these are the sweetest smiles around

a little painting goin' on.....
if there is a fire, put it out- do not let is fester or build
these will take me places.....

Balancing...... well, still a work in progress

I am a mom, wife, cook, chauffeur, accountant, lunch packer, homework director, laundry girl, laundry folder, cleaning lady ( sort of) , 40+ hr worker, dresser, boo-boo comforter, referee, daughter, sister, friend, partner, photographer, memory keeper, artist, reader, writer, but most of all a woman trying to balance it all.........

if I wasn't for a wonderful, supportive guy in my life, I wouldn't be able to do much....yet, I am still trying to work in ME time- which is always last..... I have managed to work in some exercise during my work day, and off time... it is not enough- I need to schedule me in- but that is last thing I do when it has to do with our kids, so I tend to sacrifice my sleep in order for me to blog, write, scrapbook, read, or just relax...... so then BOOM- I am fighting bronchitis, or a cold or whatever........my health suffers. I am still focusing on my goals of 2011- live today, create and relax- but it is a motto I must repeat ( over and over and over ) in my head when I am feeling overwhelmed- what is that saying "remain calm and carry on"

My Hike Today

I realized something today- I really like hiking. I love being outside doing something physical and having an end result that can be measured. It beats being in a house or gym, on a treadmill- I just get sooo bored with that. I realized that in order to get more active and adding exercise in my day, I need to find something I really like.
I think I found it.

I also love to ride my bike- there is something fun about it, tooling around on a bike, hair blowing in the wind- I guess it reminds me of my childhood, where we rode our bikes EVERYWHERE. All day long, we road and with that came a little bit of childhood freedom.

Today was a really good hike- and the best part- it is a really good workout but it doesn't seem like exercise because it is fun!

silliness

Well- we are just being silly at home- I was getting ready to read stories to the boys before bed and J decided to "hide" under mommy and daddys bed sheets, then we played a game where I pretended I didn't know where he was, and then daddy got involved and was looking for J- then, daddy decided to go to bed and sleep on the very spot where J was hiding. The whole time, O, he was seriously looking for J, and was asking "where is he" , looking in their room, coming back to ours, and then realizing J was hiding and Daddy was laying on him. It was very funny- you should have seen the look on O's face- saying "J, you were hiding unders the covvverssss???

I know it doesn't sound so funny, but when you add in little O's comments and the way he talks it was incredibly cute!! ( I am biased though ; ) Anyhow, this is a little pic of O, he loves to get on the scale and then I say " 34 pounds ( or whatever weight he is), what a big boy you are"
We have been doing this for a long time, ever since he could stand on the scale and get that reaction!

Poinsettia

Well it is a Christmas miracle I managed to keep the poinsettia plant alive- I thought I better take a pic of it before that changes!!

I am in this 365 project where I have to take daily pic and post it. My sis invited me, and so I thought I better participate- just another way to make sure I take a daily pic here and there!

I have been purging, organizing all weekend. I am not done yet- but man, it feels good to get organized. I still have my desk to finish, paperwork and some clothing to figure out what to do with. I fell asleep on the couch today when the boys took a nap and , that felt good. I must have needed it