Introducing . . . .!!!!

It's good to be home!! The very first thing we did was stop by to pick up . . . .

She's our new dog!! (That's not slobber it's her toy.) I've always wanted a lab but they're so big I never thought I would actually have one. An opportunity came up and we took it and we are so glad we did. We've only had her two days but so far she's an angel. I know it'll get harder before it gets easier though. After we brought her home we set up the crate which by the way seems HUGE. (Remember, I'm used to our little Simba.) I left the room to go get some towels and when I came back . . . .

I had to laugh. Alexandria said she had to be in there with her so she wouldn't be all by herself. DJ was so happy that she doesn't growl until she started whining to get out of the crate then he said, "Mom, I just don't want her to growl!" He's still remembering Simba and all of his issues. We're still coming up with names. I'll update when we finally decide on one. We're all so excited!!!

Isn't she beautiful?

What's is like flying with 4 shorties?

Well, let me tell ya . . . I kind of wish I had eventful stories to tell about how they spilled their drinks on the person next to them and wrote with a crayon on the plane window and ran through the metal detectors 8 times and that other people commented to me and them because they weren't behaving and other funny things. But the truth is they didn't spill their drinks and the crayon on the window wasn't my kids. However, they DID run through the metal detectors so many times in Mexico that someone commented to Dionys that they were going to break the thing. Ooops! And we did get some pretty bad looks which DOES NOT make my job any easier. All it does it put a mom in a bad mood. So I decided to smile and play along with the kids instead. Sometimes it's all in your attitude as to how people perceive the situation. (You all probably have the already figured out but I'm really slow when it comes to parenting.) If you're yelling at your kids and telling them to get back here as they're running 20 yards ahead of you people are going to make that look. You know that look the one that says they dissapprove and if they had kids they would never let them behave that way. But if you're acting like you're running and laughing right along with them then people think oh look what a fun mom and with all those little kids. So Mom ends up happy (although a little bit more tired) and kids think it's funny and the trip goes much more smoothly which it did. They helped me push carts through immigration got down the security check like pros by the time we had to do it for the third time and all four of them slept most of the second flight. It's good to be back. Now we're just waiting for Papi to join us.

Fitness Friday - 8 Slimming Foods (Part 2)

How are you doing adding the first four super foods to your meals? Here's four more that are just as delicious.

5. Blueberries: Host to more antioxidants than any other North American fruit, blueberries help prevent cancer, diabetes, and age-related memory changes. Studies show that blueberries, which are rich in fiber and vitamins A and C, also boost cardiovascular health. FIT IT IN: Mix fresh blueberries into plain yogurt; blend with ice, yogurt, banana, and OJ for a 60-second smoothie; toss with baby spinach, red onions, feta cheese, and raspberry vinaigrette for a summer salad.

6. Black Beans: All beans are good for your heart, but none can boost your brain power like black beans. That’s because they’re full of anthocyanins, antioxidant compounds that have been shown to improve brain function. A daily half-cup serving provides 8 grams of protein and 7.5 grams of fiber, and is low in calories and free of saturated fat. FIT IT IN: Wrap black beans in a breakfast burrito; use both black beans and kidney beans in your chili; puree 1 cup black beans with 2 Tbsp olive oil and roasted garlic for a healthy dip.

7. Walnuts: Richer in heart-healthy omega-3s than salmon, loaded with more anti-inflammatory polyphenols than red wine, and packing half as much muscle-building protein as chicken, the walnut just needs a cape and we could call it a superhero. Other nuts combine only one or two of these features, not all three. A serving of walnuts — about 1 ounce, or seven nuts — is good anytime, but especially as a postworkout recovery snack. FIT IT IN: Sprinkle on top of salads; chop and add to pancake batter; mix 1 cup walnuts with a half cup dried blueberries and a quarter cup of dark chocolate chunks.

8. Oats: They are packed with soluble fiber, which lowers the risk of heart disease. Because oats have 10 grams of protein per half-cup serving, they deliver steady muscle-friendly energy. FIT IT IN: Eat granolas and cereals that have a fiber content of at least 5 grams per serving; steel cut oats make a wonderful filling breakfast.

The truth is you are what you eat. So eat the best you can to be the best you can.

Happy Birthday to my Blog

Hard to believe but one year ago today I wrote my first post. :) I can't believe I've actually kept this updated. I wouldn't have done it without all of you. It's so much fun to see what other people are doing and to be able to share our lives this way. I'm not a big phone talker and our life (moving around a lot) can make it difficult to keep in touch with people and keep good friends. But blogging has provided a way to maintain all these wonderful friendships. Here's to all of you and my 1 year old blog! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Very Politically Incorrect - But Still Too Funny

"Ven aca chihuahua." - DJ
translation: come here chihuahua

He was yelling to the bat boy of the other team who has dwarfism. Of course he comes out with the Spanish when it would be the MOST embarrasing. (And, yes, DJ knows chihuahuas are small dogs!)

Fitness Friday - 8 Slimming Foods (Part I)

These foods are packed full of disease-fighting, life-extending nutrients plus they will also help keep your tummy full, because they’re loaded with fiber and protein, the sultans of satiety. Find a way to work these potent super foods into your life every day, and you’ll curb cravings before they hit. The result? Well, it could mean saving 600 calories or more a day. Couple that with 30 minutes of moderate exercise, and you can shed as many as 12 pounds in six weeks! Now if that isn't motivation, what is?


1. Spinach: It may be green and leafy, but spinach is no nutritional wallflower. Popeye's muscle-builder is a rich source of plant-based omega-3s and folate, which help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and osteoporosis. FIT IT IN: Make your salads with baby spinach; add spinach to scrambled eggs; drape it over pizza; mix it with marinara sauce and then microwave for an instant dip.

2. Yogurt: This 2,000-year-old food’s health benefits are many. Fermentation spawns hundreds of millions of reinforcements for the battalions of beneficial bacteria in your body. That helps boost your immune system, provides protection against cancer, and even does duty as a cavity-fighter. Not all yogurts are created equal, though, so make sure the label says “live and active cultures.” And watch out for high-fructose corn syrup. I've found good yogurt without all the sugars at Sprouts. FIT IT IN: Yogurt topped with blueberries, walnuts, flaxseed, and honey is the ultimate breakfast — or dessert. Plain low-fat yogurt is also a perfect base for creamy salad dressings and dips.


3. Tomatoes: There are two things you need to know about tomatoes: Red are the best, because they’re packed with more of the antioxidant lycopene, and processed tomatoes are just as potent as fresh ones, because it’s easier for the body to absorb the lycopene. Studies show that a diet rich in lycopene can decrease your risk of bladder, lung, prostate, breast, skin, and stomach cancers, as well as reduce the risk of coronary artery disease.
FIT IT IN: Dress sliced tomatoes with torn basil and olive oil; roast cherry tomatoes and serve over grilled fish or chicken.

4. Carrots: Most red, yellow, or orange vegetables and fruits are spiked with carotenoids — fat-soluble compounds that are associated with a reduction in a wide range of cancers, as well as a reduced risk and severity of inflammatory conditions such as asthma and rheumatoid arthritis — but none of them is as easy to prepare, or have as low a caloric density, as carrots do. Aim for a half cup a day. FIT IT IN: Snack on baby carrots; grate raw carrots into salad; toss a carrot into a breakfast smoothie with frozen mango and OJ; roast carrot chunks with olive oil, salt and cumin.


I try to keep the Fitness Friday posts relatively short so experiment and try to eat more of these four super foods and look for the other four next week.

Computers in the 1600's?

Do you know where your ancestors are from? I do now thanks to my Aunt Alyn. I'm so glad she's blogging about our geneology. She has some seriously valuable information. We're direct decendants of John Alden from the Mayflower! See more here.


We were looking at the pictures that my Aunt Alyn has posted on her blog of where our ancestors lived in England in the 1600's when Alexandria asked, "How did they post those pictures on their blog if they didn't have computers way back then?" HA!


So I explained to her about geneology and that it was my Aunt's blog not our ancestors blog.

Immortalized!!!

Remember me saying my husband's COOL? Check this out. He's been immortalized in a video game for Sony Play Station. Here's a preview that they put on YouTube. He's in the green uniform with the dreds. (If you don't have time to watch the whole thing fast forward to around 1:40.)

Fitness Friday - Cilantro

I thought this article that I found here would be appropriate for today's Fitness Friday since we are in Mexico and aren't there samonella outbreaks all over at home?

Any fan of Mexican food is familiar with cilantro. But here’s something you may not know about it: The pungent green could fend off gut-cramping illness. Potent compounds in cilantro appear to be quite a match against a strain of salmonella common in food poisoning.

When salmonella invades your gastrointestinal tract . . . well, we won’t go into graphic detail. Suffice it to say that it can quickly spoil a summer outing! But chopping some cilantro into your pool-party salsa just might keep the dip safer, thanks to the strong antibacterial action of substances in the green. And add extra onions to your salsa for good measure. They help battle salmonella, too.

Celebrating the 4th of July in Mexico

We are so blessed to have been born and live in the USA. It's easy to see how fortunate we are especially when we spend part of the year living in other countries. And there are so many great people dedicating their lives to make sure that we maintain our freedoms. I'm trying to instill this American pride in our children. So eventhough we're in Mexico we still had our own 4th of July party. It was a little difficult trying to find red, white and blue things here but with a little creativity we had a fun time.

The kids were all very excited for our 4th of July party. I realized they have a lot more fun if you really play it up.

They woke up and put on their flag shirts that Grandma bought for them before we left without me even saying anything they wanted to be ready for the party. We decorated the apartment in a whole bunch of red, white and blue balloons.

I turned on the American music and we rocked out singing to good country songs like, "God bless the USA", "Only in America", "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" and others. Then we played pin the Star on the Flag. Like I said it's hard to find red, white and

blue things here so I colored our own flag and we

cut out fifty stars. Since it was a party we had to have food so we had red, white and blue jello with strawberries and peanut butter star sandwiches. And what would a 4th of July be without fireworks? . . .

Well, unfortunately we couldn't find any fireworks here this time of year so we popped the balloons so we could hear the fireworks. The kids loved that game we probably should have blown up more balloons and done more.

I wish we could have been home for this holiday or at least in the States but we did have a good time here. I guess we made fun memories if nothing else and hopefully learned a little about our country.

It's a little late but Happy 4th of July! God bless the USA!

Princesa our "fill in for now" Puppy

Our neighbors here are from Venezuela. He plays baseball with Dionys. Someone gave them this little dog a few weeks ago. It's only 6 weeks old and it's the same kind of dog as our dear Simba but it's a girl. The kiddos have really taken to this little girl. And how could you not love her? Just look at that cute little face. Alexandria and DJ have named her Princesa (AJ added Sophie to that). They know she's not theirs so it's working out well, kind of easing the pain of losing Simba. She'll spend the day at our house and then we'll take her back at night. Our neighbors are happy with this arrangement since they don't like having to take her outside. My kids love it. Plus our neighbors are not sure if they'll be able to take the puppy to Venezuela so I think they're hoping maybe we'll take her if they can't. Although Dionys isn't really up for that. He's hoping for something a little bit bigger than our last dog.

Raymundo Beach

It's hot here and even hotter when you don't have an a/c that actually works. So we found a waterpark that the kids love. It's kind of far away so I don't know how often we'll be able to go but it was fun. They have a wave pool, a kids area and then of course the big slides. I took these pictures when we first got there and good thing too because after they went on the big slides the kids area lost it's appeal. Shockingly, they ALL loved the big slides. They even went on them by themselves. One time when we got up to the top to go down there was a man there watching Alexandria and AJ. They sat down together to do a train. And he turns around and asked the life guard if they were going by themselves. The life guard said yes. Then the man looks at me and asks,"How do they dare go by themselves? They're so little. I don't even dare to go." I thought that was pretty funny. Sorry about just posting the pictures like this (just straight up and down, no fancy formatting) but the internet is a lot slower here so I'm just trying to get them on.

I love it when it rains.
Out of the mouths of frogs.
Pretty as a flower.
Is it a prince yet?

1, 2, 3, GO!

Does this diaper make my butt look big?

In case you're wondering why there's no pictures of AJ, the little stinker wouldn't let me take his picture. Everytime I got close with the camera he would hide his head. This is the best I got.

At Home Workout

Happy 4th of JULY!!! Hope you all had a great Independence Day. Wish I could be there to join in the celebrating of our wonderful country.

As you know, I'm here in Mexico where you would think things would be cheaper, right? WRONG!! The gym here is $150 per month plus $8/hr for child care. I would be paying $300+, and that's U.S. dollars not pesos, just to hit the gym. So I've had to get creative with my workouts. I thought I would at least have a big ball here to work with but AJ took a knife to the ball in the first hour that we were here. Ball died. So all I have is a band and maybe I'll get a ball later after I hide the knife. But for now I'm doing exercises you can do at home with no equipment. And I thought I would pass these exercises on to you too. I tried to incorporate a whole body workout by hitting all the major mucsle groups.

The Exercises

Push-Up (chest/shoulders)
Start by laying on the floor face down. Put you hands on the floor horizontal with you chest, keeping your body in a STRAIGHT line push your body into the air.

Variations: To make it easier drop to your knees. To target different aspects of the chest and shoulders vary your hand spacing, closer together or farther apart. To intensify add weight, maybe let one of you kids sit on your back. Mine love this kind of ride.

Hand Stand Push-Ups (deltoids - shoulders)
For this exercise stand on hands and place feet against a wall. Next perform a push-up motion. I'm not very good at this one yet. I use a corner putting one foot on each side of the wall helps to stable me. A couple of books, to place hands on, will increase the range of motion when you get really good.
Front Raises (delts - shoulders)
For this exercise you need a child (or something else with weight). Hold you baby straight out in front of you. Slowly lower and lift keeping your arms straight.





Dips (triceps - the flabby part on the back of your arm)
Using two chairs facing eachother about two - three feet apart. Sit on one chair facing the other chair. Put your feet on the chair you're facing. Now place your hands on the edge of the chair you're sitting on. Lift yourself off the chair and in front of the chair you were sitting on. Bending at the elbows lower yourself down until your elbows are at a 90 degree angle. Then push yourself back to starting postition.

Variations: To make it easier put your feet on the floor. To add intensity, use weight on your legs. A child works well for this one too.

Crunches (abdominal region; lower and upper)
This exercise can be done with the feet raised or tucked under a bed or up against a wall. The key is to keep the tension on the abbs throughout the entire range of motion. 100 reps is a good target.

Free Standing Squats (glutes/quadriceps/hamstrings - butt and legs)
Free standing squats can be done with the arms folded across the chest. Definitely go below parallel as the lack of weight will enable this, provided correct squatting form is used. Since squatting is probably the number one exercise of them all, it should always be included when is unable to train in the gym. Aim for a lot of repetitions (100+).

Variation: To add intensity stand upright and keep hands to the side. Raise heels off the ground during descent, and touch backside to calves. Then, explode up. Or use weight like one of your kids on your shoulders.

Plie Squat Calf Raises (Glutes/Legs/Calves)
Hold onto a chair for balance, and position your feet wide apart, knees tracking over turned out toes. Keeping your knees pressed back and open, with heels flat on the floor, lower into a wide squat as far down as possible, without allowing your torso to rock forward (keep chest lifted). Holding that low position, lift up onto your toes as high as possible, hold, then lower heels, and press back up to a standing position. That’s one rep.



Variations: Place a loaded backpack or child on your back to add resistance as you get stronger.

Lunges (glutes/quads/hamstrings - butt and legs)
Stand in a split stance, with feet about 3 feet apart. You want both knees to be at about 90-degree angles at the bottom of the movement, so adjust accordingly. Bend the knees and lower the back knee towards the floor, keeping the front heel down and the knee directly over the center of the foot. Keep the torso straight and abs in as you push through the front heel and back to starting position. Don't lock the knees at the top of the movement.

Variations: There are a lot of different ways to do lunges. You can do a simple lunge like this one or step into the lunge or do a walking lunge or kick up your back leg. The key is to find one that you like.

Step ups (glutes - butt)
One of my favorites! It's a very basic but very effective exercise. Use a small bench or a chair or even stairs if you have them. Starting with both feet on the ground step one foot on the step then push up so both feet are on the step. Return to starting position and repeat on the other side.

Try it out. Turn up the music. Let the kids join in and have fun!

We're in Mexico!!

Many of you already know that we're in Mexico. I just haven't wanted to shout it out on the blog yet. But now my brother and his family are going to stay in our house while we're away. Thank you so much Heath and Chelsea! So I felt like I could finally post that we're here and our home is not vacant. Not that there's really anything there anyone would want anyway but just to be safe.

Okay so after paying $100 for "extra luggage", (Did you know the airlines are now charging for a 2nd bag no matter how much it weighs?) losing a well loved blanket that we found after we got here (would have been nice on the plane) and having a very impatient flight attendant on our second flight (Couldn't she see that I was ONE mom with FOUR little kids and we were all sitting on different rows and I couldn't get all their seatbelts on at one time?) we did eventually make it to Torreon, Mexico. And other than the million of police outside of our apartments yesterday everything is pretty good. We live right across the street from a hospital and I guess a policeman was shot yesterday so what seemed like the whole police unit was securing the hospital while the officer was inside so the guys that shot him couldn't come back and finish the job. They were all decked out in their bullet proof vests, masks, and guns (the boys really liked that part). We tried to avoid going outside just in case but we did have to go to and from our car so I casually let the kids know that if we were ever outside and they heard the guns shoot that they should drop to the ground. The police were there all night and this morning too but they've left this afternoon so I don't know if the officer died or was released but the twenty five police trucks and cars are gone. So welcome to Mexico!!



On a lighter note here's why I do like Mexico.

Huge, yummy green onions, these babies are so sweet you can grill them and eat them plain. Yum!

Cute little mangos, these are the sweetest, juiciest mangos you have ever tasted and they're perfect for the kids.

I know they're not big things but living here you learn to appreciate the small things. We could all use more of that!