Body Issues

I can definitely relate to this post on how she feels about her body. The one I've had for the past six years or so just does not feel like me. I don't feel healthy or energetic and I miss my old body. I miss being more physical. I miss having cute clothes. I miss feeling like I look good. I know that after you have a baby even if you get back to the same weight you were before it usually doesn't look the same. I can accept that. I'll never be exactly the way I want, but it would be nice to be able to feel good about myself again.

Halleluja!!

I GET TO SLEEP IN TOMORROW! I DON'T HAVE TO GET UP! No school! I CAN SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Not a morning person doesn't even begin to cover it)

Another artist

Justin brought me this picture he drew for me-"Here Mommy, it's your long hair!"

he said. Too cute, and I love that he's doing representative drawings already.

Lunchbox and thermos

Ok, maybe not the coolest lunchbox ever, but I found one that's practical and affordable and reusable for her brothers! My sister was kind enough to go out with me tonight (that's her weekly charity to me. If Tom gets home early enough we go out shopping and mainly look at stuff we can't afford or else get the stuff I don't get out to buy any other time.) and I finally found something at Walmart. Not with all the ones on display for school though, just in the regular food container section. I'm happy because it has a separate section for a sandwhich (so it won't get squished or the container squish something else)it's sturdy, it wipes clean easy and is bacteria resistant. They only had red and dark blue so I figured red was a little more girly but could still be passed on to one of her brothers also. That way if we later get her one she wants (or maybe one day a Bento box!) it can be passed on. In the same section was the closest thing to the thermoes I remember from when I was a kid. Part of the lid flips open to hold a spoon that folds out and it has the drink lid too. And it was the lowest price I saw online or in stores-6.22. I was pleased. $12.50 for lunchbox and thermos!

PS. For the record, I would love to do Bento box lunches. It seems a bit expensive to get started though. The ones I've seen were around $16-20 for just the box and then add the little molds and containers and toothpics or foils and such and it really adds up. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely think it's worth it because the decoration could help a picky child to eat more nutritious food and help inspire a tired Mom to pack more nutritious foods as well. And it's a form of creativity which I could use to add more of back into my life. It would have to wait until I found a good bargain or until Tom gets a really big job(I have to keep up the hope that one is coming!!).

Recycling

What can they recycle this into?

Madeleine L'Engle

Author Madeleine L'Engle, whose novel "A Wrinkle in Time" has captivated generations of schoolchildren and adults since the 1960s, has died.
I read A Wrinkle In Time in fourth grade and was hooked. A great book and I love series books, I like to get to know what happens to characters beyond one story or book. I remember doing book reports on some of her books in middle school. I bought some of them for Claire when she was little because I thought they were books every child should read. This makes me sad, she was one of my favorite child authors.

Bad Harry Potter!!

This story is 5 years old but too funny not to post-Parents complain about vibrating Harry Potter broom.

Where can I find a good lunchbox?

You know, I've been looking for a lunchbox for Leanna. I don't get out much (Unless you count doctor/dentist/vision appointments) (which I don't) so it's not like I've been looking in store after store......but I was highly dissapointed with what's out there. I looked in Walmart, Kmart, Grocery stores, and didn't see much.
1. Many of them just look cheap
2. NONE come with a thermos
3. They're pretty frikkin expensive for a little box that doesn't come with a thermos or containers or anything.
When I was a kid I remember all the stores having lunchboxes on display and they usually came with a matching thermos. Maybe I was just looking too late and they sold out of most of them? Or maybe they don't sell as many because most people buy lunch? I don't know. Now you have to buy the thermos separate and they all seem to run around $15 for just a thermos! Lunchboxes themselves are usually $10, often $15. I was looking online last night and having trouble finding a thermos that was designed for a kid and to handle both hot and cold drink/food. Some were only made for drinks. I want one designed for a kid because they're usually smaller so they fit in the lunchbox or at least in her bookbag.
I'm really feeling nostalgic for my old Holly Hobbie thermos with it's cute little cup lid and spout. They don't make them like they used to!

Workin' for that pudding

Justin asked me yesterday if Daddy was working so we could buy more chocolate pudding.
He's been listening in on my conversations with his sister about money. Though I did not tell them Daddy works for chocolate pudding-that's his own application!

Now here's a study for you....

Boyfriends do more cleaning and housework than husbands and couples report better sex when roles are more equal.

Knee pain and lung cancer

Even though this is talking about older men, I still find it scary.......

Bindi Irwin

The linked current top post mentions her admiration for Bindi Irwin, daughter of the late Steve Irwin (the Crocodile Hunter). I'd have to agree she seems like a great kid, very knowledgeable and poised. Her passion for animals is fun to see. I think it's great when someone finds something they feel that passionate about, whether they're an adult or a child.

There be monsters here!

If you ask Timothy if he's a monster he will growl at you then laugh and laugh and laugh!

Day 2

Leanna was excited to go to school again today-there are 3 or 4 kids she knew from kindergarten (that I know of, although most of them were just kids she recognized from kinder. but they weren't in her class last year). The big news on the way home from school was that one boy was sent to the office on the first day of class!! LOL, that was her big news.

This morning she was really excited to wear her new skirt to school(she's modeling it in the picture). (also note Timothy imitating his big sister) I took advantage of labor day sales to get her a few things, money's tight but she's been growing again and this year we weren't given any hand-me-downs (for the first time) so I had to do something. For $45 I got three shirts and a skirt and a sweatshirt. My Mom got her a couple pairs of jeans to supplement. And Jerry's daughter did give her a pair of jeans that were too big for Mia. That'll have to do for now, so hopefully it'll stay warm out for a while. She's really thrilled with that skirt. Partially as a result of Maree's influence, she's into fashion.

First Day of First Grade

Leanna didn't have any problems getting up today-she was excited! I woke her up in the middle of a dream about school. She did have a nightmare earlier this morning though-something about riding on a tiger and her Daddy cut her arm off to get her off the tiger. She requested eggs for breakfast and then told me they smelled really good when I brought them to her. She was positively pleasant.

She did look a little scared when we got to the school. (It's a new school this year and we don't know if she'll know anyone from kindergarten). We met the teacher breifly as we tried to find the right line to stand in and Leanna was shy and wouldn't hold her hand.

Can you tell she likes to pose for pictures?

More Mountain pictures

Tom took a picture of the food cooking

Leanna taught herself how to climb trees. She really had fun, there were two boys there(ages 4 and 7 or 8 I think) and she and Justin had fun running back and forth with them and digging in the dirt together.



Tom had to be photographed in the outhouse...............and a picture of Justin walking the road to the site where the food and supplies and pond were. We went up to a place where they leave food for the deer but they ran away when we got there. It took the kids a bit to warm up, they're always shy at first but they really had a lot of fun. Justin really likes smores. The other Mom said "Your kids are so well behaved" and Tom said,"No, they're usually doing nothing but fighting!" But I have noticed that they do great when they're outside running and playing. I think they have a lot of extra energy and when it doesn't get expended in good ways, they get in trouble. It was really good for them to be outside, running and playing and getting dirty.

Oh yeah, and Justin learned how to pee in the woods. He got a kick out of that. I don't have a picture of that one though!

Visiting the mountains

We were around the Poconoes this weekend. It's funny I was just thinking that it was a shame the kids don't get to explore the outdoors more often and then they got to this weekend!

I love how the tree branch actually blends right into the camper in the picture above. It looks like an MC Esher picture!

That's just Jacob after getting his diaper changed in the van.

And Justin riding a toy car.

Gardening

Just a cute picture from last month of Timothy immitating my Mom clipping herbs. Timothy picked up his play-doh scissors and tried to do it too.

Stressed out Moms hold babies differently

Uh oh-I've always held my babies primarily on the right side. Not always, but I think usually. My right arm is a lot stronger and can handle the weight much longer than the left.

Cranky lips

Leanna told me this morning that her lips were "cranky like the baby's forehead." She pointed to the lines on my shirt and said "like that!" I said, oh, you mean chapped!
(I think she actually meant wrinkly, though her way was much more descriptive).