Just because...

It's the little things that mean so much to me...

-thanks for making me hot chocolate with a little splash of Bailey's last night.

-thanks for getting the boys dressed in the mornings so I can go for my runs before you go to work.

-thanks for always helping to unload the dishwasher, fold laundry, get breakfast ready, dinner, etc. even though I always insist I can do it.

You are the greatest father and husband! I know I may not say it often but I appreciate everything you do and after being together for 12 years now...I am still just as in love with you and actually even more!

I love you Dan! Your boys love you too...

Maybe I'm a little crazy...

So this morning my girlfriend and I took her little girl and my 3 boys to the Children's museum and out to lunch afterwards. Brady and Jack do very well hanging out in the stroller in the museum until we get to the play room. Then I take them out to crawl around and they love it. I don't know what I'll do when Harrison is obviously too old for that room...but that's for another day. We then took the kids (and ourselves) out to lunch at Five Loaves. It was so good, but I couldn't help but feel the stares as we were eating. The kids were very well-behaved, as well-behaved as could be with busy little hands...but people love to watch us in action. I guess I'm getting used to it, one lady even asked as I was leaving.."why do you do this to yourself?" I said, "I guess I'm just a little crazy"... But really, I do it because my kids need to be taught how to eat in a restaurant and behave in public. I do it because I need a lunch out every now and then. I do it to feel normal and socialize with my friends and to teach my boys to be little "gentlemen".

In other news, we may be planning a little weekend to Vegas soon. Just some tentative planning in the works. Dan has been a couple of times for work, I just want to go for my birthday....just to go. Maybe see a show and eat some good food. This is where I'd like to stay....The Venetian. I know some of you have recently gone. Any suggestions?

Wrinkly bellies and other random thoughts...

What a blah day it is...it's raining and supposed to get colder again (50's). I know...I know, I'm spoiled down here in the south. Harrison said he wanted hot cocoa and "scout cookies"when he woke up from his nap, guess who introduced him to those? You can't hide food from them after a certain age anymore. As I'm sneaking eating a samoa..."mommy, can I have one"? BUSTED!

Right now the boys are all napping..so I'm about to go cuddle with my NAP blanket. I don't know how much running I'll get to do the rest of the week. I ran 6 miles on Saturday and it wasn't too bad, but I thought to myself, could I run 20 miles more? Week 5 of training down, 27 more to go. YIKES! My friend, marathon mom, is pregnant and ran 26 miles last weekend, so what am I complaining about-go marathon mom-you rock!!

With spring and Easter right around the corner and the pools opening soon...they open at the end of April around here-YIKES...I'm trying to decide on a bathing suit. Since I weigh about 30 pounds less than I did last summer, I need a new one. And, even though I've lost so much weight, I still have the stomach of a 90 year old..(with all of the wrinkles), so it will be a one-piece. I still don't understand how a stomach can be flat, yet wrinkly at the same time...it's so annoying. I tell you-it's the dark side of having mulitples...Tankini's just don't do it for me because of my short torso, they actually make me look shorter. I'm eyeing up this one over at J Crew...what do you think?

What do you think of my new music? The group Bitter Sweet has a lot of songs on Lipstick Jungle, which is growing on me rapidly....I love their music!! Makes me want to dance as I clean the house....

I'm hooked...

on this fig spread from Whole Foods. My cheese guy there introduced it to me and I LOVE it. I love my cheese guy too...not in a L-O-V-E sort of way (no worries, Dan) but I love how knowledgeable he is about cheese. I love all things cheese and my goal is to one day be as knowledgable...so, lately for lunch I've been eating Stacy's whole wheat bagel chips, fig spread and a chunk of havarti (one of my faves) cheese with a green salad drizzled with a small amount of EVOO and basalmic vinegar. I'm telling you....this is so good! I get my whole grains, fruit and veggies(from the figs and green salad) and dairy all in one bite. My cheese guy also knows alot about pairing wines with cheeses, (something else I've been learning more about) and I'm starting to think I'm turning into a regular old foodie. So, when I'm in Whole Foods (which is weekly), he now sees me coming and gives me a mini-lesson on cheeses and wines. I look forward to it every week!

Oh, and I forgot to mention...for dessert I'll have a square of 70% dark chocolate-I love the Green and Black's kind . I look forward to it everyday...I get my kicks whenever I can. For some reason, I don't feel quite so guilty knowing that it's loaded with antioxidants (or that's what I tell myself).

Mommy's Diner

With 3 small children it can be pretty fun and interesting...especially around meal times. So far, the twins are better eaters than their big brother Harrison was at this time. However, pickyness is starting to occur in our household. For instance, Brady is now starting to dislike peas and green beans and Jack doesn't like bananas now. Sometimes it's hard for me to remember who doesn't like what, so I'll put something down for them to eat and they give me a stare as to say "I don't like this, you know that", so then I'll switch their foods and they happily dig in. Now, I don't feed them 3 different meals...but I've tried the "give it to them 20 times" rule and they simply won't eat it....what to do? I feel like a dancer as I bounce around from child to child keeping them happy and their plates full. By the time I sit down to "enjoy" my meal-ha!-it's pretty cold and they are nearly done with theirs. So then the process of getting them cleaned up starts...it's like a countdown for me. 1 down, 2 to go and so on. So this my friends is why I treasure the sacred nap time. Because in a few hours, dinnertime will start and the whole process starts again...welcome to Mommy's Diner...where the service is sweet and the food is excellent, but don't be surprised if the server passes out from fatigue in the middle of the meal!

Life is a Journey...enjoy the ride!

If you are planning a vacation in the upcoming weeks or months, you should definitely check out this site. Journeys...A Travel Company is the brain-child of my sister-in-law, Debbie (Dan's sister). She has recently started this company and just went live with her website a few days ago. It looks awesome and definitely makes me want to travel. So...if you ARE thinking of traveling soon, you should check it out. She's done quite a bit of traveling herself and has lived in several countries along the way. Let me know your thoughts and what you think of the website, she'd love to know your opinions...

Birthday Party Fun!

We had a blast at Brady and Jack's birthday party this weekend! It's still so surreal that they are one-we made it through their first year in one piece. Here are a few pics from the weekend...and Slacker Mama, the carnitas were awesome!!!