Memorial Day Weekend

While Memorial Day is not the official start of summer, it is certainly the symbolic one. And as if Mother Nature knew exactly what day it was, the heat came. We have had quite a pleasant May and spring. There have been a few hot days in there but overall very nice. Now the 7 day forecast is nothing but 90's and a big bright sun. Makes me really want a pool, a private pool in my very own back yard because I will not be seen in public in a bathing suit...no way, now how, not gonna happen!

Our friends came up from Dallas for the weekend. We have had 1 family of visitors before, but this was our first house stayers. So Mark and I each did our share of cleaning up Thursday to welcome Amy, Linda,   Big D, and Darren & Tanya on Friday. They (and Mark) had big baseball plans that afternoon. They all made it back to the house that evening and the dominoes began. DOMINOES! It is certainly our favorite pastime.

Saturday morning we all went to the OKC bombing memorial. We have lived here for almost a year and have never been. It was beautiful and very moving. I remember it happening, but not being from here, you tend to forget about it, about how tragic it really was. I think the site really honored those people who lost their lives that sad day. If you are ever in OKC or just passing through, you must go visit.

After that, the gang went back for more baseball. I guess they did not get enough sun and beer the day before. They rejoined me that evening again for more fun and games. This time took it outside a bit for a round of boccie ball.

And inside a bit of Taboo!

And of course....

All of our friends headed back south Sunday morning. We spent the rest of the day doing a lot of nothing. I did sneak off to a movie during nap time. I saw Bridesmaids. From all of the previews I had seen, I thought it looked ridiculously stupid and certainly one of those movies I could REDBOX later. But everyone has been talking about it, so I went. I have not laughed so hard. SERIOUSLY if you haven't seen it, please go. I would see it again, that's how hilarious it was.

Monday I wanted to take a picnic to the lake. Couldn't quite convince Mark of that one, so we opted for the science museum instead. Love that place. I could spend hours there, and we will because it is just about too hot for the zoo now.

 There is certainly something for everyone here

 This used to be the world's largest indoor spiral slide

but the sign was gone

so I'm guessing it's not the largest anymore

 But just ask Mark

it's definitely big enough

he was dizzy when he got down

and Christian had the drunk walk

Monday night we grilled burgers and ate the official summer fruit WATERMELON! And I had a relaxing evening while I worked on some of summer schedule plans. Got to keep those kids entertained!!! Mark finished up the laundry, did the dishes, and put the boys to bed. What do you think about that ladies???

Hope your weekend and kick off to summer was great! Thank you to all the soldiers and their families who do and who have sacrificed their lives for us! HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

We are getting ready for more visitors today, Connor's buddy Ben from TX! More on that later.

NOT ME!

Someone got hold of my one prized possession....my MAC! And before anyone could notice him on the kitchen table, too many keys were ripped from my beloved MAC! While typing is not impossible, it is not fun. Plus it makes me really really sad. I made an appointment at the mac store genius bar on Friday, praying that reinstalling keys is something they do!

I will post again when I am fully functioning my friends.....

Game Day

Connor's first....
He had his very first GAME DAY at school a couple of weeks ago. While it was very different than the field days of my time, he had a blast. I was thinking potato sack races and running with eggs on spoons while all the parents stand on the side cheering the kids on. The week before the kids would work on the class T shirts that everyone would wear that hot sun shiny day and then get popsicle drippings all over it, but who would care because you would wear your prize ribbon over the stains! Well, OKC doesn't do it old school like that.

Theirs was planned in the school gym. It turned out to be a good thing since the previous day it poured so the ground was soaked! They did it over 2 days and by grade. We ended up with a couple of first grade classes though.

Most of these photos involve Con and his 2 best buddies, Andrew and Camden. Here they are golfing.

 And tug of war was a hit. Connor lost this match against Camden, but it was not fair ground. Camden stands several inches taller and has at least 12 pounds on him.

 A little more equally matched against Andrew. All in good fun though.

Along with this racing game, there was basketball, ping pong, climbing a rope, hockey, and balancing on some half ball thing. It was fun for the kids and less than an hour.

The best game was this:

I am thinking a couple of tires in my backyard and some bolster pillows and I could put an end to any argument Connor and Colton have this summer?!

And my game....
Saturday night Mark and I had GREAT tickets to the MAVS/thunder play off game. His boss has season tickets and some fantastic seats. I was torn about who to cheer for....my FAVE city or my new city.

I chose the MAVS! Mark and I were 2 of 10 people Dallas fans in the entire freaking place!
NO JOKE! Every person received a Thunder T-shirt and towel, so at least I was prepared in case the game went bad. It was a win-win for me. I couldn't loose and I the t-shirt to prove it.

 Hanson sang the National Anthem. Does anybody remember them? They were a teeny-bopper group about a decade ago. I did not know they were still around. Well, obviously not if they are singing basket ball games. But apparently they are from Oklahoma. Who knew? Not me for sure. But they did a wonderful job.

 Oh, but I didn't need that stupid thunder shirt! MAVS won!! It made the long walk back to the car much nicer.

 I must say though, I would happily cheer for the Thunder when they are not playing the MAVS. Those are some serious fans.

Mark was suppose to go back to tonight's game, but he hasn't been feeling well. I know it must be bad since he gave up his ticket. Must be why they are not in the lead.

GO MAVS

Need A Change

I'm bored. I need something new. Not sure what it is yet, I just know I haven't found it. This is all kind of weird for me, because I like things the "old way".  I am actually not a fan of change. This is why I am having a hard time adjusting to the way of life with an older boy, no naps and staying up later. We have had the same schedule for 5 years and now things are changing. Kind of freaks me out. Between new schedules and not being able to feel the fung shui of our house, something needs to be different.

I have rearranged the family room about 462 times since we moved. I have moved the boys rooms around 3 times in 2 weeks. I started by moving Colton from the shared room to his own, putting Christian and Connor together. That wasn't working out. So then I moved Christian out of Connor's room into a space in my room. I hated that! Now they are back to the original set up. The good news is that I can take apart and put back together a crib in just under 20 minutes.

I just made my hair appointment. It's another week out still. Probably a good thing. If I had gotten in right away, I might have done something drastic.

We had some visitors for Connor's party, but they stayed in a hotel. Next weekend we are having our first overnight visitors. I have major work to do in the guest room. It tends to become the dumping ground for anything you need out of the way.

What I really need today is a nap! Another odd thing for me, as I am not a napper. I sleep really well at night. But last night it stormed, which means  I slept GREAT! But with it still raining this morning, it just makes me sleepy. Plus Connor is having his 2 buddies over after school so it will be a mad house here in just a few short hours. So maybe I can a 15 minute power nap in...then it's time to scrub some toilets! How's that for the good life?

Hope your Friday is more interesting than mine!

Next week is the final week of school. I am kind of sad to leave some great teachers. Maybe it's actually fear of entertaining the troops for 2 and 1/2 months! Our June has filled up quite nicely. Colton will do swim lessons for 2 weeks and Connor has tennis lessons for 1 week (Mark insisted on the tennis!). Connor and his buddy Andrew will go to zoo camp for 4 days. We are taking a trip to visit the fam for a week. And Connor's buddy from TX is coming for a few days! July will be about relaxing in the blowup pool. YEAH RIGHT! A 5 year old, 3 year old, and 1 year old relax for all of 2 minutes!! It will about playing outside in the morning and arts and crafts in the afternoon.

My scale is moving at the slowest rate possible! It's hard to stay/get motivated at this pace. Doing jumping jacks for a good weigh in in a couple of days!!!

What's UP?!?!

I have so many posts ideas in my head, but haven't seemed to have the desire to get on the computer lately. Sometimes it seems to take an entire hour to do one entry. I will often put the little boys down for their nap and stop off at the kitchen table, AKA my desk, to check email. And before you know it, it's time to leave to pick Con up from school. But try to work out and the hundred jumping jacks feel like they are taking a freaking lifetime!

I guess I will start with today's news...
The big boys had dentist check ups today. It was Colton's first visit. He did surprisingly well. Con, of course, walked right in, sat in the chair, did his thing. I never heard a peep from him. Sometimes I swear that kid doesn't need me. But I guess you are forced into independence when your mom keeps having babies! Anyway, it was a new dentist for us. And he had some very high standards to live up too, as we had the BEST in TX! But he was nice and the staff was very into boys. The good news is that it appears that one of Connor's missing permanent teeth may have formed. I'm no dental expert, but I really wasn't convinced. It kindof looked like a blur on the x-ray. So we shall see. Saving money now for the implants he is going to need. And it is slightly possible that Christian has missing baby teeth. It is obviously genetic! But YAY! no cavities!!!!

Our TX home is officially back on the market, as of yesterday. We have had 2 showings. Of course showings never were the problem. The house backs up to a big street and it really deters potential buyers. So lots of prayers for a quick sale or lease...please!

I really want a bike, which would mean I also want a trailer for the kids to ride in. And one of those little bikes that attaches to your bike for Connor. I have these really great visions of family rides on Saturday mornings. Or me riding the little boys when Connor is off playing. He could go along with us on his bike, but Mark took his training wheels off and he's not to interested in learning to ride. If he could get it figured out in 1 afternoon, that would be cool with him. But after 3 minutes of trying-he's had enough. I have not been on a bike in years. I hope that old saying is true...that you never forget.

I really really  need my hairs did! The greys are getting out of control again. I also totally want to cut my hair off, but I am not so sure I could live without my super stylish ponytail in the summer.

Our relaxing summer has turned into a busy June with friend's visiting, travel to the folks house, swim lessons for Colton and tennis lessons for Connor and a week of zoo camp for Connor also. Now I am looking forward to July.

I have been "dieting" for 2 weeks now. Eating no more than 1200 calories a day. I have been trying to work out more consistently. The first week went great, but the last week was nearly impossible to get to the gym. Someone was sick everyday. And that's my excuse not to do it. I could just as easily do stuff at home, but then I don't. So I have really only lost about 2 pounds in the 2 weeks. It is so discouraging.

I have been on the flip flop mission for months now, started it back before our vacation in March. I have been sporting the same UGLY croc flip flops for about 4 or 5 years now. They are so freaking comfortable that I can not give them up. I need a sandal that I can literally chase the kids in. I do keep nicer shoes for "outings" but wear these every.single.day. I did not want to buy another pair because I will admit they are tacky. I have shopped for, tried on, and even purchased several pair. But they seem to hit my foot wrong or rub it a weird way. I most recently ordered a pair of Keen. I loved the colors. The sole was gray and the straps a fun stripe with lots of colors. When they arrived, I loved the feel. It was a great fit to my foot and I knew I would be able to wear it all day long. But Keen's have this weird part that covers your big toe. I did not think I could used to that. So they will be going back and I am back to square one. I have already placed an order from Land's End, so maybe those will work out.  Do you have any favorite basic thongs?

That's my story folks.....
kind of boring here in OKC! Thinking about the zoo tomorrow before the rain gets here.

Toodles

Coming Up

This weekend is all about me!!!!!

double time

Not only is it mother's day

but

it's my 6 year anniversary

We usually go out to dinner

and buy each other a gift

based on the "traditional" list

with a $20-30 limit

Kind of makes you think

This year we decided to skip dinner

by the time you eat nice and  pay a sitter

you're out $200

plus I'm trying to watch what I eat

and since this year is iron

we thought we would put our money together

and buy a fire pit for the deck

It's not really iron

but close enough

trouble is....

I'm not sure I really want that

We have several outside areas

and I am having a hard time sorting them in my mind

we have a deck off the kitchen

the grill is there

we know we want that to be the grown up area

for now

it is on the second level 

and not safe for kids to be out unsupervised

off the family room we have a covered area

and and uncovered deck

we have a patio table on the covered section

and a lounge chair on the uncovered

all though I originally thought the dining table would be better

located off the kitchen

and a seating area on this side

since this is where we watch the kids play

either way

my table sucks

it is a Pottery Barn piece of crap

which pains me to say

because if you know me

you know that is my fave store

it's warped and cracked 

and looks 142 years old

it's 2 years old

but looked that way within 3 months

thanks Texas sun

so I really want a new table

so on my agenda tomorrow 

convincing Mark I need a new table

I actually found a nice, plain one at Target

my second fave store

for just a couple hundred dollars

we're saving all this money not going out to eat 

right?

also tomorrow

the LAST soccer game of the season

YAY!

such a beating

I am not a good soccer mom

The arts festival is happening in town this weekend

I would love to squeeze that in

and it might be possible 

since it's all about me

(and sort-of Mark)

We got a yard guy

the neighbor's teenage kid

hey, he's half the price

and actually does a good job

and we have Mark back for those 8 hours 

Tonight is family game night

we are playing some Scooby Doo game

kind of like jenga

should be oodles of fun!

Hope your weekend plans are great

I am going to love on my boys

and be thankful for being their mom

love on my mom

and be grateful for her being mine

(via phone and skype)

and love on my hubbs

and let him be grateful I chose him!

It's Thursday

Life is good. The boys and I are busy entertaining each other as usual. Maybe not so much today-the little boys are sick. They both went to bed last night with fevers. Colton slept with me. Let me just say, I did not sleep much. And I have no idea how he did. The boy coughed and coughed and coughed. ALL NIGHT LONG, every 15 minutes. Christian is having allergy issues now and his skin is jacked up with eczema, just like big brother Colton. This morning he was still pretty crabby and his eyes were all red and puffy. So I took him to the doctor. Before anyone knocks my mothering, I wanted to go ahead and take them both in, but the doctor was full and they squeezed me in. I am glad we went. Baby Christian has an ear infection. Nasty antibiotics have been started, so here is hoping for a happier Friday. And when I say my kids are sick, don't think the worst. No one would ever know! They are just slightly less happy than their normal super happy selves!!

This week has been teacher appreciation week at school. At Connor's elementary school, the PTA staff has had a box set up by the main entrance. They asked the students to write letters to their teachers and drop in the "mail box". Daily deliveries have been made. So Connor has written several letters to his teacher and teacher's assistant. He is writing it himself. I am spelling the teachers' names. Other than that, it's all him. So thank you is "thanc u" and love is "luv". It's sort of legible. But these ladies teach 4 year olds, they should be used to it right? Today he painted flower pots and planted flowers for them. 

I had my dentist appointment on Monday...in Dallas. So I went down on Sunday morning. ALONE!!!! That's right, a day and a half off of work. A break from the kids. A night alone in the hotel. Shopping, lunch, dinner, drinks, clean teeth...it was heaven. I came back feeling very rejuvenated. Sometimes we all need a break.