Simply Monday - January 26th

outside my window - it's dark and according to the weather man, pretty darn cold. we're supposed to have a snow/ice storm starting up and lasting through wednesday. super.

i am thinking - that this is going to be short this morning because i need to take dh to work. we sold his van to the scrapyard on saturday so we are strictly a one car family...hopefully for only a few days.

from the learning rooms - we are getting there. we have much math and science to do, like i said earlier, but we are running out of material in the other topics so i hope it all evens out.

i am thankful for - a home. we are coming up on our one year anniversary of being here and i could not be more thankful for this place.

from the kitchen - not much going on. no baking or anything as not to be a temptation to myself.

i am wearing - the workout clothes. no time for brazen creativity this morning.

i am reading - a couple of books on insulin resistance. maybe this will finally be the key to help me unlock how to get off these pounds and not put more on despite trying my hardest.

i am hoping - that the spots of antifreeze on the ground yesterday at the church were not from our car. it's such a never ending cycle and it gets me so worked up. oh well, i guess the proof will be on the garage floor this morning...or not.

i am creating - yes, still the blog post i referred to last week and a list of warranty items to fax into our builder. when we bought this place last year we got a one year warranty so now i need to fax in stuff that has come apart, dry wall cracks, etc.

i am hearing - my husband doing some sort of organizing/shuffling of papers on the other side of the room. something sounds like audio cassette cases.

around the house - laundry and paper clutter. i need to find a piece of furniture that will house my garbage can underneath it but will hold my bill payer thing and other whatnot on top. anybody have any ideas?

one of my favorite things - is seeing the scale say less than it did yesterday...although i wouldn't know the satisfaction of that yet.

a few plans for the rest of the week - little flowers, spanish, piano, napping on wednesday, gymnastics, dance and if the car holds out through all of that...maryland on friday to visit one of my bestest friends in the world (who also happens to be my oldest's godmother).

here is a picture thought i am sharing with you -

have yourself a rip roaring good monday y'all and stop on over to the other great daybook entries.

Well, I Did It

just a quick note. i made it through breakfast. i usually have a bowl of cheerios or raisin bran and whole wheat toast. but today, in turning over the new leaf, i had a strawberry banana smoothie and an egg. i must confess, i sort of feel like i'm going to barf. maybe it's because all that filled me up so much more than the usual fare. i don't know. i couldn't even finish the whole smoothie. half of it is in the fridge for later. one meal down. i'm proud.

Simply Monday - January 19th

outside my window - it's still dark with a dusting of snow on the ground. it has been bitterly cold here for the past few days but today is supposed to warm up a bit.

i am thinking - again about our cars. when i went out saturday morning to take our oldest to choir we found it was leaking fuel. i've had cars leak all sorts of stuff before but this was a new one...and one i definitely didn't desire. we called the mechanic but they couldn't get it in until today. so, we have the car that is at the mechanic (again) and the other one with no heat/defrost, that shudders and is now smoking to boot. i have made my husband promise that it will be gone for good shortly. i've had enough with that one and it's not going to pass inspection by the end of the month either. but, on the bright side, friends of ours are gifting us with an old car that has just been sitting in their garage. who knows what problems it may have but they assure us that it has heat. :)

from the learning rooms - i am happy to see that we are ahead on most of our other subjects so we should be able to spend the last small part of the school year (april and may) focusing much more heavily on science (which we are lacking) and math (which my oldest really needs some severe motivation in).

i am thankful for - a husband that is not afraid to remind me of all my blessings when i start flying off the handle about..."those cars"..."it's those cars again." i'm also thankful (sometimes) that he falls asleep leading family prayers (on a few nights) and says really funny things that make us all laugh.

from the kitchen - new low carb eating for me. as you know, i've been exercising five days a week for about five months now and watching what i eat (i was astounded to find i was eating within a good weight watchers points range for me without even knowing it) and still i having been gaining about a pound per month. it's very frustrating. i would have thought that cardio and over one hundred crunches a day would have at least shown some success. but, i do have some major hormone issues, which i have known about for sometime and through much reading and talking with some friends that have some of the main issues...i'm hoping this low carb may start to break the cycle so i can balance the hormones a bit and end some other health issues i deal with on a day to day basis.

i am wearing - lots of sweat from a tripled workout i did this morning. the other day michele told me that she would pray for me at night before she went to bed and i promised her that i would pray for her as i upped my workout time. i'll tell you. it's a good thing i promised that because that motivation is the only thing that is getting me out of bed and not just letting me give up and fell sorry for myself. thanks michele!

i am reading - well, i'm like two pages into graced and gifted. does that count?

i am hoping - that we get alot accomplished around here today, that i can get on the "i thought i was doing well already but i need to step up the nutrition even more to change my quality of life" wagon and not be bitter about the whole thing and that the car can be fixed easily without costing an arm and a leg...or that a new minivan just appears in our driveway...take your pick.

i am creating - a post about obama, the inauguration, abortion and foca which i should have done a long time ago. i apologize to those i may have left hanging, but family matters called and now i hope to finally finish it.

i am hearing - my son go through the usual morning mantra of how he doesn't want to get up, he is cold, he doesn't have any fun, it's dark outside, he's tired, he's missing a lego piece, his second knuckle on his right index finger hurts, etc, etc and quite alot more etc.

around the house - there is laundry to fold, laundry to wash, laundry to put away. you get the picture. and let's not even talk about clutter.

one of my favorite things - is cheese (while we're coming completely clean about everything).

a few plans for the rest of the week - the usual classes and such (if the car comes back) and the march for life on thursday. hope to see you there!

here is a picture thought i am sharing with you - you know your tree was fresh cut when you are taking it down in the middle of january and find that it is growing fresh buds.

have a wonderful day and make sure to stop by and visit all the other entries.

I'm Twelve Shades Of Excited

you see, my husband and i have been asked to be godparents for this little lady who will be making her appearance in the world in about two and a half months. i have never been a godmother before so this is even more exciting. :) beautiful little isa, i can't wait to meet you. you and your growing family are in my prayers.

(while you're at it you can check out the cape i made for isa's big sister xia. our littlest one received one from some of her favorite people for her birthday so i thought little xia would also enjoy it. i, of course, forgot my camera to take a picture of her. so scroll down a bit and you will see the pic. but don't scroll down too far or you'll see the picture of me modeling it. and i wouldn't want you to have that emblazoned in your memory.)

Simply Monday - January 12th

outside my window - it's already light out (i'm a little late this morning getting to this) and rather chilly with some ice still left on the ground from our ice storm saturday night. although, it's not as chilly as it's supposed to be by the end of the week when we aren't going to get out of the teens.

i am thinking - last week i had the momentum coming off of vacation to conquer the world and make sure things went right. this week is just blah. this one is going to be the real struggle.

from the learning rooms - more of the same, plugging along. hopefully a unit study for my son on the united states using these books and figuring out how to incorporate more science into our school day while still adhering to the fact that there are only twenty four hours in a day.

i am thankful for - oh so many things. where to start? family, friends, home...

from the kitchen - a meal for a family with a new baby and dinner...yes, i assume that should be coming from my kitchen tonight? but what?

i am wearing - jeans, black vneck shirt and sweater. the sweater is my ever present companion in order to keep the heating bill a bit lower.

i am reading - the computer screen to make sure i don't have too many typos.

i am hoping - for good weather next thursday for the march for life. just not rain. that would be good. i will be taking our oldest while my husband stays at home with the younger two. this is such an important year to be taking a stand.

i am creating - a game plan in my head for whipping this place into shape...and to the chagrin of the rest of my family it includes many garbage bags and quite a few trips to the donation center.

i am hearing - the kids play down the hall and the washer on its final spin cycle. the kids are loud but i'm just thankful they aren't squabbling and bickering. it seems like that is all they do these days. i guess that's being cooped up in the winter for you.

around the house - there needs to be more organization. that is not my forte. anybody with a hankerin' to show me what to do is welcome to just show up on my doorstep any time...i don't hear the doorbell.

one of my favorite things - my sheets! in the almost ten years we have been married i had never purchased "real" sheets. we always had the jersey knit or whatever was cheapest or free (we have spent many nights on character sheets from our childhood). but, with money i received for my birthday i broke down and bought sheets that actually listed a thread count on them. i don't remember what that was, and they were the cheapest that did such, so i'm sure they aren't luxury or something. but they feel like sleeping in a cloud to me.

a few plans for the rest of the week - little flowers, spanish, piano, praise and worship, gymnastics, library, irish dance. yes, it's all in a week's work.

here's a picture thought i am sharing with you - our kids love it when we have energetic houseguests. :)

remember to polka on over to peggy's for the other day book entries.

Simply Monday - January 5th

outside my window - it's still dark. i'm very grateful to say i haven't been up before the sun in two weeks. but here we are. back the the usual.

i am thinking - that it was so good to have a complete vacation and spend lots of family time for the past two weeks. so now i need to suck it up, be thankful and keep a positive attitude. i am hoping the positive attitude will carry over to the kids. my son was already in tears last night in bed when his daddy told him that he had to go back to work today. he loves having his daddy home. why shouldn't he? i laughed when my husband told me that our little boy and had told him that he wouldn't have any fun without him home. i said, "well of course, don't you know i'm the 'no fun' tyrant?"

i am thankful for - today finally being the appointment for my car to get the coolant leak checked. we haven't used it since last thursday morning and have been driving "the meat wagon." that's what i call my husband's van that has not heat. he and the kids affectionately call it "the polar express."

from the learning rooms - hopefully a peaceful and productive transition back into schoolwork. it will be interesting. i'm going to try and offer it up for all those other moms whom i know are easing back into this structure today too.

from the kitchen - there will be turkey casserole this evening and hopefully a batch of homemade cream of mushroom soup to stick in the freezer. i need to get a meal plan made. i have a plan for this evening but that's where it ends. i completely flew by the seat of my pants during vacation and that won't work now. i'm sure of it.

i am wearing - back to the old work out clothes. i totally slacked during the holidays but am back on the wagon as of this morning.

i am creating - well, i need to create a christmas gift for each of the kids that i never finished but we shall see. my goal is to sew more in the coming months. i was pleasantly pleased that i was able to whip together the pajamas for the kids so quickly. heaven knows i have enough fabric...if i would just do something with it. i need to see if i have some material and a pattern to make myself some skirts. they are desperately needed.

i am going - probably nowhere. the car, like i said, is gone. i would like to go to target because i'm pretty sure their christmas items will be ninety percent off today. oh well, we'll see when they call about the car. the place is within walking distance and it's supposed to be 42 today. it is so nice to know that we don't have any appointments and we get at least this day without craziness to ease back into the routine.

i am reading - nothing at the present but i do have three books that i want to start. i'm going to try and give our days a bit more structure and when everyone else has quiet time...i'm going to try and take it to, instead of using it to clean, cook, lesson plan or whatever else i try to catch up on. i think using a bit of this quiet time for reading would be a big benefit for my tired little brain.

i am hoping - that the car doesn't cost an arm and a leg. we don't have the limbs to spare. we are trying to save up and plan for a new vehicle that we need desperately but i'm not sure how we are going to do this. i would like to say we will cut corners here and there but already with no cable tv or other frivolities like that, i feel sometimes as if we already live in a sphere.

i am hearing - my daughter's door creak open as my husband tries to wake them for the day. here we go.

around the house - it is surprisingly clean for just coming off of a vacation. there is definitely some laundry that is calling...no, screaming...my name though.

one of my favorite things - is vacation. especially the kind we had these past two weeks. i can't even remember how many days we stayed in our jammies 'til noon. it was superb. we still managed to get a few things done around here and i think we all feel pretty rested.

a few plans for the rest of the week - hide my lack of motivation for schoolwork from the kids :) and really try to dive back it with a good attitude. i don't really make resolutions but i am going to try and pray more and be an overall happy, more positive mom. other than that (of course, that's easy right?) we have spanish, piano, gymnastics and irish dance. the usual suspects.

here is a picture thought i am sharing -oh how i love these happy little faces!

please hop, skip and jump on over to check out the other daybook entries. have a blessed and peaceful day! :)

Happy New Year!

well, better late than never. it's the new year and tomorrow these guys......will be arriving at the stable. where does the time go?

i would usually say that we have been busy around here, running hither and yon, errand after errand. but no. we've just been enjoying hanging around home in our jammies and getting a few things done here and there...partially because we can't really go anywhere. you see. our cars have trouble. yep, the one that we usually drive has a coolant leak. and since we have already put what seems like bajillions into the head of this engine when it overheated before...we're playing it safe until monday when we have an appointment at the mechanic. the other car, well, it doesn't have heat...or defrost. they're kind of a package deal so i hear. anyway, traveling in what my husband has renamed "the polar express" wasn't high on the to-do list, but we braved it last night to do some necessary errands and also to get to our daughter's irish dance christmas ceili this evening. it was twenty seven degrees out, but we had blankets. so it wasn't that bad. i think the only addition i would have made was a ski mask so i could have felt my nose by the time we got home, but that's for another time. it's so funny how the kids don't care at all. they actually cheer when we pick up the blankets and head out for "daddy's car." it may be freezing, shutter once it reaches forty five miles an hour and not go over fifty five miles an hour...but to them, it's an adventure.

we have been praying for at least one new vehicle for over a year, but here we are. i accept that it must not be the right time for something like that to happen. but i can't help but admit that every time i think about the cars, i get a knot in my stomach and a lump in my throat. they are such a source of anxiety for me. i shouldn't let them be, but they are. we are blessed to have two vehicles that usually run...at least enough to get us where we need to go...or within a couple of blocks...and sometimes not back home. :) but if you think of it, could you send up a little prayer for us? it would help my anxiety level out immensely if we could get something that even brings us into this millenium. even into the late nineties would be nice. i really don't care what it looks like. purple with pink polka dots and flying monkeys painted on the hood? can we all fit in it and will we have to use the tow truck number that i've programmed into my cell? no? sign me up.