Keep those abs in tight

This is a phrase I hear constantly while doing my workouts. In the beginning, it really drove me crazy. I would yell "SHUT UP!" every time I heard it. I couldn't even tell where my abs were, let alone whether or not I was holding them in tight. I would just suck in and hope that something was happening. Now, entering my 7th week of doing these workouts, I can not only tell that I have ab muscles, they also feel tight the entire time I am doing the workout. That makes me feel pretty darn good. For the record, I have lost 2 1/2 inches off my waist so far. The same from my hips. I've also lost another half inch from my arms and thighs. I'm feeling pretty happy.

Grammar

Avery, Peyton and I were driving home last night from my sister in law Rachel's wedding. Congratulations Rachel & Keith. Ryan was in his truck with Tyler and Cameron. (They left several minutes before us. So, there was no way we would have seen them on the road.) Peyton saw a truck that looked like Ryan's and yelled out, "MOM! DAD"S TRUCK!" There's no point in trying to correct a toddler. So, I just said, "yeah, that's Dad's truck." He obsessed over it and kept saying it all the way home. He'd say, "Mom, where's Dad's truck? I don't know." I kept saying "I don't know" back to him. Over and over and over. After several minutes Avery piped in with, "Awwwww....listen to Peyton. He's talking more gooder all the time." I laughed pretty hard and she didn't get why.

Bounce

Ryan hung a mirror in our rec room several weeks ago. He did it so he could check his form while exercising. In the beginning, it terrified me. I could hardly watch myself as I was working out. I didn't like to see the flabalanche. Slowly, ever so slowly, I've been able to take sneaky peeks and I've been getting less disgusted. Parts no longer move quite as much as they did in the beginning. It's kind of nice to be losing my bounce.

Last night I started a wedding cake for my sister in law, Rachel. It smelled really good and so, I licked the bowl when I was done. I don't care if it's not good for you. I wanted it. I enjoyed it and now I'm over it. Done. Today, while doing my workout and not bouncing too much, I swear I was sweating cake batter. I could smell cake everywhere. It was kind of gross and very disturbing.

When I get hit on

I check my stat counter every once in a while to see how people are being referred to my blog. These are 4 things that consistently give me hits.

• This image of Chili Cheese Fritos (again Food Mayhem, I apologize for not originally giving credit where it was due)


• Anything related to Down East Basics, but most often people are looking for coupon codes


• This image detailing the type of congenital heart birth defect I was born with


• And this phrase

The 2 which generate the most are the Fritos and my heart. I get hits for either of those on an almost daily basis. Sometimes, multiple times a day. Yes, almost every single day, someone in the world wants to know something about Chili Cheese Fritos, or Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venus Return. I don't get it either, but I hope I help answer their questions in at least a small way.

Could it be!?

I was looking online at the weather forecast for my area and I saw nothing but sun and a few clouds for the next few days. We've had rain here pretty much every day this month. Do I dare to hope that it is actually going to let up? I don't mind the cooler temperatures that have come with the rain. What I do mind is all the mud. I haven't been able to keep my tile floors clean for weeks. If the forecast is true, I can hardly wait to mop my floors and have them stay clean for longer than a couple of hours.

Happy Father's Day

Ryan & Avery when she was 2 weeks old.

I almost let this day pass by without recognizing all of the fathers in my life. I love and appreciate all of them. I hope they know that. Happy Father's Day to all.

Why is it funny when a 22 month old says it?

The word no drives me crazy. I see red when I hear it and there are days I hear it a lot. (Those are not good days.) Usually, my kids say it to silly stuff, but they always get in trouble when they do. It's just so disrespectful and rude. Besides, I'm the mom and they have to do what I say. ☺ No matter how ridiculous they think I am because I want them to put their shoes in their bedroom. Heaven forbid they put their shoes away so that people don't trip over them.

Today, I said to Peyton, "Do you want to get dressed?" He thought about it for a minute and then said "Ummmmm.....NO!" and ran away. I immediately laughed over it and chased him down. I don't know why, but it's always funny to me when my babies are naughty. I bet that by the time he's 2 1/2 I will think very differently. However, today, I actually thought the word no was kind of cute.