December 29 = Yoga Day

This is all I have for today:

September 4 = No Pictures Day

I did back to back yoga classes this morning.  It was glorious.  I did vinyasa from 9:30-10:45 and then yin from 11:00-12:30.  I'm not usually able to do this because that's three hours and the kids can only be at the gym for two.  So I left the kids with Zachary and Matthew and Rachel and went to yoga with my friend, Amy.  It was so, so good.

And I came home and took a nap.  Also so so good.

And then I saw this and thought it was so accurate and it's my only picture from the day:

August 17 = Stubborn Girl Day

I'm working so hard on this yoga challenge- 24 times in 42 days.  Malia is giving it her all to keep from completing it by sitting in the gym parking lot refusing to move.

During yoga, my teacher referenced this poem that she uses a lot- it's so good and I don't think I've shared it on here before so here we go!

 Also, here's a random picture of dinner tonight- Liam loved it.  Malia and I weren't as big of fans.

May 5 = Down Dog Day

We went to the gym today and the kids got to play with Evie in kids' club- here's Malia and Evie leaving the building:

After we got home from yoga, I decided to see if the kids had any interest in it- Malia did a pretty good down dog!

When Daddy got home later, he got some good snuggles with Malia.

And as a followup to yesterday's video where Liam laughed at Garfield, here is again, same part of the movie, laughing a little louder:

April 3 = Lazy Day

Today is Sunday and Zachary has duty so that translates to me and the kids having a lazy day.  Here's Liam doing an excellent job of embracing the lazy day:

 Also this Facebook meme made me laugh out loud and is so very accurate.

January 22 = My Birthday!

My family was going to come up this weekend for my birthday but because we are supposed to get 36 inches of snow, we've decided to postpone the celebration.  But I still had a lovely day.  First of all, Zachary had to go in for a little bit this morning but went in super early so he'd be home before the kids got up.  They did wake up before he got home but were content enough in their rooms that I was able to get some stuff done and wait for him to get home before getting them out of their rooms.  And he brought doughnuts!  I got a pink sprinkled one and the kids got blueberry doughnut circles.  So so good! Next, we signed Zachary up for the same membership at the gym that I have- he has had a lower tier membership because his gym time doesn't revolve around classes like mine does but I thought it would be neat for us to do yoga together so we did this morning!  It was a tough class taught by my favorite teacher, Donna, and she said he was a rock star when we left.  Not surprising.  Then we came home a few minutes later, Liam's physical therapist was there to do a session.  At the end of their session, everyone else on his team came over for his 6 month IFSP review.  It was very encouraging- they all said he's making a lot of progress, cognitively, socially, etc.  While we were having the PT session, Zachary left to get me Chickfila for lunch.  He also came home with this:

This is random but I saw this on FaceBook today and it made me laugh and you know how I love sharing things that make me laugh:

Malia and Liam both sampled my Edible Arrangement- I'm not a huge honeydew melon so we started them with that- they were both fans!  I think they liked eating off a stick more than the actual fruit but hey, whatever works.

We made Tex-Mex rice and nachos for dinner- so good.  And we really had a relaxing evening.  It had been snowing since the afternoon and Zachary decided to wait until lots had fallen to take the trash out.  And he decided to take his clothes off.  Don't ask me- I have no clue.

August 13 = Help Mommy Day

Zachary had to go in early today to cover his chief who wanted to spend time with his family before they left for a week.  We had a playdate planned and for some reason I wasn't feeling well.  I thought about cancelling but when I don't feel well, I'd rather do something to distract myself than to sit around and do nothing so we went to the playdate and then I went to yoga.  In yoga, I nearly left class because I just felt so weird- I was achy and nauseous- it was so weird.  So when we got home, Liam made a big mess with dinner and so I asked him to help me clean it up and added "Mommy doesn't feel good."  Well he proceeded to clean other areas of the house too- such a sweetheart.

Then we had story/singing time in Liam's room and Malia climbed up on the bed all by herself!  She's so talented.

August 6 = Big TV Night

Malia was eating her snack and I just thought she looked so cute so I had to take a picture- her shirt says "Hello Sunshine" and how appropriate is that?

 Then I wanted to show Matt something Liam did the other night- I wanted to see if he'd do it again, and sure enough he did.  Last Thursday in yoga, one of my two favorite instructors, Jenn, had us practice headstands and gave me some cues no other teacher has so I decided to practice at home the next night.  I was trying my new tips in the playroom while the kids were playing- I thought they'd be distracted but it was the funniest thing to them.  Liam came up to me and started kissing all over my face.  It was so funny and I have no idea what made him do that but sure enough, he did it again today.  Now I know how to get a kiss- just stand on my head!

 Then I asked Matt to get a picture of me and the babies- I'd been wanting him to get a picture of us with Zachary but we kept forgetting.

Matt left us right after lunch but Zachary got home soon after and we headed to the Academy to watch some of his plebes in a wrestling event.

Zachary sold me on going by telling me the place would be huge with not too many people but it would be loud and there would be stairs.

 On the way home we saw two deer- one was a baby- so pretty!

So we did our nighttime routine- baths, stories, everything- and then it was time to watch some tv.  Tonight was a big night in the television world.  There was the Republican debate and it was Jon Stewart's last episode as the host of The Daily Show.  We found a drinking game for watching the Republican debate which was the only way I was going to make it through.  

Surprisingly, we didn't get to drink that much- they weren't as predictable as Rolling Stone thought they'd be.  We made it through half and then decided to watch Big Brother which, when it was over, it was perfect timing for me to watch The Daily Show live- which I haven't done since high school- thanks DVR!  But I thought it was appropriate to watch this one live- I've been watching the show for so long (10 years) but not as long as he's been on (almost 17 years).

February 4 = Dinner with Friends Day

We had such a busy day today!  I took the kids to the gym today so I could go to yoga with my friend, Amy.  Getting them to the gym is no easy feat and should count as a workout in and of itself but it's good for my mental and physical state and it's good for Liam and Malia to see other kids and spend time around other adults also so everyone wins!  Amy's husband, Will, is in the same program Zachary is and so she invited us and the other wives of guys in the same program over for dinner- we try to do this most Wednesday or Thursday nights since the guys have class in DC those nights but with everyone's nap, bath and bedtime schedules sometimes it can be pretty difficult.  But this one worked out wonderfully!  Here's Malia and Amy and Will's daughter, Evie- they like looking at each other and we are convinced they are going to be the best of friends!

January 23 = Lunch with Friends Day

I started off today right- meeting a friend, Amy, for yoga!  It really is the perfect way to start off your day- by 11:00am I had already exercised, talked with a friend, did something for myself, took time to relax (the five minute svasana at the end of yoga) and showered- that's a lot more than I get done in some days.  Then I got to meet Amy and two other friends (and wives of guys Zachary has class with) for a birthday lunch at the Mexican Cafe super close to our house.  Zachary took Liam and Malia to Liam's OT appointment and all of their husbands kept their babies too so while we mainly talked about our babies, we were able to have those conversations and focus on them and not feeding and entertaining little ones- what a gift!  We had the beef lo mein I made last week that I loved and just had a nice relaxing evening at home.  This is what it looked like:

And there's nothing better than that.

January 19 = Comfy Day

I finally made it to a yoga class today- I'm pretty sure this is the first time of the new year- shameful.  I went straight from my class to find Zachary lifting weights and asked him, "Why don't I do yoga every day?"  It is so very good for me.  It gives me 60 - 75 minutes where I have no responsibility.  I love these teachers- every class starts with the setting of an intention.  Mine is almost always one of two things- "move with your breath" or "be easy on yourself."  Even if you're super flexible and super strong, yoga can still be really challenging because you are supposed to breathe the whole time.  That sounds obvious and easy but it's tempting to hold your breath during a difficult pose and it's easy to get distracted with thoughts of schedules and to do lists and forget to breathe.  So if I'm feeling distracted, my intention is to move with my breath.  The instructors are great in that they lead you but you are always invited to listen to your body.  So if they say to move on to the next pose but I'm not ready, I can take my time.  But on a day like today, when I haven't practiced- that's what yogis call doing yoga because you can always stretch further or breathe deeper- in a long time, my intention was to be easy on myself.  Not to get frustrated if I couldn't hold the pose as long as everyone else and to take child's pose if I needed to.  It's interesting that when I set my intention to be easy on myself, my body usually responds by letting me do exactly what the instructor asks.  I'm lucky that I've done a lot of yoga in the past and I'm pretty knowledgeable about modifications I can do so that each pose works for me but I didn't really have to do that today.  It was a really good class and I left feeling calmer and empowered.  So again- why don't I do this every day?!

Anyway, on an unrelated note- Malia has started pulling covers up and enjoying the comfort of a good blanket.  More power to you girl!