Fab 5 Friday...

We have made it to another Friday...Big round of applause for that! And, we are off to LEGOLAND and Universal Studios this weekend as Monday is a holiday here in Malaysia...so let's give another big round of applause for a long weekend! The boys are incredibly excited and I will be packing extra Tylenol for Universal Studios as Blaine's physical therapist explicitly told him no roller coasters - so it looks like Mom will be taking one for the team and going on some coasters with Caleb. Damn little daredevil!

I want to thank all of you who read the blog this week. I always try to be "real" in my blog...some days are fabulous and, well, others...not so much. The parenting thing definitely hit a few days of "not so much" this week. It continued with a "come to Jesus meeting" between Grayson and I on Wednesday after school - which just seemed to add to the questioning of my parenting skills. This child is the master of skating by...sports, academics, you name it. And, lucky for him, his cute little face wins you over most of the time and you forgive all of his laziness. But, I reached my breaking point this week as he threw at me: "My teacher said a maximum of 30 minutes of homework each night." Yup, well...you live with me, not your teacher, and if your mom says you are going to sit there and read until dinner time (because you're really not reading, you're just turning the pages after what you think is an appropriate amount of time) - then guess what!? Sit your ass down and read! Let's just say that I think my point was made and should at least get me through the beginning of next week, at which time we'll have another meeting of the minds.

But, anyways...it's Friday and it's time for Fab 5 Friday...and I definitely do have some good things that are making the list this week!

1. Travel Plans. Well, our travel plans are coming along great! We scored a good sale on tickets to Australia for March 2015 via the Air Asia sale this week. Yahoo! I had priced tickets on Expedia and Kayak and we got them for about 50% off via Air Asia. Then, we booked another long weekend at Club Med Cherating with some friends in October. You would've thought that we were taking the kids to Disney World when we told them we were going to Club Med again. Happy kids - in the kids club - and happy parents - at the bar and pool. Win-win for everyone!

2. Painless Trip to the US Embassy. Monday morning Blaine and I had to head to the US Embassy (And no, they're not deporting us...) to get some documents notarized. I wasn't sure how this would go - Monday morning in downtown KL and having to go to the embassy. But, we managed to get in and out in about an hour with minimal waiting. This is a huge feat in the land of waiting - especially when you have to go deal with the government - even your own government!

3. An Afternoon to Myself. Yes, I took an afternoon this week to not run errands or meet anyone or do anything. I sat by the pool with a book and enjoyed the day in relative peace and quiet. Everyone needs to do this! Maybe your thing is not the pool with a book...but find some quiet time for yourself. You'll feel a million times better!

4. Knowing You Made The Right Decision. So this week I stuck to a decision I had made earlier in the month. It was hard and I started to second-guess myself, but in the long-run I know it was the right thing to do. Have you ever second-guessed yourself? How do you know you're doing the right thing? For me, an enormous sense of calm came over me...I don't know how else to describe it. But, it was a welcome feeling.

5. Yonanas Machine. Yeah, so we caved and bought a Yonanas machine this week. (http://yonanas.com/) and I love it! Just throw some fresh fruit in it and you have "ice cream." The strawberry-banana is fantastic! Love the consistency! And Grayson is in heaven - as he would eat fruit morning, noon and night...so between smoothies and fresh juice in the morning and this in the evening...the kid is turning into a regular fruit salad. And as he says so proudly, "Mom! It's healthy!"

I hope everyone is happy and healthy where you are! Enjoy the weekend everyone!

Parenting Fail, Body Image, and One-Upsmanship...

It's Tuesday and my brain is on blog overload today...just lots of stuff swimming around. So while this post could really be three different blogs...I'm just going to get it off my chest today and move on. Mainly because I need to get this stuff out of my head...

Some of you may have seen my Facebook post Saturday evening stating that I was trying to make up for some epically bad parenting - or at least it felt epically bad to me. And lots of you liked my post and sent me messages and made me feel better about parenting failures. We all make them you told me. In my attempt to make my son stronger Saturday, I'm sure that I only made a bad/sad/frustrating situation worse. There was no perfect way to make up for this. I apologized and we hugged it out and by the end of Saturday evening everything was right with the world. But, here it is Tuesday and I'm still thinking about it. Parenting is hard stuff, with no instruction manual and no right or wrong way to do it. Everyday I continue to reflect upon my parenting style. Learn from those around me. I strive to improve...and sometimes you need to take a couple of steps back in order to get some momentum to move forward.

And next on my list of ramblings today is body image.  I've been struggling a lot with my own body image of late. I currently live in a country of relatively tiny people. I go to a CrossFit box with a bunch of fit folks. My friends all seem to be thin and fabulous! And yeah, I'm not thin - although occasionally, I am fabulous! (Just joking!)

At one point in my life I was 350 pounds. I worked hard, lost a lot of weight and in the past two years I've gained some back. Am I anywhere close to that original starting point of 350 pounds? Nope, but I'm not the woman I was in pictures 4 years ago. And while I'm once again working to get there...I'm not there yet, hell, I may never get there again, and I'm stuck "in the box" right now.

Anyways, I made this picture my Facebook profile last week:

(Thank you to all who "liked" this picture last week.)

 

This picture was taken at the box where I work out. (Jen manages to snap lots of pictures when we're not looking during WODs) and I found it on the CFV Instagram page. And, I have to say, at first, I hated it. All I could see was huge thighs and a fat ass. But then, my son looked over my shoulder and said, "Whoa! Nice squat, Mom! That's a great pic!" I decided I needed to get past my own body image issues and embrace what my son saw in that picture - a strong mom who can heave some heavy weights (and really likes it). It's time for me to start embracing the things my body does well, working on the areas where improvement is needed and get "out of the box" of bad body image.

 

Which brings me to my last topic and then this rambling blog post will come to an end. One-upsmanship. I worked for two years in a job that allowed me to speak in front of hundreds of people each week. It was an extremely fulfilling career. Before I took this job, I went to a weekend long training where they instilled in us the need to be careful that we did not one-up the people we were speaking to - something I never gave much thought about. In this job, I asked people to be very candid, very vulnerable and to share parts of themselves with a large group. We all had similar backgrounds and we were all at various points in a journey.  I had to make sure that in sharing my story I did not one-up or diminish the importance of their story. It's such a fine line between sharing your own personal experience and one-upping. And yes, I was guilty of one-upsmanship - in fact, I occasionally, still am. I need to think about this more. When people share something with me...a milestone, something their child did, a failure, a triumph - sometimes all I need to do is listen. I need to respond in a way that let's them know I care - whether it be by congratulating or consoling or commending - whatever - and leave it at that. And, I'm sure I'm not the only one...maybe we all need to reflect on this a little.

 

Anyways, sorry for the "heavy" blog post this morning...I needed a little catharsis this morning and you, my poor blog readers, were on the receiving end. But, I feel better already...

 

 

Fab 5 Friday...

Besides having a horrible head cold this week, I have to say that this has been a pretty good week. I felt relaxed and settled back into my routine. The kids have fallen quickly back into the school, homework, then play mode. Blaine is busy at work and getting ready for a quick trip back to the States at the end of September. Baseball starts back up this weekend and soccer will soon follow. Everyone is ready after the summer of fun - it's now time to work - and play a little, too!

But, you're not here to read all of that junk...it's Friday and it's time for Fab 5 Friday! Without any further delay...

1. Driving Range. Last Sunday the whole family headed over to KLGCC to hit the driving range. Yup, I haven't touched a club since I was teaching in Ticonderoga many, many years ago. And, well, I didn't see much improvement with my swing! Hahaha! That's what lessons are for, I guess. I have a definite slice to the right. Blaine says this is because I'm compensating to get my club around my boobs. (Yes, I just wrote that! The boobs are not helping my golf swing!) But, Blaine also said this should provide my golf pro a unique teaching opportunity! Yeah, let's go with that! Anyways, it was loads of fun. I think the boys would have stayed and hit hundreds and hundreds of balls if we had let them. I can see this becoming a weekly family event.

2. Betsy and Kirk Coming To Visit. Before I left the States I chatted with Betsy briefly and she thinks that she and Kirk will be coming to visit us in Malaysia! Woohoo!!! So excited! I can't tell you how great it would be to have visitors this year. She's aiming for early February - which is the perfect time to get out of the cold Wisconsin winter and come to the tropics. Anyways, our door is always open to those who might want to make the long trip to Kuala Lumpur.

3. Trip Planning. And while others are planning to come visit us, I'm busy planning trips for our family. Next weekend we're taking the long weekend and heading to Johor Bahru (LEGOLAND) and Singapore (Universal Studios) with the kids. I've got October break planned with a trip to Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City. Christmas will be spent in Phuket, Thailand and my parents come to visit us in March - which will have us traveling to Australia. Throw in an extended weekend in Cambodia (in December) and I  think I've done a pretty good job of tackling the 2014-2015 school year.

4. Coffee and Lunch Dates. This week has been filled with lots of "let's catch up" dates for coffee and lunch. Some planned, some impromptu and all filled with lots of laughs and smiles and heartfelt welcome backs. Good friends make being abroad not only tolerable, they make being abroad worthwhile. These are the people you depend on when you're having a bad day or share your excitement with when something great happens. So...all I can say is thank you friends.

5. Saying Yes and Saying No. So...I'm practicing saying no lately and still trying to figure out where I want to say yes. I'm saying yes to writing more and searching for a photography class(es). I'm saying yes to fitness and friends. And, I'm still trying to figure out where or what or even if  I'll take on a role at the kids' school this year. I'm saying no to any major leadership roles at school, but my heart has a hard time not seeing some of the things we worked on last year flourish or at least continue this year. If anyone has any great words of advice on the saying yes and saying no thing, I'd really appreciate it. Catholic guilt often overtakes me and I find myself saying yes to more things than I probably should. (And, if I didn't have perfectionist/OCD tendencies - it might be okay to say yes to a whole bunch of things, but we all know that those tendencies can really only create unneeded/unwanted stress.) Oh, what to do?!

All right! TGIF peeps! Hope everyone is happy and healthy wherever you are! Smile and enjoy the weekend!

I WAS Happy To Be Back...

Yeah, remember my blog last week where I said I was happy to be back...Yeah, that was until I pulled into the parking garage at 1 MK today and this clueless women decided she was going to drive in the wrong direction. Yes, the arrows are painted on the floor for a reason! I refrained from stalking her and yelling at her (only because I fear I'd end up on YouTube because somebody would video me yelling at this clueless wonder!)

And the parking garage incident occurred after being cut-off 3 times on the way to 1 MK - one just narrowly missed causing major damage to a BMW. Yeah, I let out many obscenities and was thankful that I was in the car by myself. And, I'm going to admit I have dreams of pulling a Kathy Bates -Fried Green Tomatoes maneuver on so many of these drivers:

People...I will never, ever, ever love the driving here in Malaysia. EVER. Please forget about handing out new drivers a little sticker with the letter P. Instead - hand them this:

Fab 5 Friday...

Hola! Bonjour! Hello! Fab 5 Friday is once again here...and I, for one, am thankful to have reached another Friday. We're slowly, but surely, re-establishing our routine and settling back into day-to-day life here in KL. I had lunch with a friend on Wednesday and we both remarked how people asked us if we were sad to be returning to Malaysia - and we both told our friends...No. This is home. Are you sad when you go home? I certainly hope not. So while our life here may be different, it is still our life...and this tropical sweatbox is my home.

The Fab 5 this week is a real hodgepodge of things. Someone asked me how I come up with my Fab 5 each week and it's pretty easy...I keep a running list on my phone of good things that happen or things I love or whatever hits me. Some make a full blog post and some make Fab 5...and some never make it to the blog at all. Anywho...if you checked the "Notes" section on my phone you'd find lots of my blogspiraton.

So here's this week's list!

1. Blaine Sans Crutches. Yes, his doctor gave him permission to ditch the last crutch. He also moved his brace to 90 degrees and said he can start doing activities which do not cause him pain. Needless to say, we are heading to the driving range this weekend to see if he has any swing left! Plus, the kids want to go as they have been itching to use their clubs prior to starting golf lessons.

2. Golf Clubs For Me. Yes, I'm going to take some golf lessons - so Blaine bought me a starter set of clubs this week. I start lessons in September with a bunch of other fabulous women at the wonderful KLGCC. Lessons will be on Tuesday morning and include coffee (BONUS!) and I'm sure will bring a bunch of laughs.

3. New Bar. Blaine and I decided that when we moved to KL last year that we would buy art and furniture to mark different occasions/holidays in our lives. In July we celebrated our 13 year anniversary and when we returned to KL we decided we would buy ourselves the bar below. We'd been eyeing it for months and our anniversary was just the excuse we needed to make our purchase.

4. Mani and Pedi and Cut and Color. Oh, so happy to be back in the land of inexpensive manis and pedis! And, a quick trip to see Elaine for my hair was a must this week. The little things that make me happy.

5. Date Night. Blaine and I had "date night" last night. And, it was so needed after a busy summer. No kids, just a few drinks and dinner over at Publika. We tried Osteria Real Blue last night and really enjoyed the food.

All right! That's all there is for this week. I hope my KL friends are settling back in and I hope my friends in the States are enjoying what's left of the summer!

Oooooh, wait! Bonus to the Fab 5! A hang clean and jerk PR on Wednesday. It was definitely not the prettiest, but it was legit. And, a front squat 3rm PR on Friday...and I probably could've tried again at a heavier weight, but I was just happy to hit that!

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...

Ah, yes...I love that Staples commercial where the parents are gleefully purchasing school supplies as the children look miserable because school is starting back up! Today is the first day of school at M'KIS and this mom is thrilled. (And her children were pretty happy to be heading back, also!)

Grayson insisted that his dad wake him up this morning and he wanted to be woken up to the words: Wakey, Wakey, Eggs and Bacy! And, he also insisted that his dad prepare this breakfast for him. Oh, vey! Where did this kid come from? But, Blaine did just that this morning and both kids seemed ready to rock their first day.

Both boys have teachers who are new to M'KIS this year...which in case you missed the Facebook post the other night, here's a snippet of a conversation with Grayson in regards to who he'd like to be his teacher this year:

Me: Grayson, we get to find out who your teacher is tomorrow. Is there a particular teacher you would like?
Grayson: I'll take one of the new ones. They usually don't know what's going on...so they act really nice.

Yup, his wish was answered. Along with the fact that his two best buddies from last year are in his class and life is good.

Caleb also has his good friend, Chad, in his class...so he was over the moon. This year will definitely be easier than last year for him. We even sent him to school today with an assignment to meet one new student and learn 3 things about that new student. It shouldn't be hard as we were briefly introduced to a new boy, Jared, yesterday from the States who will be joining the KL All Stars this year and is in his class.

And, I'm back in my happy routine this morning...CrossFit, coffee and blogging. Enjoying my favourite seat at Publika, drinking my mocha and watching the people.

Life is good.

Fab 5 Friday...Malaysian Edition.

We have arrived safely back in Kuala Lumpur...and while we are all still jet-lagged we are powering through. The kids have done amazing and I'm sure by the end of this weekend we will  be back on schedule and ready to rock next week.

As for the Fab 5 this week...well, here it is:

1. Home. You know...I wasn't sure I would ever consider Malaysia home when we initially left last year to move here, but it truly is home. Home is wherever your family is and mine is here. While we had a stupendous summer in upstate New York, all of us said we were happy to be home and sleeping in our own beds and surrounded by the comfort of our "things." We were happy to come back and settle into our routines. I love that...

2. Swim, Bike, Run Magazine. I hadn't seen the print copy of the article that Swim, Bike Run Malaysia - a triathlon magazine - did on the Fit Mommas from Ironman Putrajaya 70.3 It was a nice article and while I'll always prefer to be on the writing side of things, it was nice to see our team recognized. Additionally, this article has led a writer from Ironman Asia Pacific to want to do an article on me and how I entered into triathlons. I'm meeting with her next Friday - so we'll see where this goes.

3. CrossFit Vidatha. All I can say is that it is so good to be back at the box. We got home Wednesday evening and I hit the box Thursday morning. (Take that, Jet Lag!) Good to see my friends and get my hands on a barbell again.

My new shoes for CrossFit!

 

4. WOD Talk Swag. While I was away this summer, I received a box of swag from WOD Talk for my work writing about regionals. While the box wasn't all that exciting, it was fun to receive a few goodies from them!

5. Blaine's Progress. Blaine is making some awesome progress with his leg. He is down to one crutch - which he uses only part of the time - and we're hoping that on Monday the doctor will increase his range of motion and perhaps give him some other freedoms (like the elliptical and a date when he can return to golf).

So there you have it! I hope to be back doing some additional blogging next week when the boys return to school. Tuesday is their first day back and then we'll really be back in the swing of things!

 

It's Not Goodbye...

It's see you next summer. We had an amazing time here.

But, lookout Malaysia...we're coming back! 

Fab 5 Friday...A Double Dose!

As I promised last week, this week I will bring you a double dose of Fab 5 Friday. It's my last Fab 5 Friday from the States as we head back to KL on Monday...back to reality!

Since I've got to bring you 10 things this week, I'm just going to get right into it!

1. The Sheffers. Two weeks ago we had dinner with Rob and Dar Sheffer at their house...what a relaxing, fun evening. The boys had a blast hitting the pool and hot tub and we enjoyed just getting caught up.

2. The Klutts'. Then, our good friends, The Klutts' arrived. And, we had a week full of fun activities with them...in fact, most of our Fab 5 Double Dose stems from our week of fun! So glad they could come to New York for a week!

3. The Great Escape. We spent a fun-filled day at The Great Escape. I think everyone had fun as the lines were short and the kids could hit most of the rides multiple times!

4. Kayaking. The kids went out kayaking one day with the adults and then we taught them to kayak...and after that, they were pros. It's so fantastic just letting them go out by themselves on the lake. Glen Lake is so calm and quiet that you don't really have to worry about other boats or waves knocking them over.

 

5. Pontoon Boat and Tubing. We rented a pontoon boat and tube on Lake George and it was fun! The kids - even Grayson - had a great time as Blaine did his best to throw them off the tube. We had lunch at Christie's and just enjoyed the amazing weather.

6. Cruise on Lake George. We also took a cruise on Lake George on the Adirondack. I don't think the kids were as thrilled with the two hour cruise as the adults were, but I loved seeing all of the amazing houses and just enjoying the scenery (with an adult beverage in my hand).

7. Log Jam. We had a date night with the Klutts' to the Log Jam. Yeah, we're all salad bar whores - so we love the Log Jam. And the rest of the meal did not suck either! (In fact, Blaine and I had another date night their last night!)

8. Anniversary Dinner. Mom and Dad took all of the kids out for our anniversaries this past week. We enjoyed a great family dinner at The Ridge Terrace. That was probably the last time we'll all be together before we head back to KL...so it was especially nice.

9. Kyle. "Uncle" Kyle came for a quick visit...and while it was short, we were all happy to see him!

10. Yankees Game. We took the boys to their very first Yankees game vs. The Blue Jays...and while it was a loss for our team, it was a fantastic day with the kids and Poppy!

Okay...there it is! A double edition! We've got one more day at the lake and then we're bunking in with my parents for a few days and Monday we are off to Kuala Lumpur. We will be loaded down with baggage and lots of great memories from our time here with family and friends! What a fabulous summer it has been - so fabulous that we're booking ourselves back here next summer! Woohoo!