Guess who is three today?

Well, I think Lillian has recovered from the land of sickies. She is still coughing and has a runny nose but she doesn't feel sick anymore, which is key. Coupled with taking pretty much a whole week "off" with her and the fact that next weekend was Arnel's week to work had me getting very nervous about being ready for Lillian's birthday on Thursday and party on Saturday. But...I was able to spend a good chunk of time this weekend (3-day weekend here for the kids and I helped)and Arnel switched weekends and worked last weekend instead. So, I'm feeling more on top of my game. I still need to buy the food but I have a menu planned and I need to find out where I can get a pre-purchased helium balloon filled. And wrap all the gifts. Other than that I think I am as ready as I can be at this point.

Part of the reason that getting ready for the party was complicated was that week-before-last (when everyone was healthy!) I decided I'd had enough of all the TOYS. So I decided it was time for a purge-and-organize party. Every toy from the basement and every toy from the boys' bedroom...all gone through, broken toys tossed, unloved toys donated, and the rest put back with their proper cohorts. Now you have to remember I have FIVE children. Both boys and girls. Huge age span. That adds up to a LOT of toys. And these boys seem to attract lots of toys with lots and lots (and lots) of Very Small Parts. Legos, Playmobil, Bionicles...the list goes on. So the boys had to assist me in going through all of that, as I couldn't identify anything. I also had the kids do all the muscle work, carrying buckets here and there. So it has been a big job for everyone.

IS a big job I should say. With the week "off" it is still a work in progess with a deadline fast approaching. Has to be all done before the birthday party comes and the boys friends arrive! And you KNOW how these projects snowball...$150+ in Rubbermaid and a few gallons of paint later, we are almost done....

In other news...I decided to spoil myself and I splurged on some Bare Minerals. Which is an interesting choice to splurge on since I rarely wear foundation. Not sure about my opinion just yet...my complexion is not bad overall, no chronic redness or anything, that would let me say there was some dramatic change. The one area I struggle the most with is undereye circles and despite what the ads say I do find that this settles in the fine lines. Probably not as much as traditional foundation but since I don't wear it I don't have a comparison really...I'm comparing it to NOTHING which isn't really fari. Anyway, I love the look but up close I'm not completely sold. I still want to give it more time and more practice. I love the color and the way it feels and the brushes are marvelous!

If you are keeping track you will notice that I'm finally putting a new book in my "What I'm Reading" ares. I finally just finished up the novel I started before Christmas and there was NOT anything challenging about it...just got out of the reading mode. I started this new one this morning and it kinda has me sucked in so we will see.

I've also been trying to streamline my online activities a lot. I was on three online scrapbooking Design Teams. My term expired on one of them and I was not selected for the 2008 term. In the last couple of months I have also chosen to step down from the other two. Lots of other little things that I used to feel I needed to check in on daily I'm also letting go. It feels good.

I almost hesitate to put this "out there" because it will seem too real...is that we are contemplating entering the crazy real estate market. As much as I love most things about our house, there are some things that aren't quite the right "fit" for us. I know it seems like a bad time to try and sell a house and we honestly might wind up deciding NOT to...but there are also a few reasons pointing to this possibly being the right time. So...for now we are just checking into which way to go. In our dreams we are moving in about a year-and-a-half to a smaller community about 20-30 minutes north of here to a home with more room and fewer neighbors. Of course we will keep you posted.

If you are still reading...we are hoping to do something this summer that we NEVER do...take a vacation! We are planning on heading to Washington D.C. so if anyone of you has been there and has suggestions please do let us know!

One last thing. I received my Crop-a-dile 2 yesterday...finally...and I don't think it works! I have the original one so I KNOW how it is supposed to work, but my hole punches simply do not go down all the way so I can't punch a hole. Arnel didn't have a chance to look at it last night to see if there may be some sort of safety that I'm not seeing that has to be removed before first use. But if I have to send it back for an exchange I'm going to be so bummed! Anyone else have this problem and deal with it succesfully? Please?

Just popping in quickly to say I've been down with a sick little girl. Trying to get her healthy before her birthday festiviites next week (and in time for me to PREPARE for said festivities!) But it isn't easy because she is not the type to want to lay down and snuggle in with Mommy when she's sick. She's like the Energizer bunny, that one.

On a brighter note, I think it is safe to say that I've pretty much hit my latest goal weight of 159 pounds. Next goal is 156 which will be half of my overall goal!

Just wanted to add that another layout of mine is posted at the really fun inspirational site Scrap the Girls!

It doesn't seem like it, but I guess my life is pretty boring these days because I just haven't been finding things to write. Hmm...

Well, I briefly hit 159 pounds, which was my next goal. It didn't "stick" but I know it will be back. That is how I've tended to lose weight...it is like a zig-zag line, up and down, up and down...but with an overall downward slope. My next goal after that is 156 because when I hit that I will be halfway to my goal weight! I really don't know if my current goal is going to be the final one or not. I may feel when I get there that I want to lose more. But since I've never actually dieted before I wanted to give myself something that sounded at least a little bit reasonable.

Right now we are just working on getting back into the groove of school and our various activities. We have finished our first week back but will be adding a couple more things back in next week to bring us up to full speed.

Tomorrow we are going out for a late lunch with two other couples to my favorite restaurant. Great friends and great food, can't beat that! I guess my 159 won't be coming back quite yet, though.

I've been scrapping things just for us lately. No design teams or challenges involved. I've practically forgotten how, but it has been quite refreshing actually! Splurged on a pre-order for a Crop-a-dile Big Bite but won't get that until early February sometime. I spent about 4 hours organizing and purging my scrap stuff yesterday, though, so hopefully that will be enough to keep me motivated until then. That and my new Cricut pens.

Lillian has pretty much given up taking naps altogether. It makes bedtimes much (much) easier but...getting through those late afternoon and early evening hours can be a challenge at times.

Took both of the "big" girls to get haircuts yesterday. Julia got her hair thinned out but doesn't have visible layers and got a side bang. Laura also got a side bang but it is longer and she got lots of layers in her hair overall. Great choices for both of them with their individual hair textures and time constraints.

Laura got her braces (back) on this week and was in a LOT of pain for a few days. She's handling it like a trooper, though. This is going to be a long haul; they are talking about 2 1/2 years or so. I am a bit concerned that it might take even on the longer end since she has been an early growth spurt kind of girl. I don't think she has that much more growing to do and I know that the braces work more quickly if you are growing at the same time.

The next big events coming up are of course Princess Lillian's birthday party, for which she has chosen a Dora the Explorer (aka "Dora Bora") theme, and Bongo getting spayed and declawed. I'm not a fan of declawing cats but I've learned that with indoor cats, it can be a near-necessity. Then later next month Julia gets her wisdom teeth out.

Brother, now I'm reaching into late February for things to write about, I guess it is time to accept the banality of my life at the moment and sign off. ~grin~

Well, nothing major to add but it has been awhile since I posted so...

I have more-or-less lost back all my holiday weight so I can pick back up on my diet where I was a few weeks ago. It would be much easier if we could get those last few cookies and fudge out of the house, though.

I broke down and bought us new dishes. I never wanted to get Corelle because I am just not a big fan of the 'feel' of them. They just seem cheap to me even though they aren't (by a long stretch!) But...when weighed against having to replace my stoneware pretty much annually, well, they started looking pretty good. I think they will be much more family friendly.

They weren't my #1 choice but they were in the top 3 and they were significantly less expensive than the other two, so here they are and hopefully they will be around for awhile!

By the way, I'm having a blast with the new feed over on the left...now I know that you all are here even if you don't comment!