Tennis anyone?

Guess who has decided to take tennis lessons? Yup, you guessed it! Your all-time favorite Winfield High School tennis team bench warmer- ME! Ok, I was never very competitive but I always enjoyed playing so I think it's about time to brush up on some long lost skills. I found an adult group lesson in Lehi and can start tomorrow if I want Saturday morning lessons or on 4/15 if I want Wed. night lessons. I still haven't decided which one I prefer but I guess I better make up my mind soon. I'm really excited to be doing some things for myself lately. I think that I sort of lost myself in motherhood for the past few years and I'm beginning to re-emerge by paying myself some attention. Not only am I taking up tennis again but I also joined a book club and I've been exercising nearly every day. I'm feeling like a new me! (Or is it like the old me?) Well, either way I feel great! And I'm a better mom because of it!

Yesterday, we went to June's house for dinner because Will's aunt, Got, is in town visiting. It was great to see her. It has been a couple years since our last visit with her. She lives in Texas right now but she says she is planning to move to Thailand for a few months. Sounds like she misses her family. She's really a sweet lady. She's not in Utah for long. In fact, she is taking off today and headed to South Carolina to see Will's parents.

Well, better get to gettin'. I've got lots to do today. Verburg out!

Cooper's asleep!

Boy, the past few days Cooper has been waking up before me! That makes it tres difficile to get on here and write on my blog (as you can tell by the lack of posts lately.) However, today he is sleeping in so here I am. Hmmm, let me think for a minute about what's been going on here...Well, we had a busy day on Monday. I took the boys to the playroom at the gym while I worked out. Coleman really likes it there and I'm pleased to announce that I am now running at my quickest pace ever on the treadmill. I'm continuing to push myself everytime I run. From the gym we rushed over to see Coleman's speech therapist for an hour. She continues to praise him and is really impressed with the amount of vocabulary he has. She said she wouldn't be surprised if he outgrew his diagnosis of PDD. That's what we are hoping for. From speech we then went to Coleman's art class. He really enjoys all the activities they do there and this week they made puppet people and wind mobiles and painted their salt dough sculptures from last week. Coleman enjoys interacting with the other children even though they have a hard time understanding him sometimes. One boy said, "It sounds like he's speaking Spanish." I don't know about Spanish but it does sound a little foreign sometimes. ;) Coleman doesn't mind, though. One thing I love about him is that when people don't understand him, it never deters him from trying to talk to them. He really loves people and he will keep talking until he's understood. I've learned a lot from him about perseverance. He's such a blessing.

We have also been making plans for our trip home this summer. So far while we are in S.Carolina we plan on visiting Carowinds for a day, Myrtle Beach for a couple days, Charleston for the day, and Savannah, Ga for a couple days. We are going to go to Paula Deen's restaurant in Savannah. (I'm really excited for that.) We will be plenty busy. While in West Virginia, I think I'd like to stay in one basic area since we will be traveling so much in SC. I don't want to wear the boys out too much. Thankfully, everyone we want to see in WV live in one region. Maybe, we can have one day trip somewhere in WV. It's always fun to visit places you've never been before. Needless, to say we are very excited! This is my first trip home in about 3 years so it will be a nice visit. "Take me home country roads!"

No go.

Well, we didn't end up going on that picnic after all. Chad called and said he had too much to do and cancelled on us. Oh well. It seemed like a good idea... Will took his sweet ol' time getting back from his golf game so we probably would've been late anyhow. So, what did we end up doing last night you ask? NOTHING! I was so mad that Will was late that when he finally got home I had to go to the gym to let off some steam. After the gym, I came home, made Hamburger Helper and we all went to bed. Exciting evening, huh? Believe me, it sounds nicer than it was. (And I know it doesn't sound nice at all...) At least Mr. Deeds was on television last night. I really love Adam Sandler movies.

Oh well, today is a new day. I've got to go and teach my Sunday School class this morning. They are really a cute bunch and church is always a nice pick-me-up. Today will be a better day.

born2shop4deals

Yep, that's me. It's my yahoo username and it's so true! Man, do I love a good deal! Craigslist, Freecycle, Pinching Your Pennies, eBay, InsideRedbox and now SlickDeals (thanks Jen!) are all some of my favorite websites. Last night we picked up a huge mirror to put in the dressing area of our bathroom. We found it on Craigslist a couple of days ago. I don't even know where I would buy a mirror this big. It's nice to be able to fill up our house with nice things without spending loads of money.

Speaking of saving money, we are meeting Chad, Yulia and the boys later for a picnic at Liberty Park. That's a inexpensive way to spend a Saturday evening! The weather is beautiful today. I can't wait to get out and enjoy it. Will's already enjoying it as he went to play golf with his buddies at a golf course close by. That's another thing I love to do. Golf! I definitely don't get too many chances to go with two little ones at home. I made Will promise that the next time he plays golf that it will be with me.

Holy Migraine!

So, Will and I are running a 5k for cancer research on May 13th and I am trying to run as much as I can to be sure that I'm ready for it. I think I may have overdone it yesterday though. I walked on the treadmill for about 30 min. yesterday afternoon while Coleman was at school, then we went on a family walk when Will got home from work, then I did 2 toning exercise videos on On Demand, and finally ran 3 miles on the treadmill last night. Then as soon as I got off the treadmill last night I developed this terrible migraine (which kept me up half the night.) I'm still recovering from it. I guess I just have to watch myself and make sure that I don't get too crazy about exercising. Anybody that knows me well knows that there is a delicate balance between healthy exercise and overexercising for me. I definitely don't want another migraine like that one so I'll just tone it down a bit...

Anyway, I haven't posted in a couple of days so let me think... Oh, we put Cooper in the Johnny Jump-up for the 1st time! He just loves it! I think that sort of exercise is just what he needs to tire him out before he goes to bed. Although, the only doorway we have to put it in downstairs is the door to the pantry so I only put him in there while I'm doing dishes or making dinner. When Coleman was a baby, we would put him in it and he would just hang there. They really are such different kids. It's fun seeing Cooper's personality grow.

We have been doing speech homework with Coleman every night and yesterday he used a six word sentence! I can't remember exactly what it was. Something like, "I think it is too scary" or close to that. He has come such a long way from the one word demands of 6 months ago. I am just amazed at this child's ability to learn. He is definitely growing by leaps and bounds!

Ugh! Laundry day!

I never realize that I have so much laundry to do until I pile it all up in one place. Well, looks like I'll be staying in today...(Isn't my life exciting?!) I do have to take Coleman to his art class today, though. Coleman is a really talented artist. Notice all of the detail he put in this picture. Clouds, the sun, and the cars all have headlights and tail lights. Oh, and notice the 3 lines over the car in the middle so that we know it is moving. He picks up on everything! Even his art teacher mentioned how talented he his for a child his age. I couldn't be more proud. He can also write his name and is really close to reading. He just needs a little push and he'll be on his way.

Last night we went to June's house for dinner and to see Will's parents off. It was really funny to see how much Coleman has bonded with his cousin Tyson. They are very different kids but seem to have a lot of fun together. Tyson had to go to time-out while we were there and Coleman cried for him. He feels bad for Ty when he gets in trouble. That kind of empathy will take him a long way in life. It's good to see Coleman developing some sensitivity.

Looks like this blog can go from Alicia's journal to Mama's brag book in no time flat! I can't help it. My kids are my life! Well, I better get started on that laundry...

Let it snow!

Wow! It is a sea of white this morning! Here it is the middle of March and we've got more snow! I have to say if there is one thing that I do not like about Utah, it's the snow. My guess is that this is the last of it. It shouldn't snow in the spring (although, I have seen snow in April before!) I am ready for some warm weather! Warm weather brings evening walks with the family, playing outside with the boys and an overall feeling of well-being. I'm also looking forward to running a 5k sometime soon.

Today is Will's parents last day in town. Coleman will be so sad to see his grandpa go. He has really enjoyed having someone to play with. Coleman is a bit bossy with him but Grandpa Verburg is willing to be led so they have great time playing together. We have definitely enjoyed having them and would love to have them live close by. Although my waistline may not like it because Diane (my mother-in-law) cooks the most amazing Thai food and I usually eat until I'm sick when she cooks. It is great to be with family. Speaking of family, we will be seeing a lot of family this summer because we have just bought plane tickets to be home for 3 weeks this July. We will spend 1 1/2 weeks in WV and 1 1/2 weeks in SC. We can't wait. It should be a blast.

I hope you wore green!

Yesterday was fun. I spent my afternoon making cut-out sugar cookies to take to June's house last night for our St. Patrick's Day feast. We had corned beef with boiled cabbage, carrots and onions. ( I wonder what the Irish eat on St. Pat's Day?) After dinner, we had strawberry shortcake for dessert. My husband neglected to tell me that they were already planning dessert, so my cookies were barely touched. Oh well, maybe shamrock shaped cookies don't lose their novelty the day after St. Patrick's Day. (Although, I have a feeling that they do.) That's ok, though. C'est la vie!

Well, I best get to the gym.

I am such a pansy!

Forget strong, independent women! I know nothing about girl power. All I know is that without my husband sleeping right next to me I'm a mess! You see, Will and Coleman went and spent the night at June's (Will's sister's) house last night since Will didn't have work today and his parents are still in town. I thought I would be fine but when it came to actually going to sleep, I couldn't. (Even after leaving the porch light on, the family room light on, and keeping the TV on in the bedroom.) I am such a wimp! At some point during Conan O'Brien I finally fell asleep only to be woken up every half hour after that by a different infomercial. Let's see, I now have a serious compulsion to buy an Ab Lounge, Showtime Rotisserie and that book about how to become a millionaire...

On the upside, Cooper and I got some much needed quality time together. I sang the Itsy, Bitsy Spider over and over and over. For some reason Cooper really enjoys the "washed the spider out" part of that song. He always giggles and he has the cutest little laugh.

Speaking of Cooper, there's my cue to go. He woke up at the same time as me today so he's chillin' in his Exersaucer right now. I better get him fed and ready for the day. First, here's a cute picture of him that I just took. Later!

Nemo on Ice or "in the water?"

All day yesterday when I told Coleman that we would be going to see Nemo on Ice, he would laugh and say "No silly. Nemo in the water!" It was too funny. I thought for sure that once we saw the show that he would get what I meant. So, on the way out of the Delta Center (when I noticed him pretending to ice skate) I said, "Did you like Nemo on Ice?" And he responded in a semi-annoyed tone, "Nemo in the water!" What am I gonna do with that boy!?

The show was everything that you'd expect from Disney. Magical, colorful, and entertaining. It even kept Cooper's attention for the full two hours. (Boy, he's a good baby!) Before the show, Coleman and I went looking around for souvenirs. Luckily we ran into Uncle Chaddy while we were browsing. He had some free souvenirs for Coleman from the media party so we were saved from spending an arm and a leg on something that would probably never get played with. Thanks Uncle Chad!

Today will be Coleman's first full day as a 4 yr old. He is officially a little boy. His birthdays always make me reflect. I cannot believe how far we have come as a family. I am proud of us and I am blessed to have 2 beautiful sons and an amazing husband. It seems that no matter what kind of struggles we have in our little family that I always feel completely satisfied with my life. We have it all!

Coleman had another cute school picture! Look at his hands in his pockets. Is he Mr. Cool or what? 

March 15, 2006

Look at me! I'm blogging! A little about my blog title- the only time I have to sit at the computer is in the morning while the boys are still sleeping. So, I fix my bowl of outmeal and sit at the computer every morning until I hear Cooper on the baby monitor. Hence, "Breakfast with Alicia."

Today is Coleman's 4th birthday. We are so excited to take him to see Nemo on Ice tonight. His Paw Paw and his Aunt Gail sent him some birthday money that he will get to use on souvenirs and cotton candy if he wants to. I'm taking cupcakes to his preschool today for snacktime so that he can celebrate with his li'l classmates. He had his big party on Saturday. It was a really fun firehouse themed party. Lehi City Fire Dept. even brought over a firetruck. The kids were so thrilled to sit inside a real firetruck. It was really fun for Will and I to see Coleman interact with his preschool friends. Coleman has really come a long way and he's as social as any other kid his age.