*Smile*

So...it's now the 3rd week of February and there are only a few days left. Have I even blogged once this month? Nope!! Things here have been a little....crazy. All I can do is smile, because it's either that or cry.

*Jon's job has been a little (or a lot) stressful and that leaks over to the whole family.

*I have been doing a new fitness/health challenge and it's KILLING me!!! You wouldn't think that implementing these things into your life would be that hard and when I talk about it, it seems silly to be so overwhelmed with it all, but to actually do it is TOUGH! Basically, I get to eat 5 meals a day and they are portion controlled. They have to be 2-4 hours apart--no more, no less. There is absolutely NO snacking allowed at all. Even 1/2 a bite of a carrot is a 10 point deduction. The only allowed snacks are celery and cucumbers. No butter; no fried or processed foods; no white flour; NO sugar. I have to drink 2-3 liters of water a day; sleep for 6-9 hours; exercise for at least 20 minutes every day; work on a new habit to develop; work on breaking a bad habit; and work towards either a weight loss or a fitness goal. The things that kill me are occasionally, we have some type of pasta that I can't find whole grain. Or I am starving and having a hypoglycemic attack and I can't eat. Or I am dying for some chocolate and can't have any. I get one free meal a week, where I can eat anything we want, and one free day a week, where anything goes. There are also 100 free calories a day, but try making that stretch into satisfying a craving. I find myself thinking, "WHY am I doing this?!" I really don't need to lose weight, but I would like to become healthier. Just because I weigh a certain amount doesn't mean I eat all that great.

*Kendall has been a typical teen, always pushing limits, yet being such a great kid at the same time. Science Fair was due, along with a couple of other projects and he had the end of his basketball season. It's been a busy time of year for him.

*Kristen had to go over to the middle school this month and we had to get her registered for next year. That's been crazy, trying to decide on electives and mentally preparing ourselves for all this change. She goes to Young Women in 3 weeks and 6 days! No, we're not counting. :)

*Jarren has become a hypochondriac. He's been playing a lot of tetherball. A lot. I'm pretty sure this all stemmed from a pulled or strained muscle. He thought his heart was hurting. He swears he's having a heart attack. Then the pain moves. His lungs are hurting and he can't breathe. Then his heart is burning. His skin might peel off, because he got a blister on his hand. His leg hurts; his foot hurts; his arm hurts; his head hurts; his heart hurts; his stomach hurts; etc etc etc. He's had days where he'll call home 3 or 4 times to tell me he's dying. And now he's obsessed with blood clots. He swears he's developing a blood clot because he got a bruise. He'll start crying and beg us to slap his arm because it might be numb and then he'll constantly compare his arms and legs and swear that one or the other is turning purple or green. He's constantly checking his pulse and then he'll start panicking that it's beating too slow or too fast. He's scared to shower because he might get a blood clot, faint, and die and no one will know. He's scared to sleep because he might die while he's asleep. He's been sleeping in Jenna's room for 10 days now. All the reassurance and patience (or trying to be) is sooooooo wearing!!! Imagine our shock when every day, he manages to wake up! :) Okay, I'll quit being sarcastic.

*Jenna still doesn't like to go to bed, but since Jarren's been in there and he gets so tired and goes to sleep early, she does too. He also gets up early, so she does too. Her reading is still astounding! They have a language immersion program at our school that starts in 1st grade, so I'm going to a meeting about it this week to see about getting her into it.

Sorry for the extremely long post, but that's pretty much our February in a nutshell. I'm really going to try and be better about posting in the future. Wish me luck!!!