Bittersweet Endings

The school year is winding down here which means things are busy, busy! Friday was the boy's last day of preschool...EVER!!! When did this happen?!?! Here he is when he started preschool 2 years ago.

And here he is Friday on his very last day. *Sniff*

Dear daughter #2 also had a field trip to the playground on Friday. She has had the best year at school! So many sweet friends in her class and a truly amazing teacher!!! I am looking forward to having her home with me for the summer, but I am sad to see her time with this class and this teacher come to an end.

Here she is with her BFF and amazing teacher!

Friday was a divide and conquer kind of day. The hubby took the girls to a soccer game while I took the boy to his baseball game. He has improved so much in the last few weeks; it was a lot of fun to watch him. He had a great hit every time he went up to the plate. I was a proud momma!

The weekend brought with it more rain. I'm pretty sure it's rained here every weekend for the last month. The rain resulted in game delays, so we were able to sleep in. Then I headed down to the basement for P90X Core Synergistics. I love this workout! It's challenging, but it's different than most of the other P90X videos. Every exercise focuses on the core; it's a nice change of pace!

After my workout, I showered quickly and headed out to the last soccer game of the season! I am so proud of this girl and what an amazing soccer player she has become! She is one tough little lady!

We went straight from the soccer fields to the ball fields for the boy's last baseball games of the season! Baby girl had some fun in the mud .

We finally got home about 3:15. The only thing I'd had to eat at that point was my Shakeology on the way out the door Saturday morning. It kept me satisfied the whole time we were gone! Just another reason I love it!!!

And now we are officially done with all our extracurricular activities for the season...until next week when swim team starts. I wouldn't have it any other way!

Question of the Day:

Do you workout on the weekends?

Mondays Stink

I don't care for Mondays. Does anyone? Ours almost always end in a "divide and conquer" kind of evening with the children. Yesterday was no exception.

I got my day started on the right foot with P90X Chest, Shoulders & Triceps. I followed that with a PB&J Shakeology (1 scoop Shakeology + 1 Tbsp. PB2 + strawberries + 1/2 cup skim milk + 1/2 cup water + lots of ice) - YUM! And I topped it all off with some serious cleaning.

Then all the kids came home from school, and things got crazy. Jeff had to work until late yesterday evening, so I was down a chauffeur. I recruited my mom to take daughter #2 to her soccer game. (Thanks, Mom!) Meanwhile, I took the other three to a choir rehearsal for my oldest.

My oldest committed to choir at the beginning of the school year. She is so over it at this point. I am so over it at this point. She didn't want to be there, and I really didn't want to take her, but we are trying to teach her to honor her commitments so we went anyway. 

I decided I would have a good attitude about choir, and I would make good use of this time with the littles. So I took them to the park across the street to pass the 75-minute rehearsal. I came prepared. I brought balls. I brought a bat and glove. I brought a tee. We had a remote-control car. I just knew that we were going to have a good time.

The weather was perfect. Things started out cheerfully as we unloaded all the equipment from the car. The boy and baby girl were running around, enjoying the great outdoors.

We started with baseball. After approximately 9.2 seconds, we were tired of baseball. We tried playing soccer. It took 4.7 seconds for that to get old. I tried teaching them how to make necklaces out of flowers. That lasted about 1 nanosecond. 

The next thing I know, the boy had a bat in his hand, and before I could get the words out to stop him, I was taking a baseball bat to the knee. I don't use a lot of expletives, but I do believe one escaped my mouth at that moment. 

The boy was sorry. I could tell he was. But that didn't lessen the throbbing in my knee. I pointed to the van and ordered him inside. Baby girl could see that it was a good idea to follow suit. I picked up the equipment, and we spent the rest of the rehearsal inside the car in the parking lot. 

I wanted to take a picture of my knee all black and blue to show you all just how badly I had been injured. But it really doesn't look too bad. So you'll just have to take my word for it. As someone who has experienced an unmedicated childbirth, it HURT.

I decided I needed to redeem myself today. So after doing Asylum Volume 1 Speed and Agility, I took the littles to the backyard. They had a really good time finding roly polies and playing on the swing set. Then we had a picnic on the deck. I felt redeemed.

Later this evening daughter #2 was begging me to play soccer with her. I figured this was my opportunity for double redemption after yesterday's disaster, so I obliged. We're kind of at the point now where she is just way better than me. So it was pretty stinkin' hilarious. The eldest daughter offered to photograph the event.

This was the first of many times that she scored on me.

My athletic prowess must be dazzling you.

Well, my sparkling personality will dazzle you for sure.

Our esteemed photographer made us stop for a pose.

There she goes again. In flip flops no less.

It's all good though!

See, we're still friends! And my bra is white. Just in case you didn't notice.

She scares me a little bit though.

And here's a photo of our talented photographer.

And our spaghetti-covered cheering section who found our game so captivating that she took to landscaping instead.

Happy Tuesday, y'all!

Question of the Day:

Have you ever taken a bat to the knee???

Weekend Recap

It's been a busy weekend! I've got to become one of those people who really embraces all the stuff their kids do for fun. It's just a little overwhelming times 4!

I started off the weekend with P90X's Core Synergistics. I love this workout! It has a lot of different exercises that really work my entire core. Afterwards, we hit the ground running. It was time to divide and conquer. Jeff headed with the boy to baseball, and I grabbed my Shakeology and went to the soccer fields.

I really do love watching this girl play soccer. 

When I said divide and conquer, that meant I got all the girls and Jeff had the boy. We really need to work on our math. We all met back up at home after the games for a quick lunch before heading out to the first Easter egg hunt of the season. 

It really was a beautiful day! I knew there were going to be cupcakes galore and candy at the egg hunt, so I came prepared!

Have you tried these new Fiber One protein bars? I got them on BOGO, and I had a coupon for another dollar off, so they were super cheap. I love a quick snack that packs a protein punch. These remind me of an Almond Joy. Really yummy!

After the egg hunt, we headed back to the baseball fields. Baseball games make me nervous. It's a lot of pressure for a kid. But how cute is this boy?!?

He's the best player on the field as far as I'm concerned!

While I was at the game, I got my 2nd workout of the day. Baby girl had a lot to drink between the egg hunt and the water I packed for her. Our field was approximately 4.5 miles from the restrooms. Okay, so it probably wasn't quite that far, but it was far! This is when I wish baby girl had some boy parts so I could take her over to the edge of the woods and let her take care of business. Instead, I got to run her back and forth. I tried to focus on the amazing calorie burn I was getting.

We stopped for some pizza on the way home. After dinner I got all buck wild and crazy and made my PB&J's for the week on Saturday instead of Sunday! I knew we had baseball Sunday afternoon and wanted to get ahead. Then we Jeff got everyone bathed and put to bed. I fell asleep on the couch about 6 seconds later.

When Sunday morning rolled around, I decided to get in a quick workout. Sunday is normally my rest day, but I'm coming off a recovery week so I wasn't sore and figured my body could handle it. After all, exercise is my drug of choice. I used the bonus workout I got with Asylum 2. It's called Pure Contact, and it's a quick 20-minute video where Shaun T gets you jumping around like crazy! I always get a good sweat in even though it's a short workout.

As I came up the stairs from my workout, the smell of fresh bread greeted me. I had 2 loaves of sourdough rising overnight and put them in the oven right before my workout. That's right, people! I was multitasking while I exercised! I think it goes without saying what I ate for breakfast this morning.

Since it's St. Patrick's day, the kids and I all dressed in green.

Jeff said he isn't Irish and refused to conform. He did find a four-leaf clover sticker on the ground that he applied to his shirt later.

After church, we hit the ballfields again, then came home for a Sunday afternoon nap. I try to get one of those in every Sunday. 

Even though it was crazy busy, it was a fun weekend! I am so thankful for 4 healthy kids who get to participate in all these activities!!!

Did you wear green for St. Patrick's day?

Date Night

Saturday is always one of those bittersweet kind of days. No school, no homework, but lots and lots of activity. This one was no exception. I started the day off with my workout. It was Insanity the Asylum's Gameday. Things were off to a good start!

I even had my own personal trainer assist me for the last 5 minutes. Here she's demonstrating proper form for a chest press.

After my workout, my oldest had an audition. Then baby girl #2 had a soccer championship game in the afternoon. FINALLY we know who the league champs are! Except...we don't...because it was a tie. Ha!

My soccer champ with her coach!

Saturday night the hubby and I got to go on a date night! When you have 4 children, getting a date night is a little like finding an oasis in the middle of the desert: a relief! We can actually put together more than two sentences of conversation without refilling a cup, breaking up a fight, or wiping a tiny bottom. 

We went out to dinner at Chili's. It is seriously one of my favorite places to go when we eat out. It's low-key. They have a huge variety on their menu. And they'll bring out bottomless chips and salsa that usually keep our children occupied until the real food arrives.

My favorite thing about Chili's though is that they have a great light menu with several dishes all under 675 calories. I've tried several things from this menu now, and they've all been delicious. Saturday's dinner was the Sweet & Spicy Chicken.

Good gracious, it was wonderful!!! I was tempted to lick the plate. The waitress came by just as I was desperately trying to scoop up the last few grains of rice. She knew better than to ask me if she could take my plate yet. SO good!!!

I always check out the nutrition information for a restaurant before we go out to eat. That way I already know what I am getting before we even arrive at the restaurant. I love that we can still go out to eat, and my kids can see me making smart choices.

Do you check out the nutrition information at restaurants before you order?