Some of Tom's Christmas Presents

Tom here, again. Thought I'd put a little post on some cool things I got for Christmas as sort of a general thanks and hi-lite on some cool things. Now... I'm limiting this to a few things... otherwise the post would be WAY too long, I got tons of cool things.

Awesome little keychain I got. I finally can manage all the many keys I have to deal with and pop off ones I don't need all the time. No need to keep van keys on the chain all the time during the work-week... no need to keep work keys and USB stick on the chain during the weekend.

Awesome teapot! Makes brewing quality tea quite a bit easier. Put your tea in (loose-leaf or tea bags are just fine), pour in the water, wait, then put the teapot on top of your pitcher/cup to drain. Just need to remember the pesky little task of remembering to get it taken care of after ~ 3 minutes to keep the tea from going bad. Some tea I had last week from Christina's loose-leaf tea from India she got me didn't taste so good. Today I made some and it was perfect... must have forgotten to keep track of time last week.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers is a pretty fun and unique game for the Wii. This game is pretty cool and VERY different from any other Final Fantasy game that I have ever seen. Broken down, the gameplay involves you taking control of things and moving/throwing using the Wiimote. A fun battle I played recently was a battle in a frozen wasteland against a King Behemoth. Battles have quite a different feel from other games and often take a short while to complete... although if you're too slow, all the monsters go away and you miss out on completing the battle for more treasure.

Oberon Design Sky Dragon Nook Cover. I got this cover for my Nook eReader and it works GREAT. Oberon Design did a great job on putting together this nice dyed leather cover. I find that besides looking good and protecting it, it makes it much more natural to read. When folded back, it adds enough body to make it like reading a normal book as opposed to a thin eReader.

Tom's Day Alone With The Kids

Time to put in my bi-weekly blog-post.

Today, Jenn went to my cousin's baby shower down in Indianapolis while I watched the kids for the whole day.
The day started with Daniel, early in the morning as Jenn left. He was pretty good for me and even went down very well for his morning nap. Right after that, Natalie was up and ready for her breakfast.

The whole day went pretty well. Daniel played with his bike quite a bit and hopping up on the couch with me when I was on it. Natalie had me read some of her library books and watched some movies passively. I have to say that Daniel's ability to point out exactly what he wants... sometimes... helps out immensely. A good example is when digging through the fridge for something for him, I pulled out milk and he was passive, but when I pulled out apple-juice, he pointed at it and said with a happy face "that!".

Looking forward to a good night's rest, however... even on a good day, watching the kids alone can be a bit of a drain (though being sick doesn't help any).

I read an article lately that people who exercise get sick less and when they do their symptoms aren't as severe. Apparently my body failed to read that article because I am sicker than I have been in years! This is especially frustrating because it is hampering my workout efforts. I have been suffering through swimming (not easy when you can't breathe!) but can't go run until I can breathe again.

And of course, Daniel is sick... AGAIN! This means that he can't go to childwatch at the Y. So, even walking is out of the question. I am worried about Daniel, the poor kid is ALWAYS sick. He catches EVERYTHING and of course when he does get something its never the mild form of it, he gets severe symptoms. It hasn't ever progressed past a cold so there isn't much the doctors can do for him.

Natalie so far is healthy, but I am sure she will catch it soon enough! I am praying that we are all healthy enough for this weekend. I obviously need to be healthy, but I need the kids to be semi healthy too because I wouldn't leave Tommy with both of them sick (or even one of them sick if the symptoms are bad).

Natalie goes to the dentist tomorrow morning for a consult on a cavity that she needs to get filled. So sad for her, but unfortunately she probably needs to get used to it. They said her teeth are very "pitted" and will get cavities easier. Lovely. :(

Following Tommy's lead...

Since Tommy has vowed to update this blog more I figured I might as well try to make the same commitment.

Many of you may know that the last three months of my life I have made some major changes to my lifestyle...
- from 6-8 cans of diet coke a day to ONE per day (some days none)
- started exercising again, started out swimming an hour a day, then added in walking and now I am running as well. I spend 2-3 hours a day at the Y working out.
- adapted healthier food habits - less fast food and boxed dinners more home cooking, low cal, low fat, and low sodium!
- realistic dieting! I am not depending on salads at all, I am just cooking very low fat recipes and eating things I want in moderation... it feels much more sustainable this way!

As a result of these changes I have lost a total of 48.8 lbs to date in 13 weeks. This is a huge amount of weight to lose but I still have at least 50 more to lose. I would love to lose even more, but my goal is 50 lbs for the time being.

Tommy's resolutions revolve around writing, mine revolve around dedicating myself to being healthier!
1. Lose another 50 pounds
2. Run a 5K (at least one, would love to do more)
3. Walk a half marathon.
4. Start training for a mini triathlon.
And last but not least, to throw in something thats NOT about me working out...
5. To be a better wife and mother.

That last one needs a bit of explaining. I have been so wrapped up in getting into shape that I feel like Tommy and the kids are kind of getting shafted as far as my time goes. (I try to feel less guilty about it by telling myself that they want me to be healthy and its just a temporary thing!) So while I can't eliminate the time at the gym, I am hoping to use my time at home with the family in a more positive and constructive way!

Natalie: Natalie is 3 and a half now, hard to believe... it feels like yesterday that we found out we were expecting her. She is starting to show a rambunctious and sassy side! She will be starting preschool next fall, we just sent in her registration and deposit. She will be in a 4/5 class to make sure she is (hopefully) prepared for kindergarten the year after! We find ourselves saying alot "she's to smart for her own good," and its quite true. She can do simple math and identify letters/colors. But, most impressive are her reasoning skills. There are often times that Tommy and I just look at each other and shake our heads... she never ceases to amaze us. She has been on a dress streak lately, she only wants to wear dresses - and let me tell you, winter is NOT the time to decide you only want to wear dresses. It's definitely been a challenge.

Daniel: My little bruiser... he is 16 months old now. He is SOLID, you'd never know that there was a point in his life where they were worried he wasn't big enough. Not to say he's fat, I think solid is definitely the right word. He loves balls and cars, and anything "boy." He got a tricycle that converts to a rocker for Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa Harning and he loves to get up on it and rock all day long. He doesn't talk a ton, but I am told thats pretty normal for boys. His favorite word is "mama" and he is definitely a momma's boy. He also says "dada"and "duice" (juice) on a regular basis. He has many other words, but he relies alot on those three and we don't hear the others as often. He will eat almost anything and sleeps a ton!

Looking forward to a trip down to Carmel in about a week and a half, it will be the first time that Tommy has been totally responsible for the kids for more than a few hours. I have never spent the night away from Daniel, and was only away from Natalie when I was in the hospital after Daniel was born. I am nervous to say the least! I am actually going down for a baby shower on Saturday, but plan to stay in a hotel Saturday night and then go home on Sunday to give Tommy more time to fly "solo" with the kids. I think he is going to be very surprised and EXHAUSTED by the time the weekend in finished!

Well, I think thats all for now. Hope everyone has a pleasant 2011.

Tom's New Year's Resolution for 2011

I'm submitting that my New Year's Resolution for 2011 is "To Write".

To clarify and make it measurable, I am starting out with the following goals:

* a family blog post every 2 weeks
* a published book this year

This blog post does not count against the blog post every 2 weeks, except perhaps to kick off the deadline measurement. As for the published book... it would be through Smashwords, a great resource for self-publishing. Depending on the type of book, I might even offer it as a paper-form through some service... not sure which.

Look forward to putting a blog post out 2 weeks from now. :)