I Did It!!

Well, I finally had good enough weather to ride with my friend today, and I did it. My legs still feel a little noodlish, but I was able to walk up my stairs after without feeling like I was going to fall down. So I am on my way to toned legs, just in case we get to go to the Clayson reunion this summer. Then all you Clayson's will only have to see white legs, instead of fat,white legs. => I guess you just can't have it all.

On a good note, I went to see a doctor the other day because I have been feeling so tired. When I drive, I get dozey. After I put the kids to bed, I fall asleep on the couch. So I'm thinking, maybe anemia, or thyroid issues. Turns out I have none of those. All my blood tests came back normal. I guess I'm tired because I have 5 kids! => Oh well, maybe this bike riding will pump some energy into my system.

On to the cuteness. Tanner and Parker have been my little munchers since we moved here, and it's been kind of frustrating. Tanner is eating an early lunch today, because he woke up so early, and won't keep his chair flat on the ground. Every half hour or so I hear, "Hey Mom, I hungy." Parker won't let me feed him anymore, so whatever he eats gets all over him, the floor, the chair, the wall, etc.... He loves to play peek a boo while he eats, so his eyes and hair get covered in whatever food he eats, too. Then he throws his plate on the floor to let me know he's done. He gets a bath every night. Between the two of them, my fridge empties quickly. But I can't let them starve, so I guess I'll have to keep feeding them.

Biking to School, Part 2

Well, regardless of my "noodle legs" (thanks Devan) from yesterday, I was feeling better by the end of the day, and the kids still wanted to ride bikes today and I did, too. So we loaded up this morning and took off. The day was kind of overcast, but the weather was still supposed to be in the 70's, so I wasn't worried. About 2:45 I looked outside and the ground was wet. I couldn't see any drops hitting the ground, so I figured it had rained and was done and I could make it to school before it started again. I got Tanner and Parker and headed outside to load them up, only to be "misted" upon. It wasn't a full blown rain, but was misting enough to get you wet. Fortunately for them, the bike trailer is waterproof. Unfortunately for me, I'm not. By the time I got to my corner, my glasses were all spotted and semi-fogged up. By the time I got to school, with it still misting, my hair was soaked and dripping in my face. The kids and I rode home as fast as we could through the mist, but were still soaked by the time we got back. The boys had hoods on their jackets, but Kaitlin and I were unprepared.



The drowned rat


Someone upstairs must love me though. Although I prayed for the mist to stop while I went to get the kids, it didn't happen. But it did start to rain harder after we got home. Josh was telling me on the way home that it's supposed to be about 20 degree cooler tomorrow, and if it even looks like it could rain, I think I'll drive.

Biking to School

In an effort to get more exercise and save on gas for the car, the kids and I decided that we could ride our bikes to school every day. The school is only a 2-3 miles from our house, and the way is pretty easy (only one minor hill). So last night the whole family went on a bike ride to see how much time it would take to ride to school. Shane took the two little ones in the trailer on his bike, and I led the way at an easy pace so that we could see how long it would take. We made it to the school in 13 minutes. So the kids and I decided to do it for real today. We got up a little earlier, I had their lunches made early, and breakfast, too. Then we hopped on and headed to school. Josh doesn't have very strong legs so we went nice and easy. The hill wasn't too bad - they love zooming down it, it's the little kick back up that kills ya. We got to school and the decided that the ride wasn't too bad. I told them I'd meet them by the bike racks right after school and said goodbye. About this time I could feel a little burn in my legs, but not bad. Anyway, I get to the hill, which as it turns out has the steeper side to go back up on the way home. By the time I got to the top, I thought I would die. My legs were killing me! Keep in mind, I have been exercising on the treadmill so I thought I'd be OK, but I was carting two little boys in a trailer and the extra weight about did me in.

I'm almost to the turn off to go to our house, and a lady I met when we first moved here comes riding behind me. She and her family moved from Idaho a little over a year ago. Anyway, she rides with me for a while and says that she does about 10 miles every day as she rides with her kids to school, and would I like to join her? I'm thinking, you know, that would be nice. I'd have someone to talk to, get some good exercise; I think I'll do it. I told her to let me talk to the kids and I'd get back to her. I get home, and go to put Parker back to bed, and my legs are shaking so bad I can barely carry him up the stairs. Then I turn around to go down two flights of stairs with the dirty laundry, and I almost fall down. I'm not making this up. So much for exercising on the treadmill. I'm being to think it's not doing me any good. So, as I clutch the banister, trying not to fall down, I'm starting to think that maybe I'm not quite ready for a 10 mile bike ride, pulling two boys, every morning. I think I'll call her tomorrow and tell her I need a couple of days first to condition this poor body to some real exercise so that I can keep up with her.

On to the cute stuff. Parker has been trying to talk like crazy lately. He starts babbling up a storm and looks at you like he expects you to know what he's talking about. He's also learned how to climb up and down stairs, with support so he doesn't tip over backward, dance, and climb onto Tanner's bed. Tanner likes to jump on it, and Parker doesn't want to be left out of the fun. So he hauls himself up. He thinks he is so neat when he does that. Check this out.



Parker is also packing on the weight lately. He eats like a horse! I was trying to get a picture of his sumo belly, but he wanted to help, so you get his sumo face instead. I've also included the boys showing their muscles and sweet Kaitlin, who didn't show hers.

Our Little Onion and Holy Buckets!!

Today Josh had a play at school. Actually, it was a musical called "How Does Our Garden Grow?" and he was an onion. He has been practicing since we moved here, and all we've heard this last week is how nervous he is, and how this person has been gone for 2 weeks and doesn't know their part, and how this person won't do something right, etc, etc.... Well, today was the day and he was so excited and nervous, but it went really well. The kids did a great job and it was very enjoyable to watch. Josh did a great job. He got into it so much that he was be-bopping around while he was sitting there during the weeds song. The weeds were a bunch of boys dressed up in hip hop style, chanting that they are weeds, and cool, and they rule. A little corn next to him and to lean over and remind him to sit still. It was so funny to watch him. He only had a little two line part to say, but he was so proud of how they did.



On the other part of the title, my dad always had a saying when he was surprised or shocked or disgusted or whenever it seemed to fit. He'd say "holy buckets!" Well, today as we tried to duck the downpour that has been off and on for the last 2 weeks, that saying came to mind. The rain literally came down in buckets. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but the rain is running in rivers down the gutters. I have never lived in a place where there was such a rainy spring. Tanner loves to go out and jump in the puddles. He was so upset that I wouldn't let him do it today. The problem was the rain came with high 30 degree weather and was a little too cold for that. But as I stood at my big front window and watched the rain come down, all I could think of was "Holy Buckets!!"

Bad, Bad Stinker Boy!!

You may be wondering about the title of this post. Those are Tanner's newest words for you when he is upset by something you did. He used to call me "meanie", but now it's "bad, bad stinker boy!" I think he got it from Kaitin. Well, now he is the bad, bad stinker boy because he woke up at 1 a.m. this morning thinking it was time to be awake. I gave him a drink and put him back to bed. Forty five minutes later, he's at the door again, wanting to watch "ponge bob pair pants" (spongebob square pants). I know he's not ready to go back to bed, so downstairs we go to the DVR (what a wonderful invention) where several episodes of spongebob are recorded. So, from 2 to 3:30 a.m., he's watching spongebob while I dose in the chair. I finally wake up enough to see if he's tired yet, and I think he is. So I put him back in bed, tuck him in, and go to bed myself. Five minutes later I hear the crib banging on the wall. Thinking that Parker may be waking up, I go in to check. Tanner has climbed into the crib with Parker and is trying to play with him at 3:30 in the morning. He has put in a couple of books and cars and is trying to wake him up. I haul him out and have to sit by him for 30 minutes to make sure he doesn't get out of bed again and goes back to sleep. So today, as I struggle to stay awake and function, he is the bad, bad stinker boy.