Library Day

The boys and I made our escape to the library today. They just love going! I love that they are so excited about books!

It was nice and quiet - even in the Children's Dept - despite the rainy weather. We hung out and browsed the books, played some games on the computer and signed up for the Summer Reading Program. They even have a Summer Reading Program for the adults! You just have to read 3 books of your choice (although they do give you a list of staff recommendations) and turn your list in at the end of the Summer. You are then entered in a drawing to win one of several gift certificates to local places.

This week's library finds include: (due July 28)

Essentially Lilly
by Lilly Pulitzer and Jay Mulvaney

Twelve Months of Monastery Salads
by Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourrette

The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior
by David Allen Sibley

Your Child's Vision
by Richard S Kavner, OD

The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge
by Heldegarde H Swift and Lynd Ward

On tape:
(no links)

"Stories of the Jungle" by Rudyard Kipling
A collection of four classic stories

"Humpback Goes North" A Smithsonian Oceanic Collection
A book and a tape about the migration of a young humpback whale

Plus each of the boys picked out a few books. Topher is still favoring the non-fiction books. Mostly sharks and dinosaurs, of course. Edmund and Charles both go for the chapter books.

Weighing in Week #2

(Plus a few days)

I am a few days late with my check in but we were away. Last week went well. I coasted through with out any hitches. No big break throughs either but that is ok.

For this week:

Current Weight:
140 lbs - down .5 from last week!

Goals for this week:
Survive the week with out eating my way through it. It has been a very stressful week so far and I expect it will continue to be one until the weekend. ugh

We have been having some really hot and humid weather here lately so I have been drinking LOTS of fluids. It helps to keep the munchies away too. It's not good for out of doors exercise though. How are you all doing?

Thank you to Donni for the link to the website with the cute little tickers! What a fun way to count down to various events or keep track of progress towards a goal. Go check them out.

Black Rock State Park

**I am going to preface this post with a little Public Service Announcement. When packing to go on a trip, it is nice to make sure the camera batteries are fully charged, it is also nice to bring along some extras but this will do no good if you forget to put the memory card back in the camera before you leave!

The boys ended the school year on Thursday so Friday we packed up the truck and headed off for a weekend of fun and relaxation.

We headed just a little North to Black Rock State Park for a weekend of camping, fishing and swimming. We had a wonderful time! The weather was perfect, too. A bit on the hot side but we were in the woods with lots of shade so it was not a problem. (We tent camp)

It was a great way to spend the weekend. It is good to be home too, though.

Now I am reorganizing the camping gear in preparation for our next trip and reclaiming my house that has been swallowed by, well, the stuff in my house!

Young Authors Night

Charles' kindergarden class has spent the last several weeks writing and illustrating their own books. The children worked really hard on these books and the teacher had them laminated and bound for them. Last night, they invited the parents to come to a special book reading at the school.

Each child got to read his (or her) book to the audience. A parent came up to help hold the microphone and show off the wonderful illustrations. Charles' book is called "The Cat Who Comes to My House". He wrote a detailed story about a cat that lives in our neighborhood. She likes to come and visit the boys and have her head scratched. They like to feed her cheese which I'm sure keeps her coming back!

All the children did such a great job on their books AND reading them out loud to so many people!

In addition to the book reading, the children did a Flag Day presentation. They recited some poems and sang several songs about the flag. They were also presented with a special award for their writing from the teacher and the principal.

We got off to a bit of a rocky start this school year but it turned out to be a great one for Charles!

*
(*Charles and his teacher, Miss Shaw)

Weighing in Week #1

First of all, I want to thank everyone for your comments last week. It is always good to hear from others who struggle with the same things. I also appreciate all your suggestions for healthy snacks! You all have given me some great ideas. Thanks!

Friday, Topher and I ate lunch at McDonald's. I had a chicken fajita, a snack sized fruit and yogurt parfait and an unsweetened ice tea. It was 7 Weight Watcher's points and I was satisfied. I was very proud of myself for choosing wisely!

For this week:

Current weight:
140.5 lbs - down 2.5 lbs from last week!

Goals for this week:
-Continue to drink at least 64 oz of water a day
-Exercise at least 3 times
-Plan and EAT breakfast daily

How are you all doing?

A Boy and His Dog

Topher and I took a little trip to the mall today. Not the local mall but not too far away either. We needed to go to the "animal hospital" at Build a Bear. Topher's dog was in need of a quick repair. I could have done it myself but Topher wanted them to do it. While we were there, we had the dog's eyes checked and as it turns out, he needed glasses just like Topher's!

I have no control over the evil empire Yankees hats. I am a Red Sox fan myself but since Chris is a Yankees fan and works in New York, he has more opportunities to bribe bring home gifts to the boys.

SP5 - A Little Hello!

I got a really cute e-card from my pal today. The kids (and me, too!) liked the picture of the sand crab and Edmund said that they probably dance across the sand to the music that the card played. ha ha! I love that!

Thanks Secret Pal!!

The Peabody Museum of Natural History

Sunday Chris and I took the boys to The Peabody or as the boys call it, "The Dinosaur Museum". We love this museum and always find something new when we go.

The special exhibition right now is Elephants! which Edmund loved since they are a favorite of his. The nice thing about the Peabody is that they have a lot of hands on exhibits. They had an chance to play archeologist and dig for Woolly Mammoth bones, feel elephant skin and hair and measure different types of elephant's teeth and jaws. Fun stuff for sure!

The boys came face to face with a Timber Wolf in the American Hunters exhibit. That area is a little scary for Topher since it is rather dark and they have very large stuffed animals lurking behind cut outs meant to look like dense foliage.

The way the museum is laid out, the 3rd floor doesn't form a continuous loop. The very last exhibit is a Daily life in Ancient Egypt and the Mummy and we had never made it that far. Usually the boys spend so much time looking at the dinosaurs that they are tired when we get close to the end so we skip it. This time we did not. Edmund has been really fascinated with Egyptology and Mummies lately so he was really excited to see this exhibit.

I remember how mesmerized I was when I saw the King Tut Exhibit in Munich in 1980(ish). It was amazing! There is just something about ancient civilizations. (We are already talking about a trip to Philadelphia in 2007 to see the new King Tut exhibit!)

Charles and I decided to take a little break together while Chris and the other 2 boys took a last look. Yes, that is my Margaritaville Cami! I love it! I would wear it every day if I could.

After the museum, we stopped at Denny's for burgers and ice cream. The boys had a good time with their Madagascar masks! I laughed so hard when Topher decided to take the easy way out when eating his ice cream. I couldn't resist snapping a picture.

The Blue Cube

Last night was "Date Night"! We got together with our good friends Cindy and Jon and went to the Blue Cube. We had such a great time! We played some pool, had some drinks, ate some appetizers and listened to some good music. (in addition to having a whole lot of laughs!)

It has been far too long since Chris and I have gone out. We need to make a point to do it more often. We DO get together with some friends once a month but we don't really go "out". Out is good! Out is fun!

My drink of the evening was an Absolut Apeach Aloha. Absolute Apeach Vodka (I am a big fan of the vodka!) with pineapple juice (mmm a favorite!), lemon juice, and gingerale. Very good! I'll have to pick up some of that vodka next time I go shopping.

I need to start planning our next night out on the town!

Weighty Issues

Having 3 babies in 3 1/2 years left me a bit out of shape and a lot heavier than is ideal. When Topher was a baby, I decided to drop the weight and develop some better habits. I joined my local Weight Watchers. I did really well, I loved my meetings and I learned a better way to eat (portion control, moderation and all that). I lost almost 65 pounds in just about a years time!

A lot has happened since then and once again I am struggling with my weight. I don't have as much to loose this time - 10-15 pounds - but for some reason it is so much more difficult this time. I keep telling myself that I KNOW I can do it since I did it before. I don't listen well.

My good friend Jamie and I have decided to cheer one another along. She started a blog to help track her progress and I have decided to "go public" too. Perhaps this will help push me over that plateau that I seem to be oh so happily resting on.

So.... for this week:

Current weight:
143 lbs *

Goals for this week:
-Drink at least 64oz of water a day
-Make a list of healthy snack options and post it in the kitchen
-Exercise at least 3 times

I'll let you know at the end of the week how I did. If you have some ideas for so yummy healthy snacks, please let me know! I am so bad at just grabbing what ever is handy and I am a snacker.

* I am 34 years old, have a very small frame and I stand 5'3" on a good day. My "ideal" weight range is 109-131 and I think I am comfortable at about 125.

First Swim of the Season!

Mystery Stole

I've been drooling over lace patterns for awhile now. I've put off starting one because I've never worked from a chart. I wanted to KNOW that I would have people to ask for help if/when I needed it.

Then I discovered the

Melanie of Pink Lemon Twist has written a lace stole pattern and is sharing with anyone that wants to knit-along. We have no idea what the finished shawl will look like as she is only sending out a piece of the pattern each week. There are 5 "clues" and the first was sent out this past Friday. Depending on how long it takes me to knit each part, I may be done it time to wear it out for our anniversary in July!

I'm knitting this with Alpaca Cloud from KnitPicks in sand on 3.75mm Crystal Palace Bamboo circulars. It is a beautiful yarn and a really pretty color that I think will go with so much. (The red is my waste yarn.)

I'm already dreaming of more lace projects!

Margarita Cami

My Chickami is done! I love it! I'm calling it my Margarita-Cami because the color reminds me of margaritas! I used TLC cotton plus in the kiwi color. I don't recall how many skeins I used. I'll have to look for the ball bands to figure that out. I'm planning on knitting a few more. I can see these as being staples in my wardrobe. I was working on several projects at once so I am not sure how long it really took to make this but it wasn't long.

(Don't mind the streaky mirror picture. Apparently I didn't do a very good job cleaning! And while you ignoring things, don't look at that nasty sunburn in the second one. ugh! )