stories

Riding in the car last night Josh told me, "Mom, I'm gonna marry you someday." So I told him, "I don't think so, Buddy. I'm already married to Daddy, but one day you'll meet a nice girl and marry her." He said, "No, I don't think so." I said, "Yeah, you'll find a different girl to be your wife" and he told me, "Well, I'm too much of a boy to like girls."

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"Mom, I've got an idea! We should get a pet shark!"
"Josh, what would we do with a pet shark?"
"We could get one that's not too big and not too small... one that's bigger than the fish but not as bib as Tut and we could put it in the turtle tank and then it would be too big for the fish to eat and too big for the turtle to eat and too small to eat the turtle..."
"Josh, that sounds scary! I might be too scared to have a pet shark."
"MOM! It would be a well-behaved shark!"

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"Mom, what's gay? If you wanna know why I wanna know what it means it's because the boys at school all hold up their hands and say if you don't touch this (pointing at their palms) by the time I count to five then you've gay."

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Josh told Nanna one day that his mom had been married twice. She told him that she didn't think so but when he insisted she asked why he thought that. He said, "Because she wears two rings!"

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And finally, in case you ever doubted that my children are homebodies. One of my kids wants to know when he/she can be sick again so that they can stay home. Any guesses as to which one said this?

help wanted

I'd love some help with something if you have any ideas. I'd like to try making a list of "summer rules" for my kids this year. These are not chores; we'll still expect them to help out around the house in that way. These are just extra practices we want to happen this summer.

Here's what I've got so far and I haven't even talked with Jonathan about these yet so they're definitely subject to change.

• brush teeth every morning and evening
• blankets and teddy bears stay in the bedrooms
• no TV before noon
• do something kind for someone every day
• read for 20 minutes each day

We will have guidelines and consequences for what may happen if they don't follow these rules but Jonathan and I have to talk about that as well.

So what input can you offer? Any other ideas? What has worked for you or not worked for you and your kids? What do you do differently in the summer?

The main thing is that I want our summer to be fun, but I also want my children to be responsible and not get lazy just because our routine is more relaxed.

up to

My goodness! This has been one very hectic week!  And we still have one work day left.  We've been running around from activity to activity like crazy and I am very ready to see the end of baseball, the end of gymnastics, the end of school, and the beginning of summer break. Who's with me?

Anyway, here's what I've been up to over the last several days.

celebrating:
My cousin had a birthday party for two of her girls and we celebrated at a picnic shelter and soccer field at a local school. It was fun to play on the fitness trail and run around on the field and it was also nice to do bunch of crafts with the kids while not sitting there thinking the whole time about the huge mess we were making. Well, it was a lot of fun until Julianna kicked my tail on the pull-up bar and Jonathan kicked a soccer ball and gave Josh a nosebleed.

movie-ing:
I scored free screening passes to A Million Ways to Die in the West so Jonathan and I arranged a sitter and ran off to the movies in the middle of the week. It was nice to slow down for a couple of hours and laugh at NPH.

reading:
I've recently finished reading The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes, Wonder by R. J. Palacio, And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini, and now I'm working through Talk to Me First: Everything You Need to Know to Become Your Kids 'Go To' Person About Sex by Deborah M. Roffman. All very good reads and I've been really enjoying the chance to read again.

snacking:
I've been trying to get my calorie consumption under a little better control since my marathon training has ended and I no longer need 2500 calories a day. I've mostly just been trying to eat less at meals and choose healthier snacks. The problem is that this kettle corn from Trader Joe's is so darn good!

working:
I've been trying to earn extra time so I don't have to work all of the teacher workdays after school gets out and this week they needed help at school at the end of the year chorus concert. I got to hear a bunch of middle school kids sing The Beatles and John Legend.

watching:
My daughter's second grade end of the year program was last week and I was thoroughly entertained (and thankfully for less than an hour) at their Surfin' USA performance. Also really thankful for parents who come to my kid's performances.

What have you been up to lately? What should I read next? What new snacks have you tried? I need some yummy recommendations.

by the numbers

15 pounds to lose
10 books read this year
40 books read is the goal
14 miles run this month
2 ball games to attend tomorrow
20 days of school left
20.25 hours of overtime needed to take the last week of teacher workdays off
0% pay raise I'm getting for next year
2 nights I have to work next week for concerts and award ceremonies
14 parents I really need to call
1,362 times I've thought about getting a new job
70 degrees forecast for tomorrow in our area
8 miles I'd like to run tomorrow
79 degrees normal high temperature
10 hours left to enter my giveaway

around the www

If you have a Harris Teeter in your area I highly recommend checking to see if they offer the Express Lane service. I've been using this service off and on for about a year now and I absolutely love it. I recently paid the $99 fee to do unlimited shopping there for the next year. Let me just tell you how convenient it is to do your grocery shopping on your lunch hour without going anywhere. You just go to their website and either browse the weekly ad clicking the objects you want to purchase or you just type in the name of an item you want to buy and add it to your cart. Then when you get to the store you pull up  to the designated parking space and they bring it right to your car.  I cannot say enough about how easy this is for working mamas.

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If you have a minute please go here to vote for several of my sister's family members to win an arts grant in our city.  There's no need to register, you just check a box and click vote and you can vote for up to three. Please select Frackadelic Studios, NC Brass Band, and Spring Theater. Thanks!

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Julianna and I were featured on the Reynolda House Blog. Take a look!

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Lots of new training programs are starting up at Fleet Feet. I've had great success changing my lifestyle with thanks all to these programs. When I first heard about these classes I seriously thought it was ridiculous that people would pay someone to lead them in a running group and then drive all the way there to do it when you can run anywhere for free.  I can attest to the fact that these programs are so much more than that.  If you're local you should consider joining a group exercise program that will help you stay active, make plenty of new friends, and provide information and support along the way.

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Don't forget to enter my #grilledlove giveaway before Friday! Leave a comment on this post by Friday to enter.

#grilledlove

Like last year, I had the privilege of visiting a local Chick-fil-A for a grilled chicken tasting party.  We'd already gotten a chance to try the Grilled Market Salad when it launched last summer and were already huge fans. We learned that they've added blueberries to that salad (and the fruit cup) which only makes it better.

Josh enjoying a taste of the Grilled Market Salad, fruit cup, and yogurt parfait

Josh always gets a kid's meal when we go to Chick-fil-A and since there has been a new recipe for the grilled chicken nuggets, he now specifically asks for the "chicken in the black bowl not the box."  Funny to me that the kid prefers grilled to fried, but I'm not going to complain since the grilled nuggets are low in fat and calories.

the new Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich

We also got to try the new grilled sandwiches. They have both the regular and the club (cheese and bacon added). For both sandwiches the chicken was moist and flavorful and actually tasted like it came off your grill instead of from a fast food place. The marinade is made with lemon, garlic, and sea salt and was totally yummy. At 320 calories, 3 g of fiber, and only 5 g of fat that's a really decent sandwich which superb nutrition stats.

beautiful party set-up

backyard barbecue theme 

Thank you, Chick-fil-A for hosting us for this tasting party. It was a lot of fun!

Visit grilledlove.chick-fil-a.com for more information and leave a comment on this post by Friday 5/16 for a chance to win this prize pack and your own taste of Chick-fil-A's new #grilledlove

stories

For dinner the other night I cut up chicken and browned it in a pan on the stove and Josh wanted to know how I got the chicken into little balls.

He also says, "Automagically" which I find absolutely lovely.

He loves Mr. Frack's chickens and playing in the sand box at the ball field when his sister is playing softball.

The other day at the ball field I overheard a little boy tell him, "My dad's taller than your dad!" to which Josh replied, "Well, my mom's taller than your mom!"

He's becoming a slightly better eater with effort on a lot of people's parts.

Sister on the other hand still has no trouble eating.

Jonathan and I just hide in the bathroom and eat free chocolate chip cookies.

Julianna has been playing first base and she's been doing really well.  Last night she got at least 3 or 4 outs.

She's had a bit of second grade drama at school including being very sad for a girl who got suspended for slapping her. She has a compassionate heart.

Jules says she can't wait to do long division and for her brother to be old enough to read Harry Potter.

She asks for pomegranate seeds for snack almost every afternoon.

She rides her bike to the neighbor's house and says to me about her shower each night, "Don't worry, Mom. I got it!"

These are the days of my life.

last week in pictures (4 word caption game)

Don't drop the paci!

She loves Shel Silverstein.

You should try Zoes

Amazing exhibit at Sawtooth

Will work for weed

reward for good gymnastics

Wonder: Mr. Brown's precepts