In Loving Memory...

In Loving Memory of Casey "Wallsy" Walls....the little boy who put a tack in our teachers chair because she made me cry, the teenager who had his game face on at every Friday night football game and the Daddy who had pure adoration written all over his face every time he looked at his child.  You will be missed Casey!

Casey and Dre sporting their Friday night game face

Post-First Day of School Interview

Me:  How was it?!

Brynn:  Good.  I liked it.

Me:  Did you have fun?

Brynn:  Yes.  Mama, where are we going right now because I am starving?

Me:  We are going to pick up Colton and then we are heading home.  I'll get you a snack as soon as we get home.  So, tell me about your day.

Brynn:  We got to go to art!

Me:  Cool, did you make something?

Brynn:  No, we just learned about what we are going to do.  There are six tables and six boxes of stuff so every table will get there own stuff.

Me:  Cool.  Did you get to go to recess today.

Brynn:  No, we were just getting ready to line up for recess and then it started raining.  Some people in my school got wet.  A bunch of kids came in and then a teacher and then they were all wet.

Me:  Oh no!  So what did you do then?  Did you go play in the gym?

Brynn:  No, we went and watched a movie in our classroom.  It's good thing I didn't get all wet because I didn't bring any other clothes.

Me:  Did you eat in the cafeteria?

Brynn:  Yes.  That was before the people got wet.

Me:  Who did you sit next to at lunch?

Brynn:  Some kid.  I don't remember their name.

Me:  Did you make any new friends?

Brynn:  No Mama.  It was only the first day and there just wasn't time for that.

Me:  Oh well, I bet you make lots of new friends soon. What was your favorite part of the day?

Brynn:  Ummmm....probably watching the movie.  We did do some work.  We had circle time but the teacher didn't really teach us anything.  She just read to us.  And we colored a picture.  How are we supposed to learn anything by coloring pictures?

Me:  Well, you are learning to color inside the lines which helps improve your writing and your hand eye coordination.  And, you also did some writing on your picture which is good.

Brynn:  Mama, I'm really starving!

Me:  Ok Brynn...as soon as we get home.  Are you excited to go back tomorrow?

Brynn:  Yup.  I liked it.  I think tomorrow maybe we should pack a snack in the car for after school.

All set for day two:)

Colton is mad because he wants to go to "Big-garden" with Brynnie.

I Have a Kindergartner!

Tough day...as of 8:10 this am, I am the not-so-ready Mama of a kindergartner.  Waaaaahhhhh!

I have dreaded this day for a long time.  I'm a working Mama so it's not like being away from my girl is a new thing.  You would think that I would be a little more ready for this day...after all it does mean that our childcare bill just got cut in half.  However...I am nowhere near ready.  Pre school was like extended family for us.  There were only 20 kids in Brynn's class and less than 40 in her entire school and one of those was her brother.  That meant that we were able to get to know every single kid and their parents.  The kids at Pre-K are mostly teacher's kids and are pretty much the cream of the crop (ie:  parents who really care about things like education and discipline).

Kindergarten is a whole new ball game.  This is a giant leap towards Brynn's independence (ie:  a step away from being Mama and Daddy's baby).  We aren't going to know everyone at this school.  We aren't going to get daily reports on how our little precious did that day or about all the funny things that she said.  The teacher isn't going to text me with a cute picture of my girl in the middle of the day.  Waaaaaaaahhhh!

Brynn was so ready for this moment.  She proudly modeled her school uniform, new backpack and new lunchbox.  She walked into her classroom like a big girl and proudly found her seat at her table and began unpacking her school supplies.  She is excited...she is ready.

I am proud. I am so happy for her but I am NOT ready.  She is off on the next big adventure and I'm waving from the door and desperately want to run back for one more kiss and hug. 

Not a single tear from my girl.  I can't say the same for her Mama.

Standing outside the door of her class at open house

On our way to the first day of school

Here we go...

Mama is stalling by taking more pictures:)

Unpacking her stuff while Daddy tries to steal just one more kiss.

The Willman Crew

I forgot to mention that several weeks ago, my sister and her entire family were home. They made a whirlwind trip that was WAY to short for me but it was glorious to spend some time with them.  The kids are growing way too quickly for my taste and I hate that we don't get to see each other more often.  Anyway...I wanted to share a few pictures from their visit.

We had two family BBQ's to celebrate their visit:)

Kaylee is Brynn's idol so she soaked up every single minute she could with her.

I <3 this picture!  This is Kim, Ronnie and I's kids all together:)

You can not even begin to imagine the noise level...

 My niece Ava, who is 4 took my summer dance class this year.  It was so special to have her with me for the summer and I am SO SO thrilled that I got to be her first dance teacher.  She did a great job and was so stinking cute...and perhaps a little ornery:)  It really made the summer program for me.

While the Willman crew was here both Kaylee and Riley joined Ava at our dance class.  Kaylee was my assistant and Riley took the class.  I was in 7th heaven to have all three of them in one class.  The only thing that would have made it better would have been to have Brynn there too but unfortunately she came down with a case of strep throat that morning:( 



Working Out With Jillian: Post 5

This week was CRAY to the Z!!!  Sheesh.  It was jammed pack with "stuff" and some (a lot) "crap".  I managed to get most of my workouts in...

Monday:  DAY OF BLESSED FREEDOM....ahhhhhhh!

Tuesday:  I woke up at 5:00 am and did workout 3 "front of the body".  Dan asked me how it went when I came upstairs and I glared at him...enough said.  I had intended to do a run in the evening but then friends invited us to Funland.  Seriously people...who says no to Funland...not I.

Wednesday:  Woke up at 5:00 am to do Workout 4.  Went back to sleep at 5:02 am thinking that I would just make it an evening workout. 

Had really great intentions of doing that evening workout and then had such a craptastic (I'm talking craptastic in an epic way!) day that it just didn't happen.  Instead I talked on the phone for an hour with one of my besties and then cuddled up on my couch and watched the new greatest show on television....Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.   It may not have been the healthiest option but it's exactly what I needed.  Do you think Jillian would understand? Somehow she strikes me as the type who goes to the gym even when she has the flu.

Thursday:  Up at 5:00 to do workout 4.  I forgot to mention some of the craziness that occurs during this workout.  There is a point in the video where you are supposed to stand in "tree pose".  If you are not a yoga guru what that means is that you are balanced on one foot and the other foot is resting against your upper thigh...or in my case...on your knee.  Now not only do you need to balance in this precarious postion but then you are supposed to do lat raises with "heavy weights".  I should also mention that you are already exhausted at this point so your balance is less stable and more like you are standing on a wobbly glob of jello.  I personally think that Jillian made this up so she can secretly laugh at everyone.  I mean seriously.  I look like a bird who is trying to learn to fly and then realizes, "Holy crap, I'm actually a elephant". Wait I don't want to be an elephant.  Does that still work if I realize I'm a lion?  Okay, let's go with a lion!

No evening workout tonight.  We had Colton's open house and then desperatly needed to get some cleaning done.

Friday:  Up at 5:00 am to do Cardio 1.  I DID THE ENTIRE THING!  Woot, woot...yep made it through all of the suicides for the first time ever!!!  Yay me!!!!  Admittedly...it does NOT make me like it more.

No evening workout because I was attending the bridal shower of one of my college roomies:)

Saturday:  I was at Nutcracker auditions for most of the day and then went straight to my Mommom's birthday party.  I would like to tell you that I worked out but unless taking pictures, eating cake, or running my mouth count...it didn't happen.

Sunday:  Yea, Yea, yea...I'm chilling in slackerville.  Today was one of my bestie's bachelorette party (more about this later) so I went to NYC and partied it up instead of working out.  I'm SO sorry Jillian!

Me on Wednesday night

Colton's First Day of School Update

I just wanted to give a quick update about yesterday.  As you know drop-off for the first day was just awful.  I worried about my little man all day long.  I just knew he was sitting by the window waiting for his Mama to get him.  I worked as long as I could possibly stand it and then left early to go pick him up.

I walked into the door and he looked at me got the biggest grin on his face and came running to me and gave me a huge hug (he does this everyday when we go to pick him up...I LOVE it!!!).  I talked to his teacher for a couple of seconds and then started packing up his things.  And then that little stinker started crying!!!  "I don't want to go home!", he said.  Ummmm....WHAT?!?! 

I guess that means the first day was a success?

He told me that later that he "wiked (liked) it."  When I asked him what he did all day he said, "I play outside, I be quiet (??), I eat chicken nuggets and sing songs".  His favorite part of the day was "outside".

One First Day of School Down...One to go...

Sigh...

Today was Colton's first day of school.  He is returning to the same preschool (which we ADORE) so in some ways it's business as usual.  The big difference this year however is that Brynn is starting kindergarten which means she is now in a different school.  I totally underestimated how tough this morning would be for Colti and I!  Let me go back a few days...

Last week we had Colton's open house.  It went great!  He seemed excited to see some of his old friends and teachers.  He hung out with Dan, Brynn and I for a few minutes and then took off to play.  He was perfectly fine when they took all of the parents into the other room.  He hardly seemed to notice we were leaving although to be fair he still had Brynn with him.  "Yay", I thought, "He is going to be excited to come back now."  Wishful thinking?

We started the morning off great!  He was excited to rock his new Mickey Mouse lunch box and loved his new shirt.

As we started to head out the door he remembered that Brynn was not going with us.  Things went downhill from there..

On the drive, we talked about school and how much fun he would have with his friends and how much he was going to learn this year.  Obviously he did not buy it because the second we pulled into the school parking lot he started crying...and trying to think of a way out of this whole school thing.  "Mama, I go work with you", "I go to Mommom's house?", "I tired.  I go bed", "I stay with Tori"  (his summer Nanny)...are just a few of the things he told me.

I took him into his classroom and one of the teachers (whom he generally adores) greeted him and he clung to my neck.  I put him down to put away his things and he clung to my leg and said "I no go to school.  I go to work" and "I go Brynnie's school!".  I was pretty close to tears at this point but tried to put on a smile for him".  This was so much easier when he had his big sister holding onto his hand and helping through the first few minutes of anxiety!!!  I spent a few extra minutes with him snuggling and kissing and telling him how much fun he will have and then I had to do the worst thing that Mom's have to do.  I had to hand over my crying baby to someone else and walk away.  I'm not afraid to admit that I was crying before I even made it out the door and then had a good little sob spell in my car.  I then called Dan and told him I was quitting my job.  I was only half kidding.  I want to drive back that right now and peek in the windows to make sure he is okay.  I will not do it...probably.  But I really want to!

The truth of the matter is that Colton will be fine.  He actually loves school but it's really hard for any of us to remember that the first week at drop off time.  His teacher texted me literally two minutes later and said he was fine and was playing blocks with another little boy.  I'm sure that is true...however, his Mama is still sitting in her office with the door closed so that no one will see my tear splotched face.

Please tell me that some year this will get easier!!!  Sigh...

New Jersey Vacation

Every summer, we go and spend a week in New Jersey with Dan's side of the family.  We have a great time because there are tons of Aunts, Uncles and Cousins who we don't get to spend a lot of time with throughout the year but everyone always make an effort to attend at least a couple of days of the annual camping trip.  Dan's family has been doing this since...well forever.  It's a really unique thing for a family this large to do and every time I go I just end up feeling so blessed.  We are beyond lucky to be surrounded by such an amazing family and I know that my kids will always remember these camping trips.  There is just too much to tell so here is my photo diary...

We played inside campers, tents and trailers...

We played several redneck golf tournaments...

We laughed...oh did we laugh!

We spent time with A LOT of family...

We jumped over waves...

We loved every single moment of our time with the kids...

We spent some time in Dan's happy place...

We learned to throw pizza dough...

We had giant family dinners every day... This is only part of our crew:)

We got messy...REALLY MESSY...

We visited the Cape May Zoo...

We celebrated our favorite sports team at a sports themed dinner...

We roasted marshmallows...

We sang songs around the campfire...

We rode rides...

We rode LOTS of rides...

Even the pirate ship!!!!

We had a few meltdowns...

We played mini-golf...

We acted like rednecks...

We ate ice cream...

And got messy again...

We rode the tram...

We had a blast:)

Working Out With Jillian: Post 4

I was more than a little nervous heading into this week with Jillian.  This week adds new workouts to the fitness routine. The realm of torture that was about to be inflicted on me ran wild in my head for days.  I can honestly tell you that it was just as bad as I imagined.

I’m also adding in the couch to 5K running program a few times a week now.  It has occurred to me that I’m running a team 5K event in about 5 weeks and have not run a lick most of the summer.  Yikes!

Sunday:  You may have noticed that I usually start my workout week on Tuesday’s but since I was such a fatty fat over vacation I decided to kick start the workout week and start on Sunday.  Workout 3 is all about the front of the body.  It kicks off with lunges and doesn’t improve much from there.  Man push-up are now included in the workout…WTF?!?!  I don’t even do the girly kind well!  Needless to say I did about 4 man push ups and had to switch to the girly ones.  It was hard but I actually enjoyed it. I was so busy trying to figure out what was coming next that I didn’t have a lot of time to focus on what I was doing.  Anytime I can avoid thinking about the torture that Jillian is currently inflicting on my body is A-okay with me!!!

I completed the first “Couch to 5K workout”.  It was only 25 minutes long and was actually pretty easy…which is good because my 5K date is not really that far away.

Monday:  I woke up in pain again. Oh Jillian!  Why do you enjoy torturing me so?!  Workout 4 (back of the body) was about a 110 on a scale of 1 to 100.  You know those planks that I loved so much?!   Not only are planks in this workout but you have to do alternating leg lifts while in the plank position.  Yea…that is super fun! 

Tuesday:  Grrr…Cardio 1 day! 

Wednesday:  Workout 3 today.  I didn’t enjoy this as much today.  I actually know what is coming next now so I am constantly dreading it.  In case you were wondering…4 man push ups and then I had to do the rest girly style.

Thursday: Workout 4.   I’m thinking Jillian’s “assets” may not be entirely the result of working out.  You know what I’m saying?  I’m not judging here.  More power to her….however in the interest of full disclosure I feel it’s only fair for her to notify us as to whether or not the girls are real!

I completed the second “Couch to 5K workout”.  It was 30 minutes and I upped the running a bit from what was required.  I felt really good about itJ

Friday:  Cardio 1 day….Bleck!  I am now doing all of the suicides in the first and second set and most of the ones in the 3^rd set.  I STILL HATE them with a passion that burns like the sun!!!

Saturday:  Technically, this should be a day of rest but I have a doctor’s appointment on Monday (which means they will put me on the scale) so I’m going to do workouts on Saturday and Sunday, take Monday off and then get back on my regular schedule on Tuesday.  For today’s workout, I did Yoga Booty Ballet’s: Latin Flavor DVD.  This one is fun and I actually enjoyed it…you know as much as one can enjoy working out.

Sunday:  I started the day off with the “Couch to 5k workout”.  It was the same workout as last time but for some reason was a lot more difficult…who knows?!  I have GOT to start running more or my 5K team is going to kill me!

Welcome Aubrey!

Sorry I have been MIA again....just crazy busy right now.  I swear I will catch up on my blogs this week.  I'll be in big trouble if I don't because I have a weekend full of stuff coming up!

I want to take a minute to tell you about my newest niece!  The very gorgeous Aubrey Grace Forey was born on August 1st (see how far behind I am?!) at 1:42 am.  She weights 7lbs, 2 ozs, was 21 inches long and has gorgeous dark hair.  She is super tiny (No Voshell-sized head on this one) and just perfect. 

Aubrey and I

Family of 5:)

Congratulations to the entire family!  We are so happy for you guys!!!

Working out with Jillian: Post 3

This post is actually for the week before last.  I spent last week on vacation so not much of anything happened then:)

Howdy folks.  I have survived yet another week of working out with Jillian.  Woo Hoo! 

I'm beginning to think that my girl crush might be just the teenisiest be cray cray.  I mean seriously...I think she enjoys this crap (a slightly sadistic side perhaps?).  I used to watch biggest loser and think how amazing it must be to have her as your trainer for all that time.  I spend a half hour with her every day and during that half hour I complain, dream about feeding her a quarter pounder with cheese, and call her names.  Can you imagine if you were spending 7 hours with her in you face yelling at you?!  You couldn't dare to call her a name or complain to her face!  By the looks of her body, she doesn't even know what a quarter pounder with cheese is (Oh how I miss you Mr. McDonald)! She probably would really rip my arms off and beat me over the head with them.  I'm not making that up...she actually told someone she was going to do just that on Biggest Loser!!  Have you seen her arms?  She could totally do it!!! In spite of all my complaining she is STILL perfect and she just may know what she is doing...seeing slight improvements already.

This week's workout schedule is exactly the same as last week's.  I add new workouts next week which is slightly terrifying.

Monday:  MY  DAY OFF (Do you hear the angels singing in the background?)!!!  Such a glorious day.

Tuesday:  8:00 pm Workout 1.  It went well except I still couldn't hold the plank for the entire time.  See why I'm nervous about adding a new workout next week?

Wednesday: Today was a craptastic day!!!  It was just one thing after the other all day long.  I came home and REALLY contemplated skipping the workout and cuddling up Forever Lazy style with my bottle of wine (BTW:  have you tried Skinny Girl wine?  Not bad I tell you!).  I knew that skipping would just make me feel worse though so I drug myself downstairs to do Workout 2.  I'm proud to say that I did the entire workout without any breaks and even upped my weights and resistance.  Rock STAR!!

Thursday:  Up at 5:00 am.  Today's workout was supposed to be Cardio 1.  At 5:00 am I laid in my bed for a good 5 minutes telling myself all the reasons that I should just close my eyes and go back to sleep.  It's not that I didn't want to work out...it's that I didn't want to do Cardio 1 (or more specifically I didn't want to do suicides).  I did manage to convince myself to get out of bed and go to the basement.  Once in the basement, I spent at least another 5 minutes just staring at the blank tv screen.  I literally could not make myself do Cardio 1. The thought of doing suicides at 5:00 am was enough to make me want to cry.  I decided to cut myself some slack.  I skipped Cardio 1 and opted for Yoga Booty Ballet:  Cardio Cabaret.  I told myself that since it's actually longer, it would all even out.  I have to admit the workout was not as good and I may have actually missed Jillian a millimeter of a tad bit.  Lesson of the day:  If I have to work out, it might as well be the best work out possible.  BTW: Suicides still suck!

I came upstairs after my workout and Dan asked how Jillian was.  I confessed that I had cheated on Jillian and he said..."Ooooooh  Jillian is going to be MAD!".  (OMG!  Please don't let her rip my arms off!!!)

Friday:  Up at 5:00 am to do Workout 1.  It went really well...except for the planks....grrr!

Saturday:  I'm on vacation!  Woot woot...taking today off (and probably several more).  Yep...welcome to slackerville peeps!

Sunday:  Started my day of with some Jillian time (workout 2).  Workout 2 in a camper is just plain awesome.  Oh the things people must have pictured happening inside the camper as they walked by.  If the camper is a rockin...yea, it just wasn't that cool.

Make sure you check back over the next couple of days.  I had a nice long vacation and a new niece to talk about:)  Hopefully, I can find 5 minutes to tell you all about it!