Today marks the first full week of my summer "vacation"...our last day of school was Thursday.  Okay, it was really a giant play date at the park and I wouldn't consider it "work" but it was the last day I will see most of those students.  That being said, we already have teacher meetings scheduled for June 8th and June 15th!  Plus, I know there is a board meeting coming up sooner or later AND I have to set up a meeting with a few parents to talk about changes we are thinking of making for next year.  We are hoping to find time to go in and organize some closets, cupboards and such that have gotten a little out of sorts, too...so, I'm not really "off" for the summer, but I won't have to teach or plan and it's not even once a week.  So, it more than counts and is just fine with me.  I was miserable and pregnant with the twins last summer at this time. I'm looking forward to being more prepared and starting this NEXT school year off right.  There was nothing wrong with this school year, but I think things will run a little smoother with those kids that need consistency if I'm there from the beginning.  Okay, enough about work.

Anyway ~ what I'm looking forward to even more than a little time off is some time to get things in shape around here.  I have a list of to-do items that includes some painting and purging - I don't think we are talking yard sale, yet.  I'm thinking we may just give our stuff away that is in good shape and throw away the rest but I'm not sure.  Are yard sales worth it?

(Hey, Mike, you feel like heading back over our direction and finishing the entryway? Yep...still needs painted!  While you are here you can give us a hand painting the kitchen, too!  Don't pretend you didn't see this - Jerry told me you read my blog!  hehehe)

We also have fallen into a routine the past week or so that involves the kids being asleep by 8 and getting up by 7.  I will say it isn't horrible.  In fact, I'm kind of liking it.  It's not going to last once we start spending nights over at our family or friend's houses - once we want to stay out past bedtime - but hopefully that won't happen enough to completely break us out of the routine.

The boys are getting a little bit older and that's making things a lot easier, too.  They seem happy most of the time and if they aren't I can throw a fist full of Cherrios or Lil' Crunchies in front of them and they will quiet down.  BTW ~ if you have babies who eat Lil' Crunchies...the Cinnamon and Maple Syrup ones are AWESOME.  I think it's just because a happy/chubby baby who smells like Maple Syrup has to be one of the best things in the world.

I guess I'm just hoping that summer will be easy.  I'm hoping that it won't be too hectic.  I'm hoping that I will learn more about how on earth I'm suppose to do this wife/mother of 4 thing.  I'm hoping that we will get a little more comfortable going places as a family.  I'm hoping that the kids will grow up enough to make it easier but not so much that they lose any of their wonder or excitement.

I'm looking forward to the lazy days of summer and the days where I fall into bed exhausted because of all the fun that was had or all the work that was done.  I guess I'm just looking forward to being able to do things without having to put on snowsuits and boots or worrying about something I have to have done for the next day.  I know it's going to go fast - but I'm planning on enjoying every second!

Things have been going really well. Much better than usual, in fact. I have some ideas as to why ~ which I will share in a minute ~ but it makes me a little nervous because, well...I'm a pessimist at heart.  I try - believe me I try - to not think that way, but if things start going really smooth or really well I tend to brace myself for some bump in the road, minor (or sometimes major) catastrophe...in other words, I wait for complications or issues or anything that will take this nice and easy pace I'm going at and throw it into a tailspin.  Yep ~ I'm a pessimist.

That all being said - here's what has been working for me the past week or so.

First of all, I've been doing FlyLady a lot more frequently...in fact ~ I would say I'm using routines and schedules everyday.  With routines and schedules come a little bit of peace ~ I know what should be happening when and I'm prepared for what is coming up next.  A big PLUS is that my house is actually kind of ... clean!  I knew having a clean house (with as little clutter visible as possible with 4 kids under 5) made Jerry a lot happier...a lot less stressed.  I didn't realize, though, that I would feel a lot less stress, too!  That I would actually feel more at peace and that having less mess and clutter just made me want to keep cleaning!  Funny how that goes, eh?

One problem with that is. . . well, it's left me a lot less time to do things I really enjoy that aren't necessarily things that are productive.  Like...ahem...blog, read blogs, get on facebook, sign on to TweetDeck - heck, I've had my laptop OFF for the last 2 days...and it's been pretty nice.  I missed it though ~ so, I'm going to have to find a way to squeeze it into my schedule without messing up my schedule.  I'm seriously contemplating waking up an hour early (which would be about 6 am) so that I can have an hour online before my day "starts"...

I also bought a new dry erase calendar ~ totally inspired by my friend Christina.


And a new set of shelves for the basement ~ it took the place of 2 VERY cluttered and overflowing cabinets...which in turn was able to free up space to organize more things!



My husband is a real trooper because all this energy and cleaning and organizing has cause projects galore for him!  Sunday involved him tackling this baby:




While I worked on my Control Journal!  I had the same routines written down that I had before the twins were born and obviously some things have changed.

So ~ there you have it.  I feel like some kind of switch has been flipped...or I finally woke up or something.  I feel like I've finally realized that this is what I should be doing.  I look at my mother and my mother-in-law and wonder if this happened to them, too.  I admire both of them so much because they get things done.  They don't complain and they don't take a break (at least not a long one) from doing things.  I'm wondering if they hit a point like I'm at right now where they realized that things go smoother and work out better if you just keep at it...just keep moving.  Don't wait or put it off...it's just easier if you take the 10 or 15 minutes to do it right now.

I guess I may still be a pessimist, but it looks like my procrastinating ways are OVER!  :)  There may be hope for me to turn to optimism after all!  I mean - look at these kiddos...they look optimistic, don't they?







 

I woke up at 7:15 this morning with a blog post forming in my head.  I was going to tell you, in some witty way, about all the emotions that I experienced yesterday – it was a roller coaster kind of day.  Since it is now two hours later, dear internet, and you have sucked up my entire morning, I will have to just do the quick rendition of the whole thing.

I had a lump in my throat for about an hour and a half yesterday – I guess it wasn’t an hour and a half solid, but it was on and off for that long.  You see…yesterday was Nate’s last “regular” day of 3-year-old preschool.  This had me choked up for a few reasons…but it all comes back to the fact that my kids are getting bigger – they are growing up.  I was Nate’s teacher this year – although if you ask him he will probably name every other person who had anything to do with preschool this year…the wonderful women that are aids in the classroom (He LOVES his Mrs. Henry and Mrs. Schwartz!) or the subs that have been in the room at various times (He always talks about Mrs. Merrick and the things she would like when we see them – for example, when we were reading a book from the library the other day he said, “Mommy, I bet Mrs. Merrick would like to see this book.”)  But technically, I was Nate’s teacher this year and yesterday was the last day before our program/graduation next week. 

While we were practicing for the program yesterday, Nate caught my eye and I was his Mommy for a moment, not his teacher.  I sat watching my 4-year-old son sing his little heart out…it kind of sucked…I had to swallow pretty hard in order to not have to explain to 14 darling 3 and 4-year-olds why their teacher was crying.  I did it…but it happened 3 more times that day before we got home and the chaos that is my house prevented me from thinking about it again ~ until now.

Next year, Nate will be with his Mrs. Merrick in the 5-day class.  Danika will be in the other 3-year-old class ~ because I think she will do much better without me to cling to all the time.  Who knows what I’ll do with the twins when their time comes…but I know that this could very well be the only time I had one of my kiddos in my class.  It’s an interesting experience to see them in that setting.  I’m glad I had the chance to do it.  Next year, though, I get to go through the experience from the other side.  The expereince of “giving” my children to other people for a few hours a week…letting other people take care of them…letting other people be important parts of their lives. 

I get it now and I’m sure I’ll get it even more next year.  I get why the beginning of the year is so tough for parents…why they want to walk their kiddos in and peek at them through the windows.  Why they ask so many questions that border on personal but are really just questions that help them understand, know and trust the person who will be responsible for their baby for however long they are in our care.  I know the women who will be with my children (and they are all wonderful) and for most or part of the time my children are there I will be in the building – it still makes my chest a little tight and my throat close up…my eyes water because I won’t be right next to them if they need me.

Please, don’t think I’m not going to be able to handle this.  I’ll totally be fine.  In fact, once it starts I’ll probably enjoy a little bit of a routine and a little break from 4 kids every morning!  Plus, I’m not completely ruling out the possibility that PMS has something to do with this feeling right now.  It’s also probably in part due to the fact that I’ve been oddly aware of how wonderful my children are at the age they are right now.  My mother is good for the, “This is such a nice age” comment and I know what she means – although, I’m not looking forward to finding out about the no-so-nice ages that are in the future.

So ~ I have to just share some pictures with you and let you know about my wonderful friend, Erin!  Erin and I met through the book club I’m in that meets once a month.  We started talking through facebook and then started going to Mommy Group meetings together.  We are a lot alike – we both have quite a few kids and we are both super busy.  Erin LOVES to stamp – and she’s really really good at it, too!  I mentioned on her blog once that I liked the recipe boxes she had made.  So, she made me one for my birthday!  She gave it to me yesterday, so I just have to share some pictures!

Here’s a picture of the top of the box – she did a garden theme because she had read that Jerry and I like to garden!
 
This is the front of the box – isn’t it ADORABLE!?!
She made it big so that I could fit a full size sheet of paper in it!  Which is awesome because most of my recipes come from allrecipes.com or magazines!

Here’s the inside tabs –

And this is her “stamp” on the back!


Too cute, right?  I’m planning on filing and filling it up later today.  I’m so excited about it!  It’s beautiful and I can’t wait to find the perfect place to show it off in my kitchen!
Thanks again, Erin!

Let me start by saying the D-Listed Blog Party ROCKS!!!

I solemnly swear, with all my heart, that I will visit each blog that came and visited mine...eventually.  :)  All of you who commented that you don't know how I do it - eh, sometimes it takes me longer but I eventually get the job done!

I had a wonderful moment tonight.  A moment where I was able to just enjoy what I was doing - of course at first the 100 things I have to do (finish book club book, visit blogs, do dinner dishes, finish laundry, watch Glee, look at school stuff, fix my BlackBerry, etc.) were running through my head...then I started thinking about the 100 other things I wanted to do tomorrow (clean cobwebs out of corner of kitchen, write some emails, more laundry, finish bedrooms, wash sheets, what's for dinner?).   Then I just stopped.  I actually kinda, almost cried.  Finally, I closed my eyes and took it all in.

Here is my Baby Baby -


He is not a snuggler.  He is lovable and adorable but he just doesn't snuggle.  He's too busy to snuggle.  He's always on the move and when he's tired he just can't seem to get comfortable until you put him in his crib...except for tonight.  Tonight, he actually cried when I put him down!  So, I picked him back up and rocked him a little bit...and he snuggled with me.  My non-snuggler wanted to snuggle with me.  I had a hard time, at first, relaxing.  Then, I started thinking about how very soon he will be like this....


Too big to hold in my arms so easily...too big to rock to sleep.  My twins are the perfect size right now...they will be for a while.  I don't remember a whole lot about Nate and Danika at this age . . . I remember being tired.  I remember rushing it.  I remember thinking, "Oh, it will be so great when they can talk and tell me what they want or what is wrong."  I remember thinking, "Man, I can't wait until they can walk on their own and I don't have to carry them everywhere"  I remember thinking, "Gah!  I just wish they could play by themselves for an hour so I could get something done".

Not this time, though - this time around I'm trying to hold on to every last second I can...I'm trying to suck it in...I'm trying to make sure it's seared into my memory.  I don't want to forget what it's like to hold my baby close to me and snuggle him while he drifts off to sleep.  I want to remember what that feels like.

Which is why I took 30 full minutes out of my evening and did nothing but snuggle my non-snuggler.  I held him a little tighter than I usually would and willed myself to remember that exact feeling....that exact moment.

I'm going to really enjoy this summer.  This summer is the last summer I will have babies..,.next summer I will have toddlers...I plan on stopping and smelling a lot more "roses" than I have before - I don't want to miss a minute...it's already going too fast!

Starting today and ending on Friday there is a blog hop party over at D-Listed!  Apparently, it’s B.Y.O.B.

Since I may have a few new visitors for the party, I thought I’d take a moment and share a little info about myself.

I’ve been married for almost 6 years (Anniversary coming up in June) and in those 6 years I have had 4 children.  Yes…they are all under the age of 5.  I teach 3 year old preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I’m pretty much surrounded by little ones all the time.  You can read more about me here.  Read some more about my kiddos (and see some cute pictures of them) here. 

I love blogging, although it can be a challenge for me to find the time to  put into it.  I also love trying to be organized, although it doesn’t always work out the way I hope it will!

Some of my favorite blog posts are:

100 Things that Make Me Happy (for my 100th post)

This one with the video of The Gift of an Ordinary Day (I LOVE this short video…really you should go check it out!)

This one where I talk about finding out we were having twins

This one where I show you how to feed twins

and finally ~ doesn’t every mommy blogger need a good potty training post?  Here’s one with a video of my daughter – don’t worry, it isn’t gross or overly revealing, but if you want to chuckle you should check it out!

Other than blogging, there are a few other things I’ve been doing on-line lately!  I love using Twitter, even though I am not as consistent as I'd like to be!  I get really really excited when someone responds to one of my Tweets!  If you Tweet ~ feel free to say hi sometime…you will probably make me giggle or at the very least smile!

I’ve also been *trying* very hard to start doing my own FlyLady program.  We hit yet another snag last week with me getting a stomach flu ~ but starting yesterday I was back into the swing of things!

Lastly, I’ve been trying E-Mealz to help with my meal planning.  I talk about it in this blog post. 

I really hope this blog party leads me to meet lots of new and interesting people!  I’m looking forward to hopping around all of your blogs and visiting your little spots on the web!

Have a great week!

This morning I just feel like writing.  It's too bad that a complete thought doesn't stay in my head long enough for me to develop an idea about what to write a stellar blog post about - guess this morning you will just have to settle for some random stream of ... randomness?

Let's start with the haircut - and let me remind you I HATE pictures of me.  Here are 2 versions of my new haircut...a better picture of the straight version and the curly version (in which my husband informed me I look like I came straight out of the move The Wedding Singer with Adam Sandler).

This is the straight version

This is the curly version

 I am happy to report that I was able to sort of, kind of, mostly recreate the straight look that my hairstylist did after I showered yesterday!  So, that's all I got on my haircut - probably the last time I'll mention it (until I get it cut again!)

Onward - watched Flash Forward last night and it made me nervous.  Next week is April 29th...well, not really but on the show it is and we will find out if everyones' Flash Forwards come true or if the universe is changed forever.  It's kind of a drama - in case you don't watch.

After watching Flash Forward I...well...it was 10 o'clock and I...WENT TO BED!  Never happens.  NEVER!  The thing is that Dean decided he wanted to wake up at 5:30 am Thursday morning.  I can't complain too much because he had been sleeping since 6:00 pm the night before.  The 5:30 am wake up call wasn't too bad...until about 7:00 pm last night.  I felt like I'd been hit in the head with a frying pan and just couldn't keep my eyes open.  I stayed awake for Flash Forward and then carried my tired butt to bed amidst protest from DH (not a lot - just a "You mean you aren't going to stay up with me to watch Down Periscope for the 25th time since we got married?").  He still needed a little extra time to wind down - he didn't get up at 5:30 am with Dean, though.


When I woke up this morning at 7:00 am, I felt like I slept in.  I felt like the kids let me sleep until at least 9:00 am and almost yelled to Jerry in the shower that he was late for work!  I couldn't believe how I felt!  I can't promise to try for a 10:00 pm bedtime every night - but I'm really going to give it a shot a few times a week.  I actually feel like cleaning today!  Don't really feel like making the grocery list, but it won't be too bad with the e-mealz menu...so I'll suck it up!  

Danika's Francie Pants came in yesterday ~ I think I may have been more excited than she was!  I won a Twitter party contest (the 5M4M UBP10 Twitter Party) and got a $40 gift card for Francie Pants!

I have one little girl, as you probably know if you are a regular blog reader, and I was so excited to be able to order something special for her.  We went to the website and picked out 2 pair.  The ones pictured below and some really cute pink leopard print ones.

Danika in her Francie Pants

I have to tell you, too, that I had AWESOME customer service, too.  Ciaran Blumefeld was the one who contacted me with all the info for the gift card and when I couldn't get it to work she was very patient and understanding and solved the problem for me!  I'll definitely be looking into getting Danika more Francie Pants and getting some for the other little girls in my life as gifts!

Finally - since I feel like being a blogger today, I'm going to join Friday Follow!  I haven't done this in a long time...but I feel like exploring the internet and checking out some new blogs!




Have a great weekend - the weather is suppose to be a little bit better here this weekend.  I can't wait to get outside again!

That's how I'd rank this haircut.  A 7.5 out of 10 - with 1 being the worst haircut I have ever had in my entire life (think short hair, perm and crazy short bangs teased to the tippy top) and 10 being an unrealistic haircut that I've always dreamed of having (think Meg Ryan in City of Angels).  So really, 7.5 is pretty darn good.  Plus, I haven't washed and styled it myself, yet...so there is the possibility I will like it even more once I've had time to play around with it.  You wanna see it?  I know...I know...of COURSE you do - but . . . you see . . . I don't like pictures of me.  Oh...okay...geeze - here is 1 out of the 50 I took trying to find one that I liked. (BTW -  I don't like it either, but I was starting to get a little tired of trying)


I'm not even sure you can see my haircut...but oh well...I like it and I'm sure that a non-posed picture of me will end up on here at some point that will show it off better. 

Okay - onward...I have about 6 topics for blogs running around in my head...and I can't pick one.  However, I really don't feel like being serious today - as if my kissy-face picture didn't tip you off to that one - so I'm not going to write about anything too deep.  Let's talk about...TV.

What TV shows do you watch?  We watch:

Nurse Jackie - (Edie Falco is awesome)
United States of Tara (Toni Collette is AMAZING as Tara)
Dexter (although I very well may be tuning out because the ending devastated me last season)
Spartacus: Blood and Sand (yep...I'm admitting it...just don't tell anyone, ok?)
Glee (Did you see Neil Patrick Harris is on the next Glee?  YAY!!!)
Community (LOVE me some Joel McHale!)
and finally...the one that has consumed me for the past week...

Flash Forward

We watched the first half of the season telling ourselves that we weren't going to get into one of these shows that confuses you and doesn't give you any answers...but we couldn't stop watching. (me in part because I LOVE me some Joseph Fiennes - he had me since Shakespeare in Love) 

We had our DVR set to record it so we wouldn't miss any episodes...then the second half of this season started AFTER we switched to cable and never reset our DVR to tape it.  About 2 weeks ago, I was reading a friend's Facebook status about Flash Forward and it hit me!  We were about 8 episodes behind!  (this is where I tell you that I love the internet...because thanks to the internet I was able to catch up on all 8 episodes!)

So - we are now caught up and I'm kind of disappointed because now I have to wait every week like everyone else to find out what is going on. 

Can I tell you the best part about having to catch up on all of those episodes on our laptops?  I got to watch TV in bed with Jerry...we don't have a TV in our room and I'm not sure that I want one, but having a legit excuse to lay in bed, snuggled up next to my DH and watch some TV was kind of nice.

Okay - done rambling for now...but I would like to hear from you all.  Can you tell me what your favorite TV show is?  Do you watch any of the ones I watch?  Have a favorite episode?  Watch a lot of TV or are you too busy for it?  I can honestly say that if we didn't have the DVR and On-Demand we wouldn't watch anything but hockey!  hehehe

So ~ How was your Mother’s Day?  Let me show you what my loving hubby bought me for the special occasion…

Cute, right? There is one silhouette for each of my kiddos – with their birthday listed below.  At first, I thought it was a little bit too big because I’m not a big jewelry person.  But it grew on me and by the end of the day I was in love with it!  I’m already thinking about other charms I want to get to put on it…like a teaching one and maybe one for my anniversary!

All that being said – my Mother’s Day was kind of a rocky one emotionally.  I’m not sure exactly why, but I got myself into a bad place for about 45 minutes and had to force myself to snap out of it.  I’ve probably mentioned somewhere (but I’m too lazy to go find where) that I try very hard to be a positive person.  I try very hard not to complain too much about things.  I didn’t realize that trying that hard can sometimes catch up with you – but it did for me yesterday.  All the things I try not to worry about or complain about started to REALLY bother me.  They started to bother me so much I had to actually go up to my room and be alone for about 20 minutes so I could lose my composure and then regain it – something I just didn’t feel like doing in front of my kiddos.  I cried – not uncontrollably, but harder than I had in a while – and then I told myself that was it…it was time to go and enjoy my Mother’s Day. 

I have no real intention of getting into what I was upset about – except for one thing a little further down…but I do want to talk a little bit about my hubby’s reaction.  He didn’t know why I excused myself.  After all, I’m just getting over a stomach flu, so I’ve been running up the steps a lot lately!  We talked about it a little later, though, when we were riding home from my parents’ house.  I told him that I think trying to be so positive is starting to wear on me.  I told him about how I think that always trying to act like everything is okay is making me hold a lot more inside than I should be.  One of the problems, though, is that everything really is pretty much okay.  The things I would complain about aren’t really that big a deal when you look at other people’s problems.  However – they are my problems.  They are the things I have to deal with.  I mentioned that I maybe I should go find someone to talk to - you know, like a therapist, because I won't feel bad complaining to them because I'd be paying them to listen to me...all he said was, "Yeah - and they would probably say something back to you...cause I have no clue what to tell ya!"

Another issue with me complaining is that I really have a problem admitting that I have a problem.  I try very hard to do things on my own.  It comes from so many people telling me I’m going to need help – from so many people commenting on how full my hands must be – from so many people giving me a sympathetic look when they find out how many kids I have and how old they are – I want to prove them wrong for some reason.  I don’t like to admit that I don’t have it under control.  I don’t like to admit that I need help.  I don’t like to ask for help.  I desperately want to be able to go to the park with my four children all by myself…but it will never happen.  I know that I only have to ask and someone would be more than willing to go with me – so, yesterday, I decided I’m done feeling sorry for myself and going to quit being stubborn.  I’m going to *gulp* ask for help and ask other people into my life – realizing that they will see that I’m not perfect…but that’s okay, right?  I’m hoping that it will help me to feel less isolated – less like all I am is a mother.

Isn’t it funny that I would discover something like that on Mother’s Day – that I’m having an issue because I feel like I’m consumed with being a mother these days?  Of COURSE I’m consumed with it – I have 4 children who depend on me for pretty much every essential in life (although 2 out of 4 are potty trained – hang in there Christine!).  Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE being a mom…but for some reason I’m missing doing things for me.

So – I took a personal day from work yesterday.  Jerry is off and I’m going to get my haircut.  I think I want it to look something like this:

I know…it’s kind of a mom haircut!  However, I’ve been rocking the ponytail nonstop for about a month now…I need a change – and I’m hoping that this will force me to do my hair every day…and that will make me feel like getting out of the house, which will mean I will have to call someone to go with me!

Next, I’ve got to do something about my wardrobe.  If you pretty much wear XL clothes, where do you shop?  I’m planning on getting rid of a lot of my less comfortable clothes and getting myself some staples and starting my wardrobe over.  Let’s face it, pregnancy changes your body…unfortunately for me, mine isn’t bouncing back as quick from the twins as I would like.  I refuse to keep trying on the same clothes that make me look horrible hoping that they don’t look as bad today.  So – I need to make a list of essentials and sort of start over…ideas would be greatly appreciated because I hate to shop for clothes – fashion just really isn’t my thing.

I’m hoping that maybe next year I’ll be more together on Mother’s Day – I’m hoping that I might be able to look more like I want to look and feel more like I want to feel.  Yesterday was just a really off day for me.

In closing – do you have boys?  Do you have Geotrax?  We have a love/hate relationship with them around here.  They are fun and Nate and Danika will both play with them for hours…but they take up SO much space!  Exhibit A for Why We Need a Playroom!

 

I had every intention of writing a blog post yesterday.  I had every intention of cleaning up my house and taking my husband out for his birthday last night.  Instead, I spent the day doubled over in pain and praying that it would just go away.  I had the stomach flu like this about 2 years ago.  I had to call my mom to come and sit with the kids because I couldn’t take care of them…and that was just 2 at the time.  Yesterday, I kind of knew I was in pretty bad shape before Jerry left for work…but I was determined that I’d snap out of it.  I didn’t.  I had to call him around noon and beg him to come home and take care of the kids.  He did – he even brought me mint ginger ale and a flower.  :)

 

I hate being sick.  I know that no one really likes it, but I feel guilty on top of not feeling well.  I feel like I’m making other people do my “job” when I am sick.  I know how much I do – and I know it isn’t easy.  My parents took my “big” kids for the night (something they want to start doing every Friday – which ROCKS!) so we really just had the little ones to deal with and they were really good.  It all worked out and I’m feeling a little better today.

 

I missed the Teacher Appreciation Luncheon at school yesterday – which I was really bummed out about, but I did get my bag of goodies from the parents (one of my wonderful coworkers dropped it off).  I had fun digging through it.  It was an embroidered bag with a bunch of goodies in it – including a beach towel!  You know, you can NEVER have too many of those!  (especially when you have 4 kids!)

 

I also got a really cool box of samples in the mail the other day – it was a Sample Showcase from the post office and had a ton of neat things in it.  They sent it to my mother-in-law’s address with my name on it – so she saved it for me!  :)  There were dark chocolate peanut butter cups, Dove Chocolate, Aveeno cream, shampoo, conditioner and face lifting stuff, Splenda, Secret deodorant,  Shower to Shower samples, a Bengay heating pad (LOVE those!), Taster’s Choice packs and Montreal Steak Seasoning!  There were also quite a few coupons in the box.   I really did feel like I got a present in the mail!  Anyone else get one? 

 

So ~ I’m planning on finding the time somewhere to blog more.  I’m not sure where I’ll find it, but I miss blogging and I miss reading blogs.  I’m actually afraid to check my blog reader and see how much I’ve missed – I think it’s been almost 2 weeks since I really looked at it!  Hope there are still some readers out there and I hope you are all doing well…I’m off to check out what is new with all of you, next!

 

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mommies, aunts and grandmas! 

I’m exhausted.  We have been so busy it is unreal.  On top of all of that, I’ve been trying to keep up with the Flylady stuff AND stay on track with my E-mealz…both of which are going very well (we had Creamy Roast Beef Pitas today – they weren’t bad at all…)  A lot of the E-mealz recipes are ones I can see myself adding things to so that they are more to our liking.  There have been a few of the meals that we have liked, but didn’t love just because it was missing something . . . so next time I make it I will add the missing ingredient.  The Flylady thing isn’t going as well as I would like…but I’m keeping afloat.  I haven’t been able to dive into my Zone cleaning quite yet, but I’m closer than I was when I started.  My goal is to get there the second week in June – that’s a full week after a full week of no work for me…that should help because Tuesdays throw me all off.  Jerry is home all day with the kids on Tuesday and he doesn’t Fly.  Not that I expect him to and not that it’s really a mess or anything when I get home, but my sink isn’t as clean as I would like it and for some reason the kids just aren’t as happy.  It’s because he’s NOT the Mama…which isn’t a bad thing, but I always feel like I’m paying for being away all day, even if it was for work and not fun.  Okay – so, my exhaustion is causing me to ramble…on with it already.

I started doing a Sunday Wrap-Up a while back and then just forgot about it…kind of like how I forgot to keep up with other Memes that I had been doing.  Anyway – this is going to be kind of Sunday Wrap-upish. 

Here’s a pic of my kiddos with my parents…it’s the last pic I have of the kids before the battery died in my camera (which is why you won’t see any other pictures from our fun filled weekend) 

Friday night ~ I had Mommy Group and the big kids stayed at my parents’ house.  I had a great time at Mommy Group . . . the ride down was a lot of fun, too. 

Saturday ~ The kiddos came home early afternoon.  That gave me time to get the newsletter for school done in the morning.  The twins were really well behaved and I even got a few loads of laundry done, too!

Saturday evening ~ Jerry went shopping all over the place for birthday gifts and groceries.  When he came home we ate and put the kids to bed…then we watched Funny People.  I have mixed feelings about it.  It wasn’t a bad movie and it wasn’t an awesome movie.  It was just an okay movie.  I guess I probably wouldn’t recommend that you watch it because if you hate it I don’t want you to blame me for wasting hours of your life…but if you do watch it, I’d be interested in hearing what you thought about it. 

Sunday ~ by far our busiest day of the weekend.  We started out at a part for our friend’s son, Ethan.  He was turning 3 and had his party at Giggles and Smiles.  Fun was had by all – especially me because those are some FAST slides.  I took my niece, Angelina, up with me and helped her go down them.  She gets nervous with heights and any kind of floor with holes in it.  So I basically threw her over the parts that made her nervous.  I was the only adult going down the slides, though – good thing or bad thing?  I think it’s one of the things that makes me love my job so much – I’m a big kid and enjoy playing more than most kids do.  :)

After that party, we had another birthday party to go to…this one was for Jerry’s grandmother.  She turned 94.  It was a great party – two disappointments, though.  1) The weather stunk and 2) the Penguins lost. 

Well – apparently, I’m not going to get to finish this post beyond this…and I’m not loving it anyway – so, I’ll just end it with a promise to write a better, more complete post in the future….hopefully after a good night’s sleep.