I'm not sure about why this is, but for some reason in the summer, when I say "going to the pool", my head decides that it counts as exercise. Like, when I am totally my exercise for the week in my head, I'm thinking, "Well, I went to the pool on Wednesday and Friday." Which would be fabulous if I actually DID any exercise whatsoever when I was at the pool. I do not. I dip in the water a few times, pull my kiddo on a few laps to practice her swimming strokes, and then lay on my lounge chair and read and talk. Seriously, the most strenuous thing I do is raise my arms over my head to hold my book there so that it blocks the sun.
However, I've still been running some, and going to Zumba two or three times a week, so I'm not being a total slacker.
I'm working on cleaning my house, and I set a goal for myself yesterday. I had really been thinking that at some point we would move, that we wouldn't live in this little house forever. But the longer that we live here, the more I think that we're stuck here. So, I decided that if I get the house REALLY clean (which is always my summer goal, but often gets shoved aside in favor of swimming and getting sno-cones and reading books), like lemon-oil-polish the wood sort of clean, then I am going to reward myself by painting the laundry room. Which seems not-so-rewarding in print, but which I am actually really motivated by. My laundry room is currently less than inspiring to me, and I want to paint it a lovely rich teal color, with chocolate accents. That would require tearing off old wallpaper first, but I'm really fairly motivated to do this. And while I'm at it, I think I'm going to also paint the UGLY stairs leading from the laundry room to the basement. I saw a photo of stairs painted to look as if they had a runner down the middle of them - I'm thinking that I could do that in the teal, as well. If I'm going to stay in this house, I might as well do some of the renovations that I've been delaying, thinking that we'd just move away...
Okay, off to Zumba it is. This morning is the weekly "Mom & Me" class, so L gets to dance, too! :)
Then I think that we'll go do the once-a-week run into Hutchinson - buy groceries, run errands, etc. And I think that we might get to watch Ella for the afternoon today. She's the sweetest little punkin'...and I get to give her back at the end of the day, so I don't lose any sleep over her!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Road Trip to See Great-Grandma 6/20/11
We just got home from a 2-day trip to visit Great-grandma Fast in Beatrice. Jill and I and our kids all drove together in her van. It has been 48 hours filled with:
*"Pete and Repeat were in a boat. Pete jumped out. Who was left?" asked over and over and over...in a moving vehicle, with no escape hatch.
*M and G singing their versions of Taylor Swift songs, loudly, sometimes with dance motions.
*C saying:"Don't say the woood disgusting. It makes Aunt Ca-wa have da sad face."
*"It's my turn to push the elevator button! No, you did it last time! Well, you got to do it twice one time! No, it's not your turn!" Repeat same scenario with "use the room key card" inserted rather than "the elevator button".
*C singing, "I love you so much. I love you so much!" over and over. I wish I could have gotten it on video. It was ADORABLE!
*Taking the kids geocaching at Homestead National Monument - the first time that M and G have gone geocaching.
*Touring the farm house. This was a super sad experience for me, to see how degraded the farm is. Ceilings fallen in, dead animals inside, all windows broken out, etc.
*Getting to see my uncle Vern. Isn't it nice when you LIKE your relatives? It always makes me sad that we don't live closer to him.
*Trying to coerce 4 children into falling asleep at remotely the same time.
*Keeping L calm in the face of the approaching storm on Monday night. The park ranger told us that we were in a tornado watch and that we'd be getting rain and hail. Jill & I really wanted to stop and see Grandpa's headstone before heading back to town. The kids were interested, but spooked by the ominous black clouds. My kid was beyond spooked. Like "I'm not getting out of the van" spooked.
*"Pete and Repeat were in a boat. Pete jumped out. Who was left?" asked over and over and over...in a moving vehicle, with no escape hatch.
*M and G singing their versions of Taylor Swift songs, loudly, sometimes with dance motions.
*C saying:"Don't say the woood disgusting. It makes Aunt Ca-wa have da sad face."
*"It's my turn to push the elevator button! No, you did it last time! Well, you got to do it twice one time! No, it's not your turn!" Repeat same scenario with "use the room key card" inserted rather than "the elevator button".
*C singing, "I love you so much. I love you so much!" over and over. I wish I could have gotten it on video. It was ADORABLE!
*Taking the kids geocaching at Homestead National Monument - the first time that M and G have gone geocaching.
*Touring the farm house. This was a super sad experience for me, to see how degraded the farm is. Ceilings fallen in, dead animals inside, all windows broken out, etc.
*Getting to see my uncle Vern. Isn't it nice when you LIKE your relatives? It always makes me sad that we don't live closer to him.
*Trying to coerce 4 children into falling asleep at remotely the same time.
*Keeping L calm in the face of the approaching storm on Monday night. The park ranger told us that we were in a tornado watch and that we'd be getting rain and hail. Jill & I really wanted to stop and see Grandpa's headstone before heading back to town. The kids were interested, but spooked by the ominous black clouds. My kid was beyond spooked. Like "I'm not getting out of the van" spooked.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Summer Lessons
So, that expression about how experience is the best teacher? True indeed.
Summer lesson #1: Buy new sunscreen every summer. And while you're at it, check the expiration date (not all brands have one, though). If you use last summer's sunscreen, it might not be very effective any more. And if you go to the pool for the first time, and take a group of other people's children with you, you'll ALL get sunburned.
Summer lesson #2: If you go to Grandpa & Grandma's pond and walk around in the grass by the pond, you should take a shower when you get home, NO MATTER HOW LATE IT IS. Really. If you don't, you'll have about 100 chigger bites covering your bra and underwear areas by the next morning. And if you are a kid, and spent HOURS by the pond transferring tadpoles and catfish from one rapidly shrinking puddle to another, you should be particularly vigilant about the showering thing. Because you'll have about 200 chigger bites, and be all swollen and red and everything will itch and hurt. We should buy stock in Benadryl and After-Bite.
Summer lesson #1: Buy new sunscreen every summer. And while you're at it, check the expiration date (not all brands have one, though). If you use last summer's sunscreen, it might not be very effective any more. And if you go to the pool for the first time, and take a group of other people's children with you, you'll ALL get sunburned.
Summer lesson #2: If you go to Grandpa & Grandma's pond and walk around in the grass by the pond, you should take a shower when you get home, NO MATTER HOW LATE IT IS. Really. If you don't, you'll have about 100 chigger bites covering your bra and underwear areas by the next morning. And if you are a kid, and spent HOURS by the pond transferring tadpoles and catfish from one rapidly shrinking puddle to another, you should be particularly vigilant about the showering thing. Because you'll have about 200 chigger bites, and be all swollen and red and everything will itch and hurt. We should buy stock in Benadryl and After-Bite.
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