Saving some for later

Nora smelled funny this morning. Since she is at the age where she takes two baths a day (mandatory after meal washes) I figured she had spit up or something. I carefully washed her face and cleaned her ears. Yikes. I think I found a whole meal in the folds of her upper ear. She is constantly putting food in her ears. I don't know why I didn't check that earlier. Note to self; pay more attention to ears during multiple baths.

The kids have been putting in the extra effort to help out around the house. I really appreciate it. But, sometimes I question their technique. When I caught them the other day, putting dishes away. I wondered why not use a chair?

This was their explanation;

1. it's faster
2. it's easier
3. it's more fun
4. mom, you should like it we are working together like teamwork :)

'nuff said, I guess

Happy customers, bad camera :(

My new camera has a dead battery from our weekend of photo shooting so I had to dig out the old one for these shots. But, you can see the smiles:)

More happy customers. On the request list for the Spudfest, lots of big flower clips and school color bows!

Staycation and a ballgame

Building sandcastles.

Cheese.

I have no idea why everyone is screaming in this shot.

Addi throws the sand while Nora eats it.

mmmmm...campfire food is the best, garden goodies in a foil packet

Cheese.

The real reason they are smiling is because dad just told them they are swimming in cow poop.

We spent a couple of days and nights at Lake Vermillion which is just a hop skip and and a jump from our house. It was a nice tiny getaway. Good times:) The baby girls and I whimped out on night #2 and came home for our own familiar beds.
My favorite shot of the day.

Daddy.

Big brother love.

Big sister love.

What are you looking at?

Watching the warm up.
The Muckdogs lost their first game in the district tourney last night. Regardless of the game, it was a perfect night. Not too hot, no sun in our eyes. We are scheduled to play the late game on Tuesday night.

Freebie Alert

Free download from Amazon.com, Sixpence None The Richer...Breathe Your Name.

Satisfied customers

Bands and Bows trunk sale, until the Spudfest

$1 clips

$4 headbands, corkers, and big barrettes

$3.50 items

Assorted fancy clips for $2

Headbands for $1.50

Clips are $1 a piece.

My sister dropped off her entire inventory of clips and barrettes, and threw a couple of head bands in there, too. Every thing is less than $5. I will show you anything you want, just stop by or give me a jingle and we can meet up. I have the boxes in the burb' so, if you see me out and about and you feel like shopping, you can! These pretties are priced to move, first come first serve.

Remember, if your favorite color isn't here she can also create anything you want. Custom orders can be here by the Spudfest, Saturday August 22nd.

an evening conversation

Maleah: My throat hurts, it's really dry.

Gavin: Well, swallow your spit then.

Maleah: Gross, that's disgusting!

Gavin: Well, that's what I do. (insert shoulder shrug here)

Wordless Wednesday

Turning tables

I spoke briefly on the phone with a friend this morning. I am sure you all know me well enough by now to know that I am rarely at a loss for words. Yet, I feel like I just couldn't find anything worth saying to her. I had that feeling way down deep in the pit of me. The only word I can use to describe it is guilt.

You see, my friend is battling the bully. Yep, it's the C word again. It seems to almost be a household name around here. Even my daughter said, "Mom, it's a sad summer, everyone has cancer."

Everytime someone new gets into the club (this is one I hope you never join), I feel guilt. Why am I still here and others gone? Why is it so hard for some and relatively painless for others? Why, when I am assumably an expert on this issue, do I have nothing to say?

It hard being on the other side. It isn't fun. I don't like it. I wish I could be more helpful. I need to pray about this.

Staples Teacher Appreciation Day 2009

Receive a FREE gift bag (for the first 100 teachers, while supplies last)
Take advantage of Staples Teacher Rewards® Bonus SeasonEvery $1 you spend in product purchases will count as $2 toward earning rewards
Check out the hottest new items for your classroom
Find out how you can save on the Copy & Print services that benefit you in the classroom
Date: 8/8/09 from 9 am to 12pm
Store location: 515 West 41st Street Sioux Falls, SD, 57105

50 prints for 50 cents!

Here is a copy of my receipt from Snapfish. Until tomorrow, they have a deal for 50 prints for 50 cents. Enter the word PENNY at checkout for this deal. HURRY this deal ends July 13th.

50
4x5.3 trueDigital print(s)
4.50
cost of prints:
4.50
PENNY:
-4.00
subtotal:
0.50
standard S&H:
3.44
SD sales tax:
0.24
total:
$ 4.18

It's Spudtastic!

WANTED

Parade Entrants

for the 3rd annual SPUD FEST in Montrose

SATURDAY, AUGUST 22nd

comment on this post

by August 15th to register!

*We would love for you to write a sentence or two about your entry (who is riding, what is your business, perhaps a little history) when you register. That way, the MC can talk about you a bit when you are on Main St.

Thanks for making 2009 the BEST parade, yet!

Farmers Market

These were growing in the community garden last night. This morning they were in bags on Main Street. By noon, they were sizzling in a pan ready for my tummy! God is so great!

A fat mom's guide to eating better and getting moving again, yes, even after all those years.

Let’s face it, no one likes being overweight. Not even a little bit. I have gained 50 plus pounds over the course of 7 years. There are a lot of different factors that weigh in (excuse the pun) to a person’s overall health. Metabolism, illness, baby weight, and even depression are just a few issues that I myself have dealt with. Now, after my fourth child I feel fat and tired and I am just plain sick of myself. I don’t want to diet, I don’t want to join a gym, I can’t afford to hire a trainer. I just want to feel better about myself and model good health behaviors for my children. For the last few months I have made a concentrated effort to get moving. Consequently, I have started and stopped and started again. My determination is short-lived and is fueled by my emotions which can be completely out of control at times. Yet, in this short time I have learned some things that I think will help me make this a life change and not just a short lived attempt at trying to lose weight.

1. My body likes exercise. It’s the hard, cold, truth people. My heart was built for beating and my lungs were built for breathing. God gave me this body and it is my responsibility (I Cor. 6:7) to take better care of it. I can complain and procrastinate all I want, but the moment I get moving I feel better, almost instantly. I have had issues, my ankle doesn’t like jogging and my butt doesn’t like biking. I choose to do some resting and change up my routine. In other words I don’t do the same thing over and over. It gives my brain a work out, too. It takes patience and a bit of extra will power, but that feeling of whatever it is that runs through my whole body after I start moving for a bit is so worth the effort. I can’t really explain it and I feel pretty dern stupid for avoiding this ‘high’ for such a long, long, time. Speaking of time…
2. I can make the time. For years, I have used excuse after excuse not to get up and move. It really isn’t the easiest time for me to start now, either. I haven’t slept through the night since May of 2005. I am tired. I am busy cleaning up five other people’s messes and barely have time to shower. Mornings are crazy, afternoons are horrendous and evenings are worse yet. In May, when I started walking, I would think about it for days. I'd look at the calendar, ask my husband to be home at a certain time so I could go…now I just do it. I snatch up a free 30-60 minutes and take off. That is how it works for me. My family has a schedule that is just too crazy to try and plan a time. If I do plan it, then I think about it and my head starts playing tricks on me and I feel like I should clean the kitchen instead of exercise. I don’t know how other people do it, but I live in the moment. Carpe deim . Today, my hubby was dozing and the kids were all hungry for lunch and I said, I am going for a bike ride, be back in an hour. That was that. I got home and they were all still alive, AND I got to move today. Sometimes I meet my husband at the door and say, I need an hour, I am going for a walk.
3. I need time to myself. I completely understand the group exercise thing. I am sure it is fun to visit and have someone to be accountable to. I think I may actually enjoy working out with others. But, I gotta be honest. I love being alone. It is just me and God. I am loving the sound of the wind over my ipod music and seeing the green grass and the beautiful trees. I wonder if I will be able to enjoy myself this much when the snow comes? I hope I can. I don’t get much alone time these days. My brain goes positively nuts. I think about how great it is to be alive, how amazing my Creator is. I ponder my relationships with people and my children’s future. I plan about a gazillion things to blog about only to forget them all when I step onto my driveway. I am blessed with living here my whole life. I enjoy revisiting places I knew well while I was growing up, the mile between my husband's childhood home and mine, the field where we gathered as high schoolers to listen to local bands and hang out, the secluded spots where my husband and I 'talked' for hours.
4. Small steps take longer, but will help me change my life for the better. I am just a mom. I cannot do everything by myself. Sometimes I just need a chocolate covered rice krispy bar to make everything better. I allow myself that. I feel like if I make a conscious effort to make better choices, I can afford to still reward myself. Only now, instead of a whole row I savor one small piece of a treat to satisfy my cravings. It works most of the time. Do I get sidetracked and bake for a week? Sometimes. Emotions rule my eating. If I can just learn to get moving instead of stuffing my face when I feel down, I may be able to maintain a healthy weight and feel good, too. Sometimes when I am sore from moving, my brain makes excuses and doesn’t want to do anything for a week. Those are the time when guilt sets in and I eat a whole bag of m&m’s. I need to work on that. I am trying to remember to do some sit ups and leg lifts before I fall asleep. I haven’t been as successful at that goal, unfortunately. Small steps, right?
5. It’s not just about the numbers. If I were keeping score I would be losing, badly. So I don’t keep score. I don’t count the number of times I exercise. I don’t keep track of how far I ran or rode. I don't count how many calories I just burned only to replace them with a piece of chocolate. I just do it. When I feel like everything is just about as perfect as it could be I turn around and head home. Sometimes I make it a long way, sometimes I make it around the block. But every time, I move. I haven’t lost a pound. My clothes don’t fit any better. It may take a long time for me to see any real results. But I am trying. I am making an effort to improve my health, and you know what? I like it.

One season down, two to go...

The Gavinator had his end of season t-ball party last night. It was the perfect night. One parent always plays the last night so I had to hit the ball left handed and run backwards...little did they know that I probably did better than using my right hand since I am such an athlete. Gavin hit the ball well into right field. I hit the ball three feet into the infield. It was fun, nonetheless. One more week of Maleah's softball and then districts with daddy. Isn't summer fun?

Monkeys who eat spinach go to bed early.

It's exactly 6:45 p.m. on a Tuesday night. My oldest is playing a ball game in Emery. My boy is asleep on the couch waiting for t-ball to start. My blue eyed monkey is asleep in her bed and the youngest is playing at my feet.

Today Addison climbed;

the couch and

the clothes line pole (I could barely take this photo I was so shocked).

She picked spinach and ate some for lunch (well, mostly ranch with a little spinach) while mommy washed and froze the rest.

This morning she unknowingly gave Lou Lou her first taste of bomb pop.
In other words, it was an awesome day to be a 21 month old.

Heritage

more weekend photos