Leisurely Walk? I Think Not.

The night after we got back from our trip, Bo started feeling nauseous and felt kind of sick for the next few days. Last night, Melia came out of her room at 10:30pm crying and covered in throw up. This morning, I started feeling nauseous. After breakfast, Melia projectile vomitted across the room. Naiya is going through this phase where she only wants to be held by me. Since we've been back from our trip, she not only wants to be held by me instead of other people--she wants to be held by me period. All the time. So after a morning inside the house with all of us not feeling so great, I decided we needed to get out. We didn't have a car, so I loaded the girls up in the really old double stroller and went out for a "leisurely walk". My thinking was, "I'm not feeling so good, but I feel a little better. We need to get out of the house. I'll just take it easy on this walk." I don't know what made me think there is such a thing as a leisurely walk in Paradise, seeing as how there is no flat ground. It is either up hill or down hill. And the uphill starts with our driveway which is looong and is at an incline of like 30 degrees which feels like 90 degrees when you're pushing a 20 pound baby and a 38 pound almost 4 year old in a big old double stroller. So by the time I got to the top of the driveway, I was already breathing heavy. Just down our street a little way, there is another huge hill. As I pushed the stroller up the hill, I started to feel more nauseous again. I pressed on for another 15 minutes or so and then decided to give it up. I look forward to the time when we live somewhere with flat sidewalks again. :)

We're Back!

Happy New Year! We just got back from a week and a half long vacation to Southern California and it was a lot of fun! We spent most of our time with our families, but we were able to squeeze a few friends in too. There were many more that we wish we could have seen, but we just ran out of time. Although we stayed up late every night and I had to get up early every morning with the girls, I came home feeling pretty rejuvinated. I guess actually more mentally than physically. :) This past semester had really taken a toll on us with Bo being gone so much and so stressed out all the time. We literally had almost zero time together. I was so caught up in taking care of the kids and never really getting much of a break or getting out to do fun "grown up" stuff. Looking back, I think I was a little depressed. Anyway, it was so good to have Bo there every day all day and be surrounded by wonderful people on this trip. To just have fun and play games and laugh every day more than I have in a long time was so refreshing! It made me realize that we need that kind of stuff in our lives to stay balanced. I came back with a better perspective on things and I feel more motivated to do things now. I'm not big on New Year's Resolutions, but now is as good a time as any to think about what I really want in my life. More fun for this year definitely!

Should I Be Worried?

Bo's latest blog entry is called "Guy Love". Those of you who know us well know what I'm dealing with here. Check it out at http://boot2thhead.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday to Me!

It's my birthday! Unfortunately, Wednesdays are Bo's day where he works and goes straight to school and doesn't get home until really late. I usually don't even see him on Wednesdays, so I knew it would just be me and the girls like usual today. We are also a few days away from Bo's paycheck so I didn't have lots of money to do anything.


But I still wanted to enjoy my birthday, so I packed up the girls and we went to the mall. We had fun looking around and trying on shoes that I will be buying for my birthday after I get money. :)


Santa was there at the mall and it wasn't busy at all so he let Melia come and sit on his lap and they even let me take pictures with my own camera--so we got unexpected Santa pictures for free. :)


Later, after the girls' naps, we went to the store and I had just enough money to buy myself a German chocolate birthday cake. Melia made sure to tell everyone in the check out line that it was my birthday and she even carried the cake for me (at one point, upside down on top of her head). We came home and Melia sang to me and blew out my candles with me. Grandma gave me an awesome present by doing a sink full of dirty dishes for me. It may not seem like a big deal to some, but after a long day and finally getting the girls to bed, the last thing I feel like doing is cleaning up a messy kitchen and doing a sink full of dirty dishes. Thanks Grandma! Also, a few days ago my friend and visiting teacher, Terry, came over and we were talking about how I love almond butter and how expensive it is. She told me that you can get it at Winco and I was thrilled at the possibility to get it for cheap. Anyway, today I found a bag on my doorstep filled with 3 large containers of almond butter. I thought that was such a thoughtful gift. :) These things combined with calls from friends and family made for a good birthday despite the circumstances. Oh yeah--I topped off the night with a little "So You Think You Can Dance" which always makes me smile.

P.S. The next morning, I woke up to find a present from Bo sitting on the table. The present was nice, but my favorite part was the letter he wrote to me. I won't go into detail, but let's just say it made me cry...in a good way. :) On Friday night, we went out to dinner at the Olive Garden to celebrate!

Thanks to God

I'm thankful for at least a million and one things in my life, but these three are the tops! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The Real Story of Jesus' Birth

Last night, Melia was playing with a little nativity set at our friend's house. Today she gave me her version of what happened. "The donkey sniffed baby Jesus and the fairy (angel) was on the roof and Mary was feeding baby Jesus some nummies."

Sugar, Sugar

My name is Laura and I'm a sugar addict. Yes, it's true. Sugar has become my drug of choice and it's starting to really bum me out. Not only is it totally bad for me health wise, it's keeping me from fitting into my pre-pregnancy clothes, which is not only depressing but it's getting cold up here and I can't fit into my pants. :(
So here's the thing--I eat pretty healthy all day long for all my meals and snacks. I don't have any sugar during the day. But night hits and I'm exhausted and I fall in front of the TV and the cookie dough starts calling my name. Actually, it calls my name throughout the day and I look forward to the night time when I can sit down with some sweet stuff and just take a break. That's the thing--it's like my treat, my reward, my break. And I don't know how to not do it. I mean, I've broken the cycle in the past, but I always fall back into it. I want it and I don't want it. You know what I mean? It's good in the moment, but then I regret it afterward. The whole weight thing is just getting to me lately. It's not like I think I'm huge or anything--I just want to get back to fitting in my clothes and be at my normal weight. Somewhere during pregnancy, an extra 15 pounds snuck onto my body and it's been 7 months now and none of it has gone away. I keep psyching myself up to do something about it, but I find my efforts are always thwarted by something. My latest thing is the P90X workout system. Yes, I saw it on an infomercial and yes, I always end up wanting to try almost everything I see on infomercials. I admit it. Only this time I didn't have to buy it because Bo's co-worker lent it to us. It's 12 different workout DVDs that are pretty extreme. I was all set to be buff in 90 days, but so far every week that I've started getting up early and doing it, something has happened and I've only done it like a handful of times. Anyway, bottom line is I need to break this sugar habit. Not really sure how to do it though. I'm sure some of you can relate to what I'm talking about. Others may think I'm complaining about nothing. Whatever your take is on it is fine. It's just been my struggle lately and I decided to blog about it because life isn't all just fun events to report on.