Weekend Recap....Busy Week Ahead

The weekend was nice. Our church bldg. open house was great. The building is awesome and it feels so good to be back in it. What a difference the additions make to the building. The bathrooms are all new...ahhhh!!! I love a new, clean bathroom.

9:00 church was awesome too. We left here at 8:55 and made it to our seats before the meeting started. I love it! The time was a bit hard for Ellie. I was saying to myself..."I think this has been the worst sacrament meeting with her all year." It was frustrating. She wanted her bed. Her nap time is right in there during sacrament meeting. Oh well, something new to get used to. It was great coming home and having the entire afternoon/evening to ourselves. I made a veggie lasagna which was a knock out. I just have to say it.....it was tasty! It looked so good coming out of the oven I had to take a picture.


Todd was able to get home by about 1:45. That was nice since we never have Todd home during the day on Sunday. A normal Sunday with his meetings should get it home around 3:00. Not bad. The downside is that his day starts with 7am meetings. He really enjoys his calling and I'm so proud of all that he does. Here is another picture of how Todd and the kids spent some of the afternoon....


Doesn't every dad have to do this? :D Or I think all kids want to get on dad this way.

I learned over the weekend that my great aunt who would have been 98 in September passed away and her funeral is in Long Beach on Wednesday afternoon. It looks like I'm gearing up to make a quick trip down and then right back to finish packing for our trip to Hawaii. I have to have at least one day to pack up my family before we leave on Friday morning. We leave Friday morning to go up north and then fly out early on Saturday morning. It's been a bit busy around here. I'm on my last couple of loads of laundry and then all items in this house will be washed. I love that! I have been thinking about Christina this evening because I think my dryer is going out. One load of clothes was taking 4 or 5 times through the cycle before they were feeling dry. Don't do it to me now....please!! I really can't take all of the kids and head to the laundry mat. I guess I could and many people probably do but that would just be painful. We'll see how these last 2 loads do.

I went out to a couple of stores today with the kids. Mitch found a backpack and then wanted to buy something with his own money at Wal-Mart. Fine. Of all things, he asked, "Mom, can I get this?" It was Old Spice Red Zone deoderant in the travel section (mini size). Sure Mitty. He was loving it and so of course Casey was begging for one too. They are both set with deoderant tonight. :D Emily picked out one of those little aerosol cans of perfume. She felt like a big girl too. Too funny these kids are. It's nice to have them all asleep since they woke up this morning at 6:40 when I was walking in from the gym. That is never what I love to be greeted with...the kids coming out of the woodwork that early. Essentially it means I miss my own scripture reading and shower time in a quiet house. Am I sounding too selfish?? I just really enjoy some quiet time in my house after a long day.

I'm off to finish up laundry and many other details that have to happen this week. There seem to be too many to list right now.

Random Post....a jumble of things.......

The Part of You That No One Sees

You are balanced, peaceful, and sincere. You're the type of person who goes along to get along. And you're definitely afraid of rocking the boat. Underneath it all, you fear your world falling apart. You'll put up with a situation that you don't like in fear of changing it. Disruptive and forceful people intimidate you - and sometimes exploit you.

What's the Part of You That No One Sees?

A new test I saw on April's blog today.... thought I'd see what it said about me. Very interesting :D

I took Ellie to the doctor this evening. She just had not been herself this week with a fever and then a rash yesterday and today. Todd and I both said to ourselves, "I think she has roseola." The only thing that made me take her is that she kept batting her ears yesterday and today. I didn't want to head into the weekend with ear infections and no medicine. You can see I hate any urgent care setting or clinic. We were right...Roseola and no problems with her ears. She seemed to be doing much better this evening around the house. She was perking up a bit more. She has only wanted me to hold her and is so wiggly and fussy that it's been very tiring. She is so sweet though and it makes me feel bad that she isn't her happy self.

Here is a picture of her the other day. Her smile was just too much to pass up with a camera. Too bad it's a bit blurry. This is how she normally is. :D


We also took the kids to Target this morning so they could get their icee and pick out their reward for doing so well with their chores this week. Week 2 proved to be a good week in the chore dept. We didn't do the beach today because Ellie was not up to it and neither was I if she was going to be cranky and fussy the whole time. The boys picked out baseball cards and Emily picked out a baby bottle pop. They each individually wanted to buy their item and give the checker the money. They all did a great job. We picked out some last minute items for our Hawaii trip. It's nice to buy summer items at the end of summer....massive sale on stuff. Swim diapers were only $4 a pack. Here is what I bought for Ellie for her b'day from Grandma Carol....The Leap Frog learning table. She was loving it tonight. At one point, Todd said to me, I think the boys are getting more enjoyment out of it than Ellie. So true. The boys were playing and had it on Spanish so then would come and tell us what they knew in Spanish. It's cute and always fun to get a new toy!!




Todd washed his car and then we both did the truck today. It's always nice to have clean cars. Why do I wait so long to do it?

I am waiting for the kids to go to sleep so that we can get YC. I passed up dinner out so that I could eat yogurt instead. Oh I am craving it right about now.

Tomorrow is our church bldg. open house. We have been out of our normal bldg. for 14 months while they have renovated it. Oh will it ever be so nice getting to church at 9:00 and having to leave the house at 8:55 to get there. :D AHHHH!! Not to mention how much we will save on gas for the beast. :D Have a good weekend!!

A Little Under the Weather but needing to get out

Today has started out just fine with all of the kids....that equates to no fighting yet. I think we have to get out of the house today yet I'm not up for a beach trip. What to do here?? I haven't felt too good the last couple of nights. The days have been ok but today my stomach doesn't feel so good...ugh! This mom can't get sick. My eyes are tired and I could just crawl back into bed.

Ellie had a fever on Tuesday and Wednesday. I think it's her teeth. She has a molar in the back that I can feel has popped through. Her fever has been 102-103... hot enough to keep her a little cranky and not her happy self. Makes it tough for mom with all of the other kids wanting and needing so much. She is much better this morning and doesn't feel hot so fingers are crossed for her to do better today. :D

Yesterday was beautiful here and so I put on my bathing suit and hit the backyard. Emily followed and we played a few games of UNO on the blanket. She loves UNO and plays really well. She and the boys played in the kiddie pool while I relaxed...dozing off. I have been really tired come the afternoon. No mystery as to why but I hate that feeling. I kept dozing off on Emily's bed while I was supossed to be in there playing with she and Ellie. Sorry girls!!

I agreed to watch a friends boy yesterday and have him for dinner. It was fun for the boys to play together. He has been in Mitty's school class the last 2 years. The funny conversation the kids carried on during dinner was fun to hear and watch. Todd tried to chime in with something he thought the kids would think was funny but instead showed his age. He and I were laughing about that. It wasn't funny/goofy enough for these boys. They didn't even laugh. Sorry dad!

I better get going with this day....some dishes to wash, laundry to clean (always), a Wal-Mart run, beds to make and I wish a nap to take. Hopefully the boys will continue doing well with their chores today and will really want to help me out. They are working toward a beach party tomorrow for the end of the week reward. Sounds good to me. I'm so glad Todd will be off tomorrow so he will be there to help carry and watch.

Daily Happenings...nothing too exciting

I have so many things I could write yet I don't know what to write. Has anyone been there before? I have been busy with the kids... entertaining them, breaking up fights (referee), making food, cleaning up, and laundry. Sometimes the days can seem so boring...the same thing day after day. I have been trying to come up with some fun activities for the kids instead of the tv or video games....

The weather was nice yesterday so I put on my bathing suit and went out back. The kids came out of course and so I took my mom's advice and had the kids do relay races. It was pretty fun and they were all game for an hour of racing. We mixed it up...skip to the fence and then run backwards, walk to the fence do 2 jumping jacks and crawl back. It had us all laughing. The kids had fun and I enjoyed being a part of their fun. Ellie had fun on a blanket and I laid next to her. Last night I realized that I burned the backs of my thighs. I had no idea. It's not unbearable or anything.

After dinner, the missionaries came by and chatted for awhile with the family. We have a missionary that just transferred in so we met him and he is really nice. My kids were wild when they came. It's so out of control. The kids were wrestling, jumping, throwing pillows, running/sliding, laughing loudly, Emily is doing somersaults everywhere, and just wiggly. It was crazy. We tried to get them to calm down and we were successful by the end of the visit. After they left the kids went to bed and I was able to go make my store run.

I hate going shopping so late but it does beat a crowd or a trip with all of the kids. I got a bunch of stuff to pack the kids backpacks for our 5 hour plane ride. Gotta love Wal-Mart for the prices of these items.....

markers, junior mints, gum, gummies, good & plenty, Circus animal cookies (so tasty), chocolate animal crackers, granola bars, more crackers, applesauce and more. Do you see a pattern.....nothing too healthy. We need lots of fun snacks/goodies for 4 children for 5 hours. What am I saying... for 2 parents too dealing with 4 children on a 5 hour flight. I am going to pack each individual backpack with their own snacks so it will break up the heaviness of a huge bag left for me or Todd to carry. I'm getting excited to go. It's been awhile since we were there last and it is just so relaxing to hang by a pool/beach all day. No phone calls, no driving around back and forth, no cleaning, no making food.... sounds good to me!! We leave next Friday so the countdown is on...9 days and counting! :D

I hope to have a good day today. I am really trying to spend some quality time with the kids. I am hoping to have patience today in spite of whatever crazy situation arises, play a game or two with the kids, maybe even hit the beach, focus on being more Christ like in all that I do, be a better example to my children of being Christ like, and read scriptures with the kids. We may even hit the trail again this evening. I think their legs were recovering yesterday. The kids told me that their legs were tired and that they didn't want to ride yesterday. I just realized all of the relay racing they did probably didn't help. We'll see how they are feeling this afternoon.

Picture Day/Weekend Recap

I woke up this morning and decided to make an appt. for today to have the kids pictures taken as a family and then Ellie alone for her 1 year picture. It has been haunting me for some time now. Pretty much if I wait any longer, she will be 2. I don't have any professional pictures of all of the kids together since we had Ellie. Today we did it. The picture of all of them is so cute. First pose, first shot and we were done with the group. Ellie was a little more difficult. Once she was crying we were done. There is no making a 1 year old happy again in the studio without holding them. We did a cute shot that will work for our family wall.

The kids were good for me. A few minor exceptions but it was expected so no big deal. I am always so happy to be done with a group picture day. I feel pretty tired this afternoon. I think it is mental exhaustion and I guess physical in trying to make the pictures just how I want them. It can be very stressful for me. I want the picture to be just right and their clothes to not be all disheveled (sp). They were good and I am glad we just did it. One big thing to check off of the list that is never ending.

As for our weekend, we had a good time. We had a party on Friday night with the kids to reward them for doing all of their chores so dutifully throughout the week. There choice was pizza and then to go do their own frozen yogurt/toppings. They had fun and so did I. You can't beat $5.00 pizzas from Lil Caesars.

Saturday, I woke up and worked out and then as a family we went and did the Bob Jones trail. It was perfect. I pushed Ellie in the jogger and the other 3 were able to ride their bikes all the way to the beach. Todd walked/jogged along side. It was a fun family outing with good weather!! I can't really believe Emily made it all the way to the beach (2 miles) peddaling her bike. She is a trooper!! At about the 1.5 mile mark I turned around to go back and get the car to meet them at the beach. We knew they wouldn't be able to ride back. Definitely not Emily. All in all I walked/jogged 6.5 miles on Saturday. I think we will make this a family outing 3 times a week. We will just meet Todd there after work and then everyone gets exercise. :D

Saturday afternoon, everyone seemed to be pretty pooped/tired. The kids put in The Sound of Music and Todd sat and watched with them. We did Loco for our dinner and that was tasty as always. It has been awhile since I had Loco. If I want to lose any weight, I really can't eat out. It fouls me up so badly. My goal was to lose the last 6 lbs. before our Hawaii trip. I started a week ago Sunday and was down 2.5 yesterday. Yeah!! It makes me so happy when I see results after putting in so much effort throughout the week. I am really obsessed with the stupid scale. It has become a sickness I think. Barbie....you know what I'm talking about, right?? I better go back to weighing once a week.

Sunday was nice since Todd didn't have any morning meetings :D. We made it through the day and had a great dinner..pork tenderloin, baked potatoes, salad and sauteed apples with butter & brown sugar. It was delicious!

Personality Quiz....not sure about it/Yesterday's Activities/New Cookie Concoction

I saw this quiz on Anne's blog and took it. Oh boy....I have never seen myself as the nurse type and hoping others don't see me as a know it all. Oh well....it was fun. Try it!

You Are An ESFJ

The Caregiver You are sympathetic and caring, putting friends and family first. A creature of habit, you prefer routines and have trouble with change. You love being in groups - whether you're helping people or working on a project. You are good at listening, laughing, and bringing out the best in people. In love, you value harmony and mutual understanding. You will apologize or give someone the benefit of the doubt, if it means getting over a fight sooner. At work, you are good at building relationships and connecting with people. You would make a great nurse, social worker, or teacher. How you see yourself: Organized, dependable, co-operative When other people don't get you, they see you as: Opinionated, critical, and know-it-all

What's Your Personality Type?

Yesterday was a blah day to a degree. I was so sleepy and couldn't really get out of a blah mood. I didn't really want to go anywhere but felt bad that my kids were home all day. It was about 2:00 that I laid down on the floor and asked the kids if they wanted to earn a dollar. Emily was brushing my hair (I love) and Mitch and Casey each took a foot to rub. It was so relaxing because their touch is so light just how I like it. I told Todd Casey does a better job than he does. Casey knows just what to do and how to rub. They then rubbed my arms and I was pretty much on the verge of asleep when I heard a knock at the door. It was the missionaries looking for a drink of water.

I was then up and decided I better get to work or else I will fall asleep. Since the kids had done so much housework, there wasn't much for me to do. Yeah!! I decided to take them to the Bob Jones Trail to ride their bikes. It's been a great afternoon activity to go on walks while they ride their bikes. I knew Emily may get tired very quickly and so I thought she would be up to going in the stroller. Oh no, she can ride her bike she said. Well, to my surprise, she made it. Her little legs were just a peddaling. We took short stops at different benches along the way to help her legs rest a bit. We did about a mile and a half and she went the whole way. I was surprised! Good job Em! She was telling me her legs were tired but that she could make it to the end. The boys and girls loved it and so it was nice to end the day with something outside that we all love to do. The girls were in bed asleep at 7:30...so nice and needed for them. The boys shortly after.

A couple of loads of laundry are on the agenda for today. We are going to treat the kids to our favorite yogurt place tonight... there are so many toppings to choose from and they love to do it themselves. My kids are still not very motivated by money as a reward for doing chores. Lucky me!! I will keep it to treats like frozen yogurt and other activities. The sleepy bug is coming over me again. Maybe it's the 5:00 wake up every day. Do you think??? It was nice to sleep in until 6:00 this morning since Todd goes to work late on Fridays.

Here is a new cookie concoction...I made it up. For some of you that know Todd and I a little better know that one of our missions in life is to perfect a chocolate chip cookie. This is what I made up last night and it was delicious. The texture was A++....

2/3c. butter
1/3c. crisco + 2 tsp. water
1. brown sugar
3/4c. granulate sugar
1 egg + 1 egg white
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour (a little less than 2 1/2c.)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. chocolate chips

Mix the butter and sugar and then add eggs and vanilla. MIx all of the dry ingredients together including chocolate chips and pour it in all at once and stir.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. They were tasty.

**Mom, the other recipe using all Crisco and only egg whites was pretty nasty. Todd wouldn't even eat them. That really says they are nasty. They tasted worse the next day.

Happy Friday!!

Errands Accomplished/Housework Done

Yesterday was somewhat of a disaster with my children so I was determined to make today different. WE were leaving the house for sure. We left about 10:00 to go to Kohl's (45 minutes away). I had never been to the one up here and the kids were wanting some Tony Hawk t-shirts for school. I found some workout clothes that really fit right. It's hard for me to find decent workout clothes that fit my body right. I found the shirts for $4.00 a piece and the capris/shorts were all on sale too.
Grabbed the kids Hawk shirts and we were out of there. I could have spent a lot more time in there but with 4 kids...there is no browsing.


Since we were passing through SLO at lunch time, we decided to visit Todd/dad for lunch. He picked up Subway (gotta love the $2.49 6" turkey sandwiches on Wed.) and we ate on the grass in front of his office. Sounds corny but it really was ok to eat lunch in front of the office. I would have never dreamed of doing that when he was working in Irvine. It almost seems that it wouldn't have been accepted at all down there. Oh well, we had fun. We were off to exchange pants at Old Navy for the 2nd or 3rd time. That place on Saturday was so crowded that there was a line of about 20 for the dressing room. We weren't going to wait to try on with 4 kids. Mitch was able to go and try on the pants today and so we are set with the right size....he remains in the "slim" sizes. His waist is so tiny and his legs are long. Where in the world did he get that gene??? :D Who are his parents again? hahaha The kids were really good for me. Casey took over the stroller and kept Ellie happy. It was pretty cute...they all sat down and waited patiently on a bench at the end of the counter while I paid. I kept thinking to myself...my kids are really well behaved. It was really nice and I felt so proud of them.

We were then off to make one more stop...pay the deposit at the preschool for Emily. Since we will be gone on vacation while the preschool has it's orientation day with the teachers, I asked if Emily could go in and see her classroom. It was fun for Emily to see the room and all of the fun centers and things she will get to play with. She was loving it and very excited about school. I was very excited to be going home at that point. We were gone for 4 1/2 hours. I was ready to be home!!

As I mentioned above that the kids really gave me a hard time yesterday, I wasn't ready to enforce their charts this afternoon. I was pleasantly surprised to watch Casey look at his chart and then get to work without me saying one word. That is the best!! Since he was doing so many jobs and putting stars up, the others didn't want to be left out and so they got to work. Casey wiped down the bathroom, vacuumed the living room, folded and put away a load of laundry, emptied all of the trash cans, made his bed and helped the others all without me saying a word. I was so happy and now really need to treat him with something. He is loving the chart and it's keeping him motivated. Mitty and Emily the same. Mitch got out the vacuum and did his room, the family room and dining room, took out the trash, and cleaned his room. Emily was just dying to clean my bathroom with the Clorox wipes and so she did it without me helping. She helped with emptying out trash and put some clothes away. She knows just what to do with anything. She is so cute and can do so many things. I love that her age doesn't stop her at all from pitching in and doing housework. Am I warping my kids? Poor girl, she could care less about cartoons but loves to do housework. Oh well, just introducing the real world to my young ones. Life is all about work!! It really never ends. I was so happy to see so much of the housework done and I didn't even have to do it. It left me with more time tonight to do what I want instead of having to clean and pick up. THANKS KIDS!!! I really appreciate it!

After dinner, we all went on a walk. The kids rode bikes and Todd pushed Ellie. They always love that. It was a nice way to end a nice day. I hope we can repeat another good day tomorrow. I have to go figure out what to reward the kids with. They have done such a good job!!

The Chart is Working....

All of you crafty, creative ones that I know are out there are probably dying at my whip out a chart in 10 minutes and be good to go. I was desperate last night to come up with something to get my children to stop the teasing, arguing, and fighting with one another. As I stood in the kitchen last night doing dishes, hearing the boys argue/fight about who was touching who and someone was in his spot first, and stop bugging me, etc. I whipped out 3x5 cards and wrote a name on each with some daily chores. I'm going back to basics with the stars.

So far so good today. Boy this kind of chart keeps Casey begging to do more. I had no idea I would run out of things for him to help me with. He wants to do everything so that he can put another star on his chart. I love it. I asked if he would wipe down the toilet this morning(those with boys know what I'm talking about) and he was glad to do it. Before I knew it, he was getting me to show what all he did. He took the Clorox wipes and wiped down the entire toilet, the counter tops, sinks and fixtures and then did the tile floor by the toilet. He did as good of a job as I would do. I was proud of him and he was too. I marked on each child's chart to take out 1 trash...Casey brought out trash from both bathrooms, has folded 2 loads of laundry and put them away, changed his sheets and made his bed. He was begging to do more so I taught him how to start a load of laundry in the machine and put the soap in. He is in heaven because I let him teach Mitch how to start a load. They can't wait for there to be another load to do. I'm in heaven!!!

Mitch and Emily both have been very helpful as well. As you can see, Casey is determined to get that card filled up very quickly. I appreciate all of the help that they have been today. It felt so nice having so much housework done so early on in the day. We even went on a 2 mile walk and the boys rode their bikes. They want to go again so I guess this afternoon we will make the rounds again. With so much of their help, I was able to get to some other jobs (floors, windows, doors, mirrors, etc.) that usually get put off a bit longer.

I have to figure out what the rewards will be for the kids work/good behavior. I have to pay out the reward every couple of days with this group. Waiting a week to pay out is too long for Casey and Emily. They need to be getting something every 2 days or so. Any ideas??? I guess it will be a choice of money, treats, activity, or a toy. We'll see. Todd may have some good ideas that we will talk about tonight during FHE. I just love that the kids aren't fighting today at all. Casey keeps telling me that he will get to put a star on his card tonight because he hasn't been fighting. I love it!! Whatever works. I know these charts are good for a short time and then I have to switch it up. If they see the reward coming often enough, it may last a little longer.

I have the Goodwill coming to pick up stuff on Thursday. AHHHHH!!! I am going through everything. I want there to be tons of stuff on my porch for them to pick up. I am on a de-junk binge. :D I better get to work while the kids are playing nicely together.

Is My Body Really Too Old For Waterslides??

Oh my goodness!!! My neck is under some serious trauma/stress from yesterday's activities. We went to Todd's company picnic near Lake Lopez yesterday afternoon. The food was ok....the potato salad was a hit with Todd and I. The kids played around and had fun drinking soda and bouncing in a bounce house.

It was finally time to hit the waterslide park. They close the park for 2 hours and it's reserved just for the company party. IT's pretty nice not to fight any crowds or lose children in the crowds. The kids love the slides and had a ball. I was dying to try the "Stampede" ride that is pretty much a huge 1/2 pipe. You can go down in a single tube or double. I couldn't get anyone in my group to go wtih me except Mitch. He was willing and all game to go down with me. I asked the lifeguard for any tips to riding this ride....he replied, "keep your butt up, and chin tucked in". As he pushed us over, (it is straight down) there was no time to tuck my chin and it felt like the worst whiplash I have ever felt in my life. The force snapped my neck back as far as it would go. I'm not quite sure why I continued to try and bring my head foreward but I did and my neck is so dang sore. It was hurting instantly. It felt like I had been in a bad accident. My head has been hurting since and this morning my neck and shoulders are really sore. It hurts to bring my head down to my chest. I don't think I will be trying that one again. I think I will leave it for the kids!!

I'm off to organize all that I have to take to church to keep the kids quiet and happy. I'm on the countdown until we are back in our church building 2 minutes away. It is set for the 19th of August. Yeah. We have been driving 20 minutes each way to church every Sunday since June,06. It's not so much the drive as it is the time 2:30-5:30. It will be nice to get back to 9:00 church. I never thought I would say that but I know I will love it.

A DAY OF GOOD EATS!!

I have to document some good food that I made today. The lunch that I made was just delicious and so me. I have to share it with the rest of you....

Guerrero brand whole wheat flour tortillas (not carb smart) (2 points per tortilla for any fellow WW lovers).
1/4c. black beans
1/4c. corn
lots of lettuce, tomatoes, gr. onions, 1 tsp. light sour cream, 1 ounce or less of finely grated jack cheese, Pace salsa, Cholula, Old El Paso taco sauce, salt, pepper and some cumin.

I tossed all of filling with the salsa, sour cream and taco sauce and stuffed the tortilla. I toasted the tortilla over the gas burner to crisp it up. It was tasty and so filling and was under 4 points. I was loving it so much I had to take a picture.




On to the dessert I made tonight. I had to come up with something for the company picnic tomorrow so I browsed my cookbooks to find something new and hopefully delicious.



I decided on Fudge Jumbles...

1 cube butter
2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 c. quick oats

Mix in order listed and put 2/3 in a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Reserve 1/3 for the top

Filling:

12 oz. chocolate chips
1 can evaporated milk
2 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. vanilla

Put milk, chips and buter in a microwave bowl and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Stir and add vanilla. Pour into the pan over the crust. Cover with the remaining crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

It is so dang good I can't stay out of it. It's a death wish for me. The middle is gooey like lava cake. I'm hoping this will be a crowd pleaser. Todd was loving the bars tonight with his big tall glass of milk. I had some and am expecting that scale to be up 2 lbs. tomorrow. That is how easily I can gain weight. It's bad, really bad. I guess I will be walking to and from the gym tomorrow :D

I did accomplish some of my list today but not all. That's ok, the kids really helped me pick up this afternoon. They folded more laundry and put it all away. Mitch even asked if he could help Casey fold clothes. What??, did I hear that right? Mitch told Casey, let me help so we can get it done so fast. Now they are figuring that out or just realizing what I have been saying to them all of these years. I can't express enough how much I love that they will do that for me. That takes so much work off of my back.

I went on a walk with the kids today. I pushed Emily and Ellie in the double stroller and the boys rode their bikes. We then stopped and let Emily ride her bike 2 laps around the block. She did great but was ready to come in by the second time around.

I'm sleepy tonight and ready to hit the sack.

School Shopping Already!!

The boys have been so excited to get some new school clothes. THey have been checking clothes out online and picking out what items they want. IT's been pretty funny. Mitch is really getting into it this year. He has specific requests. Thank goodness he is nice about it all. Since Old Navy has finally come to our area, I decided to take them to the store and find things. It was nice that they had already picked stuff out online so they knew just what they wanted. That didn't mean the trip was easy for me. Ellie was not good for me at all. She was crying most of the time in the stroller and I just couldn't even think. I think the rest of any school shopping we do is going to be online. I knew I loved online shopping for a reason. I was curious to visit the new store and the kids were so excited to get stuff. I remember being like that. It was a big deal to go school shopping when I was young. It was the best when my dad took us!!

It was fun getting new clothes and picking out some cute ones for Emily. She was excited and was picking out everything! She is really excited to be starting preschool this year. I think it will be really fun for her. I can't believe she will be 4 next month.

After a trip to Old Navy with all 4 kids and a short visit into Costco, I was good for the day and ready to go home. I had packed the kids lunch with us so it was nice not having to come home to then make lunch. The rest of the day we hung around the house and stayed busy. The kids watched High School Musical. That is the first time that we have seen it. It is pretty cute....Todd could hear the singing and said to me, "this is just awful." I had to remind him that Mitch is getting a bit older and really liking some of these shows instead of cartoons now. It was pretty classic to hear Emily sit down last night with the remote and tell us that she really wanted to watch Hannah Montana. She hears the boys and then repeats everything. She has to be grown up just like them. Too funny.

Todd is having to work on his "off" Friday today. Bummer. I really love when he has Friday off. I can sleep in and workout a bit later than o dark thirty. His company picnic is tomorrow so I have to make a dessert. I love to bake!!! Any excuse to get out a good tasty recipe is fine with me.

Things for today to check off of my list....

-clean kids bathroom
-vacuumn
-wash clothes
-make a dessert
-return some clothes
-clean out car

Hopefully at the end of the day, I can check all of those off.

Photos of the Ball Family Reunion '07(Dad's side)

My younger brother Mike and my oldest sister April....


Mitty winning his hoola hoop contests.....


My dad reliving his youth.....


Todd joining in on the fun


A partial family picture...Todd, myself, Ellie and Emily at the picnic...


My dad's 2 nephews...they are brother's....Chuck and Bob Stoddart


Here is Grammy, my mom's mom. She came and enjoyed the festivities. She is 86 and looking good!