up to 6 pounds. The scale actually said 5 and 15.5 ounces. (How I, who has never ever been tiny, created a tiny baby, I do not know.)

Now Little Miss is 3.

How has it already been 3 years?! But at the same time, it's hard to remember life without her, like it was soooooooo long ago. She sure doesn't seem like a baby anymore. She's our big girl--our perfect, one-of-a-kind big girl. She's funny, she's feisty, and she has the strongest of wills! I think only Mom and Dad know the depth of her stubbornness. :) She neither gives up nor gives in! But her stubbornness is equaled by her sweetness. She'll "take you to the mat" one minute but then snuggle with you the next. And those eyes of hers! They are deep. But they twinkle. I can look in those eyes of hers and see such happiness, such joy, such innocence. My prayer for my girl is that she will never ever lose that twinkle. Ever.

So happy birthday, my sweet Molly! You are precious and perfect in every way. And loved by so many.

5? 3? She tried.

Molly's picks for the night:

Dinner at the "train restaurant"...

...and ice cream for dessert. What could be better?

One more present from Mom and Dad...

(Allison, does Abby really have a princess scooter?)

3 will be a great year for you, Molly Kate! xoxoxo

Royalty among us...

...and a few pirates to boot!

On Saturday Molly got to have her long-awaited Cinderella birthday party. And I must say, what a great day! She was so happy. More than happy. It was sheer joy. Everything excited her. Dave brought home the balloons, and it was like she had won the lottery. I frosted her pink cake, and she swooned. Seriously. Watching her enjoy her day was priceless and reminded me again just how lucky I am to be a mom. Her mom.


As I said, it was a royal affair...with royal attire...


...or not so royal attire. Pirates were welcome, too!

And then, well there was this little guy. Be still my heart. Can I tell you how wild I am about him? First his big sister arrives on my doorstep. A pirate princess. Then his big brother walks in. Captain Jack Sparrow. And then I see this guy jump out of the van. A frog. A frog! Because don't you know? Every princess needs a frog to kiss. Ha! Love it!

The third time was a charm! Stubborn candle.

Ah, sweet satisfaction.

A great day made better with great friends (and a pretty good haul, too)!

These 2...pretty much the cutest pair EVER!

A sweet, quiet moment reading with Lacey.

Mama and her princess.

Grizzlies in Training

This month the Mac High b-ball teams (a.k.a. the Grizzlies) hosted a basketball "camp" for the kinders. Grayson was a little unsure at first (surprise, surprise) but after week 1, he was hooked! So look out soccer, you've got a little competition!

Of course he was with his buddies, including James.

He shoots, he......(Honestly I don't know if he scored, but look at that follow-thru!)

Check out the boy next to G. Just looking at him, you KNOW he's gonna be good! (Coach's son, btw.)

And you can't forget these 2...alway along for the "ride"!

More talk...

Okay, so my friend Paige asked me to post the "recipe" to my 14 day cleanse (which really was Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet). Basically, in a nutshell, I cut all sugar and flour out of my diet for 2 weeks. Yes, you could say it was a no-carb plan of attack--a way to reverse the body's inability to process sugars and starches properly--but no, I certainly don't plan on cutting out all sugars and starches forever. Fruit is a good thing, same with grains. Your body needs them. But going 2 weeks without them gives your body--more specifically, your blood chemistry--time to adjust so that when you do start choosing the right fats and the right carbs, your body will know what to do with them.


So I guess it's not really a "recipe" but more of a plan that you just have to be willing to commit to. For 14 days. Which seems a little daunting at first, but really in the grand scheme of things? 14 days? Not that long. And it's not like EVERY food is off limits. Just most! Ha! Ha! :) Kidding. In fact, not that you care, but here's a sampling of what got me thru 2 weeks. We'll call it 'MY Top 10 Super Foods':


My family has loved these veggie sausages for several years now. They really do taste like meat! Seriously.




You get all the protein of eggs but without all the cholesterol. And when scrambled or made into omelets, you really can't tell that they didn't come straight from a shell. (But they are real eggs.)


On a side note--If you don't like eggs, that could be a problem. Sorry.

This is a staple in our house. Right up there with water. We musn't ever run out! Ever. And trust me when I tell you that you CAN train your kids to eat (and like) peanut butter that doesn't have all of the added garbage in it. Go natural! And this particular kind doesn't even separate.

This was my treat every night after dinner. Like yogurt, there's a bazillion different flavors. And only 60 calories.

Now in all honesty, even though I ate this yogurt for the 14 days (and liked it fine) I've already switched back to an all natural low-fat alternative. More calories and carbs (because of the natural sugar) but without the dreaded high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, etc... That's the thing about cutting out sugar. You pretty much have to be willing to eat some form of artificial sweetener. At least for 14 days.

If you like chocolate milk...yummy!

I heat it up in a mug and pretend it's tomato soup.

The light variety only has 60 calories and 2.5 grams of fat. Easiest snack ever!

Eat it on celery or in a lettuce roll-up with turkey. The garlic and herb kind is tasty, too. And only 35 calories! You can have 2!

True, not the first thing you usually crave when it's freezing cold outside, but when you gotta have chocolate...

So there you go. Too bad my name's not Jillian Michaels or Bob Harper! I could make a fortune!

Hallelujah!

First of all, an admission. I realize that it is my kids and pictures of my kids that carry this blog. So my readership, I'm sure, has been dwindling in recent weeks since all I've had to offer is a whole lot of blabber. Sorry. But hold tight! In just 5 short days it is going to look like Cinderella threw up all over our house when we celebrate Molly's 3rd birthday. In true princess fashion, of course. Now that's gotta make for great photo opps. Rest assured.

Until then, however, all I've got is more talk. Because I'm sure that you've all been waiting with baited breath to see if I fell off the wagon during my 14 day 'diet'. Which, from here on out, I choose to refer to as a 'cleanse'. That sounds so much less fad-like and more total body healthish, don't you think?! (Thanks, CB!) Anyway, yesterday was day 14. The end. Did I stick to it? Absolutely. Did I cheat? Not once. (Except for my tablespoon of coffee creamer each morning in week 1.) Was I miserable? Actually...no! Granted, the first 2-3 days were rough. I was grumpy. Very grumpy. But then it just kind of became...easy. And I didn't even have to lock myself in the house to resist temptation. I went to a birthday party. Didn't eat. Still had fun. I went to Mom's Night Out. Only had a salad. And still enjoyed the conversation. I got busy, I got stressed, I served my kids plenty of fruits and grains and even sweets, but still I held fast to my 2 week resolve. And I did it! Now does that mean I'm not dying to have a piece of 'San Juan Island Nine Grain' toast? No, I am! Oooh, and my beloved Nutella. Yum. But at least I feel like I'm back on track. And I've got some forward momentum, which is motivation in itself to keep on working at it. And speaking of work, regular exercise has found its way back into my schedule, too. Joy. I'm sorry, I'll do it because I know that it's good for me, but I do not EVER experience the 'runner's high' that everyone talks about! Not ever.

And finally, I'm sure you're all wondering how much weight I lost..........

7 pounds.

Amen.

I guess I'm 'it'.

Tagged. Again. This time I am supposed to think of seven interesting little known facts about me. Perhaps the word 'interesting' should be deleted. After all, that's asking a lot! So I make no promises.


1. When I started college, I was dead set CERTAIN that I was going to be a broadcast journalist like Katie Couric. Some of you already know that. But do you know what fueled my desire? Figure skating. Truly. Katie Couric got to go to the Winter Olympics every 4 years and watch figure skating. Up close. Live. Back in the day, I was a figure skating fan like no other. Seriously, it was freaky how much I knew about ALL world class competitive skaters. Some girls had a monthly subscription to Sassy magazine. I got Figure Skating Today. (Okay, and maybe Sassy, too.) My parents were nice enough to drive me to Sun Valley every summer to see all of the big names perform. Though we camped. Sigh. No ritzy Sun Valley Lodge for us. But I have been shoulder to shoulder with Scott Hamilton and talked to Kristi Yamaguchi's mom. Have you?

Oh and the broadcast journalism thing? Yeah, Journalism 101 practically killed me. Sooooo not my thing. Apparently.

2. I never wanted to be a teacher. Never even considered it. Not once. But since the said journalism class up above practically killed me, I pretty much had to switch majors. I distinctly remember sitting in my college advisor's office. He of course was a Mass Communications professor. I sobbed. And sobbed. He asked me what else I was interested in. I loved writing, that's all I knew. So in my mind I was making this big connection between writing and English. Because in my high school English classes I always had to write! So I said, "I guess maybe English." In my head I was thinking, "Good. There. I've made a decision. I said it out loud. English it is!" And my professor said, "Oh, so you love to read?" Crap. Back to the drawing board. It was his idea to take an introductory education course. Not mine. I guess I should thank him!

3. Last year I was watching a 20/20 or Dateline NBC type show. They were celebrating the life of a nationally known motivational speaker who had just lost his battle with cancer. Eek! I feel so bad that I can't remember his name. Anyway, they showed past interviews with him during the middle of his fight. And he told the reporter that one of his first symptoms was floating poop. Shortly after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Well you can connect the dots, but for at least 2 weeks I was certain that I was dying. Not kidding. Ask my husband. And ladies, you know you've got some husband when he will spend time on the internet researching poop. And turns out, floating poop--not that bad!

4. My husband was my first kiss. Love that!

5. I have never, not once in my life, been drunk. Love that, too!

6. I 'dvr' reruns of Beverly Hills, 90210. I've seen every episode. Multiple times. And what's worse? I LOVE the new 90210! Even though it's so, so bad. So bad. I mean really bad.

7. Processed cheese. It was my biggest craving when I was pregnant, and to this day I find it DELICIOUS! Seriously. That cheese that sprays out of a can? Yum-o! 7-11 nachos? Divine! Cheez Whiz? Pushing it, but still edible. Bring on the cheese!

Okay, yeah, processed cheese--just not that interesting. Sorry. My floating poop? Now you probably wish that you didn't know that about me. Again, sorry. All I can say is that it's Sarri's fault! She tagged me! Now I tag Fairlight, Traci, Tara, and Stefanie!

Not my plan.

For Christmas we got Molly this:

Isn't it cute? It came with a sweet little all-American family--Mom, Dad, Sister, Baby, and Grandma, too. Even a pet dog. And at first, Molly girl played with it just like I envisioned she would. It was too precious to listen to her role-play. "Come on baby, time for a bath." and "Oh, Puppy. You hungry?" or "Bye, bye. I go to work now." All said in her sweet, little dramatic play voice.

But lately? Lately the playing has been reduced to this:

"Aaahhhhhh, there's a monster coming!" (as the sweet mommy and baby are "flying" thru the air in the plastic bed which has become a makeshift rocket ship) "Bad guy coming!!!"

And then what's worse is that Molly gets her PINK CINDERELLA (think gentle, kind princess) megaphone, stands up on the coffee table and shouts, "Shoot it! Shoot it!"

Nice. Perhaps it's evident that a 5 year-old good guy/bad guy obsessed big brother also lives here?

South Beach

Unfortunately, NOT Miami. I wish! No, I'm talking 'Diet'. As in South Beach Diet. Which started today. Phase 1.

I know, I know, diets in general are only temporary fixes. They don't work unless you make lifelong changes and cut the bad habits. So I'm thinking of it more as sort of an eating 'boot camp'--a way to whip me back into my prior good...ahem...I mean better habits.

I'm sure it'll about kill me, which of course is what I've heard about real 'boot camp'. But I've done it before once, and I didn't die. And low and behold, it changed the way we eat around here! To this day. Only I've gotten a little lax as of late. Oops. So wish me luck. 14 days worth of it!

Hello, New Year.

In theory, I suppose we should all be living in such a way each day that would negate the need for new resolutions. We wouldn't need them because we'd get it right the first time. But I guess that would mean that we'd all be perfect, and...well...we certainly aren't. None of us. So, like them or not, here are my '09 resolutions...

It's time to be more intentional. No more "we should go to the pool" or "hey, we should go out to coffee sometime". Darn it! Let's go swimming and grab a cup of coffee! And friends, if I invite you to coffee, don't pencil me in 2 weeks later in your day planner! Friends should be able to find 45 minutes for one another. Right?

It's also time to be more service oriented. Our whole family. Because we are incredibly blessed people. And we could be using our time, talents, and resources to bless others. Not to say that 1 member of our family doesn't already utilize his gift of a giving spirit. I have always been inspired by my hubby's desire to help others. It's part of who he is. And I love that. Even if sometimes it means that I'm left in a car with screaming children while he lends a hand to every stuck vehicle he sees during a snowstorm. At least we have a good teacher in the service department. :)

And finally, something tells me that 2009 is going to be a big year. What kind of big? I don't know. But big in a way that's going to require me to step out of my comfort zone. In some way. Already God is making certain things uncomfortable. For a reason, I'm sure. Friendships have been and are being tested, but still I'm hopeful and trusting that thru all of it we will only come out stronger. A stronger family, stronger individuals, stronger Christians. And happy.

May your resolutions, too, lead you to a place of contentment. More than content, may you be joyful and fulfilled. Happy 2009!