Limber Limbs

I thought I would give everyone a quick update on my classes for this week. Let's start with ballet since that was first anyway. The class started out quite well, we have a large group, there's at least 16 of us. Now, this is a teen/adult class, once I got a look at everyone I immediately knew that I was the oldest one! I've got two years on my friend who is in the class with me. First thing we did was warm up and do some stretching. Well I haven't done splits in at least 10 years, let's just say I was definitely not the most flexible in the class. We started doing some bridges, you know where your upside down and your torso is pointed toward the ceiling, I turned to my friend Nicole and told her that I thought my c-section scar was separating. We got a good laugh at that. I was surprised at how quickly everything came back to me. Minus the fact that I can't bend very well at this moment, I looked pretty good. Until we did leaps. I totally had those 15 year old girls beat on my split leaps, I guess I was feeling pretty dang proud of myself. I was feeling proud until I fell. Yep, I was mid leap and my left leg buckled and I face planted it on the floor. I think I instantly starting crying from laughter. The whole class was rolling with giggles so I did the only thing I knew to do and threw my arms up in a "ta-da" type fashion which only caused them to laugh even harder. I just announced that I was trying to break the ice. (I guess thats what I get for trying to compete with the younger girls!) About 5 minutes later one of the girls came over to me and told my I was really funny. She asked me my name and how old I was. When I said 26 she looked shocked. She thought I was 17! I was not surprised I get that all the time! Sometimes it gets old, but I know in the long run its a good thing. Not a wrinkle in sight and I have moisturizer and sun screen to thank! I was sore during class, thursday was even worse, and today wasn't awful. I did however have yoga this morning. Let me just tell you, it was AMAZING. I loved it. My instructor tailored it just for me. We focused on flexibility, strengthening my back muscles, and stretches to help with my poor sore body. The last 20 minutes is relaxation methods. Pure bliss I tell ya. I highly recommend it. Then I came home and broke our washer. Oh well. What's 300 dollars right? I'm relaxed people, I'm letting it just roll off my shoulders! ...I wish!  Eric and I have been extremely busy the last couple of weeks and we aren't really seeing an end in sight. Thats ok though, one of these days I'll post all about our happenings, but not today. For right now I'm just content sitting here watching 500 Days of Summer (one of my favorites.) I'm also carrying my phone everywhere with me waiting for messages saying I have a new niece or nephew that's on its way! We're keeping our fingers crossed for yall...more so Katrina at this point, but we're thinking about you too Mandy! I can't wait for Danni Renee and Ollie Danni to be born. I know they're going to be gorgeous! 


*I just reread my post. Doesn't make much sense...oh well! Sorry!

My stress relievers

I know I've been talking a lot about stress recently. Well I've found a few ways to help keep myself calm. I know a couple of weeks ago I had mentioned going to yoga with my sister. I had tried several times in college and didn't really care for it, but I had a blast doing it with my sister! So...every friday I will be going to a private session of yoga, well, private until a couple of my friends start joining me in the weeks to come. I'm really excited, it seriously is a super hard workout, but then end of it is nice and relaxing. I can't wait! I'm also starting a ballet class tomorrow. No, this isn't out of the blue in case yall are thinking that. I danced growing up and loved it. Since I've been back in South Carolina, I've really wanted to start up again. I've called around to several places to try and find adult classes, but no one has offered them. Well, until now. Minus the fact that I'm not exactly flexible anymore and I'm not quite sure how I feel about being in a leotard again (no one wants to be the chunky thing prancing around,) I'm still looking forward to it. So wish me luck tomorrow as I'm leaping across the dance floor! This past friday I went to a local dance store to purchase my attire. Sarah Grace was so excited to see all of the tutus and bright colors. She was begging me for one and although she is old enough to start ballet, I told her she can't start till she uses the big girl potty. I don't think it motivated her. Anyway, I just wanted to post about these two highlights of my week. I'm also hoping that they may help me shed a well needed pound or two. Dang stress! 

family photos

I thought I would just post a few family shots from the beach. One of these days I think I'll pay for a professional to take family photos for us. Someday...

Fall with a little football smack mixed in

Is anyone else ready for this time of year? I love everything about summer, well mostly. Its been so dang hot the past few months that we don't go out a ton during the day. Trust me, me in 100+ degree weather is not a pretty sight and Sarah Grace just sweats in her car seat. All around, its not good. I'm ready for the cool breezes, crispy leaves, pumpkins, and most of all football! (By the way, great move BYU...no really, what were they thinking?! haha Glad I'm not a cougar fan!) Hey at least you'll actually be able to see the games now and they won't look like a 16 year old high school student was filming. Thats definitely something to be happy about cougar supporters! Anyway, if any of you run into fall, will you please tell him that the south is ready for him?! Thanks!

Prayers please

This family is in need of your prayers. Anyone in this area may recognize this family. The husband grew up in our stake and his parents are still living in Greenville. Read their story here.http://www.amberjoygiles.blogspot.com/

While Daddy works

This is what we do when Eric is at work. We wear mismatched pajamas, jump on the bed, and make snow angels on the duvet. Yes, snow angels, it took me a few minutes to figure out what Sarah Grace was trying to tell me as she was positioning my arms. But then I realized what she was wanting to do. 

?

I'm debating on which state of mind I prefer...stressed out or depression? I really think at this point I'm leaning with depression at least with that you tend not to eat. I like I slightly more depressed version of myself then a stressed out version.  I HATE stress and I'm not dealing with it very well. I feel like the world's meanest mom right now. My patience is gone, just ask Eric. Any suggestions on how to deal with this? 

Baby girl swims...or something like it.

I thought I had a longer video of Sarah Grace swimming, but this kind of gives you an idea!


  I've been waiting for over a hour for another video to load, one thats actually showing more than just two seconds, but its late and I think this is ridiculous. My apologies.

A few more...

This swim suit is a two piece and has a life vest that snaps to it. The first day we put it on Sarah Grace she had a huge meltdown and kept saying she was naked as she pulled on the top. Needless to say it was hilarious!

A few of my favorite things from the beach trip:


1. Eating cereal every morning on the balcony and watching the waves hit the sand.


2. Building Sand Castles with Sarah Grace.


3. Searching for sea shells and frolicking in the waves with Sarah Grace.


4. Reading every afternoon by the lazy river. The breeze in the afternoons is amazing!


5. Taking walks on the beach.


6. Spotting dolphins almost every day, (which I did manage to have a pretty nasty fall over.)


7. Evening thunderstorms.


8. Chatting with the family after dinner.


9. Girls night where manicures and pedicures were given while the little girls painted.


10. Taking off with Eric, Stephanie, and my cousin Chris for a night. It was her 30th birthday and after cake we kidnapped her. We hit at least 7 different surf shops, got Dunkin Donuts, and then had an old timey photo made. Most of this done after midnight!

The beginnings of the beach

I know I've been slow getting these pictures up, I just haven't really felt like blogging. It's kind of turned into a chore for me and no one likes chores right?! I'm hoping I'll start feeling a little more inspired in the next couple of months. Anyway a few weeks ago we had our family beach trip. All of my Dad's side of the family come down from up north for a week of lounging around the pools, playing in the waves, and visiting in the evenings. I love it! Since Eric & my Dad had both started new jobs they weren't able to be with us for the entire week. My Dad came down on wednesday and Eric was there sunday-tuesday and then friday-sunday. The nights we had all the boys there were pretty snug in our hotel suite, but we managed. Sarah Grace had a blast! She absolutely loved the ocean and swimming. I've been meaning to get her into swimming lessons the last couple of summers, but to be honest at her age they don't really teach much, mostly survival techniques for the babies. Don't get me wrong, those are extremely important, but this girl is a fish and needs to be swimming.  Sarah Grace was fearless when it came to the ocean and would run in and out of the waves as much as she could. She spent her mornings on the beach building sand castles and playing with my cousins kids. Afternoons were at the pools, eating, and napping. I'm hoping that I can figure out how to load videos, we have several cute ones of her!




I have tons of pictures left to post so sorry, you're gonna get a lot of them.

One more down

I read Charlie St. Cloud today while Sarah Grace napped. Well I was seven chapters into it when I started reading while she slept. I loved this book. I definitely recommend it and I'm really hoping I can see the movie this weekend. Will has seen it already and he thought it was pretty good. He also drew me a picture of Zac Efron's abs on the back of the program at church yesterday. Eric & I were very impressed by his artistic abilities. Oh and how cute is the little boy in the movie?!

Books and a tiny update

Yes we are still without internet, technically. I won't get in to exactly how I'm using the internet in my own home, but I am. Hopefully that modem will arrive tomorrow. Since I'm not technically using my own internet I'm refraining from posting any beach pictures, although I can't wait to get them up and if I can figure out the darn video part I may post a few of those too! So in more recent news I just finished Eat, Pray, Love and well, I really enjoyed it. I was hoping to be able to finish both my books at the beach, but that was seriously wishful thinking. I am however, grateful that Eric didn't mind the fact that I had a light on in our room till 2 am so I could finish my book. It was a very interesting read and I feel like I got quite a bit out of it.  I won't go into too much detail in case any of my blogging friends out there want to read it, but I did gain a new perspective of yoga. I've done yoga several times, but I've never really gotten into it. After reading this book, I learned quite a bit and I'm giving it another shot. In fact this wednesday I'm going with my sister who takes private yoga classes. She loves it and I'm going in it with an open mind. The movie comes out this friday and I'm super excited to see it. I really like Julia Roberts (insert rolling of the eyes from my mother who is not a huge fan, but does like the fact that Ms. Julia is against having work done to her face.) Did I mention that she rocks Aviators in the movie and a leather jacket? I have nothing but utmost respect for a woman who can pull them off. (Thanks mom & dad for buying me a pair two years ago, they have been a staple in my wardrobe ever since.) I just started Charlie St. Cloud tonight and was hardly two pages in and I was already having to fight back tears. I think if Eric had not been in the same room I probably would have let them flow. I don't particularly like crying in front of him. He always stares and it makes me feel like I'm a 12 year old girl watching Titanic for the first time. So no crying from me yet. In other news, I'm feeling completely overwhelmed. I won't go into details, but let's just say I'm stressed and I hate it. I'm going to the gym tomorrow and I'm really hoping that a good run will help with that. I would also like to mention that my kid is hilarious. I have so many good stories that I really should put on here so I don't forget, but that never seems to happen. Today at church, my mom had pulled out the church art book for Sarah Grace to look at. My entire family was crammed into a row and there wasn't a ton of space. Jake was at the end and apparently he was too afraid to sit by the single lady who was also on the row. I swear he had like 5ft between them, so we were all sitting there like sardines. Sarah Grace was standing and facing the pew flipping through the pages and I guess she was annoyed that the book wouldn't lay flat. She turned to Stephanie and started pushing on her thighs and proceeded to say, "Nie Nie, move your butt." We all started rolling with laughter. Now I wasn't very happy that she used the word butt, I think having older uncles around her is starting to rub off, but I thought it was hilarious anyway and laughed. I know this is a lot of rambling but I figured maybe typing a bit would help loosen me up. Eric is also started school again next week and I don't think thats helping any of the stress. I told him today he needed to write out a schedule so I can keep up with him and know where he is during the week. I think he is just as stressed as I am between new job, new calling, starting school & labs, trying to get his private counseling started, and a few other things that will remain unmentioned at this time. We did however just find out that The University of South Carolina is opening a branch of their Medical School here in the Upstate. This could be a very good thing for us in the future. It opens just in time. We are crossing our fingers...well they'll be crossed for at least a year! Anyway, we're taking things week by week. If anyone wants to relieve me of my stress I would really appreciate it. Maybe putting beach pictures on my blog would help?!

Out of the blogosphere

Just in case anyone is wondering why I've been absent from the blogging world, I thought I'd give yall a brief explanation. We were at the beach for a family vacation, then we came home and dealt with the unpacking and trying to get back into a routine. A lot of it is laziness on my part, up until a couple of days ago when our modem died. We probably will be without the internet until Monday or even Tuesday. Sad right?