Things That are True

 1. I have exercised 87 days in a row.

2. I sometimes eat pie for breakfast and/or lunch.

3.  I've lost five pounds since January 1 (perhaps that would be more if not for #2).

4.  I yell at my kids too much.

5.  I pray too little.

6.  I have been able to forgive myself for #4 and #5 because the One who matters most already forgives me.

7.  I love Instagram for the iPhone (asmanyasgiven).

8. Benjamin is the cutest. (except for your cute children and my other cute children of course)

9.  I might be a little bit addicted to Top Chef.

10. I'm going to Opening Day for the Rangers for the first time in my life!

Tell me something true about you.

Where I'm At

 I shouldn't be writing this post right now.  I'm breaking my Lenten sacrifice/fast/whatever you want to call it.  One of the reasons I'm posting ever more sporadically is that I have vowed to limit my online time to when the kids are sleeping.  This is proving difficult for a variety of reasons, mostly relating to my selfishness.  However, it is already bearing fruit.  Or at least I hope it is.

So anyway, in taking on this fast I was hoping to find more time to think about what I write here.  I don't really think that has happened.  I have read a lot more lately, actual books!  I'm on a retreat team and the role I have is just what I needed, even though I didn't realize it.  I'm doing a lot of thinking and praying but it will likely not show up here, at least not now. 

Expect things to continue to be relatively quiet.  Even if I wasn't intentionally making myself absent our life would force it on me.  We've got four kids on four different teams this spring.  Travis and I are both on retreat teams.  We're still serving our parish in a couple of other ways.  Real life is calling and I have to answer.  I miss some of my online connections but it is good to step away.  Hopefully when I come back I'll have something worth saying.  And I will definitely still post pictures.  I know I have family reading here and I'm very poor about keeping in touch with them, so this space will still serve that purpose. 

So, I'm here, but I'm not here.

What to Say?

 I feel a need to post new content, but my writing well seems dry.  I'll have to investigate some writing prompts. 

Madeleine is sick again.  She was the first one to be sick a couple of weeks ago and it seems the illness has come back for a second round.  Also, she is unfortunate to be a person who gets nausea along with headaches, so she is extra miserable.  Poor girl.

I've exercised 80 days in a row!  I am still loving C25K for outdoor running.  I'm experimenting with my stride a little bit, trying to mimic a barefoot style while still wearing shoes.  Travis says I won't get it right with shoes on, but I don't want ugly feet.  I have some credit at RunOn so I think I will try some minimalist running shoes.
I failed to post pictures of Benjamin at 10 months old.  I don't think I even took any with the monkey.  I did take pictures of him on the 5th, just not posed.  Alas, being the sixth kid is such a bummer.  He continues to delight us with his cheerfulness and charm.  He has also decided he wants to eat food like the rest of us.  He demolished some beans for lunch today.  Looks like we are in the three baths a day stage of life.

I promise to write something of substance sometime this week. 

Semi-stuck

 I've worked out for at least 30 minutes every day for 74 days in a row.  There have been days when I am doing the Wii Step at 10:00 p.m. just to get it in, but I've done it.  So you would maybe think I had lost some weight.  I have.  Three stinking pounds.  Looks like I need to get serious about the food.  Which could be problematic, since I currently have a bag of candy eggs, a bag of mini peanut butter cups and a bag of Sour Patch Kids in my house.  Oops.

Having sick kids for over a week has kept me limited to working out at home.  I know my intensity has not been high enough.  I did start the Couch to 5K training program.  I rarely run outside so this is a great way to build my endurance away from the treadmill.  It is also frustrating.  I can do 3 miles in about 36 minutes on the treadmill, but only 2.3 in 30 minutes outside.  I just have a harder time with pace, so that is why I am using the training program.  The kids wanted to train with me but finding time for all of us to run has been difficult, especially since they have been sick.

So I feel sort of stuck, but not entirely.  I've made some progress.  I know that I can find time to exercise if I am really determined to do so.  I've accepted that it can't be all or nothing, that light exercise is better than complete laziness.  But I want to see more results.  I want to feel good in my bathing suit this summer.  So I'm going to start working harder. I hope.

I'm only getting online when the kids are sleeping, for Lent.  So my posts may become even more infrequent. Ugh.

Living Someone Else's Life

 Travis and I got a much needed date night last night.  The kids are all on the road to recovery, mostly all healthy and I was ready for a break from the sick ward.  Travis's mom was nice enough to babysit the first shift and then a college friend took over for the late hours. We were given tickets, a parking pass, and food vouchers for a Dallas Mavericks game (basketball for my non-sports readers).  Being the good blogger that I am I of course took pictures, although only with my phone.

First of all, our parking pass allowed us to park in a garage right across the street from the American Airlines Center.  The sign out front said it was $25 to pay to park there, but we just showed our pass and grabbed a spot.  Always a nice way to start a night, in my opinion.  We had Platinum Club tickets, so we got to go in a special entrance with virtually no line.  We took the escalator and eventually found the buffet.  I was expecting standard stadium fare, or standard "upscale" fare, such as wraps and fruit and wings, maybe.  Boy was I wrong.

That really is the food that I ate!  Can you believe it? That is actually my second plate.  The menu for the buffet was international. There was a Lousiana station that had crawfish, okra and tomatoes and jalapeno cornbread.  There was also chicken and sausage gumbo.  I had a piece of cornbread and tried the gumbo, but didn't love it. There was an Italian station, with steak and farfalle pasta in a creamy cheese sauce or Italian Sausage rigatoni.  Of course they had ceasar salad too.  Another station had brisket and smoked pork tenderloin with andouille sausage.  The pork was divine. The roasted potatoes were also delicious.  Finally there was a "Farm to Plate" station with roasted chicken and mushroom risotto and green beans almondine.  The chicken was good.  Travis loved the broccoli and cheese soup.  It was definitely made with something besides cheddar cheese!  So rich and creamy. 

I didn't take a picture but the salad bar was also fantastic.  It wasn't really a salad bar so much as a "yummy things that have no other place" bar.  Artisan cheese, plenty of fresh fruit, prosciutto, salami, asparagus, hummus, caprese sausage and flatbread and other things.  I could have been full just eating off of that!

We were told the buffet costs $32 cash, but we had vouchers for it.  I was impressed with the variety and quality offered at that price point at a sports arena.  Since nachos probably cost at least $7, it really would have been well worth the cost if we were paying for it.  Alcohol and dessert was extra and you can bet we decided to indulge.  Since we weren't paying for anything else we figured it was worth it.  And it was.

That is what is left of my six-layer carrot cake.  It was a huge slice and there was no way I could finish it.  It was delicious.  Creamy and moist and just the right amount of spice.  Travis had a S'mores cake and the bite I had was so good.  Creamy chocolate mousse layered with chocolate cake and some kind of graham cracker tasting cake and marshmallow cream or something.  Yummy.


After eating like kings we decided to go to our seats.  Of course we had to stop in the restroom on the way.  I took a picture of the door to my stall, just so y'all could see that this was not like being a common person going to a stadium. 

 Yes, that is a full door to the stall.  No utilitarian stalls meant to accommodate the masses when you are on the Platinum level.  I couldn't take a picture to show the cool mirrors.  They are screens and mirrors.  When no one is directly in front of one it shows advertising, but when you stand in front of it it the advertising retreats to a corner and you can see yourself.  You can tell Mark Cuban had his hand in this place.

When we finally made it to our seats we were greeted by a waiter!  We only had a coke the whole night, so I didn't peruse the food selections.  I did see the people in front of us enjoying some desserts that you don't typically find at sporting events.  Cheesecake and spice cake both looked good.  Our seats were great, on the second level near the end of the court but still on the side.  One of the great things about the AAC is that rather than having metal rails for safety along the front rows of each level there is some kind of leaded glass, so your sight lines are not as interrupted.  We had a good view of the court, but I also caught myself looking at the enormous video screen as often as I was watching the actual court.  Oops.

The Mavs won, but the game started so late that we had to leave after the third quarter.  I will say that I prefer going to baseball games and UNT basketball games for the actual game-watching part.  At the AAC there is always some music or noise or audio being played and it was kind of distracting at times. But the opening was cool and I can imagine how the place is rocking during the playoffs.  Should our friend ever need to give away these tickets again we would be happy to take them.

For a few hours we pretended like we were part of the upper-class crowd that can afford to do this kind of thing on a regular basis.  Our friend has these tickets as a corporate account and was kind enough to give us some when he didn't need them.  It was so fun!  I would go again just for the food! 

Benjamine's First Haircut

 I never thought I would have a kid in need of a haircut before their first birthday. But, Ben's hair was getting a little long around the ears.  A sweet friend of mine came over and gave him a little trim.  I really didn't want him to get a full haircut because I know it will make him look bigger and I'm not ready for that!  I had the settings on my camera all weird, so the few pictures I got were not great.  He was also not as happy as he usually is.  But here they are anyway.





Even cuter! 

Most of the family is on the mend.  Ben is still struggling a bit, although he is a little more playful today than he has been the last couple of days.  Lily was looking pretty sickly for a day or so but is back to her usual fiery self today. Thanks for your kind words.

Gratitude

 Just when I thought our family would be spared the winter sicknesses I've seen so many families endure we have been struck.  Madeleine was diagnosed with flu on Sunday.  Caleb has severe allergies with a mild fever and a terrible cough. Ben has RSV.  The rest of us are coughing and sneezing and generally less than excellent.  I have filled five prescriptions for Tamiflu, one for Albuterol, one for Prednisone and purchased all manner of OTC medications.  Illness in a large family is no small affair.

So why am I grateful? First of all, obviously, is that in the grand scheme of things we are all fairly well.  These are illnesses that are manageable and should be gone by the end of the week.  So far Travis and I are holding up and not too sick, so we can take care of the kids.  Second, we have insurance and can therefore afford all the medications we need.  We're blessed. 

But what really has me feeling grateful is the outpouring of support from our community.  Two friends today offered to bring us food, which I didn't take because I have a full fridge and pantry and already have dinner planned.  Friends have offered to pick up groceries and meds for us.  Countless people are praying for a speedy recovery.  I'm so grateful that we're not battling anything major, but even more thankful to know we would have a veritable army behind us if we were. 

I hate that I need reminders of God's providence.  I wish that I was always and forever aware of His care for me and mine.  But this is a world full of distractions.  I don't believe that God wishes ill for us, but I do believe that He uses these instances of weakness to remind us of His loving care.  I know I need to be slowed down sometimes to take a moment and rest in His embrace. An embrace that comes in the form of a phone call or email, a meal or an offer to babysit, and all those other ways God uses us to minister to each other. 

What are you grateful for today?

Lily is Three!

 Our fireball turned three about a week ago.  We had a pink party for her.  All she wanted was pink cupcakes, so I obliged.



We had her godparents and their five kids over, as well as grandparents and aunt and uncle and cousins.  Thankfully we had gorgeous weather and the kids could run around outside.  Lily has started riding Timmy's bike and wanted her own.  We were given a free bike so she got one, but she has to grow into it. She still likes it though.



It was a good day. The next day was her actual birthday.  She celebrated by painting herself with my nail polish when she was supposed to be napping.  Such is life with Lily.

The State of Things

 I have several posts in my head.  Unfortunately that is where they have stayed.  Life is busy.  Life is messy.  We have challenges. 

I've managed to get in 30 minutes of exercise every day for 61 days in a row. I've lost four pounds. I suspect the loss would be greater if I didn't eat so much junk.  One thing at a time.

Lily turned 3 on Sunday.  We had a party. Pictures to come.

This unexpected absence from the blog and the internet in general is good.  I'm doing much thinking about how I spend my time and what changes to make.  I'm pretty certain that some of the challenges we are dealing with in regards to discipline and behavior issues can be resolved with simple solutions, if I would just get over myself. 

More to come.