We're Still Here!

No, we haven't fallen off the face of the planet, but we have been too "bogged" down to "blog". :) (Lame, I know!) Anyway, here are a few things the have been going on in our little world...

1. Michael turned 7 months old and christened it with the emergence of two adorable bottom teeth. Yes, two at the exact same time - poor kid! He has developed a strong aversion to baby food and would prefer to dine on turkey, green beans and mashed potatoes like us regular people. He fusses so badly watching me fit colorful morsels of varies sizes and textures into my mouth while he has to endure mush-like carrots, peas and the likes. No, not even a teething biscuit will suffice. He must sense it is meant for babies and will therefor get very little satisfaction from it. I remember this well. My other children preferred to graduate to more adult-like food very soon after food was even introduced into their diet, so to speak. I like it better this way, anyhow. Less baby food to purchase and I can move right on to simply mashing up normal food or cooking vegetables a little longer to make them softer for him, or giving him tiny pieces off my plate. (Please withhold your comments about how you made your own baby food. It will only make me feel inferior as I know I should, but opt out instead for convenience - hey, it's organic now, organic!)

2. I have officially gotten down to "pre-Michael" weight. Now, as that is something to rejoice about I still was carrying around about 4 pounds more than I care to, so I'm still working on it, but I'm so happy all the extra from the previous pregnancy is OFF!!! (sure took long enough...grumble, grumble)

3. Seth is enjoying his MMA classes and I must say is doing smashingly (pun intended...sort-of:). Previously he'd come back and tell me he got tapped out hundreds of times but now he's telling me he's tapping all these other guys out and hardly getting tapped out himself. I knew he'd be a natural at this! Also, there is a guy there almost 400lbs and Seth grapples with him and sometimes gets him into submissions! Since Seth is one of the bigger guys in the group he often will "roll" (their termonology for grappling) with this guy though others refuse. Seth knows working with a bigger guy will improve his skills and strength.

4. My precious girls are just that - girls. The enjoy giggling, dressing up, baking cookies, coloring and playing pretend. They also adore Michael and smother him with their efforts be "momma". Katrina is always talking about us having lots more babies and when she grows up having a lot too! Shiona is still learning about being the big sister and is becoming quite the little helper.

5. Oh yeah, I turn *coughs* 27 *coughs* a few weeks back. Seems like all the sudden I sound older, like an actual adult instead of a "youth" though I certainly never see myself like that. I think I stopped aging in my mind at 20 or so.

So, to end this I will add a few holiday pics of us. We had a wonderful time visiting with siblings that live far away or go to college and hanging out with friends and family that we love.

Ok, weird. Strike that last paragraph. Apparently I haven't downloaded the holiday pics from my camera yet. Oh well...later!

Holidays

Well, we've already had quite a busy few weeks and it's not even Christmas yet! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at my Uncle and Aunt's beautiful new home. Some relatives from out of town flew in and even Mary's boyfriend's family (the Bowmens) spent Thanksgiving in NC celebrating with all of us Graydons and some Dienstfreis. It was a lot of fun and Seth set up something special for the kids in the evening. He built a blazing fire in the large fireplace in my father's courtyard and then bought graham crackers, hershys and marshmallows and told Bible stories while the kids enjoyed s'mores. It was so fun that eventually everyone join in...right around the time we had to leave to get the kids to bed. :( That's life as a parent, though.

We then enjoyed another Thanksgiving at the Robinson's with the Westbrooks. It's such fun getting together with the Westbrooks. Kristen and I love to visit, especially when Mom (Mrs. Robinson) can join us as well. And the children play, play, play like there is no tomorrow. Kristen initiated a jog for us ladies while Seth and Chris (Seth's cousin) watched all 7 children! We jogged for about a mile then I had to drop out to check on Michael (so I said :) but Kristen and Mrs. Robinson continued for another couple miles, I think. Such stamina!

Next, we left very suddenly for a quick trip to New Bern with some of my family. It was like a mini vacation. We love New Bern. The kids always say they want to move there! Anyway, it was fun except I actually felt under the weather for a day. Seth let me sleep a lot and I think that helped me be able to kick it quickly.

And now for the exciting news...several, in fact.

1. Seth is beginning to take some MMA (mixed martial arts) classes here in Danville. A school just opened up and I really encouraged Seth to try it out since it is such a passion of his. He went several night this past week and loved it! I rarely see him get so excited, but he really is enjoying this. However, he has already sustained several injuries. It isn't so much because of inexperience as it is grappling with a 380lb guy! Yep, and since Seth is such a trooper he wouldn't say no! He has done it several times, but this time he suffered a shoulder separation and now has to rest up for a while. Seth's naturally very good at this sort of thing. The guy even asked him if he was a ringer (someone who is experienced, but claims they aren't)!

2. And on to the even more monumental news...Mary is engaged to Fred Bowmen! Yes, it finally happened and we are so happy for them. They are looking at a wedding possibly in late April. I absolutely love weddings, especially when it is my sister's! I'm looking forward to helping out any way I can. Yay!

3. Michael turned 6 months old today! He is so precious and has already enjoyed eating solids, sitting for brief periods without support, rolling over, reaching for toys and holding onto them for long periods of time, babbling and many more little feats!

Ok, so I am going to attempt to upload a few pics. I really need to get good at this because picture make a blog post SO WAY more interesting (or so I think when I read other people's blogs).

Here is me and Michael at the Robinsons



Mom and Kristen (notice Seth doing dishes in the background? He's terrific!)



A Graydon, Robinson, Dienstfrei family photo!


My wonderful parents



Haley holding her nephew - both beautiful!


My baby boy is 6 months old!


Seth reading stories to the kids on Thanksgiving


Katrina and Shiona with Abby

A Week of Colds

I wrote this Monday, but didn't get around to posting it till today (Friday) Sorry!

So, this past week began with high hopes for different goals and projects to be accomplished, but was quickly detoured by a bout of sickness. Michael was the first to show signs of sickness then a couple days later Shiona was hit hard. Katrina barely showed anything beyond restless nights and congestion. So basically this past week was a blur of sleepless nights and what we like to call "sicky bears". I know any mother has experienced this scenario countless times over, so details are unnecessary. All I will say is that I felt sleep-deprived for the better part of the past week. Thankfully my wonderful husband was able to help out and I got several badly needed naps! Also, the children didn't catch anything beyond a typical cold. I'm so thankful to the Lord for sparing us from a bad virus or even the flu! Actually Michael and Shiona only seemed miserable one day each and like I said earlier Katrina barely appeared sick save a few symptoms. But symptoms linger for a long time, so we're still seeing runny noses and congestion.

So now that the kids are getting better Seth is getting worse! Poor man! He probably wore himself out helping me so much with the children. Unfortunately he just so happens to be starting a new job this week. Wouldn't you know it? He's been taking it easy and not taking a lot of jobs lately, but as soon as he gets one going he might have to put it off for a week. Oh well, God's timing isn't ours, but it IS perfect!

So, with the lack of sleep and the tending to sick children I really didn't have all that much time to exercise. I tried to fit in a small exercise routine in every day, but it wound up being less than half an hour usually and sometimes no more than 15 minutes. I mostly used my kettlebell and only did Burn it Up once this past week. However, I was still checking the scale every now and then and it showed I lost another pound. BUT, when I officially weighed myself Monday I was back to 107. I think maybe the other readings were due to dehydration because I wasn't drinking a lot of water. Anyhow, I'm rebooting back to week 4 since I don't consider last week part of the Slim in Six.

And I'm signing off...

What's up, Doc?

Well, things have been pretty fun here lately. We've done the whole pumpkin patch, corn maze, hikes in the woods with the fallen leaves crunching under our shoes and many other fall-related activities. It's been such beautiful weather and we're trying to enjoy it as much as possible.

Seth recently injured his right ankle. We think he tore a ligament, so he's been down for a few days. He doesn't complain much, but I know it hurt him a lot. However, he is a very fast healer and is already up and around more than I would have thought at this stage of recovery.

I'm on my second week of Slim in 6. Yes, I've lost one more pound, so now I am at 107. Still was hoping for 2 pounds. I worked out 5 days and even worked out twice on Saturday. However, I know for a fact I ate a lot more than I should have two days in a row. I felt very hungry and didn't make very nutritious decisions, either. I know I was kind-of shooting myself in the foot by doing that. This week I am supposed to begin the "Burn It Up" section of the exercise program. It is very intense and an hour long. It is hard enough to find 45 minutes, let alone a whole hour that is uninterrupted. I've been doing a lot of my workouts in the evenings when the children are asleep, but I don't like that as much because it takes away from my time with Seth, which I always look forward to and relish. He's been so sweet to sacrifice that time with me too and he has sometimes even joined me in the exercises! I also picked up a 15lb kettlebell that I can use when I need to just get a quickie in.

The children are doing just beautifully. So far no one has caught any of the sickness going around. The Lord has been very gracious to us! However, I have a sneaking suspicion that Michael may be coming down with something this evening. Poor guys. His nose was dripping a little bit and he seemed out of sorts. I pray it is nothing serious.

Schooling with Katrina has been difficult this past week or two. I don't know how it happened, but it seemed like I got really behind in all the household chores and couldn't find time to get much schooling in. Hopefully this week will go better. It is so much fun to see her try to sound out every word she sees now. She is really trying to read! I'm so excited for her!

Michael is still not rolling over! It is soooo cute to see him try. I think it is harder for him because he is heavier than my girls were at his age. He is still such a good, content baby. He smiles at his daddy all the time and gets a kick out of the girl's silliness. He seems to be getting pretty strong and I can tell sitting is just around the corner! He had his first hair cut tonight. I just trimmed the long part on the top of his head that was looking like a mohawk (sp?)! He also has discovered food and really protests when we are eating and he can't enjoy some little tidbits. :)

Shiona has discovered the joys of solitude. She has recently begun finding a quite spot and playing by herself for hours. I think she enjoys the fact that she can play and not be bossed around by her older sister. She loves pretending she has a little family and they are almost always Uncle Jonathan, Aunt Denise and Elyana. Whenever I offer to join in she tells me I can be Uncle Jonathan! I think it is good for her to play by herself, but I also don't want her to seclude herself for too long and not cooperate with her sister or interact with the family. She is responding better to my corrections and I've noticed her "memory" of things I tell her to do or not to do has improved lately.

Well, it is late and I haven't exercised this evening. I don't know if I'll make it through the Burn It Up tonight, but I'm off to try.

Wish me a good nights sleep - or better yet, wish Michael one! :)

Slim in 5 :)

Ok, so here is the update how my exercise program is going:

I after this past week of beginning Slim in 6 I have lost a grand total of (drum roll, please)..........1 pound. Ha! I was hoping for two, but I'll take what I can get. The first week is pretty easy and not very intense, plus I am trying to not cut my calories too low so my milk supply won't drop. I exercised 5 out of 7 days. I'll let you know how it goes this week.

Karen

Slim in 6

I love this program I got after Katrina was born. It is by Beach Body and it is called Slim in 6. It is a six week work out program that has done wonders in helping me get back in to shape after Katrina and Shiona (except, with Shiona the birth control I used made me gain a lot back!) :( Well, I've been trying to do it after Michael. Let me say that with having a third child and beginning to school Katrina it has made it very difficult to find time to exercise. (Most of the routines last 45 minutes to an hour!) So, I am redoubling my efforts and trying again. I began Monday and have been watching my diet very carefully (like I did after my girls were born). Already I have seen a 1lb difference, but I'm not too thrilled because I've seen my scale trick me before (Yes, it is ALL the scale's fault! *sniffs indignantly*). Anyway, I will give periodic updates and let you guys know how it goes this time around. I'm currently at 19% body fat (estimated) and weigh 109lbs. My goal is to be 14-15% body fat and weigh between 100 - 103lbs. This may seem very low to a lot of you guys, but I know my body and I know when I look good - plus I am barely 5'. 100 is not too low for me, especially when I make sure I've got muscle and not bones protruding. Wish me luck - I'm on the way to getting slim in 6!

Pictures!!!

We've got some red-eye, but she is still so precious!




Here is the promised picture of Michael in the Johnny-Jump-Up...
(Sorry it took so long, Catherine :)




Katrina and Shiona are best friends - and Shiona is actually posing in this one - shocker!