potty talk

i'll start by saying i totally know that my baby will not be potty trained for probably years, BUT... she totally pooped on the toilet tonight! we were letting her have some nakey girl time and she started showing signs of needing to poo. so i stuck her on the toilet and we talked a bit and then she did it! i thought for a split second after she went that maybe that was a bad idea and she could have been traumatized by it, but she thought it was pretty neat. anyway, just had to write down ellie pooped on the potty at 14months because i have a terrible memory.

Bootcamp Repost and UPDATE

REPOST FROM JULY 25th,2011
so i started a 12 week bootcamp on the 4th of july. a week late, so really it's only 11 weeks for me. the first class was miserable. i ran to the bathroom 3 times thinking i was going to lose my cookies (i never did, though). i knew i was out of shape, but really didn't know just how bad off i was until that class. when i decided to do this, all i was thinking was "i just want to lose my ellie-belly". but after that first class, i changed that goal to "get through a class without feeling like i'm going to throw up". i thought i had reached that goal until tonight, but i'm sure there will be those days. i'm definitely improving in endurance, though. now i get excited for the challenge that each class brings. i'm still always last at everything, the MOST out of shape and a lot of times i'm the one holding everyone back, but everyone is always so supportive and encouraging to me, which motivates me to give my all. i often think of one of our family mottos we always are telling the boys "DAHLSTROMS DON'T GIVE UP!" and i won't. what i lack in self motivation i make up for in work ethic. if that makes any sense, anyway.

i'm really awkward still when it comes to meeting new people and trying new things scares the heck outta me, so i'm really really proud of myself for putting myself out there. it's a bit embarrassing that i don't know how to stretch properly, and that i have to copy others b/c i don't know the proper technique of anything really. BUT... i KNOW that i will only be better because of this, in more ways that just the obvious.

i'm being realistic about what the outcome of this session will be for me. it ends in september, right before my birthday. all i want is to NEED to buy new clothes by then.

my lowest weight ever-senior yr of HS- 120ish
when i got married-125
pregnant w/jax-130
9mos w/jax-160
pregnant w/ boomer-145
9mos w/ boomer-180
pregnant w/ellie-191
9mos w/ellie-222
start of bootcamp-175
end of bootcamp goal- i couldn't care less about my weight. i care about how my clothes fit me, and getting rid of this soft, round belly i've got. i should have measured myself to see if i'll have lost inches, but didn't. so i'm just hoping to have some jeans be too loose to look right anymore once i'm done.

UPDATE
right now is week one of our 2week break from bootcamp and i was struggling with how to find time for a workout. so i just bucked up during ellie's first nap and dusted off the treadmill for a run. i was happily surprised to find myself warming up at my old running pace! i used to "run" at a 4.5 for half an hour, that's uncluding my warm-up and cool-down walk. i tried running at a 4.5, and it was just pitiful that i was so out of shape that that used to be a good workout for me. today, i ran for an hour (including short warm up and cool down jogs) and i was comfortable running at a 6! i kept looking down at my speed, calories burned and distance and just grinning. i honestly surprised myself today!

i've been working out on a regular basis for 6 months now (only missing 2 classes-one i was literally kidnapped for), am so proud of myself for how far i've come in that amount of time. i feel great, have more energy for my kids, i'm less stressed, have better self esteem and am coming out of my shell a bit more, socially speaking. i don't know (or care, really) if i have lost weight, but i have lost inches for sure. i will find out soon just how much progress i've made during winter session. i have HAD to buy new workout pants, i was starting to moon everyone during my workouts! and i NEED new jeans for sure. my favorites FALL OFF if i don't wear a belt. so i've accomplished my original goal!! GO ME!! whenever i get down i tell myself, "it took you 7 years to get fat, you can't really expect to have lost it all in 6 months!" i AM improving, i AM losing fat, i CAN reach my goals, i WILL keep on! i'll never have a bikini body again, but i'm already starting to not HATE what i see in the mirror. baby steps, right?!

it would have been REALLY easy for me to quit between sessions. especially when jason decided he wanted to have a go at it. i mean, we don't really have $450 stuffed under the mattress. but we decided we will make our fitness a priority and i feel like that money is an investment into our happiness.

speaking of jason and xfit...he has improved by leaps and bounds since he started 3months ago. i beat him in EVERY one of the categories his first fit test except one. regular pushups. and that was only by 1! now he smokes me in everything. he has lost inches and weight, gained muscle and endurance. all during his 5AM class! he is amazing. and i love that we can share this experience together.

january 16th will mark the 1yr anniversary of my breakup with soda, which is a huge accomplishment for me. i was very much addicted!

all in all i'm so excited for what's to come in the new year. some of my fitness related goals are...

*workout between classes at home with the ball and treadmill
*be able to keep up during field trip runs
*have more fitness related family outings like hikes, trips to the rockwall, swimming...
*do WAY better on my situp fit test
*maybe smoke jason again in at least SOMETHING!

i would love to post a before pic, but i can't seem to find a good bad one. i was really great about deleting any unflattering pics of myself. i regret that now! oh well...

Christmas Program 2011

All us Dahlstroms got gussied up and ready to go to Jaxon's Christmas program at school. We made sure to get there an hour and a half early this year since last year we had to stand. Yep. FIRST ones there. The music teacher was so kind as to give us books to read and free reign of the stage for pictures to keep us occupied for so long. We managed to get through the night with only one minor Ellie-meltown. Maybe by the time Jax is a 5th grader we'll have the right timing!

Boomer, so cute in his little vest



Jax was the lucky microphone tester. I think this made his night!
Lovin' this new tongue-filled smile of hers.

Grandma and Grandpa came to watch the show.

Jax was so cute up there singing. This year they sang Frosty the Snowman and All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.

Jaxon's first cavity

whattayaknow... a week after halloween he's complaining that his teeth hurt!

i thought for sure they'd do laughing gas for him, we talked all about it before so he wouldn't be surprised..but nope. straight to the shot. he didn't even flinch really! i couldn't believe how awesome he did the whole time!!


Dr. Scott is the absolute BEST! we love him around here. he's so good with kids. (he treats me with kid gloves too, which is a must at the dentist!)



This didn't really hurt, just looks like it.


on top of choosing a prize from the treasure box, Dr. Scott has a koi pond out back, and lets the kids feed the fish when they're done!

A better late than never halloween post

So, some of our family say Hal-loween and others say Hall-oween, but we all love it just the same. It's not about the candy or the scares, it's that we all get to dress up as a family unit. We have a new theme every year, which we started doing in 2008. Yes, a few years into actually having a family to dress up. I'm totally planning on getting a photo printed of each year to display at Halloween time each year. Here is us as far back as I have digital photos... i have no idea where '05 and '07 are. I can tell you that those are the boys' first halloweens, so I KNOW i have pics somewhere. They wore the infamous monkey costume their first halloweens, and jax wore a lion costume in '07, so actually the theme-ing stared that year, just Jason and I didn't participate. well, we dressed up but Jason was a ref and I was a fairy. anyway...
Halloween '06-Pirate Jax with Keira and Scharae
Halloween '08 "Occupations" cowboy sheriff boomer, nurse mama, lumberjack daddy, and train engineer jax

Halloween '09 "Insane Clown Posse"

Halloween '10 "Wizard of Oz" (pic taken the day before Elle was born)

Halloween '11 "The Jack-o-Lanterns" baseball, basketball, cheerleader, coach & ref

I know it's a long-shot, but I really hope they never tire of this tradition. I love it so much!

BelleWood Acres

Today we took a little trip to BelleWood Acres. We have ICU Family Pass, and this month's freebie was an apple from this apple farm. We were happily surprised with all they had to offer there.

the boys had fun checking if these sunflowers had any seeds yet


We took an awesome train ride tour around the orchards. There were beautiful views and their trees are pruned all twisty, which was fun. The boys had a good time trying to spot the biggest apple, which was hard because there were so many gigantic ones!

the boys always love a good train ride!



cool shot of the apples being washed before being pressed into juice (glad we got to see this as we missed last weekend's apple pressing festivities in kennewick!)

the boys learned to play checkers while we were there

Jaxon surprised us by wanting to ride the horse. he just walked right up and got a helmet and picked the horse he wanted to ride. he's usually so apprehensive about trying new things, but this time it was Boomer who was nervous! Jax got right up on the horse and didn't look back! By the time Jax's ride was over, Boom decided he was ready for a ride of his own! I'm so glad he changed his mind. It's not everyday us Dahlstroms get a chance to ride a horse!

jaxon waiting for his horse, carrie.

he had a really good time, and afterward even grabbed some long grass to feed her.


so brave, Boomer!

"hi guys!"

little miss ellie even got in on the action. her horse was named flower.

all the dahlstrom boys on our second go round on the train tour

Ellie got stung by a bee on the train ride. we were really worried she might be allergic, so the tractor operator called a golf cart to get us outta there faster. she ended up being okay, as long as she had a yummy apple to munch on, thank goodness!


eating our free apples thanks to family pass

little cutie

mmm...

After the apple fun, we stopped by a fundraiser at the country store for some hotdogs and bake sale treats, while we were eating jason went in and bought a little toy horse for ellie that looked just like the horse she rode. i thought that was the sweetest thing ever. he's such an amazing daddy. she LOVED it!

ellie and flower

FAIR 2011 recap

our family LOVES the fair! we go every year. most years we even go twice. we were smart and planned ahead, so this year was one of those years! we bought tickets early from woods coffee at a discounted price, since we KNEW we'd be going to the demolition derby...it's tradition. PLUS we won admission tickets/ride armbands for each family member from our bank, so we were all set to go two different days!!


monday was demo derby day. our seats were okay, but pretty high up... next year i'll be sure to remember to ask for our dream seats. section E, row 17, seats 1-whatever. that's the first row with backs, has plenty of leg room, and is right next to an aisle which makes it easier when you've got wiggly little ones! we brought earplugs and muffs for the kids, which was great. the show this year was under new management, and wasn't as good as years past... but it's tradition, so we'll be attending next year anyway.





just look at those cheeks... i could eat 'em!!


we gave ourselves a $60 budget and actually stuck to it. not an easy task what with feeding 4 people. but we remembered water bottles. i want to note NOT to get a burger from the ferndale booth next year. i keep eating there because all i remember is that i ate there the previous year, and don't remember that the burger is lousy. also, the lemonade stand under the grandstand is the best, but the ones inside the carnival is cheaper. also, i need to remember to bust out the souvenir cup i saved from this year, b/c they'll refill them next year, and refills are cheaper.

we of course had to visit and play on all the tractors. ellie even got in on the action. we've been sure to get a pic of a boomer tractor every year since we were pregnant with him.



obligatory annual boomer tractor pic




saturday was the FUN day... we packed a lunch and left early. only to realize while unloading the van that a certain 6yr old forgot his shoes. of course the parking people don't let you leave and come back, so we decided to just carry baby and let him ride until we got into the knock-off croc booth i remembered seeing on monday. well... wouldn't you know, knock-off crocs are more expensive than the real deal?! cheap-o mama wouldn't go for spending $17 on them, so we got stamped and left out the front entrance and walked a few blocks to a consignment store and bought $5 sandals 2 sizes too small for him to wear. mean? yes. frugal. heck yes! (he was fine. no blisters) by the time we got back into the fair, it was lunchtime and nana met up with us to help wrangle kids while on rides. she was a great help. oh, how we love nana!

finally. time to ride! the boys did great on the rides. they were hesitant for some, and ended up conquering fears and having a blast!

they rode the "big" coaster over in the "in-dult" part of the fair... they rode it twice they loved it so much!

daddy rode the ferris wheel with them and got some great pics. GO DADDY!



nana took the kids home around dinnertime so we could have a fair date for our anniversary. we ate and then rode our hearts out. well... 30 year old hearts seem to not need too many rides to get going, so it was more like 5 or 6. we had so much fun. we only had $7 left from our budget and at the fair, that doesn't buy much, so we cut out a bit early for some good 'ol DQ.

and lucky we did, because about an hour after we left, there was a gang related shooting there. thanks, douchebags for tainting our fun fair memories. they caught at least one of the bad guys, a 15 yr old kid. i hope the poor people who were hurt recover quickly.