Designated Reader

Ian: "Lilly, let's make a surprise for daddy when he comes home from work--because daddy loves to read to us."

They worked so hard. My favorite part? Daddy's picture in the middle--Ian's idea.

Thank you, God, for a daddy who reads to and loves on his children. MY children.

What is your favorite children's book? Who did you most love to read you stories when you were a child?

Kite Flying

Meeting my brother and Amanda, Caleb and Sam at the park for kite flying made for a perfect afternoon, until this guy almost broke his coccyx flying down a slide (No Uncle Rico jokes, please). He has since spent most of his awake time standing up:

And if you don't know who Uncle Rico is, see Napoleon Dynamite.

Sadly, a park visit on a Saturday can lead to your child vomiting on a Monday. Seriously, there should be warning signs at park entrances to that effect. You know that friend you have whose house is pristinely clean, almost hospital sterile (I know, I'm insanely jealous, too)? While having dinner there last night, Ian started rocking from side to side. My head was spinning. I knew what was coming. Sure enough--vomit--ALL OVER her bathroom, her perfectly white walls and immaculate white rug. I've never seen so much nastiness in all my life. Why there?!!

Needless to say, after 45 minutes of intense scrubbing on my part, my diseased crew and I promptly exited the premises. I'm sorry Robin!

Soooo . . . last night Ian vomited over and over again--one of those scary nights when you pray for God to protect your child, to hold him in His hands, because he can't even keep a sip of water down.

Flown any kites lately?

First (Temporary) Tattoo

They may look alike, but he's a Luke at heart.

"The force is strong with this one."

Time for Two

Sweet little Paxton Bridges is two. He was such a cutie pie at his birthday party with that darling little grin and those perfect eyes. He made my day when he opened our gift and slipped this right onto his arm.

With some felt, embroidery floss and a good movie to watch, you can make one in no time. The watch is the width of my camera strap at the widest part, and I traced a quarter to make the face. Lilly's wrist is about 4 inches around (she was my model), and I added some inches after that for the velcro.

Thanks to Dana at MADE for this excellent idea featured on her blog. Go here for pictures of other felt watches.

Food Rules

Thank you. Thank you. Thank YOU!

Your encouraging comments in the last post brought me out of my funk. You guys are the best!

After several months of being on the wait list for Food Rules at the library and still being #39 in line, I broke down and purchased this book from B&N. It is an excellent, easy read, and I love the simple rules like, "If it's the same word in every language, it's not food (Think Big Mac, Cheetos)."

I finished reading The Book Thief last night. And what happens to Himmel Street at the end, well, I find it constantly in my thoughts today. Narrated by death (but not in a scary way at all), the book takes place in Nazi Germany and follows the story of a young girl.

Anyone read The Book Thief or Food Rules (or one of Pollan's other food books)?

Wanted: Pixie Dust--URGENT

Ever have a day that makes you feel like this?

Poor Tink. No amount of Pixie Dust or "I DO believe in fairies" can repair her pelvis, torn in two by Lilly as she attempted to dress her in Ariel's mermaid tail. Normally, I'd bet on the Neverland fairy in a Tinkerbell-Ariel smack-down, but I guess Ariel was having a good day.

And Tinkerbell wasn't.

Neither was I.

I feel like Tink today. For a couple weeks, I've been stuck at 29 pounds lost. Finally, yesterday, I hit 31 lost, only to land back at 29 this morning. Even with all my hard work, self-deprivation, healthy eating, running, swimming, consistency, and fitness goals reached, my body fat percentage is still, in my opinion, astronomical.

To top it all off, I attended a new fitness class yesterday and, well, I'm just sore.

This morning, my trainer and I confabbed and she outlined a whole new strength training program for me. She said I'd graduated: no more machines, only free weights.

I start the new regimen tomorrow. I'm tired. I can only hope this works. I'd like to get to 40 pounds lost.

Encouragement? Tips? Ideas to pull me up out of this pesky plateau and body fat funk? Thanks, dear reader. Your opinions, to me, are worth their weight in Pixie Dust.

Speaking of . . .

Thought I'd give winter one last hurrah with these icy images. Happy March 1! I am ready for spring! Above, you see a quote that makes me smile.

And below, you see a quote that, if you are local and like me, you have driven past this gas station and spewed coffee (almost) upon reading this sign. Considering the abundance of snow and slush again and again this season, the locals aren't keen on the Groundhog this year!


One final favorite quote of mine from yesterday . . .
Lilly: Ian helped me unbutton my coat. He's my handsome boy.
Awwww.

Now it's your turn. Leave a comment with a favorite quote or Scripture here. Maybe it's as simple as a funny random thought from one of your kiddos. Please share!
Paper: Cosmo Cricket, Jolly by Golly--scanned into my computer, chopped up + quote added in Photoshop.