Random Thoughts Thursday

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My fridge seems to make ice in quantities that are directly disproportionate to the height of the temperature outside.  Really not cool, fridge.  We're dying here.

Not having A/C in the house isn't a problem for about 51 weeks of the year.  This week, it's a problem.

I just had the following conversation with Ellie:

• Ellie: Mom, I need a chart.
• Me: Really?  What for?
• E: Well, I need it so...actually, I need a kind of a calendar, so that...Mom, I need a calendar for...I need a calendar for one day so...just one day at a time so that I'll know...Mom, I need a list of...no, Mom, I need it for knowing...I need a chart with pictures of...Mom, I need it to show me so I'll know what I have to...I need a paper with some pictures on it of...I need a chart for telling me how...what I have to...I need a chart, or like a list...um, a bunch of pictures to tell me what I need to...Mom, you know when we put stickers on stuff?  Like when we do things?  I need...um...
• M: You need a job chart?
• E: That's what I said.

My head is still spinning.

Extreme heat and extreme boredom seem to go hand in hand.  It's too hot to do anything, kids.  Here, have another popsicle.

Lexi decided she wants to teach a dance class. She's planning to choreograph something and then teach it to her friends.  Her music of choice?  ABBA.  At least I'm doing something right.

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Random Thoughts Thursday

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We love watching the Olympics, but the late nights are catching up to us.  All day yesterday I tried to figure out why my kids were so cranky and ornery with each other, and finally, at 8:30pm, it hit me: staying up until 11:00 every night, and then getting up in time to be somewhere by 9:00 every morning (particularly somewhere where you're made to swim back and forth across a pool for 40 minutes) would make me cranky, too.  Probably has.  Needless to say, the girls did not watch any Olympics last night.

I'm looking forward to next week, when we don't have any camps or swimming lessons, no company coming, nothing we HAVE to do.  It will be nice.  Maybe we'll finally make that pajama day happen.

On Monday I went out and got pedicures with some girlfriends.  I couldn't figure out why I was so giddy about it until I thought back and realized that the last pedicure I'd gotten was right before my wedding.  13 years ago.

I really, really enjoyed myself.  It will not be another 13 years, let me tell you that.

My middle girl hits double digits on Saturday.  Today she said, "Mom, I'm almost 10.  I wish you would stop treating me like a kid."

I have blogger's block.  I just can't think of anything to write about anymore.  Do people really want to read about our summer vacation?  Because I have a ton of pictures from that...

I started an Instagram photo challenge - to post a photo based on a different theme each day this month, which isn't all that hard for me considering I already take at least one picture each day.  It's just remembering what the daily theme is that's the challenge.

I have never heard a song by One Direction, and would be blissfully unaware of who they are, except for all of Vicki's friends that have friended me on Facebook.  I'm so glad my girls follow our family's rule: only awesome music allowed.

Bob Ross makes me happy.



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Random Thoughts Thursday

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I wish I could think of things to blog about on days that aren't Thursdays.

My parents came to visit us this week, and my (not so) little brother came along.  It was a lot of fun to have them here.  There's something pretty awesome about uncles.

We were finally able to fulfill my dad's dream of taking his dog, Riff, to the beach.  Good times were had by all.

Shopping for school supplies is not my favorite activity.  At least I got it over with.

You know you're raising a nerd when the thing they beg for the most in Target is a TI-84 calculator.  I might as well buy the kid pocket protectors.

Actually, I think our brand of nerdiness is pretty awesome.

I love the Olympics, and I love England.  This is the best week ever.  The Opening Ceremonies made me so happy.

There are a lot of commercials they show over and over during the Olympics that I've grown VERY tired of, but the one with the ex-girlfriend who believes all the governments are following her makes me laugh every single time.

Yesterday afternoon Ellie didn't know how to ride a two-wheeler.  Today she rode it to the park.  I guess she was ready.



(It's a little hard to understand her, but at the end she says, "I biked! I biked, I biked, I bi-iked!")

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Random Thoughts Thursday

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The most random thing this week BY FAR was finding out that the President of the United States ate lunch at a hole-in-the-wall diner 5 minutes from my house on Tuesday.

I bet that place gets a lot more business now.  I know I'm curious.

The combination of a new washer & dryer and the realization that I can watch Netflix on the laptop has turned doing laundry into something I actually enjoy.  It's a miracle!

Chris wants me to get into shape so I can go on a bike camping trip with him sometime in the future.  So on Monday we biked to YoCream.  It was incredibly satisfying to discover that I could keep up with him on the uphills until I realized that the only reason he was going so slow was that he was hauling 50lbs of Ellie in the trailer behind him.  At least I didn't die.

I went out for another bike ride by myself last night, and today my butt is really, really sore.  My legs are fine, but my tushie is definitely not.  The reason for those padded shorts is so clear now.

Spell check does not recognize "tushie" as a word.

Vicki and Lexi are at camp this week, and Ellie is thoroughly enjoying the exclusive Mom & Dad time.  She would like to know how come they can't stay for 2 weeks.  Unfortunately for her, we pick them up tomorrow.

I can't think of anything to blog about anymore, except for on Thursdays.  I wonder if the era of my blogging has come to an end...

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Random Thoughts Thursday

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Yay!  It's Thursday!  I remembered this week!

Nothing has been as hilarious to me today as listening to four young sopranos sing "Man or Muppet" at the top of their lungs.  I'm not actually sure now why it was so funny, but it definitely was at the time.

The girls and I picked 14lbs of blueberries this morning.  This seemed like a good idea at the time.

The other night a made a salad that called for spiced pecans.  I couldn't find any at the store, so I made my own.  I couldn't stop eating them, and I don't even like pecans.  Wow.

Ellie begged me to bake cookies with her that same day, so my diet was pretty much shot right there.

Cookie dough should probably be illegal.

It's amazing how excited I get to clean out a closet when I've been too busy to tackle it all year.  I did two yesterday, just on a whim.

I probably need to get out more.

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Random Thoughts Thursday (Friday edition, again)

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Clearly being home is not helping me keep track of the day any better.  I now blame summer in general.  But I'm not complaining.

I just received collection notices for two bills that I have records clearly showing were paid in November.  What the heck?

Being on hold is more interesting when there's music.  When there's not music, I feel like they've forgotten about me, or hung up, and I'm just sitting there like a fool with a disconnected phone to my head.

Yesterday my friend Rachel and I took our older kids, plus several of their friends, on a 7-mile hike.  It was exhausting, but the view from the top of the mountain (of five surrounding mountain peaks, including Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens) was well worth the climb.

I have found this week that I'm enjoying summer so much more than I ever had.  I guess I never appreciated it before.  I feel like I'm not only enjoying my kids more, but I'm much more productive than I have been all year.  Being in school online makes for a disorganized house.

We are all still in love with our new washer and dryer.  The girls still fight over whose turn it is to do laundry. I hope that never changes.

Ellie can't wait for her sisters to go away to camp in another week.  She has all kinds of big plans, which include multiple visits to YoCream and forcing Mom and Dad to watch the Phineas & Ferb movie.  Wish me luck.

We cracked open my stash of Girl Scout cookies yesterday for our hike.  I still have five unopened boxes hidden in my garage.

Vicki just walked in, read over my shoulder, and immediately started drooling. "You still have five?  What types?  WHAT TYPES!?!?!"

I must now go re-hide the stash.

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Random Thoughts Thursday (Friday Edition)

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Being on vacation makes me lose track of the days.  I had no idea yesterday was Thursday until it was too late to blog.  I'm enjoying the escape from reality.

Back to life in a few short days, though.

I forgot to mention it last week, but, miraculously, no one threw up the entire time we were in St. George.  You will have no idea what a tender mercy that is unless you remember last year's Vacation From Hell.

Yesterday the girls went to my parents' house for a sleepover, and Chris, who generally hates shopping like nothing else, came with me on a shopping spree at the new City Creek Center, where I tried on clothes I will never, ever actually buy ($108 for a shirt?  No thank you!  It was really cute, though.)

I did, however, actually buy over $100 worth of clothes, and I couldn't figure out why Chris was so encouraging - this man who pinches pennies like there will never be enough - until he admitted just how much he'd spent on himself at REI before he joined us in Utah.  Aha!

Speaking of spending money, when I called to schedule dentist appointments for the girls, I was told that, since the insurance company dropped our dental coverage, the cost for a cleaning & exam (including x-rays) would be $350.  Each.  After I picked myself up off the floor, my mother-in-law suggested I take the girls to the dentist their family has used for years.  We did, and the girls ended up needing all kinds of work done (okay, so it's been a few years - thanks, insurance company), and after multiple fillings, one pulpotomy, and three yanked molars we still paid less than we would have if we'd only had the cleanings & exams in Portland.

And we get to find an orthodontist when we get home.

Coordinating schedules for a family picture when you have four grown children involved has proven to be a lot more work than my parents anticipated.  All I can say is they had better turn out.

It's July and my calendar is already full for the rest of the summer.

I'm so glad I decided not to take classes this summer.  I needed a break from studying.  I'm also glad that I'll have a few weeks after the girls start school to get myself all geared up.  Two more terms of A&P are on the horizon.

I had lost 10lbs before we left on vacation. About four days in I pretty much gave on losing the last 5lbs to reach my goal. I just hope I haven't gained back the 10.  Vacation is bad for the diet.

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