Jump roping...

My jump rope from Dick's Sporting Goods Store

I bought myself a jump rope.  Now I know what you're thinking-why on earth are you jumping rope when you're about to have major hip surgery?  Well, the doctor gave me no restrictions up to my surgery and all the research I've done indicates that jump roping is actually better for my hip joints than running or bike riding, so why not? 

Well, I'll tell you why not if you need to hear it. 

Oh, I'm not going to stop jump roping, because my heart actually felt like it was going to pound out of my chest for the all of 60 seconds I did it, but I am going to squelch any false ideas you may have been thinking in regards to jumping up and down (for a relatively slow speed) with a rope.

Some people say that doing anything in life is like riding a bike-you never forget.  You can get right back into whatever you stopped doing (within reason)and pretty much not have forgotten how to do it.

I'm not saying I've forgotten how to jump rope, but I will tell you that jumping with a rope as an almost 40 year old, is NOTHING like jumping rope when I was a kid.  Seriously.  I used to jump rope all the time.  Remember the 'teddy bear, teddy bear, jump around, teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around?'  Yea, well, here I was, at Dick's Sporting Goods Store and they don't even call jump ropes for grown ups, jump ropes!  Their called, SPEED ROPES. 

There was nothing related to speed happening in my living room this morning.  It was a bunch of cardiac attacks and rope hitting me in the foot as I attempted to jump rope thinking all the while, "Why is this so hard?"

Seriously.  I had a completely different image of me jumping rope.  I even told my husband, "I'll jump rope for about 20-30 minutes every other day-that will be a superb workout."  I did my research and discovered I shouldn't do the workout in the basement, because I needed a floor that would give (wood), so I just KNEW the family room was large enough and open enough to accommodate my extensive workout.  My husband was not as convinced.  I believe his exact words were, "I don't think you'll be doing 20 minutes to start out with Amy.  I think it's a little tougher than you're thinking."

Why don't I ever listen to him?

I barely made it 30 seconds. 

Are you kidding me?  I seriously missed this workout by a mile. 

I'm so not looking forward to admitting it out loud to the love of my life.  Fortunately for me, he knows me so well that he'll probably just tell me he's proud of my 30 second workout today. 

My heart was up and running pretty intensely, so that does give me hope that once I build myself up to one minute, I'll be doing my heart some good.... and maybe, just maybe, I'll impress my six year old...


Have a great Tuesday!

This is what I thought I would look like...

I was sadly mistaken...


Here is a video of Buddy Lee-he is a master jump roper.  Watch and be amazed...

Day One....

Well, it's day one of nine single parent days.  I am not doing to shabby, but I can definitely tell you that after dropping my hubby off at the airport at 5:50 this morning, I am about to collapse.  I don't think 5:30 should be an hour anyone should EVER have to get up for.  I know it's been almost three years since I had a nursing baby, but I'm terribly spoiled with being asleep when it's dark... and at 5:30am it's VERY DARK.

So far the day (which is only day one of NINE) has gone slightly ok.  I have decided that it never fails that when my sweet, wonderful, handsome hubby goes out of town, I have a schedule crammed full of more activities and obligations in that short time then I do the entire time he's actually IN TOWN!

Today was no exception.  Minus the very early wake up call and drive, I did my Pilate's (I have to do something you know), got the 4 older ones off to school, ran to the store, delivered goodies to a friend, stopped by another friend's house for lunch and to steal her oldest daughter to babysit for me while I took my oldest and my youngest to the doctor for their yearly physical.  Drove her home, fed the natives, shouted at a few obstinate munchkins and now I'm barely able to keep my eyes open as I type this... or dype this as I first typed!

Tomorrow is equally jammed, along with Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and finally, Tuesday of next week, it slows down.  Of course, he comes home Tuesday afternoon...

I'm even too tired to even attempt to be funny tonight...so tomorrow I'll try to blog a tad earlier, or sleep in. 

Amish Country

We saw a similar scene this morning!

Today we took the kids to see an amazing part of New York.  Amish Country.  I must admit, it's a way of life I sure would like to indulge in, especially when I see how much technology affects people, especially my own family.

 When you see an area of the country with absolutely no electricity, horse and buggy's, simple clothing (meaning far less arguments over what to wear, not to mention laundry) and farming fresh produce, you can't help but be drawn to the way of life.  Driving into the community, you're met with young people, children who appeared to be my older two children's age, actively participating in the farming.  They drove the horses who were plowing the fields, they were taking the horse and buggy places, and my kids seeing this was so good!

Again, off the Internet, but we saw several scenes just like this.

It was a fabulous witness to being an active member of your family.  Each farm seemed to have a special trade, from sawmills that produced anything from kitchen cabinets, to bedroom suits, to Adirondack chairs, to the bakers who by the way, made a donut that sold for .80 cents that would put Krispy Kreme out of business, to the rug and quilt makers, the iron workers, the cheese store, the candy store (which sold fudge that was fresh from the hot pot)and the fresh eggs... Oh my.

It was such a treat to see the families!  We stopped at a few places and let me tell you, if you ever get the opportunity to taste (or buy)cheese curds, dear Heavenly Father-what a treat from Heaven they are!!   It's the cheese before the cheese if you will.  Cheese curds are the first pieces in the process of making cheese blocks.  The curds are put together and then aged and sold-but the curds look like small pieces of cheese and they are absolutely DELICIOUS!  I couldn't stop eating them-which is why my sweet hubby bought me a pound of them!

The sweet lady that sold us the Delicious baked good was so quiet.  Her homemade cinnamon roll PIE, was only $3.00 and I'm sure (from the nibble I stole off it) after heating it up a tad in the morning, will make a fantastic breakfast.

The candy lady was more talkative and seemed genuinely tickled that we had 6 children (one of ours brought a friend) and spoke to us about how she had to put a motor into her beater because her shoulder was hurting so badly from beating the fudge by hand.  I know how frustrated I get and I don't make half of what I do from scratch, talk about taking a bite of humble pie!  These people seem so happy!  I really feel it's genuine.  We would wave to the children out working and they would smile and wave.  I almost felt as though I was intruding on their personal lives (but there is a website inviting you to see all they have to offer-I wonder how they got that together without electricity???)

My own children were so amazed by what they saw, that they came home and took a few dirty clothes outside, proceeded to "wash" them in a bucket and try to make a clothesline to hang them on.  Then they put firewood in the fire pit and pretended to cook dinner while a few of them "plowed" the yard with their horse and plow. 

I do try and keep a simple life here at home...but being in Amish country today, makes me want to try a little harder...no more grumbling over that next electronic device (i.e. camera!) when I can't get it...

Did you know the Amish do not let you photograph them? It's against their beliefs.  So is doing any kind of work on Sundays.  Again, I am amazed at their lives...and they have a very strong belief in God and they do believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God and was sent to save them.  I learned a lot about this amazing group and how they cherish humility.  They try to live a simple, humble, but joyful life. 

This is very similar to me how religious orders in the Catholic church operate.  I have always been fascinated with religious sisters and brothers and the "rules" or "ways of life" they operate their day to day lives by doing, or following.  They almost seem to mimic how I found the Amish to live as well. 

I so enjoyed today and can't wait to go back and get some more of those fabulous donuts.  I have made a request to my wonderful hubby that a nice pie safe, or simple china cabinet would be nice as well...

We saw two boys and a little girl this morning, too!  Found this online!

3 Weeks but who's counting...

Calendars are very important to me...

As someone who is notorious for counting EVERYTHING I do, I have a few times that I'm keeping track of.  The biggest one is of course the hip surgery that is scheduled for May 2nd, unless of course I fail the physical in 2 weeks.  I'm not sure why I would fail the physical, because then that would open the door for a whole new gammet of issues, but there is just a tiny little part of me that hopes I do to completely avoid this surgery! (by the way, spell check says 'gammet' is not a word-so that explains even more about me...) Maybe the fact that my heart has been pounding out of my chest and causing me intense anxiety would cause me to fail the physical??  I know, I shouldn't worry, and I am truly the hypocrite when I tell others not to worry but here I am in a near state of panic...

But I really have tried to not be worried!  I have prayed unceasingly for God to remove this stress and worry and let me just relax and trust and I have prayed for my doctor (no, not that he would come down with the flu the day of....although...).  I have really put a lot of effort into my prayer, or so I think.

I am also counting the days until my hubby gets back in town, too.  He hasn't even left yet (yes, I'm that much of a counting nut) but I absolutely can not STAND it when he goes out of town.   This time, of course, there are a million things going on the entire 9 days he's gone.  We have big G's middle school orientation (she starts 7th grade next year), we have religious ed class, we have our marriage group meeting, we have after school activities, doctor appointments for the kids, you name it, it's happening when he's GONE...  That of course does NOT help my anxiety and heart attack-like feeling I get in my chest when I think about all I have to do while he's out enjoying himself at a "training."  OK, he hates it when I say that, while he's out working hard and missing me just as much at a "training."  It almost pained me to write that because of course what I really see is, a maid to clean your room every morning, no one but yourself to get ready in the morning, enjoying taking a class and learning something new, eating out and doing NO dishes...etc. etc.  I do have issues.  I am working on them...

So the counting days are here and to be honest, counting has always helped me get through a situation.  I guess it's my "coping" mechanism if you will?  When I broke my neck the summer after my freshman year in college, I literally X'ed out my calendar and had the number of days until I got the halo off written in red.  I want to say it was something like 103 days?  That was over 20 years ago, so you see how numbers affect me.

So we have 3 more days til he leaves, two weeks until my physical, and 3 weeks until my surgery left.

Good grief.  I might need counseling... :)

Good thing I have my new addiction, coffee and now that Lent is over, I can eat my weight in ice cream again...

Happy Thursday everyone! 

Holy Thursday

Today is Holy Thursday.  I must confess, I think I've had too much coffee today.  Either that, or I'm very nervous about something... And since I can't think of what on earth I could be nervous about, I'm afraid it's the coffee...or at least the caffeine in the coffee...might try decaf next...

So, as I tried to state earlier, today is Holy Thursday.  The day when Jesus gathered his disciples together to not only break bread with, establishing the Eucharist that we celebrate every day in our church together, but to also wash their feet.  Now, for Jesus to wash his disciples feet was no easy task.  Back in Jesus' day, it was custom for the servants to wash the feet of guests because of course, there was no paved road and some didn't even wear shoes let alone the sandals that surely did not keep dirt out. 

Jesus washing the feet of His disciples.

So it was the job of the servants of a particular house to wash guests feet. 

Jesus was not a servant, so when the disciples saw Jesus washing one anothers feet, they were puzzled.  Why on earth would this man, who claimed to be the Son of God, stoop to such a dirty task? 

Exactly the same reason that He was born in a yucky old cave like barn in a manger that unlike the lovely creche's portray, was a glorified feeding trough for animals that stunk like you know what and were probably not the neatest eaters...

A God who humbles Himself before His disciples and washes their feet, is the same God who allowed Himself to be scourged at the pillar, a "halo of thorns smashed into His head, was made to drag a portion of His cross around town for all to see, and then was nailed to a cross for one thing.  To save each one of us so that... "who ever believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life."  (John 3:16)

Along with washing their feet, Jesus also instituted the Eucharist at that Last Supper.  The very words from the bible are the very words the priest proclaims 'in persona Christi' at Mass every single day. 

I don't know about you, but I've heard people say if Jesus wasn't the real deal, than He was a madman. 

I choose to believe he was the real deal, myself...

Jesus celebrating the Eucharist.

ME-isms...

This is perfect for me today...

Since I don't publish my children's full names on my blog-you'll have to just understand these are the lovely antics my little ME gets into and has brought me so much joy and happiness through the last few months of her life...  If her name were Annure, it would be called Annur-isms... get it?  Yes, I thought of that all by myself...

So my 3 1/2 year old (who will be 4 in August) has been diagnosed with a new problem called "Massive Tantrumitis."  This so-called condition, is brought on by several factors.  I shall list them...
1. Not getting her way.
2. Not getting what she wants.
3. Having to leave a friend's house earlier than she had planned. (aka-not getting her way)
4. Not buckling herself into her seat belt properly.
5. Not getting to ride in certain parts of the grocery cart.
6. Not being allowed to put her window down in the car and sticking her hand, or various other objects out the window.
7. Not eating her breakfast.
8. Not picking up her toys.
9. Not getting her water bottle when asked.
10. Not putting her shoes up when she takes them off...

Now, I probably could list about 200 other things that set this new condition off, but for the sake of time (remember, we're both wasting precious amounts of that while I write and you read) I'll leave the top 10 and go from there...

You're probably wondering what happens when the factors are brought on...I'm so glad you asked.  I will tell you.

She turns about 5 shades purple/red and begins to scream and carry on at the top of her lungs.  At some point, she nearly gags herself, upon which I tell her if she pukes, she's cleaning it up because I don't do puke illness very well, let alone puke brought on by tantrums.  She will begin to wail that her legs are hurting and she can't pick anything up.  She will throw things, including grape tomatoes, that make a lovely mess in the middle of the cereal isle.  She will try to embarrass me as much as possible so that if this were not my 5th child, I could never venture in public again...Little does she know this ain't my first rodeo...  She will tell you she is too tired to pick her clothes, shoes, water bottle, toys, whatever it is you've asked her to pick up and begin to melt into the carpet, grocery store floor, car seat, floor of van, or garage floor.   It's quite fascinating.  I've almost decided to sign her up for a case study so she can be one of the first the cure might be made available to...

I'm not sure if there is a cure, except that at some point in all five of my children's lives, they've all done this.  And the funny thing is, rarely is it the terrible twos.  More often than not, it's been the trying three's. 

I will try to find a picture that captures the true essence of what I experience on almost a daily basis in my home, at the store, at friend's homes, in parking lots, walks, and most places her and I venture these days...

It still won't do it justice.  I don't even think crayola could make the color her face gets... 

This doesn't hold a candle to her...

Fishing with Palms...

A cross made by a palm

Some days I wish I carried a camera with me every where I went.  I know, if I was truly a techno-savy geek I'd have one of those cool iPhone or droids or robots, or whatever they're called...but I don't, so until I start, you'll just have to visualize the humor I see on almost a daily basis.

Take today for instance.  Palm Sunday.  I absolutely LOVE Holy Week.  I really do. I wish I had known more about my faith as a young person, but now I'm taking what I know and teaching my children.  So Palm Sunday, the day we get our Palms, means even more to me now.  This is the first Palm Sunday in 7 years I only had 3 children in the pew, too! JT was serving, and my little EM was spending the night with a friend and attending a later Mass. 

So you would think with only 3 and one of the only 3 being 12, we might have a less entertaining pew to watch?   Not hardly, my friend.  I think until all five of my children are grown and no longer sitting with us at Mass we will always be open to the fact that something  entertaining will happen during Mass.  Today was just another notch in the belt of two people who think they have see everything...not so!

So in true Catholic form, we had to arrive to Mass about 20 minutes early because this week tends to wake sleeping, guilty Catholics up to attend and pews in the front tend to be their targets, so we got to church at 9:15 (15 minutes early) and found a front row pew.  I had already taken the little one potty (I will miss using her as an excuse for myself, let me tell you) and we all had our palms and my hubby and I had put ours behind us lest the two younger ones decided to use them for weapons, er, I mean toy swords, too.  My youngest is definitely at one of the most entertaining phases in life.   Some of it is clearly #5 syndrome and if you have 5 children you'll understand, and if you don't, well, just picture your youngest child x's 20... Yes.  Spoiled to the CORE because quite frankly, you've read all the ridiculous baby books and you've decided that they are all....yes, ridiculous, so you throw caution to the wind and basically as long as the child isn't causing any bodily harm to anyone else or himself, most things go...

Today was no different, except that the bodily harm did involve her trying to poke my eye out with the palm.  Since we sit on the front row, we actually have quite an advantage.  Normally if you're in the middle of the church with people in front and people behind, you have to really keep eye on the palms and make sure your children are not torturing anyone in front or behind you.  Which can get pretty tedious at times because there are some little old ladies who either have never had children, or have just forgotten what it's like to hand a 3 year old a long palm and tell them to just "hold it."  It's pure torture.

But sitting in the front row, we just have to make sure they keep it in our pew or in front of us, (until Communion that is...but that's another entertaining story).  So little ME takes her palm and after a few requests to stop poking me in the eye and stop trying to put it into my mouth, she gets this brilliant 3 year old idea!  She's going fishing!  It's absolutely hysterical!  At one point she tells her dad and I she caught a dolphin!  We both look at each other and he tells her he thinks that's actually illegal and she says, "No it's not." Typical answer from her.  But she continues fishing.  She is definitely entertained for a very long time with this palm.  She put in in the book holder on the pew and tried swatting it a few times like it was battling her, she threw it over the front of the pew and had to "retrieve" it several times which is an old favorite of hers with books.  Nothing like getting a little fresh air when you leave the pew for a few seconds...

Overall, Mass was rather enjoyable.  Like I said, there is nothing like Holy Week in the Church. Think about it, Jesus is a rock star in the gospels today.  People are throwing palms in the road before him, a sign of royalty, people are cheering for him and trying to get a glimpse of him, and on Friday, we'll be remembering his crucifixion and death on the cross by the same people.  I am awed.

Jesus Christ-the rock star on Palm Sunday

I will keep you posted if anything else entertaining happens because we will be at church a lot this week.  Maybe, just maybe, I'll start carrying a camera with me to catch it...