Not a creature was stirring

So we're sitting there watching TV last night and I ask Bobby "Did you hear someone on the stairs?" He says "It's just the cat playing."

About 20 minutes later, he was heading up to bed and discovered what the cat was playing with.

What is that, you ask?

Someone who should have been in bed.

Sprinkler fun

I took the little peeps and a couple of their friends to the sprinkler park last week. That's right. Seven kids, all by myself. Seven really wasn't all that hard. The hardest part was ignoring the requests for ice cream from the custard stand conveniently located across the street. Tate, Tess and E
Our neighbors also have 5 kids. Nice, huh? Except for my 4yr old, everyone's got somebody to hang out with.The last pic that Tess halfway cooperated for.

See what I mean?

The big kids were too fast to catch on camera, especially while trying to keep one eye on the crawling girl.

Tess was not too keen on the water but she sure enjoyed sticking the pebbles in her mouth.

All the kids tried to evade the camera.

See what I mean?

Update on the diet, I have been sticking to my points and am 3 workouts into the 30 day shred. Let me just say, ow. It's going to be more than a 30 day shred for me. Since I work 3 nights in a row, I will not be working out on those in between days. I prefer sleep. I've been doing pretty good except for that trip to Pizza Hut last night,which will probably screw up my weigh in for this week.

Yep, Pizza Hut. If you've been paying attention, that means I crashed my own budget challenge. So far, I'm at $267 and I still have 10 more days to go. I'm going to need gas before then. Yeah, Pizza Hut should have been skipped, but I over spent at the grocery store too. I have a problem. When I go to the store, even if I know what we are short on, I feel like if xyz is on sale and I have a coupon and I know we will eat it, I should buy it then. Factor in the 40 minute round trip drive and that only makes sense.

Oh well, I guess my brother was right. Democrats can't not spend money.

How many teeth

does it take to eat a plum?Apparently only two.
Tess found Teagan's "apple". I didn't think she'd be able to get through the skin.

Boy, was I wrong.

Those two little teeth are tough.

(And no, I don't know where she got the red bump on her cheek. It looks like a mosquito bite.)

Zonked

This is how I feel today.

Eleven

Say hello to the 11 month old!The almost 1 yr old
who in the last month has started clapping and shaking her head no.
Just for fun.

She slept from 8:30 until 7 am yesterday. Wish that happened every day.

She's eating like a little piggy and will steal food right out of your hand.

She climbs over everything including this piano and has started cruising around the furniture.

Too soon she'll be walking, then running.

I'm not ready for that.

She likes to "play" with the new kitty too.

He is amazingly tolerant.

First Half update

Moving into the second half of the year, I thought I would revisit my goals for the year.

I will lose 10 pounds. CHECK

I have actually lost 20 pounds. So double check. :o) I have started counting pounts again this week, because apparently, I have to. I have climbed out of the rut I was in through June and have made it into the 160's. Just barely at 169, but it's a start. Yay!!!

We will work harder at paying down our debt by paying off at least 2 credit cards. CHECK

Just paid off the second one and am working on the third. Of course,we acquired some new debt in the form of orthodontics. But, you got to get rid of the old to make room for the new, right?

Stay in school.

That's the easy one. I just started my 4th quarter on Monday. That's right, my 4th! Which means I'm pretty close to completing my first year. A three year program sounded really long last Fall. Now? Not so much. And thankfully, this quarter is a pretty light one. Good thing too, since I think Fall quarter is going to be a killer.

Other goings on around here, someone has been moved to a high chair with a harness.

Wonder why?

The garden is really coming up. Those are sunflowers along the back with broccoli, lettuce, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, onions, green beans and potatoes from left to right. The huge thing in the foreground is a vicious zuchinni plant that wants to take over the whole garden, me thinks. We've already munched on some fried green tomatoes and broccoli and lettuce.

We have a new addition. Travis AKA Dr Doolittle brought home another foundling. At least this time it wasn't another baby duck. This is Vader. He joins Chewie. Get it? Chewie and (Darth) Vader? Hahaha
The boys came up with that one. He's a cute, playful little kitty who doesn't seem to mind being carried around constantly or being tugged on by a toddler.

I may not be posting too much for awhile. With school starting for me, Bobby's classes, work, and the busyness of taking care of a house and 5 little chicks, I'll be a bit preoccupied. We also have some issues right now due to a Houdini of a 4 yr old who has escaped our yard only to be found by the police. I don't think I want to share too much until I know that it's resolved. Let's just say, it's an unwelcome stress we're having to deal with.

Stuck in a rut

June has been a total bust. I looked at my weight loss tracker and noticed that I am hovering at the same weight I was on May 28. And while losing 20 pounds from my pre Tess weight feels really good, another 20 pounds would feel even better, especially considering that I haven't even hit my second goal of 165.

Wendy talked about this on her blog too, about how we get complacent because we feel better and people are telling us we look better. I think we fall back into that "I'm fine with where I am" stage, when really, we're not.

Before a night out with the girls

I celebrated the first twenty pounds with a shopping trip, to Good*will. Yep, I'm cheap. Plus, these are just transitional clothes right? It felt good to try on clothes that fit, in a smaller size. And if you've never tried Lee's comfort fit waistband jeans, you're missing out. I LOVE them. They are super comfy and don't leave me with the huge gap at the back of the waist band that I usually get.

So, I'll be jumping back on the wagon. I plan to start tracking points and am looking at some different options for working out. I'll keep you posted.