Shoved to Them

Homeschool Monday - Summer School

2013-05-20T16:04:00.000-05:00

"Do you take a summer vacation?"

I get asked that question all the time during April and May. Homeschoolers and non-homeschoolers alike are endlessly fascinated, it seems, by summertime plans.

I find that non-homeschooling people are surprised to find out that there is no real consensus on this subject. Each family does their own sort of thing, and they may not even do the same thing from year-to-year. It evolves with your children, their ages, and the situation we're in.

Our family has tried it all. We've had normal breaks, and partial breaks. We've schooled at the way through the summer, and taken off just the month of July. We've tried half school days and schooling only three days a week. In the end, here's what works for us:

We follow a regular school schedule until the kids are at the end of their school books. One was done a week ago and the rest will finish by the end of June. When they're done with their books, they're done for the year.

Kind of.

Because math and foreign languages are so easy to forget, and we don't want to have to review material in the fall, my children keep on with these two lessons throughout the summer. Also, my kindergartener will keep doing his reading lessons every day. We do these in a much more informal manner. Math and Spanish for the big kids are on the computer. They can do them at any time of the day that they choose, but aren't free to play until they are done. This means that most of the kids will sit down at the computer for an hour as soon they get up or right after breakfast. It's extremely rare for math and Spanish to not be done by 9am. As for reading with my little one - I move his primer in by my bed. When he's done with breakfast, we snuggle under the covers and he reads.

So, that's what's happening this summer at our house. What's going on at yours? Inquiring minds want to know.

Smiling

2013-05-17T22:02:00.000-05:00

I'm thrilled to report that #4 is feeling better, her face is returning to normal, and most important of all...

She's smiling again!

She's healing faster than we ever hoped she would. Thank you for your prayers and kind words throughout this trying time.

God bless you all,

Rebecca

Useless

2013-05-15T06:05:00.001-05:00

I have come to the conclusion this past week that the stress migraine is the most useless stress response EVER! Unfortunately, it's the one that I've got.

Fight or flight make sense to me....there's a bear that wants to eat you...you fight the bear or you run away.

The zombies are after you...you fight them...or you run away.

The house catches on fire ...well, you get the idea...

I don't do any of these things. In the midst of a scary crisis, I collapse into a puddle of goo, holding my head and sobbing from the pain. Which accomplishes what...exactly? This is not helpful, and I'm not sure how this little gem got passed on to me through the beauty of genetics.

I'm actually not sure how my people lived long enough to produce me, because our stress response looks like:

The bear is chasing me! Quick, curl up on the floor in the fetal position holding your head and sobbing! .... Get eaten by the bear.

The zombies are after you! Stumble around blindly because the light hurts your eyes muttering ow..my brain..my brain... Okay, it could totally work as camouflage in the case of zombie apocalypse. I'll give you one.

But house on fire? Bar-be-que.

Completely and utterly useless.

At least to myself. My 13-year-old son pointed out last night "I can see how that's bad for you, but let's be honest, it kinda works for the rest of us. In the case of a full on bear uprising, we know who's the bait."

Nice.

Today

2013-05-11T21:19:00.001-05:00

Today the swelling is starting to go down around her eye and she can see out of it again.

Today her mind was clear even if she was too tired to talk most of the day.

Today the she didn't have to put gauze in her mouth to keep the spit from dripping out.

Today she could swallow well enough, even with a mouth she can't close, to get down a blended up bowl of wonton soup.

Today her mom grabbed a can of spray paint and painted the broken edge of the sidewalk bright orange so that no one else has to hit it again.

Seeing It

2013-05-10T23:02:00.001-05:00

I saw the spot today where #4 had her accident. A steep hill, a broken sidewalk...it was a tragedy waiting to happen.

I stood there this afternoon and looked at the four inch height difference between the slabs of concrete. Just beyond it was the already fading stain from a pool of blood. Her lost teeth were still there - one in the grass and the other nearer to the street. I held them in my hand awhile and jiggled them like dice. The neighbor's boy, who had spotted them and come to fetch me to this spot, jabbered on excitedly. I didn't hear a word he said. My eyes kept returning to that blood stain where my baby had laid.

I took a few steps and began to follow the spatters of blood that traced her pained lurch toward home. She staggered past several houses, wailing - I've been told. She screamed and cried until our next door neighbor heard her and came running. I found that spot too. The place where he scooped her up and began to run with her toward our house, and the place on our porch where he set her down again.

I stood on my porch and looked awhile at her scooter with the marks from her teeth on the handlebars and her blood all over it. I can't bring myself to touch it to move it off the porch. A part of me wants to throw it away and have the hated thing gone from our home. The rest of me is afraid to move it, as if moving it would make this all real and not some sick and scary daydream. Touching it makes it final. It makes her broken. It means that awful day is over and that we can't somehow go back to before this ever was.

Update on #4

2013-05-09T09:08:00.000-05:00

This seems like the easiest place to get everyone up to speed at the same time.

If you don't know what's been going on, let me catch you up to speed:

Yesterday around dinner time, our sweet #4 was in an accident on her scooter (the foot powered kind.) We don't know exactly what happened, but my neighbor brought her home wailing like a siren and literally covered in blood from head to toe. She was so covered that I did not immediately recognize her when I opened the door and saw her.

We took her to the ER (here's the new stuff) and discovered that she had knocked out her top, front, adult teeth. The jaw where the teeth go is cracked.

Based on the lack of abrasions to her hands and arms and the blood on her scooter, we think that she hit her mouth on the handlebar and knocked her teeth and herself out. Because she was unconscious, she fell forward and slammed her face into the cement of the sidewalk. Her right eye is swollen almost shut, her face is covered in road rash, and she has a concussion.

Due to the concussion, she is having short term memory issues. She seems to have a memory span between 5-8 minutes. She keeps rediscovering that her teeth are missing and asking if she will have to go through life toothless. Because of her altered mental state, she can't have any pain killer other than Tylenol. I can't even imagine the pain of a cracked jaw and swollen face with no pain relief. She's only 8. That just seems so young for everything she has to deal with.

I was holding it together yesterday until she started crying and said in a pained whisper "My life is hard."

She's right. Her life is hard and it isn't fair. I know that God doesn't really do fair the way that we think of it, but she's at her limit right now.

Will you please pray with us for her speedy recovery and for the wisdom and skill of the doctors and dentists as they work to put her back together again? And that the next crisis is a long time in coming....

CrossFit 90 Day Challenge - Day 38

2013-05-08T08:49:00.004-05:00

I was doing pull-ups when the first bead of sweat dripped down my face. By the third round the sweat was running in rivulets along my spine. My muscles ached and begged for mercy, but I ignored them. All I could think of getting my chin above that bar one more time...and then one more.

I fought and gasped and struggled for just one more rep.

Until at last I lay on the floor gasping for breath.

Triumphant.

Crossfit 90 Day Challenge - Day 37

2013-05-07T11:49:00.000-05:00

I ran two miles this morning. That doesn't seem like a huge number for someone who ran a marathon, but it's become huge to me.

Since beginning CrossFit, I have come to hate running. My legs ache and I just can't seem to catch my breath. Cold days are the worst, and I'm beyond grateful on the mornings that it is over 60. The cold burns my lungs and leaves me gasping.

I told my eldest daughter about my struggle to run and she said "Mom, that sounds like asthma." I brushed her off. I had mild asthma as a kid, but I outgrew it.

I thought.

This morning she finally convinced me to try her inhaler. I scowled a bit as I took a puff, then I left for the gym. I couldn't tell much of a difference and decided that maybe she was wrong.

Until I ran.

I'm not what anyone would ever describe as fast. I may never be fast. But, I ran the whole way this morning. No stopping to catch my breath. No wheezing or gasping. No drinks of water to calm myself down.

I have asthma. Just like in Jr High. The late thirties plus a few extra pounds seem to have brought it back to me. I've decided to stop fighting against it. I'm just going to call my doctor and get an inhaler.

I felt strong this morning, and that's how I like to be.

CrossFit 90 Day Challenge - Day 36

2013-05-06T15:11:00.002-05:00

I have pec muscles!

I was getting out of the shower this morning post-workout and saw myself in the mirror...and I could see them... the clear definition of pecs! I made my poor husband stop what he was doing to come and feel my chest (he didn't seem to mind that much if I'm honest about it). He agreed. That wasn't boob. It was pure muscle!

I can't quite do the pec pop of love yet...

but I might have tried it as I was getting dressed...and I might have almost been able to do one pop.

Go me!

You've gotta take those victories where you can get them.

P.S. If my husband or kids are reading this - I want hand grips for Mother's Day.

These:

or maybe these:

It's Time for a Little Push-Back

2013-05-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

Houston weather, traffic, news | FOX 26 | MyFoxHouston

Last weekend, in my hometown here in Texas, the Columbus High School relay team was disqualified for making a religious gesture. That's the headline this morning.

These boys won. They won the regional championships and qualified for state, but then it was stripped from them. Not because of cheating or lewdness, those things I could understand. They were stripped of their accomplishment because the guy running the final leg of the race pointed toward the sky as he crossed the finish line.

The UIL - the body responsible for overseeing high school athletics in Texas - denies that it is about the competitors' religion at all. They say it's all about the "celebratory gesture" at the end of the race which goes against the stated "no taunting" policy. I'll admit that when I heard that there was a written policy of no celebratory gestures in the competition area, I thought "Well, he sounds pretty reasonable...and they knew the rules...it stinks, but that's life."

Until I thought about it a tad bit longer.

The UIL spokesman said that his agency has nothing against religion. The athletes are free to do anything they wish as long as they are "outside of the competition area." I'm sorry Mr UIL-Man, but I'm going to have to call bull-spit on that.

Now, I've been to a few track meets in my day. I've run track, and I've even run on relay teams. I've spent many Saturday and Sunday afternoons in the broiling sun at the track. These meets can easily run 4-6 hours long. And in all that time, with hundreds of runners and dozens of heats... this was the only "celebratory gesture" made? There were no fist pumps, not a single runner sprinted across the lanes to hug mom or a coach, no other arms were raised over-head, not a single relay team dog-piled the last runner as he crossed the finish line? Not a single one?

It's all about the "appearance of fairness and sportsmanship" with these people. The appearance, not actual fairness or sportsmanship. Which makes me think ... while this might not be actual discrimination against Christian athletes, it certainly has the appearance of it. It would appear as though these boys were disqualified from the State Championships because one if them made what can be loosely interpreted as a religious gesture.

It seems like it's become a thing these days for all levels of government to give the appearance of pushing Christians around. We don't really cotton to that around here. I say it's time that we Christians gave the appearance of pushing back!

Call or Email the UIL and tell them what you think of this idiot decision. I think it would be great if they spent all day today trying to keep up with the phone calls and email.

You can email or call the UIL at athletics@uiltexas.org or call 512-471-5883

and if you're interested in getting straight to the people in charge, you can also send personal emails to:

Darryl Beasley: dbeasley@uiltexas.org
Peter Contreras: pcontreras@uiltexas.org
Traci Neely: tneely@uiltexas.org

Texans are friendly folks, so I'm sure they'd love to hear from you even if you aren't from here. Thanks! Now I'm off to write some emails!

Crossfit 90 Day Challenge - Day 30

2013-04-30T10:41:00.002-05:00

Today we are a third of the way through the fitness challenge. Here's where I am today:

My body fat has decreased from 41% to 39%. That's a loss of 5 lbs of fat and a gain of 2 lbs of muscle for a net loss of 3.

I no longer have any issue getting up at 6 a.m. I practically leap out of bed each morning to go to the gym.

The hardest part for me is the food. I love to cook and to eat, so the idea of changing my diet has been really difficult.

I expected to be burning out by this point, but I'm not. Going to the gym is like going to the playground as a kid. It's all play and fun...but with a purpose.

I made a paleo birthday cake last night for one of our coaches. It was amazingly yummy and didn't taste diet at all! After a night in the fridge, the icing reminded us of ice cream. I will definitely be making this again.Here's the recipe I used for the cake and the icing.

Homeschool Monday - A Little Easy

2013-04-29T15:48:00.001-05:00

Yesterday the Computer Guy and I spent the afternoon hanging out with our neighbors. I would guess that there were twenty people or so lounging around the patio, eating burgers, swapping stories, and laughing. It was one of those rare gatherings that left us feeling more refreshed and alive when we left than when we arrived. It was just easy.

As we were on our way home, I realized why - there had been no serious discussions, no religion or politics at all, only the light-hearted fun of people who can tell a good story and others who like to listen to a good tale. There was unabashed dancing in the kitchen, and lots of good-natured ribbing. It was just fun.

It was the kind of time that you want to do over and over again.

Which made me wonder why we don't have more times like that in homeschooling. We spend so much time discussing lessons and stressing out over due dates that we don't often find the time for easy, and we should.

I'm not saying that we throw out religion classes or get rid of civics, but I can't help but imagine what a blessing it would be to my children to have more school time spent on things that don't require them to conform to anyone else's standards. What if when we read a book together we didn't always look for plot points and main themes? What if we just enjoyed the book and discussed it more book club style - no right or wrong answers, just opinions and thoughts? Would they learn any less? Plot points and character development are important, but so is the ability to form and express opinions. Does speaking their minds over mugs of hot chocolate at the local coffee shop hinder that? I don't think so. I'm wondering if it makes it all a little bit easier on all of us to slip the teacher/student roles for a bit and just be fellow bibliophiles with a cup of cocoa and a point of view.

We're beginning tomorrow to add in a little spot of easy into our school week. We're making Grandma gifts for Mother's Day. I originally had a long list of planned crafts that would all work together. Instead I'm going to throw open the craft cabinet and let them each create their own without any unsolicited opinions from me. It's okay for my 3-year-old to paint the whole page blue without me suggesting he add a bit of color. The 13-year-old can write notes and poems without my critique of work choices and lay-out. These aren't for-a-grade activities, these are personal expressions from them to their Grandmothers, and I think it's about time that I stop telling them how that should be.

We're looking for a little bit of easy around here, where kids get to be themselves and the laughter rolls through the house. We have plenty of work and stress to go around. It's about time that I taught them it doesn't always have to be that way.

CrossFit 90 Day Challenge -- Day 29

2013-04-29T08:25:00.002-05:00

I need a day off from training. That's the conclusion I came to this morning. I worked out every day last week - 5 days of regular classes, the Saturday open gym with two of my children, and a 5K on Sunday.

I'm too old for this. I need a day, two would be better, to let myself recuperate and heal.

I had my official weigh-in last week and had only lost 3 pounds on the scale. I'm still waiting to hear what percentage of body fat I've lost. I'll share that with you when I know. It's hard to not get discouraged at how little the scale is moving. I know all about the heaviness of muscle blah, blah, blah ... but I'm human enough to want to see that number budge a little bit more in a month.

CrossFit people like to say "Skinny looks great in clothes. Fit looks great naked." and while I'd much rather be in the fit category, a little bit of skinny wouldn't hurt me.

With that in mind, I'm doing my pre-cooking for the week today, starting with Omelet muffins. It's an omelet made in a muffin tin. The beauty of this recipe is that you can make them today and put them in the fridge to be reheated for breakfast later in the week. I love that kind of thing.

(Double the recipe to make a dozen)

Omelet Muffins

Ingredients:

· 6 eggs

· 1/4 – 1/2 cup cooked meat, cut or crumbled into small pieces

· 1/2 cup diced vegetables

· 1/4 tsp salt

· 1/8 tsp ground pepper

· 1/8 cup mayonnaise

· 1/8 cup water

Optional Ingredient Idea: Make a Mexican Omelet Muffin by adding 1/4 cup shredded cheese, onions, and lightly drained salsa to the eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease 6 muffin tins with butter or coconut oil or for easier removal line with paper baking cups. The baking cups also help the muffins hold their shape.

In a bowl, beat the eggs. Add meat, vegetables, salt, ground pepper, and any other ingredients and stir to combine.

Spoon or scoop into the muffin cups

Bake for 18-20 minutes until a knife inserted into the center of an muffin/omelet comes out almost clean. The omelets will continue to cook for a minute or two after removed from the oven. Remove the omelets from the muffin cups and serve, or cool completely and store for another day.

Sigh

2013-04-25T21:22:00.001-05:00

How fun would it be to have this voice?

I'll have to be content to just listen and dream a dream.

On Aliens and Brotherhood

2013-04-23T14:53:00.002-05:00

**I'm hard at work on the final edits of the book, but I didn't want to leave you without anything to read. Here's one of my favorite stories from the past.**

#2, our 11 year old, woke up last night yelling something about aliens and bright blue lights. It was 4 AM and I'm not too interested in alien life forms that don't live in my house, so I was a little slow to respond.

His sisters met me at their door as I passed by and asked sleepily, "What's going on?"

"Apparently the aliens have come to eat our brains or something," was my reassuring reply.

"Okay," my eldest yawned. "Do you think I'll have time to go back to sleep before they get to me?" The two girls stumbled back to bed as I smirked at their sarcastic ways.

By the time I staggered into his room (it was soooo early), he had turned on all the lights at his end of the hall and had awakened everyone else in the house. #2 was crouched in front of his window with coat hangers positioned between his fingers like claws. He reminded me of a wild cat ready to pounce.

#3, age 9, leaned sleepily against the wall, also sporting coat hanger claws as he yawned and tried valiantly to stay awake.

The moment he spotted me, my eldest boy began haranguing me with the tale of floating men, blinding blue lights, alien snakes that slithered through the window frame, and extraterrestrial conspiracies. (The 1 year old who shares his room just stared at my blearily with a look that clearly said, "You've got to be kidding me.") As I tried to calm #2 down, I glanced occasionally at his 9 year old brother who propped up the doorway and shook his head.

I sent my hyped-up son down the hall to tell his father about the alien invasion while I scooted the rest of the boys back to bed. As I tucked #3 in, I asked him what was up with the coat hangers as he clearly wasn't worried about aliens.

"It was all in his mind, Mom." My wise son told me. "It was so obvious that he was dreaming, but there was a chance he wasn't...so I thought 'He's my brother...it's my job to have his back,' besides....I couldn't let him have all the fun fighting aliens, could I?"

Indeed not. So... here's to my sons who bravely battle aliens with coat hanger claws....and to brotherhood which makes you stand beside someone you know is crazy, ready to defend the universe together...if it comes to that.

Crossfit 90 Day Challenge -- Day 23

2013-04-23T10:07:00.000-05:00

As hard as Friday was last week, today totally made up for it.

There are two teenage boys in the same class that I attend. On the days that we do workouts for time, they blow right past me. They are done with their cool downs and chatting as they walk out the door before I'm even finished.

But not today.

Today I beat them by a minute.

10 rounds of:
3front squats with weights
5pull ups
10 push-ups
And 15 air squats

It took me 19 minutes and 5 seconds. The boys were done in 20 minutes. While they weren't going full out, the truth is that I wasn't either. I can totally hang in there with the young kids.

When I got home, my day got even better. I put on my comfy jeans and then squatted down to tie my shoes. When I stood up, my pants fell off!

Holy cow! I knew that my body was changing, but my freaking jeans fell off. That's ridonkulous!

I am so excited to see what I look like ay the end of 90 days. This is crazy.

A Texas Tradition

2013-04-21T11:52:00.001-05:00

For two weeks every April, parents in Texas go a little camera crazy. The bluebonnets begin blooming in mid-month and we know that they will all be gone by May. Fields of bright blue flowers under a gorgeous sunny sky make for the iconic Texas images of springtime.

This morning after Mass, we found the perfect spot. The sun was already bright, but that didn't matter. This is Texas, and the sun is always bright this time of year.

I have been waiting for this moment since the Computer Guy announced that we were moving back to Texas 2 years ago. We would have bluebonnet pictures of our children.

Yes, it's that big of a deal.

I wanted them for my blog header as a way of saying "I'm home at last!" I wanted them just for me because I love this place that much.

I liked the picture that's now at the top of the blog because the children were all together, but I loved this other one for a wistfulness that I can't really put into words.

Plus one of the baby that just makes me smile.

She was so disgusted by the feel of the grass that she wouldn't even look at me.

I took others of the bigger kids, but the shadows weren't friendly to anyone. We'll go back later this week. We have until next weekend, or we'll be waiting until next year.

CrossFit 90 Day Challenge -- Day 19

2013-04-19T09:59:00.002-05:00

My shoulders sound like Rice Crispies when I put my arms above my head. There is no pain, but the crackling and popping is disconcerting. Most days I feel younger than I really am. The noise in my shoulder is making me feel old.

I came home from the gym today completely exhausted. That's not normal. Working out usually peps me up. Today I want to go back to bed.

Sorry today isn't more fun. I'm old, creaky, and tired today. I keep reminding myself that low days are normal and that they help us to remember the high ones.

Crossfit 90 Day Challenge -- Day 17

2013-04-17T09:02:00.000-05:00

**I'm blogging about the 90 day challenge for my gym, WTFCrossFit. If you're in the area, check us out!**

Today almost killed me. I thought that Burpees were the ultimate evil, and then I met sprawls.

It's the bounce at the end that nearly did me in. And the fact that I did 120 of them.

120! That's a lot.

My knees have been hurting this week. I know it's because my thigh muscles are tight and pulling on my knees. It's nice to know the reason, but that doesn't make it any less painful.

We did handstands today to work our way up to handstand push ups and handstand walks. I came home and tried them against my own wall, and managed three pushups. It took me a long time to get them and I had to come down between them, but they count.

There's a picture somewhere of me doing a handstand in the gym. I'll post it when I find it.

I've figures out that one of my eating triggers is writing. I'm pretty ADD and need constant movement to keep my brain happy. I'm a writer...it's hard to keep moving when you're sitting at the computer all day....so I eat because it keeps my body in motion.Now that I know that, I can find something healthy and crunchy to much while I'm working.

Today I'm going to start with a lemon dill cucumber salad. It's one of my favorite things ever and super easy!

Lemon Dill Cucumber Salad

2 Large cucumbers sliced thin

Vinaigrette-
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice (make as much or as little as you want, it's a one to one ration)
fresh dill chopped, as much as you like (I like a lot)

Whisk vinaigrette ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour over cucumbers. Salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate and let sit for one hour or longer. It gets better the longer it sits.

I eat them like potato chips. They have that same satisfying crunch. I hope you like them as much as I do!

Homeschool Monday on a Tuesday - Finding Subs

2013-04-16T15:08:00.000-05:00

I was sick yesterday. Ugly food poisoning sick. I may never eat Mexican food again. It was that ugly. That's why we're Homeschool Monday-ing on a Tuesday.

Yesterday morning, as I curled up on the couch under my snuggly blankie (You know you have one too), I started making my calls.

"I'm sick," I told one of my homeschooling friends. "I need a sub today. #2 has a paper due later this week and needs his rough draft proofed."

"Have him send it to me," she replied.

I contacted another mom by email and asked for their help fielding math questions and called the only one who lives near me for help with the littlest kids, before I let myself begin to doze off.

There were a lot of years in homeschooling that I would have let my own sick day be an excuse for the kids to take a day off. As they've gotten to higher grades and more work, it's not always feasible for them to take a break. Add to that the battle to get back on track once we're off our schedules, and having subs begins to make a lot of sense.

We set up this network about a year and half ago. There are five homeschooling moms in our network plus one homeschooling friend nearby for the kindergartener. The close friend and I swap children for sickness, doctor's appointments, or lunch dates with our husbands. We get together for art and science projects and take turns letting the messiness run free in our kitchens. The network is a group of homeschooling moms I met on an internet message board years ago. Back then our eldest children were just learning to read and we were the moral support each other needed. Now that our big kids are in Jr. High and High School, we act as sounding boards and substitute teachers.

It all began 18 months ago when one of my fellow moms was hit with nasty morning sickness for four months straight. She was hooked up to a Zofran pump and unable to function, and the rest of us stepped in. Her children sent writing assignments to me for grading. They sent history to another mom, while a third graded math, and the last one took over everything else. Did I mention that we've never met and aren't even in the same country?

The internet is awesome.

I no longer panic when I get sick, and I know that if it's really bad... I can sleep. It's the missing piece of the homeschooling puzzle - what happens when mom gets sick?

Most of us have other homeschool moms we "know" online. We read their blogs and they read ours, we chat with them in message boards or on Facebook, or we belong to the same Yahoo! groups. We like these women and wish that we lived close enough to hang out and maybe have a mini-co-op. We read of each other's hard days and sicknesses and wish that we could lend a hand...if only we lived near each other.

I've learned over the last year and a half that distance doesn't matter. We can still be the help they need and the support when it gets ugly without even being on the same continent. I've often noted how homeschooling has turned complete strangers into a community, and with our sub network you can see that community in action.

If you have bigger kids, try reaching out to the moms in your area and those you know online. It could be that they'd be willing to pinch-hit for you in exchange for your willingness to return the favor. Homeschooling moms often say how they wish there were a sub to step in for them on sick days. For some of us, that's Dad or an older sibling. For the rest of us, why not build a support network for yourself? There's great peace of mind in knowing that they're there.

Crossfit 90 Day Challenge -- Days 15

2013-04-15T09:25:00.001-05:00

**I'm blogging about the 90 day challenge for my gym, WTFCrossFit. If you're in the area, check us out!**

I'm an addict. I'll admit it now. I'm completely addicted to CrossFit.

I got food poisoning over this weekend at a family wedding. I woke up at 2 a.m. completely nauseous and my first almost-awake thought was, "Nauseous? I can't be pregnant...that would mean I can't go to the gym." When my lower stomach clenched and churned a few seconds later, I was momentarily relieved that I could work out on Monday after all.

It's a sickness, this love of exercise. It's the endorphins, I just know it. That, and the fact that I'm just starting to like my body again. I love my babies, and would welcome any other who come my way, but I don't like my body when I'm nursing. Pregnant I can deal with, but the year after when I hang onto every scrap of fat and just feel like a bloated hippopotamus? Not so much. I'm not so eager to go back to fat and lethargic. Not when I'm falling in love with feeling strong.

It could be that this is like the infatuation period when you start dating and you want to spend every spare moment with your new love. We all know that feeling of an entire day not being enough time. It's how I feel about working out. I work until I drip with sweat every morning and I practically crawl across the parking lot to my car. By the afternoon all I can think about is how much I'd like to be back in the gym throwing those weights around and pushing my body to its limits.

It's definitely an infatuation that has the potential of becoming a life long love. I am falling in love with working out and being strong. I'm learning to like my body again, and it's been a lot of years since I could say that.

No recipe today - nausea from food poisoning. I'm not looking at recipes or food pictures. I'm going back to bed.

It's Going on My Resume

2013-04-14T06:20:00.001-05:00

I was standing in the grocery store check-out line on Friday when I looked up and recognized one of the nurses from my GYN's office. I could tell that while I looked familiar to her, she couldn't figure out quite who I was. I guess I look different when my feet aren't in the stirrups.

After a few minutes of small talk where she tried to place me, she finally asked if I was one of their patients.

"Yes, I am." I told her. "I'm the mom of seven."

"Oh my gosh! You are...." she stood there a moment and said in a kinda loud voice, "wow..seven kids! You must have the most amazing cervical mucus ever!!!"

Who says that? At the grocery store checkout line? Whatevs.... I'm adding it to my resume... right down there in the Special Skills section. I think it qualifies... Right?

Winner! Winner!

2013-04-13T08:20:00.002-05:00

Brenda from I'm Just Saying, you're the winner of the $20 credit to Lilla Rose! Congratulations!!!!

Send me your email and I will forward it to Karen.

Thank you to Karen for hosting our giveaway.

Thank you to everyone for playing, if you need hair accessories, please consider shopping at Karen's online store. She's a great girl with some beautiful products.

Crossfit 90 Day Challenge -- Days 11

2013-04-11T13:23:00.001-05:00

**I'm blogging about the 90 day challenge for my gym, WTFCrossFit. If you're in the area, check us out!**

We did back squats today up to our personal maximum. One rep at the most you can lift. I love this kind of thing. I like the feeling of adding more weight and then more weight to see just what my body is capable of doing.

This is me lifting 100 pounds

I maxed out at 135 which means that I can almost lift my own body weight. That seems pretty cool to me.

I like feeling strong, and after 2 months of CrossFit, I'm stronger than I have even been in my life. I can't imagine ever not wanting to feel this way.

Simple dinner tonight as Thursdays are crazy busy. We're having chicken tacos. Anyone can make chicken tacos. You don't even have to be able to cook.

Here's the recipe (I double it for our family, but I figure that most people don't have 7 children):

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (I start with frozen)
1 pkg taco seasoning
1/4 cup water

Put in the crockpot and turn to high if you're starting at noon like I always am, or low if you're organized enough to get it together in the morning. Cook until it shreds easily with a fork. Then turn it to warm until you are ready to eat.

Wrap meat in a tortilla with all the fixings if you're eating regular food, or in a lettuce leaf if you're paleo. This is also really good on a baked potato or sweet potato.

If you don't like to use packaged taco seasoning because of the sugar or high salt content, make your own.

1 tbsp Chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt (I like sea salt)
1 tsp black pepper

This makes about as much as one of the little seasoning envelopes from the grocery store.

Enjoy!

It's Time for a Giveaway!!!

2013-04-10T14:30:00.002-05:00

Last week, a long time reader, Karen, wrote to tell me that she was a new rep for Lilla Rose hair accessories. Since I had spent 30 days banishing the ponytail and Dumping the Frump, I seemed like a good person to try her hair things and to host a GIVE-AWAY! If you've been reading here for any length of time, you know how much I like to give things away.

I looked through the online catalog and fell in love with everything, but when I spotted these sparkly star You-Pins to hold up a bun or a French twist, I knew that was what I wanted. I little bit of sparkly fun to keep my hair out of my way.

Adorable!

My eldest disagreed with me and thought that the freestyle headband was much cuter.

I told her to get a job and buy her own and ordered the You-Pins. They were at my house in two days. I'm not even kidding...and they look GREAT! Karen was nice enough to include the Antique style You-Pins as well. They were gorgeous and my #1 immediately claimed them to wear with her prom dress.

Now...the fun part:

I've been asked to give away a $20 credit to Lilla Rose to help celebrate Karen's new business venture. Could you use a little something sparkly for your hair to help you Dump the Frump? Who couldn't?

Go to the online catalog and take a look around, then come back here and leave a comment telling me what you'd buy with your $20. On Friday morning, I'll pick one of the commenters at random and that reader will win the item of their choice.

What are you waiting for? Go over and take a look. Good luck!