Perfect weather!

So, I've been a little absent this week.  The reason? Well, there are actually several, but the main one is this BEAUTIFUL weather we've been having. We have been in the upper 70's and low 80's since last weekend.  This is incredibly unusual for us - in fact, a couple of years ago we didn't even have an 80 degree day until mid-July!!! (Which was the opposite end of the unusual spectrum, but we tend to be more on the cool side than the warm one).

Short Hair {Wordless Wednesday}

Karen and Megan got their haircut yesterday.  Both are pretty happy with their new look!

Planning a charity walk {Tackle it Tuesday}

Planning a charity walk is not something I've done before. In fact, I didn't want to do it!!  I kept checking to see if CASANA (Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America) had a walk scheduled for my area this summer, and alas no... I kept talking with Karen's SLP in Spokane hoping that maybe she would find someone (besides me) to organize one since we both thought it was a great idea (and since she isn't already busy enough), and again no...

As summer kept getting closer and the details were finalized for the intensive apraxia speech camp that will be in Spokane this summer, I decided that I'd better get it done if I wanted one to happen.  So, here I sit, finding myself trying to figure out what all needs to be done to plan the "Inland Northwest Washington Walk for Apraxia"!!

All I can say is "ACK!!" 

Re-committing to Healthy!

Last fall I finally got fed up with my post-baby body and my lack of commitment to changing it.  I continued to feel down about how I looked but also continued to make less than healthy choices with my eating.  So, I committed to making better choices.  I gave up soda.  I learned how to stop myself from going into the pantry for a couple of goldfish, or a dried mango, or having two cookies with the kids after lunch.  I made "friends" with more vegetables and started adding spinach and kale into my smoothies.  It was also the first time ever that I had eaten eggs but limited the amount of yolks (I would make a scramble with 1 whole egg and three additional egg whites)...

I also committed to changing my workout routine.  I did more cross-training and less straight running.  The running that I did do, I tried to do high intensity intervals - focusing less on distance and more on effective fat burning.

and ... it worked!  I got back down to my pre-baby weight (pre-baby as in pre-Karen!).  I was back into clothes that I hadn't been in for several years.  I still did not have quite the same shape (my middle still has quite a bit of stubborn "stuff" hanging on) but I was finally feeling comfortable in my own skin!

Parent-Teacher Conferences

A couple of weeks ago we had our spring parent-teacher conference for Karen.  We met with her preschool teacher, the kindergarten teacher, and her school SLP.  It was one of those proud Mama moments for me.  Carl & I got to sit there for an hour while all three talked about how sweet, hard-working, persistent, and amazing our daughter was. 

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They all shared in the joy of the progress she's been making (especially evident in the last couple of months) with as much enthusiasm as Carl & I!!  I feel so very thankful for the area we live, the small school that allows such one-on-one interaction between Karen and her teachers and between me and her teachers.