Fit by 40 - Goal 3: Exercise 3x a week

Goal 2 of fixing breakfast was a success. Breakfast the first week was mostly hard boiled eggs and energy balls. Then things got a little busy and I didn't keep up with boiling eggs and I didn't get to make a second batch of energy balls, so I had to punt a few days. Breakfast on those days was a granola bar, a cheese stick, and an apple. Still considerably better than a daily heart attack in a sack from McDonald's.

Goal 3 is to start exercising. I've had a good month of making some dietary changes and now I want to bring in some physical effort. Hopefully this will give my first two changes a chance to become more automatic. I'm not going to lie, I've had a few Coke cravings and came close to giving in. As for the exercise, I'm going to focus on walking since that's relatively easy to incorporate and I can take Gunnar along with me. Freeman could use the walks too. I'll probably throw in a couple of bike rides if the weather is nice.

Stats after Goal 2:

• Weight: 223.8 lbs (down 4.2 lbs total)
• Pants size: 38 (no change; I did manage to squeeze into a size 36, but it was tight)
• Shirt size: XL (no change)

The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight

Last year, I had the Halloween I have been dreaming about for years.  And it wasn't because I was taking my two year old out for trick-or-treating.  It was because our new neighborhood is amazing.

Have you ever seen Hocus Pocus?  Or Ernest Scared Stupid?  Or pretty much any kiddie Halloween movie or TV show?  All those neighborhoods are amazing.  Tons of kids in the streets running around in their costumes getting candy.  All the houses decorated.  Parents dressed up and heading to parties.  Everyone having a good time.  Everyone enjoying the festivities.  I've always wanted to live in a place where everyone, or almost everyone, is excited about the same thing.  A place where you can drop your kids off and you know nothing will happen to them.  Well, last night, after crossing the street to the connecting neighborhood, Gunnar and I walked into just that.

There were so many people.  Houses had lines of kids waiting for their piece of candy.  Kids were running around having fun.  You could hear screaming from the houses that went all out (I'm talking people dressed up and hanging out in their front yards) and see all the lights flashing.  I've never seen anything like it.  I wondered if our neighborhood was going to get as much foot traffic, we weren't as decorated as this block and our houses were spaced farther apart.  But they were crossing the street in small groups heading our way.  I asked if Kevin would stay behind and hand out our candy.  He did, and Gunnar and I went to do a round of trick-or-treating.

When we got back to the house, all the lights were on and there was a line heading to our door.  It's a testament to the kids' desire to get free candy, all of them were climbing the large hill to our front door.  Next year, I plan to pull out all the stops for decorating.  I want our side of the street to be just as popular as the other side. 

Cheers!

Gunnar trick-or-treats in style

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Haus of Kendi!

Cutest little scarecrow ever!

The Bear Den #5

It's been a while since the last update.  Gunnar is full on into two years old.  Some days he's the sweetest little chatter box you will ever meet.  Other days he's a tiny tyrant.  But every day he is a little boy.  I have to stop referring to him as a baby because he is not that anymore.  He's become more responsible around the house.  He is expected to help clean up his toys and put his hat, coat and shoes away when he comes home from school.  He even helps with the grown up chores, like sweeping, every now and then.

Papa made him a "tower" for his birthday which helps him reach the level of the kitchen counters. He likes being up there when Kevin and I are in the kitchen making dinner. Gunnar will help get ingredients from the pantry and fridge for his favorite meal, PB&J.  He will pick out a plate and when his meal is ready, he climbs into his highchair all by himself. He's also turned his tower into a mini jungle gym.  

Gunnar talks ALL the time now.  He is way ahead of his class on vocabulary.  He can be sassy and incredibly sweet.  He also gets an attitude and he can be a smartass sometimes. But he has good manners so we're going in the right direction.  Plus, he's quite charming and he knows it.  It makes it very difficult to be mad at him when he flashes his cute little smile. He also loves to sing.  At bedtime we sing Baby Beluga, Watermelons (Down by the Bay) and Ants (The Ants Go Marching).  In the tub it's Row, Row, Row Your Boat and The More We Get Together.  When Dada is taking him to school, there is always a rendition of The Wheels on the Bus.    

There are also high fives, fist bumps, hugs, blowing kisses, raspberries and tickles.  He says goodbye to all his teachers and friends by name.  But we need to work on just Mommy and Dada disciplining the dogs and he still hits when he gets really mad.  We read books every night and watch our favorite cartoons which include Bubble Guppies, Sofia the First, Clifford, Chugginton and Thomas and Friends.  We've settled into a routine and I think it's helping all of us a great deal.

We are very slowly and surely getting settled into our new home.  Gunnar's room and play room are the spaces the most complete.  Then the dining room.  I'm trying to decide on how I want to decorate the master bedroom but it is so hard because I like so many looks.  We were getting a lot done during the summer when Kevin worked 4-10s.  But he is back to his school schedule so a lot of the work has slowed down.  Aaaaaannnnddd....Kevin started classes for his PhD!!  It has been quite an adjustment but we've got the hang of it now.  So, hopefully, in 4-5 years, we will have a doctor in the house.  :)

That's all for now!

Cheers!

Gunnar's 2nd Birthday - Part 2

Here's the party!  It was a monster theme.  Lots of pinterest projects and a whole day to get ready.  I'm happy, for the most part, about how everything turned out.  Some projects were better than others. It was the first time we had people over to the new house so I was stressed beyond belief.  I got all ambitious and invited people I work with...including my boss.  Everything had to look great.  I think people had a good time.  Gunnar made out like a bandit again this year.  

Cheers!

Here are the details:

These looked like bacteria to me

The goodie table.  The stuffed monsters were from Ikea and were a $1!

Monster bubbles.  So easy!

I'm going to try and make a photo number every year.

Both entries were turned into monsters.  The big orange monster is our bookcase covered in fleece.

Not the best picture of the cake, but there were monsters around the food and the frame with his picture was a monster too. 

This was a complete pain in the butt to make...

Here's the Photo Booth this year!

And here's the fun!

Like I said, spoiled!

Opening presents is serious business!

Gunnar's 2nd Birthday - Part 1

For Gunnar's second birthday, we took the day off of work to go to Sea Life Aquarium at Great Lakes Crossing.  We had never been there before and I heard good things about it.  It was small but they had really nice exhibits.  There were quite a few of those bubbles that you crawl into that put you into the action of the animals.  The touch pool was nice but my favorite was the tunnel and the big bowl that had the stingrays.  Some were trying to jump out!  

After the aquarium, we walked around the mall.  Gunnar played for a while on all the riding toys that cost a fortune.  We had A&W for lunch and he played in the kids playground and had a lot of fun there.  Then we went home.  It was a good day.  :)

Cheers!

Gunnar's First Birthday - Part 2

On the eve of Gunnar's second birthday, I realized that I never showed the party from his first birthday!  I was so proud of it.  We worked so hard to make my vision come true.  The theme was " Time Flies" so it was all about airplanes.  Almost all of my projects came out the way I wanted and we had a great group of people to share the day with.  I hope Gunnar looks back on these some day and sees how much he is loved.

Cheers!

Here comes the photobooth!!

Father's Day 2016

I think Kevin had a good Father's Day.  It was kinda hot so we tried to do fun things outside. I got him a hammock so he had to set that up immediately and we went for ice cream at the The Parlour.  They are known for giant sized servings of everything.  It was a fun day.

At The Parlour, Little Man got his very own sundae!

I think Kevin likes his present...

Father's Day pic.  This is the new spot.  (Until I plant some flowering tress by the house :)