4th of July Bash 2009

One word to describe this 4th of July is BLAST!!! Really, it was SO FUN! My neighbor asked how we had the energy to pull off such a thing. It's easier than staying home with my 5 kids all day. Plenty of hot dogs, chips, snow cones, water balloons, and water. It even rained a little but nothing stopped us. Here's some pictures of the day:

Mike was the life of the party.
Michael on the way down

Remember these two last year?

Cute Elsa. Do I dare mention the water behind her? If anyone gets sick, don't sue me!

I'm glad Matt and Zach got to stay longer. A party isn't a party without the Williams. Where's the pie Annemarie?

Non-stop snow cones for Maggie.

Here's the story. Mary (on the left) is a photo addict. She forgot her camera so she and Maren begged me to take a picture of them. "Take one of us! Take one of us!"

SPLASH! They soaked me. Yeah, with that water...

On Sunday Andy and I changed two diapers of Claire's that had water balloon remains in her poop. I guess she got plenty of food as well.
Can't wait to see you next year!

Let the Summer Fun Begin!

What do you call an instant ticket to the psych ward? 5 kids home during summer break.

Michael said to me the other day, "Mom, did you know if something seems hard you shouldn't feel bad? All you have to do is learn how to do it." He was referring to school but that needs to be applied to my life on a daily basis.

Here is a picture of Michael with his new horse. He asked for it and I told him he could get it if he quit sucking his thumb. One month later he was thumb free and I was paying too much money for that horse. (I have no idea what that brown mark is in the middle of his head, it's not a bruise and I don't know how to edit it)

Max has been up in the wee hours of the morning this past week. He's had speed camp and football camp. He and Michael weren't too happy when I told them they had to go to summer school. It wasn't' as bad as they thought it would be.

Maggie is still "all that and more". Constantly making messes, getting lost, and being her cute princess self. Loved it when Michael and Maggie got their bug catching nets and when for a hunt.

Claire has learned to climb on chairs and onto the kitchen counter. I thought I'd trick her by pushing the chair in. Little good did that do, here she is trying to make her way up.

Claire is also walking around like busy bee.

Kate is as mellow as they come. Here she is having a bad hair day.

Andy and some of his co-workers rode the Tour de Cure on Saturday. Way to go Andy. You looked hot in your biking outfit.

I love my little flower garden this summer. It's nothing spectacular but I just like it. Flower gardens are wonderful because you do simple things like weeding and they don't turn into a mess 10 minutes after caring for it.

Vegas Anyone?

In July I'm turning the big 40. Anyone want to go to Vegas with me to celebrate? I found this great deal at Mandalay Bay. Basically $100 a night and that includes food and drinks at the pool. I feel like a little kid asking if you want to come to by birthday party.

A Memorial Day Memory

I've been thinking about a Memorial Day I had many many years ago. I was a junior in high school, living in Northern California. My friends and I decided to celebrate our day off of school by going to our closest beach, Santa Cruz. We piled in her Volkswagen Bus and went to our destination. Who didn't want a tan in high school? We set up our towels and got down to business....baby oil. I smeared baby oil all over myself, from head to toe. From 10 am to 4 pm I fried myself in the sun. I wondered why beach patrons would quietly say "look at that sunburn". Needless to say, I had blisters all over my face and body. I was in so much pain I couldn't go to school the next day and I had to call into work sick. No wonder the dermatologist recently told me I had pre-cancer skin cells on my face. Silly me.

I never really did anything too crazy in high school. Other than fry myself, I fried my hair. Why waste my time using Sun-In to lighten my hair? I just got the job done fast by using hydrogen peroxide. That along with my home kit perm, made a scary mess. Oh to be young....

I Lost

Literally, I lost. I lost the Biggest Loser contest BUT I also lost 21 pounds during the contest. Hey, I'll take it. The contest ended today. It was harder than I expected. I struggled for about a month going up a little and down a little. It's hard to work my butt off and gain a pound, only to see other people with big losses. It was difficult to not pull big numbers consistently. For the most part it was a great learning experience for me. Here are some things I learned:

1. Losing weight is hard but being overweight is harder.

2. When people say it takes 2 weeks to break a habit...um... well...I've been doing this for 12 weeks and I still want to eat treats, I still feel like binging, and I still want to eat out of emotion. I honestly don't think those urges will go away, I just need to learn how to deal with them. Hence, that is why losing weight is hard.

3. I use to think that Weight Watchers was the only realistic method of weight loss. I don't believe it anymore. It's a great program, my friend has lost over 40 pounds on the program (she looks amazing). It just didn't work for me. And now that I have done something different, I realize that different things work for different people. It seems like people get the weight off but have a hard time keeping it off. No matter what program they use, maintenance seems to be the difficulty.

4. I still don't like water. I still like Diet Coke.

5. Sugar and I don't seem to do well together. I am not at the point where I will give it up but I also know that one bite takes me over the edge. I'm such an all or nothing person.

6. I always despised the word DIET. Diet meant deprivation. Deprivation is a part of weight loss. If I could eat all day, anything I want, I'd be as big as a house. Since I can't eat to oblivion, I do have to deprive myself. I don't have to look at it as a negative thing though. Like I said, losing weight is hard, being fat is harder.

5. I CAN lose weight. For years and years I believed that I would fail. I did it!!!!

I still have 20 lbs to go. I started going to a gym (where I got my black eye) that I really like. It's been a great experience for me. I've joined a 6 week fitness challenge that I am really excited about. We have to take before and after pictures. I'll post the changes if I see big results.

Surprises

Look who got a haircut.

Yes, that's Hobbes.

Andy got new glasses. After walking into a tree branch a few weeks ago, he decided to get his eyes examined.

Mother's Day was awesome! I don't think of me being all motherly so I don't make a big deal out of the day. Flowers, gift certificates, a 3 hour nap, and dinner at a friends made my day!

A thick envelope addressed to me came in the mail on Saturday. My dear friend Amy gave me a $120 gift card to a day spa. This was so unexpected, I was in shock. I truly felt loved and appreciated. Thanks Amy, hurry and get married so I can go to New York and see you!

When you want to go back to bed...

I fell down yesterday. This was the result. Maggie pushed the stroller and I managed to fall on my elbow and knee. Claire was in my arms and she fell flat on her face. Maggie cried because she felt bad. Claire cried because she was hurt. I cried because I'm tired. I'm tired of falling, I'm tired of changing poopie diapers, I'm tired of dirty dishes, I'm tired of having a messy house, I'm tired of homework, I'm tired of trying to lose weight. I'm just plain tired. I've had a week where I reached my limit and it all came crashing down when I fell down.

I really wanted to go back to bed or sit on the garage floor and cry the rest of the day. That's not an option in my life and I got back up and kept going.

Fortunately, Mariana came over and helped me clean my kitchen, Becky took the babies for the night, Jane posted an inspiring blog, and I watched my favorite Tuesday TV shows.

Maggie went to the neighbors house and pulled this perennial out of their yard. I was mortified. Luckily, he was very nice about the situation and said "oh, it will all work out." Amen, it all works out.

Here are some favorite pictures of Spring:

Michael and his best friend, Natalie. After days and days of crappy weather they took some umbrellas and played out in the rain. I was so happy to see they were making lemonade out of the lemons they'd been given.


Claire and Kate enjoying the Spring weather. They love playing outside. I like the break as well.