Day of Discovery

We spent the day in Charlotte with our good friends.  Lunch at a burger bar, and then a great afternoon at the Discovery Place Children's Museum.  The kids had a blast getting their hands on everything.  It was a nice way to spend a Sunday, and to have the kids use their brains and some of their muscle for several hours.

and the dvds got to enjoy a quiet house, while they remain on the table at the top of the stairs...still not away, day 6

Brady Bop-its

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We were on our way out the door to our friends' house for dinner and games.  Brady, who is quite competitive, was still practicing as we walked out..........too funny!

and the dvds..........now they are at the top of the front stairs.  picture is on my cell, and for some reason can not upload it....

Sleepovers

About 4 years ago, the kids started having sleepovers every Friday and Saturday night.  To qualify as a sleepover, at least two of them are in the same room and thats about it.  It is really cute, and more so that even at 6, 7 and 8, they still get excited about it.  On Friday during breakfast, one of them will say, "guys, sleepover!" 
The latest thing is to sleep in the family room with the two couches pushed together:

I hope that this is one of the things that they remember years from now, and laugh about how much fun this was, and how excited they were, and of course, what super cool parents they had!

As far as those dvds?   Lets just say, ssdd....same spot different day, still not away day 4.....

My Life Raising Pigs

Okay, so I may not be an official pig farmer, it sure feels like it lately.   It is so frustrating when rooms are wrecked.  I am not talking about a little messy, W R E C K E D!  Socks on the bookshelves is not my idea of decor.
I had high expectations this morning.  HIGH.  I actually got up before the kids alarms, and we had a smooth "get out the door"  morning.  I usually stay home on Thursdays to catch up on housework, and other tasks.  Oh, right, back to the pig farming.... Well, the kids rooms were beyond the "tidy"  and I had every intention to clean all three bedrooms today.  Remember that I said my expectations were high?
Well, I went into the room of my littlest piggy, and looked around..........

  

Anyway, it took me 4 hours just to do Delaney's room. Now the good news is that it is head to toe done, but now I have piggy #1 and piggy #2 to take care of. Other good news however, is that since her room was so bad, the worst is over.

I even made the bed for her American Girl doll for crying out loud!  The best part about it though, was when she came home.  I waited for her to go upstairs, and after a minute followed her.  She was standing facing her window and just looking all around.  She turned around, wide eyed and grinning.  When she saw me, she ran full speed and jumped into my arms.  She hugged me so tight and did not let go.  That was the best compensation I have ever received for 4 hours of work. 

As for the dvds, the made their way into my sitting room. Now today is the night that Don does a lot of cleaning around the house, so I am assuming that he picked them up.  Now lets see how long they stay in my sitting room.........dvd day 3

A Work in Progress

Well, I know that this picture is not great but as it was pitch black outside, and there is no electricity in the room yet, it remains "as is"  for today's writing inspiration.  This is the second half of our, still unnamed, but what I think we will continue to call, back porch.  We had a deck with composite material included when we built our house.  Two summers, 50 cans of DEET, and 1,000,000,000 mosquito bites later, we screened in that area, and added a larger outdoor deck to it.  Well, looked nice, but was not functional.  We never sat outside, due to the continuing bug situation, and the heat.  We were always huddled into the screened porch.  We decided sometime in 2009, that we would screen in that area as well, and begin preparation for an inground pool as well.  I came up with the brillant idea of adding a fireplace to the newly screened area.  This has been installed today, and you can finally start to get the feel for what the finished product will be like.  We are pleased with the quality of work thus far, and although we are anxious to have this completed,  know that it will take time in order to be done properly and to all of our specifications. 
With the new year still fresh in our midst, I have again recommitted to putting myself first on my list of things to do.  I am forever inspiring and motivating people to do this for themselves, and as the saying goes, it is time for me to practice what I preach!  I have been down this road before, although luckily, the load I now bear is much less than in years past.   I am one of those people that will always have to remember that weight maintenance is an ongoing thing.  I fell into the "I am skinny now!"  trap a few years ago, and due to my ignorance, have put 30 lbs back on!    In 2004, I successfully lost 88 lbs through hard work, dedication, and most importantly putting myself first.  It may seem terrible for a wife and a mother to do this, but I will tell you one absolute truth - when I take this time for myself I am a better wife and a better mother.  I have more patience, I am stronger and it helps me focus on all of the other things that I need to get done in a day.
We all know that anything really worthwhile takes time and hard work.  We know that when things are done right, instead of the "quick fix" , the path to get there is long.  When you know what your desired outcome is, and once you make that decision to go on that path, you should not stop until you get there.  So today, even though I taught a cycle class this morning, I made the time to run 4 miles.  I felt great, and could have gone much further, but had to get back for the bus.  (see I AM a good mom!)  It also was 35 degrees, and since tomorrow I teach 2 classes back to back, I did not want to push it.  But let me tell you, that I have my focus back.  It feels wonderful.  2010 is MY year, so look out people!

And speaking of looking out, beware of the dvds on the floor in the kids' hallway....day 3!

The End of Another Day

Here is a shot of the kings and queens enjoying a few bedtime stories.  We have gotten away from that ritual, and are working on bringing it back.  It is so important to have, not only the wind down time, but the chance to cuddle and talk about the day.  I wonder if they mentioned to each other anything about the dvds on the floor....   You will notice from yesterday, that they have moved to the side somewhat, so I am not sure if someone ran by them and the power of their movement shoved them aside, or what.  All I know is they are still on the floor............. day 2.