I Know I'm Not The Only One

Kid has worked really hard to catch up with her classmates this year. She is very proud of herself and her accomplishments. This is the time of learning magic for her... where one day she can't read something and the next she can. I know that it is important that we keep her going over the summer so she doesn't lose the confidence she has just gained.

I've been working on some simple math and reading lessons that are on track with what she was doing in school. I was up until 1AM last night trying to find fun, appropriate, and free computer learning games online. I was really impressed with this Starfall program. She loved it. She doesn't have a lot of computer experience (they don't use them at school yet) so this was a great reward for her after our lesson was over... and it was a great way to reinforce the letter sounds we had just gone over.

If you're keeping the learning going over summer I'd love to know what you are up to.

Dear Mr F,

This is a reminder that my birthday is in TWO days.

You may want to take some time to talk with the kids about what they have planned.

They will probably need some adult supervision as I believe some of their plans involve the oven.

Do not let me them down.

Yay or Nay?

You may recall that I returned last summer having factually busted out of my bathingsuit. And truthfully I got that suit at my absolute thinnest and it's a bit tight even without the clasp on the back.

This year I'm going for a top without a clasp just in case! Also a little more bum coverage.

The girls aren't loving this suit... but I don't know why.
Probably because it's blue.



Does it look better now?!!

Yeah the girls didn't think so either.

WANTED

Somewhere in our house there is a black hole where all the pacies go.

You might remember that for Baby's 1st Christmas she received a stocking filled with pacies. It was possibly the greatest moment of her life (only time will tell).

But where the Hell does she put them?!!

How can we go from having 8 pacies to never being able to find one WHEN WE NEED IT?

Every couple of days Mr F and I have to toss the joint in an anxious frenzy right before bedtime. We leave no stone unturned. Seriously. We might find a secret cache inside one of my stock pots... with the lid on... in the back of the cabinet. Heck.... I've even checked the toilet bowls.

Well last night we couldn't find A SINGLE ONE.

Not one!

We looked in every toy bin, under the sofas and under the cushions. We went through the car and all the little purses and baskets. We combed the grass, people.... the grass!

NADA.

And I don't care what you think about pacifiers. When you are waiting in line at the DMV over your lunch break and a woman comes in with her kids... one of them a toddler who has recently discovered how great it is to AMPLIFY their voice... you will change your mind. You will be wishing and praying that that woman has a purse full of pacies.

And so will she.

Not that I know anything about that or anything.

Regrets

So the thing is ...

I desperately want more children.

When I asked Mr F if he wanted another kid he said "I'd rather die". And I kind of think he meant it.

Some of you probably know that we can't have more children. Well I can have more children... Mr F ?... not so much.

That was an intentional decision made with forethought and deep consideration.

Because we knew the time would come that I would forget how bad it was.

"Did you ever donate sperm to a sperm bank?" I ask one night.

"No." Mr F says somewhat incredulously.

"Well... way to think ahead." I remark then add...

"I guess it's time for me to get a 2nd husband."

UPDATE:
I've almost convinced Mr F to adopt these three kids. Seriously. He's actually been talking about how we could finish our porch to make more bedrooms.

I Know... I Cringe At Myself Every Time I Do This

But PLEASE somebody talk to me about those Gosselins!

I said I was going to boycott them... but... then their season premiere came out and I NEEDED TO KNOW what they would say.

That episode did not disappoint.

And YES I felt kind of dirty watching it knowing that I was feeding right into all the publicity for ratings and whatnot. But since it was the highest rated show EVER I know you were watching too.

This Week The Plan

First things first... SLUG REPORT... things are getting better on this front. Several nights of slug harvesting really reduced the damage. Then I spent an afternoon collecting slug eggs (HUNDREDS) and removing them. Then I put out watermelon rinds to draw the slugs and pill bugs away from the plants and then applied the Iron Phosphate Slug killer (totally safe for everything but slugs). It also helped immeasurably that it stopped raining and we had two hot, dry, days to dry out those beds. My flowers are blooming again and only one plant seems to have been damaged beyond recovery.

Second... this is the first day of Kid's summer vacation. Wow that came quickly! I'm feeling both relieved, excited... and a bit overwhelmed. While in many ways we don't have to do anything I also feel like I should be taking advantage of all our extra time and should really be getting ahead of the game. Remember I have a newborn coming on August 24th (no not my own)!

On other fronts our fence is GREAT and has really made a difference in our outside time and enjoyment. It's also provided a good border to the neighborhood that has allowed us to utilize space that previously felt too close to the road. I moved our outdoor table set up to the front under the big maples... it makes me feel a little fancy. It would be even fancier if we couldn't see our garbage can... but I guess you can't have it all. Pictures to come.

THIS JUST IN: MY NEMESIS HAS INFILTRATED THE FENCE!!

Menu:

Sunday - bbq chicken pizza w/ herb salad

Monday - Pesto Pasta w/ Grilled chicken & zucchini

Tuesday - Honey & Orange glazed salmon, dill noodles, green beans

Wednesday - Tuna Pasta Salad

Thursday - Shrimp & Snap Peas w/ rice

Friday - Pizza & Salad

Saturday - out to dinner w/ friends

Sunday - my birthday and I'll be damned if I'm making dinner


Diet & Exercise:
Adding the pilates back in was key. I'm already seeing significant muscle definition. So I'm doing around a 30 min intense cardio workout most days followed by 15-30 minutes of pilates routines on my apparatus. Even when I'm really rushed I can do a shorter arms set, leg set & abs in about 10 minutes... I don't know why I waited 10 months to set it back up.
I'm also still food journaling. I have not been sticking exactly in my range and I'm not losing. I just kind of feel like it is more important for my energy and commitment to go toward the workouts right now and I really feel like I'm not in the mental place to be really hardcore committed on both fronts right now.


MORE TO COME.

When Pictures Lie

This certainly looks like a snap shot of some iconic childhood...


But that's because you can't hear the whining.

Because you can't see Kid's permanent scowl while *enjoying* the sprinkler which she demanded I set up.

These pictures were taken before they started fighting over the blue flowered beach towel.

Moments after this I could be heard yelling...

"Enough!!! You have two playhouses, a balance beam, bikes, a slide, a sprinkler, a sister... more than almost every other child in THE WORLD and you won't play with any of it!!!"

Which I guess does make it pretty iconic after all.



This is after this morning's conversation that went like this...

"I don't like when you correct me." Kid informed me.

"Yeah... well I don't like when you are rude." I rebutted.