Funny Things About the Boys

* Tennyson has learned how to say chip. However, he says it 'sh*t'. He enunciates very clearly. It's hysterical
* Julian is getting so creative. He is starting to sing to himself and make up songs. He makes up stories and explanations for everything.
* The boys are actually playing together now. I love hearing Julian ask Tennyson to come play.
* Tennyson's new best friend is Buzz Lightyear. He is is at the point where is starting to collect items and carry them with him. At all times he is seen with a Buzz and a Woody.
* Julian has been out of his Iron Man costume for a few weeks now. He puts it on every now and then but generally he wears regular clothes, it's kind of nice.

Tuesday Confessional

As a child I woke up at 3 or 4 AM every Christmas morning every single year. Until I was about 16. I don't remember when I started waking up so early. I'm getting a little nervous about the possibility of early mornings starting already. The kids are excited though!

Tuesday Confessional

I am making 3 pies and 1 cheesecake tomorrow. I am also making the whole Thanksgiving meal on Thursday. We will have family and friends joining us. I am so excited. And while we're at it, here are a few things I'm grateful for today.

* Friends who let Julian come and play for the afternoon.
* Modern Medicine.
* A sweet and wonderful husband who treasures me and lets me know regularly how much he loves me.
* For taking the time to answer Julian's request to tell him about Jesus. We talked for 30 minutes this morning about Jesus. Who He is, what He did for us and why we worship Him. This is the second day in a row that we have talked about Jesus and that Julian has been really interested in learning about Him.
* For Tennyson, who learned to say "mommy" in stead of mama and he learned to say I Love You. I am grateful for his kisses and hugs.

I am so blessed.

Awesome Giveaway

Hey folks... I know you guys like free stuff :) I came across this giveaway today and thought you guys might be interested. It's a free photobook!! I've currently got a list of 5 books that need to be made :) Go check it out and good luck book making :)

http://www.photobookgirl.com/blog/myphotocreations-giveaway-8-amazing-prizes-2-flush-mount-albums-u-s-canada-ends-1129/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+photobookgirl+(PhotoBookGirl.com)

Tuesday Confessional

I am making our Christmas Ornaments this year.

Emotional Eating

So it's been one week since I have been off of junk food. It hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be, mainly because I thought that it would be all I could think about and I would sit staring at a piece of candy crying because I couldn't eat it. It wasn't that bad, however I did learn something about myself. I am an emotional eater. When the day is hard, the boys are crying, the house is dirty, I have no energy, whatever it is, I want a piece of candy. Apparently I think that a sweet is a cure-all. Here's my problem. I am replacing the crappy food with healthy food (I ate carrots, tomatoes, whole grain cereal, nuts, etc instead of the candy today), however I'm STILL eating when I am frustrated, tired, annoyed, whatever.

I am not sure how to change this behavior. Is anyone else an emotional eater? How did you change that behavior? Is it more mental than physical? I'm at a loss as to what to do, but I figure since I'm not eating junk I may as well try and stop emotional eating.

Tuesday Confessional

I had an epiphany the other day. I remember thinking "duh!" but sometimes the simple things are the hardest to learn. My epiphany went a little like this

I want my life to be happy. I want to be happy. That means I care for my kids and my husband and if I can, I help those around me. That is what my days are made up of. Exercising, going to the park, reading stories, putting together puzzles, cooking, cleaning (more than just the house), laughing, talking; this is what I do every day. These are my days and I am satisfied, contented and happy about it. I want to do these things and because I want to do them it makes life so much better. If I can, I try to build new traditions with my family. If I can, I try and do a little extra on my to-do list. But, if I don't, it's OK! Because I got to go to the park, read stories, put together a puzzle, make dinner, clean the house and laugh and talk with my family. And that proves for a pretty productive day.

Results

I finished my triathlon yesterday. I was surprised how tired it made me! It was really fun. I completed it in 1:22:37. My goal was 1:20:00. I think I would have met my goal except that after the bike as I was getting ready for the swim I removed my timing chip (unknowingly) and I went and got in the pool and swam about 30 yards before I realized it was gone. I had to get out of the pool, run back to my bike (which was nearly impossible), put it on and go get back in the pool. I think I lost almost 2 minutes doing that, but I won't know for sure until they release the breakdown of times.

I didn't stop once. I kept going the whole time. I didn't get off my bike, I rode all the way up the hill, twice. Overall I am pleased with my performance and I think that I would like to do one again. :)

Official Times:

5K Run 30:16

10 Mile Bike 36:25

350 Yard Swim 8:45

FYI: I lost 3 minutes on the last transition. Had I been thinking clearly, I would have placed in the top 10 for my age group. Oh well :)

No Junk...

My friend talked me into going off of refined sugar until Thanksgiving. We get to eat pie and whatnot on Thanksgiving then we'll go off of refined sugar again until Christmas... I'm hoping it will kick start my weight loss again since I haven't lost a pound in over a month. So I won't be eating candy, cake, ice cream, cookies, soda, etc. We'll see how it goes... wish me luck. Apparently the first 3 days are the hardest.

No Motivation

I have Activity Day girls coming to my house in an hour. I have 2 other leaders showing up in 25 minutes to help set up. The boys are watching a movie and the dishes are piled in the sink. The table is covered in crumbs from lunch. There are toys scattered all over the living room. Really, it would only take about 15 minutes to get cleaned up, but I have absolutely no motivation to get up and do something. Ugh... I need to try and get moving.

Tuesday Confessional

My traithlon is in 3 days. My body is tired, but I can feel myself getting stronger and my stamina is increasing. I am afraid that on the second time riding up that nasty hill during the bike race that I will have the deep need to get off of the bike and walk it up the hill. I hope that my self control and determination will win out over my lack of energy :)