It's Actually Kind of Fun!

There's this website called familysearch.org and on it you can find all sorts of public records like birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses...the list goes on.  It's really interesting to start looking up a few names of people you know - then everything kind of snowballs.  I've been on the site for quite some time today just looking around.  It's like pinterest...but with a purpose!

One of the things you can do is volunteer to help with their indexing.  Basically it involves looking at old records and entering it into the system.  It helps people in the future be able to research information on family members, etc.  I recently started indexing, and honestly - I love it!  When I stop my daily blogging in (can you believe it) thirty days, I think I might just fill my nightly blogging time with indexing.  At first I was a bit confused, but now I'm on this, "how much can I do in these five spare minutes" kick.

If you have a free minute or two - check out the site.  Looking at all the old records is really interesting, and I feel like I'm actually helping in some way instead of just pinning things that I'll never really accomplish.

Go look up some of the records for your relatives HERE.

BDEM:  Watching my darling Stefanie get moved back into her home.  She's been back from Florida for a while now, but has been living at her parents' house until the people renting her house moved out.  Seeing her there again makes my heart happy.  It's like she's finally legit!

Water:  50 oz

Best Day Ever

 We had a beautiful day last week - and we lived it up like it was the middle of July!  A backyard beach followed by ice cream.  All three claimed it to be the best day ever!

BDEM:  When was the last time you watched Ghostbusters?  Most likely - it wasn't recently enough.  Pop that sucker in the VCR, DVD player or blu ray - and I promise you'll have yourself a BDEM.

Water:  20 oz

Stupid Orange Juice!

Oh man....CONSPIRACIES ARE EVERYWHERE - and here comes another!  As a kid I did not like orange juice, but we were always told we needed our OJ so we could be healthy, etc.  Flash forward to February of 2012 when I learned (and was emotionally scarred) by the truth behind orange juice.  If your eyes haven't been opened yet - click HERE.  (But only if you want to sob for the rest of your life wondering what else has been a complete lie!)

Now, when I think of orange juice, I think of one person...and that's my dad.  He had it daily, and like I said before, he encouraged us to drink it anytime we had a sore throat, cough, pimple, broken leg, or bad hair day.  So, when I shattered his world by telling him the real deal behind orange juice -  while we were sipping it in Hawaii, he was crushed.

Then we ran across this issue at Einstein's Bagels this morning.  They sell individual bottles of OJ, and also have plastic cups filled with the "fresh" OJ sitting in the cooler.

Perhaps I'm an idiot - but for $3, and the fact that it's sold in this manner - I have always assumed it was "fresh squeezed oj."

Not so.  Upon taking a closer look we noticed this little deceptive description:

100% PURE SQUEEZED orange juice.

 Like there is some way to squeeze something that is not 100% pure:  50% pure squeezed, 50% machine squeezed?  Come on, now!

Wondering what the heck that meant I walked up the cashier and asked, "do you know what kind of orange juice this is?"  She awkwardly and hesitantly replied, "Minute Maid."

All they had to do was swap out the word fresh for pure and it's a whole new ballgame!

Fooled again.  I guess next time I'll just spend HALF the money and buy the individually bottled oj sitting right next to it in the cooler.  (And by I - I obviously mean Rob.  I was busy sipping away on my 100% fake Coke Zero.)

CURSE YOU ORANGE JUICE!!!

BDEM:  Afternoon birthday party!  Thanks for the invite, dear friend! We all had a blast!


Water:  40 oz

This Man

I am not the most "patient" person...per se.  I'm sure there are like two or three people in the world who are even less patient than I am - and for their spouses I feel equally sympathetic - but in some strange twist of fate, I ended up with one of those ridiculously patient people.  How he does it, I have no idea...but those mornings where I am ranting, raving and mumbling profanities, he just carries on like he doesn't have a care in the world.

Where do these people even come from?!

I love this man, appreciate this man, and have so much to learn from him.  Thanks for loving me, babe! I'll try to keep my "passionate personality" in check more often.

BDEM:  Madelyn's ADORABLE first grade program.  Sure it was cheesy - but it just brought tears to my eyes.  The whole theme was, "We Love Our Families" and every time she would sing the line, "I love you,"  she would point right at me....and I was on the opposite side of the room - so while all the kids were pointing out at the audience, she was pointing her arm across the face of the girl next to her so she could point directly at me.  And while I'm sure some frustrated mother out there is blogging about the terrible little girl who kept blocking her view of her daughter, I'm sure delighted! 

Water:  60 oz

Green

I have been {mildly} obsessed with researching green smoothies online for the past few days.  Since things have been so hectic I haven't gotten to the store to buy all the ingredients, but am hoping I'll have a second to grab them on my late-night shopping trip tonight.  I've had them before - and think they're pretty good...but I want to take a good solid week to two to see if I notice any kind of difference in how I feel.

At the end of the Insanity workout that Rob and I do, there is a mini commercial for a green shake called Shakeology.  It shows a bazillion fruits and vegetables blended into one beautiful and smooth green smoothie.   Rob and I (starving from our workout) would watch the commercial and envision how much better our lives would be if we were drinking that shake daily.

Isn't it gorgeous?

They even put it in a curvy glass so that you subliminally think of a defined waist.  Genius.

Rob and I finally gave into temptation and got a few shakeology mixes from our friend that works at Beachbody.

This is where green smoothies failed.  This is, hands down, one of the most disgusting things I have ever, EVER eaten, and I don't say that lightly.  I think I would haven enjoyed eating my lawn clippings more.  So you'll understand why I've been hesitant to bring these back into my life.

But once again I have been sold on a picture.  Check this puppy out:

Doesn't that just look like the epitome of health in a mason jar?!  And unlike the dehydrated vomit in the first picture, I actually know what goes into this one:

Bananas + Peaches + Mango + Spinach + Water

Easy peasy.

Once I have done this consistently for a week or two, I'll let you know how it tastes, how I feel, etc. But for now, if you have a better recipe, or some green smoothie experience you'd like to pass on to me - I'd love to hear it!

BDEM:  Um...I actually don't know where this day has gone.  It has been - in general - a great day...but I think I've been glued to the internet today!  Good thing I got so much done yesterday.  So, BDEM....hmm... the relaxation that comes after getting all your work done?  Maybe? 

Water:  70 oz

YUCK!

Part of me wants to just take Maddie out of school for the next five weeks because this sounds just  horrible!   I don't know what's worse...this letter, or the letter informing parents that there is lice floating around the class!  {cringe, shutter, gag}

BDEM:  Rob's been working like a mad man.  He's got a V.I.P. in from Korea so he's been spending all his time doing business and making deals.  Usually after a few days of single-momming it I feel tired and cranky, but for the past few days the kids have been GEMS.  I have enjoyed almost every single minute of our long-day schedule.  

Water:  70 oz

Holy Adorable!

This was such a fun stage for the two of them...and boy do I miss Maddie's little lisp!  

And when did Maddie lose her little chubby cheeks?   Crazy!

As much as Maddie has changed, I swear on my life Jude (with the exception of the teeth) is EXACTLY the same physically.  Maybe his brain is too busy growing to let his body make any changes.  Yeah - I'm sure that's it.

BDEM:  Another B-E-A-utiful day.  The kids made a backyard beach, ate on the patio and enjoyed ice cream in April.  LOVE this!

Water:  60 oz

So Close...

As luck would have it,  Jude left the glue open and on the kitchen table within Claire's reach.  She just happened to find it - and pour it all over the couch.  Coincidentally my beast of a cell phone was also on the couch.  The combination was disastrous.  

I was filled with hope as I showed Rob how glue had gotten into every single crack - and was oozing out of the headphone jack.  I was SURE that there was no way this phone could survive.  And as tempted as I've been to purposefully destroy this phone on my own, I am riddled with guilt when I think back on the not one, not two, not three, not four but FIVE cell phones I have sent through the washing machine.  So with Claire and Jude being the main culprits, I couldn't have been more excited about the possible end of my hate-hate relationship with my droid.

No luck.  As karma would have it, the phone I hate the most is built to last.

Bummer.

BDEM:  IT WAS GORGEOUS TODAY!  So warm that the kids even ran around in swim suits and played on the trampoline with water.

Water:  60 oz

Why I'm SO HAPPY!

Remember my brother Greg and his wife Mandy?

Greg lived with Rob and I for a long time when we were married - and Greg and Rob became the best of buddies.

Then Greg got married and we got Mandy.  The rest is history:

They are the ones that fly out and stay with us for weeks at a time...when we only have couches to offer!

They are the ones who photograph my kids more than I do

Mandy and I always cut our hair together

They love listening to our kids

They look cute on sunset cruises

We kiss them

Maybe too much

They ALWAYS include our kids

We've been to Vegas together

And the Hoover Dam

The give our kids lots of loves

And always allow our kids to sit by them

I had like ten more pictures, but Blogger says I've used all my photo space...what's that about?  Anyway - you get the picture (pun totally intended).  They have been an amazing aunt and uncle to our kids, and our kids ADORE them.

And after six years of marriage, Greg and Mandy are going to have a baby of their own!!  

We couldn't be more excited for them - they are going to be wonderful, WONDERFUL parents - and our kids can't wait to have a new little cousin!

Congratulations, you guys!  We are seriously SO SO SO happy for you!

Love you!!

BDEM:  Looking through all the old photos of Greg and Mandy and all of our shenanigans.  We have had some really great times together!

Water:  I plead the fifth.  

What I Keep Going Back To

I feel like my decorating style is constantly changing...but I'm pretty sure there's one style I am always drawn to.  It seems like I always pick the whites, pale blues and tans.  I think I want a beachy look somewhere in my house.  I don't quite know how to incorporate it... or if you keep whites completely out while you have kids... but I sure do love these rooms!

Some of these are a bit more "cottagey" than I usually choose - but you get the idea.  The color palette always stays the same.  I think I'm going to try to incorporate this into the kitchen that we are looking to paint.  I'll keep you posted!

BDEM:  Date night!  Mini golf, Hibachi, and bowling.   

Water:  40 oz

Child #5

Apparently I have another son.

For the past couple of days everything has been all about Joe.

"Joe is ready for school.."

"I'm taking Joe out for a walk..."

"Joe doesn't have a mouth - so he only speaks sign language..."  (Hello, he doesn't have any hands either!)

"Joe is sleeping on our floor tonight..."

Honestly.  It's reminding me a lot of this commercial:

At least "My Buddy" looks like a human.  Joe is just plain scary - and I keep rounding corners to find him sitting on chairs or lying face down on the floor or getting sat on by another child.  I catch breath every single time because Joe looks like THIS:

No, that's not an upside down kid in our wagon...that's Joe.  

Try this angle:

He's actually filled with sheets.

 And since Jude didn't think an Angry Bird made for a very happy face, he added a paper smile.

 Here are the "brothers" going for a wagon ride.

 And here's Joe just watching TV.  He's in his PJs.  (Jude changes his clothes constantly)

And here he is....all tuckered out. 

For now Rob and I are just letting Jude have his fun, but if at any point I wake up and see Joe standing over my bed we are setting him on fire.  Sorry, son.

BDEM:  We accidentally ran into some friends for dinner and ended up getting to eat with them.  (Yay, for night-o-fun!)  

Water:  50 oz

Good Old Fashioned Fun

All that was missing was the cotton candy!

BDEM:  Watching the kids have a fabulous day!

Water:  40 oz