Its Good to be Home

Confession: As much as I love weekend road trips to get away from it all, I have mixed emotions about them upon my return home to reality. For example.....

Last Friday evening after work, we loaded up my car and headed up the interstate to beautiful Lake Martin, AL for the holiday weekend. It was fabulous. Our whole family was there; the four of us, Brent's parents, his sister and her husband and their two girls. We spent the mornings drinking coffee on the porch overlooking the lake and cruising around on the boat. In the afternoon we took the little ones swimming at the pool. We dined on home cooked meals at night and on the 4th we feasted on the traditional smoked ribs and grilled corn. YUM!! The weather was perfect, and thanks to that I can actually claim to have a tan this year.

It was a relaxing getaway that I hated to see come to an end. Because as usual, I knew what would await me upon our arrival back in Mobile: last week's laundry plus the laundry that accumulated over the weekend, a kitchen with no groceries, and a house that needed a little more cleaning that was done before we left. So as has become my custom I have spent most of my weeknights playing "catch up" on all of the things that I normally do on the weekends, but couldn't because we were gone. I do this so that the upcoming weekend will still have hopes of being somewhat of a weekend..meaning I am not dealing with not one but TWO weeks of piled up laundry and cleaning.

Luckily we are in town the rest of July. This is good for several reasons.

1. We have been out of town 3 of the last 6 weekends. I am tired and need a break from traveling. Especially in a small car with two small children, a husband, and all of our stuff - half of which never seems to make it out of aforementioned small car which creates one more thing to add to my "to-do" list.

2. I am not too proud to admit it gets expensive traveling so much by the time you factor in gas, boarding my 60 lb chocolate lab, food, and the inevitable unexpected necessary (and sometimes unnessecary) purchases that tend to get made on the road.

3. I need time to prepare, and I mean seriously prepare, for our next out of town road trip. We will be spending the entire first week of August at my absolute favorite place in the whole wide world (more about that later). I can't wait and I have LOTS to do!! I need to make packing lists. From the packing lists I will need to make shopping lists. A shopping list will mean that at some point I will have to actually go shopping to purchase items on the shopping list. Then I will have to pack. Pack bags, pack the car, you get the idea. Oh yeah-and lets not forget about doing as much laundry and housework as I can so its not staring me in the face when I return.

So there you have it. My love/hate relationship with traveling all summed up in this post. I know it may seem complicated, but traveling and I are working it out one trip at a time.

The Boot Camp Experience

Four weeks ago I began what I like to think of as a new chapter in my life. For those of you who have been reading what few posts have actually made it to this blog, you may recall this post. And shortly after, I wrote this post. I am sad to say that as determined as I was I did not go cold turkey with what my friends and I now refer to as "The Meagan Diet" on May 1. However, I can still say that I am 10lbs lighter than I was that day at my Dr. appt. So that just goes to show that even small changes in your diet can have a big impact without you even realizing it.

Anyway, back to the new chapter in my life. Four weeks ago is actually significant for two reasons. First of all I turned the big 3-0. I don't think this milestone warrants much more explanation; although, some great friends helped make it a super special day! The story is definitely blogworthy and I promise to write about it later. Second of all, three days after my birthday, I attended my first boot camp class. If you have not heard of boot camp, let me give you a brief explanation. It is four weeks of high intensity, kick your butt, make you sore in places you never thought possible work outs. I LOVE IT!! And I want to give a big shout out to my friend Abbie for inviting me to sign up and do it with her. We signed up for three days a week, but you can also sign up for 4 or 5 days a week. The classes are 45 min long and offered several times a day at various locations. You can go whenever and wherever its convenient for you. The one Abbie and I do is on our lunch break at Pump It Up, here in Mobile. Don't let the pictures fool you. Those inflatables that my 3 year old would jump in for hours are not that fun when you've got a trainer pushing you!!!

But I have to say, the results speak for themselves. In four weeks I have lost a total of 9 inches!! My clothes fit better (and bigger!!). I feel like I have more energy and I can tell that my endurance is building up with each class. Another reason I find myself attracted to this boot camp thing is that I love seeing so many different women (and some men) with different body shapes, sizes, and athletic ability come together with a common goal and really encourage each other. I have made friends these past four weeks I wouldn't have made otherwise. Oh - and I forgot to mention that when you sign up you also get nutritional counseling. It sounds corny but it really is a lifestyle change. I signed up for the next session the other day when I went for my assessment. It doesn't start until July 12 and I just know I'm gonna miss it next week.

If you live on the Gulf Coast and are interested go to http://www.bodiesbycindy.com/ and check it out!!!

May: The Series

I am devoting the next couple of posts to events that happened in our lives during the month of May. I had every intention of actually documenting these events as they took place (back in May) but as you can see that didn't happen. From now on when it comes to blogging my motto is "Better late than never." So here goes. I hope you enjoy!!

I'm Still Here

For those of you wondering if I had abandoned this poor little blog, I have not. I have just been really, really, really, really, really busy these past few weeks. I know that sounds like a cop out, but I am not exaggerating. Two weekends ago I took the girls to the beach for a long weekend. The following week I had my wisdom teeth removed. Then Haley had two birthday parties to go to on the same day and last weekend we cleaned. And cleaned. And then cleaned some more. But I am extremely overjoyed to announce that I now have a clean house, clean clothes, clean sheets, etc. So that pretty much sums up my absence from the blogging world. I wish I had something insightful to write about after staying away so long, but I dont. So on that note I will end. Until next time.....(and I promise there will be a next time!!)

Easter Fun

Last weekend I got to take a break from the craziness of April and enjoy Easter with my family. Actually it started last Wednesday. Haley had her very first Easter egg hunt at school. I was a little worried since she hadn't really had any experience, but she did great!! I never did take the time to count how many she got, but let's put it this way: her basket was so full that by the end of the hunt when she would lean over to pick one up, I had to catch the two or three that fell out. I tried to explain to her that if she would hold her basket up instead of sideways she wouldn't lose any, but she was too focused on getting eggs. We had another egg hunt on Saturday at a golf club Brent's parents belong to. She and her cousins (who are younger than her) had to compete against some older kids, so she didn't walk away with that many eggs. We still had a good time and the food was yummy. I am just thankful the rain held off!!! On Sunday we went to church. After sunday school, we went and got Haley from her class and brought her into "big" church with us. I am not sure what possessed us to try this as she is not really known for being still or quiet for an extended period of time, but she actually did really well. And the cool part is that I know she was listening at least part of the time because she would lean over and whisper what the preacher had just said. We ate lunch at Brent's parents along with his sister, her husband, and their two girls. After lunch we held the third Easter egg hunt of the year in the backyard. The day ended with a viewing of Princess and the Frog and a consumption of too much candy courtesy of the Easter bunny. Now its back to the grind. I am praying these next 9 days go by fast because I am ready for a break at the beach!!!

I Think I Can!!

I saw Meagan yesterday. She has lost a total of 28 pounds since the end of January and she looks great!!! Seeing what she has accomplished makes me want to wake up tomorrow and go cold turkey, but I know I need to be realistic. I have two more weeks until the end of tax season and my plate is filled with more than I can say grace over between now and then. On the bright side, I have done very well with the goals I set for myself a couple of weeks ago. My caffiene consumption has dropped dramatically. I have traded in sweets for fruit, white bread for 100% whole wheat, and sucessfully refrained from late night snacking (i.e. no eating after 9 pm). So considering all the circumstances I am actually pretty proud of myself. I am optimistic that I can stick with these changes until May 1st. That is the day I am going all or nothing. I picked it because it gives me two and a half weeks to get my life back to normal after April 15. Hopefully that works out for me because whether things actually calm down or not, May 1st is not negotiable. I am determined not to be my own worst enemy in this attempt at weight loss. Another reason I am probably so peppy about all of this right now is not only do I have a good friend to encourage me, but I am starting to finally see light at the end of the tax season tunnel. Tomorrow is the last day of March and that thrills me to no end. I think that seeing the end in sight is giving me a second wind. I am more motivated to get as much work done as I can at the office and around the house so that April 16 will be that much sweeter!! Not that it needs much help. It is customary for our office to be closed the first Friday following April 15. Since the 15th is on a Thursday we will be closed the 16th. Me and the girls are headed to Orange Beach for the weekend with another friend of mine. Although I have lived on the gulf coast for almost seven years now I haven't been to the beach since college. The girls have never been to the beach. Suffice it to say I CAN'T WAIT!! All I can say is, "Please, please, PLEASE, let us have nice weather!"

When it Rains It Pours

Last weekend has to be one of the craziest weekends I have had in quite a while. Let me give you the recap. Midnight Friday night. Emme wakes up. Emme refuses to go back to sleep. I feed her. She still refuses to go back to sleep. She spends the next three and a half hours alternating between screaming and playing in my living room floor while I watch Sahara on TV. I feed her again. She finally goes to sleep around 3:30 or 4. Saturday morning at 6. I get up and get dressed because Emme's 9 month portraits are at 8. I get Emme up. One of her eyes is red and puffy. I figure this is from lack of sleep and lots of crying. We go to the photography studio and take pictures. She does remarkably well given the circumstances. We go back home. I eat breakfast and leave for work. Work till 4:30. Get home to see Emme's eye is still red and the other one is looking bad, too. Gonna have to make a trip to the doctor. Conclude that continued crying is due to teething. At least I can give her Tylenol for that. Put kids to bed at 8, thankfully no one wakes up!!! Sunday morning. Arrive at Urgent Care at 8:05. Emme has pink eye. Leave Urgent Care at 9:45. Go get prescription filled. Get home after 11. Learn that while Brent was trying to be a good husband and clean the oven, sparks flew when he lifted the lower heating element to get up underneath it and the whole thing went dead. Spend the next hour trying to find someone who will come and fix my stove on a Sunday. Thank you Donald's Electric Appliances. Things slowly begin to return to normal. Then Brent's allergies kick in and all of a sudden he is sick. Then at 11:45 p.m. just when we have gotten to bed, Emme wakes up. She finally goes back to sleep at 2:30. Fast forward to 5:30 am this morning. I hit the snooze twice. Finally I crawl out of bed at 6:00. Rush to get ready and out the door. Halfway to school realize Haley's napper was left in the dryer. Get Brent to deliver napper to school where he sees she is the only one there who doesn't have a coat to put on to go outside, where it is STILL COLD. Surely at this point things can only get better. I am not working late tonight. I am leaving in time to pick up Emme from her Grammie's before 5:30. As soon as the girls to go bed tonight I am going to bed. I do not care about taxes or the pile of laundry that hasn't left my bedroom floor in a month. I am tired. I need sleep. But for now I am trying not to think about it any more. Back to work I go.

Almost 10 Months Later and I Still Weigh WHAT?????

I have always adopted an ignorance is bliss policy when it comes to my weight. I figure if I am happy with what my clothing size is then I am good. Or am I? The answer is no. I was confronted with the awful truth of how much I weigh at the doctor's office today and it quite frankly freaked me out. I knew going in that I still have some baby weight to lose. I just had no idea how much. So starting now I will no longer be content to be a certain size, because obvioulsy whoever put that certain size label in my clothes wasn't paying attention to what they were doing that day.

The good news is that I already have a weight loss plan in place. My friend Meagan started following these dieting "rules" several weeks ago and has lost 20 pounds. Its been a couple of weeks since we last talked so its possible she's lost more. These rules are pretty hard core. When I first read them I wanted to jump right in, but then reality hit. For instance, there's just no way I can expect myself to completely cut out caffeine and get 8 hours of sleep every night. Not right now anyway. So I was going to postpone this endeavor until the beginning of May, when my life will hopefully be back to normal. But after my appointment yesterday I really got to thinking and I've come to the conclusion that there's never a good time for these things. If you want to do something bad enough you just have to do it. I may not be able to stick to all of the rules, but I can start following the ones I can. Here are my goals to start out: No eating after 9 pm, Drink as much water as possible, No white bread, and the hardest one of all.......cut out as much coffee, tea, and Coke as possible!!! It may not sound like much but its a start. At the end of tax season I will go at it full force. But for now a little is better than nothing at all. Wish me luck!!!

The Letter "H"

Today Haley had to give a presentation at school on the letter H. The assignment was to find things around your house that begin with the first letter of your name and bring them to school. It was sort of like a show and tell. We gathered up a Hairdryer, a Hanger, a Hat, Halloween movies, a toy Hot Dog, and the Helper Hand out of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I also thought it would be fun to bring the kids Hamburgers for lunch so I took a welcome break from work about midday and ran to McDonalds. Haley's teacher knew I would be doing that so she had Haley wait to present her other stuff until I got there. So I got to see her presentation! She was such a big girl up there in front of her classmates and I was so proud. I love that she is in a school where its okay and even encouraged for parents to be part of those types of things. I know I say it all the time but she is growing up so fast and I hope the day that she doesn't want me there for her presentations, class parties, etc. stays far far away!!!

My Big Girl

A milestone was reached in the Blake family this morning, and even though in the grand scheme of things it may not be that significant it hit me like a ton of bricks. So much that I feel the need to forever document its occurance via this blog. The past two days Haley has been super grumpy upon arrival at her school, which is totally unlike her. Until this morning I had been unsuccessful at determining the cause of this grumpiness. She had gotten to bed late the past couple nights so naturally I assumed she was just tired. But this morning she told her dad a different story. Haley said she was upset when she got to school because Mommy didn't drop her off. From the first day of school back in August I have walked Haley to her classroom, watched her put away her coat and schoolbag and sit down in her chair to color. I have exchanged hellos with other parents and her teacher and been able to observe her work hanging in the classroom and the hallway. But today for the first time, I drove her up to the red double doors out front, watched her climb out of the car with help from one of the teachers, told her I was proud of her, and drove to work. I must admit I did get a little teary as I tried to tell myself all of the positive things associated with this change. First of all I'd be lying if I said it didn't make the morning routine easier for me. Oh yeah, and on those mornings when its flooding outside this will make so much more sense. Wait a minute, who am I kidding? The bottom line is my little girl is slowly turning into a big girl and the truth is it makes me sad. I guess I better get ready for more days like these. Because ready or not here they come.

Lazy Sunday

After a fun outing to Target with the girls and a good nights sleep, I am over my frustrations of yesterday. I have taken Sunday as the day of rest quite literally today. For the first time since I can't remember when I didn't get out of bed until 8:30. On the weekedays I am a 5:30 riser and even on the weekends I am lucky to make it past 7. So 8:30 is definitely an accomplishment. Brent took Haley to get hot doughnuts for breakfast, which was nice for two reasons: 1. I like hot doughnuts and 2. there was no cooking and very little clean up involved on my part. Then late this morning I got to indulge myself in a way that I have not been able to in forever. I got to take a long, hot bubble bath with no interruptions from kids. Talk about relaxation. And if that wasn't relaxation enough, after lunch all of us Blake girls took a simultaneous nap. I will probably regret it when I can't sleep at 11 o'clock tonight, but right now I am feeling pretty good. Haley and I are about to work on her cutting for school and then I promised her we'd bake cookies this evening. She loves helping me bake cookies. Emme is teething some more so hopefully she'll wake up from her nap a happy camper. Other than that, I have a wonderful husband who cleaned the house while we were on our Target outing yesterday so all I have going is laundry and my nightly viewing of Gilmore Girls. Every now and then we all need a lazy day and today has certainly been one for me. I guess I better go enjoy the rest of it - there's no telling when the next one will come along!!

Never Good Enough

Do you ever have those days where you feel like no matter how hard you try or what you do its never good enough? If you don't, please share your secret with me!! It seems like every day for the past week I have had one of these days. This has been a very, very tough tax season for me. First of all, for one reason or another my work load has increased. And on top of that tasks that usually take 30 minutes seem to be taking an hour or more!! I feel like I am putting in hour after hour with little to show for it. I know everything will be fine. I get this way every year and every year the work somehow gets done. Its also been rough because I know have two little ones at home that I feel like I hardly get to see and I hate that. If it weren't for Haley's Tuesday night ballet classes and Wednesday night church, our time together during the week would be almost non-existent. I guess I really don't have much room to complain. I had plenty of family and friends in the public accounting world at the time I decided to join it, so I definitely knew what I was getting into. There is hope though. In about six or so weeks it will all be over and I'll look back and it won't seem so bad. Until then I need to learn some better stress management techniques. If you have any, I'd love to hear them!!

I Love Facebook!!

I have a confession: I love Facebook. I really do. I love reconnecting with friends from high school and college. I love seeing pictures of their families and finding out what they have been up to. I love knowing when something good happens to one of my friends or when they need encouragement or prayer. I have to admit I don't particularly care about anyone's Farm, Mafia War, or Sorority, but for the most part I think the whole Facebook concept is pretty cool. Its true that the majority of my Facebook friends are really only acquaintances. If it weren't for Facebook I would have no idea where any of them were or what they were doing. On the other hand I do owe a handful of ladies who have become great friends to Facebook. Why am I going on so much about Facebook? Last night before I went to bed I was checking my Facebook via my phone and got a less than enthusiastic response from my husband. Its not that he's anti-Facebook or anything. He actually has an account. He just doesn't understand my "fascination" with it. I guess maybe I am somewhat of an addict as far as checking status updates is concerned. In my defense I have gotten a lot better these past few weeks as my work has slowly taken over certain areas of my life. And until I start asking for help with my farm or recruiting members for my sorority I will refuse to believe that I have a problem. I enjoy using Facebook and I will not apologize for it. Now, if you will excuse me I need to check my Facebook account. JUST KIDDING!!!!!

Turning Over a New Leaf

I want you all to know that I am super proud of myself right now. The reason? Today marks the first time that I have posted to this blog two days in a row!!! Ok, so its not like I helped to solve world peace or anything like that, but for me its an accomplishment. I hope I can keep it up. The next few days might be a bit of a challenge though. My family should be here in a few hours. They are staying until Saturday so I won't have much access to my computer. Now that I have two kids I am down to only one extra bedroom. Before Emme we had an office and a guestroom. Now we have an office/guestroom. Its a little tight, but it works given that we rarely have overnight guests. I have toyed with the idea of making it an extra room for the girls. I'd most likely put a sofa in there for them, so I'd just get one with a pull out bed for the occasions when my family does visit. Of course my desk would still have to go in there due to lack of any place else to put it, but since there'd be much less furniture it shouldn't be as much of a squeeze. Of course if you want to know what I'd really like to do, its put in a game room and a small study in our current attic space. I have had one contractor look at it and he said we couldn't do it because of the way our ductwork was done. I plan on getting a second opinion. I'm not saying it would be easy or inexpensive, but surely it can be done. Until then my office/guestroom will have to do!!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Wow!! It's been one month exactly since I last posted. So much for commitment, huh? It isn't that I haven't wanted to post or that I haven't had anything to post about. I have just been so FREAKIN BUSY!!! The good news is that it is now the middle of February and my yearly torment known as tax season is a third of the way over. Even better, today is Mardi Gras Day, or Fat Tuesday. Personally as someone who did not grow up around Mardi Gras, I could really care less about it, except for the fact that I get a day off from work!!! I did actually go to a parade this year. Not in Mobile, but in downtown Fairhope. I enjoyed it a lot, although I went more for Haley than for myself. She had a blast getting beads and moon pies (her new favorite snack), but it was really too cold. I think it was somewhere around 32 or 33 degrees that night. I know...you're thinking, "Come on, its February. Its winter. Its SUPPOSED to be cold." Well, maybe it is in some places, but NOT in Mobile, AL. At least not this cold. I have lived here for almost seven years and I don't think I have experienced this cold of a winter here yet. I absolutely cannot wait for spring!!! I want to open up the windows to my house and let in the warm fresh air. I want to plant flowers in my yard. I want to spring clean my house. I want to run in the mornings again. Oh yeah, and I don't want to spend half of my weekends at the office. But that goes without saying. (For the record, I really do like my job. Its just a little crazy this time of year). Anyway, back to today. I am home and my girls are napping. My husband is at work painting his new office. I must say its nice to have some quiet time to myself. Its such a rare thing I almost didn't know what to do!! I've been doing some stuff around the house since we are having visitors the rest of the week. My dad and his wife are driving down from Huntsville tomorrow. Haley is out of school all week (Mardi Gras again) so I was in need of free babysitters and we haven't seen them since Thanksgiving. It should be a nice visit and Brent and I always look forward to extra helpers. I guess I better wrap this up before the little ones wake up. It nice to be back. I promise I will try not to stay away so long!

One Saturday Down, Eleven More to Go

The most unattractive feature of my chosen career as a public accountant is that it requires me to give up a good portion of my weekends starting in January and ending in April. A majority of the time I don't really mind it though. The office is extremely quiet on Saturdays and I can usually accomplish a good bit of work. Sadly that doesn't appear to be the case today. You see, the flip side of an extremely quiet office on Saturdays is that when you need to address an issue with someone, the chances are they are not in. So I will put my first project of the day aside until Monday and take a break to munch on the chicken salad sandwich, chips, and Coke that my husband so thoughtfully sent me off with this morning.

After my break I have another three hours or so to work and then its off to my haircut appointment, then home to watch some football, clean the house, and spend some time with my beautiful little girls. They are growing up so fast!! Haley, my oldest, is almost 3 and a half. She goes to preschool every day and she loves it! I always amazes me to see how much she has learned and matured since she started. She also began taking dance lessons this year and she loves those, too! Emme, my youngest, just turned 8 months. She learned to crawl at Christmas and she is all over the place! She's started pulling up some, too. I won't be surprised at all if she is walking before she turns 1. Well, now you know a little bit about my little ones. I'm sure you'll have the opportunity to learn lots more as this blog progesses. But for now I've got to get back to accounting.....

Welcome

Welcome to my blog! This is actually my third attempt at blogging and this time I am determined to stick with it. I got the idea to start a blog from my friend Meagan. She has a really cool blog. I started reading it one day a couple months ago and have wanted to have a really cool blog of my own ever since. So what has taken me so long? Why is this my third attempt? I guess the most honest answer is that life got in the way. I am a wife, mother of two precious girls ages 3 and 8 months, and a public accountant. From the time I wake up in the morning until the time I go to bed at night I am constantly on the go. I usually don't get a lot of "me" time and for the next couple of months I will eternally grateful for any little sliver of "me" time I can get. This is my busiest and most stressful time of the year. Even so, I am making a commitment to this blog. I won't be writing about any serious world issues, politics, finance, or anything like that. What you will find here are simply random thoughts and stories from my life as a working wife and mom. Feel free to laugh with me (and occasionally cry with me) as I share with you some Insights into the life of Katherine Blake. Until next time, have a great day!!