I promise to commit myself to you fully. We all know it's not easy to do that but I also know that I must. There have been times in the past when I have not done all I said I would do. There have been days when frankly I just forgot about you. Or didn't want to face you. But that's behind me now. I promise to give you the time and attention you need. I promise to take you—us—seriously, and to value and make the most of the time we spend together. Today, tomorrow, and every day.
Except weekends. I mean, everyone needs a little time off.
You see when I committed myself to busting that mom-flap—the extra chunk of flubber round the midsection brought about by having babies—I specified only 5 minutes, 5 days a week.
Five minutes! You'd think I could have managed that. But I confess that I've had my weak moments of falling off the ab workout wagon. Some lasted whole weeks. Okay, I was sick. Okay, I was traveling...but yes, we all know that, okay, I am also just making excuses for poor motivation. Because even 5 minutes 5 times a week is really hard on weak tummy muscles. Five minutes is like a triathlon for the tummy of a tired and lazy mom.
I will admit I started with enthusiasm on my mission to banish the absolutely flabulous tire around my waist, my flabdominals. Like many a mom, I had grown tired of the spongy skin roll spilling over my jeans, and I was motivated to do something about it. I cannot quit in disgust after the first week of bicycle crunches and retire, crushed, to the couch with a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos. I cannot stay somewhere in between—in the squishy middle of things. I've been on and off over this tummy torturing and I can banish that belly-jiggle. Since I renewed my vows today, I haven't missed a day of mom-flap-murdering and I'll tell you it feels so good. Actually, it feels very bad—exercise always does—but I can say for sure that even a sporadic few weeks of 5-minute tummy tweakouts has improved my overall ab vibe. I may not possess any visible core strength, but somewhere in there, deep beneath the wibbly layers I feel...something. And that's a heck of a lot better than nothing.
So I vow again to you, the boppy-like layer of midriff squishiness I gained post-baby, that I will workout, just 5 minutes, 5 times a week. Together, we can grow stronger every day!
P.S. Thank you Chris for ordering the "ab-ripper" video for me via ebay...preciate it.
Nolan got lucky and got to make a pizza too!
The scouts went to California Pizza Kitchen today. Toured the restaurant, learned all there is to know about working at a pizza joint, and made and tasted their creations. It is fun to be a Bear Scout! (and delicious!)
Baylie and 2 friends, Emma Kappahan and Micayla Lynch, entered the science fair and won 3rd place for the school. They went to the Fort Worth regional science fair this week. Because they are in 6th grade, they were ineligible to go to state. Technically, the science fair is for 8th-12th grades. It was a big honor to win due to their ages and who they were competing with.
During the school assembly, Ben was chosen to be in the dance contest...he was not shy.
Ms. Schneider's 3rd grade played Valentine Bingo with conversation hearts.
Kindergarten decorated heart cookies and ate lots of sugared Valentines! (Hollie, Kevan, & Nolan)
Nolan with his Valentine's Day box.
Ben put a red heart sticker on his forehead.... the rest of the day the permanent ink did not come off...cute.
Ms. Schneider and the 3rd grade class. Ben is in the front with the boy, Aidan, laying on top of him and the girl above, Gracie with her hand on his head. (the one with the red ink on his forehead)
I promise to commit myself to you fully. We all know it's not easy to do that but I also know that I must. There have been times in the past when I have not done all I said I would do. There have been days when frankly I just forgot about you. Or didn't want to face you. But that's behind me now. I promise to give you the time and attention you need. I promise to take you—us—seriously, and to value and make the most of the time we spend together. Today, tomorrow, and every day.
Today was the 100Th day of kindergarten. Nolan is sporting a 100 hat with 100 stickers on it. His accessories include a 100 fruit loop-ed necklace. The 3rd graders mentor the kindergartners and came to help with each station. (Just so happens Ben is a 3rd grader and got to help!) They counted 10 sets of 10 snacks to make trail mix, flip a coin 100 times to see if heads or tails would 'win', built something out of 100 blocks, rolled a gigantic dice 100 times to see what # would 'win', put together 100 piece puzzles, and built items out of 100 Lego's. Whew! What a fun day....looking forward to 100 more! 
It was so frustrating! Each of the boys that earned an award was given a balloon to pop that had the award in it. Of the 10 belt loops Ben earned, every single balloon he popped he had his back to me. geesh. Here is his backside.
Chris and Nolan enjoying the refeshments.
Bear skit.
White nylons filled with cotton. Way less mess, plus you can use them year-round. Ummm, did I mention it was 76 degrees today? The high tomorrow is in the 80's. Lovin' Texas weather.
I cannot believe my middle child is already 9 years old. It seems like just yesterday his big 3 year old sister, was building forts around our tiny baby boy with the couch cushions. Ben was born in Colorado at 12:01 a.m.- he made it into the 20Th day of January just in the nick of time! Ben's first apgar score was 0. He was born blue, with the umbilical cord wrapped tight around his neck 2 times. He was not breathing. Lucky for us, he made it through, and still likes to do death defying 9 year old "boy" stunts. Here are some fun/interesting facts about Ben: 
