Looking at Paradise:

Thinking back, I can't remember why I named this blog Paradise. It was 5 years ago and I started it for my mom and dad who live in another state and I figured a few friends would pop in from time to time. I was really just looking for an excuse to share pictures of my super cute baby girl. In the process of starting a blog, a name/address is required.

I am sure I started the blog on a good day. "Hey, look at my beautiful daughter! I have a wonderful husband, a house to fix-up in the country, and I am bored out my tree. I'm starting a blog." That's probably how it went. Right then and there, my life was paradise.

Paradise still exists today. I now have 2 beautiful daughters, a fantastic son, a wonderful husband, and a house in the country that still needs lots of fixing (but has a white picket fence). While every day doesn't ooze paradise, life is about choosing an attitude. A good attitude. Seeing the glass half full when really it is spilled on the floor. 

Paradise = Rem getting his first tooth with a smile on his face.


Paradise= Mandy's nose is free of buggers.


Little girl giggles and little boy chuckles are better than the tranquility of a gurgling brook in a real life paradise any day.




And then there is this great act of kindness:

Mandy was playing with play-doh while I was feeding Rem some lunch at the table. I believe the color combination of doh was bright pink and yellow --lovely. She pushed the doh through the garlic press looking thing and handed me the wad of the strings that came out. "It is for Remi, he needs hair."

Rem couldn't agree more. His baldness has been plaguing him for, er, months.

For the first time in his young life he is contemplating a hair cut.


Paradise = Mandy doing something for her brother that doesn't involve a full body tackle.

And in other news, Emma is working on the Shred with me (no idea what the Shred is? Click on this link: The Shred, by Jillian Michaels). Actually, I just left my weights out and she managed a few reps.


I've been doing the workout for less than a week and already see huge results. It is very intense, but I like it. Since January 1st, I've lost less than half a pound a week even with very diligent effort -- very discouraging, but at least I'm going somewhere. With starting the Shred 6 days ago, I'm down a pound and a half already. Woohoo! Make sure to vote on the poll about whether you want to hear more about my weight loss journey. Interesting to some, nauseating to others.



Paradise = losing baby weight.



Emma's results have been less dramatic although far more entertaining.

See the goggles in the background?  The swimming event is next apparently. I often wonder why random things end up scattered on my floor. Do you think I could find goggles if I actually needed them? Oh, no, because only 2 year olds know how to find them.

Rest Little Grasshopper. You've done well.


Paradise = watching a 5 year old exercise without a care in the world about weight.

In a real life paradise, complete with room service, cabanas, feather beds, and constant sunshine, there are never piles of laundry.


In a paradise that is by my choosing, a pile of laundry is a mound of blessings.


Paradise = a hardworking washing machine that takes out everything from the scent of manure to gobs of baby spit-up.


Paradise = little clothes that go on little bodies. And I can't imagine life without those little bodies who dirty clothes, dirty my house, pick noses (theirs and attempt at mine), make play doh masterpieces, give me grins and giggles and hugs, and encourage me to keep going when the pile seems too big.