August happenings.....

We have been busy busy bees.

We are back in full school mode- waking every morning to eat breakfast, brush teeth, throwing uniforms on and getting out the door in a blur. The kids are loving school- they both come home with many stories about friends, teachers and fun things they did during the day. As soon as we get home, the blur starts again with snacks, homework, dinner, lunch-packing, uniform washing, and bedtime routines. I enjoy the alone time with Max during the day- but I'm asking time to slow down, because they are growing up so quickly. Wasn't Adelle just a baby yesterday?!?!!?
I'm keeping busy too, by working for two non-profits. I am a Co-Coordinator for MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers)-which has always been a haven for me; and for Young Lives, a fabulous organization, in which I am mentoring a local pregnant teen. I wasn't sure I could handle both jobs, as well as "manage" the household- (i.e. do EVERYTHING at home), but it seems to be going smoothly so far. I'm pretty sure this is the only time in my life I'll be able to work for non-profs, because as soon as Max hits kindergarten- it's back to the salon for me.

I've also been on a organizational/labeling frenzy. I'm not sure what has hit me, but I feel everything MUST have a label.....everything. However, I've found it makes playroom cleanup time more efficient.

We've also been doing very well at our eating plan- we had our first 100% organic grocery shopping expierence and it was so fun finding mostly everything we eat has an organic substitute. We are still going to the farm for beef, and *trying* to eliminate all HFCS and dyes from our diet. It's been a challenge, but we are going to keep trying.

Sorry about the rambling post...here are some latest pics. (and yes.....that's our fridge...it's was so cute and organzied so I took a picture.)

Oh, and the silly bands have TAKEN OVER THE HOUSE.

First day of school

Oh happy day!

The kids were so excited this morning I was SURE their heads were going to pop off their tiny bodies.
They were happy to have hot cocoa and chocolate chip muffins for breakfast. Adelle was SUPER excited to wear her new Converse "Chucks" on her first day.

Ethan was just happy to see all of his friends. Max starts preschool in a couple weeks, and then I may lapse into a childless coma. They are getting so big!

A few funny words...

A plastic Buzz Lightyear flies past my head and as I turn to gripe at Max...I hear in a sweet little voice~

"MOM! Did you seeeee Buzz flied by hims self!"
All I could do was smile and say "Yes I did!"


Adelle and I are laying in bed she climbs over me to get down...I yell in pain as she crushes my leg. "Adelle," I say.. "You have the BONIEST butt ever!" She replies- "MOM! You don't!
Nice.

And as the kids are playing downstairs, I hear Adelle and Ethan playing house-

Adelle- "Don't give the baby anything sticky tonight, I'll be back later."
Ethan- "Well, I planned to give him peaches for dinner."
Adelle- "Fine then, you're giving him a bath tonight."
Ethan- "Yes Dear."

Then a little later-
Adelle- "Maybe we can go shopping this weekend."
Ethan- "No, I have to go to Afghanistan tomorrow."
Adelle- "Oh, what a shame."
This one makes me smile the most.

I have a dream.....

That's a little dramatic....but I do have a dream of running, not walking 3 miles in October. Keep in mind I'm not a runner, and I haven't been running regularly until recently. I'm doing a training program called "Couch to 5k" and I'm really loving it. I am already seeing the weight come off- not as fast as I want it too, but I guess it takes time. I'm really excited about the possibitly of finishing my first race!
Along with this running, Mark and I have drastically changed the way we are eating. It's all thanks to this movie "Food Inc." If you haven't seen it- DON'T! Not unless you are wanting to overhaul the way you think about food. It scared us to death really made us think about what we are eating. One huge thing we did was switch to grass-fed meat. It's not too much more than regular meat, and from what weve eaten so far tastes just the same. We are also eating a ton more fresh fruit and veggies with our meals. We've never eaten "bad" to begin with, but there is always room for change.
The kids are sloooowly getting used to our new pantry. Max asked for a snack the other day, and I gave him cashews...he looked at me and said "Where da Cocoa Puffs?" He's not sold yet, but Dell and Ethan are doing great.
Let's hope our new plan for being healthy works!

Mommy would say......

Ethan was playing a "sound effect" game on the computer today, and the object of the game is to scroll over different scernios and guess what the sound would be. One scenerio was Mommy in the kitchen and she dropped a glass. As Ethan scrolls over the picture, I'm thinking "Oh, he will guess the sound of glass breaking."
SO NOT what Ethan guesses....he guesses "Damnit!" as the sound Mommy would say if she dropped a glass. I guess I need to keep an eye out for who is listening to me! Yikes!

Reunion

For my entire life and then some, my Mother's side of the family has had an annual reunion. It's every summer and although the locations have changed, the 3-4 day long event always promises the same- fun family time. Last summer was the first reunion I had attended with Mark and the kids...and after that, we promised to be back. You see, we could spend the money to take the kids to Disney, which I'm sure would filled with great times...but there is just something about pure family time. No cells, laptops or TV. Just a lake and TONS of family is all we need. We have a talent show- and this year Adelle got into a "dance-off" with my cousin! It was a riot!
The kids had a blast with all the cousins, and it brings back memories of when I was little, sippin' on soda dangling my feet in the lake with my cousins.
(Sorry about picture overload...there were just too many cute ones!)


2009, the 30th Short Family Reunion








2010, the 31st Short Family Reunion

Fewer and fewer

my blog posts have become. Summer is a busy time for us, and although we have been home from vacation for 2 weeks now, I'm still drained. I am slowly catching up to my pre-KS routine. We "vacation" to KS (did I really just write that?!?) every summer for at least a month. The kids enjoy spending time with the family, and we just relax. We had many happenings this summer which include birthday parties, ice cream dates with cousins, movies, 4th of July, Cole's first B-day, boating, cliff jumping, tea parties, Mexican Train, surfing, pool time, river walking, and bike riding. Mark and I also had an overnight trip to KC kid-free which was so much fun! We had a fabulous time and can't wait to go home for Christmas!
The latest picturoos~