FIVE people. FIVE.

Lilly? Lilly turned five yesterday.

(Is this the look of a happy birthday girl, or what?)

My first born. My baby girl. My lovely, silly daughter.

Five means a lot of things.

Being five means being a full hand.

It means choosing sushi for dinner and wearing crazy outfits.

It means starting Kindergarten in July.

Being five? Being five means growing up.

It means a party at the place with the roller coaster.

(It means being big enough to decide NOT to ride said roller coaster)

It means blowing out all the candles.

And big girl toys. Jewelery boxes. Boots. Little mermaid bath toys. New books.

It means teaching Zac what it’s like to be five. And smiling “knowingly” when he states that he is five too. Because being five brings understanding that sometimes it’s ok to let him think he’s five too.

I’m so proud of my five year old girl.
(And, the boy who thinks he’s five too)

It’s no secret that I’m super proud of both of my kids. They are both funny, sweet, well adjusted children. They work hard on having good manners. They play SO well together, often choosing each other over others to play with. They love to read. They love to dance. They make mistakes and get grumpy. Lilly has absolutely perfected “the glare.” Zac can make me want to pull out my hair at bedtime.

So, as Lilly turns five (going on 15), and with Zac not far behind, I look back and wonder just how I got so lucky as to have been blessed with these amazing tiny people.

Happy birthday Lilly. You are so loved.

Photo Credit

I am a runner.

I used to be a runner.

I am sorta kinda a runner… sometimes?

The thing is, I love to run. I love the peacefulness, the challenge, the serenity. I love the way my heart and lungs feel after a run. And, frankly, I like the way my body looks when I run regularly. I like that my kids want to “run like mommy.” I like the camaraderie the runners have with each other.

The problem?

The problem is finding the time to run.

YES, I KNOW THAT TIME IS AN ISSUE FOR EVERYONE. I’m not using this as an excuse to not work out. But the fact is that in a given week I *might* have the opportunity to run once.

This? This is most definitely my choice as I choose NOT to take my two children in a double running stroller for runs. If I felt I were strong enough or that they would enjoy sitting in a stroller for an extended period of time, I might try it. But running with whining, heavy children is not on my list of reasons I like to run.Weird, right?

The point is… I have found something to do instead.

Body Pump.

There is a studio pretty close to my house where they offer Les Mills classes such as Body Pump, Body Combat, Body Flow… you get the point.

I am gaining strength. Gaining muscle. Easing stress and frustration over not running as much as I’d like.

The people? The people there are amazing. Friendly, motivating, encouraging.

Also… they have a playroom. You heard me. A playroom where my kids can play. Yesterday, I asked Lilly and Zac, “would it be ok if mommy went to workout?” (yes, I asked them. Not in the “asking for permission” kind of way, but in truly wanting to know if they were happy playing in the playroom.)

The fact that their eyes lit up and they yelled “yay!” told me everything I needed to know.

In all honestly, really only Lilly actually plays in the playroom. Zac will play with her for a few minutes, but then he stands in the doorway, watching me and the others work out.

He kicks when we kick.
He lifts his arms when we lift weights.
He lunges (and typically falls over) when we lunge.

He works out with me.

So, maybe I’m not a runner anymore for the time being. But, I am working out, which is good for me and a great example for my children.

Now… if only I felt prepared for Ragnar (read about the last time here) or the half marathons I’m already registered for!

GULP

I have tweeted about Pinterest from time to time. For example:

“Pinterest is fun! Except that it makes me feel inadequate”

“Pinterest makes me fat.”

“Dear Pinterest… I hate you.”

In reality, I love Pinterest. Anyone on Pinterest can attest to the fact that there are many things on there that we pin, knowing full well we will never actually buy/create/find.

Ahem:

And, then there are things that I find that I WANT. Bad.

Oh I could go on and on…

Finally, the food. At least in my Pinterest experience, the vast majority of what I see is FOOD. Dangerous people. Very dangerous.

Now, I *have* actually made a few of the things I’ve found on Pinterest. And, truly, I’ve always ended up feeling good about it!

There are so many uses for Pinterest, from killing time to finding great ideas for gifts (like the Valentines that my kids will deliver this year… I’m not sharing those yet!), food, decor.

Do you Pin?
(Even my mom does)

A few weeks ago, my friend Melanie gave me a bracelet that says simply, “Choose Joy.”

It came from HERE. Which is most definitely worth reading.

And, it made me think.

I truly think that for the most part, I look at the happy side of my wonderful life. The easy side. The light side.

Are there negatives that I could focus on? Of course.

Could I write an entire post about the broken garage door, postponed doctors appointments, cluttered house, fighting and whining kids?
How about the trips I’d like to take? The money I’d like to have? The people I’d like to see more?

Yes. Yes I could.

But I don’t. Not because of keeping up appearances. Not because I think anyone would believe that every single moment of this is perfect. Or fun. Or even bearable.

But because I choose joy.

I’ve realized over the past however-many years that life is about choices. More than choosing my actions, but choosing my attitude and how I react to things.  And venting? Venting is good. And healthy. (Just ask my in-real-life friends and family. They hear all about it!) But, especially when I write, I focus on the beautiful in my life.

Because there is plenty. There is laughter, and love, and dance parties. To name a few.

And, because I Choose Joy.

I hope you do too.

(excuse the grainy iphone photos… we’re still loving The Smurfs Dance Party for the Wii!)

Ya ever have one of those days?

No, I’m not talking about those days… I’m talking about a really good day.

Today was one of those days. Actually, we’ve had a few lately. I can honestly say yesterday was a great day. And Saturday was also an amazingly pleasant day.

So I guess the question should be, have you ever had one of those really, really good weekends?

The other question should definitely be WHY AM I JINXING IT? But that’s another blog post.

Today? We WIN at today.

We slept in until after 7. This almost never happens.
I cleaned for a couple of hours while the kids played happily. And together. Yep, I said hours.
I started a crock pot full of beef stew. AND it turned out to be a dreary day, so the stew was a great choice.
We ran errands. You may not realize how big this is. This single mom has been struggling lately just getting groceries. My, ahem, energetic children have been making it difficult. But today? Today we got groceries AND made it through Target and Walgreens. Whoa.
We ate lunch together at the table, chatting and enjoying turkey sandwiches and carrot sticks.
I folded and put away FOUR loads of laundry while the kids pretended to help by cleaning the living room.
Then, I cleaned the living room.
We went to the park.
And at the park? At the park the kids started playing hide-and-seek. Together. And I teared up because my children are not old enough to be the “big kids” playing hide-and-seek while others are being pushed by their mommies in the bucket baby swings.

But they are.
So then I played too.

After the park, we enjoyed The Smurfs Dance Party for the Wii that we rented yesterday. This game was another WIN.

And now the kids are in bed and I’m sipping on a beer. Thrilled with where we are and how we’ve grown, but reminding myself that blinking is simply not an option these days.