25 August 2024

What was happening with the Comaduran family at Two Jack Ranch this week?  Well, a lot, as usual.  On Monday Dad was home and took Jude to music class, which he loves.  Felicity had her first day of classes.  I insisted she send me a first day selfie.  She said it was a LONG day of going over rules and expectations and outlining how the cosmetology program works.  Her second day was better, they are starting off with nails so they gave each other manicures.  I think she's a little homesick, but I'm proud of her!  We talked on the phone almost every day this week and certainly sent some text messages back and forth.  

Phil worked some overtime during the day on Tuesday helping with a live fire event.  I felt bad for him, it was REALLY hot out to be in turnouts playing with fire.  He got home in the afternoon and then turned around and went with the kids to youth activities at the church where he was teaching a first aid/CPR class to the youngest group of young women.  I heard he had a good time.  He worked overtime again on Wednesday doing live fire until 2PM.  When he got home he took Jude out running errands including a trip to "Daddy's house" (the firehouse).  

Phil was back at work again for a front half overtime shift on Thursday (12 hours).  I was able to get to the gym in the afternoon and got there early enough to do a body scan.  My scale at home can do a body scan, but the one at the gym is more sophisticated.  I was super excited to see my weight since it was the end of the day, I had chugged a bunch of water before getting there, and I was in my clothes.  Anyway, I was also pleasantly surprised at my percent of body fat.  Running and gym time are working, only 29% body fat which is in the healthy range for my age (22–31%).  The coach and I decided to make a goal to reduce that by 3% in 3 months, so I'm enthusiastic about that.  Speaking of weight, I know its not my four week weigh-in update, but I was giddy when I got on the scale Friday morning and was 170 pounds.  That's 133 pounds down and only 20 more to goal!  To help you understand how exciting that is, the lowest I've ever weighed in my adult life (we're talking 17/18 years old) was 166 pounds.

Oh, and speaking of healthy changes, I just have to tell you, I'm OBSESSED with zero sugar flavored water these days at 0-5 calories per serving.  I have given up Diet Coke all together and am drinking 160+ ounces of water a day.  I've been collecting different single serving powders and pump bottles of syrups...I may have gone a little overboard, but I can make so many fun combinations.  I even started a new Pinterest board to collect and try other people's water recipes.  I'm loving it!  This week my favorite is 40 oz. of water and ice with one packet of Skittles Strawberry and one packet of Skittles Mango Tango.  Chef's kiss, as my kids would say.   

I got Arlo's school photos back this week.  Well, it looks like him!  You have to love that middle school phase.  Phil was back at work for his regular shift on Friday and I had the day off so Jude and I ran errands and enjoyed our day.  

Our Saturday was equally busy with chores and running around.  Just keeping up on the weeds feels like a full time job, but I am grateful for all the rain we've gotten this monsoon season.  I talked to Felicity and she said she went to a YSA dance on Friday with her roommate and had a good time.  She said nobody asked her to dance, but they had fun anyway.  I am so grateful for her outgoing roommate Erica, who has been so wonderful this week making Felicity get out and try new things.  They got acquainted in their new ward and assigned a Family Home Evening group, signed up for an Institute class, and went to the dance.

Phil worked on Sunday as well and I was up early to write a talk I was asked to give during sacrament meeting.  The topic for the meeting revolved around the ordinance of the sacrament and sacrament meeting itself.  The reference material I was given was a talk by Elder Oaks entitled Sacrament Meeting and the Sacrament.  While I used some material from this talk, I felt inspired to talk about ways of enjoying sacrament meeting when its hard to enjoy sacrament meeting.  Mostly I was giving myself a pep talk since enjoying the meeting and participating in the ordinance of the sacrament is hard while wrangling Jude.  I know its hard for other parents when they feel just getting kids there and keeping them occupied and quiet for an hour is a full-attention endeavor or when they spend more of the meeting in the foyer than in the chapel.  I titled my talk "Suffer the Children" a funny-ish play on Mark 10:14.  Anyway, I think it went alright.  My favorite point was "Pray for spiritual experiences to come on Sundays to help strengthen your testimony, and learn to recognize when they come, both at church and at home. Have faith that if you pray for testimony-building experiences, they will come.  Whenever I diligently search for the spirit … I find it. And when I have the spirit with ME my children see that and they in turn feel it too."  Here's Jude in front of the church building, he insisted I take a picture of him in the grass.

Phil was excited on Sunday to be assigned to a team that will be going on an out-of-state wildland assignment.  He'll be leaving Monday morning for southern California where he'll likely be there for two weeks or more.  Well, it'll certainly help with his overtime goals towards our retirement pension.  I just have to keep telling myself "20 months down,16 more to go" in achieving that "high three".   Helen and I worked on packing up some of Felicity's things that she didn't take with her in preparation to do some bedroom swapping.  We're going to move Helen to Arlo's room by herself and the boys are going to take the Marvel-decorated room.  This will also mean that Jude's room will be vacant and I get my office/sewing room back!  Yay me!  It's going to take some time to move everything around.  I'm going to get rid of the bunk bed in Arlo's room, so I took some pictures of it and Jude just had to get in on one.   

18 August 2024

There was a lot going on this week.  Firstly, Helen celebrated her 16th birthday on Monday.  Her friends brought her gifts and flowers at school.  She had evening band rehearsal so we didn't get to really celebrate until Tuesday.  We went out to dinner at Chili's and then enjoyed some ice cream cake after.  She didn't get traditional presents as she'll be swapping rooms with Arlo in the next few weeks and we're going to get some new things to decorate her very first solo bedroom.  I'm working on the quilt for her bed now.

Jude also started back at his weekly Sound Beginnings music class on Monday and really enjoyed that with Daddy.  Phil said he did pretty well, he interacts and enjoys it more each session he takes.  He also enjoyed playing with the other kids on the lawn after class.  I feel badly he is practically an only child in terms of having siblings close to his age, he just LOVES to play with other kids.

I took a 5AM class as the gym on Tuesday and loved it, but let me tell you, I was sore for the next few days.  I took it easy for the rest of the week so that I'd be fresh for our 5K run on Saturday.  Thursday was Felicity's big day!  I took the day off from work and Phil and I moved her into her new dorm at Eastern Arizona College.  My mom wanted to tag along as well, so it was a real family affair.  We packed all her things in plastic storage totes so they were fairly easy to move with the dolly.  We got her mostly unpacked and then went to lunch at Casa Manana, yum!  We made a few finishing touches on her room after lunch and then we were done!  Good byes weren't too sad because I knew that she would be coming home this weekend for the Copper/Navy game and to be there when her friend opened his mission call.  I think dorm life is going to be a great experience for her.  Thursday evening she was participating in what they call "monster bridge" an orientation class geared for incoming freshman.  They had a welcome event, information session, and did a campus tour.  Friday morning they helped them get their student IDs and talk about clubs and activities on campus.

Phil was back to work on Friday, but I had the day off so I enjoyed time with Jude and running errands.  Felicity came home in the evening and then she went to the high school's first game of the season, a scrimmage.  She had fun and Helen had fun, it was her first night back in the stands with the marching band for the year.  Helen stayed at school after the game for a drama club "lock in" and then caught a few minutes of sleep Saturday morning before heading to a long band rehearsal where she got quite the sunburn.  The excitement didn't stop because after rehearsal she had enough time to come home and shower and then head out on her first "date".  The rule at our house is no dating until you're sixteen and then preferably in groups.  Some friends did a group date at one of their houses and Helen was asked to go.   They had snacks and played board games.  I went to pick her up at 9:30 and she said they had a great time, but she was definitely ready for bed when she got home!

Phil worked Friday and then was offered an overtime shift on Saturday which he took.  I was a little annoyed because we were suppose to run together in the "Breeze in the Trees 5K" at the pecan orchard Saturday morning, but I got over it quickly because I know this is a means to an end and I'm grateful for how hard he works.  I was up early Saturday morning for the 6:30 AM check in, the race started at 7AM.  I felt pretty good for the duration.  I found that where I really was able to pull ahead of the pack I was running with the first mile was when we went off the compact dirt and cut through the trees in the grass and soft soil.  Running on our uneven, sandy, dirt road everyday prepared me!  I had a good race and although I came in exactly the same place in my age group as the April event, I improved my time by four minutes...and when we're talking about running and the shorter 5K distance, that's not bad!

I spent the rest of my Saturday working on chores...and there were a lot of them!  My sprint board that I mentioned a few weeks ago is working really well and I was motivated to get the last few items into the done column.  I had to climb on the roof and seal around one of our skylights, pull weeds in the front yard, and take apart and sand a gun cabinet that I bought on Facebook Marketplace with the intention of refinishing it to display quilts.  I was pretty hot and tired when I finally called it quits for the day.

Phil was at work Sunday for his regular shift (these three-day spans of work are killer).  Helen and Arlo were visiting their dad and Felicity went to the YSA ward so it was just Jude and I.  Church started off by Jude tripping me on our way out the door.  I had my hands full and he got underfoot as I was going down the front stairs off the porch; I landed on my knees trying to protect the laptop in my hands.  I dirtied my leggings and put a little hole in the left knee, but we didn't have time for me to come up with a new outfit, so I brushed myself off and away we went.  Jude was challenging in Sacrament meeting, but he always is and this week wasn't too bad.  I taught Sunday school second hour and I think it went alright.  We covered Alma 39-52 and I feel one of the take-aways I emphasized was the need to fortify our homes and families against our modern day enemies the way Captain Moroni fortified the Nephites against the invading Lamanite armies.

Our afternoon was quiet.  Felicity picked up Helen and Arlo for me and we all drove to fire station so that Phil could give Felicity her back-to-school father's blessing.  We had to do it in Dad's office, but we weren't interrupted so it was ok.  After that we said our real good-byes to Felicity as she was headed back to school, this time to stay.  She starts classes tomorrow at 7 AM.  We know she's going to do great!

11 August 2024

 We are closing in on the first day of college for Felicity and we did a lot of prep this week.  I can tell both girls are getting a little nervous, excited, worried, anxious, all the feelings for Felicity to move to Thatcher, AZ next week to start school.  She had to do a lot of adulting this week as well.  She had to make an appointment to get her car oil changed, call the Bursar's office to get some financial aid questions answered, have a telephone interview with the cosmology lead at EA, and go down to the bank and straighten out some issues she was having with her account.  

It felt like everyone was going in different directions Phil was at work on Monday, Helen stayed after school until 9PM for band practice, and Felicity went to a Family Home Evening at the Institute.  I guess the band does a dress-up theme for Monday night practice so Helen came home with cotton balls stuck to her face...gnomes and knights is a thing?

Phil worked overtime on Tuesday and Felicity got invited to play pickleball at the butt-crack of dawn, so the seminary drop off/bus stop drop was on Jude and I.  I didn't have an opportunity to run in the morning, but that was ok since my neck was still stiff from last Saturday's incident.  In fact it didn't loosen up until about Wednesday so I didn't go to the gym all week which was kind of a bummer.  I did get out and do a short run on Thursday to test the waters and when it went well I felt confident enough to get 2 1/2 miles in on Friday. 

Phil worked again on Friday and it was my "off Friday" so I ran a bunch of errands.  I had a long list of items to get for Felicity to take to college.  I put together a grown-up first aid kit, got her some snacks, some cleaning items, and some other miscellaneous things I thought would be useful.  I also did our grocery shopping for the week and man was it expensive!  Felicity was out on a date so I had to take Jude all over town with me while I ran errands.  He cracks me up (and annoys me), he refuses to hold my hand in parking lots.  Typically when I reach for his hand he jerks it away from me and says "I hold my own hand" and then proceeds to hold his own wrist in the parking lot.  Argh!  He's SO STUBBORN!

The highlight of Friday was my scale victory.  The 9th was my 48 week check-in and I was down another 7.5 in the last four weeks and now have officially lost 83% of my excess weight and am 26 pounds from goal.  That's 126.6 pounds lost in a little over ten months.  It feels great!

The kids and I were out in the yard early on Saturday morning pulling weeds in the front and working on some other yard clean up.  Phil got home mid morning and joined us with chores.  When it got too hot to work in the yard we retreated to the shop where we worked on organizing some of our food storage.  We worked for awhile and got maybe half of it done before calling it a day.  

In the afternoon Phil and I took Felicity out on a "date".  I felt impressed last week that we should set aside some time to spend individual time with Felicity.  We went to the temple and did baptisms which was a great experience and then we went to dinner.  Felicity picked The Cheesecake Factory for dinner, and it was pretty good (I think I've only been there one other time).  I was happy to find they had a "skinnylicious" menu and ordered some shrimp tacos that were yummy.  Felicity and Dad split a slice of Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cheesecake.

Phil was back at work on Sunday so the kids and I were solo at church and it was rather disastrous.  Jude did OK through the Sacrament and then after was having a hard time being quiet so I took him out to the hallway for a timeout.  Once he calmed down he insisted he needed to poop so I ran him to the bathroom where he proceeded to do what he always does when he poops, he cried and carried on howling and crying.  He didn't end up going, but instead made a huge scene in the bathroom.  We tried to return to Sacrament meeting, but he was too upset and kept repeating "I poop, I poop".  I gave up and took everyone home.  Its frustrating.  Jude only has a bowel movement once or twice a week.  He holds it out of fear of it being painful which in turn ensures its going to be painful.  It's a crappy situation (pun intended).  We got home and he spent several tear-filled minutes on the toilet until he finally went.  It was a bit of a rough Sunday!  My mom and niece dropped by for a short visit in the afternoon and the rest of our Sunday was uneventful.  Felicity has some packing and prepping to do as we'll be taking her to EA on Thursday.  It should be a fun-filled week ahead.

04 August 2024

The school year for the middle kiddos is in full swing with homework and after school practices already starting up.  I continued to go to the gym this week getting up at 4AM to make a 5AM class on Monday and Wednesday and a 7:30AM Friday class.  I'm really enjoying them and making good progress.  I'm grateful that Phil was able to help get kids to seminary and school in the morning so I could do that.  I was however, very frustrated that my weight refused to budge this week.  I just have to have faith that as I continue to eat right and exercise my body will start letting go of weight again.

The kids were all home on Monday for a teacher in-service day so they helped me keep Jude occupied and in the afternoon Felicity went to a Single Adult Ward FHE where they were doing a service project cleaning up at Binghamton Cemetery.  She is enjoying being active at the Institute and I'm grateful for her group of high school friends that have been attending with her and encouraging her to participate.  She even attended an Institute class on Wednesday evening and stayed after for refreshments and games.  I hope she'll enjoy her ward at EA as much when she goes to school later this month.   

We were really proud of Arlo this week when he came home with his third "Principal's 200" award since starting middle school last year.  This one was awarded by his band director, Mr. Constantine.  How lucky the middle school is to have him, all of my kids have had him as a teacher and he is such a gem to the Vail School District and their music education programs.  Anyway, this year he asked Arlo to switch from baritone to tuba and Arlo took on the challenge.  He was pretty frustrated at first as he has struggled to get used to reading the notes below the staff and figure out the fingerings, but he's persevered and his teacher took notice, which really buoyed Arlo's desire to continue to work on his tuba playing.   

Friday was busy with work and picking up groceries for the neighbor and picking up my own groceries after hitting the gym.  Phil went with me and we bought some roasted Hatch green chilies at Fry's.  Phil treated us by making chilies rellenos for dinner.  So yummy!

In the evening after dinner Phil and Jude and I did some yard work in the front pulling weeds since it was overcast and pleasant outside.  We've had the worse time with tumble weeds this year and I've been pulling them in sections since we have a lot of yard.  Jude got in on the action and "helped" too.

I'm worried the cat is becoming overly annoyed with Jude when he tried to get in a first class mailing envelop 

and looked pleadingly at me.

I got up early on Saturday morning and headed out on a run on the road instead of going to the gym so that I'd have time for some more yard work before it got hot, but my plan was thwarted when a mile and a half from home I moved ever so slightly in the wrong way and felt a horrible twinge across my upper back and up into my neck.  I had to stop running immediately and no amount of stretching made it better.  I ended up having to walk home staring at the ground because it hurt too badly to hold my head upright.  Ugh!  This is the worse!  I was pretty uncomfortable most of the day and didn't get as much done as I wanted to.  Phil and I had an appointment at the temple in the afternoon and enjoyed serving in the temple, and then hopping over to Sam's Club before grabbing some Costa Vida on the way home.  It was a nice afternoon even if I couldn't turn my head!

My neck/upper back wasn't any better on Sunday and I felt like Michael Keaton's Batman all day, turning my whole body to look around instead of swiveling my head as I should.  I taught the Sunday School lesson on Alma 32-38 and I felt like it went fairly well.  We talked about being "poor in heart" and also about developing and maintaining faith.  I took it easy the rest of the evening.  Here's to hoping that my neck and back relax because I'm going to miss my exercise time!