Up, Up and Away

The morning after the Styx concert, Russ was up early again with all three boys to see the balloons.

But this time, Russ, Luke, and Leif got a (tethered) ride in the Panda balloon!

Lola and I met them (again) at the airport, where we had decided to pay for Leif to go on a plane ride (since he wasn’t old enough for the free Young Eagles flights). Leif was a little apprehensive about the unknown (he had refused the helicopter ride when he saw it had no doors!). I had never been in a small plane, and was looking forward to it! We called up Grandpa Ron and asked if he would like to join us.

It was a cool and breezy morning. Leif and I sat in the back seat so we could snuggle up.

Once we started moving, Leif LOVED it! He’s ready to go again!

I wonder what our next adventure will be?

Health

I’m acting on billboards.

I’ve recently read two fantastic posts written by two friends that put a fire under me in regards to exercise. I don’t plan on running (I would have to drive to somewhere else in order to run and my only childless options for workout times are 4 am or 10 pm), but they were inspiring nonetheless so I thought I would share them with you.

::  Run From Your Problems? by Danielle at Further Up and Further In (absolutely hilarious)

::  He didn’t make me fast, but I still run for His pleasure by Tsh (Simple Mom) at (in)courage (just beautiful)

I also have to express my utmost gratitude to my lovely Whole30 support group on facebook (*another* point for social media) for helping me kick my addiction to Dr. Pepper. Several women suggested I try flavored seltzer water. I was dubious, but I bought some La Croix and gave it a try. The first sip wasn’t so great. But I kept going back for another sip. And another. Within a DAY, people, I can say that seltzer water completely took away my craving for Dr. Pepper. That is nothing short of a miracle. It has been a few months. I still have had a few Dr. Peppers here and there, but they aren’t as satisfying and I have no trouble going back to my seltzer water. (I drink either La Croix or Seagrams.)

Day 1/2:
It was afternoon when my friend Danielle, who wrote one of the above posts, told me she had just finished week 1 of the Whole30 Challenge. I decided then and there to join her and DO. THAT. THING. I managed a Costco shopping trip during peak sample hour without snitching. And then my awesome hubby brought home an ice-cold Dr. Pepper for me, and I *didn’t drink it*!

Dinner was a Romaine salad with chicken, grape tomatoes, avocado, toasted sliced almonds, and Caesar dressing (okay, that isn't legal, but I'll be doing some dairy). I also had a few pea pods and a little smoothie (banana, baby spinach, pineapple (canned but not sweetened), and frozen blackberries).

Day 1:
Breakfast—Eggs and Aidells chicken apple sausage
Lunch—A repeat of yesterday’s salad
Dinner—Roasted broccoli/sausage/slivered almonds

Day 2:
Breakfast—A handful of pistachios with a few (sweetened) dried cranberries (We jetted out of the house and that’s all I had time to grab.)
Lunch—Celery with almond butter and a small bowl of spaghetti meat sauce (no noodles, but the sauce had sugar in it)
Dinner—Oven-baked chicken fajitas with avocado and fresh tomato (and a little bit of cheese and sour cream) and a few pea pods
Dessert—Fried plantain (in coconut oil) with sea salt
(And that’s with a box of donuts in the house all day!)
Exercise—(misc.)

Day 3:
Breakfast—Eggs, Italian sausage, and kale (with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese)…so delicious!
Lunch—Left-over chicken fajitas
Dinner—Potluck food: BBQ chicken, chicken fajitas, watermelon
Dessert—Homemade chocolate Larabar
(Made Rice Krispie treats and managed to not eat any)
Exercise—(misc.)

Day 4:
Breakfast—Eggs, Italian sausage, and kale (w/ parmesan cheese)
Lunch—Left-over chicken fajitas
Dinner—Tuna w/ mayo (sugar-free) over romaine lettuce with grape tomatoes and sunflower seeds, and pea pods
Dessert—A little bit of chocolate Larabar
Exercise—Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred (oy vey)

Day 5:
Breakfast—Eggs, Italian sausage, and kale (w/parmesan cheese)
Lunch—Banana and almond butter, sweet potato chips
Dinner—Left-over chicken fajitas
(Made Rice Krispie treats again and managed to not eat any, but those marshmallows were relentlessly calling my name…)
Exercise—I really had to talk myself into working out again, because I was sore and had a million other things to do, but I got myself all ready…and then the DVD player wouldn’t work. I decided it was fate, and skipped the exercise.

Day 6:
Breakfast—Eggs, Italian sausage…
Lunch—Sweet potato chips (yeah, I was lazy)
Dinner—Taco salad
Dessert—The real deal at book club, and it was *delicious* (I had promised myself I could still have this treat!)
Exercise—Would you believe I talked myself into exercising at 11:30 pm to make up for the dessert I ate? My DVD player still wasn’t working, so I had to work out on my own.

Day 7:
Breakfast—Eggs, Italian sausage… (I’m exciting, I know.)
Lunch—Taco Salad

 

And five days of single parenting. Not bad for a week’s work!

Giveaway Winners!

Thank to all who entered the You Can Do It Too! giveaway. We have three winners!

Paris said… “I would love a copy of this! Thanks!

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April said… “A copy of this would be fun to read. Thanks for the opportunity Heidi.”

If you are one of the winners, please email me (heidi(at)poetsgarden(dot)com) with your contact information!

Styx

After resting up a bit, we headed back over to the park for a free concert with millions of other people. (Maybe not millions…)

Lola was in a silly mood. I was so glad she had had a long nap!

The concert was outstanding. What a bunch of fun. Lola thought it was the best thing ever and spent the whole time rockin’ out!

The kids had glow sticks, which made dancing bunches of craziness.

The show ended with fireworks. Wahoooo!

Air

My awesome hubby took all four children to Night Glow at the Art and Air Festival while I was at book club discussing The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. He is awesome (and The Jungle is depressing, but my fellow book club peeps are marvelous).

Not only did he take all for kids to Night Glow, but he got up at the crack of dawn (which he is used to due to his work schedule) and took the older two boys to see the balloons lift off in the morning.

Not only did he get up in the early morning hours and take the boys to see the balloons, he headed over to the airport to stand in line for a very long time to sign the boys up for Young Eagle flights.

Lola, Leif, and I joined them at the airport. Lola thought it was a place full of wonder.

Then it was time for the older boys to head out on their flights. Luke had been looking forward to this for a year. He was too young last year, but a pilot was at the airport giving free rides to younger kids! Luke is never one to turn down adventure!

Levi wasn’t quite as gung-ho. He is more timid when it comes to dangerous adventure, and he had never wanted to go flying before. But he did very well, and said he would love to go again!

I took the younger kids home for a nap (well, Lola got one), and the rest of the boys stayed to help my dad with his World War II display at the airport. Later in the afternoon they all came home to eat dinner and rest up for our evening adventure…