Way back Wednesday

Wait....it IS Wednesday, right? 

My days are all whonky.

I really feel that the word whonky is grossly underutilized in the English Language.

I think I have a new goal of saying it at least once a day.

Whonky.

There.  Wednesday quota met.  :)

Ok, today's way back picture:

This picture was taken in June, 2000.

That's right.

It's over 11 years old.

We were in St. Goar, Germany.

We had taken a cruise ship up the Rhine River starting in Bacharach and ending in St. Goar.

There's a castle on the hilltop that we had just toured, and walked back town to the village

to check out some shops and family wineries.

Oh, the family winery we found!

Amazing family, fantastic hospitality...

...even better Reisling wine and apricot brandy.

Oh my.

I need to go back just to drink that wine again.

This day was, by far, my most favorite day in Europe.

(second favorite day was Salsburg, Austria)

We were so relaxed on this day.

We saw some fantastic countryside.

Rode on a boat (I'm a water girl).

Found amazing wine.

And I was with my family and my boyfriend - both whom I adored.

And even though it was the end of June, the weather was still chilly enough to wear sweatshirts.

I am not a hot weather girl.

This was heaven for me.

This photo not only makes me want to go back to Germany SO bad,

I'm also now jonesing for some quality wine.

One Sided texting conversations with my husband.

As many of you already know, my husband doesn't text.  We have a texting plan....but he doesn't text. 

He's got a phone from the dark ages. 

It weighs a pound, and is at least 2 inches thick.

It's covered in hard rubber - which points to the old school "contractor's phone."

And he still manages to mess up his phone every 6-9 months.

Thank goodness for insurance!

Ohhh, I digress.

Anyway, he doesn't text.

He says that it takes too long for him to push through the numbers in order to find the letter he wants.

So, I text him, and don't expect an answer.

This is fine, if you're just relaying basic information like,

 "Orientation is at 6.  Need to be there at 5 to set up food.  Need to be home by 4:30 pls."


But.....if you're married to someone, say....like me....who can be rather obnoxious* at times....well, the texts can get interesting.  Here's a few of my favorites:

1.  I'm watching you....your fly is down.

2.  Made you look!  Ha!

3.  Wish you were here: Quality mullet sighting at Meijer!!!  Doh!  Plumber's crack too!

4.  YOUR son just peed in the back of the Tonka truck, backed it out of the sandbox (with beeps) and dumped it in the yard.  At least he beeped for the back up.  Safety first.

5.  Warning:  house is a mess.  Prepare yourself before coming home.

6.  You (.....censored.......)  and then (........censored............). 

Hey, I'm married....it's ok.

7.  Hey, aren't you going to Menards on your way home?  Can you grab some milk?

8.  Isn't is wierd that you can grab milk at Menards?  ugh.

9.  Impromptu GNO tonight.  Can I go?  Text back if its not ok.

10.  A. just told me he wants to be like you when he grows up.  I love you. tons.

* yes, at times I can be obnoxious.  It is mostly funny, and sometimes annoying, but I'm ok with that.

Last weekend, last day....

Tomorrow A. starts school.  Back to routine.  Back to structure.

I like routine and structure, but getting ready for it is no fun, really.

I spent the weekend with my boys.  Enjoying them, playing with them, putting work aside to eek out those few extra minutes, hugs, and smiles.

Today is our last day of summer. 

I'm going to get my obligations out of the way this morning

(work, ptl stuff, etc)

and I'm going to spend the afternoon with my boys.

See you tomorrow....I may need a hug.

Random Friday Post and 5QF

1.  IT'S FRIDAY!!

2.  This is the last Friday of summer for us.  A. starts school on Tuesday.

3.  I have mixed emotions about this.

4.  I'm trying to organize my house.

5.  I'm not very good at establishing organization.

6.  I'm even worse at maintaining organization.

7.  I received some amazing new pants last week from a fantastic friend.

8.  Thanks, Stephenie!

9.  I also received a fantastic surprise visit from some old friends last week.

10.  I knew when I posted this, someone would take me up on it.  :)  They were the ones.  :)  (Good to see you guys, Randy and Joy)


1. Did you make any fun purchases this week?


No.  I spent a crazy amount of un-budgeted money on crap that broke (or was peed on) this week.  I'm ready for the new month to begin so I can have a whole new set of (filled) envelopes!

2. If you could go to any musical concert, what would it be?

I'd have to go ahead and say U2.  My only other favorite band (currently) I've already seen in person.  (Thanks, Kathy for the tickets!).  I just love love love U2.  Their songs are classic and timeless.  A few of my friends went to see them in concert not that long ago, and I was so GREEN with envy, but so glad they had the opportunity to see a great show.

3. What is your least fav/ most fav house chore?

Really?  Am I supposed to have a most favorite chore?!?!?  I choose NONE! 

No, really, I'm not a good housekeeper.  I loathe cleaning, but enjoy a clean house.

Ok...just to be a good sport, I pick floors as my least favorite.  I just think that its such a waste to clean the floors.  As soon as you finish, you get off the floor, stretch out your back, crack your sore knees, the kids will come RUNNING across the floor with muddy feet.  Sigh.  *tear*

My "most" favorite is laundry.  I have no problem washing and folding.  I have an issue with the whole "putting away" portion of the endeavor.  It's not uncommon to have more clothes folded on top of my dresser than inside it.  Why I do this, I do not know.  But, if you've read this blog for any amount of time, you'll know how I'm on top of laundry.

4. Would you prefer new appliances or clothes?

Ugh....you're making me choose?!?!?  Right now, we need a dishwasher and oven that works...so I'd say appliances.  But after those have been replaced, I'd prefer clothes- since, you know, before long, my pants will be falling around my ankles.  :)

5. Miracle Whip or Mayo?

I used to be a Miracle Whip ONLY girl.   There was a little fried food joint that made a chicken sandwich with Miracle Whip (and a side of rootbeer shake!), that I used to go to just to "thank" them for making the chicken sandwich with the "good stuff"

(side note:  I wonder why I'm overweight?!?!?!?)

And then I saw the light.

Well, going gluten free didn't really give me a choice in conversion.  :)

Now, I'm strictly a mayo girl.

But ONLY if it's Hellman's.  Yep, now I've converted to a mayo snob.  :)

Before and ..... um....during.

The other day a friend of mine told me I was looking "amazing."

Sometimes it's hard to accept compliments when I know how much farther I have to go on this journey.

But I need to accept them, and take them with gratitude that someone else is noticing.

So, I looked up some old pictures to show myself just how far I've come (so far).

It's amazing what a difference 9 months makes!

This was our fall picture last year:

Notice I'm strategically hidden behind the kid.  :)

But it doesn't hide my face and all the extra fluff around it.

Here's a picture I took just before starting my running program:

Not even a smile.  :(

Another day...approximately 2 weeks into the running program.

(Not much weight was lost, but at least I have a "smile" on my face.  And got better at creative layering.)

This was taken (by A.) last Sunday:

44 pounds lost, 29 1/2 inches lost, two sizes down, a 5k under my belt, and at level 2 of The Shred:

Close up!

If this isn't motivation to keep me on track, I don't know what is!

More pictures....after the next 30.  :)

Top ten things we do in a TV free house

We're on day 2 of being TV free.  We survived yesterday....barely.  Other than the out-of-control fighting by the boys (essentially, C. looked to A. for constant entertainment....and A. looked for solitude.  Not a good combo for a peaceful house), it actually wasn't too bad.  Here's a list of things we managed to do yesterday.

1.  We went shopping.  For a mattress pad to replace the one C. peed on yesterday morning (in our bed), covered it up, and didn't tell me about it until 10:45 am.  For a new hair dryer....since my other one went up in smoke (quite literally) yesterday morning.....just before finding the soaked bed.  For a baby gift for my new nephew, Jimmi.  For cereal....because I have a carb-ivore in the house.  For ice cream....because I made fresh blueberry crisp last night for Molly's birthday.

2.  Ran on the treadmill.  A. continues to log mileage for his kid's marathon, and I got back on the running horse yesterday.  Adrenals are doing well, but my foot is in some major pain.  I lost some ground on endurance, and it was an ugly run with the wheezing and foot pain....but I'm back on the horse.

3.  Organized clothing for fall.  Now that I had their undivided attention, I went to the garage to see what clothes in our stash will fit them this fall.  After my new purchase of church pants for A. over the weekend, I'm feeling ready to outfit them for fall and winter.

4.  Ran through the sprinkler.  The boys did.  Actually, only C.  A. used this time of C.'s diversion to enjoy some quiet.  This was a great hit until C. brought the sprinkler too close to the house and aimed it at the house.  Let's just say that we have no towels on the shelves right now...they're all waiting to be laundered.

5.  Got out the bikes.  A. loves his new bike, C. just wants to do what A. does.  Bikes were a nice diversion.  Until there were the falls.  I'm also out of band-aids.

6.  Made a killer Thomas track.  We haven't pulled those things out in forever.  D. and I always used to compete on who could make the best Thomas track....I think the boys and I won yesterday.  :)

7.  Starred at the blank TV screen.  Sometimes you just need to zone out.

8.  Broke up fights.  Oh, so many fights.  So.many.fights.

9.  Took money away.  Each boy started with $1.00 in dimes in a cup.  Every time C. threw a fit (or whined or hit or kicked) he lost a dime.  A. lost one every time he hurt his brother or showed me attitude.  I made $.90 yesterday.  Yes, I'm not above paying my children for good behavior.

10.  Took a shot of vodka.  Yep, after bedtime, I resorted to a little adult beverage to calm my frazzled nerves.  And to reward myself for surviving the day.  Don't judge me.

Breakfast Birthday Party and Help me, Rhonda...

Today is Molly's birthday. 

We had a breakfast birthday party for her.  We fed her bits of blueberry pancakes.  Based on the amount of drool alone, I'd say she enjoyed it.  :)

She's 10 today, which makes her 70 in dog years.  I, personally, think she doesn't look a day over 9 1/2.  :)

Happy Birthday, Molly girl!

On a separate note, I've been feeling convicted lately about how much TV my boys have been watching.

We've always been a tad on the loosey-goosey side of how much they watch.

But lately, I feel its gotten out of control.

Last Tuesday, I realized that by the time D. got home from work,

they had not been outside AT ALL that day.

Mom fail.

So, in an effort to curtail this lax-parenting I've fallen into,

we're unplugging the TV's for 2 days.

Starting this morning.

Help me, Rhonda.

If I don't blog tomorrow, its because I'm on homocide watch.

If I don't blog on Wednesday, call the authorities.

Just kidding.

Kind of.



Random Friday Post and 5QF

1.  Lately, I'm starting everyday with a homemade frappe - that is 147 calories of 30 protein grams and coffee goodness.  I heart Melody for bringing that recipe to me.

2.  I made a salad last night sans dressing.  (GASP!)  Instead I used garlic salt and red wine vinegar- just like my friend Michelle.  Surprisingly, it was yummy.  Now, if I could just make yummy salads like she does.

3.  The salad was a side item to a giant t-bone steak.  Mmmmmm.  beef.

4.  Speaking of steak, my vegetarian sister-in-law is in labor today!  I will have a new nephew soon.

5.  I didn't sleep well last night, so I prayed for her alot.

6.  We have a busy-ish weekend coming up.  How about you?

7.  I walk with Michelle today!  I'm so very excited to conquer "the hills" with her.  :)

8.  A. is running a marathon.  Calm down, not all at once.  He logs 25 miles until Oct. 16, and then we all come together and run the last 1.2 together.  It's something he and I are doing together and he loves it.

9.  He forgot to wake me the other morning for an early run, so I made him get on the treadmill.

10.  I have 4 bug bites in close proximity to each other right on my ankle.  They.are.driving.me.nuts.



1. Do you close the bathroom door when you are home alone?


Nope.  And sometimes when I'm home and not alone, I don't close the door either.  Apparently, this is something we save for when guests are at the house.


2. You have to walk around with a word on your forehead. That word describes you. One word. What is it?

Oh gosh....I don't know about this one.  Perhaps I should ask you guys what word I should put up there....any suggestions?



3. What store do you refuse to shop at and why?

There's actually a few that I won't shop at anymore simply because of the social agenda they keep.  The latest one I won't shop at is Old Navy.


4. If you participated in arranged marriages for your child(ren), who would you choose for your child(ren)?

There's a little girl in our small group that A. is VERY protective of.  He really likes hanging out with her too, and I LOVE her - she's so respectful and well behaved.  Plus, I know I would LOVE my in-laws.  So, I pick Baily for A.

C. is a totally different story.    Not sure if I would pick someone more stable to calm him down or crazy and fun loving to keep up with him. It will be fun to see who God has planned for him.

Here's a question:  do you already pray for your child's spouse?  I do every once in a while - when I think of it.... but wonder if I should do that more?

5. If you could pick how and when you would die, would you?

Perhaps....I would die at 112 years old in my sleep.  Shortly after my birthday - because it would be an awesome party.  :)

Meanest mom in the world....right here.

Apparently, my boys are not my biggest fans today.  I have officially made it into the Meanest Mom in the world hall of fame.  Wanna know what I did?

-- I dropped them off at zoo school, even after both of them protested going today. 

--I walked a little faster to the car after C. had a TOTAL meltdown after dropping them off.

-- I made them eat the sandwiches that they requested for lunch today.

-- When they both stated they were "full" after eating only 3 bites, I informed them that they will receive the same sandwiches for snack at 3pm.

--  I called them on their lie(s) when they told me that they ate the rest of their sandwiches when Molly's clinking collar let me know she was eating something really, really fast (meaning, it was something from the table that she LOVES).

--I made two new sandwiches and put them on their plates.

--  I made C. take a quiet time today, and told him he could not come out until 2.

-- I made A. turn off the TV and do some math homework.

--  I hogged the TV to do my 30 day Shred.  The entire.20.minutes.

-- I would not let them have my 5 lb. weights to do the Shred with me.

--  At snack time, I offered them two choices:  an apple with peanut butter or an apple plain.  I did not let my carb-avore load up on goldfish crackers.

--  When catching A. sneaking some Coco Puffs after his total melt down, I made him dump them in the garbage, and offered him an apple.

--  After he threw my wii remotes on the ground, I grounded A. from the wii.

-- After he threw a Monster Truck at his little brother, I sent A. to their room to clean up all the toys.

--  Since A. did not wake me to run with him outside early this morning, I made him start tracking his marathon mileage on the treadmill. (1 mile down....24 to go).

And the day's not over.

Let's just say that our dinner entre' involves cauliflower.  (BWHAHAHAHA!)


Ahhh, yes...I am the meanest mom in the world.

 I actually told A. if he wanted to leave, he could...to which he chose to stay. 

Perhaps he doesn't have it to bad after all?

Plain old ordinary top ten

1.  My foot hurts.

2.  My left arm hurts.

3.  My right arm hurts.

4.  My heel hurts.

5.  My quads hurt.

6.  My abs hurt.

7.  My glutes hurt.

8.  My tri's hurt.

9.  My knee hurts.

10.  Can you tell I'm back on the Shred bandwagon after my adrenal break? 

4

We had a big birthday over the weekend!

My little man turned 4 on Sunday.

Let's take a moment to relive the past....

Oh, how I love this little bald headed baby!

This is one of two pictures I have of him with a pacifier in his mouth.

The rest have thumbs....

We actually had a bit of a birthday weekend.

On Friday night (approximately 15 minutes after picking A. up from camp), A. had a birthday party to attend.

After dropping big brother off, C. and I went on a bit of a date.

We went over to Build-a-Bear where C. picked out a panda to create.

He put the panda in a soccer uniform and named the bear Soccer.

He was so cute!  He took great care making the bear.

I swear he brushed every single hair on that bear.

Twice.

Saturday was spent cleaning the house and doing food prep for his party the next day.

I asked C. what kind of cake he wanted, and he said that he wanted a

Michigan Monster Truck.

When I asked him what "Michigan" meant, he replied, "blue and yellow."

This is what I came up with:

It was fun to get my cake caddy out and decorate again after being packed away for the last 5 years.

I even made gluten free wheels! 

Sunday was party day!

After church, and a not-so-still birthday blessing prayer, we came home to await grandparent's arrivals.

C. requested hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch.

Afterward:

He LOVED his presents:

Soccer nets for the backyard.

Monster trucks galore,

Michigan outfit:

And as part of their birthday present, I let the boys pick out a birthday balloon.

This year, C. was SO excited about turning 4 that he wanted a HUGE number 4.

(he totally rejected Buzz Lightyear, Lightening McQueen, and fire trucks!)

 And since he changes year after year so quickly (see first photo....wwwwaaaaahhhhhhh), I thought I'd start doing an interview with them every birthday. 

1.  Who is your favorite person?

A. 

2.  Why do you like him so much?

Because he loves me.  And kicks me.

3.  What did you like about being 3?

Quintin.  Playing with him.

4.  What was your favorite part of today?

Birthday cake.  Seeing Grandma's and grandpa's and talking to Aunt Marianne.  Burp.

5.  What is your favorite color?

Blue

6.  What's your favorite dinner?

Taco shells

7.  Who do you love?

Everybody.  You, daddy, A., grandma and poppa hoppa, grandma connie, papa ken, Aunt Marianne, Evan, Liam, Jack, Quintin, David, and Nick.

8.  What do you want to do while you're 4?

Play soccer.

9.  What does mommy want you to do now that you're 4?

Ummmmm.  Stop sucking my thumb?  (he's right!)

10.  What's your favorite thing to do with mommy?

Cuddle.  Build-a-bear.  I like it when you wear make-up - you look pretty.  (Thanks, kiddo)

11.  What's your favorite thing to do with daddy?

Play sports.

12.  What's your favorite thing to do with A?

Kick him.  (ugh....).  Play sports.

13.  What do you not like to do?

Drop A. off to play somewhere I can't go.  I don't like to sit in time-out.

14.  What do you want to be when you grow up?

Race Car Driver, football and soccer player.  (Adrenaline junkie much?)

Random Friday Post

1.  I have a NASTY summer cold, but I think I'm finally on the mend.

2.  I attended Family night at A's camp last night and was in a full.body.sweat. (dont' worry, I didn't touch anything or get within 2 feet of anyone.  Or breath on anyone...or cough on anyone....)

3.  It worked in my favor, I think, because the three male-species got eaten alive by mosquito's.  I have one bite in the middle of my back.  Thank you, fever.

4.  A. must have survived his first non-grandparent sleepover last night, because I did not get a phone call.  :)

5.  I was able to "sleep in" until 8:07 this morning since we didn't have anywhere to go right away.  And by "sleep in" I mean, wake up at 5:02 to go to the bathroom, lay there thinking, "gosh...I only packed light jammies, I hope A. isn't too cold", listen to D. make a RACKET in the kitchen, fall back asleep, wake at 7:02 when C. comes in to cuddle, fall back asleep, wake at 7:15 to Molly whining at the back door, ask C. to let her out, listen to C. yell at Molly because she's not going potty fast enough and he's cold, doze back to sleep, wake at 7:27 when C. comes back to bed and has COLD hands and feet (which, of course, he puts on my back to warm up....), doze again until 7:56 when C. asks for breakfast.  I laid there for a few more minutes...but realized that SLEEPING in today was nothing more than a pipe dream.

6.  We have a big birthday in the family this weekend!  I have LOTS to do to prepare for it.

7.  I also have LOTS of work to do to catch up on busy weekends and sick weekdays.

8.  Next week is the last week we have structured summer activities.  I'm looking forward to having 2 weeks of fun with the boys.  Pending I can get enough work done to take a week off.  :- /  Yep...work is the wildcard.

9.  I'm trying to make some decisions about some commitments in the upcoming weeks.  I think I'm still spread too thin, and need to figure out what to do about it.  I think I really need to spend more time in prayer about it all.

10.  I have three more days before I can exercise hard-core (ish!)!  I am actually kind of looking forward to getting in that groove again.  (WHAT?!?!?  Who said that?  Certainly not me....ok, maybe me?)


Happy Weekend!

Flash back- This one time, at band camp...

I'm enjoying showing off tidbits from my past here. 

The pictures are a hoot, and it's always fun to have a laugh at my own expense.

oh, and I'm not making my ever-loved lists.  :)

Ok, let's take a gander of this one, shall we?

This was the summer before my senior year - making it the summer of 1993.

Sara (far left) and I (second from right) were the color guard co-captains.  Gina (green shirt) and Kendra (really long hair) were also in color guard with us.  Angie and Robin (2 middle ones) played something in the band...but my memory fails me as to what exact instruments.

Every August the marching band would march in the Coast Guard parade, and the next week, we'd pack 5 school buses (3 with kids, 2 with instruments and bags....and a killer stereo system) and head up to Boyne, MI.  We stayed at a ski lodge, and they had a make-shirt football field up in the back of the property where we practiced marching drills and our program.

Every morning, the boys with the stereo system would BLAST bagpipe music at 6:15 to wake everyone up.  We'd check the dew count of the morning (taped to the hallway walls), gripe about how wet we were going to get during the morning M&M (marching and maneuvering), and head out to breakfast.

We had to bring our own linens, so I would always grab my brother's old Star Wars twin sheets.  They were always a hit with anyone who visited our room.   In this picture, you can actually see the pillow below (or above) us on the bed.  (Mom, what ever happened to those sheets?  A. would LOVE them!)

In this picture, we're on the top bunk with our hair hanging down.  All of us display this picture upside down just cause it's fun to see hair sticking straight up in the air. 

A few things I notice about this picture:
- My best friend, Gina, and I go sooo far back
- That sweatshirt I'm wearing is a Michigan sweatshirt.  Blue and gold are colors I've always rooted for (my high school colors were blue and gold too).
- What's with the TEAL shorts?
-  I needed to get my roots done before I went to band camp.

Go Bucs!!!

Things that bring my heart joy

I'm a look-at-the-positive-side kinda girl.  Although, I can get into a bit of a funk with the best of them....but I really prefer to be the eternal optomist.  That being said, I thought I'd do the top ten things that bring my heart joy - whether or not that's the state they're in right now is a different story.  :)

1.  A working computer.  I think its on the fritz.  I spent the better part of an hour this morning with IT support, and have some emails in to the repair guy....just in case....but let's face it....these things don't last forever.  I'll be filled with joy once I'm back up to speed.

2.  Wendy's Berry Almond Chicken Salad.  400 calories of oh.my.yum.

3.  Impromptu visits from friends and family.  I love when people come by unannounced.  No, really I do. (This is not sarcasm speaking.)  The surprise of it all is neat, and as long as they don't judge me by the not-so-cleanly state of my house, its usually a good visit.

4.  Non-allergy ridden nose.  I know not of what this feels like....but I can only imagine a nose NOT ridden with allergies would be sheer bliss.

5.  A completed house.  Yes....this would bring my heart great joy!

6.  Friends.  My friends are that because they have invested time and love into me...and feel I'm worth it.  And I think they're worth it.  And its just a good mix of people in my happy little circle right now.  The level of comfort is awesome, and life is just much more fun with good honest friends around you.  Love you guys!

7.  Family....wait...how'd this get to #7?  Well, it's really #1 to me.  This includes D, A and C.  Gosh, I love those boys!  I love our little family unit.  The boys are just tons of fun, and marriage is awesome.

8.  Extended family.  My parents, my bro and his family, and my in-laws...they're all fun.  Quirky in their own way, but we all love each other.  Looking forward to seeing grandmas and grandpas for C's birthday this weekend.

9.  Church family.  It's amazing the feeling going to church on Sunday.  Like an extension of home.  Feels a little "off" after our pastor retired, but the people are amazing and supportive of each other.  Really, it's amazing!

10.  Our small group.  Our little family within the church family.  Four couples, ten kids.  This is the group I go to first with questions and concerns.  Our tight knit group is socially and spiritually active, and the kids all play SO well all together.  The bond that the four men in the group share is amazing.  Even though they're all so different, they're all like great friends and are willing to move mountains for each other.  I love that my husband has this kind of support, and the ladies in the group are precious to me.

Learning curve

This past weekend was busy.  I should put Busy with a capital "B."

But I learned (realized) a few things over the course of the weekend that may help you in the long run as well.

- No matter how much time I plan for one activity, it will always take 20 minutes longer.  This includes: drying hair, shaving legs, folding laundry, driving to pick up the boys, a "quick" phone conversation, running through the bank drive-thru, and finding a wedding card.

- The more time I spend primping and curling my hair for just the perfect hair style for a wedding, the harder it will rain outside.
- If I'm dressed up and my hair is done, and it's raining outside, I will not be able to find my umbrella having to make due with my son's 14" Lightening McQueen umbrella....which will cover about half of my head.  Classy class.

- Headbands are easy, cheap and save time.

- When driving while it's raining, allow for an additional 30 minutes.  Apparently, the idiots all come out to see the drops of water falling from the sky.  They brake constantly, and will face the wrong way on a highway.

- Even though my husband will complain about MY time management skills, he will be the one not ready to go on time.  This is a good time to keep my mouth shut.  Even though I really, really don't want to.

-  Whatever time you want to tell the babysitter for pick up, add at least one hour.  Leaving a wedding reception RIGHT after dinner (and two drinks) is sad.  :(
- It is possible for C. to react to a cat ONE YEAR after the feline has been extracted from the house.

On Sunday I learned,

- breathing treatment + pancake breakfast + fruit nugget snack at church= VERY hyper unruly children...especially at the communion rail.

 - I can fit into all my cute sundresses again.  :)

- I have the best church family

- It is possible to be completely heartbroken and hurt for someone else's loss.

-Amazing Grace makes me tear up.

- I can be happy eating just frosting on cake...and not the cake itself.

- My in-laws appreciate my humor in birthday cards.  :)

- I can bring my own hot dogs and be perfectly content.

- My sister-in-law has the best dentist who grows the best corn.

- It is incredibly difficult to take a picture of 6 kids at once.

- a shady area may have been the better choice.

- I have been blessed with an awesome family.

Random Friday Post and 5QF

1.  This has been a rough week.

2.  I ran out of adrenal medication 11 days ago, and was so crazy getting ready for camping I didn't realize it.

3.  I'm now in the process (again) of rebuilding my adrenals (again).

4.  I'm actually really missing working out, but am totally anticipating dipping my toe back into it with a walk this afternoon.

5.  I can't believe I just said that.

6.  This weekend is crazy busy, but fun filled.

7.  I'm a little blond-er again.

8.  Thanks to a family member who was able to fit me in at the last minute.

9.  And thanks to my awesome mom who took the boys overnight so I could work, rest, work, clean, work, rest, work, enjoy my husband, work, clean, work, get my hair done.

10.  It's no longer crazy hot here, and for that I'm sooo grateful.




Ok, 5QF

1. Do you have siblings and are you close with them?


I have one living sibling, Dan.  He lives out in Utah with his wife and two sons.  We're as close as we can be with thousands of miles in between us.  I do know, however, that if I needed him or was in crisis, he'd be the first one on a plane to help me out.

We text occasionally.  There's a birthday and Christmas phone call, and if there's something else going on, then there's more communication.  We'd skype more if I would get my butt in gear and get a webcam....  We'd both love to see each other more, but budgets and work schedules really hamper flying out there.  I hope to see them again next year.

2. Would you rather be slightly UNDER weight or slightly OVER weight?

Considering I was only under-weight for approximately 4 seconds of my life...um, I'm not really qualified to answer this question with any amount of experience. 

Actually, I think I do know...I'd rather be slightly overweight.  When I was really thin, I lost my entire chest area...but still had my ghetto bootie.  I'd rather have some fillage in the bra than look like a lump of bones.  Plus, D has informed me that he doesn't not find super-skinny girls attractive.  He says "I'm not into crack addicts."  I guess we make a good match.  :)

3. What's your favorite State Fair food to splurge on?


If my gut could handle it, I'd be all over the elephant ears.  Ohhhh, how I miss those.

4. What are your thoughts on your kid(s) going to school in a few weeks?

YEAH!  They're starting to get on each other's (and sometimes MY ) nerves.  We do better with schedules and routine in the PMD house.

WAHHHHH!  They're growing up, and I miss them!  This house tends to get too quiet during the day.

Yes, I go both ways with this one.


5. Pool or Ocean?

How about inland lake?  hehe.  I don't like pools because I hate chlorine.  Saline pools are good. 

I'm not a fan of the ocean just because I don't like salt water, sharks and jellyfish.  Otherwise, it's gorgeous.

Have a great weekend!

Way-back Wednesday

I've been meaning to delve into the "oldies" for some time now, but always had so much more to write about.

Now, in an effort to halt all the random list posts I've been defaulting to, I'm posting an oldie picture.

Let's take a gander, shall we?

This picture was taken in April of 1979..

That makes me 3 years old.

I'm assuming it's an Easter Picture based on my adorable little coat and bonnet get-up.

I must say that my mom did a good job dressing me as a little girl.  I had adorable clothes, and the dresses were cute (mostly made by her).  My brother, Dan (known as Danny at the time), looked awesome as well.  This is the short time that his hair had the reddish tinge that was highlighted by the green suit (perhaps also made by my mom, but I'm not sure...she was quite talented...so I wouldn't put it past her).

This was taken in our living room which has the most amazing bank of windows in front.  My mom used to use this to keep her plants alive with sunlight - hence the jungle-like foliage behind us.  But hey...our house probably had a high oxygen count, right?  I'm really digging the macrame plant hanger.  I wonder if I can find those somewhere around here....

Top ten reasons why August rocks

1.  We are 5 weeks away from the start of school.  This is a double edged sword.  I love having the boys home with me, and having fun with them...but I'm also looking forward to the structure and breathing room school gives me during the day.

2.  Birthdays!  August is a big birthday month for us.  Dave's dad, my mom and C!  Lots of fun reasons to celebrate and make poor food choices.  :)

3.  Fitness!  I joined the 31 in 31 challenge, and now, there's a kettlebell duel with Mama M. to contend with.  (M- IT'S ON LIKE DONKEY KONG!  We need to make this interesting...perhaps a wager?!?!).  Running 3 days a week plus walks with Michelle and kettlebells....hopefully come September I'll be sporting some guns (itty bitty ones...but hey, a gun is a gun, right?)

4.  Purging!  There is far too much crap at my house.  Yes, crap.  I need to take a lesson from that TLC show (I can't remember the name of it), and make a toss, save, donate, and sell pile and just gut every room.  I've heard rumors that there's a fall consignment sale for my MOPS, and I think this month is a perfect opportunity to get a jump start on this.  I'm finally feeling ready to get rid of all the baby stuff.

5.  Cleaning!  Kind of on the coat tales of #4....but I'm looking forward to having my house clean.  I know my OCD husband thinks that's a tad (tad meaning a year or two) overdue.

6.  Extra curricular activities.  The boys are signed up for zoo school this year (C's first year), and A. is signed up for camp later this month.  These programs are fun, awesome, and educational.  It also affords some extra time for me to get work done and purge toys without  meltdowns.  :)

7.    Back to school shopping.  I love shopping for school supplies.  I know...I'm a little crazy.  Seriously, though...I love it.

8.  More birthdays!  Non-family birthdays get their own number.  :)  The boys have been invited to friend's birthday parties which they are totally breathlessly excited about.  Liam gets top billing because not only is his birthday party the closest, but it's also at a bowling alley - which makes triple awesome points.

9.  Fall is quickly approaching.  Yes, I like August because its kind of a gateway to fall.  D and I LOVE fall, and look forward to that season every year.  Especially when summer temps hit over 90 with 70% humidity.  We are not hot weather people.

10.  Fun.  This is the month that I look at the calendar and say "What the heck, summer's almost over?!?!"  And then I pack everyday full of fun activities that I thought we had all summer to complete.  Zoo trips, Garden trips, play dates, sprinkler parties, etc, etc, etc.  Packed days.  It's like fun...on crack.

5 weeks left!

Here in Michigan, August 1 means 5 weeks left of summer vacation.

I'm freaking out.  There's a lot of stuff to fit into 5 weeks.  Things that I didn't do toward the beginning of summer becasue I thought I had all the time in the world.

Last week the boys attended a VBS.  One day, each age group got to make a sculpture out of various-shaped wood pieces.  A. oh-so-proudly showed me his "bomb factory."  Once home, he asked to paint it.  It actually turned out pretty cool....I just wonder what the staff at the VBS think of me and my bomb-factory-making 7 year old.

This week is a festival in my home town.  It's a big deal.  We went to the kid's parade on Saturday.  It was a lot of fun.  Looking at my schedule, I'm thinking I won't be able to attend as much as I want to.  But that's ok...because we're still having fun.

I got a kettlebell set at TJ Maxx over the weekend.  This is supposed to be an awesome workout.  We'll see if I'm moving by the end of the day.  Perhaps I should challenge Mama M. to a kettlebell duel?!?!?

I also joined a 31 in 31 pledge.  The idea is to walk, run or jog 31 miles in August's 31 days.  I know this is achievable.  I just need to keep track of my mileage.

I believe I have officially moved DOWN an entire size (almost 2!).  I grabbed a pair of black capri's for church yesterday, and realized they were like parachute pants on me.  This was a fantastic feeling.  I feel a closet purge coming up this week!

I made the mistake of telling C. that he has a well-child check up today.  This was immediately met with anxiety.  He is now refusing to get dressed.

I also need to schedule dental cleanings, pictures, etc. for all of us before school starts.

New month= new FULL envelopes!  This brings me great joy!  Two vacations in one month, some wedding presents, unexpected tire replacement, and misc. expenses put our envelopes in short supply.  We have been living out of the freezer for over a week, and I'm surprised to see how much we had on hand.  Last night I made homemade spaghetti sauce for some noodles.  We also found some old turkey meatballs in the freezer, and had enough fresh green beans in the garden for a healthy helping!  It's amazing how God provides.  :)  The night before, we had vidalia onion chicken burgers.  Seriously...we have NOT been going hungry.  :)  And, now I'm ready to do a thaw cycle on my freezer and get it ready to get full again for winter.

Things I'm looking forward to this week:
- Getting the well-child check up out of the way.
- Cleaning up the house and purging unnecesary things
- Getting ready for C's birthday.
- Walking with Michelle and her boys on Friday
- trying out my new kettlebells (both excited and apprehensive)
- hopefully getting my allergies under control
- filling up my refrigerator and pantry
- getting my hair cut on Wednesday afternoon
- hopefully a date night with  my handsome husband