Magpie Musing's Wii Fit Contest GiveAway

Magpie Musing is giving away a Wii Fit! It comes with a wii console and the wii fit board.  So, if you're interested, go check out her contest here. (Thanks, Safire, for pointing it out) Basically you're supposed to post a fitness story on your blog about how the wii fit would change your life and link back to her blog.  So here's my hopeful entry:

A fitness story.  

Once upon a time.......we packed up all our stuff and moved into a bigger house.  I'd never been big on fitness, but my new neighbor was a total fitness nut.  She gets up early to work out each morning before her day starts.  She bikes around the park for fun!  She teaches weight training and aerobic classes.  Somehow we hit it off and she started dragging me to early morning runs at the high school track.  She even started working out an hour early twice a week so she could be back in time watch my (sleeping) kids so my hubby and I could run over to the gym  before work. (My dear hubby walks too fast and I walk to slow, so side-by-side treadmills are perfect for us!)  Then she introduced me to Bikram (hot) Yoga. My stress level went way, way down.

My mom used to do yoga in our front room when I was a kid.  Sometimes she'd let me do it with her.  My favorite part was that bit at the end where you're just relaxing. Bikram Yoga was everything I liked about yoga PLUS a relaxing sauna. (and our water heater at home was broken at the time!) I felt so warm and cozy and sure of myself.  No one seemed to care how big my tummy was or how long I could balance or how far I could stretch.  

My youngest was 10 months.  I was some 30 lbs too heavy.  Those extra pounds started melting off.  I felt great.  More energy. More smiles.  More drive. More clothes that fit. It was great!

Then one week it all disappeared.  My wonderful neighbor was hit with a messy divorce out of no where. She moved.  I found out I was pregnant.  Twins.  Identical twin girls.  All my new fitness plans stopped dead. I spent the last 6 weeks of my pregnancy in the hospital.

One of the twins was born with a heart defect. Now she's the one spending time in the hospital.  My secret to staying sane with one twin in and out of the hospital?  Chocolate.  Cake.  Brownies.  Add Skittles, Twizzlers, & Sweettarts for variety, but it's mostly the chocolate that helps. The twins are 5 months old now, and I'm some 60 lbs too heavy. Seraph is coming home from the hospital this weekend (yay!)!  

Except for doctor's appointments, I'm pretty much stuck in my house until RSV season is over.  Stuck inside with twins...and a 2 yr old girl...and a 3 yr old boy. Thank goodness my 8 yr old (girl) gets to go out for school.  We're all brimming with stress...and stuck in the house.

I'd like to be one of those people who gets through stress with exercise.....I've been thinking about introducing my 8-yr-old daughter to yoga.  Yoga is so good for stress.   And I remember how good it felt to do Yoga with my mom.

Only.....I've done Yoga, but I don't really know how to do it on my own.  The Wii Fit would be perfect!  It would change my life!  So, Magpie - pick me pick me pick me!!! :)

Seraph Leaves the PICU

Seraph was transfered out of the PICU(Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) today!  Yay!  They have lots of plans for her, but all of them focus on getting her home and keeping her out of the icu.  Yay!  Way to go, girlie :)

Picture: Angel & Seraph

Seraph squirmed too much for pictures, today.  She's very happy.  I think she knows she's almost ready to leave the ICU.  Beautiful Rabbit loved holding Seraph.  

Growing up too Fast

My sweet little Angel is growing up too fast.  I can't believe she's already 5 months old.  I'm still trying to catch my breath!

Angel is my cute little smiley girl.  She is very social. Finch and Bear often vie for her attention.  Bear even pushes her around in her toy saucer when Mom isn't looking.  (He wanted to show her the Christmas tree).

Seraph Update

The newest projections have her coming home in 2 weeks.  They're tweaking her diuretics and then she has one more minor (scope) surgery - tacking her small intestine to her abdominal wall where it's a little too twisted.

She was happy today.  She loves it when she gets to be in her swing.  She's been smiling more lately...and she will be home for Christmas :)  

All I Want for Christmas?

Perfection!  Is that too much to ask? I was surprised to learn Sexy Haqon and I differ in our views on the perfect Christmas gift. Obviously, Christmas is the perfect time to buy that practical gift that we've been putting off because of money or time issues.  See - I'm easy to shop for because I put off buying things that I want in order to stick to the budget.

Haqon sees Christmas as a time to show how well you know someone by choosing the one gift that's deeply personal; a reflection of every aspect of your friendship.  Wow.  I think my gifts have been falling flat.  Sorry, Sexy.

I'm more of a "oh, I think he'd like that" or "oh, I think this would make his life easier" kind of gal.

Sexy Haqon and I stayed up late wrapping presents.  I was grumpy.  My family is doing the "draw names" thing for Christmas this year.  I thought it would be easier, but in a lot of ways it's just been a grumpy mess.  In the midst of it all, I looked down at Baby Angel on the floor.  She was kicking the wrapping paper with her feet.  She was wearing the biggest (wet) smile her face could hold.  That's my perfect Christmas right there on my Angel's face.

It has very little to do with gifts.  I want to enjoy a little happiness with my family and friends.  So I revised my perfect Christmas:

-Wake up and open presents at home

-then eat breakfast (muslix that we made the night before as a family...everyone getting their own tupperware to add in the perfect mix of the fruit they want)

-drive to grandma's house where we meet up with all our siblings that are in town (without exchanging gifts)

-play card games/board games all day long and into the night -- stopping only to make turkey or (in the dream world) lamb sandwhiches when we get hungry.

-using Skype on Gpa's laptop to spend time with family that's far away

-calling other family on the phone because we love them and want to wish them well.

oh, and no one is sick in my dream world Christmas, so I don't have any worries about the twins and rsv or hospitalization.  My kids run themselves silly with their cousins without actually breaking anything or making a mess that's too big to clean.

(When we're richer and not bound by the distance from Seraph's Cardiologist, we'd like to spend some of our Christmas holidays at Haqon's brothers' houses.)

It's hard enough to get the perfect gift for my own kids and I spend 18 hours a day with them!  I still can't think of anything Strong Bear would like more than the cardboard tube the wrapping paper comes on....so I wrapped it up and tossed it on the pile of gifts!  I may not know my extended family well enough to pick out the perfect gift, but I do love them enough to want to spend Christmas playing with them all day long.

And that sounds perfect.

~~

Portabellopixie's Pick a Pattern Contest!

My favorite Hullabaloo fabric designer is having a contest on her blog.  Please click here to vote for your favorite pattern. I love the blue set they picked :)

They're doing gift boxes, storage boxes, and basket liners. Go vote!