Whew

We have been running our fool heads off this week! We have had 2 softball tournaments going at the same time this week along with games for another league and a couple of basketball scrimmages. Whew! Who needs the best diet pills! All you have to do is have kids involved in summer softball. That being said, we will be cutting down on the softball next summer. There is no need for our kids to be over involved in anything and that is what has happened this summer. Last Saturday was the first family day we have had in more than a month. I don't know about you, but I think that is plain wrong. We are really looking forward to the last tournament (that starts next week) to be over! We are looking forward to some home time and some family time and some time to get things done around here.

Wish Fulfillment

It is a secret. We have never owned any sort of gaming system like XBox or Wii or anything. Our kids, all 4 of them, have consistently had Nintendo DS on their Christmas lists for several years. I think that this year we will be able to finally grant them that wish! We enrolled in a Christmas Club at our bank last fall and have been putting aside a little a week. This little bit will be enough to get each of them a DS and a game. I am so excited that we will be able to do this for our kids!

Shrinking

I have not had to resort to weight loss pills. All I had to do to get motivated to be serious about losing weight was to go shopping for some shorts. I did that last Saturday and I am very happy to report that I have stayed on track with my eating this week. I have also lost 5lbs to date. My newly revised goal is to lose 30lbs by my birthday. Only 25lbs left to lose! I have 20 weeks to lose 25lbs. I think that it is a very doable goal at only 1.25lbs/week. Stay tuned as I keep you updated on the amazing shrinking woman!

Reflection

We are way past having to send out baby announcements. (Well at least I think we are. God could always change our plans.) I am happy to be at a point in our parenting that our kids are mostly self-sufficient. Although I still miss some of the baby stuff. Cloth diapers, the smell of their sweet heads, being able to sit multiple times a day while nursing and all of the first. Its all of those firsts that have led us to where we are. They now can fix their own meals, wash their own clothes, bathe themselves and generally be responsible. In only a few short years, we will start to send them out on their own one by one. It sure has gone by quickly.

Lost and Found

We recently lost one of our inside cats. She went outside unnoticed and was gone for 4 days! When she got back she was thin enough that it appeared that she had been on a fat burner supplement while she was gone. She ate a really big bowl of cat food before curling up in a chair and sleeping the day away. We were all so happy to have our only girl kitty back! She is a sweet girl and our main mouser. I have had enough of lost animals for a while! Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that we lost 3 of our 4 dogs last week. The were found, thankfully!

Working

I remember back in the day when I was a senior in college. Our last semester was interlaced with interviews. I hated that process. Mostly because I really didn't want to get a job and go out into the real world. And I suppose I hated it because I really didn't think I was anyone a big company would be remotely interested in hiring. And I didn't want to live far, far away from my family. I am sure that there are plenty of young people who are just dying to get started on their sales job search or whatever type of work they are in job search. I wasn't one of those people. I was happy to go back home and work part time at a couple of jobs. I finally did find a job and move a short distance from home. All in all, I only worked for 9 years after graduating college. Then it became way more important to stay at home and raise our kids. And I am happy to not have to be a slave to work.

If Every Day...

If I could spend every day like I spent Saturday, I would not be contemplating using Lipovox. We were on the go from 6am to 6pm. And I don't just mean running around doing errands, watching ball games or shopping. I mean we butchered 31 chickens and then planted the rest of the garden. I was so sore and tired by evening that I could hardly move! I am sure that I burned way more calories that I could have possibly consumed that day. If every day was that way, I wouldn't need to worry about dieting. Our forefathers sure had one up on us there!