Maybe if I just cut my legs off...

Last week Kevin and I decided it was time to get off our lazy booties and join a gym. I am completely stoked about the very notion that I might not be "the fat girl" in the not so distant future. I joined a gym several years ago in a town where I worked, and I can honestly say I never felt better about myself physically than I did back then. I would be completely thrilled to feel that way now.

My love affair with our current gym got off to a bit of a rocky start. First, our children didn't love the oh-so-convenient child care, so our first real workout was over rather abruptly. Second, in an effort to be each other's workout buddy, we tried to wait until Kevin got off work to go...not our most practical idea ever. But we did manage to make it over twice last week, which was twice more than we'd exercised in, oh, forever, so score one for us!

This week started out more smoothly...sort of. I was able to schedule a "training assessment" with the gym's resident trainer. She was very nice and diplomatic. She actually asked me what my fitness goals were rather than just assuming weight loss might be my main objective. And when we were going over what I typically eat in a day, she didn't fall to the floor in convulsive laughter, screaming, "LIAR! LIAR!" I thought that was pretty nice of her, considering. Then I got on the scale. Again, she was quite the professional. I knew what I weighed, so that was no big shock (depressing, yes, but not shocking)...it was the body fat percentage that nearly sent me over the edge.

...and no, I'm not going to share the number with you here. Suffice it to say that I am a big ol' tub of lard.

I was stunned. Trainer girl told me to take this number with a grain of salt...it could fluxuate as much as four percentage points, she said. Like four stupid points were going to make me feel better about myself!! I managed to pick my ego up off the floor after a minute and let her show me the ropes on the weight machines. Contrary to outward appearances, I wasn't completely unfamiliar with the inside of a gym. Trainer girl was still really helpful, and gave me some other exercises that I could do for my abs that have morphed into a strange blob since childbirth.

I guess the good news is I managed to get in a full workout after my assessment. The kids were with me and were perfect little angels for an hour and a half. The husband had to work late, so I was able to get done earlier than normal. I will be both bummed and thrilled if I'm not sore tomorrow. Wish me luck! Hopefully this is just the beginning of the healthy phase of my life!

Jackson, Meet Thomas

Today was big day in the world of Jackson. About a month ago, his Aunt Debbie invited us to take a ride on Thomas the Train with cousin Eli and family. Of course we accepted, but not because Jackson loves Thomas the Train...as a matter of fact, Jackson had no idea who Thomas was. But he loves trains, and one of his favorite things to do when he's playing is to climb on the couch and yell, "All aboard!" So we all hopped into the car and made the trek to Rusk.

Along with the other seven thousand two to four year olds and their parents. Apparently this Thomas the Train thing is pretty big. Who knew?

I was actually relieved to see that the other 6994 people were not all waiting to take the train (at least not at the same time). The appropriate title of our little outing is something like, "A Day Out with Thomas." This included a bounce house (...Oh, and by the way, here's my two cents about something that irked me a little during the day...if your kid is 8 or 9 and still wanting to wear his Thomas pajama shirt to ride the train, and if he's a foot and a half taller and 40 pounds heavier than every other kid in the bounce house...GET HIM A NEW HOBBY.), a picnic lunch, a petting zoo, hay rides, throwing pine cones in the lake (probably not a Thomas sanctioned event, but the boys loved this all the same), blowing bubbles, and of course, playing with miniature Thomases...in other words, three year old boy heaven.

The biggest hit was definitely the train ride. From the moment the boys saw the train pull into the station, they were hooked.

They danced, "choo chooed", clapped, laughed, and thoroughly enjoyed every second of the thirty minute ride.

I have a short video of all this action, but silly me videoed sideways, and I don't want you to break your neck (or your computer) trying to watch a seven second video. So look at the pictures and use your imagination.

As we walked away, Jackson kept yelling, "Bye train! I had so much fun! Choo Choo!"

By the end of the day, the boys were both totally exhausted. Jackson was asleep ten minutes into the ride home. Usually a nap in the car means a moody little boy later, but he was in a great mood after he woke up and loved telling the rest of the family (especially Sadie, who sat this train ride out due to a little fever...oh yeah, and being a nine month old) about riding the train. I feel certain this would rate in his top five favorite days of all time.

First Big Boy Party!

Last weekend--before the great plague of 2008 (a.k.a. the stomach virus) invaded our home--Jackson got to go to his first big boy party. He was super excited about this...1)because the boy is probably at the top of Jackson's coolest kids ever list (he's our babysitter's son, so Jackson's known him all his life, and he has always been incredibly nice to Jackson, even though Lane is three years older), and 2)because he's just figured out what birthday parties are all about.

This birthday party was at a place that has a bunch of those inflatable bounce rooms, slides and obstacle courses for kids. To say the very least, it lived up to every single one of Jackson's little two year old brain's ideal birthday party expectations. There were kids there his age, lots of familiar faces, and not one but TWO cars for him to roll around in!

As you can see, I had to step in to help Jackson get the full effect (Karen graciously lended a hand as well, which should win her some sort of medal). It was worth it. The boy was worn out by the end of the night, but he had a great time.