The Lord is my shepherd

I've mentioned a few  times how I taught the girls Psalm 23 this summer.

Here is a video I took a few weeks ago of Gracie. She is quite a willing performer.  She actually doesn't need much prompting--most nights she says it all without any help.  We hadn't gotten to the last few lines when I taped this, although now we have completed the chapter and moved on to Psalm 23.

And you'll notice how Lily does not like to be ignored and makes her presence known.  That's pretty much par for the course.  Enjoy!!

It's a girl! And other tidbits

{otherwise known as a long, somewhat rambling blog post because I miss blogging}

No, I haven't been keeping a pregnancy a secret.  And we aren't adopting--a child or a pet.  Although Gracie's fish Minnie died last night. 

However, we had an odd experience the other night.  Bean and I were out to dinner (yay date night) and our server introduced herself.  Her name was Hope.  Later on, Bean told me when she told us her name that he thought to himself that he really liked it.  And if we ever had a 4th daughter, that would be a good name for her.  What's odd (besides the fact that he actually had those thoughts) is I had exactly the same thought.  I have this compulsion with syllables because Miss Rose's name has 4 syllables, Gracie's has 3 and obviously Lily has 2.  So if we ever had a 4th child, it would need a name of 2 or preferrabley just 1 syllable.  My mind is an odd thing.

But, I digress.  {and I will continue to}

Miss Rose has decided to embrace her girly-ness.  Alert the presses.  She's a girl and she wants to show it (in her own way).

When Miss Rose was around 4, she decided she didn't like girl things at all.  She insisted on boy things.  When it was pajama day in her pre-K class, we HAD to buy pajamas in the boy section.  If she deemed something "girl" she didn't want anything to do with it.

Bean and I weren't too concerned about it.  We knew she would grow out of it in her own way and own time.  There were times I insisted on appropriate clothing for certain events, but mostly I let her march to the beat of her own drum.

By the time she started Kindergarten, we had moved on from decidedly "boy" things to more gender neutral, but she was mostly still anti-girl.   One morning walking her into school I actually heard some little girls talking behind us about how Miss Rose doesn't like girly things.  It made me giggle.

And now, we are a big first grader.  Miss Rose has spent a lot of time with our next door neighbor-girl who is about a year older and definately girly.  She has also spent a lot of time this summer with her cousin and of course watching Gracie become uber-girly.

Last year Miss Rose didn't have much of an opinion about her school clothes or materials.  I mistakenly assumed it would be the same this year.  Due to a variety of circumstances, I ended up shopping this weekend without Miss Rose.

I bought some cuffed jean capris.  But she doesn't like cuffs.

I bought a backpack.  But she wanted a messenger bag.

Bean went and found a messenger bag.  But it was blue and green, and she wanted girly colors.

I bought a new re-usable lunch sack.  But it was blue and didn't have a zipper.

Hello opinions.  Opinions I didn't expect.

Bean gets the award for Dad of the Year.  He was so concerned last night about Miss Rose having a good first day of school he scoured the county for a messenger bag for her.  Apparently they are popular, because there were literally none to be found.  Finally at Kohl's he came up with a Hannah Montana and an iCarly bag.  He bought one of each to let her choose.  She chose Hannah of course (we don't watch iCarly).

Me.  I guess I'm the hardnose.  I figured--she'll get over it.  We'll find a bag in a few weeks or order on online.  That's an interesting difference between Bean and I.  We both had childhoods were money was scarce and we didn't have a lot of the perks or even "normals" of childhood.  I honestly did not eat ANY Chinese food until I was 17.  True story.

Anyhow.  My mentality is--I survived, it really wasn't that bad and it made me stronger and it's good to understand life isn't about stuff.  Bean's mentality is--if at all possible I don't want my kids to miss out on things I did and I want to give them everything I can.  Our kids are not spoiled at all---and we say no to plenty of stuff.  Bu the difference in our approaches is quite interesting to me.

Enough with the psychology class.

Miss Rose still is, and probably will always be her own brand of girl.  I am too actually.  I like that about us.  But it's sweet to see her develop this side of her personality and tastes.  If this is how Miss Rose is, I'm petrified of when we reach this stage with Gracie.  She already is so opinionated.  And loves all things frilly, shiny and sparkley.  Watch out world.

And oh my--the competition to talk between these two, especially in the car.  Gracie has actually started saying "Miss Rose be quiet" or "let me talk" because Miss Rose continually interrupts and always adds on to whatever she was saying or asking before.  In another year or two when Lily is carrying on conversations---there is never going to be any silence!

The hardest adjustment for me with the back to school routine is getting up at 5:30am to run in the morning!  I really enjoyed getting up between 6 and 6:15 and ending my run when Bean was leaving.  But now with needing to leave the house at 7:30---with three kids ready for the day---running must happen earlier.  It's just a few days a week though, so I can't complain too much!

Have I mentioned that Miss Rose still is my amazon child?  67lbs and 50.5 inches at 6 1/2 yrs old.  That is above the 90% for both categories.  Doctors always ask where she gets it.  And I have no idea.  Because Bean and I aren't tall.  Well, I do know because we both have tall grandfathers and my dad is 6 feet.  But I just never thought I my daughter would get those genes.  I think Gracie is pretty tall too.  Could it be that all my daughters will be taller than me?  Is it bad that I was kinda glad to see two of the other "larger" kindergarteners from last year are in her class this year so she doesn't feel so big?

I really hope getting back to the school routine will get me back to blogging more.  I miss this space.

Miss Rose wasn't super keen on me taking lots of photos, so I didn't ask her to pose here-I just snapped the shot, and she happened to have an intense look on her face. 

Dad of the year and his girls.  Lily has some crazy morning hair.  She wasn't thrilled about a fast moving morning.  I guess she enjoyed our slower summer mornings too.  I LOVE that Gracie carries dolls around.  This one happens to be from my childhood and it was probably made in the early 70's.  Her name is Lizzie if you are wondering.

I sure love these four.

Fit Friday: Time to get serious

I have run three half marathons. 

In 2006 I ran the OC Half.  I think it was the first or second year of the race.  The course was a bit boring at times, but finishing it was a huge sense of exhilaration and accomplishment.  I had been a mom for two years at that point and it felt incredible to do something like that just for myself.  I don't exactly remember my time.  I think it was between 2:30 & 2:45. 

The furthest I had run prior to the race was 5 miles.  The first half of the race I stuck with a friend and my youngest sister and we did run/walk intervals.  The second half I took off on my own and did more running.  I didn't push myself much because of my lack of training.  I just wanted to finish.

I ran my second half marathon in 2007.  That too was a huge accomplishment for me.  Gracie was just 6 months old.  I road-tripped to San Francisco for the Nike Women's Half with my two sisters and my sister-in-law, who had a 9 month old.  One sister watched the babies while the other three of us raced.  She may have had the harder task that morning!  That race felt awesome--running in San Fran, running some huge hills--all while being a nursing mom to a young baby. I think our time was just around 2:30. 

My third half marathon was just last fall in Long Beach with my "middle" sister.  I trained decently for it, but probably never ran over 7 miles.  My biggest goal was to help my sister keep going and get a good time.  She always has more in her than she thinks she does!  Again my time was around 2:30.

I've yet to run a half though, with full training and just for myself.  I'm registered for my 4th half marathon in November.  My first local race.  I'm looking forward to my hubby and kids waiting for me at the finish line.  The course is pretty straight and flat--great for making a personal record.

Based on some recent run times, I should be able to finish the race in under 2:15.  I think I should be able to get pretty close to 2:00.  So, there you have my realistic and my optimistic goals! 

Mostly though, I just want to train properly.  I have all the tools I need.  A neighborhood I can run in, a double jogger, a treadmill in my garage.  What I sometimes lack is the discipline to wake early to get my runs in.

This summer, I've enjoyed being able to run early before Bean leaves, which was about a 6am wake-up for me.  With school starting next week, we're going to have to leave the house earlier again.  Which means waking at 5:30 some mornings.  It also means waking early on Saturdays for long runs.  When I do it, I'm so happy I did.

The last few weeks I've been slacking a bit, which maybe I needed.  I've been staying up late reading, so even when I set my alarm, I just stay in bed.  That long run on Saturday is the biggest challenge.  It's our only morning home together as a family.  If I get up and run at 6am, I should be done by 8am most weeks.  I just gotta do it!!

I have a couple good training schedules.  The main one I plan to follow begins next Monday, for 10 weeks.  It's time to get serious and log those miles. 

Are you thinking about training for a race?  Here's a great way to personalize your training based on recent runs, how long you want to train for, which day you want to do your long run etc.  The SmartCoach from Runner's World.  I have the app on my iPhone but you can do it on their website as well and have it emailed to you for printing.  I also have a training plan I cut out from a recent Runner's World mag on running a 2hr half marathon. 

I'll report back next week and let you know how my first week of training is going.

Can Psalm 23 help her find her way home?

Miss Rose needed ANOTHER school physical before first grade.  I guess because her last one was when she was 5, before pre-K she was due, even though her pre-K one counted for last year.  I don't understand.  All I know is they told me I needed to turn another form in and I couldn't talk them out of it.

If you recall, that particular appointment was like wrestling a bear.  One and a half years later, I hoped that Miss Rose was more calm, cool and collected and it wouldn't be the ordeal it was before.  I prepared her to have to pee in a cup, the hearing and eye tests and such.  She was a bit hesitant, because that's her.

Let's just say it could have been a lot worse.  I still ended up with pee all over my hands helping her get pee in the cup.  That was just lovely.  Especially while babywearing Lily in the sling to keep her contained.  I'm sure Miss Rose loved peeing in a cup with the audience of her mom and sisters too.

There was a touch and go moment when the doctor questioned whether or not she had recieved her Hepatitis A booster.  We were being seen at a different office than our usual one so they didn't have Miss Rose's complete chart.  Thankfully, the doctor chose to defer to when he could check out her chart.  That was the point Miss Rose stopped clinging to my leg for dear life.

Perhaps my favorite moment of the exam came when the doctor questioned her on our phone number and address.  We haven't really taught her either yet. I suppose we are slackers. 

In my defense, she can now recite the entire 23rd Psalm.  Which I am pretty impressed by.  So if she is ever lost, she can be comforted by reminding herself "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."  She just won't be able to tell anyone her address or phone number.

Apparently I should have worked on the logical stuff first.  What can I say, I'm a pastor!  She's a pastor's kid.  I'm still pretty proud of her!  After we recite our memory verse tonight, I'll work on our address and phone number with the kids.

on the merry-go-round

Do you ever feel like your life is a merry-go-round that seems to never stop so you can get off?  That's where I'm at right now.  I had a great week with the kids last week, but come Sunday night the "back to work" blues hit, and then a cold turned into a virus with the baby, complete with fever.  That merry-go-round kicked up and off we went.  It seems like it's coming to a stop, but I can't be sure.

I don't like weeks like this.  I don't like feeling this way.  This was not a good re-entry into the working mom life, after a calm, fun week of being a mom.

Due to a variety of things, I completely lost it on Tuesday.  I was intending to go to work, but the wheels flew off of everything and my only option was to stay home.  Not that I was upset to stay home.  When my children are sick, it rips my heart in two to leave them and go to work.  But after being gone for a week, and then my first day back was an off-site planning day, I had work piled up. 

And when I say I lost it, I mean I cried for over an hour.  I would stop, and then start again.  And for me, crying for an hour is the equivalent of the average woman crying for three days straight.  I never cry like that.  But I needed it.  Crying is cleansing and often I wish I could let myself cry more. 

But, in the midst of it all, God is good and when all the wheels fly off your life, he provides people to loan you their spare tires.  Bean has been amazing, staying home two days this week with Lily.  Family stepped in to help out with the older girls these last few days too--and they even brought us a pizza last night.  Someone even did some cleaning at my house.  We have awesome family.  We love being there for them too.

I am hoping, praying, expecting, believing that tomorrow I will get off this merry-go-round and resume normal life and normal emotions.  On Monday, the doctor said to expect three days of fever for Lily.  Tonight completes three days so hopefully tomorrow she will be fever free.

My thought tonight was that I want to find joy in the journey.  Life is a journey.  There are always going to be ups and downs.  But I'm asking God to restore my joy and give me peace in th storm.

I do plan to resume the fun of sharing life with our Three-Bean Circus.  I have so many photos from this summer.

Here's hoping all is well with you!

Fit Friday: Boot Camp

When I was in high school and my first few years in college I had a gym membership through my dad's work.  I wasn't consistent, but there were periods of time I went very faithfully.  When Bean and I were first married, our condo complex had a small workout room that again--I used off and on.  But I must not have used it too much, because I gained some weight after we got married and then once I was pregnant all bets were off and I was fat and happy.  Even after she was born I could't really get in the habit of going frequently and nursing was my "workout" because I lost a ton of weight on Weight Watchers without much exercise.

Now, I'm a bit of an exercise fiend.  Oh, I do love my running--but part of that is because it's a pretty convenient activity that doesn't have a lot of cost attached to it.  Some day, I would love to be able to afford to belong to a gym again.  I would take advantage of the various classes and weights and machines.

A few weeks back there was an awesome deal on The Daily Save that I couldn't pass up--4 Boot Camp classes for just $19.  And even better, the locations are near the ocean and once a week it's on the beach. 

I went to my first class tonight.  There were a lot of "regulars" missing, so it was 2 guys, me and my sister-in-law and the trainer.  We started out with some warm up moves in the gym and then headed outside.  The trainer said that wasn't his normal routine, but he wanted to mix it up and enjoy the fading daylight.  We'd run a bit, then stop and do various moves like jumps and squats (only jumps and sqats cranked up a few notches with variations).  My favorite were "smurf jacks."  Jumping jacks done in a low squatting position using your elbows, not your whole arms.  We ran some stairs (as in up and down 10x) and ended up on the grass overlooking the ocean.

And then we sweated buckets into that grass and added salt to the already salty air.  I had a small taste of what it must be like to have Jillian Michaels train you on the Biggest Loser.  I still would choose her, but there is a strong possibility I'd cry at some point.  And after tonight I understand why.  Our trainer was super nice and encouraging.  He was a little harder on the couple of guys he knew though.

Then...we ran up another set of stairs and weaved our way back towards the gym with more stops for various strength moves.  And at the gym?  3 circuits of 4 ab stations.  About an hour in all.  Boot Camp kicked my booty! 

I loved it though.  It was a good challenge.  Knowing I was going to something like that each week would keep me motivated to exercise and eat right throughout the week.  I'm going to enjoy the next 3 sessions I have.  And maybe I'll ask for more for Christmas :)

If you are a Shredhead, or familiar with circuit training--this is totally something you could mimic and do on your own.  Maybe make a list of exercises (squats, jumping jacks, smurf jacks, burpees, vertical jumps etc) and do some cardio then a few exercises and then more cardio.  You could do it in your house, your backyard, or an outdoor location.  Gather some friends and do it together.  Sure, it was great having someone tell me what to do and counting it out and timing.  But its totally doable.

Or, you could just do Shred 1,2 & 3 in a row.  Because that's pretty much how I feel right now (minus the arms b/c we do didn't do much arms).  My legs are going to be dead tomorrow--especially since I ran 3 fairly fast miles on Wednesday night.

But I love it.  Bring it on baby!!

splish splash

Lily has been very cautious and trepedacious when it comes to water. All my kids have been a bit leary when it comes to swimming in a large pool. However, when they were with me, they were usually ok. Not Lily though. Earlier this summer when I tried taking her in a pool a few times, she clung to me for dear life, as far up my side as to keep her feet out of the water and wimpered the whole time.

I was thrilled when she finally enjoyed the water on our desert getaway a few weeks ago. I think it was the combination of the warmth of the water and the air, and the kiddie pool where she could walk and crawl. She even enjoyed the big pool with me. But don't put her in a baby floatation device. She did NOT like being unsupported by another person.

Last week we ventured to a local Sprinkler Park. I hear them called "Splash Pads" around cyberspace, but I guess that term hasn't made it to Southern California yet. As always, I expected Lily to want nothing to do with the water, even though she was on speaking terms with the pool now. I didn't even put her in a swimsuit, or bring one for that matter.

But Lily is closing in on 19 months, and apparently gaining courage with each passing day. She quickly decided playing in the water was fun and she was even confident enough to walk around without much concern for staying near me. I figured it was better to let her roam "topless" than dragging a wet dress around. [don't worry, I put sunscreen on her]

She had a blast!!

Sister love!! Miss Rose was somewhere, but she was kind of doing her own thing and not around the little girls.

Lily even ventured to touch the water and let it spray her face a bit.

Gracie and a potential husband. T-Bear is right between Gracie and Lily. We figure he could easily end up with either girl. Gracie is clearly trying to get his attention with some cleavage here. Dang girl!!

Summer has finally arrived in Southern California. And although my electric bill is going to be a bit more painful, we are enjoying the heat. School starts in just over a week, so we have to live it up now!