Drink Coke

So, the other day I see this blurb on my yahoo home page that says there are new findings on the dangers of drinking soda.  Being that at about 1pm every afternoon, I practically start convulsing because I need my daily can of Coke, I thought I'd check it out.  The article mentions how 2 women recently had all these problems because they'd been drinking about 7 liters of soda a day, oh and they were both pregnant.

Um, I'm no rocket scientist people, but 7 liters?  7 LITERS?  Doesn't it seem like 7 liters of anything might be sort of bad for you?

Yeah, I'm ganna keep drinking my daily soda, and today when I do, I'm going to really enjoy all 12 ounces of it.  

Summa Time!

It's that time of year yet again folks.  My teaching days have officially ended (until September that is) and I'm FREEEEE to enjoy my summer with my four lovely daughters, and husband.  In my mind here are some of my summer goals:

      1. Ganna completely re-decorate my whole entire house until looks like it's an excerpt from 

a Martha Stewart magazine.  This may prove a bit of a challenge, since I have a budget of about $147.00.

      2. Ganna teach the girls how to bake, sew, and paint.  (Note to self: must quickly learn to sew)

       3. Ganna teach the girls all the various swim strokes so that they can join swim team some day,  just need to find some old Michael Phelps footage to show them.  (You know from his pre-pot era).

       4. Ganna start getting healthy, this may involve attempting to drink something many of you refer to as water ( all this time I thought it was just for bathing),  and perhaps I will begin using only syrup on my Eggos in the morning rather than butter AND syrup.  

       5. And lastly ganna spend less time wasting time on the computer, looking at cooking blogs that make me feel inadequate, browsing ebay for things I can't afford, and googling Katie Holmes haircuts for make-over inspirations.  

   Whew, that's quite a list.  I'd better get on it.  But first I simply must take a minute to read that article about the 66 year old pregnant woman.  I mean come on?   That's too good to pass up...

Mom Stuff

Mom Stuff

* This weekend I got to help host Kat's baby shower (my neighbor) to celebrate the anticipated arrival of Owen Baxter. In my obsession to remember the tea sandwiches, the favors, the cupcakes, the trays, I forgot (you guessed it) the camera! Oh well, if you want to see pix, check out her blog. I'm sure she'll have some soon. Anyway, it was a success, I'm so happy for her and above I posted the pix of the invite and the favors we used (thank you Etsy.com, you rock). Anyway, I thought it appropriate to post for Mother's Day, since my friend is about to become a mama for the 1st time!

* Also in light of the whole Mother's Day thing, I thought I'd tell you why my mom's the coolest mom ever.

First of all when everyone was buying bumper stickers that said, "Baby on Board," my mom went and got one that said, "Baby in Trunk." She thought that was really funny, and one time when we were checking into a hotel, she put one of my sister's dolls hanging out of the trunk for the valet to see. She thought that was funny too.

Secondly, she had the idea to freeze my brother's action figures in dixie cups full of water and then when they came out frozen in a block of ice, she'd pretend they were trapped by the enemy, and scream, "help, help" and then she'd start laughing.

She taught me not that there's no second u in nuclear, so it sounds lame when people say nucular.

She was on the PTA even though she hated it just because she knew we loved to tell people that she was the PTA treasurer.

She'd get mad at me because I'd volunteer her for stuff: To the drama teacher, "oh yeah, my mom can re-upholster that couch for the play, she'd love to do that." "Oh, sure, my mom can make 35 class t-shirts that match for 8th grade play day," "Hey, my mom can drive, she doesn't mind....." But then after she'd get all mad, she'd end up doing it anyway (just like I knew she would).

She can sew, she can paint, she wallpapers (or she did when that was the cool thing to do), she has a green thumb, she installs her own tiles, and after she had her babies, she left the hospital wearing her old (non-maternity) jeans. Yeah, I remember her doing aerobics the day before my brother was born.

Most importantly, she loves the Lord. She hosts 2 bible studies in her home each week, leading and teaching one, she prays for my family every day, and she reads commentaries that most seminarians would consider a challenge to get through. She's my mom, and she's the best.

I just have one complaint, she never reads my blog!

(pictures above are her paintings and her garden, note the tiled patio - she did that herself, and yes, she painted all of those paintings)

40!

For about a year now, I have been preparing and re-preparing ideas for this past week. Why the mania? You ask, because on Wednesday, April 29th, Dan turned the big 4-0! I've felt so much pressure to make this week perfect for him. I brainstormed party ideas, trip ideas, dinner ideas, house ideas, robbing a bank ideas, and finally, I have to say it all came together, and was indeed Dan's best birthday ever!

Last Sunday night, we went to dinner with the Stimers, and there we told him that for his bday he would get 2 days off. Then I showed him the gift certificate that said what he would be doing for those 2 day: Paragliding! So here's the rundown of the week:

Sunday: dinner & surprise about the flight class
Wednesday: actual bday, barbecue with the neighbors who got him a wetsuit (see above)
Thurs/Fri: paragliding class
Saturday: Surprise Again! My sister Bethie came to watch the kids overnight, and we got
to have a 24 hour date in Pasadena, which was beautiful, and so much fun, and the first
1st night we've spent away from all 4 kids in 2 years!

In all, the week was awesome. I really wanted it to be special for Dan, and he loved the paragliding so much. (I knew he would). Ultimately, I just wanted him to have a fun week because he does so much for us as a family. He takes care of 5 little women, and let me tell you there aren't a lot of breaks for the guy. Going to work is probably much easier than being at home with us trying to give us all attention and love, and trying to fix up an old house all by himself, and never complaining. Basically, I love the guy, but I'm usually reluctant to admit all the mushy stuff, because well, I don't want to brag and make everyone else feel bad about their husbands.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Dan, we love you, and remember, 40 is so the new 30. You're just getting started, plus you've got a young trophy wife on your arm, so you don't even need to have a mid-life crisis!