"Smile"

Oh, here's something worthy of posting. I shot this video yesterday of Huggyface. It's hilarious. He LOVES the camera, both taking pictures and having his picture taken. He's got "smile" down pat. He also makes this hilarious "O" face that cracks us up  e v e r y  time. But the reason I got the camera out is when he hopped on my lap, I "honked" his nose, and then he copied me. It was SO funny, I couldn't resist. Enjoy!

Tired

I'm tired. Thankfully, we're at the end of a very. long. summer. Which is good cuz this mama needs a break. Not that it'll be all bon bons and soaps cuz the two most-maintenance-required ones will still be at home, but at least it will be less. Less noise. Fewer bodies. Hopefully a better work schedule for the Mr. And the little ones are easier to please.

I know God had a plan and reasons for blessing me with so many children, but sometimes I question his sanity, because of the lack of mine.

I'm sure that I contribute (heftily) to my own misery but I have always been a procrastinator and a poor time manager, among other things, so I don't know if this is His way of getting me to change that or just torture me.

Currently, lots of torture, not much change.

Please understand, I do say all this with some edge of sarcasm. But also some sincerity.

I've had a rough year, just personally, nothing bad that's happened really. Just growing older, sorting through my life's worth of baggage, hormone shifts, pounds I'm unsuccessfully trying to shed, plus 5 kids and a marriage to manage. It's a lot to... well, manage.

So sorry for my lack of posting, and my negative attitude today. It hasn't been all bad or humdrum. We've had some fun. I just have to find the time and energy to share it.

Maybe tomorrow, when my house is all cleaned.

(yes, that is me you hear laughing)

Maybe you can leave a comment and tell me the fun you've been having and the struggles you've faced. It's good to share both. Not just one or the other. The good can get others excited or smiling or help us realize the good we have in our own lives, the struggles to help us all realize we're not alone in them. So, do tell!

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..........crickets .......................

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I'm  w a a a i i i t t t i i i n n n g g g !

It ain't over yet!

I have seen a lot of people talking about how summer is almost over (I started hearing this mid-July. Seriously?). We still have a month left. I haven't decided if that is good or bad. Probably good for the Bucket List. (Have you ever made a summer bucket list?) We're still crossing things off, and have great plans to hit a bunch more.

My kids have gone crazy, though. It will be good when school starts. I have pretty much bombed on getting any sort of routine in place this summer (or ever). June went ok because there was summer school for one and gymnastics for the rest. Plus it was dang hot all the time and so the pool got a LOT of use. But then July came and the pool got a hole, and got green, and fixing either one of those posed a bit of a challenge to my laziness. (I have finally surrendered to the green, because really, how many chemicals can one pool take, and am draining the pool as we speak. The hole, however, has been fixed for over a week.)

We went to a movie yesterday. It was on our Bucket List. Yogi Bear. Cinemark has a great summer program, and fortunately, a movie theater in a nearby town happens to (be the only theater in my state to) participate. Once a week (Tuesdays) they offer a showing of a slightly older kids movie, for only $1. This is great for multiple reasons. One - it's cheap, which makes it more realistic for the budget, especially when you have multiples and this isn't the only activity you want to do this week. Two - kids don't care that it's older, they are just excited to be at the theater. We don't go to a lot of movies, so this is particularly novel experience for our children. Three - it's all kids (and their chaperones) so the unruly toddler throwing his sippy cup and nukie, shouting "DOWN" and running up and down the aisles isn't as bothersome to the audience. Not that I would know. Kids are more tolerant of kid noise, plus, it's not like anyone's paid full price. 

Each theater schedule is different. Ours happens to have three more weeks left, so maybe we'll catch another one before summer is over. But next time I'll feed them breakfast first. Nothing like feeding your kids candy for breakfast. Which was even better than the fruit pizza for breakfast they had the day before, or the chocolate cereal they had for supper later. (Krave. It's all the rage. And I must say, the Double Chocolate really is the bomb. "Made with real chocolate." And it is!!!) I guess that is an indication that nutrition has taken a back burner this summer. Oh well. I never claimed to be supermom. haha! Clearly.

Here's our Summer Bucket List 2012

• Go to the beach/lake
• Go to a swimming pool with daddy
• Nighttime swimming (with glo-sticks)(Pinterest idea)
• Air Show (we did but someone - not me - didn't last long and so we left before the Blue Angels. :(
• Go fishing
• Go to Duluth (church conference, but we did go see some touristy stuff)
• Camping (in Duluth)
• Rapidan Dam (even went for supper, not just to the park)
• Breakfast outside
• Breakfast for supper (did a few times)
• Supper outside
• Picnic (not sure if I have to be included, if not, then this one is done)
• Sibley Park
• 4th of July parade (went to an evening one and still sweat our butts off, but we did it)
• Make fruit pizza
• Make ice cream
• Ice cream for breakfast
• MOA - not sure we'll make this one
• Camp in the backyard (not sure if we'll make this one either)
• Bonfire with S'mores
• Sleep in the living room (I have NO IDEA why this is such a big deal. lol)
• Tie-dye (not sure we'll get this one done. They didn't show much interest :(
• Red Jacket Bridge
• Lemonade stand
• Family bike ride (probably not gonna happen - I need my bike fixed)
• Wash the car (you know, with sponges and the hose)
• BMX track - we'll see. This was daddy's idea, and therefore his to implement
• Decorate cupcakes
• Vacation (soon!)
• Waterpark (soon!)
• Niagara Cave, Harmony MN (soon!)
• Stay in a hotel (soon!)
• Go to Como Zoo (possibly soon)
• Candlelight dinner
• Catch fireflies
• Mini donuts at Farmer's Market (tried once and failed. maybe this week? On the way to my class reunion barbeque picnic at the lake? yeah, we'll see)
• Geo-caching ? (available thru state park system)
• Fly kites
• Go to a movie
• Human bubbles (Pinterest idea)
• Experiment day/?week (sort of a Pinterest idea)
• Minneopa

So 15 of 42 completed. And I think we can accomplish another 15 more, at least. Not bad. We'll knock off a handful with a mini-vacay weekend we have planned soon. A bucket list a great way to gather ideas of stuff to do, and then the kids feel like "we've done something" vs "we never do anything". Even with kids as young as mine, I've heard that line before, and with this list I can look and say, "oh, but we did  XYZ." It also pushes you in a few ways - to be creative with your activities ( not everything has to cost $$,) to do things that you would rather not do but the kids would love, or things that you've never done before. Plus, since it's "on the Bucket List," cereal for supper suddenly becomes even more cool. (For the record, our "official" Breakfast for Supper meal was pancakes with strawberries, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. I did not take the easy way out... for that meal.)

What would you have put on your summer bucket list?