Short post

Woo hoo! I dragged my butt out of bed this morning to attend my Weight Watcher's meeting at 7 am and I was glad I did. I lost 2.2 pounds! Yippee!!! That makes a total of 23.8 pounds! My goals this week is to get back to basics: track all of my food, drink my water, and take my vitamin. Sounds easy, but the things that I forget when I'm busy.
Just cleaning today and relaxing. Off to Peter Piper Pizza tonight for some family fun! Repeat to myself: "Rachel, you only need to eat one salad and one slice of pizza!!" :-)
I'll let ya know how that one goes.... he he he

I'm back!

My favorite time of day is sunset, when the sun slowly slips behind the mountains. This picture was taken from my porch. The palm trees look so beautiful...


Whew, it's been over a week since I've posted.... Life has been very hectic. Nothing wrong, just busy. Busy at work, busy with the boys, busy with family... as such is life.
Michael is learning to crawl. He pushes himself up and gets on all fours, like a dog, but isn't exactly moving yet. Anytime though.... he sure can roll and move around though!! Those pesky teeth are causing pain in the mouth, so hopefully they get through soon.
Jake is wonderful. He went the entire week with no potty accidents at school. We are rewarding him with a trip to Peter Piper Pizza tomorrow because he has done so well.
So, a funny story (which made the teacher deep inside of me scream for joy!!). We got home yesterday and he says, "Momma, "S" says "SSsssssss" and "E" says, "EEEeee". I did a double take and said, "What did you say?" He looked at me like, "DUH". Ha ha!! What an amazing thing to watch your very own child learn. Heck, I've been teaching kids for years. And when they learn things, it's exciting, but when it's my own "baby", my heart just melts!!!
I am looking forward to a nice weekend with beautiful weather and time with all my boys. My friend came over for a couple hours tonight and we hung out and talked for a little bit which was nice. It's nice to have someone to vent to and relax with after a long week.
Hope everyone else is doing well, too. I'm actually going to my WW meeting tomorrow (woops, I skipped last week....) Hopefully the news is good. Shoot, I'll be happy with staying the same, but we'll see. It is what it is.
Have a great weekend!

Patience...

Oh, the lovely virtue of patience.... I have distinct memories of being a young child (by young I mean under the age of 7 years old.. I know I was living in Michigan, so I'm not sure what age... but before living in Las Vegas) Anyways, I remember my mother always telling, "Patience is a virtue" and I'm thinking.. HUH- WHAT'S A VIRTUE?? Too funny... it seems like one of my internal, personal goals lately, to have patience, and not to try and mentally "control" everything that happens. I know I can be quite a stubborn person, but I try to go with the flow and not try to get upset when things aren't going exactly as I've mentally rehearsed. (This I do often... rehearse how the day will go over and over.. gosh, I sound a little OCD, don't I?) But it applies to every aspect of my life. My kids (which is the easiest part because I know they will bring unexpected events), my work, my marriage, and my family/friends. It's funny because I can tell myself over and over, "Everything happens for a reason" and it's sure easy to look back and be able to make sense of things, but when they are happening, my goal is still to remain happy with life. I also know that stressing and worrying over things will not change the outcome. I guess I just have to keep practicing these concepts and virtues every day and they might (maybe???) become easier.

Yes!!!

Ahhh... the sweet feeling of a relaxing Sunday evening, knowing that we have one more enjoyable day off to relax with the family. Chris and I went out to dinner at a fabulous italian restaurant named Bertolini's for dinner last night. It was delicious!! We enjoyed bread, salad, and a bottle of wine. I actually did pretty good on points!! (I was probably motivated because I lost 1.6 pounds when I weighed in Sat. morning.) Then, we headed off to see a great comedy (He's Just Not That Into You with Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston). It was good!! However, we had some really irritating people behind us making rude comments and would not shut their mouth. It took everything I had to ignore them. Today, I got my hair done. My new hair lady rocks!! I love the cut and color. I'm in the process of growing it out. I had an A-line bob where it was shorter in the back and longer in the front and let me tell ya... it's a pain to grow out!!! It's getting there though!! I am in the mood for some longer hair now. That's the nice thing about hair... you can change it!! :-) I'm off to enjoy the night!

TGIF

Thank Goodness Tomorrow is Friday!!! This week has seemed forever long..... just lots to do, busy evenings, and much tiredness. Today was a day that didn't go my way. Had lots of things planned, but circumstances just didn't work out. I know everything happens for a reason, but boy oh boy, sometimes it's hard to just go with the flow and accept "now". Nothing bad happened, just unexpected things. I guess that's life.
Jake and I made Valentine's Day cards for all his friends in his preschool class. It was fun. This is the first year he's "into" it. They are having a big party and I went and bought a veggie tray for him to bring. Heck, as a teacher, I remember having EVERYONE bring cookies and cupcakes, so I thought it would be good to bring something healthy. All the kids at my school will be hopped up on sugar, so it is sure to be an exciting day. ;-) Chris and I are going to eat on Saturday to a nice restaurant and go see a movie. My wonderful mother will babysit for us so we can spend some time together. She's awesome like that... we can always depend on her to watch the boys. And they love her, so it works out perfectly.
I still don't know if I got the interview/job that I had expressed interest in last week. I guess "patience is a virtue", right?? ( I keep telling myself that....) Chris is also planning on finishing up the playroom this weekend, which will be great, because then I can start moving some toys and random stuff in there. He has been a very supportive husband this week, really helping out around the house, pitching in with the boys, and being supportive of me. I am very appreciative of him. Michael is great. Getting sooooooooooo big!! Trying to crawl a little bit, but only able to scoot himself backwards. I have to get some video of that. It is adorable. I haven't done so good with tracking my food this week for Weight Watchers, so it will be interesting to see the "damage" on the scale on Saturday. I try not to beat myself up though because I'm doing the best that I can. Lots of people this week have been commenting though that it looks like I've lost some weight, which feels nice. I stopped at Old Navy this afternoon and purchased some casual clothes to wear. I'm trying not to spend too much money on clothes that I will just eventually grow out of, but hey, it feels good to spoil myself a little bit. Noone wants to wear ugly, oversized clothes. That can be depressing.
I'm off to shower and relax........my precious husband is reading stories to Jake and putting him to bed... HEY, WHAT'S THAT SOUND??? oh, it's peace and quiet.... I'm going to cherish it while it lasts....
:-)

Love

Valentine's Day is coming soon and 'love' is in the air. This picture is of Jake when he went to dinner with his grandma... and met his new "girlfriend". How cute is she!!! :-)

Just a few of the things I love right now:
-when I look down and see Jake cuddling with Michael and making him laugh
-the sound of laughter when we are all 'wresting' together. Big laughs, that come from our toes...
-how Jake teases Michael and says, "I'm gonna eat your toes!" :-)
-the "feel" of the house right before bedtime, when both boys are asleep in their bed, the house is clean, and I know that everyone is safe and sound
-cuddling with my boys... mmmm... I wish I could "bottle" that feeling
-hearing Chris read stories to Jake with excitement and using special voices. It is truly so sweet.
-when Jake whispers, "I love you", to me right before he passes out
-in the middle of the night, when Jake sneaks into our room, he will take his little hands and rub my cheek and whisper, "momma"
-my family

Update on the boys:
Jake is sick again. Had to stay home with him and took him to the doctor. Getting him to take the antibiotics is a huge ordeal. I am tricking him now by putting it in with a little juice. He's catching on though... as he drinks it, he looks at me with the 'LOOK'. He's just getting too darn big to lay on him and squirt in down his throat. Plus, he just gags and pukes it up. (lovely, really....)
Michael is good. Getting SO BIG and trying to crawl. He just pushed himself backwards though... it's so cute.
Chris is going to stay home with Jake tomorrow until he feels a little bit better. He and his dad worked on the extra room all weekend is it should be finished soon. What a nice treat to have a handy-man husband. I cherish so many things about him.
Alright, I'm off to clean up from dinner and get these boys situated for the night.

God's Plan

Hello! Gosh.. it sure can be difficult to be patient and just wait for God's plan. I have had a lot of stress and turmoil going on at my work right now. Some tough decisions had to be made and I've tried to just ask for God's help, be patient, and not react too quickly. Whew. I think I've aged a decade this week. ;-) Just kidding.... I have an interview set up for tomorrow for an opening at a brand new elementary school. I'm totally excited about it; but know that if it doesn't happen, then it's just not meant to be. I remember the phrase that says, "This too shall pass" and that many times when a situation is occurring, it's difficult to know what the purpose it right at that point. So now, I'm just breathing, taking one moment at a time...
This past weekend was great. Chris and I went to dinner and the movies and bonded. It was nice. :-) It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I sure do love my husband. He's so handsome, too. He's been so helpful and supportive this week with my hectic schedule. I went to visit my grandmother Tuesday night, went to the gym tonight, went shopping for an interview outfit last night.... and he has been there for me to lean on.
Michael and Jake are good. I miss them both though because I've been away at night for a little bit. Michael is getting SO BIG!! I have a hard time believing he is almost 6 months already. Time flies!
Alright, more later... I'm off to bed. I'm tired.
:-)