A Day out with Thomas

I love being a mom, but there are definitely days where I just truly enjoy every moment. Today was one of those days, and I have Thomas the Tank Engine to thank for it! Dallin has been in love with Thomas and his friends since he was around 20 months old. He could name and recognize the number of at least 10 of them by the time he was 2 years old. We thought it would just be a phase, but here we are 2 1/2 years later! I am a little embarrassed to say that he owns about 50 trains {Please don't do the math on how much that would cost...) but he LOVES making different tracks every day for the trains to drive on. He even says he wants to be a train driver when he grows up. So, anyway, Thomas comes to visit Hood River, OR every year around 4th of July. It is about an hour and a half away, but this is the third time we have made the trek. Here is the group of kids:


Dallin and his friends have played together since they were babies. They all get along so well, it has been a blessing for me with Dallin not having cousins nearby. Luckily, the moms all get along great also. It allows us to have adult conversation while our kids have a good time together.


Emily had a great time as well. I thought she would just be along for the ride, but she has become a true Thomas fan as well. She was all smiles all day, and it helped that she took a little nap on the way there. In fact, she woke up and started rocking out to the Thomas music that was playing in the car! I made her her own little Thomas shirt that turned out really cute.


Here is our little family. It truly couldn't have been a more perfect day. There was no rush, we just enjoyed our time.

A couple more Thomas pics

I love seeing my little boy so happy! He could have stayed there for days.

Body for Life

Okay, I need to have accountability in order to stick with something. Right now, I have been really frustrated with my eating habits. The healthiest I have ever eaten and the best I have ever felt was when I had gestational diabetes and had to eat a diabetic diet. It is pretty much identical to the Body for Life plan. So, I have officially started today. I weighed in this morning (not telling how much) and I did my Upper Body Weights. It felt great! My knee is a little sore right now so I am cutting back on my running, so it is a good time to add in weight lifting. I have my little notebook to keep track of how I am doing. So, wish me luck! Anyone want to join me? I don't really have a weight loss goal, maybe 10 lbs. I just want to kick my butt into gear!

There IS hope for me!

Today, thanks to the wonderful generosity of Suzie Petunia, I was able to have a few hours to myself, in my own house. Oh, the joy! The rule was that I was not allowed to watch TV and I had to report what I was able to accomplish. (My self-imposed rules of course!) We are going to try out this little swap so we can each clean our house in peace, and I was happy to go first. It was definitely a success. I spent the first hour hanging up pictures, bulletin boards, etc that I just hadn't made a priority and I love it! Emily's room is so cute now! I will post pictures soon. It is amazing what the little changes did for my attitude toward my house. After I finished those little things, I busted my behind cleaning. I cleaned all 3 bathrooms, and the kids rooms and the master bedroom and then vacuumed the whole upstairs. Whew! The best part is that when I went to pick up the kids, they were happy and fed! What a great start to my day. It felt so good that when I came home after picking up the children, I was still in clean mode, and mopped the kitchen and the bathroom and still finished all the laundry. After all, it is Monday Laundry Day. So, now the goal is to keep it maintained. Also, I would love to decorate my living room. I will need help to do that also. :-) I am so lucky to have good friends who help me with the things that don't come easily for me. I hope they know that I am always here to help also. It is so great when we can work together. Suzie, it's your turn, Friday! You can do whatever you want. I just expect a full report. :-)