TGIF

Yahoo - it's Friday! Today started out with sunshine and warmth but has turned to cold temps and rain. Washington weather never fails to surprise me - one never knows what weather you will get here.

I spent the morning like normal, dropping my two older little people off at their schools with the mindset of grabbing a Starbucks Coffee and running errands. I was scheduled to work in my oldest's classroom and had almost forgotten about it. Good thing Mrs. L double checked with me at drop off or I would have gone about my day completely forgetting about it. Whoops! (I'm glad I showered this morning!) I love helping out in his class. I get a little peek into his world when he is away from me. I meet kids he likes to play with and can persuade him otherwise when we are home. ;) My son is an awesome kid! He is funny, smart and at times too inquisitive for his own good. But for some reason, he likes to play with "those" kids. You know the ones. The kids that are absolute brats and overly strong willed. The ones that think farting noises and talking about their private parts are hilarious. They will pick the most annoying habit to do over and over and over and over and over again. These kids are usually products of the women I affectionately call "The Blond Moms." They are the moms who drive overly priced, obnoxiously large vehicles in which they have to climb up into and down out of. They wear the valour track suits while showing off their perfectly manicured toes in their peek-a-boo high heels or too tight, low riding jeans (which by the way makes their climbing in and out of those very large vehicles quite a comical show). Who are they trying to impress at their child's elementary school I ask you? But I digress . . . . . . . So it is my job to try to persuade my little lover of knock knock jokes. the crocodile hunter and anything mechanical that there are many other very nice, less obtrusive kids to play with and that he will be better off if he made those choices in this early stage of his life. I take my job very seriously!

I've been listening to The Devil in the White City on CD. It's the book of the month for the book club (a sub-club of my mother's group). I can never find enough time to actually sit down and read a book in it's entirety in the months deadline between kids, laundry, dishes and my love of trashy TV. But I found this book on tape on sale at the beginning of the week and I love listening to it every time we are in the car. Book group is tonight and I'm hoping my hubby will be home in time for me to go to it. I only have a couple chapters to listen to and I'm confident I'll finish it in the time it takes me to drive there.

I hear my little three year old yelling "I'm done!!!" at me. She must have gotten herself to the bathroom and is now in need my assistance. My next parenting challenge (right along with helping my son play with nice kids) is helping my middle child learn to wipe and flush by herself. I can't wait for the day I can make a pit stop and not find a little surprise waiting for me inside.

cheery day comes to screeching halt

Yesterday was a normal, somewhat cheery day. The sun was shining and Spring felt like it was finally here. By afternoon we were driving home from Tae Kwon Do where my cheery day came to a screeching halt . . . . . I was rear-ended! The first time. A young gal, following too close and not paying attention to the stop and go traffic kissed my bumper with hers. Ouch!! All the sudden I felt very old when we exchanged information; her being only 23 born in 1983 and me being much older born in . . . . . well, you get the picture. So there it is. Another thing happened to me with that collision of unhappy circumstances, I realized I'm not a spring chicken anymore. I have three kids and drive a minivan!!! When did this happen? My speedy, too close for comfort friend was nice, offered all her information as if she had done this before and went on her merry way. I ended up following her for a while longer only to witness her tail-gating others not at all acting if she had learned a lesson from the five minutes before. Grrrr!

Today was a good day and accident free! I dropped kids off at school, stopped by the police department for an accident report, had Starbucks, hit up the grocery store and watched some of The View before having to pick kids up from school. Later, I took my brood to get their picture taken with live bunnies from a local photographer we love. They were very excited and even the baby thought the bunnies were fun. I hope we got some good shots.

I'm hungry today. I very much want (need) to lose weight. I hate tracking points for weight watchers but know that I have been successful in the weeks past so I need to keep it up. My secret goal weight is in my grasp. I just need to lose 3.5 more pounds and I will feel like I finally accomplished something and can move on to my new goal. Wish me luck!

Inspires to get in Shape

On my journey to get healthy and lose weight, I signed on with the Arthritis Foundation to do their "Joints In Motion" five for five program. Basically we are walking/running five 5ks in five months to raise money. So far we have done one . . . . the St. Patty's Day Dash in Seattle Washington. It was so much fun! Our next is the Skagit Valley Tulip Run where I and my three friends have signed up to walk five miles.

A little "self-promoting" side-line: if you would like to make a donation, check out my webpage at http://jim.kintera.org/fiveforfive/eringlover

Brand New Blogger

Here I am . . . . . brand new to "blogging". (I'm not even sure if I have the lingo right.) Out of curiosity, I have been surfing around and reading different blogs for a while. I found myself being inspired by others' honesty, love of their families and creativity. It made me want to do the same. It's like an online diary, but a diary that anybody can read. Even though I feel I am a private person, this whole blogging thing greatly intrigues me. But other than that, it's also a way for friends and family members to check in. I have nothing terribly important or interesting to share. Just little tid-bits from my little life . . . . . . little things I love, little things we do, little people I adore . . . just my little life. So here I go. I'm giving it a try. Cross your fingers!!