How do they do it?

I just don't know how people actually get up early to work out.  Every morning I set my alarm for about 45-60 minutes before I really need to get up, just so I can hop on the elliptical to start my day off on the right foot.  Guess what happens.  That alarm goes off and instantly gets turned off and my late alarm gets set.  Every.Single.Day.  I just can't help it.

I'm not a morning person at all.  Never have been.  I wake up with the smallest amount of time to spare to get ready in the morning.  I don't do make up in the morning (more so because I have absolutely no idea how to do make up) and 9 times out of 10, I don't even brush my hair.  It's swooped up in a messy bun every day.  I'm always running around frantic because I'm chronically late.  So why would I ever think I'd be capable of waking up an hour earlier (usually meaning 5am) to get a jog in?

So what does that translate to?  Homework's been completed.  Dinner's been served.  Kiddos are in bed.  I'm hitting the elliptical between 8:30-9:30 at night.  Not a bad way to end one's day except it makes me WIDE AWAKE.  My body is ready to keep plugging along (and is woken up by my post workout shower) which leaves me up until midnight or so.  Not a good combination for a 5:15am alarm.  It's driving me crazy because I'm not getting enough sleep.

So how do you do it?  How do people force themselves out of bed at that ungodly time of day?  I really need some help/suggestions because I'm not sure how many more nights I can take only getting 5 hours of sleep because I'm so amp'd up post workout.

But on a brighter note, I now understand everyone's obsession with workout gear.  I've changed out of my scrubs into running clothes all week and it's really been quite surprising.  Not only am I motivated to work out (don't want to waste the outfit), I'm actually comfortable!  I love my new Old Navy Bubble Tank and I might actually go out in yoga pants without feeling too ridiculous (I never go out in public in work out clothes.  It's some crazy thing with me)

Of course I instagram'd it
@lifewithmyloves

       Help a sister out!!! My sanity depends on it!!!
 

Love is in the air

How is it possible that it's almost February?  I feel like yesterday I was decorating for Christmas and now I'm planning out my Valentine's Day decor, much to the Hubs's dismay.  While I'm starting to get visions of Conversation Hearts in my apothecary jars, I can't help but get excited about taking the kids to the store to pick out their Valentine's Day cards.

I remember growing up when Mom would take us to the store so we could pick out the perfect cards to give to our classmates.  And there were always the unwritten Valentine rule: your BFFs always got the biggest, best cards while that boy who liked you (that you didn't like in return), he got the one that had nothing related to love (don't want to give the wrong idea). Going through our mailboxes or bags was the best, especially with your girlfriends.  Giggling about what boy gave you what card....oh to be young again!

Fast forward 20 years and I still get excited about Valentine's cards although it's a completely different ballgame now that I'm older.  It's about sending love to our friends and family, near and far.  And for me, it gives me a chance to share some of my favorite pictures of Noah and Emmy while sending a little joy their way.  The Hubs doesn't understand it at all but it's something that I love.  There's nothing more exciting than opening your mailbox and finding a card full of family pictures.  It's one of those things that can brighten even the worst day.

With Valentine's Day around the corner, I am definitely turning to my friends at Shutterfly. Not only do they have amazing photo products, their cards are amazing.  The paper quality is the best I've found and the print quality is stellar.  And I've never been disappointed with their card designs.  This year's Valentine's Day card collection might be my favorite!  There's so many options I can't decide which ones to get. Flat or folded? Square or Rectangle? Black & White or color? 1 picture or many? They even have Erin Condren cards.

I'm telling you....tough decisions.

Here are some of the cards that made it to my "Must Send" list this year:

This one is my favorite (and is very similar to our Christmas card this year)

If only I could get my kids to recreate this picture

I love the idea of sharing family facts and memories

The colors.  The pattern. Swoon!

The brown is a little unexpected for Valentine's Day but I'm loving it

I used this card a few years ago:

I still love the pink and orange combo

So what do you think?  Which one should be the Crimella family Valentine's Day card?
Which card design have you fallen in love with?
How are you planning on sending your Valentine's greetings this year?


{side note.....I absolute adore Shutterfly and their products.  I may or may not have a million orange boxes sitting on my dresser full of pictures and a couple photo books on display in my house. I can't get enough of them!!!  Can't you tell?}

    

Defying Gravity

It's no secret that I love the theater.  I love everything about a good musical.  The songs, the set, the cast.  It's all perfect in my eyes.  The Hubs will indulge this side of me every so often (aka our big trip to NYC just to see RENT off Broadway).  He had planned to get tickets to Wicked for our anniversary until I realized the price tag that comes along with it.  The frugal side of me came out and I told him not to worry about it this year. He then offered up a trip to NYC to see it on Broadway next year (hopefully).  Um hello....who wouldn't agree to that?!?!?  So I said ok and put Wicked out of my mind.

Then on Christmas Eve, my BIL mentioned that he bought tix for his wife (SIL) but now he has to travel for work for 2 weeks and Wicked fell into those 2 weeks so I might have to keep SIL company at the show.  I was starting to get excited again.  Then, on our anniversary, BIL texted the Hubs and said that SIL and our nephew were flying up to see him so they needed someone to take their Wicked tix.  It was our anniversary present. Insert really excited Jess face!!!!

Needless to say, January 20th has been circled in my planner since that day and the countdown began.  I think I get a little annoying by the time the actual day arrives because all I can think about is going. I'm sure the Hubs wanted to kill me.  I was like a kid on Christmas.  I didn't sleep too well Saturday night and woke up Sunday so excited!!!  All I could talk about was the show.  So I think he was happy when we got there and I couldn't talk anymore.

We got to the theater around 1215 and headed in.  We stopped and looked at all the Wicked items and the Hubs indulged me and got the coffee mug for me.  Then we headed to the Orchestra 11 doorway to wait for the doors to open.  When they did, we entered and I was awestruck.  We were in the 10th row!  My BIL/SIL have totally spoiled me now because I think I need to sit close every time!!!  The set design was amazing, what little I could see at that moment.

Yep. That's the stage so close to my seat.  So excited!!!!!

Now I've read the book before.  It tells the back story of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West...aka the green one) and Glinda the Good Witch.  It was very hard to get through but I did it.  I even started "Son of Witch" because I was hooked.  But that got about 2 chapters in before I realized I was confused.  So I put it on the back burner for years. Now, after seeing the show, I've already started rereading Wicked and I'm remembering how hard it was to read.  But I'm convinced that it will be easier this time around.

Back to the show.....

The Hubs didn't realize that it was a musical.  I'm not really sure how this happened because I made a point to find the Gershwin Theatre in NYC so I could say I was at the theater Wicked calls home.

Our trip to NYC in 2011.  I will see this show in this theater before I die.  Get on it Hubs!!!!

But he says he enjoyed it.  I was on the edge of my seat the entire show.  It was funnier than I expected and referenced The Wizard of Oz a ton!  The cast was amazing and the set design was superb. I feel like I'm gushing about it like I'm in love but I can't say enough about it.  It was truly amazing.  "Defying Gravity" is one of my favorite songs anyways and this rendition was nothing short of amazing. I may have spent the past 20 minutes showing the kiddos YouTube videos of Wicked.  Hey, I'm trying to instill a love of the performing arts in them young!  I'm definitely riding the high that follows a great show that theater lovers understand.

If you haven't had the opportunity to see Wicked, you have to!  It's an amazing show!  And if you need someone to go with you, I'm always up for the challenge!!!

I'm spending the rest of my day off with songs of Wicked in my head and enjoying my coffee a little more than usual today

    

It's OK

Time to link up with Amber and Neely again!

It's OK.......
~to be over school germs.  Noah was back for a measly 4.5 days and now we're all sick with the crud
~to be thrilled we got to the second semester of Kindergarten before having to go get Noah from school because he was sick (that's 2.5 years without a phone call)  This makes me weird, doesn't it?
~to hope that someone will show up at my house and make all of my laundry disappear
~to go to bed at 7pm and wake up at 6:15 the next morning
~to love my Keurig more than I thought I would
~to not miss Starbucks as much as I thought I would
~to be so thankful that my grandma is doing so well after open heart surgery (update tomorrow)
~to be super excited to see Wicked on Sunday!!!  We have Row 11 Orchestra seats!!!!

Legoland!!!!

It's only fitting to follow up yesterday's post with a recap of Noah's birthday trip to Legoland!  My boy is a crazy Lego kid so of course he wanted his birthday to be all things Lego.  This year I had found the courage to have a class party.  I was ready to have a house full of 5/6 year olds and their moms.   I even made a Lego Party board for everything I needed (I mean, come on....you can't plan a party without Pinterest.  How did I ever plan my wedding 7 years ago?)  Then  Noah decided that he wanted to go to Legoland instead of having a class party.  I might have sighed a sigh of relief with this.  So we canned the Lego party (and all my pinning) and planned our day at Legoland.  I did send in Lego cookies to his class on Friday (that's a whole different post).  I was fortunate enough to have 2 passes given to me by a sweet family so we only needed to buy 1 admission.  Legoland has really weird hours (9:30-6) so we got there at 9:30 ready to enjoy our day of Lego fun!

Class cookies

Noah got his birthday button and we were off.  We hit up the merry go round first, then the playground and a few other little kid rides....aka...Mom and Dad are almost too big to fit in them.  Maybe because we need to lose a few hundred pounds but probably because the rides are geared towards 3-5 year olds.  That's my story at least.

Putting out the fires

My driver for the day

Love this one!!!

The Hubs being crazy

Jousting

Em building while Noah was on a ride.  Every line had a Lego area so the parents could wait in line and the kids could play

We rode a few rides in the Kingdom area then headed toward MiniLand USA.  This was probably my favorite part.  It's an area where different iconic cities are built entirely out of Legos.  It was truly unbelievable.  They had St Augustine, Orlando, Daytona, Tampa, Key West, Miami, and Kennedy Space Center representing Florida.  Other areas were NYC, San Francisco, Washington DC, Hollywood, and Las Vegas.  Each area had moving elements and interactive elements.  Noah was really excited because they now have a Star Wars MiniLand area.  Each of the 6 movies were displayed as well as scenes from Clone Wars.  I will say, it was impressive (and I don't really like Star Wars).  Noah (and the Hubs) were in hog heaven.

Dayton International Speedway (I was supposed to put a caption in that blank spot but forgot)

Tampa. San Fran, Washington DC, Key West, Miami Beach

My fave NYC!!!!!

Star Wars (oh I did it again with the blank space)

Noah and Vader (I can't believe he's all Legos)

Darth Maul (Noah's fave)

R2D2 and Noah

We ate lunch at a pizza/pasta/salad buffet which was probably the best value I've seen at an amusement park in a while.  Legoland definitely had healthier options at every food place.  Disney can definitely work on the healthy options area of their dining.  After lunch we wandered the park some more.  Emmy rode on a rollercoaster (Noah didn't).  She definitely our daredevil, no doubt.  The kids were pretty much beat by 5 and wanted to leave.

Driving school for Em

Noah hanging with the Lego Pirates

Noah's turn for driving school

Em and the Hubs on the rollercoaster....they're in the second to last row

Em and Mia from Lego Friends

We grabbed some dinner at Subway and then surprised Noah with our plan to catch fireworks at Disney!  The Hubs found our new fireworks watching spot (if you want to know where it is, shoot me an email or on Twitter....I don't want to give it away!) It turned out to be a great day!!!

I love Disney fireworks!!!

So here's my official opinion on Legoland.  At first I thought the hours were ridiculous.  We're Disney people so we're used to parks being open til 10 or later.  But after being there, I can see why it's closed early.  There really isn't a ton to do.  It is definitely good for my kids age groups but I think Noah will outgrow it in about 2 years.  It's very overpriced for what they have to offer.  We paid $65 for Noah's admission (with an online discount).  I'm glad that's all we paid.  If we had bought admissions for the Hubs and I, I'd be really mad.  It definitely is not worth $75/person.  With all that being said, it is really cool.  There are tons of Lego statues everywhere.  The fact that they're made entirely out of Legos is awesome.  The lines weren't too long and the park wasn't that crowded.  Since my kids are really into Legos right now, it's right up our alley.  We'll probably head back there a few times over the next 2 or 3 years but that's about it. Plus the kids had a great time and Noah had a great birthday.  There's no price tag on that!!!

Happy Birthday Kid!!!!
  

A few days late but Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!!!

I'm so mad at myself for not staying up late and getting this post done Friday night so it would go live on Saturday but such is life.

My sweet boy turned 6 on the 12th.  Yes....6 years old.  I'm having a hard time believing that he's 6. Mostly because I really don't think I should be old enough to have a 6 year old.  But I guess I'm 30 now and it makes sense.  Noah has gone from this little thing to this grown up boy overnight.  He's more mature, funnier, he understands more, and I think more affectionate too.  He now makes funny comments and picks up on a lot more than he used to.  While I always say that he was an accident (he was born 5 days after our 1st Anniversary) I cannot imagine my life without this kid.  He taught me the true meaning of love at first sight and taught me what unconditional love is.  This world is truly a better place because my sweet boy is in it!

January 12, 2007

January 12, 2013

He's grown up so much since 2007.  I'm blessed to have him as my son and proud to be his Momma.

Man I love that kid!
 

Adding More Bling This Year

That's right ladies and gentlemen.  This girl is adding more bling to her collection.  Race Bling that is!  I'm so excited to be getting back into the running world again.  As part of my goal for 2013, I'm going to become more fit.  Part of being fit for me means pounding the pavement again.

The Hubs put one stipulation on this endeavor: be smart.  I hurt my knee pretty good after my last half and ever since, I've had knee pain when I run.  He knows me better than anyone and knew that I'd want to jump in head first and pick up a long distance.  His only request was that I take it slow.  I could do whatever races I want as long as I'm not going for 13.1 again until the fall.

So for the first time ever, I'm going to listen to him.  Call the press.  This is a first.  Jess is actually listening to the Hubs.  Has hell frozen over?

But he has a point.  I need to really do this right.  I want this to become a lifestyle, not just something I'm doing once.  I need to make sure I'm doing everything I need to in order to be safe and injury free.

So here's my plan so far:

Feb 9th: Rock N Roll St Pete Mini Marathon (3.1 miles)
April 14th: Iron Girl 5K
May 4th: Expedition Everest (This one's not a definite but I want to do it and I want the Hubs to do it with me)
I'm hoping RunDisney is having the Tower of Terror 10 miler again this year.  I think that would be a great race to do and if it's in September again, it would be a great time to be doing a 10 mile race.
November 24th: Women's Half Marathon I've ran the 5K in this series and had a great time.  I've always wanted to do this half so I think it's a good choice and great timing for me.  It will make the Hubs happy too.  Plus it will give me another half under my belt so I can go into the Princess feeling pretty good.  I think it's only fitting to head back to Disney for this race so I can completely blow my previous 2 finishes out of the water!

So here's to 2013 and adding more Bling to my life!!!!!

My collection needs some new friends!!!