Seven minute challenge

I can get behind this 7 minute workout. This simple workout was published in a scientific journal, and has research behind it to support its effectiveness. The key to this workout is intensity.


"The exercises should be performed in rapid succession, allowing 30 seconds for each, while, throughout, the intensity hovers at about an 8 on a discomfort scale of 1 to 10...Those seven minutes should be, in a word, unpleasant. The upside is, after seven minutes, you're done." 

Important to know:
"Interval training, though, requires intervals; the extremely intense activity must be intermingled with brief periods of recovery. In the program outlined by Mr. Jordan and his colleagues, this recovery is provided in part by a 10-second rest between exercises. But even more, he says, it’s accomplished by alternating an exercise that emphasizes the large muscles in the upper body with those in the lower body. During the intermezzo, the unexercised muscles have a moment to, metaphorically, catch their breath, which makes the order of the exercises important." 

Three times a week for one month. Who's with me??

Our move date is set!

We have an official move in date....wait for it.....JUNE 29!! It feels so very real all of a sudden. On June 29 trucks will arrive, boxes and furniture will be transported, oodles of stuff will emerge from storage, and this family will have a new and wonderful home!! Can I get an hallelujah?!

Lately

Lately I feel like time is just going by too fast. Charlie is 4, Izzy is 2 and they seem to get bigger, smarter, faster, and funnier every day. I worry that I am missing too many moments with them. It's going too fast. So here's a pile of pictures to remind me that I'm taking it all in - I'm doing my best to be in the moment with them. And there is nothing I can do to stop time.

Happy Mother's Day!

Ryan got up early with the kids Saturday morning and they started working on my Mother's Day gift. I could hear some instructions being given, questions being asked, and an unusual quiet from the next room for a Saturday morning. They were focused. Ryan came in and got the hair dryer (what?), Izzy crawled back into bed with me for awhile, Ryan brought me a cup of coffee in bed, and I could hear Charlie and Ryan talking over the sound of the hair dryer in the living room.

Eventually, I got out of bed and Ryan moved out to the deck with his project and the hair dryer. He worked for the better part of two hours on his own as the kids lost interest. On Mother's Day, Charlie proudly presented me with Ryan's his work of art - what a surprise! Melted crayons never looked so good! I am a lucky Mom (and wife), indeed.

Remodeling with little ones

Ryan and I are just about at wit's end -with all the financing worry, winter weather delays, apartment living, and the amount of time it takes to keep up on two households - we're feeling the strain of this remodel. But this process hasn't been easy on the kids either. About half of their toys are in storage and we're constantly carting them back and forth between the loft and the new house. They don't have a yard or neighbors to play with, and I'm pretty sure they are a bit worried about moving into this house that still looks nothing like any 'home' they've ever known. Izzy was just over a year when we moved out of our Brookside home. She has been in transition most of her life.

I wonder what they will remember about this whole process, if anything. I think Charlie can sense that we're turning the corner. He now asks to go by the house and check on his room. He only occasionally says he wants to move back to our old house.

Izzy knows this is her bedroom and she will proudly give you a tour. She says "new house dirty." Yes sweetheart, I know.

Charlie says this new fireplace is at kid height and he can help turn on the fire.

He was so surprised to see the old deck was completely gone.

This pile of sawdust proved way too irresistible and we had to leave soon after they discovered it...

They get excited when we go to the new house, just like Ryan and I. They want to express their excitement by running through every room, yelling and chasing each other. With large table saws and random nails lying around, we have to constantly try to contain them. It must be hard to be a toddler sometimes.

Then again, they are much more resilient than we give them credit for. I think they are doing just fine and we need to follow their lead and keep a positive outlook through this process. We're almost there...

Modern on Meadow Remodel Tour - Week 20-something

 It is finally Spring on Meadow Lane and much progress is being made on our new home.

This is the cypress siding that will go along the front and upper back of the house. It has to have three coats of stain prior to going up. We specifically requested cypress with the most variation in the grain to give the wood depth and life.

It is Spring in Kansas and the weather has been predictably unpredictable. It snowed last week, on May 2. And it rains just about every other day - just enough to prevent the exterior work from moving forward with any sort of rhythm.

It should finally be warm enough to get the stucco and siding on the outside of the house, if we could just get a few dry days.

The old deck is gone from the back of the house. We're waiting for the ground to dry up a bit before columns can go in and the new deck can be completed. It will change the whole look of the back of the house.

The weather is not holding things up inside - the hard wood floors have been going in and I love how they transform the space. They are simple oak floors with a natural stain. We hope they will be forgiving and wear well with two active kids and a big dog.

The new fireplace is now framed in and I love how it anchors this half of the room. Can't wait to see it finished.

The stairs are now safe for walking up and down for grownups and toddlers alike - minus a handrail. So glad we sprung for wood on the stairs instead of less expensive carpet. I love the look and I hate vacuuming carpeted stairs!

The carpenters have been working like mad on the trim - on every window, the floors, doors, closets, etc. The trim will eventually be painted white along with all the interior doors, so it is still hard to envision how it will look finished.

The basement is put back together for the most part - walls and ceiling are intact. But the floor just might be permanently damaged and there is a lot of painting to do. We are finishing this space off ourselves and it will likely be a project to be completed after we move in. There is still just too much to do to get to this space right now.

The Master bedroom with floors in place...

Over all it's starting to look like a real home. And this picture (below), taken standing in the exact same space, seems like a million years ago...

It was so long ago that we first bought this house, back in July of 2012.

We bought the house in the heart of Summer, when everything was green and lush. And we looked at it for so long this Winter either covered in snow, or brown and bare...

I've never actually seen our house in the Spring until now.

I discovered today that we have a lilac bush in our backyard. I love lilacs! We have a couple of beautiful trees in the front blooming with color. This lovely tree with the pink blooms will be just outside our kitchen window for years to come. The thought helps me get through this 20-something week in our remodel journey with a positive outlook. We're almost there!