Back on my soapbox

I'm back on the whole cellphone soapbox. Why is it that people feel the need to be on their cellphones 24/7. Yes I use my cellphone quite a bit, but I demonstrate good cell phone etiquette. I do not carry a conversation in the checkout line while being checked out. I try not to carry a conversation while pushing around my cart. These people are totally in no control of the cart and have difficulty turning into the aisles. Hang up I tell you. What was your life like before cellphones. I'm all for multi-tasking but this takes it a bit far.

Where is all of this coming from.... well I'll tell you. I popped into Wal-mart for a quick pick-up of a few items. I headed for the express lane and waited my turn patiently. In front of me was a lady who put each individual item up as the cashier rang it through. She was slow as a turtle and chatting away on her cell phone. When the order was done the cashier had to tell her total twice with a 20 second lag time between each. Then she had the audacity to then ask for a pack of cigarettes. Once the total was re-rung she ever so slowly pulled out her purse and rifled through it looking for money. She was in no apparent rush. I could feel mine and the cashier's blood beginning to boil. Once money was exchanged she then looked at her cigarettes and said that they were the wrong type. WHAT? She then looks over the counter and with a look of disgust says "I guess I'll just keep these". Well I would hope so. Not only has she wasted my time but the cashier's as well. Needless to say I vented when she moved away. There I have now released my frustration for the day..... onto the laundry.

Random pieces

This here is the handicraft of our youngest. At the wee age of 5 I do believe I may have a budding artist on my hands. I even took it to work this morning and showed it off to my co-workers. How detailed he is.

This picture was taken last night before heading out in the rain & gale force winds. Hubby is being promoted next Tuesday and we attended the Senior Non-Commissioned Officers Induction Ceremony. I thought I looked good until I saw this picture. I don't even recognize myself.....that's not me. My co-worker has a saying for this : " Nothing makes you wanna lose weight than seeing yourself in pictures". Amen to that one.

This picture was taken on Wednesday after I allowed my now licensed driving teenager to drive me home from the DMV. Needless to say I was having some leg cramps from trying to stomp down on the passenger side non-existent brake. I'm gonna need nerves of steel to ride with this one for 6 months.

With all of that said we again having a pretty laid back weekend ahead. The rain has cancelled the local Fall Festival and it will probably keep me out of the pumpkin patch's & apple orchards for at least this weekend. October is full of things to do and our weekends are getting jammed packed. But I do love fall and the cool crisp nights. I even baked a homemade apple pie tonight for dessert. YUM! I believe I will settle in and watch a movie and try to sleep in tomorrow. Now if only I could train the kids to sleep in.

Hunger pains aplenty!

I am HUNGRY! The first two weeks of Weight Watchers stink. I literally feel like I am starving at times. At those moments I reach for my water bottle and swallow a few ounces down. It's 3 pm and out of 24 points I have 3 points left. Looks like I'll be having a plain salad tonight for dinner with no extra vittles. Sigh! I do want to lose weight but I just love food so much. Perhaps I should shower everything in Tabasco sauce so I can't even eat it. Hubby is also on a diet. Although he seems to lose weight faster and also has better will power than me. No fair! We'll see if I can hack it. I have before..... I shall do it again! I need to fit back into some of my clothes that I swore must have shrunk. I couldn't possibly have gotten any bigger. :-) Those are the thoughts that roll through my head when the desire to eat something hits. Or I always try to fall back on the "pleasantly plump" theory. But no more, I am going to work very hard to shed at least 20 pounds. But a chocolate bar would make me so happy right now. :-)

On a mission

I was on a mission today after work. I needed to secure a black dress for an upcoming function this week. So off I went to the Kohl's Department store. I found a cute black dress and quickly ushered into the dressing room to have a look. I know I've talked about the dreaded 360 degree mirror. Why on earth do they put those in the dressing rooms. I went in feeling elated and upbeat and walked out feeling frumpy and fat. I did end up buying the dress. More so out of necessity than desire. This has sparked a new fire within me. I need to flat out lose at minimum 20 pounds. This is my mission. I need to steer clear of food and force myself into a diet. Weight Watchers here I come. Now that I've put myself out there to all my readers I expect you to help me along the way.

On a lighter note I did find a great purse while I was shopping! My Vera Bradley has seen better days so I found a new orange Autumn purse to wear for the season. Check it out....isn't it snazzy.

Hallelujah... it's the weekend!

Hallelujah, Hallelujah! I'm not tired just looking forward to getting some stuff done around the house this weekend and not really needing to go anywhere. We can't travel North this weekend as the Nascar nuts are in town, so were staying home. The boys should enjoy two relaxing days of outdoor play (by that I mean cleaning up the yard). The weekends are also the only time they are allowed to play video games and watch TV. I know what a mean Mom I am. Don't worry they still love me. Hubby took them to the base tonight for a Nascar party. This gives me a couple of extra quiet hours here at home. Can you see me? I'm the one jumping up and down with a big grin from ear to ear shouting "WOOHOO". Yep that's me!

On a different note, hubby and I have been catching bits and parts of movies this past week. "Mr. Mom" is a classic. It still makes me giggle and "The Money Pit" too. We also caught the beginning of "16 Candles" and were shocked. We missed the beginning the last time it was on and apparently missed the "boob" scene. Yes, there is a "boob" scene in "16 candles". Neither one of us remembered it either. I was glad Kyle wasn't watching with us. I would have turned 50 shades of red. Yikes!

Yes I changes the tunes again! I was feeling like the 80's again. Enjoy!

PARTY!

We had quite the party house going this past weekend. First was Joshua's party. We face painted the boys and armed them with helmets & dog togs. Then Sgt. Dad took them around back to the "base" for boot camp assignments. Once all children arrived and were sworn in they proceeded to the obstacle course. We had loads of contraptions to crawl around, under and over. They then marched off to the tug of war arena. From their they played a multitude of other games to include "Sarge says". Joshua had a great time and so did all of his friends. Mission accomplished. Note the cool tank cake that Sgt. Dad made.... and it was yummy too!

Next it was on to a quick clean-up in preparation for the next party. While I had four o'clock as a start time most of Kyle's friend's rolled in after six. I was booted out and only able to capture a few shots with the camera before all of the other kids arrived. You know it's not cool to have parents around. They took complete control of the music and serving themselves hot dogs, chips and soda. Out of 17 2-liter bottles there was only one bottle not opened. They were on a sugar high. They jousted and wrestled and chatted all night. In the midst of the party I did come out with cake and song. Shortly after I went inside a cake fight erupted and I knew better than to poke my head back out of the door. We watched from the kitchen as they smeared cake in each other's hair and faces. YUM!

With all that said it took us awhile to clean up yesterday morning. I wanted my house back to normal ASAP. The trash man ought to love me this week.

Feelin' the burn

Yes, I'm feeling it. I'm feeling the burn of the lactic acid in my thigh & hip muscles I never knew I had. The ladies and I from work decided to start a walking regiment and I am moving like a turtle now. WOW! We took the 3 mile trek at the local park and it really didn't seem that long nor that exhausting. However after sitting down last night and relaxing I suppose all that acid built up and when I tried to go to bed, Wham! I was moving slower than my grandma used too. I'm still feeling the burn this morning just not quite as bad. I know it will get better with time. What's that saying "No pain, no gain". Ouch!

Sshhhhh Can you keep a secret?

Well after thoughtful planning, calculating & re-planning I think we are headed to Disney this fall. I was able to ask & snag a week off from work that corresponds with an opening at The Shades of Green hotel in Disney. I just put in reservations but I know I have a lot of leg work to do. First I need to contact the boys school to receive approval for removing them for the week. I also need to decide whether we are driving or flying. I would love to fly and just get there faster but it is more expensive and there are upsides to driving. We have driven there before and I know we can do it. It really just comes down to the affordability of airfare for the five of us. The boys have no idea and I wanna keep it that way until I have all the details finalized and clearance has been given from the schools. I'm so excited I an hardly stand it. So mums the word!

Rainy Day

We so needed the rain, but I was a little bummed to be stuck inside. Plus we also had to postpone Kyle's party to next weekend. It's Murphy's Law: it hasn't rained in months here and the one & only day I needed good weather it rains. I suppose this will just make for an extra fun day next Saturday. We have both boys parties to do. Josh's will be in the early afternoon from 11-2 while Kyle's will closely follow from 4-11. Both are serving BBQ style so cooking should be simple.

So back to today. I accomplished laundry, laundry & more laundry. How can 5 people produce so many dirty clothes. I'm not looking forward to the winter and washing loads of jeans and sweatshirts. My hills of laundry will then turn into mountains. If I ever run into an endless pot of money I would certainly spent it on laundering service & someone to scrub the boys bathroom (YUCK!).

However while folding the endless piles of laundry I have been able to sneak in some TV time for myself. I love watching HGTV & TLC. I also checked out a few shows on the Style network as well. I need a new look. I would love to be on one of the shows for a complete wardrobe & style makeover. Anyone know a direct line to Stacy London & Clinton Kelly? Although I would probably cry in front of the 360 mirror in the get-up I'm wearing today. Imagine heather gray cotton capri's and a pink t-shirt( my cleaning outfit). Apparently I didn't take a look in the mirror the other day because I ventured out to the mall & Target with friends in the same outfit. Never again I promise. :-)

Happy Birthday

Our "middle" guy turned 9 today. I woke him up softly this morning by singing "Happy Birthday" to him . He was all smiles! Then while Mom was busy tackling Andy he snuck down the steps and perched himself on the counter and snuck a cupcake out of the box on top of the fridge. ( I know that's a run-on sentence) This kid is an acrobat. Apparently he wasn't thinking clearly after the sugar rush because he neglected to wipe the chocolate icing from his upper lip. Can you say "BUSTED"! He knew better than to take from the box of cupcakes prepared for his classmates. That's me SuperMom! When I'm not ironing my cape and bleaching my tights I'm busy meddling in teenage drama and battling heaping loads of laundry. Someone keep me sane please?

As you see in the pictures Josh got scout gear for the new year and roller blades from Grammy & Grandpa. Let's hope he's careful and resists the urge to send mom packing to the ER for a 9 hour jaunt.

Check out the new Goalkeeper for the Varsity team! I'm speechless. I was surprised that he decided to switch sports teams this past year, but hey it seems to be working for him. He also passed the swimming test today and will be working on his lifeguard certification at the school this year. YEAH!! This was another item to check off of his task list for working towards applying at the Coast Guard Academy.

First Day of School

Here are a few snapshots of the boys first day of school. The bus came for the little guys while I was chatting with other moms so I had no time to really get misty eyed. It was both a sad and joyous moment. Our youngest and probably our last was finally going off to school full-day. I certainly can't believe that this day is finally here. This will give me lots of time to finally do the cleaning I've been wanting to get to. I won't have the tiny tornado's right on my heels destroying what I just cleaned. Well it's back to the grind!

A week of "ups & downs"

Sorry about the lack of posts. As many of you know I started my nursing clinicals this past week. This is where the ups & downs came in. I was totally prepared to start studying, writing papers & working in the local hospital. However sitting in that classroom gave me tons of time to think of all the fun I was missing at home. I really want to be a nurse, but I also want to be a Mom. I realized in those few short days all of the stuff my kids would have to do without. Like the snacks that I make for their friends at school. The one on one time I make for each of them and thousands of other little snippits of life that I would just be way too busy for. So, I contacted the advisors I had at the school and told them my dilemma. To make a long story short I simply put my career dreams on hold so that I can be home with my kiddos a bit longer. I am also going back to teaching preschool since all the boys will be in school full-time. Speaking of school, their first day is tomorrow. Look for those pics tomorrow afternoon. :-)