Lately

Even though Summer doesn't officially end for another couple of weeks, we are already into the swing of our new Fall schedule. I was able to scale back the girls' therapy sessions to just two days a week. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are very busy days for us, but the girls are thriving with their new routine. I'm enjoying the balance that we have now with our days.

My 12 weeks with my personal trainer ended 3 weeks ago and I am already feeling myself slacking off a little bit. Ugh! I did great for the first couple of weeks. I joined Crunch Fitness and was going 4-5 days a week until this past week when I wasn't feeling very well. I'm all better now so the plan is to get my act together and drag my butt to work out tomorrow. I'm signed up for a 5K run with my friend Claudine next weekend that benefits a local autism research center. I'm excited to run this. I haven't "officially" done a 5K since 2005. I'd really like to do a 10K in November. I'm going to work towards it and really give it my all. I think I'm getting to a place where I enjoy working out. I've been inactive for the last week (was sick) and I am feeling so lazy. I miss how good I feel after a work out. It's also nice to have some "me time" after Bob gets home from work. I usually cook dinner for him and the girls, feed them, and then head out for my work out. It gives me enough time to exercise before I'm too late at night when I'm tired. Then I can still be home for the girls' bath and bed time routine.

I do plan on purchasing more sessions with my trainer,  just can't do it for another couple of weeks. At first, I felt really guilty about paying someone to help me work out. However, this has been the only thing that has motivated me and I've learned how to challenge myself. A trainer makes you do things that you think you can't do, which in turn, makes you feel like... well, SuperWoman! I'm only ten pounds away from where I was the day I got married, and I'd like to lose another 20-25 pounds on top of that. I want to be the mom on the playground who is running around chasing her kids without getting easily worn out. And...I'd like my butt to actually fit on the playground equipment or the kiddy rides in amusement parks. I just want to look and feel healthy again. It's been a long time.

We finally found a new home for Bob's mother to live in. It's crazy that during the "housing slump," homes have literally been flying off the market. I think we put offers in on 5 or 6 houses before we actually got one. We should be closing escrow next week. I'm really happy that she will be living so much closer to us. I think it will be good for everyone.

Sophia said the cutest thing the other day. The girls' therapists were leaving our house and they always say "good-bye friends," and the girls will sometimes say it back. This time, Sophia kept saying "good-bye friends" and then she looked all sad and said it again. A few minutes after they were out the door, she came up to me with a look of hope on her face and said, "need some more friends too?" She was so proud of herself for asking to have her needs met. It was the sweetest thing ever and I loved the precious look in her eyes. Sadly, I had to tell her that they weren't coming back until the next week. She did okay. I distracted by reading her a book.

We had a fun play date with our triplet boyfriends this morning. My friend Deana and I have decided to have weekly play dates and rotate whose house it is at. We've been doing this for three weeks now and it's a lot of fun. Her boys are 7 months younger than the girls. I have to admit that it's been hard for me to do play dates, and I had pretty much been avoiding them for months. It's difficult to see the developmental differences that the girls have. I was really dwelling on it. But you know what.... Sometimes you just gotta get over it. Plus, the girls love their little boyfriends! We've already arranged their marriages so don't be trying to cut in people!

Oh speaking of Deana.... I had my very first pedicure today. I know! I'm 35 years old and I had never had one before. I am stubborn. I don't like to pay for something I can do myself. D talked me into going with her, and I gotta say, it was awesome! Best 60 minutes of pampering ever. I think I might be hooked now.

A few days ago, I was reading an online friend's blog. (You know, someone I have never met in person hahaha... don't we all have a few of those kinds of friends online?) She posted a link to a friendship blog by the author Irene Levine, who wrote a book called, "Best Friends Forever." It's a book about dealing with the loss of a female friendship or your best friend. Last year, I wrote about losing an old long time friend. This blog has been so intriguing to me and I've been reading it, as well as excerpts from the book, as much as possible lately. It's been nice to see that I'm not the only one who has gone through this. I mean, almost four years later, I'm not over it completely. I have moments of sadness where I really miss my old friend. I wonder what she is doing or if she misses me at all. I can't change the past nor can I do anything about what has happened (I've tried.).  I'm not the same person that I was before I became pregnant and had my girls. Motherhood changes you. The loss of a friendship changes you. I've learned what it is to be a good friend and how to cherish those relationships. I am so thankful and feel blessed for the friendships that I've built over the past few years. I will never take anything like that for granted again. I'm in a good place.

Okay, I'm getting a little deep for as late at night as it is. So until next time, this mama is signing off.