August 31, 2008

We had a nice, fairly quiet day today. Vic took Carson and Jamie to Sunday School this morning. Caleb and I stayed behind and did some cleaning in the kitchen. After lunch, the kids played outside just about all afternoon.

They played with their squirt guns mostly, and they also wet down the slide with the hose and called it a water slide and were covered in dirt from head to toe. Vic brought them in for a bath and served them dinner while I went to Publix tonight.

I picked up stuff for our cookout tomorrow and also the things I needed to make school lunches and snacks for next week. I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of their Summer vacation! Labor Day truly is our end of Summer celebration this year. I was a little sad thinking about Jamie being at school all day for the first time when I was buying stuff for her lunch. I know she is going to love it, though. I'll get over it fast. :)

Back to school coundown: 1 more day!!!!

August 30, 2008

This morning, Caleb and Jamie had lots of fun at the pool with Grammy & Grampy. Carson decided he'd had enough of swimming this week at camp and stayed home. He played with a friend and with a little girl who is staying with her grandparents across the street.

Of course, they all played with the new squirt guns, and, of course, I had forgotten that Caleb's squirt gun still had the dye cartridge in it. Ah yes, so I got to walk home with the little girl and apologize for the fact that I sent her home looking like a smurf. Her mother was very nice about it, thankfully. What on earth was I thinking buying those things?

This afternoon we had kid central at our house, at one point we had 8 kids here, including ours. For most of the afternoon we had six. Jamie had a friend over, plus the new friend who had been dyed blue earlier. Plus, Carson had a friend over too. So, the kids all had a good day.

I had a pretty good day, too, but got next to nothing done after trying to manage the kids all afternoon. I am glad that Jamie is making some friends on the street, though. She always wants to play with Carson's friends, and that doesn't go over too well.

Jamie is so excited about starting school. She asks me every morning if she gets to go to her new school today. I think she mostly wants to play with the kitchen set. I hope she likes it as much as she thinks she will. :)

I think Carson is excited about it too. The teacher asked at open house that the kids be thinking about what they are looking forward to in the school year so that they can discuss it on the first day of school. So, I asked Carson today what he was looking forward to. He said, "making some good grades!" :)

Time for some towel folding fun now and then off to bed.

Back to school countdown: 2 more days!!

August 29, 2008

Today was a tiring day. Carson went to his last day of camp today. He was happy because they got a lot of free time today, so he got to jump off the spring board into the foam pit lots of times. After we picked him up, we went and got lunch and then ate it in the car on the way to take Jamie to camp.

We dropped off Jamie and I got to chase a very tired Caleb down in the gymnastics room. I ended up actually diving across a mat and grabbing him by the shirt. So, that was more than a little embarrassing. Then, instead of taking him home for a nap like a sane person would, I took him and Carson to Walmart. I can't stand not being ready for the first day of school. I have control issues, darn it. I have to be prepared. So, I just couldn't wait to get to Walmart to buy the things I needed off of the new list I was given last night. So that was about as much fun as you might imagine.

Then, just to prove that I really wasn't thinking sanely, I bought each of the kids a squirt gun that was on clearance for $3 at Walmart. Why is that insane, you ask? Because the squirt gun shoots colored water. So the boys tried out the guns when we got home and within about 10 minutes there was blue dye all over the driveway, Carson, the kitchen floor, the kitchen counters, the downstairs bathroom and me. And I don't mean blue dye mixed with water, this was full-strength blue dye. Carson's wasn't working right, so he pulled out the dye cartridge and the lid got stuck in the squirt gun and the rest is history. I have thrown away the remaining tubes of dye. They can just squirt regular water.

Then, we went to pick up Jamie and Caleb finally fell asleep on the way there, so I got to lug the sleeping toddler across the parking lot and into the building and back to the van again. It was better than chasing him down in the gymnastics room, though. Jamie enjoyed her last day of camp too. They got extra free time, too, and she was happy to get to jump on the trampoline. She did get a scratch on the side of her face. She said she was trying to walk on the balance beam with her eyes closed, just to see what it was like to walk on a balance beam with her eyes closed. It didn't go too well.

After we got home, the kids played with their friends for a while and then we ate dinner and tried to get the kids in bed early, which didn't go well at all due to Caleb's brief but late nap. I can't wait to get some rest tonight!

August 28, 2008

We had a fairly busy day today. This morning I took Jamie and Caleb over to Grammy & Grampy's house. Then I picked up Carson from camp and we headed to the hospital for his x-ray. We made a stop in the cafeteria, which has surprisingly good food, and then headed over to the imaging center. They were pretty quick and we were out of there in about a half an hour.

We had a little extra time, so I talked him into going to Target with me to look for some clothes for Caleb. Actually, I bribed him with the promise of an icee. He likes getting them at Target because he likes all the flavors and combines them all into his cup. Free refills are nice, too. So, we wandered around Target for a while and then headed over to pick up Jamie from camp.

I put a dress over Jamie's leotard and we headed straight from camp to open house at the kids' school. Their teachers both seem very nice. Carson has a few kids from last year's class in his new class, so he was happy about that.

When Jamie walked into her room, she immediately told the teacher her full name, including middle name and then announced that she didn't like her big brother because he is mean. After that, she went into the awesome kitchen play area in the classroom and made herself right at home. She can't wait to go back and play some more in the kitchen area. It is really cool. It is set up just like a real kitchen with wooden appliances, a small dining table, a phone, cooking supplies, food, decorations, there is even a set of car keys in a little basket on the counter. So cute! She is going to love that.

I am a little miffed that the supply list I got tonight for Carson was a little bit different from the one they sent home at the end of last year. I have had the supplies bought, labeled and packed into Carson's backpack for weeks now. So, I'm not as ready for the school year as I thought, but I'll fix that tomorrow.

After the open house, we came home, I made a quick dinner and then headed off to WW as soon as Vic got home. I lost 1 pound since last week! Yay! :)

Off to bed now. I am worn out from the busy day.

Back to school countdown: 4 more days!!

August 27, 2008

Caleb, Jamie and I had a quiet morning at home while Carson went to camp. Grammy picked him up and he went to her house to spend the night. I called tonight to say goodnight, but he was a little too busy with the Wii game he had rented to talk. Grammy passed on the message. Sounds like he was having a good time.

I took Jamie to camp this afternoon and then was hoping Caleb would take a nap so I could get some stuff done. But, he wasn't about to miss out on any daylight today. He pushed his dump truck all around the back yard and ate a popsicle that actually dyed his skin green where it dripped down his arm - yikes! I am not buying this brand again. Good thing he was wearing a green shirt. After all that, he rested on the couch for a little while and watched TV.

We went to the gumball restaurant tonight at Jamie's request, and *gasp* they were out of gumballs. The machine was completely empty. Jamie took it pretty well and settled for some runts. Caleb decided to test out his shrieking skills while we were there, but luckily Vic was finished eating by then and took Jamie and Caleb outside. We had ordered a ton of food because we had one of those certificates from restaurant.com where you pay $4 and get a $25 gift certificate but you have to spend $35 to use it. It is hard to spend $35 in a Mexican restaurant with four people. (margaritas don't count). Anyway, I was sitting alone with a table full of food. It would have been the perfect moment to run into my WW leader. Luckily she wasn't there. She was probably at home eating something healthy.

We got a call tonight from Carson's new teacher. She was calling to introduce herself and remind us about the open house tomorrow night. Vic talked to her, so I still haven't "met" her. I thought it was nice of her to call, though. Can't wait till tomorrow night!

Back to school countdown: 5 days!!

August 26, 2008

This morning Carson went to camp and Jamie and Caleb went to Grammy & Grampy's house, giving me a little taste of the sweet freedom I will be experiencing once they are all in school! ;)

I picked up Carson and we ran a couple of errands and I picked up lunch for him. I was good and ate a Lean Cuisine at home. This afternoon we went to the library and then I took Carson to the doctor because he has been complaining of frequent stomach pain over the last couple of months. They ran the usual tests, and everything looks fine. The doctor wants him to have an x-ray to rule out kidney stones and gall stones, but he thinks it is "Functional abdominal pain". I think that pretty much means stomach pain with no known cause. Apparently it's pretty common in kids. So, we're going either Thursday or Friday for the x-ray.

We picked up the little kids, who had a fabulous day at Grammy & Grampy's as usual, and then headed home to eat pizza for dinner.

Back to school countdown: 6 more days!!

August 25, 2008

Carson had fun at his gym and swim camp this morning. He said he made two new friends there. He liked jumping off the trampoline into the styrofoam pit and walking on the balance beam. We picked him up, picked up lunch at McDonalds, and then went back to take Jamie to her gymnastics camp.

Jamie had a great time at her camp too. Two of her friends were there. Somehow she ended up with a scrape on her ankle and on the side of her head. Not sure how that happened, but she didn't seem to mind.

I am glad they are both enjoying their camps. Their last week of summer should be a fun one!

We managed to get them all in bed a little earlier tonight, so we're moving in the right direction for back to school time. :)

Back to school countdown: 7 days!!

August 24, 2008

This morning we went to Sunday School then made our weekly stop by the ice slushy store before heading home for lunch. We basically spent the rest of the day staying around the house. Carson played Mario Kart and that monster fighting game that I never can think of the name of, Jamie lounged around a lot, saying she was tired. Funny how she doesn't seem so tired now that she's supposed to be sleeping. The kids also played outside a lot as the temperature was very nice today.

Tonight we all went out and returned the games and ran some errands. Vic saw in the paper that Walgreen's has Edy's ice cream on sale for $2.50. He couldn't wait to get there. The man loves his ice cream. I'm surprised he didn't just run out the back door, Forrest Gump style, when he read it. So, anyway, the boys dropped Jamie and I off at Publix and then they went to Walgreens so Vic could stock up on Edy's. I'm glad that he did. He got some of the light Butter Pecan and I must admit it is calling my name from the freezer right now. Yum.

We tried to get the kids in bed early tonight, since we have been a little slack with bedtimes this summer and now they need to get used to school night bedtimes again. We didn't so much succeed tonight. Good thing we have seven more nights left to try to get back on a regular schedule!

Back to school countdown: 8 more days!!!

August 23, 2008

Thank goodness we had much nicer weather today! The temperature was nice(for August) and it was cloudy and windy. No rain all day! Yay!

Carson played with his friend from across the street almost all day. They played Mario Kart, played in the backyard and rid the cul de sac of all monsters and aliens.

Jamie and I went to Walmart and spent a long time looking at flowers to put in our pots out front. She picked out some purple mums. The pot had "hardy mums" printed on it. I like seeing the word hardy in the name of a plant. That means it might stand a chance of making more than a couple of weeks in my care. These plants will have another good thing going for them because they will be watered by nature and by Jamie, who loves plants and flowers. Jamie, Caleb and I planted them tonight. I hope they make it!

I also picked up some foam swords for the boys at Walmart (Jamie got a tiny doll). They are always trying to sword fight with the light sabers and someone gets hit and and it never ends well. Then they do it again five minutes later. I figured they couldn't hurt each other with foam. I was wrong. They just swing it harder.

Tonight Vic and Carson went to ride go karts with Brent. They just got back and I haven't gotten a report other than "it was good." I am sure they had fun, though. Caleb really wanted to go. He heard Vic tell Carson it was time to go to the Go Kart track and he brought Vic his shoes and socks, "I go go karts Daddy!" Poor little guy. The minimum age there to ride as a passenger is three, so he couldn't go. I think we will plan to take him there to celebrate his third birthday. Go Karts and mini golf will be perfect for his big day!

August 22, 2008

The preschool drama won out this morning and Jamie didn't go to her last day of Princess camp. I would have sent her, but with the wind whipping outside and the rain coming down, I decided not to argue. She wore her Cinderella dress all day and watched the Cinderella II DVD that we checked out from the library. Missing Princess camp definitely did not stop her from being a princess.

So, we all spent a nice quiet day at home. Well, except that the kids are getting stir crazy and there was very little quiet in the house. We went out for a few minutes this afternoon in the back yard when the wind had slowed, but it didn't seem safe with limbs hanging down on our big trees so we didn't stay long. I did get a few pictures. We went on one outing to Publix just for a few things, but other than that we stayed home all day.

This afternoon Carson had a couple of friends over who live on our street and they played Mario Kart. He is going to miss that game when it goes back on Sunday.

I made spicy soup for dinner tonight. It has been a while since I got to do that. I figured a rainy day was a great excuse, even if it's not cool outside. Vic knew what was coming this time and brought a 32 ounce cup of water to the table. mmmmmmm spicy soup

Here are pictures from our brief trip out to the back yard today:

August 21, 2008

Fay, Fay, go away. I need to send the kids out to play!

Okay, it hasn't been that bad so far and I'm grateful for that. The people in Florida are getting it much worse than we are. Still, we are all sick of being stuck inside. The kids even went out and played in the rain for a while today. I put the pictures in our web album. You can't really see the rain in the pictures, they just look a little faded out. But, it was raining. At least it is a nice temperature out. I think it was in the low 80s today.

Jamie had fun at camp again today. She got to meet princess Mulan and she made a fan. Tomorrow is her performance, but she doesn't want to go for some reason. Something about how some of the princess wands are broken and she doesn't want a broken one, oh, and some of the girls forget their numbers and try to stand on her number. Four-year-old princess camp drama. Depending on the weather tomorrow morning, I might just let her stay home.

The boys and I spent the morning at home. I was mean and made Carson find things to do besides play games this morning. You would have thought I was torturing him. I did get some work out of him, though, because every time he complained that he was bored I found something for him to do. After we picked up Jamie, I got the kids McDonalds for lunch to add a little pep to the dreary day.

Later in the afternoon Carson got his games back and all was well. He even got to play with a friend for a little while.

I went to WW tonight and I was up .2 lbs. I had just eaten dinner, so I figure maybe I'm about the same. I really need to start writing down my points again. I have gotten slack about that. I did some dancing workout that I found on demand today. I had no idea what the lady was doing at least 50% of the time, but at least it kept me moving!

August 20, 2008

The rain from Fay has arrived and it looks like she will be sticking around here through Friday. So far it hasn't been bad at all for us, just steady rain. Hopefully it stays that way. I am glad we checked out those Wii games, books & videos!

Jamie had another fun day at Princess camp today and even made a wand and got to hang out with Cinderella and have a manicure. She has very pretty pink nails now. :) I think maybe I should have signed myself up for this camp.

Caleb and I ran some errands this morning and then picked up Jamie. We were all heading for Grammy & Grampy' s house to get Carson when we ran right into an outer band of rain from Fay. Carson and I got soaked trying to get all the bags into the house from the van. I was very happy to be home. We are ready to stay here for another couple of days until the rain passes. Carson will be an expert at Mario Kart by the time we return it this weekend. I, on the other hand, will probably still be running off of ledges and going backwards around the tracks. I still like the game, though. It is so much fun!

August 19, 2008

Caleb got to go play over at Grammy & Grampy's house this morning, and enjoyed having all the attention to himself since Jamie was at Princess camp. Grammy picked Jamie up from camp today, so she got some time to play too.

Carson and I spent the day together. We went to Target and then picked up pizza from the concession counter there. Carson had an Icee. That is his favorite part about going to Target. In fact, that and the toy section are the only parts of Target that interest him. After that, we went to rent a Wii game and ended up renting 3 since they were running a special. We got Mario Kart, Boom Blox, and some game he chose that looks like some sort of pokemon thing. We then went to the library and checked out some more books and several videos. I am preparing for a few rainy days as Fay passes by.

We went home and played Mario Kart for a while. I am not really good at any part of that game except driving off of ledges, but it is fun anyway. Carson's friends came over to play for a while and then I took him to Grammy & Grampy's house to spend the night and brought home Caleb and Jamie. They are both tired from a fun day, and I am hoping they go to sleep early!

Jamie got to meet Ariel today at camp, and reported to me that there are mermaids living in the ocean at Tybee. But they live far, far out with the dolphins and humans can't get there. She said Ariel sang a song for them and even read a story. Tomorrow is a big day: they get to meet Cinderella and dress up for a princess parade. She is very excited about that. :)

August 18, 2008

This morning Jamie got to go to her first day of Princess camp. She has been looking forward to this, and I think it was even more fun that she thought it would be. When I picked her up, she was wearing makeup and covered in sparkles. She was thrilled with her sparkles and didn't even want to hold my hand in the parking lot for fear of losing some glitter from her hand. I settled for holding her finger. She was also very happy that Snow White had visited with her class. She will get to meet a different princess every day this week. :)

After we picked up Jamie from camp, we stopped by Publix, and then spent the rest of the afternoon at home. Caleb took a nice long nap, which was very nice, and the kids from across the street came over to play with Carson and Jamie. All of the kids were very tired tonight, so we had no troubles at bedtime. I can only imagine how worn out they will be once school starts, especially Jamie since she will be going all day for the first time. Only two more weeks!

I am going to go fold laundry now and then try to get to bed at a reasonable time. I have been staying up watching the Olympics and then getting up with Caleb as soon as the soon begins to rise, so I am just as tired tonight as the kids were.

August 17, 2008

It was our turn in the nursery this morning, and Vic had sound, so that meant I had to get all the kids there 15 minutes before church started by myself. I was proud of myself for making it on time. :)

After church we had a pretty quiet afternoon at home before heading over to Grammy & Grampy's house for Grampy's birthday celebration. We ate a bunch of yummy food and then had some very tasty lemon cake from the MOPS bake sale. After we ate, we all played some Wii. We played Big Brain Academy and Mario Kart. I really liked the Mario Kart. I think we should get that one. The Big Brain Academy was fun too, but let's just say I think my brain needs to spend a little more time in the academy. I wasn't too good at that one. It was a fun night, and I just got two over tired little kids to sleep. Carson is still up and is saying his throat hurts. I hope he isn't getting the virus Vic had last week.

August 16, 2008

This morning Vic and Carson went to play tennis. Caleb went along as he's not going to be left out of any activity involving a ball, or really any activity at all. They had a good time, and C & C came home sweaty and worn out.

Later this afternoon Caleb, Jamie and I went to the library, Walmart, and Publix. I had a book checked out on my account that I didn't remember ever having brought home or ever even seeing. I was relieved to find the book on display on top of one of the shelves. The lady at the counter scanned it, and sure enough it was somehow checked out on my account. I'm glad I found it before it was overdue and I owed money for a book I didn't have!

We bought cookies at Publix for the MOPS bake sale tomorrow. I didn't want to bake them because I didn't want the mess in the kitchen and because I figured I would eat a bunch of them. So, I'm sending bought cookies to the bake sale. It's okay, though. I happen to know for sure that kids love Publix cookies! At least mine do.

Carson went to the Dollar Store with his friend and his friend's dad while we were gone. Carson was thrilled to find a package of 5 packs of Hubba Bubba for a dollar. His friend bought a lovely foam tombstone. I asked him if he was going to put it out at Halloween. He said, "No, I'm going to put it out now so people will think someone is dead!" LOL

Caleb fell asleep tonight at 5:00. I tried to wake him a couple of times, but he was just out. Here's hoping he sleeps all night and doesn't wake up at 4AM ready to go for the day!

August 15, 2008

We had a fairly slow day today. We stayed at home most of the day and Carson and Jamie played with their friends. I did laundry and tried to stay one step ahead of the kids' messes. I have a lot of stuff I want to get done, but it is impossible to get much done with the kids arguing, fussing, fighting, or calling me for something every 5 seconds. I like it when the neighbor kids come over because it distracts my kids from fighting with each other. I think we are all pretty much over Summer break. Thank goodness there are only two weeks left! Next week Jamie will be in Princess camp and the next week Carson and Jamie will both have camps at the Y, so that will help pass the time.

This afternoon we baked brownies and took one over to Aunt Linda along with some flowers and a card for her birthday. The kids love looking at her cats and fish and checking out the orange trees and lemon trees she has. She had spent the day at the beach, and it was perfect weather for a birthday at the beach today!

I am going to go clean up the kitchen now and try not to stay up so late watching the Olympics tonight!

August 14, 2008

This morning I dropped Caleb and Jamie off at Grammy & Grampy's house and spent the day hanging out with Carson. We went to the playground, which I think I enjoyed as much as Carson because there was no one there and they have really high-off-the-ground swings, so I got to swing like a kid. Well, there was one other lady there with a child that I think was her grand child, but I was also playing pirate ship battle with Carson and flinging myself down the slide as a "mommy cannon ball", so I guess my swinging was the least of her concerns regarding my behavior at the park.

After we'd had enough fun there, we went to Beef O'Brady's for lunch. Carson likes that place because they have a small arcade. So he got to play a few games while we waited for our food. After that, we headed over to Kroger and then back home for a little while before picking up the little kids.

I skipped WW tonight because my friend Christy was having a Silpada jewelry party. So, I went to that instead. It's probably for the best, since I haven't done so well this week. I think I am about the same as last week.

August 13, 2008

Jamie and I had a girls' morning out this morning while Caleb and Carson had fun over at Grammy & Grampy's house. We started out the morning by going to get a haircut for Jamie. We went to one of those kid-themed places, and she wanted to sit in the Barbie jeep, but she ended up having to stand the whole time her hair was cut. I guess because her hair was so long. At least she got to watch Dora Dance to the Rescue during the haircut. The lady cut it a little shorter than I expected, and shorter than Jamie expected too. She told me after we left that she missed her old hair. She couldn't flip her head down and then back up and have it cover her face anymore. She demonstrated, and, sure enough, it doesn't work anymore. I told her it will grow fast. In the mean time, it really is cute. Maybe she just needs some time to get used to it.

After that, we went and picked up her recital DVD from the dance studio, and she wanted to eat lunch at the "Bubble Gum restaurant", which is actually a Mexican restaurant nearby that has a bubble gum machine in the waiting area. So we enjoyed our lunch and then she got a gumball before picking up Caleb. Carson is spending the night with G&G.

Caleb took a long nap when we got home, and the kids from across the street came over and played with Jamie until dinner time.

It was a very rainy day all day today. No storms, just nice steady rain all day. It made for a peaceful afternoon, even with four kids in the house. I loved it! Plus, it was nice and cool. It is only 80 degrees right now. It is nice to have a little taste of fall in August.

August 12, 2008

This morning, Carson's friend came over for a while and then we went to Publix and Carson stayed over at his friend's house. It was much easier to go do my grocery shopping with only two kids to manage. We had one of those car carts with the two steering wheels. I wish they would put a big divider wall in those things so the kids wouldn't scream every time the other one put a finger over on their side of the car. I guess the divider might make it harder to see where I was going, but I'm willing to take that chance.

After that, we stayed at home. The weather has been incredibly cool lately. Today it was in the low 80s and cloudy. The kids played outside a bunch. Then this afternoon we mostly stayed in because it started to rain. It is still raining and I think it's going to rain tomorrow, too. I like it. It is nice and cool and the sound of the rain is very relaxing.

Poor Vic came home from work at 2:00 today because he isn't feeling well. He has had a sore throat for about four days now. I called and got him an appointment to see the doctor at 3:45 because I was afraid it might be strep again. She said she thinks it is viral, and gave him a decongestant and some lidocaine for his throat. Poor guy. I hope he feels better fast.

August 11, 2008

We had a fairly quiet day at home today. The kids played outside in the water quite a lot. They also played inside quite a lot and managed to make plenty of messes. I did some laundry and mostly tried to clean up after the kids, keep the kids busy, and referee arguments all day. I am reaaallly ready for school to start back. Three more weeks!

This afternoon we went to Walmart, where Carson spent a dollar of his own money to buy some Lifesaver gummies. Then, he made the mistake of letting Caleb hold them in the van on the way home. Caleb opened them up and ate every one of them on the way home. He was sitting in his carseat on the back row all by himself, so none of us knew what he was up to. He handed me the wrapper as I was unbuckling him. He seemed very proud of himself. :)

August 10, 2008

Twelve years! I can't believe how young we look in those pictures!

We had a great day celebrating. We started off with a family trip out for a buffet breakfast. We then went home for a little while, and Vic surprised me with some beautiful flowers. Next, we headed off to the "Family Fun Park". This is a place with an arcade, go kart tracks, mini golf, and a playground out in Pooler. We had never been there before. It was fun. It wasn't as fun as the Fun Depot we went to in Asheville, but it was still pretty cool. The kids played games, played on the playground when we first got there before it was too hot, and Carson and Vic rode Go Karts. I have put up pictures and videos in our web album. Poor Caleb wanted to ride the Go Karts so bad, but the rule is 3 years and over only. We'll take him back after his next birthday. He'll love it. He never saw the mini golf course, or we would have been playing for sure. He was really too tired for anything, though, and fell asleep as soon as we pulled out of the parking lot.

Later on, the kids went and ate some pizza and played over at Grammy & Grampy's house while we went out for dinner. We went to the Bonefish Grill, and it was so yummy! I got the Filet topped with Shrimp Scampi -- soooooo good! So, yeah, I blew my WW today, but there' s always tomorrow. Maybe I'll try one of those Bob Greene workouts tomorrow. He'll get me back on the straight and narrow!

August 9, 2008

Today has been another nice day outside.  It is great for the kids to be able to get outside and play in August!  They played with the kids from across the street again all day today.  They had lots of water fights, played games, the boys rid the street of aliens and monsters and the girls played with blocks.  Right now Vic is outside with the kids.  They have washed the cars and worked in the yard.  Well, it's not really work to the kids; they like it!  I am hoping they will go to sleep a little earlier tonight.  They should all be tired for sure. 

I made a trip to Walmart this afternoon all by myself.  That was fun.  I came home and worked on reorganizing the kids closets a little, but I still have much more work to do there.  I also got almost all the laundry done - yay! 

I have put some pictures from today in our web album. The pictures of Caleb in the sunglasses are from yesterday.

August 8, 2008

We stayed at home today and took advantage of the more pleasant temperature we had outside. I think it was only about 88 an there was some cloud cover, too, so very nice for August. The kids played with the kids who live across the street pretty much all day. That meant I had 5 kids at the house for some of the day, but it was kind of nice because they entertained each other pretty well.

We had another nice afternoon thundershower today, which I liked but Caleb and Jamie were less than thrilled with. I went ahead and served dinner a little early to get their minds off of it, and because I was hoping they would go to bed early. I figured they would be tired from playing all day. It didn't quite work out that way, though. Caleb just fell asleep at 9:15, and I think Jamie might still be awake in her bed. I am going to try to get myself in bed early tonight, too. The kids might not have been worn out, but I am!

August 7, 2008

Caleb and Jamie had their turn to spend some time over at Grammy & Grampy's today, and Carson and I got to spend the day together. I had planned for us to see Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3d, but he wasn't going for that, so we made other plans.

We ended up going by Target so I could make a couple of returns. After I made the returns, I bought him a slushy so I could do some shopping while he drank it. We got a lot of shopping done and ate lunch at Target before heading to the arcade at the Flying Frogs. He ended up with 160 tickets, which he traded for four sour stick candies and one push pop. He was pretty excited over his prizes. We went to Publix after that, where we got caught in a thunderstorm trying to load and unload the groceries. We waited at home for the rain to let up and then picked up Jamie and Caleb.

Later I went to WW and got caught in another storm and got soaked walking into the meeting. That's not good; water adds weight! Still, I was down 1.4 lbs and I'm very happy with that!

August 6, 2008

We all went to the pool this morning with Grammy. It was 100 degrees today, so the pool was a great place to go! We all had a great time, but I ended up staying too long with Jamie and Caleb and Jamie got too tired and had a lovely screaming fit as we were leaving. In fact, she kept screaming all the way home and for about 15 minutes after that. Four year olds are so much fun. At least Caleb was agreeable and even took a nice long nap this afternoon.

Carson went home from the pool with Grammy to spend the night over there tonight, so I am sure he had a fun day. Other than Jamie's screaming, our afternoon was very quiet with just two kids around. The cleaning lady came today while we were at the pool, so the house was nice and clean, which added to the peaceful afternoon. She also folded a bunch of my laundry for me! I <3 my cleaning lady.

We never got around to watching Rambo last night, so that's where I'm headed now. Can't wait!

August 5, 2008

We went to Walmart this morning because Caleb needed a new set of plastic golf clubs and because we needed something to do, so I told Jamie and Carson they could each have $5 to spend too. They were pretty excited about this idea. Carson chipped in $3 of his own money and got a pretty cool Nerf dart gun for himself. Jamie chose a ballerina Barbie doll, and Caleb ended up getting two golf sets because they were discounted to $4 and I figured I could put one away for later since these things somehow disappear fairly quickly. I don't know where all the clubs are going. He must have a stash somewhere, or maybe they are under beds or under the couch in the playroom.

So, this completely made the kids' day. Carson had fun shooting the dart gun all over the house and astonishingly didn't get it taken away all day. Jamie played with all her Barbies, and Caleb was completely thrilled with his new golf set. Of course, he talked me into opening the second one, too. Then he combined all the clubs into one bag and didn't depart from it all day. It's beside him in bed right now.

Later in the afternoon the kids from across the street came over and stayed to eat pizza with us for dinner.

Now, I am going to go downstairs to watch a movie with Vic. I chose last time and he had to sit through Dan in Real Life(which I liked, but he found to be a little lacking in excitement), so this time he's choosing and we're watching Rambo 2008. Can't wait! I will probably fold some laundry while we watch so I can hide behind a towel if it gets too gory.

August 4, 2008

Our outing for the day was a trip to the library, where the kids picked out lots of books and a few videos too. It has been too hot lately to be outside much, so I figured this will give us something to do inside that won't make a mess or tear up anything.

Outside of that, we stayed at home and had a pretty quiet day today. We had taco night for dinner and then the kids stayed up a little late to watch the Scooby Doo video they had checked out. That probably wasn't the best thing to watch right before bed, and now Carson is asleep in our bed.

I got a shipment today of uniforms for the kids, but I'm going to have to return almost all of them because they have way too much polyester in them. Yuck. It is too hot to even think about sending the kids to school in anything polyester. I am having the hardest time finding soft cotton uniforms this year. I placed an order tonight from Gymboree and Lands End and Children's Place. We'll see how that goes. Only four more weeks!!

August 3, 2008

We skipped church this morning and just went to Sunday school. After that, we pretty much hung out around the house all day. The kids and Vic washed the cars and also had a squirt gun battle. I did some laundry and some picking up around the house.

When we were making dinner tonight, Jamie was awfully quiet upstairs. Knowing that quiet play often comes at a price, I headed up to check on her and found her with a pair of scissors playing hair salon with her barbies and ponies. She actually did a pretty good job, but she has promised never to do it again. Doll hair makes a surprisingly huge mess. I still have some to clean up. I'm glad she only took one snip at her own hair at least! I have a picture of some of her handiwork above. Tiny didn't get a haircut. She just wanted him in the picture.

Some pictures from the last few weeks

Here are some pictures from the past couple of weeks:

The most bizarre "craft" ever brought home by any of our kids so far. This is what Carson dug out of a furball coughed up by an owl at the camp he went to a few weeks ago. Yes, those are rodent bones, and, no, this one didn't go on the fridge:



Caleb asleep inside a pillow case:


Playing dress up with Jamie:



Jamie giving one of her Webkinz, Pretty Sparkles, a bath. Notice our downstairs bath is now in the process of being re-decorated due to Caleb's wallpaper removal service.


Jamie's interpretation of "Grampy mowing the lawn". Grampy is located in the bottom left corner, with a triangle-shaped head and spiky hair:


snuggling on the couch:

August 2, 2008

I got up this morning and did my Wii Fit workout and headed out with my early riser, Caleb, to Publix. He scored a balloon and a cookie and was quite pleased. When we got home, Vic had to go show property and was gone most of the day.

While he was gone, Jamie informed me that it was her doll Zaphy's brithday and we should celebrate with cookies. I don't pass up opportunities to bake cookies(thus the Weight Watchers), so I agreed, and Jamie, Caleb and I baked cookies while Carson played with a friend. They were yummy, but I think we all ate too many, since Carson and Jamie were both saying their stomachs were hurting at bedtime. Whoops. I am glad I still have 4 days before my weigh in day to work off these calories!

Vic and Brent fixed our desktop tonight - yay! We ended up needing a new Ethernet card. It is so nice to have it working again. :)

August 1, 2008

I have to make this quick because Vic has another BPO to do tonight and needs the laptop.

This morning we went bowling with Grammy and Aunt Linda. The kids all had fun, especially Carson. I did pretty well, too, considering how long it has been since I've been bowling. I think the Wii bowling helps! We didn't even make it through a whole game before Caleb and Jamie lost interest and Carson got hungry, so we headed out. We stopped by the ice slushy store and then headed home for the rest of the afternoon.

Tonight Caleb and Jamie were both so worn out from bowling that they were asleep by 7:15, so Vic and I had time to play some Wii with Carson before he went to bed. Vic is still trying to take the number one spot in ski jumping, but so far I'm holding on to my title! :)