I'm over this new skill!!

My life has become increasingly more complicated, frustrating and full of adventure.  Because the boys' love for climbing wasn't enough....they can now open doors.  ALL doors!!! The refrigerator door, the sliding door and every other door in the house!!!

I have now had to start locking and closing all the doors....yep, we are living in a house where if you want to go in a room, you have use your ring or a penny to unlock it from thr outside to go in.

Every morning, the boys now wake up and open there door and come greet me with their happy squealing voices!! Sounds great, righy?!?! It really is super cute.....when it's not 5:00am.

I'm contemplating pad locking the refrigerator and freeze door.  They open it.  Take things out.....mostly string cheese, sometimes a frozen roast....and they NEVER close it!!

And the sliding back door....I try to use this to my advantage.....now they can help let the dogs in and out!!! Which is what they do....most of the time.  However, sometimes they see it as an easy way to go outside and play.  Which typically results in me chasing them and them screaming when they get caught.....cue the toddler meltdown.

So now I learn to navigate a whole new world of frustration.  I can not go pee or brush my teeth, or even get dressed without finding a child on top of the counter....doing God knows what....or emptying the refrigerator or playing outside by themselves. This clearly leaves me 2 options: lots of alcohol or shock collars!

I'm only human

I have come to the conclusion that my kids love me too much. I know that sounds crazy, but it's the only conclusion I can come to!!

We have been struggling with sleep in our house. All the kids go to sleep just fine but then between the hours of 11pm and 5am our bed becomes a revolving door.



It's not uncommon to have all 3 in our bed at the same time or to get one back in their bed just to gain two more in ours. And during this time in our bed ALL 3 fight over who gets to sleep with mom, on mom, next to mom.....I have tried EVERYTHING to get them to stop......like stupid things.

Pants pjs, shorts pjs, motrin, sound machine, no sound machine, nightlight, no nightlight, essential oils.....

Seriously anything you can think to try, I have tried!! And the conclusion I have come to is that NOTHING is wrong. They aren't teething, they aren't sick, they know how to sleep......but they wake up and they want MOM!!

Seriously, they love me too much. They wake up and they realize they would rather be sleeping with mom. We try to be conscious about not letting them stay in our bed, but the reality is, I'm so freaking tired that I just want to sleep....with or without kids!!

And here's the thing....sleeping in our bed isn't enough. Nope they want to sleep on mom, touching me and cuddling....they want nothing to do with dad. So really even when I'm sleeping it's completely broken and uncomfortable sleep.



I wish the love for mom ended at bedtime....but no. During the day everyone's favorite place to be is on mom's lap!! If I'm sitting down you can pretty much guarantee that children are fighting over who gets to sit on my lap!







Yesterday as Peyton couldn't stop playing with my hair and touching my face I just wanted to scream "STOP touching me!!" And then I felt like an asshole. What mom wants to yell that at their child.

However, after sharing my frustrations with a few friends they reminded me that I was human. And feeling that way was normal and okay!! Humans have limits and need personal space and even though I'm "mom".....I'm also human. And feeling like I need personal space doesn't make me less of a mom or a bad mom.....it makes me human.

This is my struggle...I often need the reminder that mom isn't all I am. I have needs outside needing to be mom. The struggle is real.

Shake it up!!

I am on day 5! It hit a bit of a hiccup on day 3....but with the help of my awesome support system I got over it and back on track and am feeling great!

Country Heat is dancing.....I haven't danced in years and my dancing game went down hill after my pelvic injury almost 10 years ago. Nonetheless, I am having a blast! Despite my lack of hand and eye coordination and 2 left feet and not knowing the difference between left and right.....I am shaking and sweating my butt off!! 30 minutes of nonstop dancing is easy, fun and sweaty!!!



And my favorite part.....the Shakeology I get after my workout. Shakeology is amazingness. It's yummy healthy goodness in awesome flavors. Well, I have only tried a few flavors, but they have been great! You can have Shakeology any time of day but choose to have mine after my workout. I use it as my motivator and reward for working out.

I LOVE chocolate shakeology. For me the shakes are about making them something special. Why just mix it with water when you can do more and make it amazing!?!?!!

So I'm going to share with you my favorite way to make my shakes. This is my Samoa (yeah the Girl Scout cookie) inspired shake....trust me it's amazing!!

Here are my ingrediants:
Chocolate Shakeology
Coconut extract
Sugar free caramel syrup
1 cup water
1 cup ice



In a blender I put in the water, 1 tsp of coconut extract, 2 tsp of the caramel syrup and a scoop of Shakeology.



Then you blend that up until all mixed in. So, because I typically workout when the kids are napping or in bed I make my shakes in the garage so I don't wake anyone!! :)



Once it's blended, add the ice and blend until smooth...no ice chunks.



And now you have an amazing shake that tastes delicious....and kind of like a Samoa Girl Scout cookie. And it tastes even better in my kick ass "Get SHIT Done" cup!!



Seriously though, I have a sweet tooth, and Shakeology completely helps to curb it!! Could I follow the program without Shakeology? Yes. Would I be successful? Probably not.

The process

Yesterday was day 1!! I didn't feel super motivated.  My kids didn't allow for much sleep the night before, so I was VERY tired and run down.  But I followed the meal plan and did my first workout from Country Heat. Yesterday is gone, and now it's a new day....and I am feeling much more motivated!!

One of my favorite things about the meal plan is getting to make healthy foods, yummy foods! Eating healthy doesn't have to be all salads and bland flavors. Don't get me wrong....I love a GOOD salad!!

I know most people meal prep.  Make or prep their meals for the week on Sunday.  I don't do that....let me tell you why....

Part of the process for me is making the foods each day.  Granted I am in the position where I'm home all day and can cook in the middle of the day.  But I love getting to make something each day that is delicious and healthy....and that process for the day helps keep me on track.

Today I'm making homemade spaghetti sauce.  One of my favorites!!! Tonight for dinner we are having shrimp pasta...and the sauce is going to be AMAZING...and it's so easy!! And the best part.....it's all veggies...so super healthy.

I start by sautéing onions and garlic.  I did quite a bit because I made a big batch.

After it was sautéed I put it in a crock pot....though usually I just cook it in a pot on the stove.  I put in several cans of diced tomatoes and added some fresh basil from the garden.

In the crock pot I mixed and chopped it all up with my handy dandy mix and chop from Pampered Chef.....fyi, it works great with ground beef and sausage.

Add in spices!! I usually use garlic, italian seasoning, oregano, salt, pepper....and whatever else looks good. You can also add extra veggies....bell peppers and mushrooms....I don't, mostly to keep it simple so the kids eat it.

Let it all cook so that flavors develop....and voila....tasty homemade spaghetti sauce!!

I said earlier that we were having Shrimp pasta for dinner.  It's one of my favorites! It's delicious and super filling!! Typically about 5 bigger shrimp equal 1 protein.  So I saved up 2 proteins for dinner....so I get 10 shrimp! While the whole grain pasta is cooking, I cooked the shrimp in garlic, italian seasoning and rosemary.

Once everything is cooked I portion out 2 carbs, 2 protein, 1 veggie and 1 healthy fat...aka, cheese! And voila....yum!

Obviously this is a big serving....though within my meal plan.  So you could still get a complete and delicious meal that's half the size!! I'm telling you, make your own sauce.....you won't regret it!!

A new adventure

Wow......it's been 10 months since my last post.  Eeek.  What can I say, life with 3 toddlers keeps me busy.

Over the last few years you have had the pleasure of reading about my adventures in.....mommying, being pregnant with twins, surviving a toddler and 2 newborns. 

Well now I bring you a new adventure.  What to call it.....adventures in.....finding myself, building confidence, healthy living, giving myself what I deserve......

Back in June, after much contemplation,  i joined a group of fellow moms in the a 21 day fix program.  21 day fix is a program that helps you to focus on healthy eating, proportion size and workong out.  So for 21 days I gave it my all.  I did 30 minute workouts everyday (with the exception if just a few days from being sick) and I followed my food program.  I learned a lot....about myself, about eating, about working out and being healthy.

I learned that it's not just about weighing yourself, body measurements are so important.   While I lost a little bit of weight....I really noticed the difference in the inches I lost. That was exciting.  I learned that my body appreciated clean eating SO much!!! I learned that even though I HATE working out, I ALWAYS feel better after......heck, it's only 30 minutes. And most importantly, I have learned that if I put my mind to it...I CAN do it.

I started 21 day fix with the intentions of it becoming a lifestyle change, not just a diet!  And when Country Heat....the same meal plan as 21 day fix but country dance workouts.....came out I was more than excited to do another challenge with awesome mamas!! 

Today is the first day of Country Heat, a 30 day program, and I thought.....what better way to keep myself on track and motivated than to blog this journey!

So stay tuned as I continue to share my successes and struggles, my meals and workouts.....my adventure with Country Heat!!! Let the fun begin.....yeehaw!!!!

The week from hell

It's been awhile. I know. Life gets super busy with 3 kids...especially 3 mobile kids!  

Last week the boys turned one. It was a pretty stressful time for me as I thought about my 2 babies turning ONE!!! It made me sad....they're my babies!!  However last week also began a very stressful and exhausting time in our house. 

I didn't have much time to mourn the boys turning one before I had a sick toddler.  

We had all sorts of plans on the boys' birthday. Peyton had dance class, we were going to go out to lunch, and then go to the open gym at our rec center so the kids could play on the trampoline, balance beam and in the foam pit. However, Peyton complained of her tummy hurting in dance. We ended leaving dance early to go home and see if some food would help. Unfortunately before we even made it home, Peyton threw-up in car. We had several more incidents of this throughout the day. Lots of baths and laundry! Needless to say, Trevor and Jensen's birthday was not spent doing fun things.  I was pretty bummed about this. But we had a very sick kid. The next day Peyton was doing better but we spent the day recovering. 

Thursday, the boys had their one year dr appointment. They are growing perfectly and were nice and healthy. 

So when they were super fussy and did minimal sleeping Thursday night we assumed it was from the shots. Friday they were completely inconsolable and had fevers. They wouldn't eat, drink or sleep. And had sudden mass amounts of drool! All they would do was cry. And they both only wanted to lay on mama. 

They wouldn't even let Bryce hold them...they would cry "mama" until I took them. Having one 20 pound baby that only wants to be with you is one thing...having TWO....was challenging and exhausting!  They hardly slept Friday night but seemed to have minimal fevers Saturday. We thought they were coming off their fevers from the shots. Then we noticed they had sores in their mouths and that they were slowly getting a rash. Trevor's was pretty mild compared to Jensen, who had it everywhere. 

We took them to urgent care thinking it was Hand, Foot and Mouth. We were told that the good news, it wasn't that...the bad news, it was a virus that just needed to run its course. So we stocked up on baby pain meds and prepared to fight it out. 

Sunday we noticed the rash growing and turning to blisters. 

When I took the boys to the dr first thing Monday, she was in shock seeing the boys, since she had just seen them a few days ago and they were perfectly fine. 

She had no clue what was wrong with them. Though we had ruled out Hand, Foot and Mouth, and the Chickenpox. They were also sure it was not a reaction to the shots. 

They did a culture on the blisters. So we may hear back in a few days what was going on. Since the dr, most have the blisters have started to scab over. There are still a few on both boys that look pretty bad. But I think we are on the mend. They ate both lunch and dinner Monday and yesterday...which is awesome considering their diet had previously consisted of Popsicles for several days. 

I'm hoping their blisters heal up quickly and nicely. Poor Jensen looks like a leper and I'm hoping to reschedule their one year pictures that were supposed to take place Monday. We have all been mostly house bound for over a week now and I know I am getting stir crazy, I imagine Peyton is as well. I feel like after this week of hell, we deserve some super healthy kids...and maybe a drink! 

Finding time...

The other night I spent some time reminiscing over previous blog posts. Remembering life before the boys and my pregnancy with the boys.  I had lots of laughs and some tears of joy. And the reminder that I haven't had the time, rather the energy, to blog the way I used to it. 

And yes, I think I had more energy pregnant, than I do now with 3 littles....or at least a different kind of energy!

I feel like even when we have "boring" days...we are so busy. You don't realize how much time and energy goes into feeding, changing, potty training (It really is an ongoing ordeal) and entertaining 3 kids until you're in the trenches.

I love seeing their personalities develop and watching them grow and learn. All 3 truly amaze me everyday.  But honestly, it doesn't take long before I start counting down to nap time and bed time, because I am exhausted. 

However, despite all the exhaustion, I have been able to watch as Jensen takes the reigns as "mama's boy"...he may or may not follow me around whining until I pick him up....got 4 teeth in at the same time (still waiting for the 4th one to poke through, it's been a rough few weeks). I get to see Trevor carefully and meticulously figure out how to crawl down our front step and then Jensen see him do it and go at it with no fear....I get to see Trevor teach his brother other awesome things , like standing up in the crib and bathtub. I get to watch Trevor go splash crazy in the tub...earning his nickname of "Phelpster"...seriously, it's a toss up between him and Peyton on who is a bigger water bug...though Jensen does go straight for the toilet water if the lid gets left up. I have had the pleasure and pain of watching as Peyton develops  independence.  She goes pee on her terms, she has recently decided that she will not take a bath with her brothers, and that it is her turn when they are done.  She lets me know when she wants two, "both", piggies or a pony in her hair and would like to wear her princess shoes or sleep in her pretty dress instead of putting on PJs. And while I thought she developed a fondness for Llama Llama books and bought her some more, she has made it very clear that she is only fond of the ONE Llama Llama book. It makes me giggle as Jensen follows her around wanting to play and she calls him "Trevor" EVERYTIME!  Several times a week she asks to go to the zoo to see animals, and on weekends we often give in. 

And as exhausted as I have been lately (the boys have decided they would rather eat in the middle of the night, instead of during the day...we're working on it), writing this all out was a great reminder of all the amazing my day is filled with.