ZUMBA

When I started my workout kick back in January, I started taking Zumba classes at the gym.  I had taken them before with other instructors, and liked them fine, but the instructor at my gym was FAB.U.LOUS.  He was the most amazing gay black man and he made the class SO MUCH FUN (I mention the two description words- gay and black- to paint a picture of him, and for no other reason).  He is an opera singer as well and he actually got a role up in New York so he left our class. 

We were lucky enough to have the woman who trained our instructor take over his classes, and WOAH, she is AH-MAZING too.  She gives us such a hard workout, but it is so much fun, so no one really notices that we are soaking wet when the class was over.  She has the best music and has endless energy, so her classes are just FUN! No other way to describe them (other than a@@ whooping). 

Both of our instructors had to miss classes here or there, which is totally understandable, obviously.  But the subs they got were horrible.  Like, didn't break a sweat, never got my heart rate up, didn't even smile, kind of horrible. 

That got me thinking, I should sooooo do this.  I could do this better than she can, right???

Well, that little idea was planted in the back of my head...

THEN, our current instructor announced that she was moving this summer.  We were all suuuuuuper disappointed...and terrified that she was going to get one of the bad subs to take her spot full time. 

I emailed her one afternoon and asked what it took to become a Zumba instructor.  She was wonderful and answered a ton of my questions and was really encouraging....I followed up by emailing my first instructor, Maurio, to pick his brain a little.  He was also super encouraging...

Next thing I know, I am registered to take a Zumba certification course all day on Friday!

I have no idea if I will get classes of my own or how it works, but I am really excited about it! I assume I will probably sub some to get used to it all and then maybe start getting classes-- really have no idea what to expect, but I am excited!

Also, my teacher told me to start working on a song and once I had it ready, I needed to do it for the class, just to get it under my belt and for practice (since if I did get an entire class, I wouldn't want my first time being in front of people to be my first class!).  Soooo, I came up with a routine and I am doing in at class tomorrow....!!!! EEEEK!

I am excited and also really nervous.  This class has come to expect these amazing workouts each week and I am scared they won't like my stuff, or it won't be hard enough, or the music isn't good enough (I love the song, and I am also worried it is a bit raunchy for some....). 

Also, Zumba is supposed to be 70% Latin in each routine...I don't really do Latin.  I do hip shaking, booty moving, hip hopping.... so I am nervous about that too....

I realize that anyone reading this probably doesn't really care about this, but I had to share some of my insecurities and worries.

I will let you know how tomorrow goes and all about training on Friday.  Did I mention that it is ALL day?  I check in at 8am and it goes until 5:30 with a 30 minute lunch break.  Honestly, I think it is going to be like a mini-vacation... that is a LONG time for me to be away from the munchkins!

Also, I vow to never wear shoes like these:


What do you think? Am I crazy??  Would you take my class?????

Shake on, my friends....

Monday Randomness

Helloooooo!

Hope you all enjoyed the weekend.  My in-laws left Friday evening, and as wonderful as it is to have the extra hands to help out with the boys, it was really nice having the weekend just the four of us (plus a furry big guy).  We didn't do anything too exciting; just enjoyed each other's company.

This is a completely random post, with no real "purpose" which I guess is okay...right??? Sprinkled throughout are some pics from my iPhone.

*On Fridays, one of my favorite blogs to read, Blonde Ambition, does Confessional Friday where you can link up your blog and post your confessions from the week.  I had a whole slew of confessions for this past Friday, but I confess that I never got around to creating the post.  I also confess that I wouldn't link up my blog since it is private, but still... Anyway-- y'all should check out her blog if you are bored or looking for something to read.  Her confessions are always humorous to me... maybe you are more mature than moi. 

Here are two of my confessions today:


*Have y'all tried the Wheat Thins Sundried Tomato and Basil crackers yet? They should call them crack because they are addicting.  Eddie and I can consume an entire box in one night. 


*And while I am on the food kick, 2-ish years ago, a friend posted a link about Diet Sierra Mist with Cranberry. It is a holiday special and they only bring it out in December.  Well, that year, I fell in love with this drink (crazy, right??).  This past year, they rolled them out in December, and by December 4th, the store was sold out and I was told they would not be getting any more.  Seriously.  Yesterday, I ran to the store to get some corn for the cookout, and what did I see? Yup, DIET SIERRA MIST WITH A SPLASH OF CRANBERRY on sale, 2 three liter bottle for 3 bucks! WOOHOOOO! It is Christmas in June! ho ho ho



*Yesterday, Eddie and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary, HOLLA! When his parents were here, we had a fabulous date night and went to a favorite restaurant and a local bar afterwards.  It was a wonderful night together.  Since we had that special date night, we just wanted to have a low key day together yesterday.  I wanted to go to breakfast as a family (I am a sucker for a good brunch), so we went to brunch, then came home to put Andy down for a morning nap.  When he woke up, we all went to the pool. After the pool, Eddie grilled out on the big green egg-- it was a perfect day for us! I realize that marriage is hard and takes work... I am just thankful to have Eddie to be my partner in this craziness. 

June 24th, 2006

*Andy, AKA Nugget, AKA Nugget-licious, AKA Chubs, AKA Anderson...
Andy NEVER crawls any more.  He HAULS booty everywhere.  He doesn't even really walk any more.  It's pretty much a run.  He has gotten to be SO much fun lately.  Eddie even commented the other day how much fun he is now.  This was around my favorite age with Cal too.  They just get such a little personality at this point!

helping me pack

Andy is able to open the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs (sigh) and can get up to about the 5th or 6th stair before I catch him.  When I hear the gate open, I shout NO! and he glances over his shoulder and then takes off up the stairs.  Lovely, right?

he thinks sun glasses are hilarious.  I think they are pretty funny on him too...

Also, Andy is completely fearless.  Now that he is walking, the pool is a whole different ball game.  He walks straight towards the deep water and does.not.stop.  He just walks straight in! I feel like I have been at the gym for hours after 20 minutes at the pool with Andy.  Cal is much more timid and knows his limits and loves to be where he can touch (however, he loves to go under and "swim" too).  Andy still loves his momma and will shove others out of the way to get to me.  He will scream and push Cal AND Hank if they are loving on me.  Makes me feel loved...and slightly crazy. 

in the bathroom at the summer regional in Myrtle Beach.  He was OBSESSED with that toilet.  Also, please note this is the spot where I spent many hours (standing up-- not actually using the potty) waiting for the kids to sleep

what? your kid isn't obsessed with a potty?

I borrowed my friends Ergo carrier while we were at Myrtle Beach.  This is AMAZING.  I am wishing I got one of these instead of my bjorn.  Andy's chunk legs can't fit in the Bjorn anymore, but still fit in this with lots of room to grow!

*Eddie left this morning and is gone until Wednesday evening.  I have a girls' night tonight with the mom's in Cal's playgroup.  I love these women and I am excited to go out with them.  Even if it is a Monday night...and the Bachelorette is on.... that's why there's DVR, right?!?!?! But I do enjoy watching it live with the 130 people in the forum on facebook.   So fun. But sushi tonight will be more fun!

More pics...

Riding down to Myrtle with my parents...they have headsets in their car and Cal thought it was awesome

final night awards dinner in myrtle

there was a "crazy hat" theme for the last night.  My mom's friend made us fascinators-haha!

Eddie wore a shower cap

Eddie's sister got Cal this shirt... we had to take a pic to send her and I thought Cal's smile was sweet....

 What? Your child doesn't wear a cape to the grocery store and run around with one hand in the air yelling screaming SUPER CAL!!!!! ?  Wow...you are missing out. 

 What? Your child actually uses the DOOR of his play car? He doesn't insist on using ONLY the window to get in and out of his car? Wow. You are missing out. 

Cal got to spend some time golfing this week with Mimi and Poppy.  He was in heaven...in a sand trap....

Mimi and Poppy got the boys a water table and it has been a HUGE hit.  It took Cal 4.2 seconds to disrobe and climb on in.  I guess the view is better up there...

Nugget doesn't have a baby or a blankie, per se, but he LOVES this little polkadot one and this elephant.  I put him in yesterday for naps and he grabbed hold of that thing and was out immediately! Maybe he has one more than I think...

*And also, if you are looking for someone to pray for, I just heard from an old friend from elementary/middle/high school who is having a rough time in life right now.  I think she has just been handed a whole load of lemons, and she is having a hard time turning them into lemoncello.  Just if you get a sec to send some positive thoughts her way, I know she would appreciate it.  She is weighing heavy on my heart and my mind right now and I pray she knows people are thinking about her.

And, just because truer words have never been printed:

I hope you enjoyed this randomness.  Now I am off to shower so I don't smell like this for my girls' night tonight... although I don't think any of them would mind... they are those kind of friends. But I mind.  I stink. 

Myrtle Beach

Every summer, Eddie's company, Edward Jones, has a summer regional meeting, and the families are invited to attend as well.  This is the same company that my dad and brother work for as well, so the whole family headed down to Myrtle Beach last weekend. 

Staying in a hotel room with two small children is not easy.  We made it our goal to wear them out as much as possible outside so they would crash when we were inside.  The hotel room was super small this time.  We had two beds and a pack-n-play and the BOB stroller and there was literally no where else to move. The cleaning ladies came one day while the boys were napping, so they just left us some towels... by the second day, the trashcans were full (and stinky!) and the room was a MESS!

We drove down on Wednesday morning. My parents offered to take Cal down with them after the miserable drive home from Memorial Day Weekend.  It was much easier just having Andy in the car.  I was able to crawl back there and sit on the seat to deal with him when he was screaming.  Cal had a blast with my parents, too.  We arrived around 1:00 and checked in and immediately headed outside. 

Here are some pictures from the weekend down there...

I set up a picnic blanket in the middle of the floor for snack times.

 OH! Almost forgot to write-- Andy is now a full time walker! He started to really NOT crawl at all on this trip and by Sunday, he wasn't crawling at all! He LOVES to walk and has gotten VERY steady and VERY fast...

Back to the pictures...

Cal and Jackson had a ball together down there.  A million airplanes go by a minutes and the two of them would spot them and scream "AIRPLANE!!!" each time one went by.

Staying cool in the water...

Very serious about truck play on the beach!

 My camera got all foggy but I kept taking pictures... I tried to edit them to reduce the look of blurriness, but they didn't turn out great... too bad because I think this next one would have been special.

King of the mountain:

 Cal loves to have a towel wrapped around his waist, so we wrapped the hand towel around him.  He did not want to take it off!

 We went to a Nascar driving park one night.  There were only 3 rides that Cal could do.  He had to be 40 inches to ride along with Eddie, and Cal measured in at 38... so we went over to the kiddie section and put him on this little ride-- a bunch of little racecars on a mini track that went around in a circle.  He was sooooo excited....

 ...and then the ride started.... it went pretty slow down the main way, and then WHIPPED those cars around the turn.  We had NO idea it whipped like that or we would let him go alone!

 Cal couldn't figure out the best way to hang on.  He switched it up between the bar in the front and the sides of the car.  BLESS HIS HEART.  He was acting tough, but you could tell he was scared. 

 While your child being scared is NOT funny, let me just tell you how hard we were laughing watching this ride.  We literally had NO idea that it would be that fast, so the first time it whipped around, my mom, dad and I all screamed.  We were all crying we were laughing so hard.  Cal's face was just so funny and he was holding on so tightly.  I had Andy in the Ergo carrier and he was almost asleep until we all screamed- hahaha

After that disaster of a ride, we walked over to where Eddie was racing the go carts.  Poor Cal did not understand why he couldn't drive the big cars.  He was so upset and did not want to sit and watch...he wanted to ride!

 In order to avoid a meltdown of impressive proportions, we took Cal to the car driving arcade game.  He thought this was pretty fun... until it was time to go.  He was okay with leaving, but they make you walk through the gift shop (obviously) and they (obviously) had a million toy cars.  Cal (obviously) wanted all of them, which led to (obviously) the biggest meltdown yet. 

He was okay with leaving, but they make you walk through the gift shop (obviously) and they (obviously) had a million toy cars.  Cal (obviously) wanted all of them, which led to (obviously) the biggest meltdown yet. His carseat was still in my parents' car, so they had to deal with his pleasant-ness on the way home... hehehe... thanks, mom and dad.....


After a full day on the beach, we had a big dinner that night... Cal found some goggles in my bag and decided he had to wear them.  He wore them in the shower and did not want to remove them.  Okayyyy.....

 Once we got to the dinner, he took them off and I thought we were in the clear....

Until I looked over at the kids' area and saw this:

They had a limbo competition, which Cal totally did NOT understand, but he had a blast trying to figure it out...

Again, my camera for fogged up (darn humidity in the south!):

 And this was Andy's favorite spot when he got tired... Michelle had her little boy in her bjorn too!

I took the camera down to the beach one morning and got some fun pictures...

 My mom had a whole construction site going on... it was pretty impressive, if I do say so myself!

I took a bunch of pictures on my phone, which I will post at some point... but wanted to get these out here. 

We got home on Sunday afternoon and my inlaws got in town Monday afternoon, so we have had a busy week!!!

xoxo,
c