Monday, February 23, 2009

Down by the Station

Click to play this Smilebox invite:

Since January is a month of new beginnings and I was in a group joining mood, I also joined a fabulous mom's group. I've met some great moms and their little ones. There is such a variety of ages, and so far I've taken Devin and Donovan to a meetup EACH. My favorite meetups are the coffee ones, with or without kids. Since I work full-time, I am not able to attend during the week, but it's a great group that has playdates and other activities going on almost every day for those that do stay at home with their children. There are a few moms that work outside of the home like me and need that "get out of the house" moment or two.


This past weekend we were able to tour a Fire Station. It was really neat to see. Daddy came along too. I've never seen a room with so many La-Z-Boy recliners in my life. Gosh, these firefighters really know how to be comfy! The kids got to watch a cartoon video on their big flat-screen TV while us moms reclined. Ahhhhh! Dominic raised his hand to answer a question at the end of the video - a proud mommy moment. We then saw the rest of the station and headed out to see the trucks. The compartments were opened to show all of the equipment that is stored in them. The kids then got to climb through the cab of the fire truck. It's a big climb to get in there! Unfortunately, but rather excitingly, the station got a call and had to go. Honestly, I saw the Ambulance take off and never noticed anyone getting in it... they were that fast! Off they went (neat!) and we were left with one lone fireman to show us the sleeping quarters and weight room.

The boys were getting restless and we headed over to the playground right next to the station. While we were there, the crew had returned from their call. Oh well. We had a great time AND great weather!

Saturday, February 21, 2009

I'm a Movin' Mama!

Moms In Motion Elk Grove Winter'09 Team

Do we look hot or what? Actually it's 40 degrees or so at 7:00 in the morning. And we're not smiling, we're grinning from the frigid air!

I joined a local Moms In Motion group last month in search of some camaraderie and some level of fitness. This team was a perfect match. Our group trains for 8 weeks to accomplish a couple goals: first, to fight childhood obesity and raise funds for a local community organization (NADA); and second, to complete a 5K, whether it be by walking or running. We are comprised of all levels of fitness experience and mommy experience, too!

So, these past few Saturdays, I've managed to sneak out of the house to meet up with these fine ladies for a workout at 7:00 in the morning. (Did I mention, we meet up for coffee afterwards? I'm so there!) We have a schedule to follow during the week on our own, while our Saturdays are reserved for our hard-core workouts - 2.25 miles today, thank you very much!! We are building up to run (or walk) at our culminating event at the end of March, the Nutrition Fuels Fitness Run. Then, we get to party!

How am I doing? I'm moving! Walking outdoors is SO much different than walking (or running) on a treadmill, which I do during the week in the evening. I'm proud to say, though I'm not a full-time runner (yet!) I am pushing myself to complete each predetermined distance. Timing's an issue to work on later. I'm in no hurry!

Check out a group near you! I'm already planning on signing up for the next mission.

Hands in for our cheer!


Photos by MIM member and photographer, Alyson Viducich.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

250th Post - Why I blog!

What a perfect subject for a blog post and what perfect timing! Here's my 250th post!!! Since our WDW trip this past December, what could top that? Hence the reason for my lack of subject material lately. Also, you wouldn't want to hear my soap box on antibiotics and the kid that is immune to ALL of them. So I give you....

I blame Kristie for my blogging addiction, always have. In anticipation of the birth of my twin nieces, her blog was definitely worthy of reading... still is! So, what could I possibly blog about? My Three Wild Ones? - which actually started out before #3 came along and was titled "This Blog's For Me!".
I blog because...
  1. I think I'm funny. I'm my biggest blog fan and can attest to being the one putting the most hits on it -- which is why I don't have a "counter" on it. I'd be sure to count for 98% of my total.
  2. I have 3 boys who are blogworthy, funny, crazy and can sometimes drive this momma insane. So, why not blog about it?
  3. I'm bored at work. Heck, I'm blocked from youTube and I've mastered FreeCell and Solitaire. Blogging while bored is a sign of the construction industry. We're slow!
  4. Photography. I stink at it, but there's nothing like sharing a picture that tells a thousand words, right?
  5. It's a way to show the rest of the family (and friends, and unknowns) what we've been up to. Nevermind the fact we spend nearly every weekend with family anyways!
  6. It's my children's babybook.
  7. It's my excuse for not doing that load of laundry, that sink full of dishes or that mileage on the treadmill.
  8. It gives me freedom!

Why do you blog? Want to see some other great answers to this question? Visit the MommyCommunity site to see what others have to say!

Happy Blogging!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Day 7 - Our last full day of play

This is it. This post will conclude the WDW series of posts, because I am anxious to get back to the now and current! Day 8 was just a boring travel day anyway - no blogworthy material there. As I begin to "draft" this blog post, Supermom Kelli is packing (HA!) for her great escape to Walt Disney World. Go check out her blog, because she is just so crafty and such a cool mom AND she's a mom to 3 boys too! Have a fantastic time Kelli and keep that camera handy (but NOT on top of the stroller!) I look forward to your WDW posts when you return. I'm so jealous!

Donovan (with the beginning of pinkeye), Bianca and Dominic

Our last and final full day of fun was playing catch-up on things we didn't get around to, but were in the plan. The one "must do" item on our list was yet to be done. The planning for this trip all started when Rudy was watching the Food Network, Disney Channel or Travel Channel (I can't remember!) and he saw WDW all decked out for the holidays with huge authentic gingerbread houses being decorated in the lobby of one of the resorts - either the Polynesian or the Grand Floridian. This was his dream. Seeing such intricate detailing on these "homes" caught his eyes and tickled his tastebuds and the family trip was born. Two years later, we make it happen....

This particular Saturday morning, a week since our trip began, we set out to see these two resorts in particular. Knowing we had to go back to finish Epcot for the rest of the day, we parked at the Transportation and Ticket Center and boarded the monorail to the resorts. We first came to the Polynesian Resort. Not much excitement here, although the souvenir shop was a hit! The decor was very tropical and had that island feel. Onward to the Grand Floridian. This was a beautiful resort from what part we did see. Here, they had one huge gingerbread house - nothing like what was seen on TV, but one nonetheless. Pictures were taken and a replica house was purchased for us to bring home (and eventually devour). Forget not, Epcot...

With house in hand, we head back to the Transportation Center to catch the monorail that takes us to Epcot. Security made Rudy open his specially packed house. Grrr! We left it and our other packages at Package Pick-Up to retrieve at the end of our day. A great service to spend the day package-free and less worrying about having them all.

After a quick (everyone goes) ride on The Seas with Nemo and Friends, we were off to travel the world... at the World Showcase of course. We had a lot of ground to cover and countries to visit. We spent more time in some areas of the world than others.

Passing through Canada, Bianca spots this North Pole native.

Could it be? Stopping for some fish and chips in the United Kingdom,
we hear the sound of this famous quartet.

They were fun. Donovan was in guitar-heaven.

Isn't she lovely? - why, it's Mary Poppins of course!
She was complete with her English accent and proper manners.

We breezed by France and came upon Morocco, where there were a few time-consuming sights. While a few of us were waiting to see Beauty and the Beast, the (bigger) boys went to check out the belly dancer's moves on display. We must have just timed it right, because we were lucky enough to see Aladdin, Jasmine and the Genie too!

I love the beauty in these koi fish. This huge pond was located in Japan, where we watched Taiko drummers perform and found a few souvenirs to purchase.

They amaze me...their size, their colors. Perhaps it's just the tranquility?

After Japan, we were upon The U.S.A. Pavilion. The sun was beginning to set and we were realizing we'd only traveled halfway through and there were many more countries to visit. The boys loved watching the trains that were chugging around the huge Christmas tree.

We had to represent our Italian heritage. Not much to do here in Italy, but pose for photos!

We pass a few beer-drinkin' folks in the Germany Pavilion and quickly breeze by China in route to find the restroom in Norway's Pavilion. It was now dark and not much to see. Our world travels concluded in Mexico. We were seranated by mariachis as we found some sombreros for the boys. There were plenty of streetlike vendors in this area, however, I'm sure they wouldn't accept bartaring. Bianca was "crowned" in the jewelry store and played Princess for the rest of the evening. Imitating It's a Small World, Grandma and Papa Gertie, Grandma Carmen and Bianca rode on The Gran Fiesta Tour boat ride. I'm sad I missed out on it, but felt it was best to stick with my irritable boys at this point. This concluded our worldly adventures.

Our final attraction was to see
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. Funny, looking at its description now, I wish I would have taken this more seriously: "This show may be scary for children and those with animal phobias." Put rats and snakes in the same setting and we're going to freak out. Teenagers would love this stuff! Coming to the realization that our vacation was ending, we slowly forced ourselves toward the exit, calling it a day.

I am now putting the finishing touches on this post and excited to publish it BEFORE Kelli returns with her family from WDW. Now I can sit back and see what adventures she has had.