What do you do with the Mom-I'm-Bored syndrome?

This year hasn't been quite as bad as previous ones but we've still had our share of whines. It's the thing I dread the most about summer. Bored kids whining and begging for me to entertain them.

I don't have the answer, but I have figured out a clever response. When my kids whine, "I'm bored!" I respond by handing them a book and saying, "Un-bore yourself!" If that doesn't work I offer to give them cleaning tasks in oder to help them un-bore themselves. They've never taken me up on that one. ;-)

Comedy Club

My husband and I love going to the local comedy club for our weekly "date night". There is something about laughing together that helps a marriage, I think.

The local comedy club is an improv comedy club and so the routine varies every time. They ask for a lot of audience input, and I love that they specialize in clean comedy. It's something that I could take my kids to and not have to worry about what they might hear.

Yum alert!

I thought it might be fun to talk about yummy snacks or foods every once in awhile on this blog.

I read on another blog where someone recommended Orville Redenbacher's buttery garlic popcorn. Although I'm a garlic lover, it sounded a little "iffy" to me, if you know what I mean. But I decided to take a chance and try it.

I love it! It's not too garlic-y at all. It's a nice mild delicious flavor. And I love that it comes in single serving sizes.

Oh what do you do in the summertime?

...when all the world is green...

Do you swim in a pool to keep yourself cool
Or swing on a swing so high? So do I!

We took the kiddos to the park last night. It was the high point of their week, between playing in the dirt and eating all the pizza and cream soda they could stand. We got there at about 8 pm and I realized, that is the PERFECT time! Almost all of the kids were leaving to go home, and it was nice and cool, but there was still light outside.

As it got close to 9, the teenagers started showing up so we took everybody home. It was an easy "outing" and the kids had a blast so I think that we'll do it again very soon!

Ah, the fun that is family photos

Preparing for them, that is.

We have a family photo session scheduled for next month. I am in something of a panic trying to figure out what we will all wear that will look good together. I wish I had the money to go out and buy us all some nice, cute, and matching outfits, but that is only in my dreams.

What has worked well for us in the past is to pick a couple of colors and just try to stay in that color scheme. Now, to decide what colors we already own clothing in...

Bug lover

I have a child who loves bugs. She collects them.

I am not a bug lover. I try not to run away screaming when my daughter brings them in the house.

I forbid my son from having a snake as a pet because I'm deathly afraid of them.

I'd like to forbid pillbugs and caterpillars as well, but I don't want my kids to know just how neurotic I am.

I will be so glad.

When my child is no longer 3 years old.

*sigh*

It's a good thing I'm a pacifist ;-)

I was really upset the other night by the behavior of this lady at the gas station. The pumps were all full and several of them had a line.. I could see that one car was almost finished so I pulled in front of the car to put "dibs" on the spot. When the gentleman was ready to pull away from the pump I backed up a little bit to give him some room. As soon as I did - and he did - another woman pulled into the empty spot! At first I thought maybe she didn't see me, but I tried to catch her eye and she refused to even make eye contact.

I wouldn't have done or said anything unkind, but I did hope that she would look me in the eye and say she was sorry. Oh well.

Twitter

Are you familiar with Twitter? It's a real time, micro blogging service that allows you to submit regular updates about where you are and what you're doing.

It is one of those things that sounds pointless until you use it. I love Twitter! It appeals to my conceited side when other people want to hear what I am doing every second of the day. (Don't post about anything you wouldn't want your ex high school boyfriend to know about!)

I use Twitter to post updates about what I'm doing for my husband and friends to follow throughout the day. Things like:

Standing in line at the grocery store. Yikes, I must have picked the worst time!

Driving home from the mall. Thankful that the kids are all asleep.

Sitting down to watch Iron Man.

You get the idea? Head to twitter.com to check it out for yourself.

I love peanut butter M&Ms

I love them so much, it's probably a sin.

I heart Swat Cash

Swat Cash is the most amazing GPT (get paid to) site out there. I have been a member there for about a year now, and earned just under $1000 during that time. $488 of that is BONUS EARNINGS which means I didn't have to do anything at all. What first got me excited about this site is that last year, they gave a $100 bonus to every mom that was registered, had 50 posts in the forum, and posted a picture of themselves with their child. $100 FREE! After that I was hooked.

You can read all about GPT sites and how they work here. Nowadays I mostly fill out free surveys and enter their contests. They give away $1000 to one member on the forums EVERY WEEK. This GPT site goes above and beyond what any other site does to reward it's members. I earn approximately $100 each month just for logging in to the site every day and clicking the attack button. (More details on how this works in a post to follow.)

My point is that if you aren't a member, you really should click on the banner above and sign up. You have nothing to lose, it is free, and it really is Easy, Free money with almost no effort.

Please click through the banner or go to this link to sign up as my referral. I will be happy to answer any questions or help you out as much as possible.

A lot of catching up to do

It's slightly embarrassing to realize it's been several months since my last blog post. I don't even have a good excuse, except maybe laziness!

Things here are busy, busy, busy.

Baby girl is getting so big. She is practically potty training herself without me even trying. That's one good thing about having older siblings close in age.

My oldest has Jr Prom this weekend. It's amazing how much stress the right dress & accessories can cause.

My boys need an outdoor activity. They are growing like weeds, especially my 14 year old who lifts weights religiously.

The twins are 3! Wow! How did that happen? They are adorable & I have to stifle a laugh whenever they are mad and I hear, "You are not my twin anymore!"

My 5 & 7 year olds are growing into beautiful young ladies. I just wish they would slow down already.

Things on the employment front are a roller coaster, but that's not new. That is a post unto itself though.

Ready for a change

You won't be surprised to hear that I'm jumping on the Resolutions bandwagon. I haven't written them down yet (I know, I know) but I'm already getting started on one of them. THIS is the year I'm going to get organized.

My mom was the most organized person on the planet. My favorite birthday present was always when she would clean and organize my bedroom on my birthday. I feel like I didn't inherit that organizing gene, but recently I read that organizing is a SKILL that can be learned like any other.

I am hoping that it's true, and that by making new habits slowly, I can become as organized as I've always dreamed of being.