darn you, jillian

*This morning was my second morning back to my Jillian workouts. The sight of the weights awaiting in me Chris' office (where I work out) is not necessarily welcome. Does it feel good after I work out? I suppose. Overall, I'm glad I'm finally getting back into it. It simply is unhealthy how much I sit during the days when I'm at work. Something active had to happen. :)

(Sidenote: Yes, those are only 2 lb. weights. I'm perfectly content to do the bare minimum. Ha!)

*I went back to work yesterday, but took today off. It just worked better with our schedules and the kids being off this week. We planned a playdate with a couple friends from school. The kids had a blast. :)

 

*After the playdate, we went to pick up the piggy at my friend's house. Her kids had taken care of him while we went to the desert. It was a happy reunion. :)

 

*I make the kids have oatmeal once a week for breakfast. They are NOT fans. I think Cam could eat cereal every single day. That and burgers. :)

*Chris' two favorite store bought cookies:

 

These are super tasty.

 

I think these have zero taste. 

palm springs

We just got back from a fun two nights away. Not only do we feel better about our switch from Vegas to the desert, but it sure was nice having a 45 minute trip home rather than 4+ hours. :)

Kendall created a schedule starting the day prior to when we left. She was very insistent on marking each thing off as it was completed. :)

 

We found some chairs with a pretty view of the fountains and one of the golf course holes. We had dessert one night and both breakfasts out here. :)

 

The highlight was obviously the endless swimming. The kids would often take breaks. Here they are reading some of the library books we had loaded up on before the trip.

 

Kendall always thinks it's a big deal to "snuggle in the hotel bed". We made sure to get some of that in (complete with letting her wear a hotel robe). :)

Not pictured are two nights out to dinner. The first night my parents met us at The Cheesecake Factory. We were able to sit out on their patio and had such a nice evening. The second night found us at Cameron's personal favorite, Red Robin. :) 

We were sad to have to come home, but it was a fun two nights!

unscented

*I have always bought unscented deodorant. I hate any type of scent. The worst scent is Powder Fresh (blek!), which I was forced to buy the other week because Walgreens was out of everything else.  Every time I got a whiff of myself, it grossed me out! I resisted buying more for as long as I could, but finally couldn't handle it anymore. I broke down and just tossed it today so I could buy some new stuff. :)

 

*My district's spring break was last week. Since Cam and Kendall's break isn't until next week, I went ahead and worked. I got SOO much done just being able to sit at my computer all day. It made it possible for me to take a few days off this coming week. 

Initially, we had planned on taking the kids to Vegas. There would be SOO many things they would love (Bellagio fountains, Caesar's Palace, etc.). However the more we talked about it, the more we realized that our kids are old enough to notice all the crap that Vegas has to offer...in the form of billboards, pictures on taxi cabs, etc. Will they be exposed to this stuff eventually? Sure. But we would rather not be the ones to give them their first exposure.

Anyway, we switched things up and will be heading out to the desert tomorrow for two nights. The kids are beyond excited for non-stop swimming. Today we went to Walmart to load up on SPF, pool noodles, and a new swimsuit for Kendall. :)

*Kendall had a birthday party last weekend. She was over the moon when she hit the jackpot on one of the games. :)

*I love the texture of lima beans and black eyed peas. The grainy dryness is a big turn off for many, but for some reason I like it. :)

pineapple popsicle

*Our little girl won her class spelling bee recently and went on to represent her class at the school spelling bee. She made it three rounds and we were so proud of her. She spoke so loud and clearly.

She had a bit of a rough time  after the round (when she was eliminated), however by the time we got home later in the evening, she was back to normal...especially after stopping for her, "congratulations treat". ;)

*Today was a very low key day. Cam went on a 20-mile bike ride with my dad along the Santa Ana bike trail. He had a great time and has already talked about where he wants to ride next time. 

*While he was gone, Kendall played with the quads. They came over for breakfast and have not left (it's now 6:30pm!!). They even accompanied us to Walmart. They are the best little playmates for Kendall and keep her so entertained. :)

*Last week when I took the kids to the Mexican ice cream shop, Kendall and Cameron both got pineapple popsicles. They looked like they literally smashed fresh pineapple into the popsicle mold. I decided to try just that at home and the kids loved them!! So easy!

spring time

*Sunday was too warm and perfect of a day not to go on a bike ride. We went down to a Mexican ice cream shop.

*A while ago I heard the phrase, "Sitting is the new smoking"...meaning sitting ALL day long (like at a computer) is terrible for your health. I've realized that that is exactly what I do. I work, then I come home and don't do much at all until bedtime. So Sunday night I got my weights down, cued up my Jillian Michael's DVD, and planned to start back exercising the following morning. "Planned" is the operative word. It never happened and I don't think it will. I've resolved to at least move a little more, so today we went for a walk to the store. It's something I guess. :)

*Who says California doesn't have seasons??? This picture does not do our tree justice. It is beautiful.

*I have not been sleeping much the past few nights. I'm pretty sure it started because I had an IEP  that I had been nervous for. REALLY nervous. I'm hoping it only lasts a few nights. Ugh.

*Chris and I have started re-watching The Office. I forgot how incredibly funny it is. 

hallmark

*The kids are spending this weekend with Chris' brother's family. We swapped kids with them a few weeks back so we could have a free weekend to celebrate our anniversary. We decided to branch out tonight and headed to a cute place in downtown Palm Springs. We had a really nice time and the food was...pretty good. We laughed at the end of our meal because, on the rare occasion we branch out and go to a new place, we always end up leaving saying the same thing, "That was good...but we should have just gone to The Cheesecake Factory". :)

*It's nice knowing the kids are having a blast with their cousins.We always like getting updates and pictures.

 *Chris surprised me the other day and showed me something he had added to our TV. He had stumbled across two free channels for our Roku, Hallmark and Food Network. While it doesn't have every single Hallmark movie, it does have several and I watched one that has now become a favorite.

deep clean!!

*Yesterday the kids went with Chris to church for the annual loft build. They work on pre-fabbing loft houses, which will then be transported down to Mexico and put together for families.

 

*Chris and I will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary this week! As my gift, he bought me a deep house cleaning. Yesterday a crew arrived and spent six hours deep cleaning our house!! Oh. My. Gosh. I can't tell you how excited I was. Blinds? Check! Baseboards? Check! It feels wonderful to have such a clean house and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect gift!!!

While they were cleaning (and the kids were at the loft build), I worked and had an oldie but goodie playing in the background. It sure brought me back to my college days.

*We went to Stater Bros yesterday. Kendall fit well enough to ride during our shopping. Cam...a little too big at this point. :)

*Each year the kids are required to do eight hours of community service for school. Kendall's class has been collecting money for, Pennies for Peace (an organization which sends funds to Afghanistan to help rebuild schools). She had the idea of holding a bake sale to raise money. We planted ourselves in the middle of a street, right by a stop sign. They had a great time and people were really generous!

 *Last night we went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. We used our last four coupons for a free piece of cheesecake. The kids were ecstatic about getting a piece all to themselves. Kendall went nuts over her Lemoncello Cream Torte. Obviously this would never be a choice I would make, but I must admit, it was pretty tasty.