St. Michael Academy Camp week and more at home fun!

 

Wow!  It's already Wednesday!  As always we are as busy as can be.  This week is St. Michael Academy Summer Camp every morning.  The boys are having a blast!  If I accidentally refer to camp as school Max will tell me "It's not school, it's camp and it's more fun!"  This year the kids get to take a make believe adventure to different parts of the world traveling by hot air balloon.  My guys are so excited about it and have so many fun things to tell me when they get home (and their hyperness is proof of the fun).  

Max trying to reach for help while in "jail"

This summer as we juggle all of our activities and the three kids, we've decided to get a little bit of help.  Our new friend, Nita, comes to play a few times a week and to help me get the kids to and from places.  It's nice to have someone new in our home who can add more imagination play for the kids!  On Monday they got one of the tents and lots of building blocks out and created a "jail".  Max enjoyed being locked in there and then busting out!  A lot of times Nico likes to just do his own thing, hence the eye rolling every time I try to get him to take a picture while he's in play mode.  He doesn't like to be interrupted to join Max for a picture.  Belle's as cute as always.  Her favorite toy continues to be Abuelita, but she now LOVES her new flowers that were handed down to us from two sweet little girls who don't play with it anymore.  The boys were also blessed this week with an awesome hand-me-down toy.  A co-worker of Fer's gave the boys an electric car they think is super cool!  We'll be fixing that up for them to play on this weekend.  Now just to find room to store that in the garage....might be taking Fer's space.     



Yeah....maybe she's getting a little bit too
big for her bouncy chair. 
I'm so not ready for her to be getting
this big already!  Fastest 5 months of my life!



Today the boys decided they wanted tattoos so I just found some random ones we had around the house.  Nico got a jack-o-lantern and Max got a Mario Cart bullet.  Oh the little things!  Nico was very happy!  One of my favorite things today was when Nita and Max decided to put on a play for me.  They wrote out a script and had me narrate.  Max played a boy on a horse and Nita played the horse.  Max had the best time riding all over the house on her back.  She's going to feel that tomorrow!  Max even delivered his lines with feeling.  I had to feed him his lines, but he did great!  I'm proud of him!  Nita also took the boys outside to run races.  Max, Nico, and I started having afternoon races when I was pregnant with Belle.  When I was so sick and couldn't get them out of the house very often it was a great way for them to burn energy and get some much needed sunshine and exercise.  The afternoon races kind of stuck and we still continue to do them.  They all took turns winning and receiving "medals".   So on another note I wanted to discuss a recent development....apparently I'm back to working out!  Yes I am!  Well, if you can count going twice in a three day time span getting back into it then I am.  I'm purposely writing about it to hold me accountable for keeping it up.  The last time I had done a formal workout was Cowtown half marathon 2011...I know long time.  I injured my knee during my half marathon training, but proceeded to participate in the event.  There was NO WAY I was going to miss that race.  My twin bro in all of his awesomeness had actually agreed to train and participate with me.  I wasn't going to let him do it and not follow through myself.  Besides, I had agonized through so much training and Saturday after Saturday doing a 9+ mile run.  I was going to complete that thing if they had to push me in a wheel chair.  Fortunately, I held on and was able to run almost the entire race.  Unfortunately, my knee hated me for it so I had to take some time off to try to heal.  During that time I found out I was preggers and the sickies started.  I know that it has been said that working out can help with morning sickness...yeah, whatever.  So my long absence from the workout scene began, continued, and continued.  And it was just easier not to pick it back up once I started feeling better some 6 - 7 months into the pregnancy.  Anyway, here I am at 5 months postpartum and I couldn't find too many more excuses.  Besides, my hubby went to the Y one day last week and just signed us up.  Now I feel obligated to go...which isn't a bad thing.  Whatever can motivate me right!  But let me tell you, it is tough.  Before I had to take a break from running due to my injury, I may very well have been in the best shape of my life.  I felt awesome, I had energy, I was the size I wanted to be....and now I'm running on empty and probably in the worst shape of my life.  I want to get back to where I was before, but I know all of the hard work and dedication that goes along with it.  I'm not one of those types that doesn't have to work to have the shape and size that I want.  I have to work HARD!  I've got a LONG LONG way to go, and I will probably have to take baby steps, but I'm determined.  I was a little spoiled after I had Nico, just from deliverying him and nursing I lost all but about 8 lbs (I gain a lot in my pregancies. Don't judge) of the baby weight and those 8 lbs (and more) melted away with my running.  With Max it took me well over a year to lose and that was a year after I started working out...I didn't start working out right away.  In fact I got to my pre-preggers weight about a month before I was pregnant with Nico.  When I found out I was pregnant with Belle I had pleasantly surpassed my pre-pregnancy weight (from Nico) and was finally at a healthy feeling place.  Now I find myself in a complete different place.  The weight is definitely not melting away with nursing like before.  I sure was counting on that.  So to the gym I must go.  I guess I wanted to mention all of this for those of you who feel like I do, who has a long road ahead to get where you want to be.  You aren't alone!!  And I wanted to write for those of you who are where you want to be or are already on your way, spread some positive encouragement towards anyone you think might need it.  Sometimes we just need someone to (sensitively) show us the way or motivate us to get started.  Probably if the hubster hadn't have signed us up on his own then I would still just be talking about signing up so thanks, babe!  (He's at the gym as I write this!)  Now I just need to get into a routine for when I can get to the gym.  As of now, I fly by the seat of my pants for those kinds of things. You know, the kinds of things that I can do for myself.  Whenever I can get to something (if I ever get to it) is when it gets done.  Just ask my poor pathetic toenails...they are in desperate, I mean DESPERATE need for a pedicure! Or my long hair that's screaming for a trim.  With all of this said, I still love my life, no matter how little of time I have to do these kinds of things.  I know that the time when there is too much time to fill without my kids is way too near.  Besides, I could have a mullet, be missing my two front teeth, and have skanky toenails and my kids would still love me.  That's all that matters. 

Best SMA camp week and first week back to working out EVER!