Weddings and Walks

My cousin Autumn got married today. Her wedding was awesome. I only went to the ceremony, and I swear, it was the coolest wedding ever. I got to see my cousin Nate, whom I haven't seen in forever! Plus my kids were good, and quiet! So that was a relief. She was the most beautiful (and sparkly!) bride ever. And SO happy! I have never seen someone so thrilled to be getting married. It was really great.

We also got the new pool up and ready. The kids were crazy excited, then we had to leave. Ha. They got to go in it when we got home. It was COLD! It will be great exercise for Matthew though, and everyone else, as well. As long as it doesn't storm tomorrow, they plan to be in it pretty much all day :)

I will still go to the beach sometimes. I went there Thursday and Friday with my friend, Tara. It was nice to just soak up the sun while the kids played. I just had my younger two, no Matthew, no extras. It's hard though, when I have tons of extra kids, so the pool will be nice for those days.

Lucas and I went for a power walk, which I haven't done in a few days. It put him right to sleep as always. That is my favorite way to end the day. Plus, it seems to really be working. I wore a shirt today that I wore a month ago, for another wedding. It looked so different! Crazy.

Time for tons of pictures ;)

                                                    The beautiful Bride :)

                                          One month difference                                                        

                    My failed attempt at a beach selfie. I'm awful at them.                    

                                               The new pool!

                                                        Passed out kiddo

Zumba Thursdays- Tiny Dancers

We had several little dancers that joined us for Zumba tonight. I had my kids, my sister came with my niece, and my daughter's friend, who is also my friend's daughter, came along. Emma has been asking to come to Zumba for quite a while, and today we were finally able to do it. Man, that little girl got DOWN! She was Zumba-ing her little heart out. She loved it so much that she asked when she can come back, while we were walking home :)

Before Zumba, I took the kids to the beach, to meet up with Emma and her Aunt. I didn't go in the water, because it's freezing, but I wore my bathing suit anyway. I was surprised by how different my suit fits this year. You never really notice weight loss, until you put on something that you haven't worn in a while ;)

OH! We also bought a pool  today! YAY!! My husband is supposed to put it up after work tomorrow. He probably won't, but hopefully by this weekend. I'm very, very excited to get this thing set up. It will be so nice to just go swimming in our own backyard.

Sorry for a short post tonight. I'm exhausted. I was battling a migraine all day, and that wipes me out. So, to make up for it, here are several pictures, and a video ;)

Little Fitness Pals ;)

My daughter, Alyssa, always wants to go out jogging with me in the evenings. I always tell her no, because I go to far, and too fast. for her little legs. The other day, however, Lucas REALLY wanted her to go with us. He then got all ready, and promptly fell asleep on the couch. Alyssa still wanted to go though, so her, Matthew and I went out. Then yesterday my niece was here, and Lucas wanted us all to go out again. This time he stayed awake. So, all the kids and I went out. We did my usual three miles both times, just much slower ;)

I, of course, took several pictures. I'm sure you are going to ask what is up with the shadow pictures lately. Well, I wanted a picture of the kids and I, but I hate my face. I know, that's awful to say, but I have really awful self esteem. Especially since, on the rare occasions that I do post a "selfie", I get messages telling me how awful they are :'(

I took measurements the other day, and over the last couple months, I have lost 8 inches. I don't see where, but whatever. I'll take it!! It's a very slow process, but Ill get there eventually. 

Unfortunately for Alyssa, I want to get back to power walking. So, she is going to have to stay home in evenings. And actually, I don't think she'll mind too much. The walks are a bit much for her. Plus the other night, it was really foggy, and dark. So her and Matthew were a bit creeped out ;)

Sick baby = No jogging :(

My little Lucas has been sick for the entire week. He has tonsillitis, strep, and a sinus infection. He has also been battling a 103 degree fever. This has prevented me from going out jogging every night this week. He refuses to take his medicine, so I've had to trick him, usually with a slushie, which also helped make his throat feel better. He could barely talk, and was very lethargic most of the time. I have been worried sick about him. However, today he seems to finally be on the mend. His fever broke, and he has been sleeping a lot. He even finally ate a little. My poor baby :(

One good thing this week, was we were finally able to go to Zumba. We will be marching in a parade in a couple weeks, so we need to practice! Matthew and I were able to go, just us. Luke didn't even notice that I was gone until class was over. It was nice to not have to worry about the kids, and just concentrate on class.

I had a wedding to do this weekend, on Saturday. It was a beautiful wedding! The bride have everything so color coordinated. It looked fantastic! I also had the rehearsal was Friday. I felt so bad leaving Lucas two days in a row, but luckily it didn't take too long. I actually think that I took longer to get ready for the ceremony, than I took to actually perform it.

Lucas asked to "go for a little walk" several times the last couple days, usually to get a slushie. And he wanted it to be in the wagon, with both him and his big sister riding. Which makes the wagon very heavy. I swear I pulled a muscle in my chest pulling that darn thing! It hurts SO bad. He is gonna have to deal with the stroller for a little while, so I can heal. Ouch :(

Next week I don't have Tyler OR Danny. So hopefully the kids and I can get a few walks in. I also hope to get back to jogging at night. Fingers crossed that no one else gets what Lucas has!!!

                       
               My poor little sicky, drinking a "medicine slushie"

                                            Passed out after

      Curling my hair for the wedding (I'm not good at selfies. They feel awkward)

                                      Got stopped by the bridge in St. Clair

                                              "Wedding Toes"

                                               "Wedding nails"

                       My attempts at a "walk selfie". I'm not good at it.

               

                                     Decided to just do our shadows instead ;)

Ouch!

I always seem to hurt myself in the most ridiculous ways.

So, about a month ago, everyone in my family (and the neighbors. Oops, sorry!) got colds. They were just normal, run of the mill colds, but the cough that went along with them lingered. One evening, a couple weeks ago, I was giving my younger children a bath, when i started coughing, and couldn't stop. Matthew heard me, and went to get me a drink. After I finally stopped, my ribs hurt. They STILL hurt when I speed walk. I think I pulled a muscle. Coughing. Seriously, who does that?!

Then yesterday I was walking into store, and they had this weird stuff that I can only describe as "side walk chalk" all over the place in front of the doors. My sandal got stuck in it, and came off my foot as I tried to step, bruising my foot. Luckily that one doesn't actually hurt, it just looks like it should.

Then today a freaking BIRD attacked my head. The kids and I were out walking, and as I passed under a tree, this light blue bird flew at me and grabbed my hair on the top of my head with her feet. Then she tried to come back again, but I ducked. She didn't hurt me, just surprised me, but I can still feel where she grabbed. Crazy bird!

Apparently when I said that I will be walking at least three miles every day, the universe took that as a challenge.

Yesterday was the last day of school for the children. YAY!! I love summer vacation :) I will not be able to walk as far, or as often, during the days. On top of my own three kids, I will have my nephew Tyler every other week, my (great) nephew Danny every week, and my friend Rob's daughter whenever he needs me. We will still walk sometimes, of course, just not miles at a time. So, my long walks will all have to be later in the evening. That's okay though, totally worth it :)

I Need New Shoes.

Normally, I don't go anywhere without my kids. Maybe the very, very occasional trip to the grocery store, if Lucas is asleep. But 9 times out of 10, I have my kids, plus some extras, everywhere I go. Last night, however, I took the kids for a drive right at bedtime, knocked the younger two out, put Matthew in bed, and went for a three mile walk all by myself. I did not give my husband a choice in the matter. And it was GLORIOUS. I didn't run, or really even jog much. I just walked fast. My shins were burning for the first mile, then it was all good after that. I think that I would like to do that every night.

However, I need new shoes. By the end of my walk, my toes on my right foot were stinging. I would like to buy a good pair of walking sandals for summer, but I'm not sure what kind. My sister told me about these, which I love. But there is no way that my husband will agree to me spending $110 on a pair of shoes. So, if anyone knows of a decent, inexpensive walking sandal, please let me know :)

Lucas and I took a three mile walk today, but I still would like to go out alone tonight, if I can. I honestly would have walked for so much longer last night, but my husband needed to get to bed. I love putting my headphones on, and just going. Yeah, I'm definitely thinking tonight has to happen!! Another car ride may be in order ;)

Flying Solo

Monday starts the last week of school before summer vacation. I plan to spend the week walking as much as I can, before school lets out, and I'm surrounded by children, my own and other people's. I pretty much always have an extra kid or two here ;)

I am hoping to convince my husband to buy a pool next weekend, but we will see how that one works out for me. He said we can get one, just not when. I am very much looking forward to it, as are my children. 

Yesterday I went to a music festival, Pine Groove, that my brother-in-law puts on every year. It's awesome, and lots of fun. It was a gorgeous day for it, and there was a big turnout! Lots of walking. And Matthew has now decided that he wants to be a DJ. He was pretty good ;)

Speaking of Matthew, he HATES the C25k, to the point of tears. So, I guess I'm flying solo on that one. I'm not going to force the child to do something he hates. Except homework. And cleaning his room. We will just walk a lot, until he builds up his stamina.

I also definitely need to change our eating habits. My sister, Heidi, gave me some great advice last night. She told me to make breakfast my biggest meal, then taper down from there. I always knew that breakfast should be your biggest meal, but never thought about making each other one progressively smaller. I am TERRIBLE at eating right. I skip meals all the time, and will sometimes go an entire day or more without eating at all. Especially in the summer, when it's hot. That is so, so bad for your metabolism. It puts your body into starvation mode. So, I am going to try to follow my sister's advice, hopefully that works.

We plan to leave electronics off and play outside for the summer, but I will still keep up with this blog. It's gotta rain sometime, right? ;)

Rain, Rain, Go Away

The only bad thing about the late Spring/early Summer weather, is that it tends to bring with it a lot of rainy nights. Oh, I know, Eddie Rabbitt said it best. And I DO love the rainy nights, but AFTER my nightly jog, please. I have still been able to walk during the day, but it likes to rain in the evenings. That makes it hard for Matthew and I to go out. Only because Lucas always wants to come too. I actually don't mind walking or jogging in the rain. Oh well. We will figure it out eventually. We always do :)

I also got the okay from my homeowners insurance to put a pool up in my backyard! I am very excited about this. Especially since my local beach will no longer have lifeguards, or bathrooms. And it doesn't matter what I look like in my bathing suit ;)

Since I have my nephew, Tyler, here this week, I dug the wagon out so the boys and I could walk still. Now Lucas is obsessed with riding in the wagon EVERY time we walk. I don't mind it, but sometimes the stroller is just easier. I guess this isn't meant to be easy though, right?

Sometimes I wish that I had two treadmills in my basement, for times when it's rainy out. Matthew and I could just run on those. But, my husband made me get rid of all of my exercise equipment when we moved. Ironically, to a bigger place. With a basement.