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