Thursday, September 4, 2008

Bustin' a sweat


7 weeks ago, we decided it was time to get into shape. After spending some hours watching the infomercials and seeing drastic changes in what they say were untouched pictures of befores and afters, and knowing someone who has actually tried it (thanks Dee), I was sold on P90X. These are extreme workouts people! It consists of 12 tear and sweat inducing workouts. It includes a diet, that honestly I cannot follow. But we are trying to eat healthy and less processed foods. The program brags, that if done correctly, you can go from regular to ripped in just 90 days. It uses "muscle confusion" to target all muscle groups and preventing them from hitting a plateau. The only confusion I felt the first few weeks was in my head, asking myself "what have I gotten ourselves into?" This program is designed for people who have reached their optimal goal and want to increase muscle weight, increase strength, and flexibility. We were not in optimal shape or condition to begin this program, but we did anyway. The fit test consisted of being able to do a certain number of push-ups, pull ups, and doing jumping jacks for 2 minutes straight. I shamefully could not do one single pull up or 2 minutes of jumping jacks and could maybe do 2 push ups on my knees. After the first week, we couldn't even move. Every muscle hurt. It was miserable, but we plugged along. Now in the 7Th week, I can say that I feel stronger. I might not looked "ripped" yet and I might still weigh the same, but I see some definition in my arms and legs and I can actually do 6 push ups off my knees. Rueben, of course, is starting to look buff, but that's because he naturally has less body fat to begin with. These workouts last about an hour. The hour is full of grunting, sweating, swearing, laughing, farting and then more laughing, awkward movements, balancing and falling down, and just good old fun. We try to do it together, cause it's more fun when you do it with a workout buddy. We encourage each other and do what Tony Horton (the instructor) says...we bring it and do our best and forget the rest. We hate it, but we love it!!! Hahaha! And to any of you who are thinking about doing it (Charlie), get going! Just the fact that you are doing something to improve your health is awesome enough. We will spare you our before pictures, but hopefully at the end of our 90 days, we will post our new and improved new bodies. Maybe.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Sam can yell really loud.

School's cool!!

These last few weeks have been kinda busy for us. Rueben started school last Thursday. So far it hasn't been as bad as last year, but then again, we might just be used to it by now. Labor day weekend was very low key. We didn't do very much...a staycation if you may. Oh, we did kinda clean out the garage, more like rearranging the crap that we have. We seriously need to hold a yard sale and just get rid of many a things. We figure if it's been sitting in the garage for a year, why bother having it. But we are "pack-rat" people, we hoard in hopes that one day, if the need arises, it will be in the garage under 10 ft of dust and spiderwebs.
The kids started preschool on Tuesday. Sam is in a Kinder Readiness program and will be attending 5 days a week from 9-12 am. I was having anxiety over him being gone, of not being there with him, of being home by myself, but his excitement makes it more bearable. He was so thrilled that the night before, he had picked and set out his clothes, hurried and brushed his teeth and went straight to bed. Not once did he get out of bed. In the morning when I woke him up, he was up like a flash, dressed and ready for breakfast. He picked out a Star Wars backpack, put it on and was ready to go. He had a great day and was excited about meeting his new friends. By this morning, the novelty had worn off and when I went to get him up, he promptly in a sleepy voice says "I don't wanna go to schoooool". HAHA!! This will be great at getting him ready for next year when he'll be gone full days. I can't believe that we are here already!! My little boy is growing up so fast!
Isa is also going to a class for 2 yr olds. She will go for the same hours, but only 3 days. She's mostly going for the socialization. We'll see how it goes. If she doesn't like it, I will just keep her home for the next 20 years! She picked out a Dora The Explorer backpack with wheels and she likes to wheel it all around the house.

Going to school!
So Sam has been talking about doing karate. As we were driving back home from school, he saw a sign for Tae Kwan Do. I figured why not. We got him a few lessons. We went back in the evening and he did awesome. He was really focused and eager to show them that he could kick really high. They talk and teach about respect, focus, self control, self esteem and listening. I think this might just work out for him. We'll see what happens. I'll post some video.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

superkids


Sam and Isa have been playing really well together. Sam cannot go without including her in everything, especially in making trouble. Isa is understanding more and following Sam's lead and at times being the mastermind. She is big into "I do it". Miss independent. Miss funny. Miss temper tantrum. She throws the biggest tantrums I have ever seen. Jumping up and down, clenching her fists, howling at the top of her lungs, and of course, throwing herself at anything soft (miss smart girl). It's comical and most the time we have to turn around and laugh. We have institituted the 1,2,3...timeout with her and it's been pretty effective. She sits in the time out chair for 30 seconds and even though she doesn't like it, she sure shapes up after. Ahh the terrible 2's. Good thing she's cute...
Here are a few of the funny things she does:
-Whenever she sees herself, either in a picture or in the mirror, she says "you! you! you!" That's because we always say, "that's you in the picture Isa".
-Whenever she's finished doing something she says "all done" in a growling voice like our friends twins.
-Her temper tantrums...for the time being.
-She chases Sam around yelling "I'm gonna get you!"
-She laughs everytime she farts.
-Everytime she plays with her Elmo dishes, she wants bananas to eat off them. (I used to do this when I was a child and I didn't even teach her)
-She will slowly, but surely rearrange random items throughout the house. It's been weeks since we last saw our remote control.
-She loves to color on the walls. (Not very funny at first)
-She'll smell our feet and say while scrunching her nose "ewwww stiiinky!"

Happy Graduation Charlie, Good luck Gladwells!!

On Sunday we attended our friend Charlies graduation. It's hard to believe that we have been here one year. Consequently, Charlie is done with the program and him and his family have left the state. Moving on to the splendid life of the post graduate...sort of. With his graduation comes the realization that we have but only one year left. It's like a breath of fresh air. And with fear of sounding trite, it seems like it was only yesterday that we were settling and getting used to our surroundings. Not knowing what lay ahead of us, what new trial was about to begin. It certainly hasn't been about the destination. Our journey has been filled with happy smiles and tearful eyes. From the empty void of not having our family around, to a filling sense of knowing that we have made great friends for life. To know that the sacrifices that we make today only secure a better life for ourselves and our families tomorrow. To our families, thank you for your continued love and support. We couldn't do it without you. To our friends (far and near), thank you for your support, your words of wisdom and the laughs, and to Charlie and Kay, thank you for showing us the ropes, for being such a good senior buddy to Rueben, for the wonderful cook outs and for including us in your celebration. We will miss our games after dinner, especially Charlie's impersonation of a guy parachuting...that was priceless. We will see you again, soon. Good luck with boards, your new home, and with your beautiful childern. And, although I wont post it, Charlie sang a Josh Groban song, "Thankful" and it was beautiful. We truly are are thankful and next year, we'll be graduated! Better than Josh G.


Sam was looking really good in his shirt and tie.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Say cheese!

About a week ago we had our friend Kristin take some pictures of us. We were hoping for a sunny day but we got cloudy and somewhat rainy. Nevertheless, the weather was the least of our problems. Getting 2 kids to cooperate and smile simultaneously is like pulling teeth without anesthesia. Thanks Kristin! I know you tried your hardest, but if it's ok, we'll have to do it again.











Friday, August 1, 2008

Flashback Friday: Two wild and crazy guys

Check this out, what do you get with wide collars and
super hot velour clothing, that's right, two super hot
dudes. I mean seriously, just look at that hair, it's like
two fantastic comb-overs minus the bald spots. Another
awesome detail is the tucking in of the velour sweater
Andrew is sporting, and I have no idea why my hands
are in my pockets. Enjoy this little nugget of dorkiness everybody.