Ninja Turtle Cake

Yesterday was my niece's 12th birthday and we're celebrating tonight with family.  I was a little shocked when my sister put in the cake request and I found out that she wanted a ninja turtles cake.
1. I wasn't aware that ninja turtles had made a comeback.
2. I wasn't aware that 12 year old girls keep up with superhero cartoons.
But either way, I was excited and nervous for the challenge.  She told me that she wanted a Raphael cake, and I immediately responded that Michealangelo is way better and that he needed to be on the cake too.... and you can't put those 2 without putting 2 more. So this is what I came up with....

It was already a well known fact that I'm a bit ombre obsessed, but I really like how the ombre gives this one a little femnine flair, it is a pre-teen girl after all. 

And for those curious, this is a new recipe-- it's a double chocolate sour cream pound cake, 2 thick layers of pound cake and a whole lot of vanilla buttercream.  I hope everyone enjoys it!

P90x Week 11 Wrap Up

DAY 1- Chest & Back and Ab Ripper:  Couldn't help but think back and reminisce a little to week 1 and how VERY FEW push ups that I could accomplish.  Confession-- I did a terrible job of writing down my work outs like Tony says to and so I don't recall exactly how many I did, but I'm fairly certain that I could count them on one hand, and then I would do a few on my knees once I burned out.  Now depending on the style of push up (who knew there were so many?) I'm doing upwards of 20 at a time.  Crazy!

DAY 2- Plyometrics:  Busy day today meant that it was a late night work out.  But it's better late than never, right? 

DAY 3- Shoulders & Arms and Ab Ripper:  Now that I'm almost finished with this challenge, I'm beginning to realize that Tony talks SOOO much!!  In the beginning it was a blessing because it explained each move thoroughly and gave me the rest time that I needed, but today I just found it obnoxious.  I think I shaved 5 minutes off of my work out time just from fast forwarding through his talking. Haha!

DAY 4- Yoga: It took a while for yoga to grow on me, and now that I actually enjoy it, it's often hard to get done.  It's the longest work out of all the DVD's and I've found that it requires the most focus. All of the other DVD's I cancomplete with the kiddos running around, this one, I need focus and peace which I just don't have in my life at this moment.

DAY 5- Legs and Back: Squats, squats, squats... 

DAY 6- Kenpo: Finished up kenpo this morning and still had a bit of energy so me and the boys went for a run with the jogging stroller. Good times, I feel great! Maybe the extra cardio made up for the piece of ninja turtle cake I had last night. 

DAY 7- Rest!  I had really considered running again on this day, but my legs are so sore from the past couple days.... Taking my rest! 

P90x Week 10 Wrap Up

Week TEN!!! Double digits!!  It's time to really push through and get over the week 9 funk!

DAY 1- Chest, Shoulders & Triceps and Ab Ripper: Stayed up WAY too late last night crocheting and didn't get moving for my work out until about lunch time.  Oops!  But praise the Lord that I got it in!  Left last week so frustrated with missed work-outs, so I'm incredibly thankful that this is a new week.  My body is SO sore the past couple days, part of that I believe is from the muscle variation from week 8, part from missing the work-outs that could've been used to work out some of the soreness, and part of it because of poor diet choices at the end of last week.  Working through though.  Gonna make week 10 count!  Last month!!!

DAY 2- Plyometrics: I really love plyometrics.  My growing love for this workout DVD has led me to the decision that my next work out program will include a little more high intensity cardio.

DAY 3- Back & Biceps and Ab Ripper:  Truly truly amazed at the growth in my strength.  Tony Horton definitely knows what he's doing.  I can't describe the feeling of accomplishment when I look back and compare my week 1 with now week 10.  It's amazing!

DAY 4- Yoga: miss

DAY 5- Legs and Back: miss

DAY 6- Kenpo: miss

DAY 7- Rest! miss

Did I really miss Day 4- Day 7??  YES!  This is by far the most misses I've ever had.  I've always felt guilty about missing a day here and there, and I wouldn't say that I don't feel bad about these misses, but I don't feel guilty.  I was totally overwhelmed by the loss of Lilly for one, and for two, we had a ton of stuff going on.  When I began this journey, I started out very diligently saying "no more excuses,"  but you know what?  LIFE HAPPENS!  I can't predict the future, but life is always going to happen.  This journey is no longer about the 90 day challenge, but it's about the lifestyle change.  When this 90 days is up, I'm going to keep going, but life will happen again, I won't always be able to work out 6 days a week every single week, and when  Christmas comes, I'll probably have some cookies. 

^^^ I don't say any of that to give anyone the excuse to sit on the couch with a bag of potato chips for 4 days, but I say it because I think we all need a little grace.  At the end of this 90 days, I will have worked out all but maybe 10 days, and in the great scheme of things, I'm doing more good than I am harm and that is awesome.  Sometimes we just need to give ourselves a little bit of grace which is a lesson I'm learning at the moment. (Special thanks to the ladies in my challenge group for the encouragement and helping me to understand this principle.)

Two Big Boys

Both boys got "new" (to them) beds today!  They are both very excited about their new beds, and I only pray that they both sleep very well in them.  Leeland was bumped up from a toddler bed to a twin size bed and Hayden was bumped up from our bed crib/pack & play to a toddler bed.

The toddler bed that Hayden will hopefully now be sleeping in was Leeland's.  The hand me downs have definitely been one of the joys of having 2 little boys so close in age.  All of the major expensive baby gadgets that Hayden has had have been passed down from Leeland.  We bought this toddler bed and all of the bedding at Ikea when we were pregnant with Hayden.  For reference, Leeland stayed in a crib until he was 2 years old-- Hayden is currently 18 months old, so I'm curious to see how this will go, but I've noticed that he doesn't sleep well in the crib or pack & play.  We co-slept for a really long time and so he always pretty much had free reign of our queen size bed, so I'm hoping the toddler bed will feel a bit more like the open space of our bed and that will help him get a good night's sleep.  Another reason for the early transition is that Hayden can be difficult to GET to sleep at times, he requires patting or rubbing his back or laying down with him, and I'm so incredibly sick of breaking my back and leaning down into a crib, it's exhausting.  The hope is that we can just lay down with him in the toddler bed and sneak out like a ninja once he's asleep.

Leeland's new bed on the other hand was actually my bed when I was a kid.  It's been at my Grandma's house for years and when she heard that we were looking for a twin bed for Leeland, she insisted on bringing it over.  (Such a wonderful lady!)  The bed wasn't looking the greatest, years and stickers (yea, I put stickers all over the headboard, some residue was left behind) had taken it's toll so we opted to paint it.  My first thought was to paint it white to match his dresser, and then my Grandma told me that people don't do matching sets anymore.  (She's more trendy than I.)  So we opted for something a bit more fun, and went with light blue.  Between all the sanding my hand, priming and two coats of paint, it took about a week to finish the project.

Leeland's 1st time sanding.  His excitement didn't last long and Mommy was stuck with the task.

Fresh coat of primer.

The bedding is by Dream Factory and we bought it here at WalMart (.com)  They also carry it at Kohl's for twice the price if you're in to paying more.  Leeland is pretty obsessed with all things transportation and this has pretty much everything on it-- tractors, trucks, blimps, airplanes, cars, and the added bonus was the police cars.

I don't think I remembered how high up this bed is.  It takes Leeland a minute to climb onto it, and Hayden can't get up there by himself at all.  He has NEVER rolled out of his toddler bed, so hopefully he doesn't start falling off the bed now.

He's one excited little 3 year old!  All of the sanding, priming and painting for a week was SO worth it to see that big smile.  He says that he loves his new bed and that it's "cozy."

Goodbye Sweet Lilly

I still remember the 1st time I ever met our sweet Lilly girl.  I had been living on my own for a while, but where I was living through college didn't allow any pets.  When Daniel and I were going to get married and get our own place, I think one of my first questions to him was, "Can we get a dog?"  I loved dogs!  Through college I pet sat for many people as a side job.  We came to the agreement that dog's were a lot of money.... if I paid off my credit card debt before we got married, then we could get a dog.  I was pretty stoked.  Marrying the man of my dreams, and we were going to get the dog I had always wanted!

I was working at Starbucks at the time, and happened to talk to one of my dog loving customers about how I was excited to get one.  She mentioned that she fosters dogs for the local Boxer Rescue and had one at her house at the time and asked if I'd be interested in meeting her.  Absolutely!  She brought her up to Starbucks, and I went out to the parking lot obviously for our very 1st meeting.  It was love at first sight!  The most adorable pooch I'd ever seen.  Of course boxers don't have tails, so that 1st meeting I recall that she could NOT stop wiggling her entire butt in excitement.  She was so loving and sweet and spunky.  And she had the softest fur I had ever felt in my life.

When we signed the documents and the adoption was final, we were told a little bit of her history.  They had no idea when her birthday was but the vet had made his best guess that she was around 4 months old.  We were able to make up her birthday because of this, and so we celebrated each year of her life on June 20th which was around 4 months back from the time we adopted her.  (June 20th was our engagement date and easy to remember.)  We were told that she was rescued with a sister.  The rescue doesn't usually rescue mix breeds, but she and her sister were an exception to the rule.  She and her sister were trapped underneath a trailer to try to survive as puppies.  They were literally fighting for their lives!  When they were both rescued, they continued to fight with each other and showed lots of aggression towards other dogs until they were split up into separate foster homes.  We were told when we rescued her, that she still showed signs of dog aggression but had been working on it with her foster family.  It was fine by us, because we didn't have any other pets that she could be aggressive with.  And we loved her.

Her 1st night HOME with me.  Daniel would join us in our home after we were married a few months later. We were starting a family! <3 br="">

That following January Daniel and I got married and he moved in.  And we enrolled Lilly into obedience school.  She picked up some new tricks and commands and she was able to be around some other dogs and we were able to work on some of her aggression triggers.

Fast forward to August.... we discover that we're pregnant with Leeland.  We were beyond excited of course, but we also knew that we had an aggressive dog and that brought some fears.  She had never acted out towards a human, but she hadn't really been around babies or kids.

Baby Leeland and Lilly

Baby Leeland and Lilly

Lilly in our annual family photos 2010.  Photos by Alisa Windsor.

After Leeland was born, Lilly took to him like she was a new Mom too.  Made me wonder why we ever worried.  She was a perfect angel.  And she was so curious-- as a newborn, every time he would cry, she would come running to the rescue.  It was pretty adorable to see.... so naturally we had no concerns when a year later, we found out that we were pregnant with Hayden.

.... And then the next year, we bought our first house.  One of the priorities on our house shopping list was a decent yard for Lilly to run around in.  She (We) had gotten a bit lazy apartment living.  The kids were taking up basically all of my day and she was getting walks less and less.  We so looked forward to a backyard that she could run around and be free in.

We found the house, bought the house, and then it became about saving up money to put in the fence.  Until then she was spending part time in the house and part time out in the garage.  We liked to play in the front yard with the boys (it's more grassy) and she would always join us out there.  We would have picnics, throw her toys, and go on occasional leashed walks around the neighborhood.  Aside from the few times that she would approach our next door neighbor's fence and growl and bark at their dogs inside, she was doing well.  And adjusting well to the new place.... And we were still looking forward to that fenced in backyard for her.

Enjoying her Christmas bone 2012.

Carving pumpkins 2012.

Enjoying popcorn, picnic in the front yard with Leeland and Hayden.

Fast forward to yesterday.....  Daniel had just arrived home and was inside for all of 5 minutes talking to me and the boys.  We suddenly hear a lady screaming at the top of her lungs out front.  Daniel ran outside..... not good.  When he came in, he had accidentally left the garage door open.  Lilly attacked another dog-- the dog lives 2 houses down.  The lady was out walking her dog on a leash like she does daily.  A much smaller dog than Lilly, a dachsund.

...... I can't even describe the emotions I was feeling in that moment.  Sadness, frustration, anger, anxiety..... She really seriously injured the other dog.  And the only thing that stopped her was Daniel running out and yelling at her.  The lady screaming didn't phase her at all.... if we hadn't been home and she had accidentally escaped, that dog would be dead right now. (And technically could still not survive.)  We had trusted her outside on her own for a few minutes here and there before.  I often would lift the garage door to let her use the bathroom and then come inside to fill her water bowl and food bowl before going out again to check on her.  Or during the day lift the garage and go about my business fixing the boys lunch, changing over laundry, whatever.  We trusted her-- she would always go out into the yard or the woods next door, use the bathroom and come right back in the garage or in the house within a few minutes.  I have no idea what got into her! The dog had to undergo surgery which is costing us over $650 and still climbing because there will be several follow-up visits.  (And none of that includes if the wounds happen to get infected.)

We were faced with devastation and a decision as to what to do-- and the only logical choice is to euthanize.  We reached out to the Boxer Rescue to get their opinion and to ask about re-homing her and with aggression at this state, euthanizing is all they could suggest.  She's a liability.

I spent the entire day yesterday crying.... I don't think I have any more tears in my body.  I can't believe our sweet Lilly girl did that!  The lady walked on the opposite side of the road, Lilly was never provoked, the lady's dog didn't even bark at her.  And our front yard is pretty big, she had a long ways to go to get there.  Completely unprovoked.... it's an offense that we have to take seriously.

She is costing us more money than we have in our account for this other dog's medical bills.
The chances are quite high if left out again, that at this point she will attack again.
She can't be trusted without 100% supervision.
Her aggression has clearly escalated to more than we can control and what if the next attack is a person?  Or Leeland? Or Hayden?

I know this post will likely receive judgment, and to those people, I have three things to say.
1. Keep it to yourself.
2. You don't know until you walk in our shoes how terribly difficult this is for us!

3. We know her better and love her more than anyone else.

So to our sweet Lilly girl,
I am SO SO sorry.  I feel terrible, and I feel like I failed you as your Mommy.  Your Mommy and Daddy and Brothers love you SOOOO much girl.  It won't be the same pulling into the garage after a day out of the house without seeing your little white butt wiggle.  There's nothing more special than the love that you gave us-- always happy and always so forgiving when the world and people around us are so harsh sometimes.  We will miss you so much sweet girl.
Love,
Mommy

Lilly Kroh

 June 20, 2008-August 23, 2013

Crochet Kind of Summer

Funny, normally I don't get bitten by the crochet bug until about the time that pumpkin spice lattes come out at Starbucks.  The weather starts getting cooler and I get the itch to make scarves and hats, but this year, I was bitten by the bug WAY early and have enjoyed a Summer of crochet projects. I think it's partly due to the fact that crocheting is one craft that I can do with the kiddos around, unlike sewing.  But here's a look at some of the projects I've been up to this Summer!

Crocheted some blue and white stars to add to our burlap wreath to celebrate Memorial Day and the 4th of July.

 

An owl "lovie" and matching blanket.

I also made a purple and pink owl "lovie" which I gave to our Goddaughter.

Minion hats for our silly little boys!  I really love the way that these turned out.

A set of dish cloths for a friend of mine.

A "newsboy" style hat for Leeland.  (Yes, planning on making one for Hayden too.)

Replaced the stars on the wreath in preparation for Fall.  (A little bit early, I know, just excited.) Crocheted a candy corn garland to add to the burlap wreath.  I really love that this wreath continues to transform.  We're getting a lot of use out of it!

And a headband style ear warmer with a cute bow on top!  I debated for a long time on whether it was going to be a bow or a flower.... I'm happy with the bow.  I think I need some more ear warmers in other colors. 

I think we're definitely ready for cooler weather at the Kroh house!

P90x Week 9 Wrap Up

DAY 1- Chest and Back & Ab Ripper:  The first day back after the "odd" week is always the hardest.  I thought I was going to puke, and though in the past month I have really felt like I had Ab Ripper down pat, today I couldn't do all of the reps.  Excited to have started my 3rd month though, and pushing on!

DAY 2- Plyometrics:  I've always talked about how I thought that kenpo was my favorite of the DVD's, but plyometrics is really growing on me and could quite possibly pass it.  I know that strength training is really doing wonders for my body, but there's just something about high intensity cardio that really makes you *feel* that work!  Love it!

DAY 3- Shoulders and Arms & Ab Ripper: I'm so amazed at myself and my new/heavier dumb bells. I can't do all the tricep exercises with them, but I can curl and press with them. It's amazing how quickly p90x has added strength to my arms and chest.  It's so funny, I weight trained in High School when I was playing sports, but when I got to college, I was very body conscious and concerned about not being feminine by lifting weights, so I took up running.... and now here I am back to being happy with weights, and seeing great results from them!

DAY 4- Yoga:  I never intend to miss a work-out, but it happens.  I'm not sure how today got away from me, but it did.  We were non-stop from the time my feet hit the ground in the morning, and then didn't get home until about 10:30pm at which point I nodded out on the couch with Hayden.  It's disappointing to miss a day, that's for sure!

DAY 5- Legs and Back:  Whew!  My thighs are going to be burning for a few days.  I love doing legs and back though... one of the areas where I've really noticed a difference in strength is my thighs.  I almost wish I would've went to the gym prior to beginning and did max out on squats and then could do it again now to see how much better they've gotten. 

DAY 6- Kenpo:  Sadly another miss.  I've been in such a funk the past few days.  It's been hard to get motivated and I haven't had much energy.... I'm not sure what the cause is.  It's been pretty gloomy outside, the boys are into everything, we've had lots of commitments the past few days along with plans for good quality family time.  My diet got a bit off track with all of our family fun and my body hated me for a few days.  It's been a combo of things.


Leaving this week incredibly frustrated.  Here I am on my FINAL month and I'm just completely un-motivated, grumpy and in a funk.  It's time to pull it together-- I can't make up this week's misses unfortunately, but it's time to pull myself together and give it my all.  Praying for strength and energy these last few weeks as I push through to the finish. 

P90x 60 Day Measurements

I knew beginning my P90x journey that it was going to be incredibly tough physically.  I've had two babies, and though I once was incredibly active running several times a week, played basketball, softball and swam in High School, a lot of that had been lost in the process of becoming a Mother. What I didn't realize beginning my journey was how much of a grueling process this was going to be mentally.

I've always had some self-esteem issues and been very body conscious, but after two kiddos, those issues have turned into quite the beast.  The past two months have been a constant battle between feeling great and seeing results, and when that beast shows it's ugly head, feeling as though I'm not doing it right and the results aren't good enough.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not dumb, I KNOW that bodies don't change overnight.  I KNOW that it takes a lot of work.  I KNOW that it takes a very disciplined diet.  But I'm also human, have human emotions, and have very real struggles. 

I only have 30 days left in the P90x journey, but this battle will continue on further than that.  At the end of P90x, I refuse to quit.  And I won't let the beast win. I'm on a journey, I'm building healthy habits, and building a better lifestyle for myself.  And I can't thank my readers, friends, family and challenge group more for the incredible support and encouragement along the way. 

So without further ado, here are my 60 day photos and measurements:

     

            Before P90x                                                                                                    60 Days

         
               Before P90x                                                                                               60 Days

   Before P90x                                                                                                 60 Days

          Before P90x                                                                                                  60 Days













                       Before P90x





                                                                                                                                      60 Days

And measurements:

Before P90x:                                                                                60 Days:
Weight: 188.6 pounds                                                                  Weight: 183 pounds
Chest: 39 inches                                                                           Chest: 37 1/4 inches
Biceps:  13 inches                                                                        Biceps: 14 1/4 inches
Thighs: 26 1/4 inches                                                                   Thighs: 26 3/4 inches
Waist: 38 1/4 inches                                                                     Waist: 33 3/4 inches
Hips: 44 1/2 inches                                                                       Hips: 42 1/4 inches

Looking at the photos, I can SEE the difference in my body now between prior to starting and 60 days, but it's a little frustrating that my measurements haven't changed much from 30 days to 60 days.  Ready to give the last 30 days my all and see what happens! 

P90x Week 8 Wrap Up

This week is another "different" or variation week like week 4.  Last week was very "trying"  with getting my work outs fit into my schedule, and in a lot of ways was very frustrating.  Sometimes I get annoyed because, as a Mom, you never truly get "me time."  You would think that squeezing 1 hour into a 24 hour day would come easily, but it doesn't.  I'm constantly on the schedule of my kids.  And when I think it's a good time, about 10 minutes in, Leeland is in the bathroom yelling for his butt to be wiped, or the kids are fighting, or getting into something they aren't supposed to.... or Hayden is teething and being extra clingy.  It's tough!!

But alas, here I am.  Week 8.... Week 8 out of 13.  Doing my best to keep my motivation and my focus.  Keeping it real through the challenges and the victories.

DAY 1- Yoga:  I was beating myself up about not getting kenpo in last night (Week 7, Day 7), so I made the executive decision to attempt a two-a-day today and try to catch up.  Ultimately I could just count it as a loss, and I don't know how much doing 2 work outs in 1 day really "helps" me because I still did 0 yesterday, but it doesn't hurt me.  So back to my intro to this post about working out as a Mom isn't easy.... Well I'm doing Kenpo this morning and Hayden walked right into a back kick.  ((Sigh!!!))  He's fine of course, just grazed my leg, but it doesn't make it any less hard.

So Part 2 of my two-a-day didn't turn out to be yoga.  I went for a run!  I don't want this post to sound like I'm discrediting yoga.  Going for a run does NOT replace yoga at all.  Yoga is a total body work out that I've been doing for the past 7 weeks that I can credit strength, flexibility and endurance to. However, I needed that run more than anything.  After a frustrating week of work outs, yoga is a work out that is done in house and requires a clear mind.  It's very difficult to clear your mind and not think about the 4 loads of laundry that need to be folded on the couch next to you, or clear your mind and tell your 3 year old to stop dumping out all the band-aids in the house.  Going for a run however, was "me time", time away from the chores, away from the kiddos for a few minutes.  What I really needed was me time!  AND to add the cherry on top, that was the BEST run I've been on since Hayden was born (I think).  If you read my pre-P90x post, then you know that I was a runner before kids, it feels good to be back at it.  I just ran the furthest I've run since Hayden was born, and non-stop!  And I still have energy.  It feels good!

DAY 2- Core Synergistics:  This is only my 3rd time doing core synergistics in the 8 weeks that I've been going, and I always feel like I over think it.  The funny thing is though, that Tony's "tip of the day" for this work out is to engage, and repeats twice "THINK".... Engage your core, think about engaging.  Core synergistics is a total body work out, but when you're core is engaged in the moves, it's a core work out.  Some of the moves, I have the engaging the core down, some of them, I'm probably way off.  I get another go at it on Friday.

DAY 3- Kenpo:  Still love me some kenpo!  And no children were injured in kenpo today, which is always a plus! It is HUMID today so my work out got extra steamy, I even had to lose my glasses because they kept fogging up. 

DAY 4- X Stretch:  Took today as my rest day.  I didn't intend for that to happen, but our morning was jam packed and I was exhausted by the afternoon/evening.

DAY 5- Core Synergistics:  Take 2 of Core Synergistics and I'm starting to feel a little better about it.  There's just nothing like rolling around on the floor to the commands of Tony Horton shouting out "Banana!" "Superman!"  (Sarcasm...)

DAY 6- Yoga:  Rough morning.... I started to get my work out in and found myself getting frustrated with the kiddos. They weren't wanting to cooperate with Mommy's schedule today, so about 15 minutes in, I gave up and swept the kitchen floor that by then was completely covered in Cheerios.  It happens!  Intended to pick yoga back up in the evening and never got to it.  Will get at it tomorrow.

DAY 7- Rest!:  Sundays are tough, I definitely prefer for them to be my rest days because I enjoy the family time and relaxation, and also we have church the first part of the day.  But I was not about to make this another week of missing 2 work-outs.  That has happened before and I spent the next week beating myself up far too much about it.  So now that it's Sunday, it's going to be a I missed 1 work out kind of week already.  This evening I went for a run with the boys in the jogger, and when I got back, I did 30 minutes of yoga. 

..... And with the end of this week, month TWO is OVER!!  Will get some measurements and photos up later this week.

P90x Week 7 Wrap Up

Week 7!!!!  Ahhh!!! 7 out of 13.... know what that means?   I'm more than half way finished with my challenge.  And I'm already thinking about what the next challenge will be!

DAY 1- Chest, Shoulders & Triceps and Ab Ripper:  This particular DVD/set of exercises was just introduced in the 2nd month, and though this is my 3rd Monday doing this set,  it is really tough.  My chest and arms are always SO tight and SO sore at the end.  It feels good though because I know that means it's working.

DAY 2- Plyometrics:  Week 7 and I'm finally starting to feel like I'm killing it at plyo days.  I'm keeping up with the DVD, going hard, and feeling so energized when it's over.  Of course you all know that I'm a stay at home Mommy to two.... There once was a time where, when the boys napped in the afternoon, it meant that it was time for Mommy to nap, but not these days.  It's so weird to think that exercising could give you MORE energy, but it's true.  When nap time rolls around, I'm constantly thinking what I can get done around the house, or what kind of crafts, or fun things I can do for myself.  Mommy naps are rare these days, and I feel good about that.

DAY 3- Back & Biceps and Ab Ripper:  I've been saying that I needed heavier dumbbells and we got them the other night.  Today was my first day using them.  When I started P90x, I was using 6 pound dumbbells and now I have 15 pound dumbbells.  The burn is coming quicker and I feel so much stronger.  I have no doubt that strength will keep coming, and we'll probably have to up dumbbells again.  I will probably be so sore tomorrow from upping the weight today, but that's ok because tomorrow is yoga day.... AND shocker... I'm kind of excited for yoga day! (Ssshhh, don't tell anyone.)

DAY 4- Yoga:  Made the executive decision to make today my rest day.  I was feeling way off, not well, un-motivated and hurting.  It happens!

DAY 5- Legs & Back:  So today was making up yesterdays yoga.  It didn't happen for me until about 10:30/11pm, but I'm happy to say that I made it up.  As much as I needed the break yesterday, in all honesty, I was really worried that this week could turn into another slip week where I skipped.  I DON'T want that to happen.  11pm is not ideal, but it's work.

DAY 6- Kenpo:  Making up yesterday's legs and back work out.  Ventured out Peach Pickin' earlier with the little people and so once again today it was another 11pm work out.  Morning is going to come early tomorrow and I have no doubt that I'm going to be sore!

DAY 7- Rest:  Pretty frustrated!  Tonight at 11pm when I was supposed to be doing yesterday's kenpo work out, I was instead laying in the fetal position in Hayden's floor pretending to be asleep so that he would go to sleep. Sometimes getting work outs in as a Mom is incredibly frustrating!  Planning to pull a 2 a-day tomorrow with Kenpo in the AM and yoga in the PM.  We'll see what happens.

Peach Pickin'

It's peach week at Millstone Creek Orchard! I'm going to be completely honest, I was totally unaware that my kids even liked peaches until last week.  I've never really been a peach fan, and a couple years ago, I bought a few for Leeland at the grocery store and he didn't care for them.  Which that doesn't really say much, as a toddler, he was super particular about textures, so the fuzziness and mushiness probably threw him off.  OR, for all I know, because I didn't try them, maybe they weren't even ripe and were bitter or something.  Who knows?

So anyway, last week we went to the Farmer's Market for some fresh veggies and a particular stand was handing out peach samples and Leeland devoured it.  So I bought a small basket.  (Marketing folks, sampling DOES in fact work!)  The boys killed that little basket of peaches in a couple of days, so when Millstone Creek posted on their Facebook page about it being peach week, I knew that they would love it. 

The kick off to peach week this weekend, included free hayrides and discounted prices.  Leeland and Hayden really enjoyed Strawberry Picking a while back, and peaches were no different.  It was INCREDIBLY hot outside today, so we didn't last long, but thankfully it didn't take long to fill our basket with peaches.  We even had a chance to venture over to the blueberry patch and pick the few blueberries that were left (blueberry season is ending.)

Too excited to look at your camera Momma, we're on a hayride!!

Filling his basket.

Sooo.... funny story about this group photo.  It's the middle of the work week for Daniel, so he wasn't able to join us today unfortunately.  I was hesitant in going by myself, but thought I'd give it a whirl.  When I get to the hayride, there's a lady there with FOUR kids by herself (one of them a brand new baby)..... I felt pretty silly for thinking I couldn't do it by myself with two, when she was doing great with four.  AND, amongst the chaos of her kiddos, she offered to snap a photo of us.  What a sweet, sweet lady.  (And super Mom!)

Blueberries are technically going OUT of season and had been picked a ton in the past couple weeks, but we were still able to find quite a bit before we got too hot in the humidity.

And now enter such a cute scene of peaches.  I meticulously stacked those peaches to make the basket look over flowing and sat the boys down.... And I have about 15 of these photos, and not even one of them are both boys looking. ((Sigh!))

1 peach fell victim to Hayden before we paid.... Oops!

MMMM!! Peach slushie!!!

Picnic!

 We have SOOO many peaches!  I made a little dessert tonight, (ssshhh! Don't tell my Beach Body Coach.)  I made Ina Garten's Peach and Blueberry Crumble.

.... going in the oven....

Warm, bubbly, crispy, yummy, sweet, goodness!

So I guess our next fruit picking adventure will be apples in about a month!  In the mean time, I need to figure out what to do with all of these peaches!