Warm Hearts Happy Family

My phone conversation with my husband yesterday:

Tim:  Even though our kids may not always listen, the one thing they do have is great manners. 

Me:  Yes they do…(cut off as usual by him)

Tim:  They say please and thank-you so well and they mean it.  They are such sweet kids. 

Me:  I know, they are the sweetest…(cut off.  again.)

Tim:  I don’t know where they get it from either.  Its like they were just born to have manners, its so weird.

Me:  *I actually moved the phone away from my ear and just stared at it.  Silent and blinking.  To make sure I processed what I had just heard correctly*

Tim:  Hello?

Me:  They just magically learned their manners?

Tim:  Well you know what I mean.

Me:  Actually Timmy, I worked really hard to teach our kids to be polite.  And I have been pretty succesful despite who their outrageously annoying fun-loving father is.

Tim:  Huh.  OK, gotta go.

Click.

PS Babe:  When I remind you to say please and thank-you–and heaven help us–excuse-me when the appropriate time calls, it isn’t to be a beastly nag.  It is because kids do as their parents do.  So with a little nagging nudging by me you have actually taught our babies their manners too! 

Crazy concept I know.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Why did I do that?   I really really hate looking at fat pictures of myself because then I have to face how people really see me; and that is embarrassing.  My cheeks are already turning red. 

 But promise I did so here they come.  And I am even in the same dress, making comparison even easier!

Here I am at a shower in May of 09 (I started the Shred at the end of June but my weight was the same).  I look like a plump centerpiece to all of my fit and pretty friends:

And here is me from this past weekend:

 The lovely lady next to me in the second set of pictures is my beautiful little sister.  And I am starting to hold my own next to her again, ya think?

I realize that the time frame of comparisons is 2 months (and not the toted 30 days), but it was all the Shred.  And I did the Shred for about 5 weeks of that time.  So in my experience, it works. 

The numbers on the scale did not go down much, but you can clearly see a difference in inches, and in my overall appearance.

I did the Shred again today, and am going to give it my 100% effort again.  I also just finished my first week of Weight Watchers to kick my weight loss into high hear.

Wish me luck! 

PS:  If you are questing the drastic change in my hair color, see this post.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I have known about the harmful toxins in even the most “trusted” brands of childrens shampoo and body wash for a long time, but still could quite find an alternative that worked. 

Then I came across an opportunity to work with Ecostore USA.  They sent me a few products to test in my home and share my thoughts.  I normally do not persue reviews but this opportunity was perfect for me, as I had been stressing about finding healthier options for both baby care and my household cleaning.

Check out my full review of the company and their products and give them a try.  Not only are the baby care products safe and healthy, but they are far superior to the Johnson and Johnson products I have been using since my kids were born.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I base the state of my marriage on if my husband makes me a pot of coffee in the morning.  It may sound silly but really, there is no better way to judge.  He isn’t a coffee drinker so by having a cup ready and waiting for me when I get out of bed is a gesture of appreciation, a gesture of love. 

All marriages go through the peaks and valleys of emotion, both love and disdain.  I once heard someone say the beauty of being married is that you are bound to one another until you fall back into love.  I see a lot of truth in that.  

I think my husband and I are perfect together.  He is my best friend and the person above everybody else that I want to spend my time with.  I get just as excited to spend time alone with him now, as I did when we first met.  And I know he feels the same.  We laugh together and bring out the best in one another.

Other times I want to punch him in the face–hard. 

And I know he must feel the same because–on paper–we are pretty incompatible.  I know he wishes I was a a better cook, a better housekeeper, and a lover of sports.  I wish I could crack  open a beer and enjoy a football game with him, I really do.  But I would rather poke my eyes out with a knitting needle…slowly.

So when my husband makes no effort to wake me up with the aroma of Folgers finest blend…I worry.  I worry that he has dipped in a valley.  I worry that I must not be meeting his needs, that his “emotional tank” must be empty.  And thoughts of doubt creep into my head.

When the coffee pot goes empty it is a sign, a small hint to spend time on us.  To spend time connecting and reminding each other that we are friends before anything else.   

Because although valleys are normal, the line into danger is a very small one to cross.  And on the other side may be a current that has its own destination regardless of your will.  A current that will pull you under and pull you so far apart that you can’t make the swim back to each other; no matter how hard you try. 

So I listen to the signs because at the end of the day, the year, our life…my husband is who I want to be next to.  Forever.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Everytime my husband goes to the store he comes back with a treat for the kids. 

Everytime.

And each time the treat is exactly the same, no variation, not ever.

And each time he walks through the door the kids run up to him jumping up and down eagerly await their “surprise”.

And they KNOW what their long awaited, highly anticipated treat is going to be.

Because it never changes.

Do you want to know what it is?

?

?

?

Orange Tic Tacs.

Huh?

Yes, it confuses me too.

My children, however, are on the exact same page as my husband.  They see that little rectangle full of orange tics (or tacs?) and they go nuts.  They have hit the lottery.  And Dad is the HERO. 

Weird.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!