We Skied!

Today Ryan and I were finally able to go up to Park City and use our passes. I was so excited and also pretty nervous. As we were driving up there and the snow started pouring down upon us, I can't say that I wasn't more than a little tempted to just pretend we went skiing and instead just go and sit in a movie theater with my husband for the next several hours. :)

When we arrived, Ryan assured me that he would be a fine instructor and that he could patiently teach me all I needed to know. We started off on the bunny hill and he told me I was picking things up really quickly and that I was doing a fabulous job. All his kudos and atta-girls went straight to my head and after only 2 bunny runs, I decided to hit the real thing. (by real thing I mean the run with the green dots) We jumped on a lift and started going up the mountainside. And we went up and up and up and up and up and up. Seriously! We didn't stop until we were on the very top. I scouted out the green dot and off we went. I felt pretty darn confident. I quickly learned how to go from side to side and how to slow down. Nothing was stopping me now! I thought it would be fun to see what it felt like to go straight down instead of wasting my time going back and forth. Bad idea!!! At first I was fine, but the further I went, the more speed I picked up. I swear I must have been going at least 50 mph.

I started to panic and kept saying to myself, "OK think Sarah! What can you do to slow yourself down?" I hadn't learned this in my brief tutorial and was at an absolute loss. I even said a silent prayer, but it was of no use. I was going way too fast. I thought about just falling over, but images of cartoon characters rolling down the mountain, head over heels until they form a giant snowball kept rushing through my head. I tried making my skis into a 'pizza' with no relief at all. I finally realized I was just going to have to crash. So for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to fall straight back. Not a good idea. My skis stayed on the ground, and my knees were bent, but I was laying on my back. I continued to go straight down the hill at 50 mph for a good 200 yards on my back! My coat was filling up with snow, my head was banging up and down, I thought, "Hmm... this must be the end for me. At least I gave it a good effort."

But behold my amazing husband came to my rescue and used his own body to stop me. (hope you're not too battered & bruised)

Needless to say, this little 'adventure' zapped me of all my confidence. I now realize that if I really want to be a skier, I'm going to actually have to learn how to ski. Going straight down the mountain with absolutely no idea of how to stop isn't a good way to go.

Thank goodness I have such a sweet and patient husband who was there to pick me up, and who never left my side.

I'm completely exhausted right now and my body aches all over, but I can't wait to go again!

Woops!

Ok, so I'm thinking I may need to make a slight modification to my no sugar pledge. What do you do when your long-lost friends come up to visit you and they bring with them the most delicious-looking razzleberry pie? It would be rude not to take just one small sliver, wouldn't it? I wouldn't want to hurt their feelings. So as not to appear rude, I've decided that it will be absolutely necessary to allow myself small exceptions to my rule. So from now on, if a friend brings me a treat, I must do the right thing and take a small taste. Afterall, it's the polite thing to do. :)

Says the Girl With No Will-Power

My theory is that if I blog this, it will have to become a reality. I will have little eyes watching my every move and I will have to keep going.

My name is Sarah and I'm a chocoholic. It's true. That sweet chocolately goodness melting in my mouth brings me joy beyond measure. For weeks I've been thinking about starting a sugar fast. A friend's blog post today pushed me over the edge and now I'm ready to commit. I'm going to Hawaii in 104 days and I am officially vowing that I will eat no sugar until I get there. I can do this! A little self deprivation is good for the soul, right? I can do this, I can do this, I can do this!

Oh The Sneakiness of a Mom

Today while the girls were away at school I decided to pull a fast one. I went in and did a WHAMMY on their rooms. When I was a kid I hated WHAMMY Day. I don't know where the term came from, but WHAMMY Day involved mom or dad (usually dad) dumping out all of our hidden treasures from our drawers, raking out under our beds and closets, and a trash bag that we were challenged to fill to the brim.

Lately I noticed that it was taking longer and longer for the girls to make their rooms have the appearance of cleanliness. I say appearance of cleanliness, because they're not actually fooling me when they stash their trash in every nook and cranny. But hey, it does look clean. But from the looks of things lately, all their hiding places must have been full.

So today I snuck in and did a WHAMMY.

Here's what the girls saw when they got home:

And here's what I heard, "Thanks mom! You're so nice. My room was such a mess. I didn't think I'd ever get it clean. You're the greatest mom ever!"

I took their kudos and accolades. I smiled and said you're welcome. I even used their appreciation to my advantage, "Girls, since I was such a nice mom today and cleaned your rooms for you would you mind helping me straighten up the living room & the kitchen?"

But little do they know... about 10 minutes before the bus dropped them off this afternoon, I smuggled this little gem out the door. I'm hoping they remain in a state of delirious happiness about their clean rooms that they fail to notice all of their missing treasures. What could they possibly have that would fill an entire trash bag? you ask.

Here are just a few of my favorite finds (almost all were in Nicole's room):

27 buttons (I'm really hoping these were found and picked up rather than being picked off of her clothes)

7 safety pins

16 rocks of various size (not including the rock salt that Nicole found and thought were beautiful crystals)

beads, beads, and more beads (thanks mom)

More broken McDonalds' toys than I can even count.

My old eye shadow (I assume this was found in a trash can and then recovered by Nicole)

Every single paper they've ever done at school

And my very favorite...

24 paper doors torn off of a paper advent calendar that Aunt Kristy gave them for Christmas.

Whew! Now I can sit back and relax for a few more months.

Oh My Gosh It's Really Going to Happen!!!

Approximately 8 or 9 years ago I told Ryan that he was going to take me to Hawaii for our 10th anniversary. I told him it was non-negotiable. It was a funny little thing I liked to tease him about. I would say, "You have plenty of time. I'm sure you can make it happen." We always joked, but I was never sure it was really going to happen. That is, until my good friend Tamara got involved. You see... Tamara & her husband are going to celebrate their 10th anniversary this year as well. And she too has given her husband the exact same ultimatum. We made a pact that we were going to make it happen. For the past 3 years we've been talking about, "When we go to Hawaii...". For the past 2 years (since she up & moved to Minnesota) we've been talking about, "When we get to see each other again in Hawaii..." Slowely it became more and more of a reality. Well... today we bought our plane tickets! And now I have butterflies in my stomach. This is really going to happen! I'm going to Hawaii in T- 111 days!!!!!! Not to be braggy, but hooray for me! I haven't traveled that much in my life. Pathetically, this will only be the 3rd flight I've been on. I'm so excited!

Check out the beautiful Ko Olina Resort we'll be staying at!

http://koolinabeachvillas.shutterfly.com/8

Jumping In...or... Impatience is a Virtue

Those of you who know me may have figured out that I'm not the most patient gal. When I want something, I want it now. When I decide to do something, I want to do it NOW. I don't like waiting. I don't like weighing pros and cons. I don't like think time. I figure if I make a decision and I regret it, then I'll regret it (like my current bright red hair color) and I'll move on. I'll live with it, and things will be fine.

My husband is my opposite. He likes to research and think about things. He searches for the best deals, he gives himself time to 'think things over'. He likes to be prepared. We had a gift certificate to Best Buy and I said, "Hey Ryan... since you've been such a swell husband why don't you use that gift card to buy yourself something fun. Why don't you get a new X-Box game?" What I didn't understand was how painfully difficult this decision would be for him. I didn't realize that he would spend 4 1/2 hours (literally) online watching trailers and reading reviews for every single game that they sold at Best Buy. And I surely didn't realize that he would ultimately decide to be practical and buy himself an electric razor instead.

Which brings me to where I'm at today. A couple of weeks ago we received an amazing gift - two Adult Fast-Tracks season passes to the Park City Mountain Resort. I have never been skiing. Well... that's not entirely true. I went once with a friend in high school and she spent the whole day getting after me because I didn't feel it was necessary to have her instruct me on the proper technique. :) So I'm totally excited to get up there and learn. It's been gorgeous weather and I just can't wait. I went online and bought all the essential clothes to keep us toasty warm. We don't have skis, but I figure we can rent those easy enough. I have tried my hardest to be responsible and think of everything. But... my sweet over-planner just isn't sure we are completely prepared. I have been married to Ryan for long enough now that I take his cautiousness with a sigh and try and wait patiently for him to be ready. He wants to make sure we go up to Park City and check things out, go to a rental place and price things out, gather our equipment and see what we have, go to his parents and borrow what we don't. This is too much thought. Too much planning. I say, what's the worst that can happen? We get up there and freeze a bit? If that happened we could just come right back home.

So my question for you today is: Do you plan and over plan and then plan some more? If so, do you think you're happier being more prepared. Do you feel more satisfied knowing you've weighed all the options? Or are you one who just jumps in half-cocked? Is it really so bad being unprepared? Isn't it better we make a few bad decisions along the way than spending so much time planning that we don't make any at all? Just wondering. :) Give me your thoughts.

Could It Really Be This Easy?

One of my New Year's resolutions was to potty train Miss Audrey right away. Since this is my 3rd child I've potty-trained, I've learned a little something along the way. 1st) Potty training shouldn't be a race. Just because all of your friends' 2-year-olds are picking it up doesn't mean your child is ready. Waiting for her to be ready is okay. It doesn't make you a bad mommy. It makes you a sane mommy. 2nd) It's just as important that the mom is ready to commit to potty training as it is for the child to be ready. 3.) Douse your poor baby in liquids. Give them as many juice boxes as they can stand. This way they'll need to go frequently enough to understand and recognize the sensations.

On Monday I braced myself for our long journey and put Audrey in panties. Monday morning went terribly. We went through 6 pair of panties in 4 hours, and not once did she go in the potty. I was pulling my hair out in frustration. Was she just not getting it? She wasn't even telling me when she had an accident. Could she not feel the wet warmth running down her leg? I mean, come on!

I put her in a pull-up and put her down for a nap. She woke up with a dry pull-up and the first thing out of her mouth was, "Mommy I need to go potty." As my jaw dropped to the floor, I helped her onto the potty and she went right away. It was if everything suddenly just clicked. I kept her in panties the rest of the day without anymore accidents.

I was feeling pretty good on Tuesday. Again, she woke up ready to go potty. We went the whole day with just one pee-pee accident and one of the other kind (urgh). I even took her to a friend's house while I went to an appointment. I put her in a pull-up for my friend's benefit, but Audrey asked her if she could go potty at her house. Apparently Audrey decided my friend's potty was a little too scary and she told her she would wait to go at home. Which she did! As soon as she got home she went upstairs and went, and her pull-up was still dry as a bone!

Yesterday we went the whole day without a single accident. I put her in a pull-up to go to the grocery store and got very sad and told me she's not a baby anymore. She was right. She's definitely not my baby anymore. She's such a big girl.

I'm feeling hopeful for today. I know there's usually a certain amount of regression once a kid is potty trained, so I'm bracing myself for that possibility. But right now I'm thinking it really could be just that easy! Hooray for potty trained kids. And hooray for me living in a diaper-free home!