Who needs sleep...

when we could be watching Cinderella III? At six in the morning? Actually, we woke up at 5:20 this morning, but it us took until six to get the movie started. In the meantime we (meaning me) cleaned sheets, changed a diaper, cleaned more sheets, changed another diaper, wiped down a mattress, changed another diaper...do you see where I'm heading with this? Just when we thought Xander was over his stomach flu it's taken a nasty turn south and is trying to force his tiny little body to do things it was never meant to do. I was lucky, though, because as I was cleaning I kept thinking "this could be SO MUCH WORSE". I know what Worse looks like, and fortunately this wasn't it. I'm also very glad that not only did Mom make a new set of sheets for Xander's bed, but that they weren't on his bed when his butt exploded.

A lot of you (okay, all three of you) have asked about how I plan on working out indoors. At my job we've talked a lot about having a workout room put in for the employees and their families. After Christmas we ordered this ridiculously large treadmill which should be coming this week, and hopefully other equipment will be following soon. Because I get off work half an hour before everyone else does I'll be able to work out in the afternoons, except for on the days that David works at 4:30. David also set up a little "guy corner" downstairs where he has a TV, XBox, stereo system, and his guitar. There's even a little area rug (to give it that home-y touch), so on the days I can't exercise at work, I can do core exercises or yoga downstairs.

Again, the big hurdle in all of this is me. My laziness, my busyness, my love of all things food. The weirdest thing is that I have never really tried to lose a specific amount of weight before, so this is feeling like a larger task than it really is. If only I could get the stomach flu, that would make this all so much easier!

Speaking of well-rounded...

Wow. That's a "Before" picture if I've ever seen one. I'm not a huge believer in New Year's resolutions, but seeing this picture on January 2nd has inspired something within me. Well, first I threw up in my mouth a little, but afterwards while brushing my teeth I thought to myself "I could probably do something about that". Then we watched Dr. Phil, and although I generally find him overbearing and self-righteous I genuinely enjoyed the episode. It was about New Year's resolutions (shocking!) and he gave a sort of checklist for people who seriously want to make a change in their lives. Besides something about willpower I don't actually remember what was on the checklist so I made my own, which I'll share with you in a minute. I also told Dave, which is great but also stinks because unlike that stereotypical, in-one-ear-and-out-the-other husband, he actually heard me and will actually hold me to it. Which will be awesome. Most of the time. Anyway, here's the list:

1. Keep a realistic food journal.

2. Always eat breakfast before walking out the door. This means getting up earlier.

3. Develop a realistic indoor exercise routine.

4. Decide to be okay with sweating, hurting, failing, and standing up again.

5. Tell everyone! Nothing like a little global accountability.

6. Ask for God's help every single day. He knows me best, He know what will trip me up, and only by His grace will I have any sort of followthrough.

My other brilliant idea, besides telling David, was to create some sort of "contract" that included a little motivation. So, here's the motivation: I have until April 28th to get to my goal weight. I will not buy any new clothes until April 28th (seriously). If I don't get to my goal weight by April 28th I will not buy any new clothes for myself until AUGUST (seriously). And in case any of you are wondering if the pink-eye has spread to my brain, we're only talking about 15 pounds. That's enough to be a challenge, but not too much considering our limited resources. Wish me lunch, I mean, luck!

And the beat goes on...

So, yes, it has been almost a month since my last post. In the meantime we have had four birthday cakes, one Christmas, one foray into ice-fishing, and TWO trips to Whitehorse, not to mention pink-eye, the stomach flu, runny noses, and topped it all off with a plethora of presents, laughs, and yummy food. We had SUCH a good time with Mom and Dad. We sewed, we ate, we played a kickin' game of Canasta, we ate some more. They were surprisingly relaxed for the over-achievers we all know they to be. It was a dream come true to spend Christmas with them, considering that I went through all the trouble to guilt them away from Sarah and her oh-so-boring Japan (yawn) so they could truly experience our Winter Wonderland. However, I have to admit that as I was making my first trip up to Whitehorse through a snowstorm with my precious Felicity watching Shrek in the back seat I wondered to myself "was it really worth risking my life and the life of my children so that I could have the Christmas I wanted?". Turns out yes, it was. Also, I may have been a teensy bit overdramatic, as the drive to Whitehorse is actually quite lovely.

Felicity turned four on the 18th, and she is four with a vengeance. Being right all the time never felt so good. Xander also feels the same way about being TWO. I mean, why do anything half-baked when you can really throw yourself into tantrums, throwing food, and smacking your sister every two and a half minutes? Seriously, he is committed to experiencing ALL that TWO has to offer, and he's going to come out the other end of this year a more diverse, well-rounded individual.

Here's some pictures from our various adventures.

In case you're wondering, that's not dirt. It's blood.

This picture was taken at noon, when we have the most light.