Blog name change

I know, I've changed the name of my blog several times already, but I'm trying to find something that I like. There are so many choices out there, it's hard to stick with just one. Hmmm, sounds very much like choosing a man!!

Well, I finished up my boot camp! Yea!! I no longer HAVE to get up at the ungodly hour of 4:30am. I must say that I really enjoyed it though. As a matter of fact, I was out running errands today and ran into my son's preschool teacher from this past year. She looked surprised to see me and said "Wow! You can tell you've lost weight. I mean, you have lost A LOT!" I was very excited to hear her say that, and definitely left with a big smile on my face thinking to myself "Damn girl, you must be looking good!" I mean who doesn't like a little praise every now and then? However, the more I think about it, just how big did she think I was? I've only lost 20 pounds. So, I'm thinking of going back. We'll see. I did order a video online today that is a weight loss video, but teaches you dance moves. I can't wait to get it and try it out. No, it's not the video by Carmen Electra that teaches you stripper moves. Can you imagine? Standing in the living room, obviously overweight and trying to dance and look all sexy!! I laugh out loud at the image alone!! Although, I might buy a pair of high heels, after all...when was the last time you saw someone really sexy and in shape wearing house slippers?

The early bird gets ... me!

'Tis the season for baby birds to start hatching and learning to fly. We have a nest in our garage. It has 2 little babies in it. I haven't told my boys that it's there because I know what will happen. Either they knock the nest down and the birds get hurt, or worse, I will find the babies in their room one day with my 5 year old trying to feed it something that he's already chewed up! So I'm keeping my secret. This past weekend I took Declan over to his friend's house. They have a bird's nest right above the front doorway. It is filled with baby birds. While we were looking up at them, the babysitter opened the door to let my son in. As I started to go inside, a bird flew down and hit me in the head! As first I thought it gave me a present, so naturally I yelled obscenities. But then as I realized I was still clean, it flew in the house! Have you ever tried to catch a bird? I was chasing it with a sneaker and flip flop. My idea was to scoop it up in the shoe, cover it with the flip flop and gently release it back outside. No, I wasn't drinking. Why do you ask? Of course, at the front door every relative of this baby bird within miles was flying all around the front door and chirping very loudly. It was like a scene from the Hitchcock movie. There was no way we were opening the door even if we could catch it. We managed to corner it in a bathroom and shut the door. Fortunately the babysitter lives across the street and she was able to have her dad come over and he got the bird out of the house. disclaimer: no animals were hurt in the typing of this post.

My cuties

I thought I'd try to upload a few pictures of my kids. The first one is of Aislinn and Aidan. This was taken at Chili's. We had gone there for Aidan's birthday. He wanted to go someplace to eat where they would sing to him! At least it wasn't the mexican place where they make you wear a sombrero and sing in Spanish!!



The next picture is of my 5 year old son, Declan. He had just lost his first tooth and asked that I take his picture! He is my most affectionate child, always wants to play with you, and loves life!


The next shot is of my 2, soon to be 3 year old girl, Maeve. She is such a happy child. Her favorite things to do right now include playing with her dolls, having a tea party and coloring on the kitchen table! She is my little sweetheart and I dread the day she starts school and leaves me.



Finally, I have a picture of my dog Molly! This dog will put up with anything Maeve throws at her. We were having a tea party and Maeve decided to dress up the poor dog as Cinderella. Molly just looked at me with pleading eyes. I think she was probably mortified that the other dogs in the neighborhood might catch wind of this and she would forever be shunned! Don't worry Molly. Your secret is safe with me!!

Welcome to Noah's Ark

• I have a dog, Molly, who I love very much. She is a 3 year old, tri-colored beagle. I never really considered myself a dog person. I'm more of a cat person. Not much needs to be done with a cat. Fresh food and water daily and if you have an indoor cat, change the liter box before it becomes offensive and provides you with dirty looks and such from your precious feline. I always remember these things when it is cold and raining and I have to walk Molly. I just lost my cat in September after almost 14 years. I told myself that I didn't want to get another cat and go through the pain of losing another animal. About 8 months ago I found a little kitten. She is a cutie. My husband didn't even want to look at her and told me to take her to the humane society. I did and they wouldn't take her! I thought that was the whole point of the humane society! Apparently not. I was sent to the pound, where after filing out paperwork stating that the kitty was a stray and not mine, I was free to go, sans cat. Well, on my way out, I asked them what would happen to little kitty. They said that it would be put to sleep!! Not sure why I had to fill out paperwork when they were just going to kill it, but anyhow, I left. My husband called me before I even made it to the end of the road to see what happened. When I told him the kitty's fate, he told me to go back and get it!! He's such a softie. It's now many months later and the kitty, which is a girl, is ours. Her name is Gypsy. Fitting since we tried unsuccessfully to find her a home. That's not all. In April, I came home with Maeve, and what runs up next to me, but a dog. A male dog. A cute, male, Beagle dog. He hasn't left. He's an outdoor dog. We found out very quickly that if you leave him outside overnight, he sits on my front porch and howls. This is no fun for anyone inside the house who is trying to sleep at 4am. We have taken him to the vet to see if he has a chip, scoured the papers and internet for his owner, but have had no luck. So, we've named him Murphy and had him get his shots. This way if he bites one of my kids, we're covered. This brings us up to May. I come home from running errands (I'm beginning to think I shouldn't leave the house) and find 2 feral cats in my driveway. Fortunately, they took off so I don't have to take care of them too!

I've got the flute!

Because I hurt my back the other day, I spent yesterday lying on the sofa trying not to run around so much. My youngest daughter Maeve, who is only 2 years old and a huge fan of the Calliou cartoons, decided that she was going to be my "doctor" and take care of me. I think it's so cute when little kids play pretend! Anyhow, she comes over to me with an otoscope from her doctor kit, sticks it in my ear and proudly announces that I have the flute!! I know she really meant the flu, but because I am trying to be a good mom and not going to squash her creativity, I let it go and just laugh out loud. She told me that I need to have some diet Dr. Pepper and I will be just fine soon. Don't you just wish that was the cure to all ailments!!

Got music?

After some trial and error, I was able to add some music to my blog! This blog thing might be easier than I thought.

I went to boot camp Saturday. We had to run 17 laps. That's almost 3 1/2 miles. I made the mistake of saying the "C" word (can't). If you get caught, it's more time added onto the clock and if you are late even by a few seconds, it's 2 extra laps for you. Did I mention that this is run by a former drill instructor for the Army? He is also a professional body builder and doesn't take any crap from anyone. But, I love it. I didn't go today though. I pulled a muscle in my back yesterday. Today it hurts to walk. Did my husband stay home from work to take care of me? Why no, he didn't. As a matter of fact, he didn't even ask if I was alright, he just ran out the door!! Do you know what would happen if HE didn't feel good? He would be in the bed, with the door locked, on a heating pad, napping the day away. I'm not complaining, really. My husband is very good to me. After all, I haven't had to work outside the house in over 11 years.

A new beginning

Well, after having several friends ask me if I have a blog, I've decided to try one of my own. We'll see how it goes. Normally I hate anything to do with computers but I'm willing to give them another shot.

Let's see...I've recently started in a "Boot Camp" program. My 20 year high school reunion is coming up and what better excuse, er, reason, to lose weight and get into shape! Not sure if I'm going to go or not, because it's in Florida (at Disney) and I live in Georgia, but at least I'll look good! Boot camp starts at 5:30am. AM!! Who voluntarily gets up at that hour to sweat? Surprisingly, there are many people who do. Since I stay at home with my kids, (and I have 4) I try to never even get out of bed until 7am, or the sun comes up, which ever is later. Even on school days my husband gets the kids up and drives them to school. What? It's on his way. Anyhow, judging from what my body fat percentage is (and I'm not telling) the only exersize I get is running from the couch to the fridge. This whole boot camp thing is insane. I ache in placing I didn't know could actually hurt. Anyway, when you join, you get a meal plan. Ha ~ what a joke that turned out to be. A single slice of bread and 2 egg whites for breakfast! Is he serious? This diet is for the birds. Literally!! I'm determined to give this my best shot and stick to it. Today we ran 2 miles, did a bunch of ab work and something called "butt blasters". More on this as the days go by.

In spare time, which is not in great supply, I really love to scrapbook. I got started several years ago when I saw a friend's scrapbook. My mom took me to a LSS and bought me a ton of stuff to get started, for my birthday! Wasn't that sweet? I've been addicted ever since. I was even a home consultant for a scrapbook company. I gave it up because I never had time to work on my own books. I am happy to say that I have a room in my house dedicated to scrapbooking. Sure, it's the dining room, but it's MINE!! I even put doors up and a big "Do Not Enter" sign on it! So far, the kids are following directions. Maybe someday I can figure out how to post a picture and I can put up a layout or two. Then again, that might be a little ambitious for me! After all, I was really hoping that computers would be just a fad. I'm still waiting for them to lose their appeal.