Thoughts

• A week from today is my 37th birthday.  It occurred to me that I am officially going to be in my "late 30's" as opposed to my "mid 30's".  That's weird and I don't like it. 
• I have completed week 4 of Crossfit and I love it and I am significantly stronger (physically and mentally) because of it but due to the fact that I eat as hard as I work out, I haven't lost much.  That's also weird and I don't like it.
• Today was a high of 77* and since a week ago was 102* it feels like it's Alaska all of a sudden and I turned the heater on in my car this morning which was actually kind of ridiculous.
• My hair has been totally f'd by pregnancies, coloring these last two years, and age.  It's now naturally curly/80's hair band-ish but I straighten it so for all intensive purposes, I have straight hair.  Except for today.  I wore it right from the shower to William's soccer game.  In 17 years that we've been together I have never once worn my hair anything but straight.  I asked Chris if he noticed anything different.  He looked at me and said, "Is that a new sweatshirt?" about the sweatshirt I threw on at William's game that I've been wearing for the last 12 years. 

• It's Friday - again.  The weeks are flying by and I'm unsure if I like that.  I desperately want to get out of this fighting all the time stage but I don't want the years to go by so quickly like they seem to be.  I'd like to slow things down a bit.  I'm likely saying this because I have three silent sleeping kids at the moment...
• Today is the 3rd anniversary of this here little blog.  I am so grateful and appreciative of each reader.  I think I was born not only to be Drew, William, and Lauren's mom, but I was also born to be a Real Housewives junkie, a baker of crap that makes me have to do shit like Crossfit, and a writer without a publisher.  Couldn't be happier about any of that.  
• xoxo 

Blog Anniversary GIVEAWAY!

I started this blog on October 5, 2009.  I just sat down one day and started writing.  I knew my mom, my mother-in-law, and a few of my girlfriends would check in on it every once in a while so I figured, what the hell, during naps I'll sit and write a few things that I think moms SHOULD be talking about but often don't.  I am by no means an authority on parenting but I think it needs to be told like it is.  Result?  The Blog. 

Since then I've published 836 blog posts.  That is approximately 800 stories and thoughts that Chris didn't have to hear about and although he doesn't ever read the blog, I know he loves the blog for that very reason. 

SO! In celebration of this little blog's three year anniversary we're doing a GIVEAWAY!  It's the same giveaway prize I did last year at this time. It's so cute, why change?  With some blog giveaways you have to do 5 different things just to qualify and enter.  This one is so easy.  Ready?  You have to "like" my Peters Party of 5 facebook page. You have to "like" our giveaway boutique's facebook page, Misty's Cans and More. That's it. (You can click on both those purple links to get to the appropriate page, click like, and you're done!)

The goods:

Isn't it so cute? You can use this festive Fall decorated can as a vase, you can fill it with kitchen goodies and give it as a housewarming or a thank you gift, you can put your favorite recipe inside and give it to your child's teacher, the possibilites are endless, really.  And when you receive it, you'll likely find a little something special in it for YOU to get into a festive, Fall mood.

The giveaway will end and a winner will be chosen on the three year anniversary, Friday, October 5.

Remember, all you have to do is "like" Peters Party of 5 and "like" Misty's Cans and More.

Thanks for reading and checking in and for the feedback you provide. I'm proud to be a member of the Mommy Club and to be able to share my stories and in return hear about yours.

*BONUS- If you comment on Peters Party of 5's facebook page, your name will be entered twice!

Please be sure to "like" both pages to enter and pass this along to your friends!

*The can may differ slightly, depending on the Fall paper and ribbon that is available. It will be a Fall theme/colors.


xoxo!

I was hoping it would be getting better by now

I know I've written about William and his moods but I'm going to do it again.  It's still relevant and a daily issue here so therefore it's on my mind at the moment.

He turned 6 two weeks ago and although I didn't expect a magical transformation overnight, I think maybe I hoped for a magical transformation overnight. 

He's such a mixed bag.  He's incredibly sweet and curious, as smart as I was when I was probably 10, and has a sense of the world beyond what has been taught to him and seems to come from nowhere.  He also is as moody as a freaking 15 year old girl, is effected by the weather, his hunger, his sleep, and his familiarity with what is going on in the current situation.  William is not terribly hard to make happy but it's incredibly difficult to keep him happy.  He's always interested in what's next.  That's a bit hard to explain but it's the only way I can put it into words. 

Today we spent the afternoon at a beautiful park in the bay area for Chris's fire department's annual family picnic.  It's really geared for the kids and between the food, the sack race, the egg toss, the tug-of-rope, and the prizes, all three kids had a blast.  Until... we were headed home and William dropped one piece to one of the prize toys he'd won.  That's all it took for him to lose his shit.  That was about 30 minutes into our drive home.  Given another 20 minutes in the car I was ready to lose my shit, too.  The thing is that after all of this experience with him and his moods, I have learned there is a certain way to handle him.  He isn't beyond recovery if it's handled in a certain way.  Here is my issue with it all:  loving him out of these moods is effective sometimes but handling it any other way backfires every time.  It's such a fine line.  I won't tolerate enabling him or being all foo foo about it to then encourage the behavior but by doing the whole "knock it off" method seems to exacerbate it 10 fold. 

Alltosay, it's exhausting.  I'm tired of it.  I feel badly for him that he gets that way.  I pray for continued patience because it's getting harder for me to love him out of these moods as he gets older.

I feel like, as his mom and his ultimate teacher, I have done a good job of giving him the tools to deal with his emotions.  By that I mean I've done what I know how to do.  I am confident  that at this stage in his life that his toolbox is full.  I also think that Chris and I have done (and continue to do) a good job of teaching him how to use those tools when we are not around.  God forbid he get hungry, hot, frustrated, bored, or angry with something while away from us.  Good luck, my friend!  People aren't going to put up with that bullshit behavior/attitude.  I have explained all of that to him and he gets it.  I'm just not sure that his 6 years of emotional maturity can handle it all yet. 

It's a process.  A daily process.  I'll continue to provide him the tools and the ways in which he can use them to help him deal with his moods but the process of doing so is beyond draining.

I just want my smart, sweet boy to be happy and to be able to remain happy despite any outside influences.  It doesn't really sound like too much to ask but it's an impossible wish to be granted at this point.  We'll continue to work on it.

I haven't dressed up for Halloween in years. Not intentionally, anyway.

Bwahahahaha!

Wait.  Are you talking to me?

It's that time again! Or is it??

I'm one of the people who is all like, "Oh, my gosh.  It's August and Costco has their Halloween candy, their Fall wreaths, and their snowmen out.  What idiots." 

Then here's me at home:

While outside it's this:

So, it begs the question - what determines Decorating Time?  If I went by the weather, and for some reason I feel like I should, I wouldn't decorate for Fall until late October.  But that's too late for me.  Should we use the calendar?  Is it just a feeling?  Is it the fact that by 7:30pm it's pretty much dark as opposed to the 9:00pm sunset we're used to all summer?  Whatever it is, it struck me yesterday and I've decorated for Fall.  Now, if the weather would just cooperate I would feel as if it's really ok.

Social experiment WIN

Tonight when I put William to bed, I sat down next to him and said, "Today while you and Drew were at school I took Lauren to the park.  There was a little boy there, he was probably about 5 years old.  He was being really mean to Lauren.  He started by laughing at her, then he pushed her, called her stupid, and made her cry."  William sat up, looked really distressed, and said, "I'd kick his butt if I saw him."  I said, "I asked him to stop and he didn't.  Then I told him in a stern tone to stop it, that she is only 3 years old and it was really mean to talk to another person that way."  William said, "Where was his mom?"  I told him that she was over on another bench not paying attention.  He said, "Well that's terrible and that little boy should get in trouble and apologize to Lauren.  He's lucky I wasn't there."

Then I said, "You know what?  I totally just made that story up."

William laid down while smiling and staring at me and he said, "That little boy is me, isn't it?" 

We then talked about how it makes Lauren feel and how as a big brother his job is to protect her and care for her, just as he would if it had been another kid treating her that way.

He got it.

Now, I'm not delusional.  I fully expect tomorrow to be a normal day, full of refereeing, but I feel like I can forever fall back on this little story.  The Boy Who Forgets Nothing will be able to draw upon those feelings he had while I was telling him the story.

Mission accomplished.

We got screwed. Big time.

We left our little married house more than 7 years ago.  That is the first house Chris bought, I moved in before we got married, we brought Drew home from the hospital there.  It is and will forever be our little married house.  It's where we started.

When we left and moved here, we kept it as a rental.  It was difficult to have someone else living in my house but it was just how it was and within a few years I kind of got over it.  It was a huge priority to us that the house was well taken care of and maintained.  We were lucky to have 2 good renters in those first few years.

We just kicked our 3rd set of renters out.

As landlords, we still have lessons to learn, mainly that people can't be trusted.  Isn't that awful?  It shouldn't be that way in life, but in the landlord world it almost has to be.  We took him for his word, and that was our fault.  I don't take responsibility for the damage he caused to our little married house but I do take responsibility for not knowing it was happening. 

And I do not take responsibility for the fact that he is an enormous asshole and took advantage of us.

There are a lot of things that took place that I can't even emotionally go into but the underlying theme of it all was that we gave a man a second chance when he fell on hard times and we got completely screwed.

Drew's baby room in our little married house, us

Drew's baby room in our little married house, asshole renter

Our backyard in our little married house, us

(sporting my 20 week belly)

Our backyard in our little married house, asshole renter

This is the tip of the iceberg and we're devastated.  An insurance adjuster is coming on Monday and we'll see what is considered "vandalism" and what's not, in other words, what will be covered by our insurance and what won't be.  It's all such bullshit, I just can't believe it.  And not just because we were so generous and kind to this man, but because there are people who really care that little about things and are willing to treat people this way.  We're going to exhaust all of our resources to be compensated, don't you worry.  But truthfully, for me, the damage has been done. 

I'm sad.  I'm sick about it.  And I'm starting to get pissed.  I'm waiting to see what action is going to be taken before I put his name on blast.  Not that he has enough class to read my blog but, ya know.  

 

Quick thinking and I saved my own ass

I get my hair done once every 10-12 weeks or so.  Mother Nature isn't so kind as to give me the blonde locks I used to have or that my children have.  My pregnancies jacked up my hair as much as my body.  Anyway, once every 3 months or so I go and sit and chat endlessly with my girl while she spends 3 hours or more making me blonde and giving my hair a bit more shape.  Pretty simple.

EXCEPT.  Chris is a guy to the Nth degree and doesn't understand WHY it takes so long and WHY I have to do it so often and WHY it costs so much and WHY I think I look different when I come home when in fact, according to him, it looks exactly as it does as when I left.  "You don't have to understand it, you just have to respect it."  Done with explanation.  BUT, here's the tricky part.  It costs $160 total for this youth restoration process.  I knew a few years ago he'd shit a brick if he knew that it cost so much so I paid $100 in cash and put $60 on the debit.  He couldn't believe that it cost $60 to get my hair done.  *snort*.  Right?  I'm not going to say he's an idiot because he's my husband and I respect him completely but... c'mon.  So, I've never let up and everytime I go I give her $100 bill and my card is run for $60.  The girls at the place get a kick out of it still.

Here's the thing.  Chris has a girl who has pulled some strings for him for his business and he knows she lives in town and thought this salon would be a good place to get a gift card as a thank you.  He told me when I went today to pick up a gift card for, "Oh, what's yours cost, Ashley?  $60?"  Shit.  She may be able to get a bottle of shampoo or something but that's it. 

Ends up I "forgot" to get it and will another day - when I can bring cash back to do it so there is no record of the real amount.

Idiot.

You like my 60 dollah 'do?

Lunchless, almost

This is the third week of school.  For the first two weeks, Drew left her backpack and lunchbox in the car after school every single day.  Every night when I went to make the kids' lunches for the next day I'd have to ask her where they were and then send her out to the car to go get her backpack and lunchbox.  As each day went on it pissed me off more and more.  She is responsible for one thing, that's it.  Chris asked me why I didn't just make sure she had it when she got out of the car in the driveway.  I told him that I cannot be responsible for 3 kids, my pocketbook, the mail, a grande skinny caramel macchiato AND their backpacks.  Let's keep it real.  Plus, she's 7.  Bring in your own backpack! 

Over the weekend I told Drew that if I went to make lunches and her backpack and lunchbox weren't in the kitchen where they were supposed to be, I would not be making her a lunch.  She'd be lunchless at school the next day.  Pretty simple.

Yesterday, Monday, she left her backpack and lunchbox in the car.  I went to make lunches last night and there was nothing pink to be found.  I stood for a minute in the kitchen wondering if I should really send her to school with no lunch.  From a practical point of view I know that this is going to do nothing but cause grief for the teacher who will scramble to put enough snacks together for her to eat.  Her school has no hot lunch so that's not an option. 

I went to take a shower and do my thang before finishing up in the kitchen for the night.  I came out probably 30 minutes later to find... Drew's lunchbox.  The kids were in bed, how could this have happened?  Well, Miss Drew realized once she was in bed that it was in the car.  She made Chris a big I LOVE YOU DADDY card or some bullshit and brought it down while I was in the shower.  Not knowing the enormous life lesson I was about to pull off, she asked him to go to the car and get her stuff and he did.

This morning. 

Stinker.

So, she headed off to school this morning, lunchbox full and unaware of how close she came to really being lunchless.  I've decided that shall it happen again, and it will, that I'm sticking to my word because she's like her mommy.  She enjoys a good meal and one day without one will turn this girl into the most responsible backpack/lunchbox keeper in the land.  

 

Crossfit begins, Popcornopolis ends

For the last 4 months I've been doing a bootcamp 3x a week.  It's intense and fun and so hard.  I've loved it.  I've never worked harder or been stronger.  Now, if I'd altered my nutrition and continued to eat clean, I'd likely be 30 pounds lighter.  Instead of dwelling on that, I'm just pleased to be so much stronger and know that I can enjoy working my ass off (not literally) often.

Because of Lauren's school schedule, I can't fit bootcamp into mine anymore.  I'm so disappointed because I'm ready to commit to the nutrition part and combine the two.  Convenient timing, right? 

So, tomorrow I start Crossfit.  That works with my schedule and I didn't want any lapse time so I signed up right away.  (One of my besties and I are doing it together).  Anyway, I've read up on it and have talked to a few friends who have done it and it sounds really similar to my bootcamp I've been doing so I'm not too scared.  But I kind of am.  But not really.  I don't know. 

Nutrition + Crossfit and I'm hoping to be the old me that has been swallowed by the current me.  Like this:

I know.  Ridiculous.

I would never be caught wearing leg warmers.

Anyway, it's good to be working my ass off during the week.  It's good to be strong.  It's good to push myself.  It'll be even better if I stop having Popcornopolis (if you haven't had this yet you haven't lived) from Costco for lunch.

Stay tuned.  You may see me upside down on a kettle bell before the end of the year. 

Instagram? InstaGENIUS.

Do you Instagram?  Or have Instagram?  (I'm not quite sure if it's a verb yet.)  Anyway, chances are if you have a smartphone you do.  If you don't (mom), Instagram is a photo app that allows one to alter, apply a filter, and/or share one's photo.  Or, as I said to Chris when he asked what it was, it's a genius program that makes us moms who snap quick pics of our kids on our phones look like damn good photographers.  In fact, I think I may add my definition to Wiki because it's the most accurate.

The instagram app looks like this

I'll post a few of my instagram photos with the before photos as well.  You will then agree with my definition, I think.  Also!  If you wanna follow me on mine, I'm firewife511. 

Before, Little Miss swimming in a plain ol' pool

After, giving the illusion that she's practically in the Carribbean

Chris's office before.  Not only is he a Lt. in the fire department but he is also the founder, president, and head instructor at LifeSaver CPR.  *braggy braggy*

After with the dramatic blur...

Before.  Sorry to totally gross you out but this has been my week PLUS I thought the bubble at the end was amazing.

After, I made it a bit softer to be a bit less gross before sharing with a few select friends who I knew would appreciate this yesterday.

Before.  Drew fell asleep on William's floor one night and this is how I found them.  My reaction?  STFU.

After, just as sweet.

Before, taken when we were on vacation.  My friend, Kristin, and I take pics and send them if we have something to say but can say it in pics.  This was me telling her that I got sunburned.

After, trying to make it look notsobad while bringing out my freckles

Before, Uncle Brandon with Lauren and a beer can

After, minus the redneck prop

See?  Now I've disclosed my secrets.  I am really a shitty photographer with some good help.  Thank you, Instagram, for making my memories more dramatic, colorful, and romantic than they really were.

mini post ~ a quick shout out

Smooches to Erika C. and Robin G. whose brief, kind words made today special for me!  Thanks, girls.  It's the little things sometimes.  It helped me to remember that words make a difference and to speak what you think.  It could change someone's day.  Well, if it's kind that is...

Mwah.

Where ya been?

42 days since my last blog post.  What the hell is wrong with me?  If you're checking in and reading this now, thanks for not forgetting about me and writing me off.

I love you and I've missed you.

So.  School has begun here.  Seems to start earlier and earlier every year.  For the first time ever all 3 kids are in school.  Lauren only goes 3 times a week for 3 hours but I'll take it.  I have a wee bit of sadness that my baby has left me but for the most part I'm just enjoying knowing that after bootcamp on those days I don't have to rush home. 

Yeah, it kind of sums it up.

This summer was busy with stuff, but I won't bore you with the details.  A few little trips here and there, lots of swimming, lots of sibling fighting, a few ear infections, and some of the latest bedtimes these kids have ever known.  School nights mean strict bedtimes again, ironed uniforms, lunches made before bed, and out the door at a crazy early hour.  Callmecrazy but I like it.  Not the early part but the consistency of it all I like very much.

No, this is not mine.  I'd have post its everywhere because who has only one thing happening on a Monday?  C'mon.  Pinterest has good ideas, but realistic?  Notsomuch.

 

I'm an Auntie for the second time!  My brother-in-law and sister-in-law are the new parents to little Miss Payton.  I'll meet her in a few weeks and I can't wait.  I hope my kids are awful and whiney and fighting a lot before I hold new little Payton so that I won't get that baby bug I tend to get when I have a baby in my arms.  I'll rely on my own spawn to kill that this time around.

Miss Payton

I'm going to play around with the format of my blog which is neither here nor there but I thought I'd mention it.  It's been the same for over a year now and even though I NEVER look at my actual blog, I'm kind of over it when I see it.  Is there something you hate when you look at a blog?  Patterns, contrasting colors, weird font, etc?  I'm pretty boring simple so it may end up looking veeeerrrryyyy similar to how it is now.  Whatever.  

Honestly, thanks for checking in.  I hope your kids have a great beginning of the school year and that you are as happy as I am that it has all begun again.  Before I know it I'll be posting my favorite Fall candle and my pumpkin apple bread recipe.  Can't wait.

The first time... ever I saw... your face

In the next 6 weeks the Peters family will be growing by one.  My sister-in-law is due with her first baby and I think we all can remember how that felt.

Drew was born on February 10, 2005.  I went into labor with her on the morning of February 9th.  The labor was long and rough and by the time she was born I had a fever of 103* and so did she.  She also wasn't breathing.  They wisked her away to the NICU and thankfully it didn't take long to get her stabilized.  It wasn't until 4 hours after her birth that I was able to hold her.

I remember it like it was 10 minutes ago and I feel this in my heart like it's happening now. 

Those first moments with your newborn are intimate and special and no matter how many thousands of times you hold your child after that moment there isn't anything like the first.

I envy Kristen for being able to experience that in the next few weeks.

Is there anything in particular you remember about your first time holding your new little one? 

Not gonna happen

I had a real heart-to-heart with William earlier today about how he really needs to work on making better choices in how he reacts to situations, especially those involving his sisters.  He goes from calm to SUPERPISSEDOFF in a split second.  It's not appropriate and it's not acceptable.  I asked him if he had any suggestions of what he can do or what I can do to change things or how we could make it easier for him to make the right choices.  He said, through his tears, "I know an easy way to make it better for me but I know you won't agree."  I told him to just try me.  "Just get rid of the girls and I won't get angry anymore."

A piece of my crazy.

I'm not going to talk about the kids fighting because I KNOW you are over hearing about it. 

Instead I'd like to let you in on a little bit of my crazy.

I could choose from a list of things but the one crazy I have that is beyond ridiculous is how I get angry when people sneeze.  I don't mind the sound itself but people sneezing bug me.  Like really bug me.  It almost makes me angry.  Isn't that weird?  It's just now starting to happen with the older kids.  I don't feel that way with Lauren yet.  Chris is the biggest source, maybe because he's the one I hear sneeze the most but mainly I think because he's a serial sneezer.  You know, the people who sneeze lots of times, every time.  Really?  How can I keep it to two sneezes yet everytime you sneeze you have to do it five or six times?  I think he does it to piss me off.

The first time it's a "bless you".  The second time, too.  If you sneeze more than twice I start getting annoyed.  The third one gets nothing.  After three sneezes I'm just pissed.  I have nearly said something a few times but that would be even more absurd than getting angry about it like I do. 

Saw this and had to laugh.  I could have written it myself, only I would have used a few choice words in there. 

Git to work!

Teaching Your Children In Dependance

I love this.  Love, love, love this.  I am a true believer in the kids getting of their asses and doing stuff.  Not like crazy chores, but letting them figure out and discover how capable they really are.  I have yet to have Lauren wash walls yet.  That's a bit weird, no? But!  I can't wait until Drew is 10 so she can make me six salads.  That'll be awesome. 

*The title at the top of the document has indepedence not only as two words, but it's misspelled.  Disclaimer:  not my doing and I tried to delete it but it's attached to the

document so I couldn't.  

The Hunger Games - a parenting method

I'm open to suggestions.

I don't typically say that.  Not because I have it all together but because for the most part what I've done and what I do works for me in the parenting department.  Right or wrong, it works.  Until now.

I'm at the end of my rope.  Like, for realz, there is no where else to go.

When I brought home Lauren, Drew was 4 and William was 2.  I used to feel badly saying it but that was EASY.  Too easy.  Then they were each 1, 3, and 5.  That was super easy, too.  2, 4, and 6 came along and it was no longer super easy, it was just kind of... no big deal.  Now that they are 3, 5, and 7 it's like a different ballgame.  Or like a different sport altogether.  And I don't know the rules or how to play and I certainly feel like I don't have the right equipment. 

I know all siblings fight to some extent.  But mine fight from 7am until 8pm.  I'm not exaggerating or being dramatic.  The two heavyweights are William vs. Lauren but Drew gets in the mix more often than not.  The place they are in right now is awful, really awful.  We just need a slight shift in the dynamics and it'll be all good.  By that I mean maybe they'll fight only 10 hours a day instead of 13 hours.  We just need to get out of this place.  I have exhausted absolutely all of my energy in trying to press fate and make the shift happen.  I finally believe (or am just too tired to try anymore) that it will evolve on its own.  William will be starting 1st grade, Lauren will be starting preschool, they will inevitably grow up a bit this coming school year and the shift will occur on its own.  I'm banking on it.  My sanity depends on it.

See this chair?  They fought, which would have been to the death had I not broken it up, over sitting in this chair.  There is more than 3,000 square feet at their disposal, each with their own rooms, a big backyard, and 5 other couches or big chairs to sit in yet all 3 had to sit in this one.  It was my breaking point.  How do you, after 6 hours of listening to kids argue and fight, deal with a situation like this without saying "f*ck", "idiot" or "Jesus Christ"?  I managed to do it, believe it or not.  And trust me, if I hadn't, I'd tell you.  I'm beyond feeling shameful.  I'm at the end of my rope.

I see posts on facebook about how fabulous summer is and how great a time families are having.  It makes me wonder what is going on in our house and why.  And trust me.  I have exhausted all the typical avenues for these kinds of things.  "We don't talk like that to each other in this family" and "What else could you do besides yell at your brother like that?" and BLAH BLAH BLAH.  I am proud of my consistent parenting but I am finally tired.  I am beginning to feel like I just can't keep up with it.  It's like the Hunger Games is going to take place in my livingroom while I take a nap in the bedroom.  I'll wake when I hear the boom in the sky.  And then I'll go back to sleep.

So.  Since I'm on the verge of going into full survival mode where I do nothing but stare blankly at the wall, I'm wondering what you may suggest.  And I'm just going to be honest.  Marbles in a jar, stickers on a chart, and ice cream for dessert isn't going to cut it.  I'm playing with the big dogs.  But, remember, I don't know the rules or have the right equipment.  And since I'm being completely honest I'm just going to put it out there.  Right now, this game SUCKS.

Today's blog, with no clever title

I just told the kids that tomorrow we're going to spend the day at the beach and William said, "Can I bring a rope so I can anchor one end in the water and another end on the beach and I can practice my Ninja Warrior skills?"  I said sure because telling him now that there is no way that will work and that he has to play instead with buckets and shovels just will disappoint him. 

If you haven't seen this television program and you have a boy in your house, you're depriving him of seeing some great athletic stunts.  I give it my stamp of approval.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lauren was in the backyard blowing bubbles today and one bubble was so perfect and so big and lingered in front of her for so long.  She caught her upside down reflection in it and freaked.  "The bubble has a face!  It's staring at me!"  That was the end of bubbles for today.  

BOO!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We are house hunting and man, is that time consuming.  It's actually become more mind consuming than anything else.  We are very particular and not in a hurry so it may be a while but I find myself saying, "Alright kids!  Get outta the pool!  We've got a house to go drive by!"  We have a realtor but with the internet I'm scouring every website and driving all over before I make the call that it's worth her time.  The person (people) paying the biggest price right now are the kids.  I am just considering it their summer activity at this point.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

IDIOTS

Walmart is the world's 18th largest public corporation.  They have more than $315 billion in sales annually.

And they just keep on GROWNING!

How many people's desks/computers/hands do you think this sign crossed before being printed, received, reviewed AND hung out for the town to see?  I'm going to guess a minimum of 6 people.  How does this happen?  If it's your personal garage sale sign, then fine.  But when it's a big ginormous company who is trying to take over the retail world, it's inexcusable.  Completely inexcusable.  I mean, I've got a 5 and a 7 year old in my car who recognized the error.  Seriously.

It's here. * Notice the . instead of the ! *

Today is the first official day of summer.  William ended school last week but Drew ended yesterday so now it's official official - they are home.  For 10 weeks. 

Most of my friends' facebook statuses are about how it's summer! and it's fabulous! and thank God it's finally here!  My enthusiasm is a little less.  I think, as my friend Jenne suggested, it's because my kids are on such a schedule and I kinda like to keep it that way.  The rushing around in the morning for both school drop-offs and then me hustling to where I need to be is kind of over and that is 25% nice, and 75% unsettling.  I like the routine, the predictability, the missing the kids while they are gone so I love them even more when we are together thing we have going during the school year.

We have lots planned this summer.  No big trips - we've taken those already this spring - but lots planned.  Swimming, gymnastics, math tutoring for Drew, soccer, a few weeks of day camps, etc.  I'm not worried about not being busy.  It's just that my kids are still in the fight-over-every-God-damned-thing stage that I'd like to have more of a consistent routine to keep them focused and... out of each other's business.

After bath tonight Drew put a sticker in Lauren's hair.  It hurt when Lauren pulled it out, naturally.  Then Drew did it again.  After the whole, "You're seven, that's mean, why are you doing that" bullshit talk, I took the book away from which she was getting the stickers.  Within 5 minutes Lauren came to me crying with another sticker in her hair.  Really?  Really? 

Welcome, summer.  So glad you are here and have brought so much togetherness to our family. 

I wanted to have her write, "I won't make such stupid choices and I will stop putting stickers in my sister's hair" but I didn't.  Next time.  And trust me.  There will likely be a next time. 

Every summer has a story

This summer my story is going to be entitled:  Sleeveless Shirt.  Why?  Because I'm gonna work my ass off until I can wear one and not think twice about how I have old lady swinging arms.  You know what I'm talking about. 

I completed 3 weeks of my bootcamp and missed the 4th due to our Boston trip (which I'll blog about next!).  For 3 weeks I was hardcore consistent with the nutrition of clean eating and water drinking.  I worked out 3 days a week at boot camp and 2 days a week of 45 min. cardio at my gym.  I lost 6.5 inches and 10.4 pounds.  It's not noticeable because I have so much further to go but it's a damn good start and therefore I'm sold and I'm continuing. 

Boot camp #2 starts tomorrow.  I'm starting another 14 day detox tomorrow which I found to be pretty easy with boot camp #1 four weeks ago.  It SUCKS BIG TIME but it's not hard.  It's just clean eating.  It's not complicated, there are very few rules, it's just clean eating.  Rid the toxins then don't introduce them back in in any great quantity.  And yes, that includes caffeine.  I know.  That bites the big one.  

Clean eating and regular exercise.  I'm not gonna lie to say I'm kinda bummed it works but I'm pretty sure that's the magic secret everyone searches for in a pill.  Swallowing a pill would just be so much easier.  This, however, is the real deal and so for now it's a new way of life.  I have so much further to go and I'm committed.  

Operation Sleeveless Summer may become Operation Sleeveless Fall but that's ok.  I'll be with it as long as it takes.  And if you see me in November in a tank top, please don't ask me if I'm cold.  Just notice the old lady swinging arms aren't following me around anymore.  I may even order one of those shirts.  You know the ones I'm talking about.

Oh, yeah.