Way past overdue update...

Well hello there blog buddies!  I hope you all are doing fantastic.  It's been a while since I last blogged and even longer since I last blogged consistently.  I wish I could tell you all that I had a ball the entire time I was gone but I'd be telling a story.  Overall things have been great and I'm definitely counting my blessings but things have also been challenging.  I have been reading a handful of blogs while away although I haven't left any comments.  I thought about blogging a lot but due to laziness, family, work and other excuses (lol), I didn't.   Anyway, I want to catch you up on what's been going on, although I'm not quite sure where to start...

So, let me see...2013 was an exciting year.  
--my husband and I celebrated 5 years of marriage and my son turned one.
--I finally completed school/training (after all these years) AND 
--landed my first real paying job at 32 (well I was 31 last year).  I liked the job overall  because it was very flexible and paid well AND I loved what I was doing.  I hated the administrative (paperwork) part of my job because it made life more difficult.  Being the obsessive compulsive person that I am, not only did I enjoy the job, I did a pretty dang good job...maybe too good.  For example, I would bypass eating, work after hours (without extra pay), pick up my kid late because I couldn't do a mediocre job.  Well, that was stressful because I felt like I was doing a mediocre job as a parent (although I wasn't I don't think but my obsessive compulsive (ness) wouldn't let me think otherwise). LOL.  It was my first "real" job and I learned a lot.  I learned my worth and how to negotiate my time, pay, benefits, etc accordingly.  I also learned how to stand up for myself.  The two days I picked up my son late due to the company's inefficiency, the company heard about it and they rectified the situation.  Overall it felt good to get reasonable compensation for my work (although part time) while not taking away from my family
--I also was able to stay healthy.  I only worked 3 days per week so I exercised a lot (both running and weightlifting).  I also ate better and was enjoying making fairly healthy meals for my family.  I felt so good and lost almost all my weight from my first pregnancy (well, all but 5lbs).
--the latter part of 2013 was more challenging because my grandmother had a massive stroke which she later died from in early 2014.  This has been very challenging because my grandma partly raised me and I was used to talking to her several times per week.  I had not experienced the death of a very close loved one until this.  It's still hard and sometimes I forget that she passed away because it feels unreal but then I'm reminded when I reach for the phone to call her to share some news with her.
--my son, IEK, had a great year too.  My husband and I are truly marveled by his sweetness, smarts, and language.  Language is definitely a strength for him.  He was a good sleeper but still a terrible eater.

2014 has been interesting thus far.
--My wonderful son turned 2 in early February and had a joint cowboy themed party with one of his buddies.  We all had such a great time and my husband's parents were there to celebrate with us.   He began showing interest in potty training a few weeks before his 2nd birthday and was fully potty trained with ease in no time.  He's an awesome little guy and we are so blown away by all he does.  We saw him go from being a docile toddler to a bossy preschooler.  So cute, but challenging :).
--In late March I stopped working and early April our family moved from North Carolina.  We spent two weeks with my husband's parents as we were relocating to the west coast and wanted to spend some time with them.  That was fun and very relaxing because for the first time in a long time we had family close by to help with our son.  
--In April we went on so many dates.  We even went to the Dominican Republic for a week.  We did an all inclusive resort type trip and was not impressed at all.  However we were grateful for the alone time that we spent together relaxing.  It was my son's first time being away from both parents overnight.  I cried my eyes out the first few days of the vacation.  My son did fine and had a blast with my husband's parents.
--Late April we relocated to northern California because of a great job opportunity for my husband and a potentially great one for me too.  We are using to hopping states a lot (although we are not military) but this was our first time living on the west coast.  I love our town--it's a medium size town with friendly people, great for families, fairly good schools, great food options.  It's bad for shopping but if I want something I usually can find it online if not in the stores.  We love our new town although it's taken our family a little while to adjust.
--Our two year old started having sleep trouble for the first time for likely multiple reasons: the MOVE, 3 hour time difference, newly potty trained, converting to a "big boy" bed to name a few.  The sleep issues were suuuch a pain in the butt for the most part they are resolved now, thank God.
--We celebrated 6 years of marriage in May.
--We expanded our family in June.  I gave birth to one adorable little girl, IVK.  She was born a little early but very healthy (had no complications and came right home with us--thk God).  She is now 2 months old.  She is a darling and her brother "loves her so much."  I agree for the most part with the saying that one of the best gifts you can give your child is a sibling.  I love seeing them together.  He's already very protective of her (although he's hard headed about being gentle with her at times). Haha!
--I had some challenges during the pregnancy--I had a rib dislocation at around 7.5 months that was excruciatingly painful.  Gosh--it was so bad that I could not sleep in my bed due to rib and back pain.  I slept in a recliner for close to 2 weeks.  I sneezed, heard and felt a pop, then was in immediate pain and that was hit.  Thankfully it resolved after about 2-3 weeks with chiropractic care and regularly icing the area.  Soon after that I developed hypertension during the pregnancy and was induced at close to 4 weeks early because it was safer.
--It was soooo stressful: moving to a new city with a sleepless toddler, no support, medical issues and the unanticipated early delivery of our 2nd child.  Of course we also had a lot of other small challenges (like not having my car for about 2 weeks after I moved because the car transportation company lied about transporting the car.  When they finally delivered it they dropped the car off at some random location 2 hours away from where we lived and left the keys on the wheel).

Of course, there's so much more but I've written too much already.  Despite all this we feel very blessed and we are very thankful to God.  Things have settled down a lot for us and we like it that way.  It's weird living so far away from family but we haven't lived in the same state as family in over 6 years.  We've had tons of folks visit us so far which has been awesome.  We love our town and feel eternally grateful for our healthy happy kids.  I'm also thankful for my husband who puts up with his "cray cray" wife with a smile on his face. LOL.  

Overall life is good!  I hope things have been good for you too.  The plan is to pick up blogging again and to be more consistent but I'm making no promises :).  I do want to document our history as a family so I will try my best.  I will share pictures when I so updates on both kiddos.  Also trying to get back in shape again (doing T25--because who has time for a longer workout, right?)


Mrs. K

Good to be home.

I was away from home for almost a month and I must say it's great to be back.  No matter how much fun I'm having on a trip I always miss my dwelling.  It's just nice to have a home base.

The first part of our trip was just with me and lil man since daddy had to work.  We first visited my grandparents and other relatives in Orlando, FL.  That was a lot of fun and they thoroughly enjoyed IEK because the last time they saw him was Christmas 2012.  Actually that's not true we flew down for my grandma's birthday party but we stayed less than 48 hours so that didn't count.  It's cool to think that December of last year he wasn't walking or talking really BUT now he's doing EVERYTHING!  IEK is very clingy to me so it took him some time to warm up to everyone.  I also don't think that it helped that my family is sooo loud and mainly "chat patois."  He's not used to the chaos because our home is so quiet.  He enjoyed it overall and it was nice to see him submerged in some aspects of my culture (food, language, music, etc).

After hanging with my family we flew to north Florida and visited my husband's parents.  We got to see my husband's sisters (and their families) and some other relatives too.  My husband's mom is soooo in love with IEK.  And he's pretty enamored with her too, but it's easy to see why because she's so awesome.  This week was the most relaxing part of the entire trip.  The house was quiet (although still noisier than ours).  I had a lot of down time because Nonna was all about doing everything for her grandson.  She had the coolest toys (some of which my husband used as a toddler).  Isn't that neat?  We got to hang out with IEK's twin boy cousins who are a year older than him.  It was so much fun seeing them play together.  IEK was always too young to truly enjoy the play.  He also seems to have developed a very close relationship with one of the twins (Dee).  They were so sweet to watch.  Dee would even protect IEK from his own twin brother. 

The next part of our trip was spent in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains in NC.  My husband joined us with his entire family (except his brother).  The log cabin accommodated 22 people for sleep and there was a huge table that seated 26 people.  The cabin was beautiful although older.  We only had about 15 people including the kiddos but it was tons of fun (and loudness, lol).  We enjoyed the hot tub, roasting marshmallows and eating smores.  The bigger kids (7 and 9 year olds) brought handheld video games but one night I convinced them to play board games.  They surprisingly had a blast.  By far, there favorite was Taboo.  They had so much fun that for the duration of the trip they mainly wanted to play board games at night instead doing other activities.  One of our nephew was so cute...he told his mom that my husband and I are so much fun, he wishes we could move back to FL and live close by them.  It was so sweet to hear that and it made us feel bad for living so far away.  I must brag a little and say that one of the the highlight of my cabin trip was racing my 2 nephews.  I WON!!! OK, I shouldn't gloat this much because they are only 9 but they are pretty athletic boys (they play just about every sport on the planet).  It's just so cute because they are pretty competitive and they really thought they were going to win.  I told them that I would give them each $15 if either of them won.  They were bragging and thought that it would be a piece of cake...lol.  

Anyway, it was so sad to leave each place and everyone but after being away from home for so long I was ready to get back to home base.  It was a great trip or trips.  IEK had a good time and my husband did too for the parts he spent with us.  He missed us dearly for the portions of the trip that he was home alone for.  I was very thankful that I had the opportunity to hang out with family.  But noticed I called it a trip and not a vacation. 

Anyway, since then I've lost one of my diaper bags with my wallet in it and had to go through all the trouble of getting that resolved.  I've been applying for jobs because I'm getting kind of bored and besides with my career and my only kiddo in daycare it makes sense to work.  I was going to wait until we move to find a job in our new city but the move will be in 4-6 months.  

Hope ya'll had a good weekend!

Mrs. K

Lessons in parenting--Part 1

I'm a mom of one 19 month old boy.  I'm no expert on motherhood but these are a few lessons I've learned.  Maybe they'll be helpful to someone else but mostly I hope I can refer back to them in the future for Baby K #2 or #3 or #4 or #10 (kidding).  

1) Distraction can work like a charm.  It can stop tantrums and get a toddler to do what you want.  For example--major melt down because he wants the scissors or some other dangerous object.  After freaking out (which you try your hardest not to do because the object then becomes more enticing to the toddler) you distract by attracting his attention to something more appealing (like daddy, the dog, a toy).

2) Singing is good for the soul and good for getting a toddler's attention.  It's also great for getting toddler to sit still for diaper changes and getting dressed.  Since I've had our little guy I've been doing a lot of singing--singing in the mornings when I go in his room, singing at bedtime, singing his favorite toddler tunes.  I've also been singing songs to help me get him dressed...you put left arm in, you put left arm out....you do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around, and that's what it's all about...He loves it and now he's at the point where he also tries to sing the songs with me.

3) It's ok to drop everything and enjoy the moment with your kiddo.  Don't be afraid to stop everything, get down on the kitchen floor at his eye level and be silly with him.  My little boy loves when I get to his eye level and make silly faces.  His favorite is my fish face.  It's even better when he tries to make the face.  The work or whatever it is will almost always be there.  It's ok to take a break and enjoy the moment.  Good for the kiddo and good for you too.

4) On the same note, it's not only ok for kiddos to get the silly's out.  Mommies can do it and it's even more fun when you do it with the kiddos.  Dancing, singing, being silly is great.  Do whatever works for you.

5) Getting frustrated is normal.  I love my little guy to death but he frustrates me sometimes.   I no longer feel bad about this.  I mean, we are human, right.  Some things that usually help to reduce my frustration is to give him a hug and kiss.  This works when he gets angry and it works for me too.  Taking a break and walking away helps too.  The most effective intervention for me is to send him to daddy so that he can frustrate him a little :).

6) Toddlers appreciate it when you talk to them.  They may not understand everything or respond but they like it.  Whenever I ask our little guy about his day, he rambles on about something.  He also repeats what I say to him.  I think he feels validated when we converse.

7) Embarrassment is a part of raising children.  I just figure he'll be paid back one day when I'm "old."  LOL.  And thankfully I'm dark-skinned so people can't see when I turn red. Ha! My toddler's new thing is yelling bug.  I taught him how to say the word a few weeks ago and he yells it out even at a piece of lint.  He yells it out everywhere...church, library, at the dinner table.  For example we'll be in church and he'll see a piece of lint (NOT a bug) and start yelling loudly...bug, bug, bug, bug.  He continues to yell this until I distract him.  There's no warning so he has scared me before with his loud "bug" yell.

8) Toddler tunes on Pandora radio is awesome.  It makes car rides more enjoyable.  He sings-a-long instead of whining to get out of his car seat.  It's also great at home.

9) Carry extra clothes for all.  And just in case you forget, being a mess for a few hours is ok.  There are worse things in life.  Actually helping to create some of the mess can be fun at times, although it's not fun cleaning it up.

10) The house does not have to be spic and span.  Coming to this realization was awesome.  I still like things organized but I'm less obsessive about it.  And you know what, I'm fussing at my husband less for his mess too.

11) Kids change everything--mostly for the better!  We had our son when we were ready.  He was planned.  Hubby and  I had been married for a few years.  We did some traveling.  We even had the dogs to practice.  We were very ready  but still nothing could have prepared us for the change of life.  But you know what we love every moment of being parents and would not change it for the world.  Although I always knew I wanted children it was something I feared for so many reason.  I'm a "want everything to be almost perfect kind of gal" and I don't like rocking the boat too much especially when I'm comfortable.  But looking back my fears were kind of ridiculous and I'm glad that I didn't let them make me delay expanding our family.

12) I am more unselfish than I thought I was.  It's amazing how easy it is for me to sacrifice sleep, time, energy for my little guy.  It doesn't even feel like a sacrifice because it comes so natural to me.  I used to be someone who hated getting up early, now I wake up earlier than my son and wait eagerly for him to wake up so I can run in his room.

13) Kids make you a better person.  Honestly!  My son brings me so much joy.  He makes me want to be a better person.  I behave better because I want to be a good example for him.  I am more "mindful" about what I say and do because I know there are little ears and little eyes around.  I'm so used to cheerfully giving to him that giving to others also come easier.

14) Being consistent is important.  AND I still need to work on this.  That's all I'm going to say about that ;).

15) Discipline with love.  Discipline and manners are important.  My Jamaican grandpa always says "bend di tree when it young."  You get the point.  This is tough but I think it's best to start early and to lead by example.  

15) Think of most things as a phase (both the bad and sometimes the good).  I remember when I thought my son would never stop spitting up...then lo and behold he stopped.  I remember when I thought he would never sleep more than 2 hours then more than 6 hours then sleep through the night.  I was proven wrong.  I remember when I thought he would never crawl, or walk, or run or talk or....you name it.  I was proven wrong so many times.  I remember when I thought he would never gain weight because he's such a picky eater...er...well, this is still ongoing and I haven't been proven wrong yet but I know I will be.  It's helpful for me to think of things in phases to especially help me get through the challenging moments.  Thinking this way also helps me to savor the sweet moments too.

16) There's no such thing as a perfect parent.  We have all these goals about the type of parent we should be or want to be.  Try your best but know that things will go wrong.  Flexibility is important.  For example if your kiddo is 18 months and is just finally off the pacifier--IT's OK!  You should laugh at yourself for thinking that the paci will be gone by 9 months.

17) Let the past have a positive influence on how you parent.  Some people have had horrible pasts and others have had rosy pasts--wherever you lie on the spectrum, make the conscious choice to try to do a good job.  Although challenging, even people with difficult pasts can be great parents!

What other parenting lessons have you learned (even if you are not a parent)?  I'll include them in my Part 2 of this topic. 

And don't forget to laugh out loud once in a while :)

Mrs. K

Thankful for my family

Today I am thankful for my family (our little boy and my husband).  I am thankful everyday but just wanted to post about it today :).  Our little guy is so adorable.  I can't get enough of him.  I have 12 weeks off work but I'm already thinking about how difficult it will be to transition back.  He makes the funniest faces.  He's even cute when he's being fussy and crying.  Gosh I love being a mother to this little guy.  I also love being a wife to my husband (who has been very helpful, by the way).  Hubby is extremely helpful during the weekends as he doesn't work most weekends.  During the weekdays I try to let him get some sleep so that he can function at work.  I feel very blessed to have my big guy and my little guy. 

Hubby is so thoughtful.  I was thinking today about some of the sweet things he does.  He'll sometimes (not all the time, lol) get me flowers or a card just because.  I really appreciate this but what I like most is when he gets me other thoughtful "just because" gifts.  He'll get me a comfy sweater or reaaaallllly nice, soft socks or workout pants.  I like that he thinks about me even when he's out trying to get something for himself.  He's always been this way, even before we were married.  

I know that our lives will no longer be the same but we are excited about all that is to come.  I pray that God will continue to bless our family as we grow.

Mrs. K

Today I'm thankful for my husband

Hubby has made dinner two nights in a row and I'm very grateful.  Both meals were so yummy.  Obviously he doesn't cook all the time or else I wouldn't be dedicating a special post about it but neither do I. LOL.  If he blogged he could also post about all the times I cook (not frequent enough but we are working on it).  The past two weeks we've been eating more at home.  We go throught spurts of this, just like exercising (lately).

What are you thankful for today?

Mrs. K

Celebrated two important things not too long ago...

Hey blog buddies!!!  I hope you all are doing well.  Once again I've been lazy with the blogging but my plan STILL is to do better.  I've been enjoying reading some of your blogs although I haven't commented much.  Someone thought I gave up on blogging...but I haven't, not yet.  I've even missed by blog-o-versary about one month ago.  So happy belated 1 year blog-o-versary to me.  LOL.  Anyway, that's not what I'm celebrating.

Today (well Sunday...I started this post on Sunday and didn't finish it) I'm celebrating my honey's 30th birthday.  Yippee!!!  We are celebrating low key.  Just treating him EXTRA special today.

The second thing that we are celebrating is also important.  Sunday marks the halfway point to one of the most important events in our life (if that makes sense...)  Anyway, you may have guessed it already but WE ARE HAVING A BABY! No, it's not April fool's, it's actually true.  We are very excited.  That's also partly the reason why I haven't blogged much--I wanted to wait to make the announcement and it's hard to blog and not mention something so important.  Also, I've been ridiculously tired lately so it wasn't just laziness ;).

I will post more about this later with possibly some preggo pix

Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Mrs. K

iLike: fun-filled family weekends

Last weekend my dad and my nephew visited us and we had a great time.  My husband and I love visitors (so much that we constantly invite random strange people into our home).  OK, just kidding.  We are not that bad but we do like it when people visit (especially family).  Growing up, my dad and I weren't very close and our conversations have always been very brief.  I think that was because we didn't know what to say to each other.  Anyway, last weekend was different.  We all (hubby, my nephew, dad and I) were kind of  locked inside due to bad weather.  My husband was busy with work stuff for part of the time and my nephew was exploring the house, playing with the cat and doing other random things.  My dad and I talked for a looooong time about eeeeverything and it was great.  Hubby even commented about how glad he was that my dad and I got to really chat.  Another highlight of the weekend was when my dad cooked curry chicken for us for dinner.  It was so good (especially with the dumplin' and banana to compliment it).

This past weekend (labor day weekend) my husband's parents came to visit us.  They drove 11 hours from Florida.  (I know we felt really special).  His parents are awesome.  They are hilarious and very down to earth people.  We did so much with them in so little time.  Because they are in such great shape we took them hiking (with the dogs too) and I think they liked it.  They had to do some climbing on rocks and hopping over water but they were troopers and didn't complain.  Every time I visit with my husband's family, I learn so much more about him and it helps me understand him better.  His mom really adores him (his dad too, but you know how moms are).  I enjoyed hearing about some of the stories from his childhood and hearing them made me love and value him even more.

Overall, I think the past 2 weekends have been very refreshing for both of us (hubby and I).  I hope you have had a great weekend too :)

Mrs. K

Merry Christmas from the K Family

We wish you a Merry Christmas 

from our family to yours 

We were so frustrated with the dogs we almost made this our Christmas card photo but...

The dogs cooperated and we got one or two good photos.

Don't forget the "reason for the season." Be blessed!

Mrs. K

Family Photos

Yesterday we took our family photos for our Christmas cards and they came out well.  Last year this is what the process looked like (note the progression): 

K family 2009 Christmas Series: 

Took a picture of Sampson just for fun because he was looking so spiffy in his Christmas bow-tie (that I made).  Sampson was probably thinking: "Boy this is going to be a long night."  And he was so right.

Take 1: Trying to get situated in front of the fireplace.  Ok, maybe it's tough because it's the first take (at least that's what we were hoping)

 

Take 2: Maybe grabbing Gideon's (our not so smart Great Dane) back leg will help.  Aside: Please excuse Gideon's unneutered male parts.  He was still too young to get it done at the time.  He's neutered now.

Take 3: Ok so now Gideon decides to not run away but faces away from the camera trying to nibble on Sampson.  Sampson obviously is not enjoying the attention and is trying to hide.

Take 4: Fine!  Gid doesn't have to be in the family picture, we don't care. Ok, I'm kidding yes we do.

Take 5: Sampson and I showing our mad face.  My hubby being his usual patient self.  We were all thinking: "Gideon get your butt over here, I can't stand all this sweating anymore."

Take 6: Wow, can we catch a break please.  Really? Tongue sticking out? By this time hubby and I have fixed fake smiles just in case we capture a good picture.  By the way, where's Sampson.

Take 1 million: Ok we are getting closer.  Gideon's now cooperating but his ear is all funky looking inverted.

Take 1 million and 1: Almost there...

Take 1 million and 2: Yay! We did it.  All of us thinking: let's not do this again next year.

This is the picture we used for a Christmas cards last year.

This year it took less time (even with a new addition to the family--Eliza).  Our neighbor, Paul, owner of Bean Fruit Coffee Company helped us out.  He was so patient throughout the whole process but I think he had a good time taking the photos.  It may have been my husband and I bickering or the cat digging into my husband's leg while he was trying not to scream like a girl or each of the red balls (ornament) falling off the dogs' neck because they were romping or the disgusted look in our eyes at the dogs for not cooperating. lol. 

Whatever it was, our neighbor had a good laugh while the hubby and I were sweating bullets trying to get the whole thing figured out.   I don't know why we do this to ourselves.  It's like we are gluttons for torture.   We both agreed that we can't wait to have kids so that they can be in the family picture.  We may just put individual pet photos on there when we have a kiddo.  

Anyway, I will post the 2010 photos in a few days. If you plan to take family photos this year hopefully your session was less eventful.

Mrs. K

Random Updates

This is a post to update you all on what's been going on over the past few weeks.  My previous posts have not really said much about what I've been doing.  So here we go.

1) I cooked three times last week (that is one time less than the previous week) but that was planned.  We had a few dinner invitations that we could not pass up so we had to kick cooking to the curb for a few days.  Besides we knew about the dinners ahead of time so that doesn't count.

2) I've been eating more healthy.  I already eat fairly healthy (ok, sometimes I do) but there's always room for improvement.  I have to eat breakfast daily.  On days when I'm not eating breakfast with my husband (which is at least 5 days per week) I have oatmeal.  Yum!  I'm actually one of the rare kind that actually like oatmeal (you know the one without all the sugar and stuff already mixed in). 

So that I get at least a few servings of fruits per day, I mix fruits in my oatmeal.  You name it, I put it in there.  My favorites are grapes, strawberries, peach.  This is sometimes together but other times individually.  I wish I liked bananas because I think they would go well with oatmeal.  On some days I try to eat a fruit with lunch too.  

Speaking about lunch, I usually bring lunch to work with me.  I try to do it daily but on rare days I get lazy or have a planned lunch date.  I've never been a big veggie fan but I've been having veggies with dinner.  Hubby is also not a big vegetable fan (God help our kids) but we are slowly introducing new veggies in our diet.  It's been going great so far.

3) My husband's older brother spent a few days with us.  He drove cross country from Wyoming (out of his way) to visit us then drove to FL to join his parents early for Thanksgiving.  It was so much fun having him here.  He and my husband are both really goofy.  Of course they pulled me into it and we all had a great time.  By the way, my husband's brother is single and is looking for a future wife so if you know of any eligible bachelorettes let me know.  I'm half joking.  He is a great guy and he is hot {hi honey, he is not as hot as you but he does have an awesome body}. Ha!

4) As we are talking about awesome bodies, I've been working out more.  Ok, so I'm no where close to having an awesome body but I'm trying.  If you remember I'm trying to stay in shape so that I can get pregnant then become out of shape again.  Kidding.  Really though, I've been exercising regularly now for the past few weeks.  Last week I did 5 days of P90X workout videos.  Those were serious but I felt so good after then I started hurting about 2 days after each workout (but it's the good kind of hurt).

5) The P90X videos are not so bad actually.  I know, I can't believe I just said that either.  Ok they are tough.  The Ab Ripper X is the worse.  Anyway, since I'm feeling so healthy and athletic, I've decided to give the Insanity workout videos a try.  I like a challenge.  They are extremely expensive but I've convinced my hubby to get them for me as an early Christmas present. Yay!  I'll let you know how it goes.  I've got a feeling I wont still be cheering after I've done the Insanity workouts.  I'm surprised that I'm liking home workouts so much.  It's actually a lot easier for me to roll out of bed and go downstairs to work out than go outside.

6) Thanksgiving will be spent at my husband's family's house.  Christmas will be with my family.  Thanksgiving will be in north Florida and should be tons of fun.  We plan to drive down on Wednesday night.  The hubby may drop me off at his parents home then go to the "family house" where he will spend the night with some male relatives.  They will likely get up early Thursday morning to go hunting.  I'll drive to the "family house" with his mom and help get food ready. 

I don't have to cook anything but I think I want to make a dessert.  We'll see.  They'll have tons of games and other activities to do.  It will be very different from Thanksgiving with my family.  There will be no curry goat (this is what I will miss the most).  But I will have a good time regardless.  I plan to try everything but I will NOT overeat.  The feeling is just too uncomfortable.  By the way, our dog children will be taking the 6 hour trip with us. Yikes!

Hubby and I with my grandma from a past Thanksgiving

7) Lastly, not much progress with sewing.  My sweet neighbor has brought me over some books to help but they are way too advanced for me.  She is retired and has offered to donate some time to help me.  I plan to take her up on that offer after the holidays.  Also I plan to take my sewing machine with me when visiting my hubby's family for Thanksgiving so that his sister can teach me a thing or two.

Anyway, that's my little update.  I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving with family and friends. 

Mrs. K

Just the two of us again, but not for too long.

Just the two of us at our friend's wedding in Tampa, FL

Those who know me joke that I should be a truck driver or at least make that my second job.  I've been giving this thought some consideration--well not really, but I realize why they say this.  I'm notorious for driving hours (most 21 hours in one day) alone or with company.  I guess I have family and friends in various places that I try to visit.

I'll just get in my little blue car and start driving.  I will pop in a CD and just go!  What most people find interesting is that I can also drive for hours without listening to music.  During those times I am deep in thought (lol), planning or organizing, praying and talking to God, or talking on the cell phone (guilty!).  Nevertheless, I must say that for the most part I do enjoy those long (and some would say boring) rides.  It's of course, a lot better when my honey is with me so he can drive and I can talk his head off.

Last week I took one of those trips.  If you've read my previous posts, you know that my mother and siblings were visiting for the summer.  Well, the children had to go back to school and I had to drive them (hubby had to work).  Fifteen hours later (with a car full of sleepy heads) we were in Fort Lauderdale, FL and my mom was headed back to Jamaica.  It was a nice trip, but I wished we had a bigger car like a minivan SUV.

Anyway, I returned from my trip on Sunday (also 15 hours back) and was so happy to see my honey.  The house was so quiet and peaceful.  It was also clean, well his version of clean and i was happy to see that.  I almost forgot how quiet it was with only us two, although we are both pretty loud people.  I thought about how I can't wait to fill it up with our little kiddos in the future but also thought that I should just enjoy the peace and quietness while we have it.


Mrs. K

From Seven to Two

In less than 24 hours my household size will drastically decrease.  If you have been reading, you will recall that my husband and I are the only 2 people living in our home (except the dogs and cat).  That changed this summer when my mother and my teenage siblings were invited to spend the entire summer with us.  As I said in previous blogs, this has been an overall great and fun experience for us.  There were times when I wanted to disappear from all the chaos and be in a peaceful place but for the most part I looked forward to coming home daily to a house filled with wonderful people.  This will all end tomorrow.  My mother and my youngest brother will fly back to Jamaica and my other siblings will go back to Florida to live with their dad.  I must admit that it will be strange to have to come home to a fairly quiet house and I will definitely miss them.  Here are just a few of the things I will miss: 

-Arriving home to smiling faces and loud laughter of my mom and the kids

-Having a home cooked meal ready (some days)

-Hearing my husband goofing off with my siblings and making fun of my brother for being so thin

-Going to bed very late just so that I can spend some time hanging out with them

-Blogging about them

-My husband and I giving college tips to them

-Things I wanted to do, but used them as an excuse to do them: eating cupcakes, cake and ice cream several times per week; frequenting the movie theaters; bowling; Gatti-town (similar to Dave and Busters); sneaking out a little early from work; tubing...(and the list goes on).

-Playing Taboo, Mafia and other board games while eating chocolate fondue

I agree with my honey when he says that this summer was a "trial run" for the future for when we do have kids.  He was so right.  I think I will be a WAHM and I've learned through my experiences this summer that it is very difficult.  At times I felt guilty and torn for coming in late from work, not having dinner ready and just not spending enough time with them.  I can't imagine how it will be when we have our own children.  My husband and I both work, in fact he is on call at the hospital tonight and is not at home tonight.  He is very optimistic that we will do fine when we have kids in the future but I can't help but think about all the future challenges.  I guess I'm a tad bit of a worrier at times and I want us to be great parents (although I know we will make tons of mistakes!).  

So as we go from seven to two we will miss the crowded house but we will look forward to 1) having another reunion soon and 2) filling up our home with some kiddies of our own.

Mrs. K

I Kissed Weighing Goodbye

Ok...so I have not weighed myself in about 3 months and that's a record for me.  I decided before the summer began that I will not weigh myself and obsess over my weight.  I'm a thin athletic female that tries to stay in shape, but the further I get away from my track days (umm...years ago since I left high school) I find myself more weight conscious.  I'm certainly not as active as I was in the past and I eat about the same as I did back then, but I guess the older I get the more  concerned I am about my weight, what I eat, my physical activities, etc.  Gone are the days when I could eat what I want and not worry about gaining weight or increasing my cholesterol.  Instead of worrying (which does no good), I've decided to act.  I've decided, it's not about my weight--If I look good, feel good and am healthy then that's great.  I don't know when the next time is I will get back on a scale, but it won't be anytime soon.

I plan on having some bambinos in the next few months to years so I'm trying to get and stay as healthy as I can.  I've even started prenatal vitamins, which is surprising to my husband since I hate taking pills.  Even though I won't be focusing on my weight, I do plan to stay in shape.  Currently I sporadically run 3 miles and 1 walk mile a few times per week, but not every week.  I have not done much since the summer started--with a house full of family visiting it's difficult to stick to a routine.  However, after they leave I plan to work towards having the best pre-pregnancy body possible for me :).  I will let you know how that goes.

Anyway I kiss weighing goodbye...well, at least for now.


Mrs. K

Reflections...

So, in this post I will mention burning thoughts and feelings I've had for the past few weeks but could not share because I did not have a blog as yet.  Firstly, I am so thankful I have such wonderful in-laws.  I know that most people cannot say the same about their in-laws and most cringe at the thought of them.  However, that is not the case for me.  My mother in-law is the best (so far...haha just joking), but really guys, she is.  My husband and I love visiting his parents--not only will they have a favorite dish ready for him, but they will have one for me too.  Homemade ice cream, fudge, yum!  His siblings are just as great and they are so supportive and the entire family has such a great sense of humor.  I feel blessed.

Secondly, my husband and I had a full house this summer.  My mother came to visit us from Jamaica (where I was born and partly raised).  She also had with her all my teenage siblings: 17, 16, 14, 13 years old.   Our house is usually fairly quiet with just the two of us, unless I'm playing music loudly while cleaning the house of course.  Needless to say it has been a noisy and interesting summer but so much fun.  I feel like a kid again.  They will be leaving soon and I will surely miss them.  Since having them for the summer, I have given more thoughts to us having our own children.  I am excited to have my own but realized how difficult it is to work and dedicate as much attention as I would like to children--not that it is impossible but it will be challenging.  I must certainly say I look forward to and embrace that challenge.

My sisters and I

My First Blog Ever...

Yippiee...it took me a while to enter my first post because I wanted to finish designing my blog.  I am no computer expert and neither is my hubby.  However, he managed to help me solve some of the problems I have been trying to fix for over one week in about 30 seconds.  I guess I should have asked for help sooner huh?  I tend to do that--try to figure things out myself, then end up soliciting help way later.  I must say I did learn plenty on my little adventure of creating this blog.  I am so excited to write my first post and I look forward to sharing more, as events unfold in my life.  I welcome comments and suggestions.