I have a hard time sticking to just one topic....

Oh, hi. Just sitting down seeing if I completed my May goals since tomorrow is the last day of May. Yeah, I didn't do so hot. Let's start with the good news, the weight loss goal I met and then some. I read the book club pick, LOVED Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, and had a blast at book club, and I read another book in May. Everything else like plant my veggie garend, and do that freaking strawberry/pansy planter thing, consign clothes, yeahhhhh..... didn't get to. Doubt I will complete it tomorrow in time either and I don't care. I had a great weekend, and I am just sooo excited for summer. I am still going to try to get to it, but for the time being I am just enjoying soaking up some time with family, friends, and playing with the kids.

I don't have any June goals yet, will try to think on them and post them tomorrow. May has just been pretty busy with school stuff, kid sports, etc. I had a friend compare May to December, and it's true, both are just so busy.

The pool is offically open, and we have been every chance. I have the watching three kids at the pool by myself, down pat this year, as tested by a long day there today. We had a lot of fun in the pool, but don't get me wrong, I am itching for a couple of hours there childfree with my nose in the book. Maybe next weekend for a bit =)

Laura's last day of preschool....

Today Laura was a student at her preschool for her last time. As expected, I have been all emotional. Seriously, so emotional, that Laura told me to just stop it, as she was tired of me crying. This morning I took a few pictures of her, and of course her sisters outside. Her preschool sent home her file today as well, which I didn't even know they kept. Basically, for her three years there they kept every note I sent into school, permission slips, enrollment forms, AND the teachers kept blurbs for each month of the school year on the children. It was cute to go back and read about her when she was 2, and even funny to see the things she said this year. Apparently when they classroom was having a discussion about recycling, Laura told her class that her dad likes to put trash in the back of his truck and take it to the dump lol. There were pictures that they took in the classroom, and some projects that they made. Honestly, by the time I was done going through her files, I was bawling my eyes out.

I am so sad that she's done with preschool, but so glad she is going to a great school next year. I feel really good about our choice, and I know this is just the begining of her growing up.

Blurb Post....

I have been the worst blogger in the world. I just have not had a lot of time, and when I have had time, I didn't feel like blogging. And all I really have for you today are a bunch of blurbs.
*I am now down 25 lbs. Apparently, it takes 25 lbs for people to start noticing lol, as people are finally giving me some good feedback. I feel pretty good, and I am aiming for about 10 more lbs. Quite honestly, thought I am excited about the loss, I wont have much that will fit me when I hit my goal. Don't get me wrong, I love shopping, but who the heck can afford a whole new warddrobe, and how scary is it to buy new clothes in smaller sizes while being scared that the weight will be put back on. I went through the same thing several years ago, and I ended up selling the things on ebay and whatnot, and at least I never got back to that weight. I did gain weight after I got down after Emily, but I didn't at least have to go up in clothing sizes, I just crammed myself in the same clothes. I guess I just need to bite the bullet and start parting with some things that are crazy big. If they don't stay around, it will be motivation for me to not go crazy again.

*I am attempting to get things ready for a Memorial Day cookout we are having at our house Saturday. It's been kinda hard with all of our other activities going on this week. I thought about calling out tomorrow to take a personal day to get things ready, and then of course I can't do that now, as I have to do something important at work in the am.

*I can not wait until I can sit by the pool and play with my kiddos. We are pumped to all be able to ride our bikes there as well, now that the kiddos are training wheel free. We have a seat on Dave's bike for Emily to ride in (it wouldn't fit on my bike, since my tires have fenders).

*I am sadz that Oprah's talk show isn't going to be on anymore. Her shows were always interesting, and never got trashy like all of the other talk shows.

*I want a shellac manicure so bad. I just need for find a cheap place, since alot of the places charge out of the ying yang, and find the time to go get it.

Almost time for summer.....

Yesterday Laura and Rachel's school had their annual spring picnic, and next week is the last week of school for them for the year...I am excited for summer, but I have been sad that these last three years of preschool went by so fast for Laura, and next year she will be in kindergarten!! Seriously, I cried probably three times this week thinking about it. It wasn't all that long ago that I was walking her to class for her first day when she was 2, I cried when I left her. She's learned so much during her last three years, and made great friends. Now grant it, I am not saying preschool has made her a genius, but she still impresses me with what she has learned, and the social part of it is just awesome for the kids. I hope she will be as happy at her new school as she has been there...

Today I will appreciate him.

Yesterday my husband got an award and was honored at a ceremony recognizing Police Memorial Week. I took off and took my girls so they could see their daddy get this award. It was an eye opening event for me. Police Memorial Week honors police officers that have been killed in the line of duty. Three officers in his department have been killed since it has been around, and every year those families are present and honored as well. Dave got a lifesaver award, for helping save some one's life in a car accident.

You know, I am so guilty of taking every day for granted. I find myself angry a lot about his job, especially now that he is back on night shift, and it's all for selfish reasons. To be honest it's hard having a husband that is a police officer. A statistic stated during the ceremony was that in every 53 seconds, a police officer is killed in the line of duty. Every day that my husband goes in to work it's never promised that he's going to come home. I know the same can be said for everyone who goes to work, or heck, just leaves to run an errand, but because of the very line of work he is in, his chances are that much greater. When I was in middle school, and officer in our city was killed in the line of duty. My parents and I stood on the side of the road with hundreds of people paying our respects as the funeral procession made their way down the main road. I hope to God that I am never inside one of those cars for my husband or his friends.

My husband doesn't have a job in which he just has to work 5 days a week for 8 hours a day. Nine times out of ten, he has to stay past the time he is supposed to go off duty. It doesn't matter if it's a holiday, or a celebration is planned. He only has one weekend off a month, and his days off during the week, aren't exactly days off. Most of the time he has to be in court, or he has a training. Grant it, he does get paid for that time, but it eats into his free time, and is taxed to death if it's over time. Now that he's on night shift, if he has court at 2pm, it doesn't matter if that's when he needs to be asleep, he still has to be there. His lunch breaks can be ended at any minute. I have to say, that Dave is an excellent father, and wants to be there for every activity that the kids have. He sacrifices sleep to stay up and go to a tball game, or whatnot, and just deals with being tired so he doesn't miss something. If a hurricane, snowstorm, or some other bad storm comes and he happens to be off, he can't just stay home and take care of us, he will get called in. Don't get me wrong, he went into this profession understanding that. He very rarely complains, if anything he just says he's tired.

He's not exactly rolling in the money either. Ever look up what a police officer makes? Most work extra duty, or find side jobs to try to make ends meet. My husband has a college education from a 4 year year school. We also don't get a housing allowance like the military does, I can't do my grocery shopping on base, and there are not police officer discounts when we go shopping. To be honest, I think it's been about 4 years since he has gotten a raise because of salary freezes in the city in which he works. Health insurance premiums continue to rise, gas prices go up, heck, everything goes up. I am not attempting to get sympathy, or try to say people in the military have it easier. But they deserve the same respect. People like to complain about the police, because I guess they can be an easy target. No one likes to say that they deserve getting a speeding ticket, or admitting they they just messed up. But just like people in military, they are sacrificing their lives for everyone else. I myself need to do a better job understanding that, instead of being mad that he's not helping clean the house when he's off. Though I get frustrated having to deal with a lot by myself, I have to remember that he may not come home one day.

Blurb Post

*I am going to need it to rain this weekend so we can be forced to stay inside to get housework done. I am so far behind on cleaning, organizing, laundry, etc. It's just hard to get those things done when the weather has been so nice, and we want to do everything outside.

*I am in love with my new washing machine. However, our old washing machine is seriously still sitting outside by the garage, as my husband said he wanted to see how much money he could get for scrapping it. Of course that was about 4 weeks ago now, and it's still sitting there...I am starting to think it's going to sit their forever to let everyone know we are proper white trash. I am totally going to tick him off by putting out for the garbage man Monday, but oh well.

*As of today I am now 20.5 lbs down, and funny enough the only people to have said anything to me about noticing the weight loss include, my husband, coworker, and a drug rep. That's when you know your fat- when you can drop that much and hardly anyone notices.

*Two weeks from this weekend our pool opens up! Though I don't think it's quite that warm enough for some pool fun, I know the kids will be excited to go, and I will risk freezing to make them happy. A friend of ours with three kids is joining the pool this year, and I can't wait to watch them all have fun together!

*The girls also just have two more weeks of school, before they are out for the summer! Time just flies by! I am sad Laura wont be there next year, but so thankful that she is going to an awesome school next year. I just watched the documentry "Waiting for Superman", on Netflix, and it makes me so glad that our area's schools are not that bad, as it's such a heartbreaking matter to see some of the public school systems in the USA. I seriously cried watching the end of it.

Bike Shopping...

Last Wednesday as promised, Laura and Rachel got new bikes. We ventured up to Conte's bike shop to seal the deal. Growing up two of my bikes came from there, and in fact when I was 13, my parents bought me my final bike to take me through until I was 27 (then Dave bought me pinky). Anyways, when I was 13 I got to ride my bike home which isn't exactly close by. I thought I was something special.

So we looked at bikes, and we saw some that were ok, but one of the guys said they just got a bunch of ones in that they were getting ready to put together. They were perfect! Laura chose pink, and Rachel wanted the purple. They even gave us a discount for buying two! They always give great service, good deals, and have quality bikes. I know once they outgrow these, we will be back!

Rachel learns without training wheels too!

Yesterday Rachel learned how to ride her old bike without training wheels, we figure by the end of the week she will be brave enough to try it out on her new bike! (The girls got new bikes from Contes Bike's last week).

Book reading...

The book club pick for this month is Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. I had heard bits and pieces about it, as this is written by an asian mother on how she has raised her two children here in America. People have been talking a lot about the book as her views on childrearing are considered controversial. I knew the book would be interesting so I was glad to see it picked by a member in the group.

I spent some time trying to find it at various libraries, as when I looked at the Kindle download price of 12.99 I thought I could do better. The waiting lists at every library in my freaking area and then some are crazy long. I looked in used bookstores and on some of those online. No luck, or rather if it was cheaper then 12.99 it still wasn't far off. With the Ipad I also can down load apps for the Nook and Ibook, so I checked the prices for the book and it was the same, so I just went ahead and got the kindle download. I have not regretted the purchase.

I just started it yesterday afternoon, but I am already on Chapter 17. I am finding myself agreeing with a little, wincing at a lot, and actually seeing a bit of my dad in it as well lol. It also brings back some memories of a middle school BFF I had who was Korean. Her parents had some to the USA, and her father was a pretty awesome Doctor. They had three children (my friend was the youngest), and all of them ended up at Ivy League schools when it was time for college I think. I remember in 6th grade her telling me that she wasn't allowed to date until she was in medical school. I found this crazy because at 11 I wasn't exactly thinking about the future. Of course as we grew older she did have boyfriends, she just had to get creative with hiding it from her parents =). I actually still keep in contact with her a little on facebook. I believe she's a pscyhotherapist or something like that. Funny enough she posted on facebook that she finally told her parents that she had a boyfriend, and had been living with him for years.

I highly recommend this book to every mom out there, not as a how to raise your kid guide, but just to see how different the views are from American ways.

Teacher Appreciation Week!

Things at school are winding down, and in a few weeks, both girls will be out for summer! This will be the last few weeks that Laura is there for her preschool career, and that makes me so sad, but excited for her as well. Next year Rachel will have her sister Emily heading off to school with her. Anyways- this week is Teacher Appreciation Week. Please tell any teachers you know how much you appreciate them! We trust them with so much, and they make such huge impacts on children. For gifts this year I had a lady I know from JL make these personalized key chains for the girls teachers (main teachers for each and their assistant). It's a key chain that also has a card holder on it, so they can put in their drivers license or what not. I thought they were super cute, and eventually I am going to order one for myself =).

The lady makes them out of her house, and she does a lot of really cute stuff! Check her out on Facebook- her shop is called Double Love Designs. I ordered them this weekend and she had them done Tuesday. Super Fast! After gymnastics with Rachel yesterday I finally got by her house to pick them up, and we spent last night wraping them up and having the girls make cards for the teachers.

I have to say, Teacher Appreciation Week makes me wonder about the middle school and highschool teachers. Do they get spoiled like I see the the preschool and grade school teachers? I kinda doubt it.... I guess it get's harder once your kid starts having 5-6 teachers. Anyways, I hope they all feel some love too.

Just a cute video....

Of my youngest on her trike!

Birthday party....

We celebrated my mom's birthday at my house this past Monday. Dave smoked some BBQ in his smoker, and my sisters and I made some sides, and I purchased a baseball cupcake/cake for my baseball loving mom. I tell ya, making up some BBQ and simple sides is always a pleaser, and it's easy. I usually go with that for feeding a crowd.

This year my sisters and I did a joint gift, and got her a Barnes and Noble Nook. I am sure it will take her a little bit to figure out, but I am pretty sure she will love the ease of having pretty much any book she wants at her finger tips. I think she was very surprised, or at least I hope she was, and that my kiddos didn't rat us out, as they were with me when I went to purchase it.

Sunless tanner...

I am a reformed tanning bed junkie. I used to hit it pretty hard in highschool, and I slowed it down after then, but still went way more then I should have. I'm pretty fairskinned so tanning beds were pretty much the only way I could get dark. However, now more then ever I fully understand how bad they are for you. Maybe it's also the fact I am getting older, and I am scared to death of getting skin cancer which is pretty heavy in our family, and not to mention the whole ageing process.... EEEEK. Don't get me wrong, I still go to the pool and beach, and spend a lot of time outside, but I use sunscreen, and I may go all old lady and wear hat or visor this year too.

I have been using some self tanners the last few years, they worked ok, but as I was doing a two step process I wanted something a little simpler. I was pretty much using a gradual lotion like Jergens, and then taking some Loreal or Neutrogena spray tanner and doing that. The color was ok, but still not all that dark, and it was a pain to wait for two to dry while standing around all akward naked in the bathroom for freaking ever....

So I asked around, got some ideas and suggestions, and I ended up buying something the other day while out that I had heard about. I went with Sunlabs Ultra dark lotion. I love it! The color is very nice, and not orangey. It also smells good when you put it on, but once the color develops I find the smell changes over to the same old self tanner smell. Basically what I do is shower at night, and then put the lotion on. I go to bed after, and then in the morning I shower again to get the smell to go away (the smell isn't that strong, but I rather smell nicer). When you apply the lotion you can tell where you are putting it as it's very dark as it has a bronzer in it (that's another reason I also shower in the morning as the brozer is a little bit too much for me). So when you shower the smell goes away, and the brozer washes off leaving you with a nice tan. Also, a good tip is as soon as your done with the lotion Windex those hands. Seriously, sounds silly but it works wonders.

I have used the lotion now twice, the first time I had some mistakes, but after two times I feel pretty good using it now, and I think this will be my go to for this summer. They have a few different shades, but I went with Ultra dark which still doesn't look weird on someone pale like me.

April Goal Recap, and new May goals...

It did ok with my goals. My first goal to lose 10 lbs I did awesome on... I ended up losing 14. I am pretty proud, but sad it's not more noticeable...I can tell in my clothes and of course the scale at least. Even more sad, I need to lose more, and now that the initial came off quick it's going to be harder as it seems like I can always lose weight fast for a few weeks, and then I hit a brick wall, end up getting frustrated, and go back to eatting like a pig. But all in all I am pretty proud. I am going to try to aim for 5lbs gone in May.

I also got the girls closets ready for spring/summer. I have more items to take to a consignment shop that they can't wear anymore, so that's my next goal, get them to the store.

I did not get around to doing the strawberry planter/pansy thing that I swore I would get around to. Blah. Failure I know, but I just forgot, and never got around to buying any pansies. I am planning on getting some veggie plants for a small garden like I did last year, so if pansies are even still around anymore I will buy some and take care of that too. If they are all gone or out of season I will figure something else out similar.

We followed through with going to church all through Lent, and Easter Sunday. I even went today, and we will probably continue going as we pretty much agree that we like it. Now I can't say we will go every Sunday, but I think we will go pretty often.

I starting coming up with list of things for the kids during the summer. The girls want to do more swimming lessons, I already have them signed up for more gymnastic classes. I actually have Laura signed up to take a art class the next two Saturdays at a local art museum, and if she enjoys it, she might do some more classes like that later this summer. Rachel would love to do that too, but it starts at age 5. I am sure will do vacation bible school again too. They did it last year at their preschool, but I think we are going to be away on vacation that week, so I am hoping our church will have one on a different week.

So as far as May goals this is what I have:
1. Lose 5 lbs in May
2. Take a bunch of their old clothes to consignment
3. Plant our veggie garden, and the the strawberry planter thingy
4. replace a towel bar in the girls bathroom upstairs (this really requires me just picking a new one out and making Dave install it, and remind the kids towel bars are not monkey bars)
5. Read the next book club book for this month. In March the book club meeting got canceled, and then this months I had to miss as I had another meeting going on at the same time. I have been a bit of a slacker though with reading and didn't even read the April book once I knew I wasn't going. I will read May's though =)