The Nelson Narrative

So I had an awesome May.  We had just re-joined a gym and I was all gung-ho and motivated and I lost 6.4 pounds.  I was hoping to lose another 5 or so in June.  Oops.  Not only did I not lose a single pound, I gained back every. last. ounce. of the 6.4 I lost in May!  That's like the 2,849th time this year that's happened.  I can NOT break this cycle! So here I go again.  Only this time I only have 3 days until we leave for Crescent Bar, and once we're back from there I have a week and a half until we leave for Long Beach (WA, not CA).  Then we'll be home for 5 days or so and then we go to Crescent Bar again.  So the chances that I'm going to lose any weight in the next 5 weeks or so are pretty slim.  But I've come up with the following strategy and I'll hope for the best: Today I did a good, brisk, hilly 45-minute walk and I think I stayed within my 1500 calorie limit. Tomorrow (Monday) I'm going to do the 30 Day Shred in th...

  It's time once again for the Multiples and More Question of the Week:  A Day in Your Life. What is your schedule like? Do you work outside the home or stay home with the kids?   I am very blessed to be a SAHM.  Our schedule looks something like this: The girls get up anywhere between 7:20 and 8:20, but usually around 8:00.  Lately I've been letting them watch an episode of Dora so I can get on the computer and check email, Facebook, etc.  Otherwise they just play for an hour or so and then we have breakfast. By the time we're done with breakfast (fixing, eating and cleaning up) it's usually between 9:30 and 10:00.  We get dressed, and then we go wherever we're going that day (errands, park, playdate, etc.).  If it's a stay home day, I'll usually do a DVD workout while they just play upstairs and then we'll go for a walk or play outside after. Lunch is anywhere between 12:00 and 1:00, and nap is 1:30 or 2:00 to 4:00 ...

1. Do you know how to play a musical instrument?   Yes, I do.  I took piano lessons for something like 10 years and also played trumpet in band from 5th grade all the way through high school.  Yes, I was a band geek and proud of it.  Sadly, I no longer play either.  I'd love to have a piano but there just is no where to put one.  I do have an electronic keyboard that I bought used from an ex co-worker but I rarely bring it out.  The girls have a blast with it when I do, though, so I should play around with it more often.   2. What is your pet peeve while driving?    Oooh...do I have to pick only one? I hate hate HATE when people don't signal! Ticks me off to no end. It's so inconsiderate and rude. Others include: Merging onto the freeway at about 10 mph under the speed limit, driving under the speed limit period, driving too slow in the fast lane, and running red lights (especially when making left turns and holding up all the...

Three years ago today the 2 embryos that would become Olivia and Kayley were placed in my uterus.  It was a Saturday, and we weren't sure until that morning if it would take place that day (day 3) or the following Monday (day 5).  Based on the quality and number of embryos, the RE decided to do it that day (not sure why--the 2 we transfered were pretty good and we probably could have gone to day 5 and only transfered 1, but I guess we had a better chance transfering 2 on day 3.  You just never know...).  I got the call bright and early that morning.  Aagghhh! After the procedure I of course had to pee really bad (you have to have a full bladder for the transfer) but they make you lie on the table for 20 minutes or so before you can get up.  When I could finally get up to go pee, I was thinking "well, even if this doesn't work and I don't become pregnant, at least I am right this second.  I have 2 embryos in my uterus so technically I'm...

I found the girls some cute sunglasses with matching hair bows.  Even though summer is apparently boycotting Western Washington this year, they'll still get to use them when we go to Crescent Bar for the 4th.  Olivia thought she was hot stuff and Kayley just wasn't sure... Olivia Kayley Hair Bows

The girls are so blessed to have the most amazing father in the world.  Paul is so incredible with them.  To have had absolutely no experience with kids whatsoever, then instantly becoming the father of TWO, he has totally stepped up to the plate and been very involved in all aspects of childcare, from changing diapers feeding and bathing to giving piggy-backs and building with legos.  He's always willing to pitch in and help me out even after a long day at work.  The girls are always so happy around him and rush to greet him when he gets home.  They adore their daddy!  And to hear him reading a bedtime story or singing silly songs just melts my heart.  Happy Father's Day, Daddy!  We love you!

I cashed in a huge jar of loose change for an Amazon gift card (via a Coinstar machine at Fred Meyer) so I've been doing a little shopping.  I found these shoes for $15!  Totally cute.  Just what I need, seeing as how often I find the need to dress up.  But I do have my monthly girls' nights and the occasional date night, so for $15 I couldn't go wrong.  I just hope they fit and are reasonably not-too-uncomfortable.  The picture shows beige but mine are actually purple! For the girls, I found this water table.  And seeing as how the sun/warm weather has completly lost it's way to the Pacific Northwest, we may not get to use it until next summer.

The topic this week at Kelly's Korner  is proposals.  Here is our story. Paul and I started dating in late January of 2005.  By May or so I was pretty sure I wanted to marry him but I could tell he wasn't quite there.  But things progressed nicely, and when we had our 6-month anniversary dinner one night in August I felt for the first time that this was really it! In October we had our first discussion of possibly getting engaged soon.  We talked about going ring shopping!  I would have liked the whole thing to be a surprise, but I liked the idea of being able to pick out my own ring.  A few weeks later we went ring shopping and I picked out the ring but left the stone selection to him.  So now it was a matter of him going back to chose a stone, having it set, and then he could finally propose at a time and location unknown to me.  On the way back to his house, we chose our date:  May 13, 2006.  It was so wei...

On Monday my dad and stepmom came to visit.  They hadn't seen the girls since September because they spend the winter (and fall and spring) in Arizona.  It took the girls a few minutes to warm up to them but then they were back to being the hams that they are. Grandpa and his girls After awhile we decided to re-introduce them to Pepe, their toy poodle.  Excitied to be let out of the car and into the house, he was tearing around so fast that the girls got a little scared, especially Olivia.  But once he settled down a bit they were ok and even tried to pick him up.  At one point, Olivia really wanted to pet him but was still a little timid, so she took Kayley's hand and led her over to him and tried to make her pet him--it was so funny and cute. Throwing balls for Pepe

This weeks Multiples and More Question of the Week is:  How do you handle taking your multiples out to restaurants?   Simple.  We don't.  Ha ha.  Ok, we do, just not very often.  But that's mostly because of the budget restraints that come with me being a SAHM. How often do you take your children out to eat, and how old are they?   They are 2 years old and we take them out maybe once every 2 months or so.  Sometimes more. Do you have any tricks for keeping them entertained?   They are usually just happy to be there, so we really don't have to employ any special tricks.  We do try to go early before they get too hungry.  And most places we go have crayons, so that works. Which restaurants do you find are the most family-friendly?   Red Robin and our local mexican place (free rice and beans for kids!  At least for kids as young as ours). How do you handle tantrums in restaurants?   They sometimes get a bit an...

Today we went to the wedding of Paul's cousin's daughter (Paul's 2nd cousin) Amy in beautiful Port Townsend.  It's 2 1/2 hours away, so it was an all day adventure.  And it was a goregous day, finally, and combined with the scenery of the location (Fort Worden State Park on the Puget Sound) made it a great day for a wedding. The girls wore their Easter dresses, which was nice because we never got a chance to get pictures of them in them on Easter because I thought I had forgot the camera (turns out I had it with me the whole time). We stopped for lunch on the way and the girls enjoyed their 2nd (ever) Happy Meal Outside the chapel Kayley was much more interested in cake than having her picture taken Yum!

The topic this week at Kelly's Korner  is china patterns.  I love china.  When we registered for ours 4+ years ago it was really hard to select just one!  And even though I LOVE our china, every time I walk through Macy's I see something that I think I love even more.  Alas, we can only register once (I'm still thinking of starting a campaign to allow brides/wives to re-register like every 5 years or so).  We registered for formal china as well as more casual, everyday dinnerware.  Our formal pattern is Lenox Westerly Platinum:   And here it is being put to good use: That was Thanksgiving 2008, and other than an anniversary dinner or two with just me and Paul, it was the only time in 4 years that We've used it.  But I don't care.  We have plenty of time to use it more. Our casual pattern is Denby Jet Stripes.  This is what we use day to day.

For awhile there Kayley was only napping 4 or 5 days out of 7 (could be worse so I was ok with that) but for the last few months or so she's been really good and napping almost every day.  Olivia has always been great, going right down with no fuss or complaints.  Until last Saturday.  Like the flip of a switch, she's all of a sudden refusing to nap most days.  Or if she does, it's after a long crying session.  They have totally switched places.  I honestly don't know what I'm going to do when one or both of them stop napping for good.  Oh how I dread that day!  But then, on the bright side, we'll be able to go for longer outings which will be nice sometimes.

Tired of being cooped up inside all week due to the crappy weather, I took the girls to the Sno-Valley Indoor Playground today.  This place is a god-send!  It's so nice to have a warm, dry place to go when the weather is bad.  It's a non-profit, parent-run organization that sets up a great indoor play area for kids 0-5 inside the Si View Community Center every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning during the school year.  They have lots of big foam blocks to climb and/or bounce on, ride-on toys, slides, etc.  We've been 4 or 5 times now and the girls love it. Fill 'er up!  Olivia and the Giant French Fry

The girls got a zoo pass for their birthday and we had yet to use it so we had the grand idea of taking them yesterday.  But, being Memorial Day and all, it of coursed rained.  And like a complete moron   who should have totally known better, I didn't bring anyone's raincoats or even an umbrella (it was barely sprinkling when we left our house).  Duh!  I guess I was thinking that if it was that bad we'd just leave, since with the zoo pass we can go anytime (for a year) and it doesn't cost us anything (except $5.00 to park).  Anyway, it was kind of miserable.  There was a light rain when we got there (more than what we had at home when we left) and it just started raining harder and harder the longer we were there.  But it wasn't cold, so we were ok just dashing in-between covered areas and trees and what-not.  Meanwhile, we got to see the giraffes up close, being moved from one area to another which was really cool and ha...