The Villamor's

New Blog

2011-01-25T17:32:00.000-05:00

For some strange reason this blog froze and I wasn't able to change

any elements on this page! So I created a new blog

Villamors.blogspot.com.

Check us out over there and if you ever need any design services give Aarean a click!!

Her button is right there to your right and will be at the bottom of the page on the new blog! She is so amazingly awesome!

oh...and blogger has a new way of creating blogs....this new way allows you to move pictures within the post, resize your image right here, change color, change font and so much more! wahoo!

shrinking dryer

2011-01-24T22:53:00.003-05:00

My friend Chris posted about her weight loss journey so I decided to write about what I am doing to get me motivated to think about starting on a weight loss journey...how is that for committed? I debated about writing about it because I know if I say I am going to do something must follow through...so i guess if I write this I must follow through:)

So last weekend i pulled on a pair of pants that had obviously shrunk in the dryer...i mean they were hard to get over my hips! What else could explain this problem?

What? Maybe I am eating too much? nonsense.

Ok...probably so. I have fought this for too long, made excuses about why I can't change my eating habits...no more! Time to do something small. I weighed myself last week. It wasn't as bad as I thought thankfully. And it is actually what I weighed last year when I was training for my triathlons. And weighing didn't carry the same negative emotions that the scale use to carry for me(which is wonderful). So I decided to set a small goal of writing down everything i ate. It is very eye-opening to see just how much I put into my pie-hole. When I weighed myself this morning I was a little shocked that it was up a little...why? Because when I do write down what I eat it makes me eat less...makes me aware that I am eating mindlessly. Plus I taught so many classes last week(10!)...but that just supports the theory that more exercise doesn't equal weight loss.

So. It didn't get me down. I just started paying closer attention to my portions this week. I also calculated the calories of one of my favorite breakfasts this morning. Oatmeal with 2 T peanut butter. This morning I also had a banana and added 1/2 cup of wheat berries for extra protein... before I knew it I was up to 600 calories. What? Really. Oh well. It was filling and yummy. There is also tomorrow, right? I had taught Body Pump this morning and was teaching RPM later so I did need to give my body some good food. I am a protein-type and really need to get a lot of protein at mealtime to feel satisfied and last until the next meal/snack. So i bulk up my oats for that reason...but am going to rethink my PB oatmeal tomorrow. My body isn't digesting dairy(which includes eggs) or soy or beans so that seriously limits my protein choices!!! yuck. Which makes me want to write a nasty letter to my digestive system...but I refrain. I am very thankful for my body. It does many amazing things and will figure this whole problem soon enough!

I love to read health and fitness books and blogs to get inspired. For Christmas I ordered this book. Love it and will read it again. I also visit Trainermomma.com for great motivation...but I have to be careful not to compare myself to these women. I can get there if I can just keep that motivation past...ummmm...past the time I get out off the couch. ha. I mean what is my excuse?

it's that time of year again.....

2011-01-17T07:19:00.002-05:00

Every winter i sit at my computer in my sweats, fuzzy socks and lap blanket searching active.com for events I would like to 'complete' in the summer. Last year I did a triathlon for the first time. I had talked about doing one in 2009 and I knew I had to quit whining about it and sign up for one in 2010....so I did. And man was it fun!

Look at all those bikes!!!

So this year I want to do another....and I really would like to complete a longer distance one. Like I said....as I sit here at my computer all cozy in my fuzzy socks this feat sounds like a fun adventure...so I really need to find my event and sign up before I back out. I have already sent a message to my buddies Jody and Susan (pictured above) that I want to do this longer one...and they are all about it. I don't want to be caught whining and regretting not doing one.

So my goals for this year are to complete at least 2 triathlons-a Sprint and Olympic distance one. Then later in the year(think November) I want to compete a 1/2 marathon...gasp! What? Really? I do? I complete these events....not compete. No expectations. Just a way to exercise with a few hundred of my soon-to-be-closest acquaintances and get a free t-shirt.

RIP friend.....

2011-01-16T21:18:00.004-05:00

My body has been going through some changes lately. Some I do not like. at. all.

When i was 18 I developed a pretty high intolerance for milk products(no cake mixes, cheetos, anything with milk in the ingredients). That lasted for 3 years. I don't know why it went away but it did. In the past this milk allergy has come and gone. Recently it has been back for a few months and it is just getting worse. I can't have any dairy now-no eggs even- and that never happened before. Well...it isn't like I will get hives, itch and stop breathing when I eat dairy....but i do balloon up, cramp and get very very uncomfortable. Enough so that I don't even crave any dairy.at.all.

One thing my body is doing which I am having a hard time with is rejecting Diet Coke (well all carbonation but i only liked the Diet Colas;))

Why!!??!! Old friend....why does it feel like you are gnawing at my stomach lining? You have no milk in you...yet you cause so much bloating? so much discomfort?? why oh why.

oh well...sigh. this stuff is poison anyway, right? i am better off without you.

i want to eat healthier this month....and looks like my body is forcing me!

2011-01-04T09:17:00.000-05:00

Jeopardy

2011-01-03T14:19:00.001-05:00

Every year the cousins get together and put on a show for us during the Villamor Christmas Dinner. In years' past the show has consisted of displays of various talents to the recreating of the Christmas story. Well....this year they surprised us by putting the parents in the hot seat. They created the "How well do you know your kids" Jeopardy game.

Ok...piece of cake we all thought. All the parents got bells to chime in when we knew the answer and the game began. It didn't take us long to realize how much we didn't know about our chidren. Like....SOphia's favorite color is AQUA? Her favorite movie isn't "The LAst AIrbender"...that she LOVES but "Roxy Hunter"....WHAT?? And Nate....his favorite subject is History....hmmmm. Interesting. And his best friend....Jacob. I knew that but was so bewildered by Aqua I couldn't think. I believe the only questions we got right were the True False ones....

and that was only after the other team got the answer wrong. Surprisingly we came in 3rd! (out of 4).

THe winners recieved a hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind oragami crown! We all were asking our kids "so what's your favorite...." after this game. They did a great job!

Young Singers

2011-01-03T13:53:00.000-05:00

Sophia sure enjoyed her first Christmas concert with the Young Singers this year! It was crazy being the backstage mom but we survived with only minor tears!

thankful 29 & 30

2010-11-30T09:25:00.002-05:00

Last night as I was lying on the hard floor I realized I had forgotten to post for the day. I didn't get up because it hurt too much! As I was hanging up a towel at Trudy's on Sunday I felt a little "twinge" in my lower back. I knew what that would develop into!! Ugh. And I wasn't smart enough to get subs for my classes yesterday so last night I was walking funny and leaning to one side. I knew the only way to get better was to sleep on the floor with my feet propped up on the couch and do some gentle stretches...not the deep stretches I was doing previously...they made me sore in another way! ha. I also got a blessing which sure helped. So this morning I am feeling better and walking straight again. I have done the laundry and put away our clothes from the weekend! The house is starting to take shape which makes me feel so much better. After I post this I am going to lay back on the floor and stretch...and read(which really means I will take a nap;)) But I wanted to write my last post for this month. I can't believe it is December. I also can't believe SOphia is 11. I don't know why this birthday is hard for me to digest. I think it is because she is really moving into a new stage in life and she really isn't my baby anymore! At least Nate is only 9....he will be my baby for a couple more years.

Ok...enough of that! Yesterday and today I am thankful for the great weekend we had at Trudy's!

There was hiking and movie watching and dancing and eating and more eating....

and camping in the garage(we had mattresses out there thankfully) and eating

and cooking and cleaning and cleaning and cooking and eating....

it was a great time. i love my family!

thankful #28

2010-11-28T11:54:00.001-05:00

i like to add photos to my posts...and this is what came up when I searched "schedule" in google images....weird.

I am grateful I can schedule my posts! It is midnight on Tuesday the 23rd and i was able to create posts and schedule them to be posted on a certain date! So you will think I am adding something everyday....BUT....i just wrote a bunch. ha ha ha. i guess i should have kept that a secret:)

thankful #27

2010-11-27T12:02:00.001-05:00

i am thankful we have a comfortable car to travel in and great roads to travel on!

thankful #26

2010-11-26T11:57:00.000-05:00

i am thankful for counsins. I am thankful that Trudy and I have made an extra effort that our children know their cousins. We didn't grow up playing with ours....didn't really know them at all and we wanted more for our childern. We love getting together and watching them build those relationships!

thankful #25

2010-11-25T11:52:00.001-05:00

today i am thankful to be with my family and eating great food!

thankful #24

2010-11-24T11:50:00.000-05:00

I am thankful for my computer...and for computers in general!

thankful #23

2010-11-23T23:49:00.003-05:00

I am thankful that I have kept up with my goal of posting something everyday. good night

thankful #22

2010-11-22T23:48:00.001-05:00

today i am thankful for my sister Trudy.

On the radio this morning I heard about a study of siblings....how 2 people can share the same parents but be totally opposite. I thought about Trudy when I heard this. We look nothing alike. She is double jointed and I am not. I have bushy hair and she has straight thin hair. We have some similiar interests but are passionate about different things. She is very creative and makes beautiful cards. I am somewhat creative and love to take her beautiful cards.

The study said siblings will have different feelings about their childhood which is largely based on the time when they came into the family. This is also true for us. We have different feelings about our parents and our upbringing. We have connected over the past couple of days over some family issues and I am seeing just how differently we were treated. I just marvel at who Trudy has become and what she has overcome. She is amazingly awesome in everything.

One of the best parts of our relationship is honesty. We can tell each other our true feelings without fear of judgement. I wish I could adequately express how I feel towards her but I have never been known for my writing!! ha. I am so excited about visiting her this week for Thanksgiving and eating the turkey she bought for $5.88 last year. Hey...we hate turkey so it won't matter what it tastes like, right?

thankful #21

2010-11-21T21:06:00.000-05:00

Today I am thankful that we had a successful birthday party for Sophia! I mentioned before that we were doing a repeat from last year so this party was a "no brainer". The girls got off the bus and did their own thing! We ate hot dogs, pizza, carrots/apples(not many of those were taken!) and they played and ran around like little girls do!

The split into groups and created a commercial around a product.....this group was promoting Febreeze.

And this group...gatorade!

The cake was a big hit....3 cake mixes and lots of fondant!! My friend Chelsey was so nice to let Sophia help with the fondant!

What did Nate do this whole time??? he didn't know there were 9 girls running around him....he was engrossed in Sophia's new DS game "Avatar: the last Airbender". I think the house could have been on fire and he wouldn't have noticed!!

thankful #20

2010-11-20T23:27:00.001-05:00

Today I am thankful that Sophia participated in the Candlelight Run in Warm Springs last night. She registered for the 1 mile race at 9:30pm and I for the 5k at 10pm. She wanted me to run with her and I figured it would be a good warm-up for my race(sound funny to say I was in a race...i was racing only myself! ). As we lined up at the starting line they announced there would be a trophy for the top girl and boy 12 years old and under. Once the kids heard that they all were determined to be first!

So when "go" was announced they all took off running!

pre-race photos with Anna

I was hoping she wouldn't take off too fast and get winded towards the end! The course was set up as a "down and back" so when she started back i just joined in with her. Good thing because she was getting pretty tired and wanted to walk.

I had noticed that she was going to be in 2nd place but then saw the 1st place girl stopping and holding her side....I felt bad for her but was also happy that Sophia now had a shot at 1st. Felt bad about that! Numerous times Sophia wanted to stop and walk or slow down but I kept pushing her and nudging her along....

And she did it! 8:53 was her time! Her last mile race time was over 10 minutes!!! Way to go Sophia!

And she got the biggest trophy! She was so proud...and I was too! Next year Nate and Dad said they would participate with us as well!

thankful #19

2010-11-19T19:48:00.004-05:00

Fridays I wake up so thankful that i do not have to fix lunches for my children! It is the one day they can eat at school...why Friday? It is Pizza Pizza day!!!

thankful #18

2010-11-18T23:16:00.002-05:00

today i am thankful that Fia doesn't mind having a recycled birthday party!

i thought this would have been a video...but it showed up as a picture instead!

thankful #17

2010-11-17T20:28:00.000-05:00

i am always grateful for spell check!

These 3 words I am getting wrong lately....and these are the only ones I remember:

practice (i would always leave off the first 'c' - pratice )

transition (i want to spell it transistion )

opportunity ( i spell it opprotunity )

thankful #16

2010-11-16T22:30:00.001-05:00

today i am thankful for this little girl. she turns 11 tomorrow and

just brings joy to everyone she meets.

Richard took this picture tonight on the last night she will be 10. i asked her how she felt about never being 10 again. she didn't like growing up and wish she could stay a kid. i totally agreed with her.

she is a great friend and loves to be happy.

where has the time gone!

hope you stay as happy and excited about your birthdays as you are today! we love our baby girl!

thankful#15

2010-11-15T18:57:00.003-05:00

I am thankful that I love to exercise. I can't think of a time period when I didn't exercise...in my 20's i got caught in the diet/exercise nonsense most young adults fall into but luckily my 30's have been filled with a healthy relationship with exercise. we are best buddies. I don't see it as "i have to workout" but "i want to workout". I dropped the expectations.

I also love being an instructor. This year I became a Silver Sneakers Instructor. I love being with the 65 + crowd. I teach the MSROM(muscle strength and range of motion) class which is for all levels and then the CardioFit one which is the "Advanced" class. I have so much fun with them!

Last summer I took the training to teach Body Pump. I have always loved how strong I felt after lifting weights -and especially after taking a Pump class....so it was a perfect fit! I love helping the members(especially women) see how beneficial weight lifting can be ! And no women can't "bulk" up...so don't be afraid to go heavy!!

My first group fitness experience was with RPM (Raw Power in Motion). This was my favorite class because it got my heart-rate up and produced that adrenalin high that we all love!(wait...you don't' love it??) Like a friend told me this week "RPM is very hard but when you finish you have this great sense of accomplishment!"...and that is true.

I lam thankful that i get paid to exercise!!!

thankful #14

2010-11-14T21:37:00.001-05:00

today i am thankful for a great church family.

i wish i had pictures of everyone but here are a few that we have taken from different activities this year. we truly are a family!

Thankful # 13

2010-11-13T20:31:00.001-05:00

today i am thankful for laughing. this has brought some laughter in our lives today! Nate sounds just like the old man!

thankful #11

2010-11-12T20:49:00.001-05:00

this pic is just a random one...just because posts are more fun to read when there is a picture attached! Sophia is giving Nate a hug in this picture....he is not fighting back because he is asleep! don't tell him about this or he will be mad!

i am thankful for the weekend. where we don't have bedtimes and alarm clocks! and that Richard has a job that allows him to be home every weekend!

thankful#11

2010-11-11T21:25:00.001-05:00

Today I am thankful for evenings with no outside activities. This usually falls on Thursdays for us. Mondays have choir practice and gym classes. Tuesday's sometimes can be free but often Richard will have a meeting or we will have someone over or this week we went shopping in Auburn. Wednesdays are church for Richard and dinner with the missionaries and our Korean friends. So by Thursday we all look forward to a night to ourselves. And we take advantage of this by having a sit-down dinner(which we have most nights) followed by Family Home Evening-a night where we have a lesson on a gospel topic, sing songs, have a treat/activity and share our testimonies. Fia and Nate are at the age where they are starting to "get" the lessons. They are beginning to understand the concepts that we have tried to teach them all these years. That is cool since a lot of gospel principles are really understood as we live them. Lately our activity has been watching recordings of America's Funny Home Videos together. Good, clean, television. (i remember when this show first came out. my dad wrote the show a letter saying how distasteful it was to make fun of people getting hit in the groin...guess that was all the videos that were being sent in. my dad was always writing a letter to someone complaining about something!)

So tonight I am thankful I got to spend the evening with

"Dad"

this is what i call him too...is that weird?

the "excited" child

the "happy"child

thankful #10

2010-11-10T20:24:00.002-05:00

I am thankful for on-line banking. It is wonderful that I can pay my bills using my computer! I just got finished looking at how much money we don't have left until payday and i am just thankful i have the opportunity to look at that whenever I want!

thankful #9

2010-11-09T22:11:00.001-05:00

I am thankful today that I have lots of people and circumstances around me that

make me smile everyday!

This little guy is one of those people. Doesn't he just make you smile?

thankful #8

2010-11-08T22:50:00.001-05:00

Everyday I am thankful for our little furry children.

They provide lots of smiles and laughs everyday!

Obie has learned to love snuggling with us...and boy do we love to snuggle around here! Nate learned how to keep Obie still with his signature death-grip hold:) They were both asleep when i started taking this picture. When the flash popped up it woke Obie up.

Cricket doesn't like to snuggle anymore. Her 15 year old body hurts too much. She spends most of her days sleeping on my bed(where Obie can't reach her!). Her hair is falling out, she has brown spots all over her body, cloudy eyes, and some warts....but other than that she is growing old gracefully...and our baby girl. Sophia doesn't mind sharing that nickname with Cricket.

Isn't that just precious!

and don't you love how Fia's sheets match her room color! ha

thankful #7

2010-11-07T23:00:00.002-05:00

On Sunday my thoughts are always turned to our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ. His sacrifice for us. The Plan of Salvation. The missionaries who knocked on my parents door over 30 years ago. The Holy Ghost that witnessed to my parents that their message was true. For my parents who had the courage to be baptized. For Joseph Smith and his work to restore the Gospel of Jesus Christ back on the Earth. For my parents who taught me the gospel. For the priesthood. For Richard being the spiritual leader in our home. For the blessings of the temple-that we can live as a family throughout the eternities. For the Book of Mormon-another testament of Jesus Christ. For the miracle of repentance.

I am truly a blessed girl! I pray often that I will be worthy of these blessings.

thankful #6

2010-11-06T20:47:00.001-04:00

Today I am thankful for my legs and feet and knees that allowed me to run the Callaway Gardens Twillight 10k this afternoon with my friend Tabitha!

This race was unique since we were running through the Fantasy in Lights route. It wasn't dark yet but the lights were on and they were playing the Christmas music...so it was just like when you ride the trolley through the lights. Another plus was the time. It started at 4pm....usually races are in the morning so this was so nice!

We really didn't prepare for this race that well. We weren't there to break any personal records....just have fun and finish. And that we did!!!

So excited to have completed the whole 6.1 miles in 64 minutes!!! I was thinking maybe 75??

I am also thankful that my family came out to cheer us on and take these great pictures!

thankful #5

2010-11-05T20:39:00.002-04:00

(i sure wish blogger would keep the pictures i use in my blog!! i love having pictures to go along with my posts! ugh!)

Today I am thankful for the time I had this evening alone. Richard took the kids with him to visit a family in the Branch. I hadn't planned to do any cleaning but took advantage of this time to go through the winter clothes bins and switch out summer for winter clothes! I also collected a HUGE pile of clothes to donate to the women's shelter. It feels so so good to get rid of stuff!!

Thankful #4

2010-11-04T06:11:00.006-04:00

I thought I would make a running list today since I am already thankful for lots this morning and it is only 6am!

1. The stomach virus has hit Nate. This morning at 4:40am he woke up and well...i won't give you the details. I did stand there looking at the floor wondering how I was going to clean it all up!!!!! I am just grateful-so grateful-for a chemical that kills all germs and smells.

2. I love my Steam Mop. After sponge mopping the floor with Clorox, I got out my handy steam mop and went over the floors several times. This is probably my favorite cleaning tool!

3. Junk Towels-that is the phrase my friend Joanne calls them...you know the towels that are too nice to put out for everyday use but still have some life in them? I keep them around to wipe off wet dog feet or wet floors or big spills. 2 are in the garbage this morning.

4. Today's post seems to be about items that make life easier....so on that note my last one for today is.....

Every time turn my dishwasher on I think, "this is the best invention!". Better hurry...the lab puppy combos are almost sold out!

Thankful #3

2010-11-03T20:10:00.003-04:00

Today I have felt just like the weather outside....cloudy and gloomy so i was wondering what could I post....what jumps out at me that I am thankful for today(i mean...there are lots and lots of things I am thankful for but i was looking for one particular thing).....and then as i thought about my schedule

for tomorrow it hit me...and made me smile really, really big!

Today I am thankful.....

That I can sleep in tomorrow!!! I am not teaching my 5:15am RPM class!!! Wahoo!!!

(drawing borrowed from Lapsura.com)

thankful post #2

2010-11-02T23:21:00.002-04:00

I already did this for today but decided to add to it because I am sitting here during my favorite time of the day. It is the time after the kids go to bed. The house is quiet. I can think freely and without interruption. I can control the TV remote. I can chose to be productive and do the laundry or just sit on the couch with my favorite Filipino.

Ahhhh...it is so nice (and even better when that Filipino is asleep as well:))

So today I am thankful for my quiet house. It is so nice and cool and all mine...well ours. :)

(NOT thankful for those holly bushes in the front. They are evil along with carpet...in my humble opinion anyway....)

And as I stated earlier...I am thankful that I live in a country where we can vote for the crooked politicians that will lead this great nation!

Sophia and MPV sitting in a tree....

2010-11-01T15:09:00.002-04:00

I have never been very good with irrational behavior. I dont' have much patience or compassion for the like. So when Fia had a TOTAL meltdown when we decided to trade in the van I didn't know what to do. I was beside myself. I didn't understand her attachment to the vehicle. The love affair she was having with the MPV!

"But i was planning to drive it when I turned 16!"

"But this was the van we drove around in when we were babies"

"But this is the only van I have known"

"But Obie likes to put his head out the van window"

yes...that is a love note from Sophia

Yes this was a very good van. We bought it after we adopted Nate....traded in our 1999 white Civic. We needed something bigger not only for our family but for Richard's sister and her family that were visiting that Christmas. It was used and had @30K miles on it. We loved it. It ran great. Everytime I got in and turned the key and it cranked...i gave thanks! The only problem we had was the door handles. They broke off. The driver side was gone for a while. Then this summer the passenger one broke off. At this point the van had 199000 miles. It would cost around $500 to fix both handles. Do we put that money towards a newer vehicle or just fix the van??? What if something else breaks??? These are questions everyone asks when they have an older vehicle....so after much thought we decided to just put that money into something newer.

what do you think Obie? he doesn't care...just as long as he can stick his head out of the window

You would have thought we asked Sophia take all our shots for the rest of our lives! To say she was devastated would be an understatement. The crying and wailing and wailing and sobbing. Good greif. I was understanding during the first hour and then it just go old. FAST. It went on for a couple of days. I was supposed to meet Richard at the dealership and bring the van there to have it appraised but called and said there was no way I would bring her up there. She wouldn't be able to handle it...I wouldn't be able to handle it.

FINALLY...she calmed down. I let her drive it around the cul-de-sac so she could say she had driven it. She made it love notes, stroked it, took items from it as souvenirs(even saved the broken handle) and was able to let go.

lots of good memories!

a month of Thanks

2010-11-01T14:43:00.001-04:00

(so let's see if I can post something everyday that I am thankful for....)

To start I am very thankful for these 2 human beings.....

and this one too....

School time!

2010-11-01T14:00:00.001-04:00

I know school has been in session for over 9 weeks but just had to post the pictures of our pre-school festivities!

we always make the "school bus" cake. I am thankful Sophia likes to carry on the traditions I start...because sometimes I forget about them! i can't remember what we used for people this year...those pink blobs? wonder what they were!

She has already grown at least an inch since this picture because those shorts are above her knees now! She always has a growth spurt halfway through a season!! doesn't she look like a 5th grader!!

Nate was just BURSTING with excitement to be heading into the 3rd grade! He looks so old since he got his hair cut too!

Yep....Nate is about 2 inches taller than Fia and 2 year younger! That's ok....he will be putting the dishes away for now on Sophia...because we just can't reach that high!

Les Mills Mega Quarterly!

2010-08-30T20:07:00.003-04:00

I have been so excited about this event ever since we got a flyer in our 1st Quarter 2010 release.

Stacie, April and I around 7am after we dropped off our bags and heading to Body Pump! I am so excited!!

This was the largest Body Pump class ever...950 participants! It was amazing-but a little too crowded for my taste;) April and David just chillin' between tracks!

This is during the shoulder track....man is it going to be good this time!

Here we are waiting like cattle to be herded in the room and start our workout!

Mega Quarterly cont...

2010-08-30T20:00:00.002-04:00

Saturday they offered classes in all their programs...to which you had to pre-register. When we checked-in they made sure we were on the list for Body Pump and marked our hands to show that we were on the list...although they never checked our hands! Once they opened the doors Pumpers flooded the room hoping to get a step close to the front.

So first on the schedule was Body Pump(did i mention it was the largest class ever in Body Pump history? 950 people!). After that class we were instructed to take our weights out and stack them to be put away. This cleared the room for Body Step. April and I took that class and it was totally AWESOME! We would love to have it in our gym! The next class was Body Vive which was really cool and harder than it looked!. Body Attack was next followed by a break. Then Body Combat and Body Jam ended the day.

In another room they offered 4 RPM classes. I believe they orginally were offering 2 but due to the massive amount of people wanting to take the class they added 2 more classes. Each class had 80 bikes I believe and each class was packed and people waited outside the door to see if they could take someone's bike that decided not to show. This is a picture of the Program Director Glen Ostergaard and his wife Sarah-the Assistant Program Director.

I was able to get a bike on the front row...which was cool...but by this time I had already taken Pump, Step and Vive and was a little tired. If I was on the front row I would have to ride hard...couldn't be bouncing around in front of them!! It was easy to push myself though once the class got started.

Mega quarterly cont...AIM training

2010-08-30T19:15:00.003-04:00

Les Mills introduced an Advanced Instructor Module at this event. I chose to take the Body Pump training. The criteria was to have at least 6 months teaching experience under your belt. There were 8 instructors from Towne Fitness who took too this great opportunity to get additional training from the Program Directors (from New Zealand )!

Erica -my partner for the day, Me, Susan Renata(program director), David (fellow Pump instructor)

We went over the essence of Body Pump (which is power and perfection...each program has its own essence which changes the way you teach and coach) and how to create this atmosphere when you teach. It all starts with your state of mind which helps create the direction of the class. We started off teaching one track from the latest release, got feedback from the trainers and then during the rest of the day took that feedback and tweaked our coahing/teaching/cueing. Then we presented our tracks again at the end of the day applying our new knowledge. It was amazing to see how we changed. I was ready to get back to LaGrange and show my class what I learned:)

What was the biggest lesson I learned? To give short and sharp cues, be direct and just shut-up. We all tend to talk too much...wanting to give all the cues, telling the class everything we know (shoulders back, abs in, relax shoulders, feet under hips. etc) but really less is more. The music really drives the workout and if we are talking too much who can hear the thumping beat!! So it was a great class today when I just kept my mouth shut. I gave the essential cues and let the music do the rest.

Me, Margo(a US master trainer and presenter on the new release) and Erica-look at her biceps...and she was telling me she wasn't strong!

It was a great day and I felt so good this morning walking into my 5:15am class. Some mornings I am not jumping out of bed since they tend to be "bumps on a log"...i understand though..i mean it is 5:15am! but I wasn't going to let that effect me anymore. If you get up that early you want a great workout and I was going to deliver! See...it all starts with your state of mind! Aren't I sounding short and sharp already?! :)

After we all cleaned up from our trainings we meet at Marlow's for dinner. Henry-the owner of Towne Fitness paid...isn't it funny how good food tastes when it is free:) Thanks Henry!

We sat around laughing and joking and sharing when we all learned from our trainings. A perfect way to end a fantastic day!

More Summer Fun=The Water Whiz

2010-08-30T08:41:00.009-04:00

One of our favorite spots this summer was The Water Whiz. Tuesdays we got in 1/2 price so we would usually meet lots of friends there for the afternoon. The coolest part about this place is the size. It only have 2 water slides, a kiddie area and the pool. The kids can go between the pool and the slide without us moms leaving our lounge chair! We often swam with them or sat in the pool...but it was nice not to worry about them being out of our sight! THe bad part about the park was the size. The kids got bored towards the end of the summer but it sure was fun while it lasted!!

they added this cool part a couple of years ago.

cute Patrick!

The sun goddess Lisa!

Best Buddies!

Great technique Nate!

Yo wat's up?

no words for this one....

i don't know how they managed to come down so slowly on this big slide. It always shot me down like a rocket and I always got water up my nose!

SUmmer Fun-Basketball Camp

2010-08-25T16:05:00.006-04:00

In an effort to get Nate to become an extrovert I enrolled him in a basketball camp. Of course Nate didn't want to attend but this was one activity I said there was no discussion about. I allowed him to choose whether he would do Cub Scout Day camp and even let him choose whether we were going to continue with the Cub Scout program next year. Since he chose not to participate in scouts anymore I calmly told him he was going to the b-ball camp...no discussion. I got his friend Jacob Hansen to come down from TN and go with him. Also Patrick and Wesley were there so he had a handful of people he already knew! He had minimal anxiety on the first day and was smiles everytime I picked him up! ANyone who knows Nate would understand how big this is for him.

Mike Pauly is the Boys head basketball coach at LaGrange High School. I got to know him a little from classes at the gym and when I saw this was his camp I knew it was the place for Nate!
The group shot on the last day....i think this was the serious picture....
and this was the goofy one. Only problem was Nate looks the same in both! We are working on that!:)

SUmmer fun....

2010-08-24T14:00:00.009-04:00

We got to see Frankie and his family a couple of times while we were passing through. The last visit was extra special because Trudy and her family were there also!

ALl the cousins together!! Nate, Forrest, Josh and Luke.
All the girls! Sophia, Kayla, Mariam, and Sadie!
Here is the group shot!
Trudy and Sadie...
Frankie and Rachel....
beautiful Kayla...
Richard loves to be in the pictures....
he really loves being in the pictures:)

Has it been THAT long?

2010-08-11T18:05:00.018-04:00

This year Richard and I celebrated 15 years of marriage! Sometimes I can't believe it has been that long...which makes me feel really old...but in reality I am not since I got married very young(20 !). That isn't young by Mormon (especially those in UT) standards but the rest of society would scoff at a youngster getting married so young! But...that isn't what this post is about!

We haven't taken a trip by ourselves since Sophia joined our family in 1999. There were many reasons for this but the main one was because we just enjoyed having Sophia and Nate with us...and some anxiety issues the youngest one faced....but not anymore! wahoo!

So we decided to rent a small cabin in Gatlinburg, TN.
Isn't she so cute! It was 1 bedroom with a full kitchen, jacuzzi tub, loft bedroom, washer and dryer, etc. Everything you would need! It was located deep in the woods and away from the city so you really felt like you were secluded.
After a great night sleep we wandered into the city and visited my relatives. We always wondered where Grandma ended up.
And here is Great Uncle Thomas from my mother's cousin's brother-twice removed side. He said to tell everyone 'Howdy". It was overcast and rainy that Saturday so it wasn't so crowded on the streets. We had fun just wandering around the shops and watching other tourists.
After we checked out Sunday we headed over to the Smokey Mountain Visitor Center and picked up a map of the trails. This was what I was looking forward to...hiking some trails! What I didn't take into consideration was that the trails would be on an incline and the humidity would be 100%. It was worth it though! The picture above was taken at the start of our hike...notice the minimal sweat and my shirt is one color. After the first trail I had to change into another shirt because my pistachio green shirt was now a dark-leafy-green color from the sweat!
Whew....for a minute there we thought we had lost the kids....forgot they were staying with HEather.
This is the front porch of our cabin...sure wish blogger let you arrange your pictures after you upload them!!
Sweaty Richard....still cute though!
One good thing about the trails was the scenery. Can you imagine how breath-taking this would be in October! and crowded!

The hike was 1.3 miles but worth it when we got to the top. There was a nice breeze blowing off the falls and it was beautiful. This little kid decided to take full advantage of the freezing water to cool off.

Ahhh....the cute couple!
This was the prize at the top....to put your feet in. We didn't realize how much that would cool you off! It was a great weekend and we hope this is the start of many more weekend get-a-ways ALONE! I am one lucky woman to be married to Richard Villamor!

last year....

2010-06-09T20:06:00.001-04:00

This time last year we embarked on our Philippines adventure. That trip changed me in so many ways. I find myself getting pretty nostalgic as I think about our time there. I started a blog wanting to chronicle our trip but realized it might be easier just to print off the pictures and throw together a scrapbook....so that is what I am doing. As I was going through the pictures I thought I would post some of the things I miss....

I miss going outside and seeing the public transportation pedaling by.

I miss all the places we would visit...mostly relatives. I miss the heat even.

I miss these little boys.

How could you not miss this scenery!

2010-06-09T19:36:00.002-04:00

i miss watching Beverly cook everything from scratch...in the heat...and with a smile.

i miss their transportation practices...if you can fit you can ride!

i miss these girls...

and Nate misses the stray dogs...we wanted to take them all home!

2010-06-09T19:23:00.001-04:00

i miss getting to see Richard in his element and being able to see his culture first-hand.

i miss the fresh food....so delicious. Even seafood i don't like at home was good here...

i miss Richard's cousins. you miss people deeply that you know you may never see again(or for a long time)

i miss the cool malls...not that I like to shop but they were something to see!

2010-06-09T19:09:00.002-04:00

i don't miss this...

i miss watching Fia play with her cousin Molly.

i miss the beautiful beaches...and it was so breezy there...heavenly!

When we left we hoped to come back in 3 years. Who knows...maybe we will. I sure hope so!

Imposing Adult views on children....

2010-05-20T09:28:00.005-04:00

I like to read a fitness blog titled The Great Fitness Experiment. The author discusses lots of aspects of fitness from the latest exercises to body image.

In her most recent post she talks about a Hooters waitress who was asked to lose weight (she is 5'8 and 132lbs) or be fired. Ok...fine. I feel sorry for this girl and maybe she can get a job where her body isn't a reason she gets good tips....

Then she shared the story below which really, really bothers me.....

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/girl-single-ladies-dance-sparks-controversy-internet/story?id=10644648

After watching the video and reading the article I was in awe. I kept dropping my jaw. Is the world really getting this bad? Did someone actually say we should not impose adult views on children? Don't we do that everyday when we guide our children to eat healthy, rest, exercise, have manners, read good books, go to school, be responsible, etc. So we should just step back and allow 8 and 9 year olds to "bump and grind" to an adult song and think nothing is wrong with it? The parents said their daughters love to dance and compete...and their daughters were phenomenal for sure...but there are other ways to showcase their talent, right?

They also mentioned this was a very popular song in Pop Culture and unless you isolate your children they will know this song. Yeah, my children know this song....but they aren't grinding. There is a lot of pop culture that I will not expose my children to. It just seems like standards are really going down the toilet. Makes me more grateful for the standards of the Church. They definitely are a guide to our lives.

I love the song "All the Single Ladies" but that kind of dancing is for Beyonce' and not children.

I'm just saying....

oh...as I remember the Chipettes were not dancing this way! maybe it is because they have short legs?

I did it!

2010-05-16T21:06:00.014-04:00

I have been talking about doing a triathlon for about a year. It just looked like fun and was a challenge! I love a challenge. I love to workout and love to mix up my routine. Last year as I was looking for events most were held on Sunday so I was a little bummed. I don't think i looked hard enough. I would read blogs of friends who were completing 2 and 3 tri's and I was jealous! So this year I was excited to find many tris that were on Saturday and so close to home! I tried to get my running partner to do it with me but she wasn't able to make it work this year. I decided to just do it alone if I had to. I had been talking about this for over a year and I hate to "hee-haw" about something and not do anything about it! Luckily I was able to get a couple of friends from the gym to join me....it didn't take lots of persuading....and we all signed up!

here we are after the race with our medals

Susan and Jody take my 4:30 RPM class on MOndays. They are both runners. Susan has run marathons and Jody has run a 1/2 and will run a full soon( yes you will Jody!). They are strong athletes! So Susan and I signed up for the June 5th tri in Newnan. Jody couldn't make that one but had signed up for one in Peachtree City in May. I saw that one but was really worried about the tempature of the water in May. Would it be cold? I hate cold water. But it was February when I was looking at the events and it was cold outside still. But Jody convinced us to do this one which we were so glad we did. It was a shorter one and was a good trial run for the longer one in June.

this is the lake we were swimming in...see that yellow buoy? We had to go to that point, across to the next one and then back to shore. See the orange one WAY out there? That is where the international SPrinters went!

On the morning of the race we packed up and met at the Mall. I think we all were a little nervous that we would forget something. I packed and checked and rechecked my bucket numerous times. I was ready. When I left my house at 4:45am I was slightly confident I had not forgotten anything. I pull out and get about 3 miles down the road when I realize I had forgotten my bike!! It was in the van and I was in the car! So i turn around, switch cars and make it to the Mall 10 minutes late. Then when I am loading my stuff into Jody's car I realize I forgot my cooler in my car. Oh well....thank goodness for friends...they had extra water and gatorade they shared with me!

This is how we all filed down to the water. They let us go in 2 by 2 and 5 seconds apart. You lined up according to your swim time. This first group was the international distance triathletes. They had green swim caps. We had white.

So we arrive, check in and then set up our transistion areas. We each got a number(which they wrote on our arm and calf) and that is where we racked our bikes.
We also got a time chip that was strapped on our ankles. This recorded our times at each event and how long it took during our transition areas. On our other calf they wrote our age...which was cool to see when I was passing younger athletes...and then interesting when a 54 year old leaves you in her dust!

This triathlon consisted of a 300 yard swim( 6 laps in the pool) followed by a 8 mile bike ride and ending with a 2 mile run. The hardest part was the run. The easiest was the swim. The most fun was the bike. The most relaxing was the swim. The most exhilarating was crossing the finish line! Oh and then seeing that I had placed first in my division...let me explain. When I registered I noticed there was a category for the "Athena" group which is women 150+. So I knew I was around that weight so I thought I would race in that group. Why not? So at check-in they weigh every participant in that group. I took my shoes off (what woman doesn't step on the scale with shoes right?) and I weighed in at 149.0. So I put my shoes back on. 149.8. Then I held my camera. 150.2! Ha. So that is how I finished 1st out of 8.

Here are my stats: (not that many are interested but when I would read other's experiences about their triathlons I loved to see their times to help me see how they did and compare to my experiences)

Completed time : 1:06: 35

This is the overall times. Susan finished 2 seconds in front. Remember how good a runner she is? Her pace on the run was under 10 minutes. She caught up with me on the run and sailed right past! We came in 86th and 87th place out of 194. I would have placed 7th out of 16 in my age group (35-39) if I had competed in that group. There were 8 ladies in the Athena group.

Swim 11:53

T1: 2:27 (this took the longest because we had to dry off and put on shoes, etc...i was 3rd in this part)

Bike: 28:14 (i averaged 17.0 mph and placed 1st in this portion)

T2: 1:23 (to save time at this tranistion I did not wear my bike shoes...just my running shoes. I did not like that! I think i will just take the extra 10 seconds to change shoes so my ride is smoother)

Run 22:41 (my pace was 11:21 a mile....which is pretty good considering...and i was first in this portion as well)

So there you have it. My first experience with a triathlon. I am ready for my next one. I need to get back to training because it is only 2 1/2 weeks away! I want to work on my running the most to get my legs stronger. This one will be 600 meter swim (which we think is like 10-12 laps in the pool) 14 mile bike and a 3.1 run.

I am racing in my age group this time so i do not expect any prizes(didn't expect it the first time either!) but will definately be racing against myself!

2010-03-14T22:18:00.004-04:00

Did you know.....

35 (thirty-five) is the natural number following 34 and preceding 36.

5 is the sum of the first five triangular numbers, making it a tetrahedral number.

35 is the highest number one can count to on one's fingers using base 6.

I betcha you didn't....I didnt either. Didn't know Wikipedia had entries for all the numbers. huh;)

So what is so significant about this number? This is how old I will be on the 24th! (go ahead and mark your calendars...I will wait). Yep. This spring chicken will be half-way to 70. Interesting thought. ANd what is more interesting is I have been saying "I am almost 35" for about 6 months! What? Why...i have no idea. Maybe I secretly am upset about it? Feeling old? I have never cared about birthdays but it is weird to think I am half-way to 70...so I am going to stop.

My body does feel old. I have aches but also have never felt stronger. So at least I am aging well:)

So Happy Birthday to me and take me out to lunch next Wednesday:)

Life happens...

2010-03-14T21:34:00.003-04:00

If you ask my Dad "How are you doing?" he will respond with "what, are you writing a book?". Often I get these blog posts running through my head and they never make it here....so I decided to take advantage of the quiet house and vomit all my thoughts into one big "book" of a post.

Chapter 1: Busy life

This time last year I was enjoying my preschool children. I LOVED watching them learn and exploring new concepts. I LOVED seeing them each day. I LOVED watching them interact with each other and develop those social skills that they carry with them throughout their life. I LOVED creating lesson plans and buying toys/games/furniture for my business. I LOVED my it. I also was teaching early morning Seminary and teaching one early morning class at the gym...2 things i also loved. So I would wake up at 4:30am, be at the gym by 5:05, teach from 5:15-6:10, shower and get to the Prestridge house(where we had Seminary) by 6:35. We would have our lesson from 6:35-7:20. Then I would go home to get the kids to school. Preschool would start at 9am with some children arriving at 8:30. Preschool was over at 1pm. Then I would mentally unwind for a few minutes before prepping for the next day...preparing lessons, packing my bags for the gym(if i wasn' t teaching i would go early to exercise)..and somewhere in there I cooked. cleaned, washed, etc. I also LOVED teaching at the gym and LOVED teaching seminary....it was just hard doing all 3 at the same time. I did this for 18 months and looking back I don't know how I did it. Last summer-after taking a long break where i thought about nothing....i started to prepare for Seminary. I knew I could not spend another year as busy as I was. It was just too hard. I couldn't start any earlier because of my gym job and i couldn't start any later or I wouldn't see the kids before they went to school. (I didn't realize how important it was to Nate for him to see me in the mornings until towards the end of the year.) I loved interacting with the 7 teenagers who would get up every morning to be there. Some mornings they listened other times they slept(or tried to). we joked about their cellphone fettishes and strengthened our testimonies about Jesus Christ while studying the New Testament. I learned a whole lot not only about that the Bible but about Grace and Mercy and what it truly means to rely on the Lord. Prayer was the only way I got through that insane schedule. BUT i loved everything i was doing. I was torn. I was too busy. It was hard to give up that calling but I knew it was right. Since it is a very time-consuming job(we aren't paid) parents with small children are not recommended to have it but it is always up to the person if they can handle it or not. I felt like i could....and I did....and then it was time to let someone else have the blessings that come from teaching the youth.

2. Change is hard

So life was about the be less stressful. Then preschool ended....this was very hard to take. I had an inkling that it might close in the Spring but I just kept that thought in the back of my mind. I always like to have a "Plan B" and prepare myself for change but CHANGE is never easy. It took me about 6 months to get over the fact that I wasn't going to be teaching those cute babies anymore in my home. That my Plan B-close for another year, advertise in the Spring and then reopen...The preschool that I lived, breathed, dreamed about for 3 years was taking a leave of absence. It was very hard to enter that room. I felt guilt. I fought the feelings of failure. I knew I didn't fail. I knew I did my best. I knew there were circumstances beyond my control that caused it to close but I still second guessed my decision. So if preschool closed I would have more time to focus on Seminary, right? but it was time for me to let that calling go too. I hated to not continue with those students who I had built a relationship with but it was the best thing for me to do. Change is just hard....not matter how you live it. It takes patience and lots of emotions which I don't like to feel sometimes. but I have learned if we don't acknowledge those emotions they get stuffed down deep and will come out eventually!

2. Change is good.

So lately I have seen the benefits of loosing preschool and seminary. I don't feel guilty anymore. ALl the preschool babies are in a preschool and I don't worry about them. I have more time to spend on my job at the gym(which i really enjoy) and the best part is I have more time for my family. I didn't realize how neglected some aspects of my homelife were getting but when your daughter says "I am glad you aren't doing preschool (or Seminary) anymore....now you have more time to spend with us" that should be a red flag. Even though I was home I wasn't there most of the time. I remember being agitated a lot and had to remind myself to give them of my time. I am not as tired ...no exhausted... as I was. And the best part I can enjoy cooking again and feel fulfilled in creating healthy meals for my family(not that i am making stuff from scratch....i am just making sure our meals are balanced). I want to read to my kids or play games with them....whereas before that was just something cutting into my time getting ready for other stuff(but it was OK since I was studying my lessons for Seminary, right?). Just tonight I noticed how watching SOphia twirl around in her SUnday dress brought me joy. Reminded me what a blessing it has been for this change. Nate's confidence in life has changed as well. He is such an quirky boy with some emotional baggage that is very tricky to maneuver sometimes. I believe when he didn't see me in the mornings it caused him anxiety. He never verbalized this....but now I can see that it was. And this anxiety builds and causes other problems....but he is getting so much better now.

4. What now?

So now life is a bit slower. I have a lot more time to spend on more important matters and can become a great wife and mother. I have patience to play games with the kids and grow my relationship with Richard. I have more time to help others(which I really enjoy doing) and would love to say I am cleaning my house more....but that would be stretching it.

Another blessing is the group of friends i have acquired through volunteering with the PTO. They are so fun to be around and we just laugh about everything. If i was still so busy I would not have met them.

So that is the post that has been mulling in my head for some time now. Change is a tricky thing especially if you are like me....i want to find a solution to problems STAT. I don't want to dwell on the negatives. I want to have a plan B in case A fails. I want to be dependable and do not like to fail. But these things sometimes need to happen. Life will be stinky but change can teach us so much if we let it.

There were so many blessings that came from those busy 18 months. One was a deep relationship I built with my Heavenly Father. I also developed a stronger testimony of the restoration of the gospel and the prophet Joseph Smith. I get it now. I knew it was true before but now I feel like I can testify of it with more conviction. I am still the same person....just a little different....and a little more....what is the word....not sure....but am just better.

the end:)

(thanks Mom for reading the whole post! you are the best listener. i hope I can be as good as you one day!)

Photo Shoot....

2010-02-03T21:39:00.001-05:00

We love to get family pictures during our family gatherings. This has become a 'tolerated' tradition especially when visiting Grampie. Trudy explained this ritual well here. Since Grampie wasn't here to gather us all together for the picture we decided to do our best to capture the moment.

Here George and Forrest are preparing the backdrop. Ours isn't as fancy as Gramps. But it is similiar in the fact that it isn't big enough for the group shot.

Look at Nate peering over the top!

What a good-looking bunch of folks!

Just one more!

Nate's Baptism

2010-02-03T21:34:00.001-05:00

Here are a few pictures of Nate's baptism last month. We had a fantastic time and are so proud of Nate in his decision to take upon himself the name of Christ. When we talked about what promises he would be making to Heavenly Father he was worried that he wouldn't be able to keep the promises. That led nicely into a discussion of the Atonement. He is such a sweet boy(well...sometimes;)) and really, deep down....way way down wants to do what is right. Whenever I tell him about something he needs to work on he genuinely tries to correct that problem. I love that about him!

A family shot with "the Granny" aka Queen.

I love this shot of the boys....Nate has the funniest expressions...I will take this over the scowl anyday!

I loved having my family here for the weekend. We loved just lounging around and enjoying the "no schedule". Granny was able to come up also...a luxury she hasn't had in a long time. Cricket was glad to see her:)

Frankie and his family were not able to make it but Heather and her family were. She is 'one of us' and her new husband survived being around the craziness. When i gave him his "good-bye hug" I told him he was one of us for sure! Well....let's see how he keeps up with Grampie!

The Furry Childern

2010-01-22T14:46:00.001-05:00

Well....sometimes my children's teeth are furry...but this post is about our 4 legged furry children. Cricket is going on 15 years and showing it! Her once-beautiful apricot coat is now wirey and coarse and doesn't conceal her liver spots all down her back. Her eyes stain a lot more making her look like Tammy Faye Baker after a tele-thon. But she is loved by all.

When everyone was up for Nate's baptism she enjoyed the extra attention from Granny and the kids. She has had this HORRIBLE cough which made for lots of jokes over the weekend. Heather said her name has changed from "Cricket" to "Poor Cricket"...since that is what we say when we talk about her! Even with her crazy hair and the food stuck in her facial hair...I sure love her and don't mind kissing her face!

Nate LOVES the dogs. He always wants one of the dogs to sleep with him at night and often "calls Obie" before bed...like he is claiming his territory. Since Obie is not allowed on our bed he will oftentimes lie down at the foot of Nate's bed. In the middle of the night Nate will reach down, grab Obie by the middle and pull him up so he will sleep right next to him. It is very precious to see! If Nate can't have Obie he will want Cricket to sleep with him. The dogs always start off at the foot of Nate's bed....but this is what I found one day this week. He had pulled Cricket up to sleep next to him as well!

Everyone who meets Obie thinks he is a mutant. They either have never heard of a Bichon Frise or if they have will say "He is NOT a Bichon"....well he is...he is just a giant. We weren't looking to get a Bichon...I knew nothing about the breed...we just walked into the pet store and 2 jours later were walking out with a bewildered 4 month Bichon. He had spent all his life in his kennel so he was a little shell-shocked but has turned out to be the best dog for our family! He tolerates everything the kids(mainly Nate) do to torture...I mean love him. He got so much attention from Forrest and Sadie this weekend as well....and he just took it all without protest!.

We love our furry children!

Happy Birthday Nate!

2010-01-21T14:28:00.003-05:00

Here are some random pictures of Nate and some stories...in honor of his turning 8!

Those who know Nate know that it is hard to get him to smile or show much emotion. He was going through one of his "i am not going to smile for anyone" phases and when I took this picture he was starting to come out of that phase. This face is saying, "i have not smiled in so long i forgot how....".

He would fall asleep in the most funny positions! Another picture that is in the scrapbook is of him alseep on the computer keyboard. Nothing like a sleeping baby or child!

Although he won't kiss me now...he sure gave good kisses when he was a baby...even if I had a gummy in my mouth!

I can't believe how much this boy has grown!

2010-01-21T14:27:00.002-05:00

This was his first day of Kindergarten. I was worried how he would handle K....but he did fabulous. It was the poor PreK teachers that he had a hard time with! I sure wish he would let me keep his hair this short! He has coarse hair that is beautiful when curly but frizzy when dry. He likes to have his hair long but he doesn't want it curly...well Nate you can't have it both ways!!

Isn't he the cutest thing!

He loved to play peek-a-boo....and i loved looking at him without his shirt! I loved to put him in white onesies too! So adorable!

Nate loved his cars and trains. He would play for hours by himself...which was something i never experienced with Sophia. Often throughout the day I would have to check on him because he was so into his play.

Nate we are reminded everyday how very lucky we are to be your parents. I love how you give me great big hugs in the morning. I love that I can make you feel secure. I love how you love our animals. I know you have a hard time showing much emotion to others but that will come. I am very excited to watch you grow up into a wonderful young man!!

Happy Birthday Nate!

2010-01-02T23:47:00.001-05:00

For Nate's 8th birthday we took a trip out to UT to his birthplace. Since we have an open relationship with her birthparents they were able to come visit for her baptism(in our church you can get baptized at 8). We do not have the same openess with Nate's birthparents so we decided to take this trip to make it just as special for him!

We drove to Ogden to the hospital where he was born and then onto Pocatello for a pizza dinner with our friends. We also picked up a star wars cake and decorated it with all the candles Julie could find:)

We love our Buddy Nate!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-23T17:32:00.001-05:00

We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

It's the Most Busiest Time...

2009-12-23T17:23:00.000-05:00

I have really enjoyed this Christmas season...but man it really is the busiest time of the year! In one week we had class parties, dance recital and practice 3 nights, volunteer opprotunities at the school along with all other home responsibilities. No wonder no one had any clothes to wear and no where to sit on the couch! Needless to say Sophia did wonderful in the dance recital:)

We did take time to visit Callaway Gardens and see the lights. Thanks to my teacher friend we were able to get tickets for $5 each! Did you know they are $25 a piece now? $25!! It is very nice but I did fall asleep this time. Shame on me! It has lost its magic on me I guess!

One of our favorite parts of Callaway at Christmas is their Christmas Village where you can visit Santa and shop all the cool vendors. This part is free. One activity they added this year was cookie decorating.

As you can tell we had fun with this activity. Just hoped no one before us licked the icing knife and then put it back in the container.

2009-12-23T17:20:00.000-05:00

We visit the Christmas Village at Callaway each year to paint a ceramic ornament. Not sure why i dont' have a pic of the finished project...but you will just have to take my word for it when I tell you they were scrum-DEE-lee-ooohhh-soo beautiful.

We were getting settled for the trolley ride through the lights. Love that scarf MK!

Nate and Wesley-getting ready for the light extrava-ganza! If you are excited tell your face Nate

Happy Thanksgiving~

2009-12-01T16:43:00.000-05:00

Every year we try to get together to cook some bird and bread and laugh. We are getting better and better at it each time! I think we are moving out of the dysFUNctional family category;) hardy har de har har!

Trudy and I do not like turkey....but everyone else does so we have a turkey breast that is cooked in the crockpot. Sure wish I knew how to cook it so it wasn't so DRY! Trudy found a recipe for homemade cranberry sauce that was so yummy...it made the turkey taste divine:)

We also cooked a ham(a first for us...usually get them already cooked)...did you know you boil ham?? it was very tasty! and was nice that it didn't take up room in the oven! I made my stuffing, we had veggies, baked sweet potatoes and of course George's pumpkin pie(that TJ made).

Cheers to the Granny!

Don't mess with me. Who gave me that knife??

HappyBirthday Sophia!

2009-11-22T13:24:00.003-05:00

Sophia is 10! I(and alot of other fans of the Fia) can't believe she is a whole decade old!

It just seems like yesterday we were in Sacramento picking up our little bundle! All 4 pounds of her! It just seems like yesterday when we discovered her soaked through her diaper on our first night with her. We were instructed to feed her every 2 hours but no one mentioned we needed to change her diaper after feeding her...oops!

There are so many things I love about our Tater. I loved how small she was....so so tiny. I loved how she plumped up and how smart she was(not that we could tell at 3 months....) because this disproved all the studies that said "breastfed babies are healthier and smarter". I have never felt so inadequate as I did with a newborn!

These pictures are from her scrapbook. Just look at those cheeks!

2009-11-22T13:23:00.003-05:00

I love her smile. I always got this comment"she is the happiest baby I have ever seen!". She would smile at everyone and laughed often and so easily. And her smiles showed on her whole face....i mean look at the side of her head...it looks like she is about to pop a blood vessel:)

(These are my dad's feet-which are very ticklish:) )

Sophia was a very "easy" baby. She travelled very well, took great naps and rarely threw fits. When she was brand new we started her off in a bassinet at the end of our bed. Well I couldn't sleep because she was making all these noises. I would get up and feed her every 2 hours but it would take her about 1 hour to eat and then I really didn't sleep much during that second hour because of her grunts! She just seemed restless....so I just layed her in the bed with us and she molded her body into mine and we both slept like...well babies. She never slept alone again. We loved having a family bed.

I love how Fia loves life. I believe she will be one of those people that will have a lot of friends who just want to be around her because she is "Sophia".

yes...i am too cheap to buy the school pictures! Isn't she so cute! And she finally had hair that could be styled....a little! This was kindergarten I believe.

2009-11-22T13:22:00.001-05:00

I love how easy-going Fia is....she loves to be around people and to please them.

I love how she loves to learn. She has always excelled in her studies and rarely needs encouragement to do her work. Here she is holding her certificate for winning a writing contest.

Sophia's full name is Enid Sophia Alisa. Enid is my grandmother's name and SOphia is Richard's granmother's name. I wanted to honor my Nannie by calling her Enid but she just didn't look like an Enid...she really looked like a Sophia...so it stuck. Nannie was very touched that we used her name. Alisa is what she was for 3 weeks...what her birthparents named her after she was born. We kept it as a way to honor them.

With the name Sophia you usually think the nickname would be Sophie....but I really didnt' like that name and never used it. Her best friend Lillian or "Lil" (whose mother didn't want her nickname to be Lilly) began calling her Fia...and it stuck.

2009-11-22T13:21:00.002-05:00

Sophia has never met a stranger. She loves to play with anyone of any age. She has developed some great friendships in her 10 years. And they stand the test of time.

While in the Philippines she bonded quickly to her cousin Molly. It was so sad to leave her.

Sophia is a great friend and tries to include others. She also stood up for a little girl who was getting teased on the bus.

I keep telling Nate that Fia could be his best playmate...if he would.just.stop.teasing. She is also a very forgiving child!

Movie Stars

2009-11-22T13:20:00.003-05:00

We had so much fun planning this party together. I went shopping at Goodwill and Salvation Army for the dresses and had to control my spending or I would have had a whole closet of fun dresses and accessories! I bought make-up from the Halloween clearance and dollar store and dusted off my hairspray bottle and comb.

After getting all made up and hair teased and stiff the girls did a photo shoot. I turned on the fan so their hair would blow just like all the models and singers do.

Watch out Hanna Montana!

2009-11-22T13:19:00.002-05:00

I don't know if I like these photos....she looks older than 10!

After the photo shoot the girls divided up into 2 groups and created a commercial. One was for poptarts and the other for hairspray. We video-taped each one and then watched them. They were so funny and very persuasive(thanks to Mrs. Tanner!). After watching them I gave out awards and the girls gave acceptance speeches...a few got emotional just like on the Oscars:)

isn't it funny how everyone acts like they are blowing out the candle too?

We had originally set the time for the party 3-7pm but I realized at 530 that we weren't going to have enough time so each girl called and asked if they could stay until 8. That way we didn't feel rushed and what movie star wants to be rushed!

And no party would be complete with out karaoke! And Dad couldn't resist showing off his skills!

Happy Birthday Fia!

happy halloween!

2009-11-22T08:15:00.000-05:00

Sophia loves to do crafts...and i love doing them with her. Hallowen has LOTS of fun crafts! Sophia went on familyfun.com and printed off a few ideas.

These weren't from Family Fun but aren't they cute! I have admired these little guys every year at Chris's house and would think "they look easy enough to paint!". This year we got together and painted these. I learned a couple painting techniques and they weren't as easy as I thought:) By "easy" I mean I wouldn't have been able to recreate these beauties on my own! One of my new favorite quotes came from our painting time together...."it's only a candy corn". I would say this when I would be frustrated about what how mine were looking...and then i would remind myself that they were only wooden candy corn people!

I made these a couple of years ago and thought they looked so cool. The hardest part is finding the cheesecloth but they turn out so cute. The first time I made them I painted ovals for their eyes...

These are our ghost people. You make them from salt dough and harden them in the microwave. We couldn't get our dough stiff enough so they began to droop and sag. I looked at them and wondered what I could do to make them look like they were "doing something" instead of looking like they were melting. Can you guess what they are doing???

Obama speech....

2009-10-27T14:45:00.002-04:00

I like to DVR Glen Beck and watch it when I am doing laundry or late at night. I was watching his program from yesterday and he played part of a speech from Obama that really shocked me...so I googled it. My parents are worried about where the country is heading with this President and I really don't understand enough to be worried...I think...but this pretty easy to understand.

Glen Beck and other passionate journalists can sometimes take quotes out of context and when I hear something as radical as this I am curious what the whole speech was about and if it would take on another meaning.....so anyway...here is the quote....at the bottom is the link to the page I copied this story. It also has a video of Obama giving the speech.

Christian leaders in the U.S. are demanding that Sen. Barack Obama apologize for comments he made referring to babies as a “punishment”.
While addressing a campaign rally in Pennsylvania last weekend, Sen. Obama said, "When it comes specifically to HIV/AIDS, the most important prevention is education, which should include -- which should include abstinence education and teaching the children -- teaching children, you know, that sex is not something casual," he said.
"But it should also include -- it should also include other, you know, information about contraception because, look, I've got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old," he added.
"I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby," Obama said.
The Christian Defense Coalition responded to Obama by saying that his comment is “not only a slap in the face to every child born to a young mother, but it diminishes the great joy that children bring to their families regardless of the circumstances in which they were born.”
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, also commented on Obama’s campaign for change, saying, "Senator Obama talks about bringing change to America. However, when it comes to his policies on abortion he is strictly 'old school.' Every recent poll shows that America's emerging generation is embracing a culture of life and desires and end to the violence that has resulted in the deaths of over 50,000,000 innocent children and wounded so many women.”
A demonstration protesting Obama’s pro-abortion policies was held yesterday at 3:30pm at West Chester University, where Sen. Obama made a campaign stop

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=12231

Barbie vs. Obie

2009-10-25T21:21:00.001-04:00

I guess Obie and Barbie had a fight.

Growing up....

2009-10-03T23:25:00.002-04:00

Sophia is in the 4th grade now and apparently this is the grade where the students can join lots of clubs.....there is the

Academic Bowl....

the Running Club

the Student Council...

and of course Chorus.

The only club I knew about was Chorus. I signed a paper agreeing to let her participate and loved how excited she was about participating! I learned about the other clubs through friends. I was a little suprised that she didn't want to do Student Council...I mean they get out of class to do special projects for the teachers! I LOVED any opprotunity to get out of class!

I questioned Sophia why she didn't want to join any of the others clubs.

"Mom, I don't want to be so busy. I already have ballet and chorus. That is enough. I want to have one afternoon to spend at home."

Wow. Spoken like a true grown-up-almost-10-year-old.

My answer was: "You are so right Baby Girl."

Adoption....

2009-09-17T09:35:00.002-04:00

I have been reading a little on this blog. It is an amazing adoption story. They are in a court battle with the birthfather right now after the baby being in their home for a year! (say a prayer for them please!)

They have an open relationship with their son's birthmom which is so wonderful. There are too many stereotypes out there surrounding birthparents. I hope you have a chance you read some of their story and maybe it will change any misconceptions you(or those around you) may have about the whole open adoption process.

Also..there is a cool video on the sidebar that I tried to post on here....but I burned my brain trying to figure out how to do it...so just click on it there and watch it please:)

Sophia's and Nate's birthparents are amazing people. We pray for them and miss them. How lucky we are to know them.

The Awesome "Great Wolf Lodge"!!

2009-09-13T14:49:00.007-04:00

Look at the cool place we got to visit last month! It is the Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, NC. From the moment we drove onto the property we were wondering when we could go back!

Nate of course has to frown since we asked him to smile....but he is really enjoying himself!

We got there late on Friday night but were greeted by such friendly staff who were eager to get us set up for our weekend. We were blown away when we opened the door to our room....it was beautiful! There was even a little package waiting for the kids....2 cute stuffed wolves!

The kids had their own space even with a small flat screen TV! It was sooooo cool!

And when we thought it couldn't get any better we saw these....4 giant cookies from their bakery and 4 chocolate covered strawberries! Oh...and these coupons for a free wand...this really got the kids excited for the morning so they could go see what the wands could do!!

2009-09-13T14:40:00.004-04:00

I guess I could have put these in better order;) Here are some more pics of our room.

That white blob on the bed was a towel folded into a wolf shape with goggles on:) it doesn't show up really well on this picture!

Nate didn't want to hold his wolf so I did. I am also sporting the cool wristband that acted as our room key and also could be connected to our credit card for purchases all around the lodge! Someone thought that through for sure! I mean....who wants to lug your purse/wallet to a waterpark and worry about it getting stolen...take care of that with the flick of the wrist....or maybe a wave under the red scanner-thingy at the register;) very cool.

Isn't this place gorgeous?

Throughout the day there are different programs in this lobby. We are standing in front of this cool treehouse where characters sing and tell stories. I believe there were 2 shows a day. We didn't make it there...too busy playing MagiQuest!

Magi Quest

2009-09-13T14:30:00.006-04:00

One of the coolest part of our stay was the Magi Quest game. As I mentioned before, the kids got a certificate good for a wand and the booklet and could not WAIT for the magiquest store to open the next morning so they could get their wands and find out what this whole game was about!

Basically it is a magic themed, interactive game that is played with these wand shaped remote controls. The guidebooks are called "The Ancient Book of Wisdom" and included all the clues to complete a certain quest. At the end of each quest the Magi was rewarded with a "rune...which is the most valuable commodity in MagiQuest. These ancient sources of magic will give your wand additional powers once you possess them"...taken straight from the booklet.

After purchasing your wand they program it with your name and Magi name....then it is ready to help you on your quests. The 2-4th floors contain pictures, statues and chests that contain the clues for completing the quests. Each floor has 2 hallways with different names like "Forgotten Halls" or "Piney Path" or "Enchanted Woods".

This "forest" is where you begin. All the chests, pictures, statues, etc were activated when you waved your wand at them... but before you started on a quest you had to "accept" it first (we learned that the hard way...thought we were through with a quest and then nothing was showing up on our screen!). To do this you came to a tree and selected the one you want to start with. One cool part is that your wand saves your quests so the next time you can resume right where you left off!

Magi "Sofiana" carefully chosing her next quest! You also came to the trees to check your status on a certain quest. We did a lot of running up and down to the 2-4th floors. There was an elevator but it was super slow and the stairs were located right off the hallway (see that exit sign?) so it was quicker to just take the stairs. And it was great for the kids to actually work for their fun!

When you pointed your wand at this statue it would light up and say "you have found the ___!". It was really cool. All the hallways were painted with different scenes patterned after their names...I believe this was either the Enchanted or Tangled Woods.

These hallways were right off our rooms so we felt safe letting them go out by themselves. This was the first thing Sophia wanted to do each morning. They were never far away and could easily be found. There were lots and lots of other children out doing the same thing. Another cool part was watching the kids helping each other. Sophia was always with a new group of kids when we would find her. She was either helping them or they were helping her.

more MagiQuest!

2009-09-13T14:25:00.006-04:00

This was the pixie treehouse....it was also the home of a bear (one from the Big Dipper)...all depended on the quest you were on. You would collect the necklaces with jewels to give the bear and some other items for the pixie. These all provided power to them. (i had Nate and Sophia explain that to me....still have to put into words!...bottom line....it was awesome!)

Just another cool chest that contained money to help you along on your quests.

Oh look..we have a picture of the pixie giving Sophia the rune for completing this quest.

After collecting certain runes (ice arrow, freezing, protection, healing,and portal) you could try and defeat the dragon. Those runes helped in slaying the beast. It was really hard!

the Water Park!

2009-09-13T14:15:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures of the fantastic water park...that was INDOORS! No worry about sunscreen! And towels...they provided those! Oh...and the lifeguards were the best I have ever seen. They were so attentive-always pacing the water's edge- never daydreaming.

This was our favorite....the Howlin' Tornado...and you can bet I was howlin' all the way down! We first went down like a regular waterslide and then it shot us into this "toilet bowl" looking funnel. We went up and then back down and eventually made it through the hole which was more turns before finally coming to a stop. It was very fun....but scarry if you were going down with your back to the action(which I did!)

We didnt' take many pictures while at the park because we were having too much fun! But here are some pictures taken from the internet...and it did look like this! Oh....and another cool thing was the water being warm! It wasn't freezing. It wasn't too warm but it didn't take your breath away when you got in!

Here are the shots I took while everyone was playing and I took a break. It was a blast and we all look forward to visiting the Lodge again!

Our life at the moment....

2009-09-10T22:04:00.002-04:00

So our life has slowed down considerably since I am not teaching seminary(which I miss a lot) or preschool (which I miss more). That leaves me with too much time on my hands....(are you thinking of that song too??).

So I occasionally get frustrated with myself when I walk around thinking "what should I do now?" (key word here: occasionally). I never made this punch list of all the projects I would do with this extra time. I never thought I would get more organized or clean my house more. I guess that was my problem....so to solve it I made a list of projects I need/want to accomplish so when I am walking around going "what now?" I can look at my list and get to work. They are not big ones...just small ones that can be done during the time between taking the kids to school and heading to the gym to teach or the 2 hours before heading off to dance/soccer. One is to finish our Philippines Trip blog. Another is to organize my laundry room. Another is to work on my menu cards which will help me work on my 3- month food supply. Work on Sophia's dress she has been bugging me to make for too long now...shame on ME!:)

I secretly (guess it isn't a secret anymore...) wish I WANTEd to be more organized...but just can't find the motivation for that. Or I wish I WANTED to have clean countertops everyday. Or I wish I WANTED to __. Does it sound like I lack some movtivation?:) I dont' spend time comparing myself to my friends who have cleaning rituals....it is much healthier to admire them:).

So I am just rambling now....so let's move on:)

Nate has turned a corner. Last week he only moved his clip once....ONCE! He seems more relaxed. It is like he finally understands what each teacher expects of him. He GETS it. Man I was all prepared for a rough year but am so relieved that he is feeling better about all of it! I had a conference with his teacher and was so grateful that she understands him. She picked up on his anxiety and doesn't push. She seems to know when to push and when to let him work it out himself. Hooray for good teachers!!

He is also coming out of his separation anxiety. Last year I made the mistake of leaving him at a basketball practice to go into the van and read. He was crying and upset when I came back in. This set off his anxiety and he literally would panic when I mentioned leaving him anywhere! He still feels a little leary of being away from me or doing new things but he pushes through!

He is starting soccer and continues to do Cub Scouts. He will love soccer and doesn't really love Cub Scouts but we hope that will change. It is a great program and does a lot for the boys. He is a great kid but he says he doesn't have many friends:( He is going through the "i am not going to be your friend if you don't do ______." He thinks if someone doesn't say "you are my friend" then he can't play with them. Too funny...well not to him....

And I am a little perplexed about something that happened today.

In May I had a visit from the lady who does an annual report for my daycare license. All went well and I didn't have any violations. So I thought I was good for another year. Since I am not teaching preschool this year I have not been keeping up on all the rules and regulations...I figured I would get everything in order before May '10 when she would be returning. I would know by then if I would in fact be opening Learning Adventures Preschool for the '10-11 school year. Well...today i get a knock on my door and there was the lady. They had changed the rules and she was coming back for a visit. I informed her of my situation but she had to either close my daycare or do her report. I didn't want to close because of the lengthy process to re-open but I was going to have A LOT of violations if she did her report today and that would show up on the internet(you can see the reports of all the daycares in Georgia). Plus I would need to put a fence around my playground and i dont' have the money to do that right now so I decided to just close my daycare. She took my license and everything. It is just weird that this happened. it doesn't mean I won't have preschool here anymore....i can always get re-licensed...but it was just weird. The State has made a lot of changes for daycare homes and it gets to be a hassle...but it is to keep the children safe....so it is a good thing I guess.

So there is our life right now. I am going to write something about Sophia now:)

Sophia

2009-09-10T22:00:00.000-04:00

Well since I usually post about Nate I thought I would throw in something about Sophia. Usually the quiet one gets ignored;) Nate use to be the quiet reserved one!! ha

Sophia continues to thrive at school. She loves 4th grade and brought home 100+ grades on her progress report. She wanted me to write a comment on the form so I said "is that the best you can do?" hardy har har.

She hasn't entered into the "i have to look cute everyday" phase which I am sooooo glad...although I would love it if she was in the "i want my hair to be in bows and braids and barretts" phase because I love fixing her hair! But her simple ways makes getting ready in the morning very easy! She did wear a cute outfit on Tuesday- Red and black top with red leggings. And her pink flip-flops. I said I wish she had some black sandals to match....she was thinking of red high-heels:) One day she will have a nice shoe collection...and I dont' mind waiting!

She made it into the chorus also....she is VERY excited about this and is singing around the house more and more. I can tell she will take this very seriously and it will be fun to attend her concerts!

She also started back into ballet class. I was just as excited as she was. She has a dancer's body(long legs) and could be a great one (I think:)).

One great thing that has come from my extra time is having more time to be with the kids and take them to their extra activities. Time passes to quickly and I am very happy to not be so busy...although I miss what I was doing...they are my number one priority. When i told Sophia that I wasn't going to be teaching seminary or preschool anymore her reply was "so now you will have more time to spend with us". That is right baby-girl!

Back to School '09-10

2009-08-28T14:40:00.001-04:00

This school year got off to a great start. No drama...just happy children! When Sophia started Kindergarten I saw this idea in Family Fun magazine about making a school bus cake. I wasn't expecting this to become a "tradition"(i don't like to start out expecting something to be a tradition b/c just as soon as I do it will not work and then I would be sad and who wants to be sad!) but it has....and Sophia is the one who reminds us that we need to do this one(thanks for taking the pressure off me baby-girl!. Here is our creation this year:

This actually looks just like the kid's bus! ha

And here are their "first day of school against the beige wall" pictures. She doesn't look that old in person, I promise:)

Mr. Tough Guy. He doesn't look that old...or that tough...in person:)

Granny...recognize those outfits? They have been waiting to wear them all summer!!

It's going to be a long year....

2009-08-26T13:41:00.002-04:00

2nd grade is tough. Not academically but...don't know the word for it...but there isn't much room for error in the behavior department. Now I am not making excuses for Nate but he is struggling with trying to figure out what is acceptable at school and what isn't. When he is supposed to talk and when to be quiet...and even how loud his voice should be. Today I ate lunch with him and asked his teacher how his morning was. She said it has been tough and that he "screamed" in the hallway on the way to lunch. I asked him about it....he said he didn't scream and didn't know if he talked too loud or not...hmmmm. Someone was trying to get in front of him in line and he said "no!" and apparently it came out louder than legally allowed at LCE. He got a warning yesterday that he was getting a bad note sent home to me for his behavior. When I asked why he didn't really know. We have been through this avoidance of the truth before so I began going over the consequences if he didn't tell me everything. Well I got most of it out of him and warned him that his story better match up with his teacher's when I got the note the next day. He thought about that and then started crying. He didn't know if it was what she was going to say or why he was getting the note..he was really concerned and anxious about not knowing exactly what he did. At this point I believed he really didn't understand exactly why he was getting in trouble. I think in 1st grade they allowed more talking/playing. Maybe their lessons were more hands-on or more movement involved. Maybe he is having to sit more in 2nd grade and the wiggles overcome him. Maybe he keeps his lips sealed for so long that when someone tries to cut in front of him he explodes....on accident:) ha. Again...not making excuses. This is good for him. He needs to learn all these rules of society....I just hate the process!

I talk with him everyday about what he needs to work on. He listens and wants to change. I can tell he is processing everything and wants to do better. I have to remind myself that he is only 7. It will take time to learn these rules that come naturally for others.

So I am a little concerned that this is going to be a long hard year for him! His teacher is great but strict!

Makeover

2009-08-23T21:16:00.003-04:00

These are the Brokamp sisters. We loved having them over to play. Everyone got along and they were a joy to be around. This was their last "spend the night" party(they moved recently) and they made a fashion show in the preschool room complete with a red carpet runway! I love watching their imagination. Another attribute I love about these girls is how they take care of each other. They truly are best friends!

Kylie-5 1/2 years old. I had the priveledge of having her in preschool for 2 years!

This is Bailey. She attended the same preschool as Nate. That is how I met Joanne.

This is the oldest Savannah. She is 13 and gorgeous.

And here is our princess.

(i have gotten a little better with my make-up skills, huh, Natalie and Lindsey...I need to scan those pictures in a post them!)

Our HUGE puppy

2009-08-23T20:57:00.001-04:00

So here are some pictures of our sweet Bichon puppy Obie Won Ki-nobie...spelled phonetically of course:) He is much bigger than we anticipated but we are in love with every inch of his enormous size!

All the Bichon's we saw on the internet were a lot smaller...Obie is definately at the top of his length-range...if there is such a thing... and probably at the top of his weight category. He is a very sturdy dog and withstands the kid's(mainly Nate)playful attitudes...which was something we wanted!

Don't you just want to hold his face in your hands and kiss him! Well...probably not all of you:)!

The only thing that really bothers us is how he treats the Granny-dog(lovingly nicknamed by our friends the Brokamp's). Cricket is 14. She can't play with Obie like he would like...but he sure tries! He teases her, bullies her, nips her, etc. She will bark back and show her teeth and then cough like an old man. It is funny but we don't let him tease her too much. They rarely are snuggled like this so I thought I would snap the picture.

There is no telling what Cricket is thinking here. They say dogs live in the moment. They dont' remember the past. So maybe Cricket forgets from day to day how she gets tortured from this abomnible fur dog and enjoyed the warm body next to her.

letter

2009-08-21T15:38:00.002-04:00

I was cleaning off the desk and found this letter from Sophia written 9/29/07.

Dear Mom and Dad,

I love you veary much. Sometimes you allso get anoing.

You'er good pearents but I need time alon. Dad I know I can trust you.

Mom I can trust you too. I know I can trust you to be better pearents.

You'er great pearents and peaple. Sometimes you need to try to be better pearents.

You'er great at taking cear of me and Nate. I love you veary much.

Love, Sophia

I remember finding this letter...she was just beginning to see that parents could be annoying I guess! ha!

Dropping like flies....

2009-08-20T01:08:00.000-04:00

I was going through my drafts and decided to go ahead and publish a few...this was started in July....

So back in May I had 6 students enrolled in my preschool! I had one opening left! Wahoo! But I knew this would be short-lived since 3 of my families had their house for rent or for sale. Within 1 month 2 of my students moved. OK. I have 4 others. That is enough to start the year off. Then last week the parents decided to move their child to another preschool so he could be around more children his age. I have always said the parent knows what is best for their child. I was a little sad but the parents know what is best... So I am down to 3. But I highly suspect one will not be returning because he will need full-time childcare in the Fall. So that leaves 2-one of which has her house for sale. I know the market is slow right now but she has had a lot of activity with showings and potential offers! So my 2 students could actually be one!

I have ordered 5 vinyl signs to help with my advertising and I plan to put them out next week in local neighborhoods to see if I can get some business. Surely there are 3-4 SAHM's that would like a high-quality preschool education for their child! The problem I run into is parents wanting a preschool close to home but needing full-time care....something I am not offering. I also do not offer a religious education and in a prodimently Baptist town that is another strike against my program. I am also a Mormon which is something Baptist frown upon. I guess they would think my religion might seep through into my finger plays? But i have so much to offer. My price is lower for many reasons but not because I skimp on my services. I offer small class size with lots of one-on-one attention. I use a wonderul phonics program that I tailor to fit each child's ability. I have my bachelor's degree and best of all I LOVE teaching preschool. *sigh*

When the economy was at its peak of "badness" and when business were closing I had the thought that it could also affect my business. Would families have the money for a private preschool? Would mom's have to go back to work and need full-time care? So in a way i was prepared for this slow time. then after my friend decided it would be best to put her child in another program I had the thought "there might now be enough people in this town to support another private preschool". The preschool at the Methodist Church closed in May because of low enrollement. Is that going to happen to me?

8-22-09 UPDATE:

Well I decided to "take a year off" with preschool. It was a very heart-wrenching decisions....very torn and even after I made a decision about when I would finally decide what i would do it was hard to finally make the decision I had already made. Ha. Wasn't that confusing! So now I am volunteering more at the school and teaching more at the gym. I will not be as busy but I know there will be things to quickly fill up my time I am sure! I dont' really think about not doing preschool because when I do it hurts...but I will teach again. I am not sure if it will be in my home but I will teach preschool again. Part of me was upset that I had all this equipment and what now?? But I can take it to another classroom...it is portable. It won't go to waste. Nothing I did or bought will go to waste! I loved my 2 years and know I made a difference in Kylie, Trent, Chase, Todd, Isabel, Addy, Kolby and Patrick....as they made a difference in me.

Random happenings....

2009-08-19T19:20:00.001-04:00

(here is another post that has sat in my draft box for a few weeks....)

So the summer vacation is officially O.V.E.R. I am really OK with this since we have had the best summer yet. I didn't babysit so that gave us lots and lots of free time to go and do what we wanted...and we went and did a lot! THe beginning of the summer we spent 3 weeks in the Philippines. When we returned we spent the next week getting over jet lag and then went to water parks, camping, more water parks, movies, etc. We did a lot of our excursions on MOndays since that is Richard's off day. It was fun to include him in our activities.

Now school has started. I am really looking forward to a great year. Nate has the same 2nd grade teacher that SOphia had. She is a no-nonsense kind of teacher and was excited to see another Villamor. I asked about her discipline policy since we need daily accountability to keep on track. She said she understands since she raised 2 boys herself! Whew. Nate has come a LONG way from his days in PreK and his behavior continues to improve...or his self-control I should say. He did have a little anxiety when RIchard dropped him off at his class...but who wouldnt'! I cried very hard when I was dropped off for 2nd grade. Mrs. Lamoray had to hold me back while Mama left. THe next day I faked sick so I could stay home!

SOphia has a great teacher and this year will change classes and see all the 4th grade teachers. She also has a lot of her buddies in her class which will be so fun for her. She came home Friday saying she has the BEST teacher and that this was going to be a great year. WHen I told Lisa Modling her comment, she quickly corrected her because her 3rd grade teacher was the Best:) Of course she was her 3rd grade teacher and the BEST. I guess it is safe to say Mrs. Tanner will be the best 4th grade teacher;)

UPDATE: so we are still having a great start to the school year. so there really isn't an update to give:)

Philippines Vacation

2009-07-26T17:46:00.002-04:00

I created this blog www.ourphilippinesadventure.blogspot.com to record our adventures while in the Philippines. It is definately a work in progress....and i have no idea why the picture at the top is lop-sided! Check it out from time-to-time for more stories from the motherland:)

Accomplished!

2009-07-19T21:08:00.002-04:00

This weekend I passed the training to become a Body Pump instructor! Ever since I started teaching RPM last year I have wanted to become certified in another Les Mills program(for those of you who know what I am talking about...you know what I am talking about!! if you don't just click on the links to find out more...and if you are ever in LaGrange let me know and you can come to a class for free! it is a par-TAY baby!)

A couple of weeks ago I looked at the trainings offered in my area and saw that Body Pump was being offered in Albany-close to home and I could stay with Richard's brother. Hmmmm.....this got me really interested....but my family was supposed to be coming into town that weekend...so I had to just wait for another training to roll by. Well...plans got canceled which opened the way for me to go and I actually got the last spot in the training!!! I knew it was going to be brutal-"the hardest thing I have ever done" is what all the instructors told me-so I was a little nervous! But I thought RPM training was THE hardest thing I had ever done. Well...they were both "bloody" hard! (our trainer liked to use that word;)) This was somewhat easier because I had gone through a Les Mills training before...but this was more physically challenging! They really push you to lift A LOT of weight to show that you can do WAY more than you THINK you can. That is so true!

Don't you just love that feeling of accomplishment when you do something you didn't think you could do???

Why....oh....why

2009-07-14T00:55:00.003-04:00

I recently attended a baby shower for a dear friend. This friend was 3 weeks from her due date and looked wonderful....but I believe all pregnant women look wonderful as long as they are smiling:) Not that frowning is unacceptable...it just makes for a better look for anyone...pregnant or not.

So anyway....about 75% of the discussion at the baby shower was about how much weight everyone gained while they were pregnant and how the pregnant lady looked so beautiful and was carrying her weight so well. Then while we were eating the talk was about how we shouldn't eat this or that. How getting seconds was supposed to be forbidden but how we wanted it anyway which led to guilt for sure. Oh and how much exercise it would take to burn off the extra helping. It made me wonder why do women have to beat themselves up when they get together. There were some who didn't participate in this kind of talk (which i try very hard not to do....but maybe I did so I won't say I didn't) . I spent too many years making excuses for the food I was eating....I will have to exercise extra tomorrow....or....I must skip a meal tomorrow.....or....can't eat this in front of those women because it is somehow socially unacceptable....or....i am going to be so bloated tomorrow....or....blah, blah, blah, blah! And I thought it was hiliarious when 2 days later I saw one of the friends who was at the baby shower at the gym. We were both taking the same group fitness class. She said "we have to work off that cheesecake we ate!" and then she chuckled. Wow....I don't think she has been worried about that cheesecake all weekend so i thought it was odd that she brought that up...and it took me a minute to even figure out what she was talking about.

I guess we all have friends who talk about food as if it will make us a fat slob or who pick at their bodies. I find this very emotionally taxing to listen to ...probably because of my past experience with an eating disorder. I try to stear the conversation away from this talk whenever I am around it. I also cringe when I hear someone talk about their weight-loss and hear others praise that person and tell them how "wonderful" they look. I hardly ever do this because what do you say to them if they gain the weight back?

So after the shower- while we were cleaning up I asked why we have to do this when we get together. I said we should make a commitment NOT to participate in this talk the next time it happens. So...who's with me??

Ozamis

2009-07-01T16:44:00.001-04:00

After arriving in Manila we boarded a very small plane headed for Ozamis City. The flight was only 1 hour and they gave us no snacks:(. By this time I was pretty bent-out-of-shape so it seemed like we were in the air FOREVER! But just as I thought my legs were going to walk away on their own(they were very restless) we landed in the middle of rice fields at the Ozamiz Airport. There were farmers in their fields waving at us. A group of boys had gathered at the fence to watch the plane arrive....and now I am guessing that is most of the entertainment they have!

Richard's Tita and Tito and other relatives were there waiting to take us to a chicken BBQ place in town. Yes it was hot but not what I expected.

This was an outdoor resturant....very beautiful and there was a nice breeze blowing. The lady next to Lola is her sister Lourdis.

This is Beverly and Richzer(Richard's younger brother).

Here is what we ate. The dish on the left is raw fish(i didn't eat that) and dish on the right is vegetables and the middle is the chicken. That was a thigh and leg piece....what do you notice about it? Very tiny! No perservatives pumped into this bird! Talk about organic! Free-range I bet! It was all good....and the rice was "all you can eat!"

Here is a group shot of the welcoming party!

Salon

2009-06-25T07:05:00.001-04:00

Richard's cousin Jennifer owns a salon in Ozamis. When we got back from Cebu we spent the day with her and her family. We all got treatments at the salon. Sophia got a protein treatment and it straightened....doesn't she look gorgeous!

I got a facial and a foot spa....

Nate got a spiffy haircut.

Ohhhh....guapo!

2009-06-25T06:50:00.000-04:00

Here is Mommy and I after our visit to the salon. Isn't she pretty! Wouldn't guess that she is almost 72!

Here are the stylist at the salon. Mario and Alexis. They are both males. In the Philippines there are many transvestites. And it was common to see teenage boys wearing girls clothes. No hiding....very open about their choice of wardrobe. They call themselves "she-males". Nate was a little confused(he should have been!) and kept asking me "is that a boy or a girl" and "WHY is he wearing make-up!". "
Not sure Nate, not sure. There were 2 "she-males" manning(no pun intended) this souvenir stand we liked to shop at and that is how we classified the place. "I will be at the shop with the she-males"....the one next to McDonald's". :)

That evening "Alexis" was competing in the Ms. Gay pagent and we got to watch her transformation. Doesn't she look convincing??

Another souvenir from our trip...

2009-06-24T20:41:00.002-04:00

We brought our laptop on our trip so we could unload our pictures and hopefully post a few on our blog/facebook. Well....while we were there we connected to the internet a couple of times and apparently our anti-virus software didn't have a passport because we came home with a doozy of a virus! I can't find my quikbook program nor will our music player work(where I have all my RPM music) among other issues! *sigh*

RIchard has already spent 5+ hours trying to fix it....so maybe with about 10 more on the phone with technical support it will be fixed.

Our next computer will be a Mac.

Culture tidbit

2009-06-24T20:30:00.002-04:00

When we visit with our elders here in the USA(like grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc)....what do you do to greet them? Hug, right. Well in the Philippines you "bless". The younger person takes the hand of the elder and touches it to their forehead....like a man would take a lady's hand and kiss it... only bring it to your forehead. I did it sometimes but didnt' find it very enduring. Not sure if that is the right word...and I mean no disrespect to this part of Filipino culture! I prefer to give hugs....they seem more personal. Rarely was there eye contact while the younger was "bless"ing their elder which I thought was odd. ...It is just a formality I am sure....a way to show respect to those older and wiser than you. I felt a little uncomfortable when the children were told to bless me....after they obediently took my hand and pulled it to their forehead I would grab them and give them a big hug and kiss. I even tried to hug some of RIchard's "tita"s and "tito"s...they didn't know what I was doing:) I think hugs are given only when leaving.

I sure loved learning and observing all these culture tidbits!!

And they're off!

2009-06-21T22:26:00.001-04:00

5-23-09
We left our house around 945am. Dropped Obie off at Joanne’s and then headed to meet Boyd. We rearranged our luggage and then sped down the interstate. We had to make a couple stops along the way to fix our tarp(it was raining) to prevent it from blowing away. This made us a little later than we wanted. “Oh well”, we thought. We got in the long, long international check-in line and waited. As we got towards the front, there were Delta workers trying to get people on their international flights on time. We got overlooked because we were flying to San Francisco first. There were others flying straight to an international destination….but as the time kept ticking away we told another worker that we were indeed an international ticket holder and she got us right through. We had 2 minutes to get our luggage checked in. The ticket guy typed so fast but only got 6 of our 7 bags checked in…which was OK because the smallest was a carry-on size. WHEW! This was 1:15pm. Our flight is at 1:55. So the race began to get through security and then to our gate. Thank goodness the plane was late arriving so we got there with about 10 minutes to spare! I prayed so hard while waiting in line that we would make it. We figured if we missed this one hopefully we could find another flight and still make it onto our Philippine Airline flight later that night….but we didn’t have to do that thankfully!

here we are getting ready to take off in Atlanta! we are excited to finally be on our way!

this is the PAL-Philippines Airline plane. we each had personal TV's! and that is a can of their "diet coke"....and we got to have to whole can! Not just a cup....there was so much food on this plane...it was so nice! and we didn't have to pay extra for it!

So Nate just asked what time it was “here”. I have no idea where we are or the time. We are cruising at a very high altitude somewhere between San Francisco and Guam. The flight takes 11 hours and when we get to Guam it will be around 2:30 am and noon-ish in Manilla. We get “gasoline” and then head back out for Manila which will take another 3 hours. The clock on the computer says it is 720am so if we got on the plane 130am we have only been flying….sigh….6 out of 11 hours. I hope I can go back to sleep!
So anyway….when we got off the flight my lower back was aching!! The seats on the ATL flight didn’t recline much so my lower back was pretty tight from sitting upright for 4 hours. Oh and we were right against the toilet so it smelled like a nursing home 76% of the time!

waiting in San Fransisco airport...about 10pm. we are all pretty tired!

Lola came in about 7pm(she flew in from South Carolina) and then we headed over to the Philipine Airline ticket counter. It was funny to see all the Filipinos there. All the boxes(you are allowed 2 per ticketed passenger)…people just like us taking over gifts or whatever to their families. It was fun to just sit and watch the different people. There were 2 American men waiting to get tickets. I wonder if they were on their way to get their “pen pal” bride.

Since we were a connecting flight we didn’t have to wait long to get our boarding passes-we already had waited in a horrifically long line in ATL! Whew. Anyway….then we made our way to our gate and waited. To kill time (we had 6.5 hours to kill) the kids and i rode the escalators. Also the running treadmill-like things. They were getting pretty good at going in the wrong direction. If Trudy was here we could have recreated part of the baseball scene from Twilight.. .where Victoria and James and that other guy come sauntering in from the woods…love that scene!! Anyway….the time is almost 10pm…which is 1am to us. The kids are starting to show signs of fatigue. Sophia is the first to go. Nate seems like he could play for another hour and I marvel at how well they have done with little sleep…they have done SO well today.

(Richard and Lola waiting in the Manila airport for the shuttle to take us to our next flight....this is where the police dogs sniffed our luggage and they asked a bunch of questions about what we had....and to speed up the process we had to bribe them with chocolate....but that didn't work so Lola gave them some money...which is common in the Philippines)

We finally get to board the HUMONGOUS airplane that has like a million seats. There is even a second level! We are pretty excited about this plane because each seat has its own movie screen where you can watch movies(Twilight is one choice!) or TV or listen to radio or play video games. It is RADICAL! So we get situated and I test out the reclining-ability of these seats….it is better…but I can tell I am going to have a very hard time falling asleep. My legs got restless and I couldn’t find a comfortable position…did not realize how hard it would be to sleep vertical! The kids were able to ball up in the seat but I tossed and turned as much as you could in a very small seat. I finally dozed off and feel pretty rested now(i believe it must have been 6 hours into our flight when i wrote this)….but would love to take another nap before whatever lies ahead. Sophia has slept the most which is good. She has the lowest tolerance for fatigue. Well that is all for now. I am going to watch a movie and hopefully get a nap in before we land again.

No Big Bad Wolf here...

2009-06-19T13:33:00.002-04:00

How would you like to visit this awesome place for FREE? My friend Shanna recently played at this resort and is hosting a contest on her blog for a free 1- night stay.

Yes...that is an indoor water park! Doesn't it look RADICAL?!?!?! Just pop over to her blog and enter to win! Or....maybe not...then I will have a better chance to win:)

We are back!

2009-06-16T22:57:00.002-04:00

Well...we have made it back home safe and sound! The flight home was twice as easy but it has been harder to get acclimated to our time zone. It was easy while we were there because we were so busy all the time. THere were cousins for the kids to play with so that kept them up. There were adults to talk to so that kept me and Richard up. Well....we are just kind of recovering alone in peace and quiet here so it isn't hard to take 5-7 hour naps! That is what happened today....not what we planned but it just happened. So it is 11pm and the kids are wide awake. I could go back to sleep but will wait for another hour or so.

The trip was very memorable. We met some awesome people that will always have a place in our hearts. The hard part about leaving the Philippines is that we will not see these wonderful people again unless we travel there. I just wish I could repay their hospitality by cooking dinner for them or something. Filipinos are a very unique people...very giving and loving. I have learned a lot from being around so many and seeing the culture firsthand. I am grateful to have such wonderful in-laws....even if there is a language barrier.

I hope to get some pictures up soon but our laptop needed to get some updates and such when we hooked it back to the internet and that is taking longer than we expected. Richard took 1800 pictures...but only about 200 could tell the whole story! THe joy of a digital camera!

Can't wait to share a few of those!

A few cultural observations...

2009-06-05T10:24:00.003-04:00

1. I believe I have said this already but toilet seats and toilet paper are considered luxuries here. I was warned that TP was not offered in all public places but the non-existant toilet seats was a suprise....i would like to know the reasoning behind that one. I learned to carry TP in my bag at all times and often wonder what the women do that come out of the stalls with no bag to carry TP. Do they just not wipe? Beverly(Richard's sis-in-law) said they might just wear a panty liner? And then I wonder what happens to those no-TP-women when they go to the sink and their is no soap??? or no water like in one mall bathroom? OK...enough of that mental image. Compared to here the US is a pretty sanitary place. Oh....and today Sophia went to a "public" CR-comfort room, aka restroom, bathroom- and we had to pay 3 pesos to urinate and 5 to "move bowel"which she didn't need to do thankfully...i was going to make her pay the extra if she did...hardy har har When we were leaving SOphia asked about "moving the bowl":). Oh....and you have to pour water into the toilet to flush. But since we paid to use this one we didn't bother with that. I figured that is what our money would go for!

The other day we were playing in an arcade. The games spit out tickets that could be redeemed for prizes. They had the normal toys and candy and trinkets but they also had rice cookers and portable-plastic toilet seats. Yep. You could play all day in the arcade and take home a pink or blue toilet seat. Nate said he wouldn't trade his tickets for one. No allowance for him!

2. Food. Food. ANd more Food. Everything is about the food. We eat all.the.time. I can't wait to get home and just have a bowl of oatmeal or cereal for every meal if I want! I look forward to feeling the growl in my tummy:) But I don't want to go home though....just not use to all this food! And if you don't eat you make the old people uncomfortable. The other day we were at a baby- baptism- party. My stomach was not feeling well. I did not want to eat anything just yet. But after 4 people asked me why I was not eating I decided to just get a plate of food because I was obviously making them uncomfortable. Plus I didn't want to tell anyone else that I was having cramps and diarrhea.,..or LBM as they call it here. I will let you try and figure that out!

So my picky Nate is having a hard time with all the different food.....which is causing great concern with our hostesses. I tell them not to worry about him. There is food here that he could eat but he chooses not to for various reasons. Granted that some of the food does taste a LITTLE different but come on! Just eat already! So they bend over backwards and then jump through hoops to make food he likes....but then they make that same food for evey meal. ONe evening Lola Nita made him a plate of spaghetti. Just noodles and butter...just like he likes. But he fell asleep just as we were getting ready to eat. I felt SO bad. She was so excited to present him with his food. I even prepped him on how to be gracious(something he isn't good at...yet) and say thank you... and to eat some even if he doesn't want noodles. I even tried to wake him up....but I knew that would make the situation worse...but I was going to try. Lola was OK and kept saying it was OK but I so wanted her to feel successful in feeding her guest....something that is very important to her. Something that is very important to most grandmothers! So I ate some of the noodles so her work wouldn't have been in vain. Then I figured they would wrap them up for the next day. Well wouldn't you know that Nate woke up and wanted those noodles....but Lola ate them so they wouldn't go to waste....and then when she found out that Nate wanted them she made sure he had them for breakfast this morning! They are so sweet and caring.

3. The sun is up at 5:30am. Not rising. UP. And the roosters start crowing at 3:30am. There are none here in CEbu(a very large city) but in Tangub(where the family home is) some roosters live right next door...spitting distance! Someone should inform the roosters that the sun will not be up until 5am!

4. Traffic. it is bad. Drivers. They are worse. No stop signs. Very few traffic lights. You have to be VERY aggresive to get anywhere. Big city buses(this Greyhound bus) pass small cars and motorcycles within inches of hitting them and even when another yellow bus is coming in the other lane. No seatbelts or speed limits....well there are but no one enforces them. I am not nervous while driving because our drivers all seem very confident....but I don't think I would be able to master this system!

I am writing down these observations as I realize them and want to post them to remember this wonderful cultural experience. Seeing RIchard's family in action does explain some of his quirky behavior...just what makes Richard...well Richard. He is one-of-a-kind and I sure love him!