Thursday thoughts.

• Birthdays came and went last week for the girls. No big hurrah this year at seven and nine years old, just a few small gifts and special meals with parents and grandparents. We'll make up for it big time next year and do a party up right for the big 2-digit "10" and biggie "8" birthdays.
• Conference started well with comfy nests made up on the floor, plenty of conference activities and notebooks - but ended the way it always does with and the cheap toys broken already, and some good naps.
• Nonnie and Papa visited over the weekend; we attempted to watch conference and got a few things repaired, but mostly played a whole lot of games of Bump-O. Papa made the game for the girls for their birthdays, and MAN do they love it. It's a fixture on the kitchen table, at least for a while. We've already lost all the green marbles, though, oops.
• Made two Halloween wreaths over the weekend - pictures forthcoming.
• Cleaned out most of the fridge this week. Found not one, not two, but three tupperware full of adobo peppers (apparently I make Café Rio pork a lot, but never know what to do with the peppers afterward)
• We're on fall break this week, and as much as I thought we should spend a quiet week at home, I'm now trying everything I can do to avoid that, since "quietness" and "home from school" don't really go together after all. It's more along the lines of "screaming" and "chaos".
Monday: After I worked my triceps into a tizzy, ouch, we hung out with friends at an only slightly ghetto-ish indoor amusement park called Jeeperz or Jambo or something in Mesa - kids had a great time, and Mom could actually afford it with a $1 entrance special. We didn't get ripped off until we decided to buy tokens and let the kids play games, and then trade their tickets in for "prizes". Oh brother, how I hate those things. I had to carry J out of the place screaming because he'd changed his mind and wanted something different, and I had to listen to M whine for half the day Tues because she'd already lost her mini finger-skateboard. Sheesh. We spent dinner and an evening of decorating with some friends.
Tuesday: once I finally got going and finished my treadmill stint, we were off to the Children's Museum - and thank goodness we didn't get there a moment sooner; it was packed. It did clear out after lunchtime, though, and we were able to hang out practically by ourselves in the afternoon. We then braved the torrential downpour (of rain, and of M's complaining) and headed over to gymnastics. I dropped the crew off and decided to make a quick trip to Joann's - wow, was I ever dumb. I got stuck in major rain and traffic and flooding and UGH, it took me forever. At least J got a nap in the process.
• I've been thinking about our little gymnastics habit lately - and how it's more of a convenient habit for me, to take turns carpooling and have an excuse to shop Tempe/Ahwatukee every couple of weeks, versus the girls actually learning and progressing and getting exercise. M still can't do a decent cartwheel - after two years. I'm not criticizing the place nor the teachers there. It's just a matter of barely being able to afford just one hour class per week. This habit may be ending when 2010 does, I think.
• Storm score: Hail, 3, Carters, 0. N's pretty new car has about 2 dozen dents now, and our stucco on our house has golf-ball sized chunks out of it in several places. Window screens on the east side of the house are torn up as well. At least we don't have any broken windows.
Wednesday: I found that it's actually do-able to take all three kids shopping with me. Well, at least to Walmart and Target, anyway. I had a dentist appt. in the afternoon where they took more x-rays - I have an abcessed front tooth that will need a root canal shortly, and I'm hoping to get four veneers in the process as well. We'll see how much of it the insurance will pay for... I don't have high hopes.
• A has an ortho appt in a few minutes, so I guess it's time to shower & dress for the day (yes, it's after noon)

To-Do List

Seems I can always get more done when I can SEE a LIST written down - and since I tend to sit at my computer several times a day, and can't keep track of a piece of paper to save my life, here it goes - warning: boring post...

Set up P/T conference with A's teacher
Send registration info back
Follow up on RPM folders
Finish Halloween decorating
Paint more snakes and finish Medusa wreath
Pay tithing on Sunday
Buy new toothpaste for the girls
Get more water softener salt
New bathroom rugs from Target
Get Kerri's vinyl cut and sent off
Finish sewing J's quilt together
List PB dots on Ebay
Schedule carpet cleaning
Get remaining pics printed for scrapbook pages
Print out journaling blocks and put on
Get root canal scheduled (pleasant, right?)

Thursday thoughts.

It's been a very good couple of weeks - why, you ask?
- Fitness challenge is OVER
- I read "Mockingjay" and though didn't love the ending, really, really ended up liking the series overall.
- J loves his preschool class and is so proud to show you his projects
- N got a promotion
- small miracle - I had a thought one morning to go get something out of my car, immediately, and I found J in my front seat. He had popped out several "M&Ms" from their packaging and had them all laid out, ready to eat. I don't know what eating half a dozen adult-strength antihistamines would have done to him, but I'm glad I got there in time so we didn't have to find out.
- my sore throat/cough only turned into a cold, versus a nasty strep throat or sinus infection
- N took all three kids to the cabin last weekend, and I had 48 hours to myself
- I was able to get a bunch of scrapbook pages finished up
- I went shopping on Saturday for MYSELF and actually found a few shirts to wear that don't have holes or stains - amazing
- Went out with some old girlfriends on Saturday night and had a great time eating mexican food, laughing at a Jesterz show - and then enjoying dessert at Yogurtland
- I went to church ALL by myself - and yes I was on time - and actually was able to pay attention to what was going on in sacrament meeting
- Washed and vacuumed my car and got all the cabin dirt off of it
- Got the yard cleaned up on Monday and it looks SO much better
- Enjoyed FHE with some friends on Monday night
- Got a couple of vinyl projects designed
- Was able to make MUCH progress on J's quilt thanks to Grandma
- Got my A/C fixed for FREE even though we were three weeks out of the warranty period
- Went and helped out in M's classroom today. I love her teacher!

I get it.

Why a LOT of people want to move out of our slightly ghetto-ish area. But why they want to move away from me, I'm not sure exactly, because really, I am delightful. Just ask me. I just wish they would have all moved to the same flippin' AREA, at least. Check this out, off the top of my head (I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting) :

Rockwoods - Gilbert (yes, I know it's been a while but I'm still bitter about not having a carpool buddy)
Lisonbees - Laveen
Reissners - where did they go again?
Goodmans - North Carolina, but they missed me, so they moved back to Laveen.
Stephens - Chandler
Parmenters - Colorado
Evans - Gilbert
Tryons - Queen Creek
Millers - San Diego
Eagars - central Phoenix
Robinsons - Northeast Mesa
Harlows - Washington
Hatches - Avondale
Shermans - Ahwatukee
Fullmers - Chandler (hey, at least they can hang with the Stephens)
Bruces - leaving us soon for Paradise Valley
and I swear, if the Austins move to three different places I just might break down and cry.

SERIOUSLY, PEOPLE??? These are all my friends (or at least people I thought were amazing to be around) that I used to see on a weekly basis, if not more often! Why, oh why couldn't they all have coordinated and at least have moved to the same TOWN??

Stuff going on.

Computer is no longer sick. (yeah!) Turned out to be the hard drive. Under warranty (yeah!) Data recovery? Not backed up and NOT covered under warranty. (boo.)

I think I finally got all my programs re-installed (yeah!) but I still don't have 90% of my contacts, since my email database was corrupted. (boo) I'm trying not to think about everything that was in my email that I lost. Please email me if you ever want to hear from me again.

School has started. (yeah!) M got the teacher we wanted. (yeah!) A did NOT (boo) but I'm hoping it turns out better than it seemed on the first day of school...

J has a MIND OF HIS OWN and wants to DO EVERYTHING HIMSELF. Except go potty. He's perfectly content in a diaper. (boo) SIGH. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO POTTY TRAIN MY KID. AND YES, I KNOW HE'S MY THIRD AND I SHOULD GET THIS BY NOW, BUT I DON'T, OKAY??? He woke up dry this morning so I sat him on the potty, which he screamed about, put him in big boy underwear, which he wasn't thrilled about, asked him 10 times to sit on the big potty, and the little potty, but he wouldn't, and approximately 2.1 minutes later I was cleaning carpet. (boo)

I need someone to come clean my house. It's so dirty I don't even know where to start. (boo)

This is fruit week in our Fitness Challenge, and altogether enjoyable. (yeah) Not looking forward AT ALL to push-up week next week though, since I have not been preparing myself. (boo)

J starts preschool in three weeks. (yeah!)

Went to Finny's birthday party today at the Tempe splash park, or whatever they call it. Can I just say I LIKE MY FRIENDS??? Losing 25 pounds this year makes it a little easier to stand next to them, too, since they're all total skinny-minis.

We then headed over to the Children's Museum for an hour and a half this afternoon. I was ready to fall asleep driving on the way home, but still, J did not take a nap. (boo)

School starting has brought with it again the "We must be playing every single second with our friends down the street" syndrome. Dinner is cold on the table, it's now time to get in the bath, homework is not done, but all three of my kiddos are gone. Signing off now so I can go round them up...

Went through all my pictures from my nephew's wedding over the weekend. Sigh, they're just so flippin' cute! (The couple, not the pictures...)

A got in trouble at school today not once, not twice, but THREE times for talking, enough that the teacher had to call me to tell me what was going on. Oh goodness, I hope this is not the start of an unpleasant relationship, and year, with A's teacher.

Grateful.

Time to get out of my slump and find some blessings to be grateful for. Here goes - air conditioning - friends that will feed and entertain and spend time with me - pioneers and the fact that I didn't have to be one - shutters that make my bedroom as dark as a cave - a new, kind, civilized dentist for my kiddos - a MIL who is willing to babysit - exercise - fitting into smaller clothes - a husband who is finishing his ginormous project TODAY and has the next 10 days off of work - words like "ginormous" and "epiphany" and "ridonkulous" that make me happy - books to look forward to reading - my 8-year-old wanting to read ALL THE TIME - a car with new wheel bearings - a garage door that is functioning (at the moment) - a kissable little 3-year-old boy - M helping in the kitchen - Daddy making breakfast for the next two days - four Disney "Voluntear" tickets - a great couple getting married - another chance this summer to see family - okay I feel better now!

Summer, summer, go away

I'm CRANKY and tired of the heat. I'm tired of hearing my girls bicker. Since swim team ended, I'm tired of not having a schedule and routine. I'm tired of everybody lounging around in front of the TV because there's nothing to do. I'm tired of everyone whining when I try to get them to eat or clean or go to bed. I'm tired of the girls going through 3 sets of clothes a day because they're bored. I'm tired of this darn sore throat that's been around for several days now, keeping me from being motivated to do anything around here. I'm tired of J not wanting AT ALL to sit on the potty, and screaming like bloody murder when I try to put pullups or big-boy underwear on him. I'm tired of trying to comb my girls' hair. I'm tired of vegetables this week. Gag. I'm tired of swimsuit shopping already, and I've only been once. I'm tired of everyone fighting and arguing in the car. I'm tired of driving my kids all over creation in the heat. I NEED A VACATION

Soy un perdidor ...

You know, people always talk about how the "last" ten pounds are harder to lose than the "first" - - well, I'm not even close to that "last" ten pounds yet, but I'm way beyond the "first" and all I can say is YEAH, THEY ARE RIGHT. Sheesh.  Kind of like the difference between using a belt sander versus a q-tip to try to remove coats of paint....

Coming out of the fog, random thoughts

Well, it HAD been about six months, so I guess it was time for me to get an ugly sore throat again. This one didn't quite knock me out as much they usually do, but it sure has put a cramp in my style the last few days. A Z-pack is getting me back to normal today, thank goodness, because my house is a SIGHT and seriously needs some attention!  Anybody want to come fold and put away the four loads of laundry on my bed? Come on, I know you just can't wait to come clean all my bathrooms.....

Yes, I have continued to work out every day, (I have to! We're in the middle of fitness challenge! Hello!) but my intensity has sure gone down the last couple of days. Hopefully I will be back up to speed (literally) tomorrow. After doing a P90x workout on Monday, my arms are almost back to normal. MAN, they were hurting yesterday, and I could hardly lift my sewing machine, let alone J. Need to do those DVDs more often, methinks!

Started (and mostly finished) my bandana tablecloth last night - turns out I'm a REALLY slow sewer compared to Jackie. It's red, white, blue and cute! I love how casual it is, and how it fits my table so well, but the green chairs next to it look ghastly! Oh well. Now if I can ever get around to ironing it...

The girls have their first official swim meet tomorrow! I'm excited to watch how they do. A will be one of the oldest in her age group competing, so I have high hopes for her. And I'm hoping M can start swimming straight so she doesn't run into her opponents!

I'm in the middle of the first Percy Jackson book, and loving it - seeing the movie first was definitely a good idea, except now I have an image of Percy being much older than the 12-year-old he is in the book.

I love free activities for my kiddos. The girls are taking a free art class through the city every Monday, it's taught by an art student and they're having a good time playing around with charcoal and conté and learning about space, lines, etc. Since J & I sit in the sidelines during the class too, we're all learning a bit!  A is also taking a free "cub club" class at the pool for the next month; they practice different strokes and play games - yesterday they played "Sharks and Minnows".  Today we went to a puppet show at the library - I always love the summer activities they have going on!

Okay, time to stop procrastinating dinner, since it's after 6 now - peace out

Mini Me

I think I've mentioned how much my 8-year-old acts like me - her reading habit is exactly like mine, and she'll ignore all else and stay up 'til all hours of the night when engrossed in a book. We picked up the forms for the library's Summer Reading Program I think Tuesday or Wednesday this week.  Even when I insisted that each book had to be at least 50 pages - - by Thursday afternoon each of my girls (M was spurred on by A, even though she's not nearly as fast of a reader) had read and recorded their THIRTY books in order to earn all their prizes. Darn the library for being closed on Friday, but we DID visit today and picked up quite the haul!  This year we'll have to be sure and actually USE those free D-backs tickets...

Another way A is like me is her love for organizing things. She keeps taking over other areas of the house, say J's closet, or the corner of my bedroom, or the top shelf of the linen closet..... to create her "clubs" where everything (art supplies, mainly) is lined up and sorted by color. She even draws "maps" of her spaces that detail where everything is supposed to go. I've wished a hundred times that she would apply this love of keeping things clean and orderly to her ROOM, but hey...maybe someday.

Again, today, I saw A being my little mimic. I mean, I knew she was the budding artist in the house and all, but get this - She took it upon herself to create a wall of "art" in her room this week, and now she wants to sell her pictures! There were dozens of colored pencil pictures she'd drawn and taped up on the wall, with this accompanying sign... 

She also taped a little clear envelope on the wall to hold all the money that she's planning on earning.  So cute - I think her mom's habit of hocking stuff on Ebay and to her friends has rubbed off on her!  She was bugging me all evening tonight to get the pictures Daddy took of all her masterpieces up on her blog so she can sell them!  So, without further ado, here's a sampling of what's available, if you want an original by A!  (These are the post-it notes otherwise known as "little ones")   Sorry, Daddy already bought the best ones...and I think she was in such a hurry to get several done that this isn't her best or neatest work -  but I'm sure if you have a request she would be more than happy to create a custom piece for you and actually take her time!  She came in a while ago talking about her newest piece, in progress, entitled "Make it Ripe" with images of strawberries on it.....

I will make her blog public, at least for the moment, so you can go visit.  I'm also half-tempted to set up a paypal address for her - I've got a feeling she's going to need it eventually!  I love my girl!    http://www.creativityally.blogspot.com/   You'll notice a couple of other posts she's written on there, along with all of her most favorite recent songs on her playlist. Enjoy!

My kids

have been watching the Prisoner of Azkaban movie in the car for the last few days. Maybe that's the problem, that they only are getting a few minutes at a time, as we run from here to there, because they JUST can't seem to grasp it. I've explained how Scabbers is actually Peter Pettigrew but no one knows he's an animagus half a dozen times - why Peter betrayed Harry's parents, what "betrayed" actually means, that Sirius isn't actually a bad guy, he was friends with Harry's parents but he was sent to Azkaban because everyone thought he killed Peter, what a dementor is, why Professor Lupin is dangerous when he transforms into a werewolf... I really hope they don't start trying to figure out Hermione's time turner, and the fact that there's two Harrys and two Hermiones at the end of the movie... but not really... my patience is wearing thin...maybe we should stick to simpler movies and avoid Harry Potter for now!

Sunday's Scrambled Egg Thoughts.

Challenge.
Tomorrow it begins! Fitness challenge #2, that is! I just treated myself to ice cream and a Sees dark chocolate bar as one last hurrah - I'm already thinking I shouldn't have, because I have to get up and run in the morning and I don't know how good that's going to feel...  ugh.  If you want to come visit and track our progress and details, my new "health and fitness" blog is now up.  crazyfitnesschallenge.blogspot.com

Weekend.
This weekend we were busy with playdates and birthday parties, again. I stayed home all day on Sat and did some pretty thorough cleaning - (and by thorough, I mean I actually tried to dust some - amazing!)  It feels so good to have so much done at one time - 6 loads of laundry yesterday and today, plus shutters dusted, floors vacuumed, and toilets cleaned...  If I continue like this my house might look more like Jackie's by the weekend. Actually, who am I kidding, I just started another book, so that's going to be the end of my cleaning spree....

Books.
By the way, just finished "Heat Wave" this morning - took me a while to get into it, but once I did I was hooked! Love the characters so much - makes me want to go rent the whole "Castle" series- has there only been one season so far? Does anyone know? Are there any more books written with Nikki Heat and Rook?  hmmm...
A has read EVERYTHING in our house, and is dying for more. I can't keep up with her reading habit. Any good suggestions for an 8-yr-old? Long chapter books please, she devours stuff like Magic Tree House and Judy Bloom in a couple of hours each.  She just finished Percy Jackson "Lightning Thief" and is chomping at the bit to get the next in the series, "Sea of Monsters" which we're on the hold list for, at the library.....  She's not been a huge fan of Harry Potter books as of yet, but I'm still holding onto hope that she will be eventually. She BETTER! I'm not raising any Muggle!

Swimming.
Swim team, and swim lessons, start tomorrow. This may very well screw up my twice-weekly volleyball habit, but hopefully will be good for all three kids. J recently has been wearing floaties in the pool when we swim, and loves his independence. I love it as well, because he doesn't pinch and kick me when I'm trying to hold him. Besides, the water is still too chilly for me!

Speaking of which, I have a philosophy - want to hear it?  I think school schedules should be based on WATER temperatures. It seems silly for school to get out in the middle of May, when pools are still way too flippin' cold, and then start the first Mon in August, when the pools are still in perfect temps to swim! Summer should start about June 15, and go til Sep. 1st - who's with me???

Schedules.
I have a lot on my plate this week, which I'm excited about, because I know I'll be able to accomplish a lot as well - the busier I am, the more productive! Wish me luck!

Field Day

Here's A doing a gunny sack race - why the bottoms were cut out of the sacks, I don't know - seemed a little pointless...

I don't think J ever got more hugs from his sisters than when we visited the school.

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER...

Things going on:
• Attended M's graduation last week, plus lots of "end of school" parties for the girls. Will post pics soon!
• Went to a "card swap" party on Friday night. I love my girlfriends! It was fun. I'll take a pic of all the cards we made and post it.
• Watching and loving lots of season finales on TV. SIGH - It's gonna be a long summer.
• Reading lots of books from the library. I just started another Sophie Kinsella book and A started Percy Jackson "Lightning Thief" today. I also checked out "Heat Wave" from the show Castle (which I'm new to, and liking a lot!) - I'll let you know how it is!
• Inviting myself to anyone's house who has a pool.
• Maintaining weight since end of fitness challenge, hmmm... I guess I need to pick up those good habits again before I'm going to make any more progress.
• Losing TEETH! One of M's bottom front teeth fell out last week, and now one of her top front is very loose - the VERY SAME one our old dentist said was calcified and would never come out on its own, the one they wanted to pull. HA! I knew I made the right decision leaving them.
• Dealing with warts on M's fingers. SIGH, not fun. She won't let me touch them, yet she keeps scraping them on things and then they bleed, hurt, I need to make a dermatologist appt...
• Attending lots of birthday parties on the docket. We went to a party at Skateland on Saturday. M took a lesson beforehand, which was great. I think I'm the one that had the most fun skating, though! I want new rollerblades...!
• Planning J's birthday coming up next week - yikes, better get organized. I intended to have J's quilt done for his bed by his birthday - oops - I guess it's gonna be a while in the toddler bed still, until I get it finished - I refuse to get him a big twin bed until there's something to put on it!
• Needing to get my vacuum fixed, because it sucks. Or rather, it has stopped sucking altogether. My carpet is disgusting, and I can't do anything about it!
• Needing new tires on my car, in a bad way. We've always done Discount Tire in the past - any other recommendations, that maybe won't cost me 700 bucks?
• Needing to get our carpet cleaned, also in a bad way. Why does everything have to cost money??

This week

I'm thinking about how much, AND how very little, I really accomplish every week. I've had many busy busy moments this week, and many moments of doing absolutely ZERO laying on a couch. But ah, I read some good books, had some good snuggles, cooked some good food, shared much with family members, ran many miles on the treadmill, helped with homework, washed load after load of laundry, helped friends with crafty projects ... I've also ignored my own crafty projects, ate entirely too much chocolate cake, had about 40 picture files open for DAYS on my desktop that need to be edited and printed, have yet to file all the fun paper I bought at the CK convention last month, have ignored bathrooms that need to be cleaned desperately, spent way too much time on Facebook, blah blah blah... such is life today.