Catching Up

This week started out hot, but today dawned with a chill in the air. It was down right nippy! Thank goodness, too. I needed a break from the heat.

Tuesday:

It wasn't too hot for the bubs...

But it really was hot.

I stayed on the deck and tried to convince myself I didn't hate this knitting project.


With a cold drink.

And a fan.

Wednesday:

Rampant mosquito bites kept us in on Wednesday.

We worked on money matters. For example; why is a dime smaller than a penny, and yet worth ten times as much?

And we counted a LOT of pennies.

Logan is clearly a financial savant.

As an unrelated aside, I'd like to point out that my Wii-Fit Mii is so fat that her tops and bottoms don't meet.

It's a snide, snide little game. I look forward to the day that my friggin Mii's clothes meet in the middle.

Today:

Back to playing outside...

We drew victim chalk outlines...

And I started a knitting project that I don't hate!

We had to call it early though. It was a little too windy and the boys really weren't feeling well.

Some kind of mutant cold has hit the house. Randy has it bad (it may have even turned into pneumonia - they're at the hospital now), the boys have a bub-sized version of it, and Dan is starting to show symptoms, too.

So, we stayed inside and read our library books (we went to the library on Tuesday, too.... but, I forgot to take pictures), played "store" to reinforce the money-stuff, and watched a bunch of Backyardigans.

I hope everyone is well soon.

I'm feeling pretty tuckered out myself, but I think it has more to do with chasing unwell bubs around and putting in a couple of miles on the treadmill today. Really, Randy is the one I'm worried about. Keep your fingers crossed for him.

Love you more than cheesecake,
Mom

Labor Day

Today we moved furniture.

Stupidly, I'd already walked nearly two miles on the treadmill before I started helping heft things up and down the stairs and up the hill in the backyard to the storage shed.

Fortunately, I got a chance to rest my bones between the treading and the hefting! I sat in the yard and watched bubs play in the sandbox while chatting on the phone. :-)

Beautiful views....

Cute bubs...

Then hefting. I got the easy part, too! Randy and Dan loaded everything themselves, and unloaded all the heavy pieces, too! But, I'm a wimp.

Now I'm a tired wimp.

I hope ya'll had a wonderful Labor Day. I miss you.

Love,

Mom

Where we are; what it's like...

A day in the life (a weekday, that is) goes a little like this:

The bubs get up around 6:15, and come snuggle in bed with me until a less god-forsaken hour. They've learned to check the clock for seven-zero-zero.

I let Daisy out, and then I check my progress on the Wii-Fit thingie. It's fun. I've unlocked most of the yoga poses, all of the balance games, more than half of the strength exercises, and most of the aerobic games, too. I'm not really losing weight, but it feels good.

I get the bubs and myself some breakfast, and then we get dressed for the day.

We've been walking to the two parks nearby.

They're each about a half-mile away, in different directions.

It's really, really nice to be within walking distance of parks.

Picnics FTW!!!

\

We've also walked a few times to the duck pond, and the library near there. That's a little more than a mile, one way - so it's not as frequent a destination. The duck pond has turtles swimming along with the ducks! They are sooooo cute. I'll take pictures next time. I have this fear of dropping the camera into the water. You KNOW me... it could happen.

We either walk to the park or get some chores done in the morning. We play in the backyard if it's not hot (and humid) enough to induce a stroke. The deck is always awesome.

TV is also awesome.

After lunchtime comes blessed nap time. We love nap time. Well, I love nap time.

While the bubs sleep, I do the Wii-fit thing and walk on the treadmill, then shower.

In the afternoons we try to spend some time on "school" type things (reading books, building with blocks, using the computer, working on letters, shapes and numbers, etc.) Sometimes the bubs help me with dinner prep. They also enjoy TV some more.

I've been making dinners since Robbie went back to work last week (doing the week-before-school teacher-stuff that needs to be done). I enjoy the cooking, too. Robbie eats a very low-carb diet due to her diabetes. It's been an interesting challenge to try and change my cooking style around to accomodate that! I am the carb-queen. I never met a carb I didn't like. I need to learn some new recipes.

We have dinner around 6:30, and then baths and bed for bubs around 8:00.

Then we have time to be grown-folk! Some nights we play pinochle. That's always fun. Also, Robbie and Randy have a Wii-Netflix disk (you can request instant Netflix movies and TV shows), and Dan and I have been watching shows. Oh! I read Jodi Picoult's "Change of Heart" and really enjoyed that. Randy's reccomended a slew of books as well, and I've been reading some of "The Manchurian President" by Aaron Klein. I need to be knitting, too.

...And that's about it. Normal days, beginning to fall into a pattern, and that's a good thing. It helps me feel less like I can't breathe. I love routine. The bubs love routine. Win-win.

Tomorrow we're going to get some chores done (grocery shopping, and moving some furniture to and fro) and then Tuesday will start a new week. I'll take more pictures and update. Promise

You update, too, please. :-)

Love,
Mom

Where to Start?

Where to start?

It was a really long trip. California to Virginia with two preschoolers and a carsick dog makes for a long road trip - if anyone was wondering.

We drove, and drove...

... and drove...

Are you getting the general idea yet?

Even Daisy was bored.

Basically, it's a really boring drive until you get to Kentucky.

The highlights were:

Hotels!

Parks!

Daddy even tried to get the bubs to roll down a hill...

(Which they thought was super cool. However, there was NO WAY they were going to try it themselves.)

Rest stops!

And (of course) the Giant Groundhogs...

(Okay, so it was a million degrees there and the bubs were less than impressed, but how often do you get to say "giant groundhogs" in your lifetime?)

I'm still glad for the experience. Going to places I'd never been to before, and seeing things that I'd only seen in movies (even it was only some salt flats and a whole lot of desert.

We've been in Virginia for a month now, and it still seems a little surreal. Our days are slowly gaining a rhythm. Dan's family is wonderful and has been terribly accommodating. The bubs are happy to be at Grandma's and Grandpa's. With Dan newly re-employed, and G-Ma and G-Pa at work every day, too... The bubs and I are stretching our VA wings a bit.

With so many people out of work and losing everything, how can I be anything but grateful for this opportunity? We're lucky, and there are so many who are not fairing nearly as well.

I miss you girls so much though... We all do.

Love,

Mom