On turning another year older...

I am now officially closer to forty than I am to thirty. It shouldn't be so hard to deal with since, as my dear husband told me when I lamented this fact this morning, I was technically closer to forty than thirty the day after my birthday last year. (Thanks honey.)

Now, a date on the calendar really doesn't bother me. I'm really very lucky. I've got two beautiful daughters, a wonderful husband, a rewarding job, a roof over my head... What does bug me?

I can't lose weight like I used to. In fact, I can't lose it at all and now I have a videogame that reminds me of that whenever I turn it on!

Vito and I decided to give each other a Wii Fit as a combination Father's Day/my Birthday present. I went at it religiously for it is pretty fun. You can do yoga, balance exercises, aerobic exercises, and strength building exercises. And, the whole time, you are watching your Mii (a cartoon version of yourself) and Miis of your friends do these exercises on the television. It makes running in place a lot more fun when you see a cartoon of your grandmother breeze past you!

Now, the downside... the daily weigh-in. The first thing the program instructs you to do is to stand on the balance board and be "scanned". Then, you are shown your weight and centeredness. Over the weeks, I became much more centered but, even with all the exercise, I GAINED weight. How in the heck did that happen? People tried to tell me it was because I was building muscle which weighs more but I'm not buying it.

Anyways, I took a couple of weeks off and I'm ready to start fresh and this time alter my eating habits as well. I may not have reached my goal of losing 10 pounds by my 36th birthday but maybe I'll do it by the end of summer. I'll keep you posted.

"One of the Moms from my Message Boards..."

You have no idea how often I use that phrase in a day.

Back when I was actively TTCing (Trying to Conceive), I found a group of women online that were in the same stages of their lives. It was this discovery that introduced me to the world of message boards. As I struggled with infertility, considered adoption and, eventually, celebrated my pregnancies, the women on my message boards were a lifeline. They offered support and advice, distraction and laughs, a shoulder to cry on and a virtual glass to clink in celebration.

Now, years later, we share funny stories about our kids, give advise when needed and tear our hair out over something our husbands did.

I've only met one of these women in real life but I feel as if I know all of them as well as the people I see everyday maybe even better.

There are a lot of thoughts about technology and what it has done to our society. I can tell you that one of the biggest benefits has been the ability to reach out and find someone on the other end.

Most of the messageboards I belong to have gone private (so that we can exchange personal information more freely without the fear of "trolls" or "lurkers") but, if you are interested, I suggest you check out ivillage or network54. If you find a board you are interested in joining, read a few posts to get the feel of the place. Then, jump in! Introduce yourself. Respond to some posts. Ask some questions. Have fun getting to know people that you probably never would have "met" if not for the internet.

Father's Day Ferris Wheel (or I'm Flying Like Peter Pan!)

Morgan has been on a ferris wheel kick lately. I'm not sure how or why it started but she's been talking about wanting to ride one non-stop. (Occasionally, she calls it a "Steering Wheel" but we know what she means.)

Anyways, Navy Pier has a rather large ferris wheel and we've been trying to think of an appropriate occasion to go. Father's Day seemed like just the ticket. So, after a light lunch at my parents' condo, we all walked to Navy Pier. As we grew closer to the pier, the Ferris Wheel was finally in sight. We pointed it out to Morgan and she said "A Ferris Wheel! *sigh* I wish I could ride on one someday..." It wasn't until we got to the foot of the ride and I went off to buy the tickets that she realized that someday was actually here!

I think the photo says it all...

And So It Begins

"I really should be writing this down"

That is what I think every time Morgan or Sophie do something funny or cute. And, being that they are particularly funny AND cute children, I think that quite often during the day. Unfortunately, I seldom find myself in a position to take pen to paper and record said hilarity. I do, however, spend time at my computer everyday and, since I haven't lost my memory completely yet, I am planning to hop on and blog about them whenever possible.

Of course, I can't think of anything at the moment....