Well summer is here and the kids and I have been going to the pool just about everyday. I have to say it is a little weird being the only guy at the pool with a bunch of kids and women. Robyn has no problem making friends (or stealing toys) depending on how you want to spin it. I have had the opportunity to see Robyn and Kiley both lose all fear of the water. Kiley has no reservations about jumping off the diving board, going down the BIG slide, and today I taught her to do an underwater flip. She is really doing well. Robyn is still using the inflatable arm things, but she is doing great too. She jumps in and kicks to where ever she wants to go and slides down the the small slide in the big pool with no problems. I have found that the pool is a great way to get the kids tired during the day and I get to work on my tan.
Today was FREE MOVIE day at the Rave theater, they were showing Surf's Up. I remember my mom taking my sister and I to the free movie days back in Jonesboro when we were kids. Back then you had to take in bottle tops from Coke products and they showed old Elvis movies or things like Escape from Witch Mountain or the Apple Dumpling Gang. I don't remember there being a lot of kids there back in the day. I am not sure if the fact we are in Little Rock is what makes the difference or if the times have changed, but I think every kid in Little Rock was at that movie today. There were big yellow school buses and there were small 15 passenger vans. and there were a bazillion cars. Kiley and Robyn were well behaved and did great, but I was a little nervous around all those kids, and once again I believe I saw one single other adult male.
School feels like it is going to start very soon. I got the orientation schedule last week and I have to report on August 12. It looks like they teach you how to do law school for the week before it actually starts. We have to go the 12th and 13th and then they give us two days to work on our assignments, and then we go on Sunday the 16th for four hours and then we go another two days and get off another day to work on assignments and then we get one day off and the regular schedule starts. I am getting excited and nervous as it draws closer. I hope Kiley and Robyn have enjoyed all this time I have been able to spend with them, because I have a feeling life is going to change pretty drastically starting August 12.
One last pretty cool thing we have gotten in the habit of doing most afternoons after Kim gets off work is to go down to the River Trail and ride bikes. I get the honor of pulling Kiley and Robyn in a little pull behind. There are a couple of serious hills we go over and I am not in near as good of shape as I have been at times. The cool thing is that the girls can tell when I am struggling up the hill (maybe the sweat is falling down on them) and they start yelling "GO DADDY GO" That has been the coolest part of the summer.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Friday, June 05, 2009
Time Flies
It seems like just yesterday I was updating my blog and had great intentions of updating at least weekly, well that was over a month ago! I don't understand how stay at home moms have time to go to the bathroom, much less update blogs. I have managed to keep Kiley and Robyn alive and in pretty good health over the last month. We have had some adventures for sure, but nothing too exciting. I think after a while you begin to take the funny moments and crazy things in stride and don't even realize how funny they are. Like Robyn learning how to use the word "mad" and telling Kim that "Daddy mad at me", and Kim telling Robyn that she is sure I am not, and then Robyn saying "OK, I'm mad at Daddy!" Then Kim asking why? and Robyn in a very deep possessed by demonic forces type voice telling her that "I WANT CEREAL BAR"
I have also been wittiness to Kiley turning into Hannah Montana this summer. Every time I turn around she is singing her desires to me, from what she wants for breakfast, to where she wants to go, sometimes I feel like I am in a bad musical.
Of course we have mad our share of messes in the house from glasses and light bulbs that get dropped, to spills,and stains. It's hared to keep up with them all the time.
I have not worked out near as much as I have wanted to, but last week was good I weighed and had lost about 12 pounds since the last time I had weighed, so at least I think I am eating better. With less than three months to go before law school starts I am beginning to think I may not make my goal of lowest weight ever, but if I could just lose 25 or so I think I would be happy. It goes and comes, but I guess it is something I will always struggle with.
I have also been wittiness to Kiley turning into Hannah Montana this summer. Every time I turn around she is singing her desires to me, from what she wants for breakfast, to where she wants to go, sometimes I feel like I am in a bad musical.
Of course we have mad our share of messes in the house from glasses and light bulbs that get dropped, to spills,and stains. It's hared to keep up with them all the time.
I have not worked out near as much as I have wanted to, but last week was good I weighed and had lost about 12 pounds since the last time I had weighed, so at least I think I am eating better. With less than three months to go before law school starts I am beginning to think I may not make my goal of lowest weight ever, but if I could just lose 25 or so I think I would be happy. It goes and comes, but I guess it is something I will always struggle with.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Long Week
I am not exactly sure what happened this week, all I know it things seemed pretty normal and then BAM a couple of things lead to a couple of bad KIDS, Ok not bad, just highly emotional. And I said long week, but really just last couple of days, and some of it may be my fault. I had a lunch appointment yesterday with one of the leaders at a church we are thinking about attending, so I got one of our friends to watch Kiley and Robyn for a couple of hours while I had lunch. I knew it would be pushing Robyn's nap time but it was gonna be worth it. When I went to pick them up they were both in a great mood and had fun and I got a good report. On the way home Robyn feel asleep, we are talking 10 minutes at most, but sure enough I got her home and she would not take a nap. At this point I need to tell you that I value you nap time at a greater worth then diamonds or gold! I'm serious, it is MY time to read or blog or whatever. Well I stood outside Robyn's room for an hour putting her back in bed every time she got up until she out lasted me. I just decided to let her stay up and go to bed early. (During our play time she decided that piggy back rides are much more fun when she jumps from the couch to my back from 5 feet away when I am not looking, but that is a story for another day)
Kim had gotten a chicken pot pie from Fresh Market, which is usually a winner, and all I had to do was stick it in the over at 4:30 (I set the alarm on my phone) About 4:45 the fire alarm was going off in the house, and this was a first not only does the alarm sound, but we have a little voice saying in a clam tone "There is a fire, please leave the house" So next thing I know Kiley and Robyn are on the front porch yelling back into the house that I need to come out because the fire trucks will be here soon! I told them that it was just an accident and evidently I was supposed to have put the pot pie on a pan so the crud didn't leak down into the burners, IT WOULD BE NICE IF THEY GAVE YOU DIRECTIONS ON THE BOX.
So Kim gets home and we sit down to eat and the pot pie taste like crap, Kiley starts by saying she doesn't like it, but she doesn't like most things when she is tired and I eat some of mine and it taste like that put too much of some seasoning that I can't quite pick out , but I am willing to eat it. Kim finally says she is ready to order pizza, but instead she made breakfast for dinner and I mowed the yard and we were ready for the kids to go down early. One problem was that the few bites of the pot pie Robyn and I are did not agree with us. She was up till about midnight crying and trying to poop, and about the time she settled in the cramps in my stomach got me up and I was up for awhile, and stayed close to the toilet (if you know what I mean)
So today, Kiley wakes up over an hour early and Robyn soon followed, they are taking their naps now and am going enjoy the silence....
Kim had gotten a chicken pot pie from Fresh Market, which is usually a winner, and all I had to do was stick it in the over at 4:30 (I set the alarm on my phone) About 4:45 the fire alarm was going off in the house, and this was a first not only does the alarm sound, but we have a little voice saying in a clam tone "There is a fire, please leave the house" So next thing I know Kiley and Robyn are on the front porch yelling back into the house that I need to come out because the fire trucks will be here soon! I told them that it was just an accident and evidently I was supposed to have put the pot pie on a pan so the crud didn't leak down into the burners, IT WOULD BE NICE IF THEY GAVE YOU DIRECTIONS ON THE BOX.
So Kim gets home and we sit down to eat and the pot pie taste like crap, Kiley starts by saying she doesn't like it, but she doesn't like most things when she is tired and I eat some of mine and it taste like that put too much of some seasoning that I can't quite pick out , but I am willing to eat it. Kim finally says she is ready to order pizza, but instead she made breakfast for dinner and I mowed the yard and we were ready for the kids to go down early. One problem was that the few bites of the pot pie Robyn and I are did not agree with us. She was up till about midnight crying and trying to poop, and about the time she settled in the cramps in my stomach got me up and I was up for awhile, and stayed close to the toilet (if you know what I mean)
So today, Kiley wakes up over an hour early and Robyn soon followed, they are taking their naps now and am going enjoy the silence....
Friday, April 17, 2009
Another Season of Life
Since my last post I have moved to a new city (Little Rock), decided to go to law school (UALR Bowen School of Law), and started my gig as a stay-at-home dad until school starts in the fall. Life as usual has been hectic and I am not sure I have lost a pound since I last posted, although I am pretty sure I have not gained more than 5 or six in the last 5 months. The blog is going to be taking a little twist, it started as just a log of my physical fitness journey, and I do intend to use it as such, but in the future I will also share what I am doing to prepare for law school over the summer, and how things are going on a daily basis being a stay-at-home dad.
On the fitness side of things I have done a lot of cool stuff as far as marathons and triathlons and such over the last couple of years, but as of this week I was really happy to just run 4 miles at a 12 minute pace. I can get in some weights and some treadmill each week and that is about it, so I don't see anything in my future much longer than a 5 or 10K, at least for the next 3 years or so. Kim and I are on Weight Watchers together, she is trying to lose 8 pounds before I lose 30, I am not sure how that is fair, but I am up for the challenge.
When we moved to Little Rock Kim immediately started her job with the Chamber of Commerce, so I had Kiley and Robyn everyday all day. After the firs day I started looking for a mother's day out program. But I decided to join the gym, they offer childcare while I workout, it was a good trade off. The day we went to sign up I took the girls to Chick-fil-A for breakfast and to play on the playground area while I read the paper and drank coffee. About 5 minutes into the front page Kiley comes out and tells me that Robyn has pooped. I asked her how she knew and she told me she could see it! I knew this was BAD, but didn't know how bad. When I got Robyn out of the play area (I really hope they clean them each day) and got her to the bathroom I realized I had left the wipes out of the bag. I stripped Robyn and threw away some of her clothes there and just got her home to the bath and re-dressed. After that Kiley, Robyn, and I went to join the Little Rock Racquet Club, where we went into a very nice office and filled out paper work. My intention was to get all joined up and then go drop them at the child care area and then go workout. While the lady left the room to get our I.D. cards Kiley, said, "Dad I have a brown spot on my shirt", I asked her if it was chocolate and she lifted it up to her nose and said, "No it's POOP!, I said are you sure she said yes, and I asked how she got poop on her shirt, (which I had not noticed for 3 hours) and she said she "must have gotten too close when she tried to help Robyn) So there I am in the office at the Racquet Club, about to go workout and drop a kid with poop on her shirt off to play with other kids in the childcare area, trying to get my 4 year old to stop yelling, "I have poop on my shirt!" so that no one else will know that I am a horrible dad....We went home, but we did go back, with a new shirt on.
On the fitness side of things I have done a lot of cool stuff as far as marathons and triathlons and such over the last couple of years, but as of this week I was really happy to just run 4 miles at a 12 minute pace. I can get in some weights and some treadmill each week and that is about it, so I don't see anything in my future much longer than a 5 or 10K, at least for the next 3 years or so. Kim and I are on Weight Watchers together, she is trying to lose 8 pounds before I lose 30, I am not sure how that is fair, but I am up for the challenge.
When we moved to Little Rock Kim immediately started her job with the Chamber of Commerce, so I had Kiley and Robyn everyday all day. After the firs day I started looking for a mother's day out program. But I decided to join the gym, they offer childcare while I workout, it was a good trade off. The day we went to sign up I took the girls to Chick-fil-A for breakfast and to play on the playground area while I read the paper and drank coffee. About 5 minutes into the front page Kiley comes out and tells me that Robyn has pooped. I asked her how she knew and she told me she could see it! I knew this was BAD, but didn't know how bad. When I got Robyn out of the play area (I really hope they clean them each day) and got her to the bathroom I realized I had left the wipes out of the bag. I stripped Robyn and threw away some of her clothes there and just got her home to the bath and re-dressed. After that Kiley, Robyn, and I went to join the Little Rock Racquet Club, where we went into a very nice office and filled out paper work. My intention was to get all joined up and then go drop them at the child care area and then go workout. While the lady left the room to get our I.D. cards Kiley, said, "Dad I have a brown spot on my shirt", I asked her if it was chocolate and she lifted it up to her nose and said, "No it's POOP!, I said are you sure she said yes, and I asked how she got poop on her shirt, (which I had not noticed for 3 hours) and she said she "must have gotten too close when she tried to help Robyn) So there I am in the office at the Racquet Club, about to go workout and drop a kid with poop on her shirt off to play with other kids in the childcare area, trying to get my 4 year old to stop yelling, "I have poop on my shirt!" so that no one else will know that I am a horrible dad....We went home, but we did go back, with a new shirt on.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Journey
Journey has been the theme of my blog for some time now. Losing weight and keeping it off is a constant battle. I had great success at first and have put on some weight over the last year, that I am working at getting back off, but overall feel good about the understanding I have gained about myslef throughout the process.
I have realized that focus is one of the greatest keys for me to do anything well. When I was able to focus on weight loss it went great, when I through in school, work, running for city-council, and applying to law school, somethings got less focus than others. To a great extent grades were the primary focus right after work and family. I am happy to let you know that the grades have paid off and today I was admitted to law school. UALR Bowen School of Law in Little Rock is a great fit for my family and looks like the best overall choice when we put in the many factors we are considering. I tell you this becasue it is an important day, but one that came becasue of this weight loss journey.
I remeber running with my friend Greg one day and telling him how losing weight and getting in better shape made me feel like I could do so much more. It helped me the confidence to go back and finish up my bacholors degree, through that journey I was encouraged by numerous professors and friends to conisder law school. Today is not the end of my health journey, but I think it is a mile post that must be recognized. Because of my health journey my legal journey starts in August.
I have realized that focus is one of the greatest keys for me to do anything well. When I was able to focus on weight loss it went great, when I through in school, work, running for city-council, and applying to law school, somethings got less focus than others. To a great extent grades were the primary focus right after work and family. I am happy to let you know that the grades have paid off and today I was admitted to law school. UALR Bowen School of Law in Little Rock is a great fit for my family and looks like the best overall choice when we put in the many factors we are considering. I tell you this becasue it is an important day, but one that came becasue of this weight loss journey.
I remeber running with my friend Greg one day and telling him how losing weight and getting in better shape made me feel like I could do so much more. It helped me the confidence to go back and finish up my bacholors degree, through that journey I was encouraged by numerous professors and friends to conisder law school. Today is not the end of my health journey, but I think it is a mile post that must be recognized. Because of my health journey my legal journey starts in August.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Down a couple
I have not had the chance to really blog that I thought I would, but I have lost a couple of pounds since last I blogged.
I graduate from Arkansas State University on Saturday with my B.A. in Philosophy. I have taken 12-15 hours each semester and 6-9 in the summers for the last year and a half to finish up my degree. To say the least it has taken some time and energy that I would have normally put into working out or eating well. Between school, work, family, and applying to law school I have been a little busy. But my last final is Thursday and I should have a little more time to put into getting more healthy. It is a few years later than I had hoped, about nine to tell you the truth, but better late than never. The plan is to start law school in the fall, again, better late than never. I am going to take this time between now and August to work on getting into the best shape of my life. I hope to start law school at my lowest adult weight and to have finished a half-ironman just before the start of school. So 3 pounds down towards that goal and just another 45 or so to go!!
I graduate from Arkansas State University on Saturday with my B.A. in Philosophy. I have taken 12-15 hours each semester and 6-9 in the summers for the last year and a half to finish up my degree. To say the least it has taken some time and energy that I would have normally put into working out or eating well. Between school, work, family, and applying to law school I have been a little busy. But my last final is Thursday and I should have a little more time to put into getting more healthy. It is a few years later than I had hoped, about nine to tell you the truth, but better late than never. The plan is to start law school in the fall, again, better late than never. I am going to take this time between now and August to work on getting into the best shape of my life. I hope to start law school at my lowest adult weight and to have finished a half-ironman just before the start of school. So 3 pounds down towards that goal and just another 45 or so to go!!
Monday, November 10, 2008
UPDATE
Do you want my really good excuses as to why I have been out of touch for some time now? Well I have some really good ones, but I won't go into detail here, only that I have been super busy and blogging has not made my top 50 on the priority list in a while, unfortunatly neither has working out or eating well.
I started this whole weight loss journey around 380 pounds, my lowest was around 240 back in April or so of 2007. Today I weigh 280, so that is a net loss of 100 pounds and a horrible relization that I have gained about 40 pounds. I can't tell you how angery I am at myslef for allowing this to happen, but the main thing is that I start the journey of getting it off. Speaking of journey I was reading back through some of my older post and realized how much I wrote about being on a journey. I can tell that lately I feel like I am either there or not and that there is no in between. This is the kind of thinking that has me do super good one week and lose 10pounds, only to gain it back the next weekend.
I am on a journey and I have some new benchmarks to help me realize my weight goals. My first step is to just get back in the gym at least 2 times a week to do some lifting. My second mandate is to run or bike at least 3 times a week. My third and probalby most important step is to take in 2000 or less calories a day. By sticking to these simple priorities I hope to start losing weight weekly once again. I also plan to set a race goal soon, perhaps the Country Music 1/2 marathon (this was my goal two years ago when I started this journey) in April and some 5ks along the way.
The main thing is that I can no longer lose integrity with myslef by failing to follow through on the one aspect of life that should be a very high priority and that is health. I hope to have some good weight loss news by this time next week and maybe even report a workout or eating update along the way.
I started this whole weight loss journey around 380 pounds, my lowest was around 240 back in April or so of 2007. Today I weigh 280, so that is a net loss of 100 pounds and a horrible relization that I have gained about 40 pounds. I can't tell you how angery I am at myslef for allowing this to happen, but the main thing is that I start the journey of getting it off. Speaking of journey I was reading back through some of my older post and realized how much I wrote about being on a journey. I can tell that lately I feel like I am either there or not and that there is no in between. This is the kind of thinking that has me do super good one week and lose 10pounds, only to gain it back the next weekend.
I am on a journey and I have some new benchmarks to help me realize my weight goals. My first step is to just get back in the gym at least 2 times a week to do some lifting. My second mandate is to run or bike at least 3 times a week. My third and probalby most important step is to take in 2000 or less calories a day. By sticking to these simple priorities I hope to start losing weight weekly once again. I also plan to set a race goal soon, perhaps the Country Music 1/2 marathon (this was my goal two years ago when I started this journey) in April and some 5ks along the way.
The main thing is that I can no longer lose integrity with myslef by failing to follow through on the one aspect of life that should be a very high priority and that is health. I hope to have some good weight loss news by this time next week and maybe even report a workout or eating update along the way.
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