I've been featured!

I've been featured on the Live the Life blog! If you recall, I used to be a couch potato and now I am not. Check it out here. WARNING: you will see before and after shots of me in a bathing suit. These are the same ones you've seen before, but there's a lovely little testimonial that goes with them.

Dolled up and fighting back!

Obviously, this is not me, but it was the best image I found to capture how I feel right now.

To bring you up to speed on some of the Moos' news, allow me to first tell you some of the things I've been doing lately:

• napping every single day for an hour or two. I'm so grateful that Elizabeth is a consistent napper.
• going to bed around 10 pm and being exhausted
• reading food blogs instead of opening my fridge
• buying anything that sounds good at the grocery store, including chicken noodle soup at the deli and eating it RIGHT THERE
• keeping lemon drops and cinnamon drops in my mouth as much as possible to deal with excess saliva
• vomiting (4x since yesterday morning is my record so far). Favorite place to do it - kitchen sink. Least favorite place to do it (and where it often happens) - shower

If you haven't figured it out yet, Elizabeth walks around patting her tummy and saying, "Baby! Baby!" And when I told Scott a few weeks ago that our baby was about the size of a blueberry, his eyes got big and he exclaimed, "MMMMM! I'm hungry for a blueberry smoothy!"

Yes, we are having a baby! Do not ask me for the official due date. I do not believe in due dates anymore. This baby will likely come sometime between the 7th and 15th of April. That is what I tell people. Sometimes I am more vague. "April-ish."

I've been doing a lot of lying around, moaning internally and wishing my house would get clean. My wonderful husband has been keeping himself and the kids alive on mac & cheese, frozen pizza, and instant mashed potatoes, frozen meatballs, and green beans.

Last night, I decided this was it. I was done being grossed out by my house, I was done lying around, and I was done feeling like a slug. This morning, I got up, ate, vomited, took the boys to school, took hubby to school, and went to the YMCA. I did my resistance workout (shoulders) and spent 20 minutes on the elliptical machine. Took my list to the grocery store, came home and unpacked, had a snack, vomited, put Elizabeth to bed, put myself to bed. Slept for an hour and showered. And now I'm dolled up and fighting back!

My plan for the rest of the day: make chicken noodle soup, get a snack ready for the boys (umbrella cheese, salami, sliced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes), mop the floor, throw in a load of laundry, teach one violin lesson, and work on finding the carpet in my bedroom. I'm sipping cran-raspberry juice spiked with ginger ale to keep the bubbles out of my tummy. I have 2 hours before the boys get home from school.

Every time my stomach clenches, every time I throw up, I just think, "Oh, yeah?! OH, YEAH?! You wanna piece of me?! I'm BIGGER than YOU! I'm STRONGER than YOU! You are NOT running MY life!!! So take that, nausea!"

Who's with me?

Update (the next morning): I did make the soup, get the snack ready, and teach the lesson. I also threw up one more time before bed. For today's fighting back, I already mowed the back lawn and am now attacking the disgusting kitchen. So far, no vomiting! Yay!

Last days of summer

We did some fun things together the last weeks of summer, but have hardly any pictures to show for it. Jessica and I took all the kids bowling one afternoon. Scott was our best bowler; I think he scored 88.

We went out to eat one day when I didn't want to cook. Here are the boys being themselves.

Last, but not least, we started school this morning. Here are the boys waiting for the bus. It is a beautiful day:)

Family reunion

I am a bit behind on my blogging, but it has been a lovely summer. Every two years, my parents gather their children's families together in a different place. Some of our previous gathering places have been my childhood home in southeast Minnesota, Cancun, and Dana Point.  This year, we spent two weeks together in South Carolina on Hiltonhead Island and in Charleston.

All 4 of my brothers and their families were able to attend. We had a total of 11 adults and 7 grandkids.

Some of my favorite things on this vacation were

-getting a new wardrobe, thanks to my thrift-shopping mom and my hard-working dad

-running with my superstar sister-in-law, Christy

-surprising all my siblings by being capable of real pushups

-roasting smores

-movie dates with Ethan to see Megamind (which I loved) and KungFu Panda 2 (which I also liked)

-kayaking with dolphins and the grown-ups of my generation while my parents watched the grandkids

-staying in a beautiful hotel in Charleston with amazing service and equally amazing views

-eating at some upscale restaurants, including a very fun late night dinner at McCrady's

The only downside to our family gathering was that an uninvited GI-super-bicho showed up to wreak GI chaos and make everyone sick for at least a day. Here's my s-i-l's perspective on The Plague.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our reunion:

Grandpa, Uncle Ben, and Aunt Christy watching kids in the pool

Uncle Hugh and my kids

Elizabeth at the playground on Hiltonhead Island

The Great Dalmuti

Lovebirds on the boat to Ft. Sumter

Mr. M and Elizabeth

 

Uncle Tal and Simon, waiting for our buggy ride in Charleston

Buggy ride

 

Scott in the fountain across from our hotel in Charleston

Ethan on the water taxi to the aircraft carrier

Aunt Kristi and the boys in Charleston

We are already looking forward to our next gathering in Mountain View, Alberta, next to the beautiful Canadian Rockies of Waterton.

Last day of swimming for the summer