A year already?

Has it already been a year since I last posted? I am a terrible blogger. Well, here's to fresh starts, right? The picture here is of my "babies" at the same hike spot from Copper Breaks State Park, just one year later! Wow! Look at how big they got on me! I am amazed at how independent and self-sufficient they have become. They dress themselves, get their own drinks/snacks, brush their own teeth, and even help with household chores. But, there are a few things that still haven't changed from the time I had 3 toddlers at once...like I can still go to pee and I hear them call "MOMMY!", which means the doorknob to the bathroom is going to be jiggled ( I wised up early on, and keep it locked). They still need me to comfort them when they sustain their minor backyard injuries, although had the same bump or fall happened on the school playground there would have been no tears or need for reassurance. I hope this summer creates a time for me to slow down and enjoy those little things. I know they won't last long.

A home for me, maybe?

I had a fantastic date night with my husband and some friends last night. It included everything from beer to basement slides! We vistited the Lubbock Parade of Homes, and I was so inspired. I saw some really great stuff! I was most impressed with the decor in one house by Haute Homme, designed by a brother/sister pair out of Lubbock. The image above is from their 2011 parade home, but let me tell you they blew it out of the water with the 2012! It was funky, vintage, shabby...everything that I stand for! I am really looking forward to going to their storefront for some accessories. One of the most exciting parts of the evening was the fact that Justin and I might..have...ooooh this is big...picked a paint color! There I said it! We have been so noncommital to selecting a paint for the living area and kitchen that we really have just been treading water on home decor for a year or so. I am thrilled! We are both essentially color-blind when it comes to picking paint. I can't tell you how many sample cans we have purchased during our 10 years of home-ownership, or how many rooms in which we have been so disappointed based only on our paint color! Ideally, I will be posting home decor pictures of my place sooner than later!

Corsets Should be Chic Again...just sayin'

We all have those "aha" moments in life. Some of those moments change our career, a marraige, a personal relationship, our role as a parent. Some are full of meaning and will make you turn your life into something that will change others. My "aha" however isn't so lofty or very inspiring. It was my fat "aha". See my last post consisted of some family camping pictures, I intentionally left one off because it was so gross! My double chin (of which I will tell you is a structural defect on my head, even when I was in HS and weighed 89 lbs I still had one, it is my "weak chin" that makes it appear) has grown. Like into a full-fledged layer of fat. I have always been image conscious, and I really do fret over my weight. Yet, I haven't done much to manage it since I lost by baby weight after #3. I really stayed close to the same weight since and even lost several pounds when I went back to teaching full time. But, it has all come back in the last year, plus some. I haven't been this heavy since Gigi was born. ICK!!! I am so frustrated with myself, and my husband (and his little pal, the tapeworm, whom I believe keeps him so skinny). He can ALWAYS eat and wants to keep food around all the time, then I feel like a failure of a wife when I do "clean up" our diet and he complains that he is starrrrrving. So I fill up the house with kid and husband friendly food, and find myself munching the same old stuff. Now here is what I find amazing; my family does NOT participate in the normal "Western" diet. We are really unusual compared to a lot of our peers. We eat out maybe once a week, we do not drink sodas, we do not keep chips or candy in the house. In particular, I am what some, especially in Texas, would consider wierd...I don't drink sweet tea or eat Mexican food! I don't get fatty, sugary Starbucks drinks, I don't care for ice cream...so why am I getting heavier? It really is the calories in vs calories out ratio. Obviously I am out of balance here. So no more fat Cathie! This is it, my public testimonial that my happy ass needs to drop about 15 lbs! Yup, ladies I just did. So, my little home gym has been dusted off, my Herbalife shakes are ready and I will start being "that dieting girl" until I get this mess cleaned up. I must reveal, I even took the fat girl "before" pictures. And HELL NO, I will not post them on here until I get my sexy "after" pictures. Or, perhaps I should invest in a corset? In conclusion, my friends, if you see me with a brownie or some other crappy food in my hands, don't judge, just compliment me on my double chin.

Back to Nature

Five people in a four man tent...and no breeze, and it was 90 degrees. One might think this could have been a disaster of a camping trip, but it was really a fantastic trip. We looked for a kid-friendly location within a three hour radius and decided on Copper Breaks State Park, near Quanah, Texas. This was a lucky move on our part because the other place we planned on going looked like this during the time of said camping trip. Fortunately, we avoided New Mexico's largest EVER forest fire and escaped to the serene Copper Breaks. Now I say serene because I am pretty sure we were the ONLY family there. As stated before, Texas has been suffering from an drought. Exhibit One: Swimming Beach at the lake of Copper Breaks. YIKES! Just an incline of sand leading to what used to be a lake. But, I will tell you that didn't stop us from having fun. We had packed a water sprinkler for the kids to use and they had fun enough with that. The lake was at less than half capacity, but it was still good for a little fishing. Each of the boys pulled in a small catfish and Miss G got a turtle. We cooked out hot dogs and s'mores. When it was time to retire, we climbed in our tent and began to sweat. I had feared that we would freeze during the night, but I was mistaken. Our tent has no side windows and we could not catch a breeze regardless of the 20+ mph winds that night. We woke up feeling less than refreshed, however found time to hike a bit and let the kids practice taking pictures. Overall, the trip was a great little one-night adventure for the kids. As far as the park goes, it would rank really high on the family camping locations if not for the lack of water recreation. The park had a great little interpretive center and the rangers were super excited to have the kids there. They had a flint napping demonstration, and a hands-on room featuring animal hides, bones and track stamps. I also need to tell you a portion of the state herd is living there and they come up near the entrance for feeding time. I was one happy mom to get to spend this time with my family. **Beware "Scary-Face" picture--me with no make-up**

Food Solutions or Food Complications?

Ok, so who hasn't seen this on Pinterest yet? Seriously? Cute, appealing, colorful, and delicious I am sure. This image along with some conversations over the last month or so has brought me to a really weird place with food. Ok, let me preface this with the fact that I am a 2nd amendment-loving capitalist who believes in the free market and not to mention a registered Republican. I am NOT about to go all Austin-like, hippie granola mom on y'all so you can relax. However, I do know my big sister suffered from food allergies (everything from fish to citrus), and her daughter has similar issues. My little sister has a sweet boy who seems "not so sweet" when he has been up all night with eczema, cracked and bleeding all over his 4 year old body. I have a 5 year old who has been identified with "Sensory Processing Disorder". Then to top things off, I went and watched that damned "Forks Over Kives" on Netflix... With all that said, I am looking for some real practical dietary solutions. I have been working on cutting the processed foods for a while, then I have been adding the hormone free meats and grass fed beef. But sheesh, where does it end? Would the Feingold Diet my little sister is using be the answer for my son's rage, hostility, and sometimes manic behavior? Do we go vegan? Is it the newly revealed evil gluten? Don't forget the classic culprits: sugar, pesticides, and (brace yourselves ladies) trans-fats?!??! I suppose what I am posing (kind of reminds be of "Singin' in the Rain"...Moses) is that what works for you? Let me hit you with the parameters first. I already spend about $700 a month feeding my family of five, and that includes my perpetually hungry husband and his tapeworm. (really, he must have one, because it is not humanly possible to consume the amount of calories he takes in and not be a total Jaba the Hut) So, I really can't afford to expand my grocery budget. Plus, I live in Redneck, USA. Which means I do have limited access to decent produce and natural products. So my friends, I ask you (as I watch my 6 year old sleepwalking through the house) tell me what works for you and your family for a healthier approach to eating?

Has it really been a year?

Summer kicks off here in our little West Texas town with Miss Jill's School of Dance Recital! I had the joy of watching my sweet four year-old baby dance on stage again this year. The theme was "Viva Las Vegas", and my little starlet was a birdie and an MGM Dandy Lion (adorable Dandy Lion that is). I would totally share the video, however, I cannot figure out how to link it on this blog. (grrrrrr)(no lion pun intended) With that event under our belts, we move on to the "lazy, hazy days of summer." Texas has been in a drought for about 18 months, and our part of Texas is in a perpetual drought. With the lack of rain our outdoor activites are limited to swimming pools and museums for the most part. So after an entire school-year of blogging absence, I return to share with you my summer goals and plans. Then we can reevaluate in August to see how I did! Here goes nothing... We plan to go camping, and according to my husband quite a bit. See, he drew out for a bow-hunt in New Mexico for the fall and for those of you who hunt "pets at a feeder" this is a manly big deal. Apparently it will require many trips to the armpit of the USA, , I mean New Mexican "Outback" to scout for deer. This my husband sees as a time for me to hone in my wilderness skills and let the kids have a great time. It feels more to me that I will manage three small children in the desert for hours while I wait for him to return from scouting. Again, remember that whole drought...how much fun will it be during a bun ban to camp? And believe me, New Mexico is ALWAYS under a burn ban in the summer. Oh, and did I mention he classified a bucket with a toilet seat as a bathroom??? Now for the psudeo-outdoors: I am going to take my kids all through June and July to the Lubbock Lake Landmark for FREE classes! Did I mention FREE? I have been paying a lot each summer for little camps at the local science museum, but now that I found free daycamps, I don't know that I will return. You should really check this place out if you are in the Lubbock area. http://www.depts.ttu.edu/museumttu/lll/ Did someone say chlorine? I am not a beach/lake girl. I like to know that there is nothing alive swimming under me and that my water has a significant amout of bleach before I get excited. Now don't take me for a total snob, because I will go in the water at a beach or lake. Yet, if I get a choice I am definitely going the chemically treated route. And the good news is...one of my local besties just bought a house around the corner... WITH A POOL! I love her even more today than I did yesterday. Oh yeah, Pensacola. We are going to drive (loads of fun with a 4, 5 and 6 year old...making memories, right?) to Pensacola in August. We got a great deal on a condo and are meeting my mom and precious new step-dad down there. Who doesn't like a little free baby-sitting on a vacation? I am excited to go through a bit of the Deep South and hopefully hit up some battlefields and junk stores. Anson, my oldest, is most excited that we will be going through Shreveport, LA...home of the one and only Billy the Exterminator. (see Halloween costume picture) Goals: 1) Finish painting kids' bathroom cabinets (started in October of 2011, its about damn time I finish them) 2) Have kitchen remodeled, professionally, because otherwise it will not be finished until I retire in 2035. 3) Complete one Pinterest project a week this summer 4) Try to get up before 8:30 each morning (haven't been successful at this one during the first 2 weeks but hey, there is always tomorrow) So, in closing, you see my life isn't really that glamorous. It is, however, full. I am grateful to have healthy kids who drive me crazy, a husband who likes being around me and my sometimes out-of-control offspring, and the opportunities to have a lazy summer.

School Days!

Ok, only 48 hours until my summer break ends. I have eight full days of inservice then my little monsters will arrive with fresh crayons, stacks of wide-ruled filler paper, and hearts ready to learn! Or maybe not, either way we will be there together for a fun-filled nine months of counting down for the end of May again.
But let me make myself clear, this post isn't about my great plans for the school year, but my "Didn't do" list from the summer of 2011! Let's just lay it all out on the table:
1. I did not finish painting all 14 cabinets, and 3 drawers in my kids' bathroom.
2. I did not finish my daughter's bedroom make over
3. I didn't finish sewing vintage buttons on one of the curtain panels already hanging in my bedroom. (Husband hung them before I finished)
4. I didn't lose 10 lbs.
5. I did not begin my kitchen renovation.

So it looks like I will have a lot to do this fall. But on the upswing let me tell you what I did accomplish.

1. I witnessed two very special weddings (both just happened to feature my daughter as a flower girl)
2. I spent a week on Sanibel Island with five of the most fun ladies I have ever met.
3. I got to watch my son's first home run!
4. Spent three weeks with my dear neices and sister!
5. Reorganized my closet!
6. Discovered that all 3 of my kids are actually able to SWIM!

So overall, I really shouldn't complain. Afterall, I am one of those "part-time workers who only contributes to society half the year and gets all those extra holidays during the year..." Here's to SUMMER 2012!!!