Serenity

Chaos. A fairly constant state in my life. Have you ever seen Ally McBeal? Just a tiny little glimpse into my mind on at least a daily basis. At least once a day I have, what I like to call, an "Ally Moment". I can envision someone's head exploding, and most of the time it is mine. Stress. I am a perfectionist. I could probably be diagnosed with a mild amount of OCD. And I am surrounded by a husband and two kids (can't really count the baby) that are the complete opposite. With that information in hand, lets skip some frames and get into the heavy of the story.

I had to complete an exam for my Sports Law class by 11:55 p.m. on Feb 27, 2011. I was allotted 75 minutes for said exam. I asked my husband if he would corral the kids and keep them out of our room so that I could take the test uninterrupted. He gladly obliged. I finished my test with around 20 minutes left open. I scored at the minimum a 78% on it. Given the amount of time that I didn't spend studying, that is a very desirable grade. I had a couple of text messages and FB notifications to respond too after my exam was done.  

Shortly after my husband came in the room, the "Ally Moment" was blaring in my mind. It was around 9:45 pm. The baby was still awake. The three (we got to keep his daughter tonight) kids were in bed. He was in the bathroom. Pretty much EVERY. LIGHT. IN. THE. HOUSE. was on. The baby's movie was playing. Uhmmm, HULLO!!! Why? Is it only my fingers that are genetically capable of turning power off? Is my body the ONLY one in the family that has the capacity to clean up? Baby toys were strewn from the back door to the front door. Dinner dishes lain unrinsed on the counter. Remains of tonight's meal were abandoned on the stove. 

My daughter was up (past her bedtime) eating a pb&j. She is convinced now (Thank you Grandma) that she is struggling with low blood sugar. I expressed to her in total frustration and sarcasm that I wished that I was a kid in this house or a husband of mine. Because then I would get to spend the evening with the family cutting up, playing games, having a good time. Leaving every light in that part of the house on, all the baby toys laying around, and I wouldn't feel the least bit guilty.

And then it happened.

The "AM" (Ally Moment"). I reached over to start putting the dishes in the dishwasher. And I saw it. The droplings. My wonderful, amazing, astounding, husband...had loaded a dip...dropped some of it on the counter...and LEFT. IT. THERE. 

Truth be told, he didn't see it. I don't have to ask and I know this. He would never intentionally leave things for me to take care of. And therein lies the problem. He never intentionally avoids it. He would have gone to bed with the movie playing, toys strewn all over, doors unlocked, lights on and the dishes would have still been there in the morning. It took me 15 minutes to get it back in order. A drop in the hat for time. But why should I always have to be the one to do it?

Oh! I was ready for my head to just implode! Ranting on and on in my head. Negativity after negativity. 

Then everyone went to bed. I grabbed my Nook. I started reading Sheet Music. Leman was talking about backgrounds, and rulebooks, and all sorts of things about how to discover your spouse. I mean, REALLY. DISCOVER. YOUR. SPOUSE. The nerves started to calm. The stress started to lift. I read the chapter I was currently in, then I closed that book and opened The Bible. I began reading Proverbs. I am now so incredibly calm. Enlightened. Empowered with The Word. 

Yes, God. I hear you loud and clear!

Reminiscence

I was just looking back at the beginning of this blog. I have had some interesting moments for sure. There have been some posts that have been deleted to protect the innocent (myself). There are some posts that I am very thankful I took the time to create. As I sit back and look over them, I am reminded that I put a lot of effort into being a mom and wife. The thing that made say to myself..."Holy crap. I can't read anymore!" are the posts about summer vacation. I wasn't able to do much over the last two summers because Logan has been so little. I am hopeful that this year we can be more active outdoors with ALL of the kids.

Eek! Summer vacation IS upon us. This Momma has got to do some researchin' and plannin' or it'll be one big snore of a time. Currently taking suggestions!!!

Baked Banana Oatmeal

Dear oh dear...this boy of mine! He is so difficult to feed. He rarely eats well. I'm not concerned about him being hungry. I know, he will eat when he is hungry. I am concerned about his nutrition. He is a rapidly growing little boy and his body needs fuel! I am always trying to find things that he will eat and eat well. That is a huge challenge! I came across this recipe and thought I would give it a try. He ate some of it, not a tremendous amount, just some. It is SO packed with great things though! I haven't gotten him to eat banana's in forever! I used dark chocolate chips to enhance the nutritional value...and I think I may cook up some apples and make a batch with apples instead of banana's. Feel free to comment away!

http://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2010/12/baked-banana-oatmeal.html

Alice in Wonderland

I have been reunited with a friend that is a great writer! She has been working with me to improve my blog =) I'm stealing some of her ideas...or in the words of Gatorade...reapplying her ideas. So I shall protect the names and places of people that shouldn't be directly involved in my blogs. This should allow me to write more! I no longer feel like I am not allowed to express myself. Thank you Miss Sam!!!!

There is a person, a female, that has made it her lifelong focus to infiltrate my life in any way possible. At least, that it is the way it seems to me. I sarcastically refer to her as the Queen of Hearts. This shall be her name on here. 

"Off with her head!" I think that she feels that way about me about a million times a day. It seems like she TRIES to find ways to irritate me. She has become good friends with quite a few people that I am really good friends with. She spends time with them. She does fun things with them. At least that is the way it appears in the virtual world. Don't we just love EVERY aspect that Facebook gives us!

I recently realized that I have been doing the same thing with some of HER friends. That's right...I've been getting close, started relationships, formed bonds, with some off HER friends. I have gone into HER world and started taking over it. Allbeit that I didn't do it for the same reasons. I had no evil intentions behind it. I simply wanted to share my love of fitness and friendship with others. 

I have to admit...when I realized this was the case, that I have begun to infiltrate the Queen of Hearts life, (whispers)...it felt good. It made me feel like I had accomplished something good. Like I was better. I know this is not the case. The only saving grace that I have is that my intentions were pure. It still feels a little good to know that I have perhaps one up'd her. That she has been forced to experience what life is like in my Wonderland. To know what it feels like to have to share something that is SO important to you with someone you have NO desire to be around. To cram your presence down her throat.

Okay...I will work on doing better. I will work on not letting this situation exist any longer. I just needed to live in it for a smidgen of time.

The woe's of fitness

I have learned just how un-fun the repercussions of instructing fitness classes can be. There are muscles that a person doesn't even realize they have. Those muscles are SO sore!!! The muscles that are on the inside of your shins...right next to the shin bone...are painfully sore. It feels as though my muscles may just rip completely off if I squat down. 

Most people don't take into consideration that there is more than meets the eye for instructing Zumba classes. I truly wish that I had some natural ability to choreograph and memorize instantly. Since I'm a robotic white girl, it takes hours, and I do mean hours, of practice to remember the routine. Can you imagine four to six solid hours of Zumba? That is what it takes if you aren't a natural. That is just PRACTICE TIME!!! Most instructors teach at least three classes a week. That is a lot of cardio in a week!

There are tons of really great positive things involved in being an instructor =) I get the honor of helping so many wonderful people become physically fit. I've seen what Zumba can do for a persons attitude...and it is SO positive! The relationships that are built in the Zumba world are so encouraging and supportive. The Zumba company is incredibly involved with charity and giving back to our communities. There are always Zumbathons going on! Since I've been an instructor there have been Zthons for MS and heart health. Two of my fave instructors had a regular class this week and they gave every bit of the money for the class to a family in Verdigris (the town they have class in) whose little daughter was battling a brain tumor. They were able to donate $700 + to that family!

I feel so fortunate to be a part of the Zumba world. If anyone is a physical therapist and would like to fix me pro-bono...I would greatly appreciate it!!!

Whatchu Say?

I know that I've neglected to write for a while. I was on such a great streak...writing a new positive post daily...then life got busy and I got distracted. Story of my life. 

I spent my time from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm knowing that I needed to get the assigned reading done for my school assignments. All the while I found so many other things that just HAD to be done. 

The kitchen floor needed swept. I hate walking around and feeling dirt through my socks. Then I realized that the back living room needed vacuumed. Logan plays back there and I could see the rocks and grass on the carpet! That is an absolute priority to fix! Oh, and the dishes needed done, the laundry needed started, and of course, I just HAD to Facebook for a while!

A terrific friend of mine suggested that I check out the Fly Lady website. I don't know about you, but my time is precious and limited, so I didn't spend much time on the site. I did get to read about setting a timer for yourself. See how much you can accomplish in 15 minutes. You would really be surprised. I had done it before and was proud of my accomplishments. So this afternoon I set the timer again. From 1:00 pm until 7:30 pm., I read all of the material I needed for my assignments that are due tomorrow. I got most of the dishes washed, all of the laundry done, the baby down for a nap, half of my assignment done, and when the baby woke up we played outside for about an hour! It is truly amazing what you can accomplish.

The little Lemons is fighting sleep hardcore now. I figured this would be a perfect time to update the blog. I have several that I follow, so I was checking out their updates on my dashboard. TipJunkie has a TON of fantastic resources for blogging...and I almost lost myself in it. Then I read this on www.eightcrazydesigns.com: 

"You never get a second chance at a first impression. Your website or your blog IS your first impression to most of the world. It should be an accurate reflection of what your business is about or  what you as an individual want to convey."

As much as I wanted to keep reading and searching the site, the words just kept slapping my mind around. I was forced to consider what my blog said about me. I have neglected my blog for quite a while. As women, don't we usually neglect ourselves to tend to the needs of others? 

As my blog shows...I can be funny, creative, witty, smart, angry, and absent. That last trait is the one that bothers me the most. I don't like it when I am absent. Sometimes, when the world is running high speed around you, stop! Reflect. Realize. Regroup. Re-enlist! 

~Watch for more of the Lemons Life soon!!!

Quick! Hurry!

I've been struggling with getting all of my "to-do's" done today. So I put myself on a 15 minute timer. For 15 minutes I can read my school work. Then I can go fold some laundry. Do the dishes. Fix a meal for the fam. Facebook for a bit. You get the point. I've been neglecting my blog in a very saddening way. I had 3 minutes left of my play time and thought I would spend it on here updating. Suffice it to say, I can't say much. Maybe I will post twice in one day!