A Blur

This weekend was a blur. I left school Friday afternoon, and before I knew it, it was Monday morning and I was back. Friday evening was Book Club. It was a fabulous evening of delicious food (thanks to our hostess, Becky), wine, and conversation. We didn't talk about the book very much other than to say that we all enjoyed it. I got home late to a sleeping husband and sleeping kids. Quin woke up way to early, and the other kiddos joined him shortly afterwards. JD was working, so I packed up the kiddos and we headed to a community yard sale at a nearby school. We didn't get any fantastic deals, but I did get some clothes for Quin, some trains for our wooden Thomas set, some old school Nintendo games, and books for all of us. It poured as we drive home, and it was nice to pull into our newly built garage and not get soaked. Next, we were off to Truck Day at a local church. The rain held off for the rest of the day, and the kids enjoyed being with their friends, checking out trucks and farm equipment of all kinds, going for a hayride, and eating popcorn and hot dogs. By the time we got home, JD was there, and he put me to work shoveling gravel. For a few hours, we worked on the lean-to that is attached to our garage and will hold our firewood for next winter. Then it was off to Lowe's (for some garage items) and Burger King (for a quick dinner and play time on the playground for the kids). Sunday was also full with church, family dinner, visit to JD's grandmother, cremees with friends, and more. All of a sudden it was Sunday night, and I had to switch gears and finish some reading for school. Now I'm counting down the days until next weekend which will include a wedding, a bbq at our house, and the largest Memorial Day parade in the state!

Fresh Air Fund

"Since 1877, The Fresh Air Fund has been giving inner-city children the joy of a summer vacation with volunteer host families and at Fund camps, creating unforgettable memories and fresh possibilities."

When I was growing up here in rural Vermont, some of my younger friends had Fresh Air sisters. Kristin had Latoya, and Micah had Felicia. I only had brothers at the time and really wanted a Fresh Air sister, but because my mom worked long hours as a nurse, and my dad was often busy in the fields or the barn, we were never able to invite a Fresh Air child to stay with us. Even then, I hoped to have the chance to be a host mom as an adult.

Ryley is 7 now, and like me at that age, she doesn't have a sister. When I mentioned having a Fresh Air sister this summer, she was definitely on board and stayed on my case about contacting someone. This week, we filled out the applicaton and interviewed with the Fresh Air Fund coordinator in this area who also happens to be the mom of one of my students. Being home in the summer gives me the perfect opportunity to participate in this program. We plan on hosting for 10 days in August and are looking forward to hearing about the little girl that we've been matched with! I'm praying that we are matched with a child that will blend into our family fairly smoothly, and that we can continue inviting the same child year after year and create a lasting relationship with her. The Fresh Air Fund is looking for many more host families for this summer...

Failure to Run

I've set my alarm to get up early on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (today). I still haven't run. I have very good reasons (excuses).

Monday- I didn't sleep well. I made the mistake of napping for about an hour on Sunday afternoon even though I know that causes me to have a hard time falling asleep. I was still awake at two. I shut the alarm off and went back to sleep.

Tuesday- JD and I share an alarm clock. He hit snooze a few times, and by the time he woke me up (if he's there, I don't hear the alarm), I didn't have time to get much of a run in, so I went back to sleep.

Wednesday- I woke up in plenty of time and got enough sleep. I had a headache, but was going to force myself to run anyway. I went to grab my inhaler off of the treadmill and Quin started crying. He was my excuse this morning.

I plan on being creative with my reason (excuse) for not running tomorrow.

Book Club

I love to read. Since Quin was born, I haven't had too much spare time to sit and read, but I've tried to at least complete the books that have been chosen each month for Book Club. My friend Helena started Book Club (BC) about 3 1/2 years ago. A bunch of girls meet one Friday night a month (we take turns hosting) and discuss the book (a little) and life (a lot) and enjoy good food and wine. It's a fun night out, usually without kids (sometimes a baby will make an appearance) or husbands. To date, we have read the following books:

My Sister's Keeper
The Double Bind
Kite Runner
The Power of One
Water for Elephants
Observatory Mansions
Stolen Innocence
Bel Canto
The Shack
The Thirteenth Tale
Revolutionary Road
Jesus Land
Without a Net
American Wife
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Olive Kitteridge
Weight of Silence
The Help
Sarah's Key
The Neighbor
The Reliable Wife
The Lost Symbol
Same Kind of Different as Me
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
A Disobedient Girl
Freedom
Good Enough to Eat
Room
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Half Broke Horses

I'm sure I'm missing a few, and I may need some of my fellow BCers to help me out with the missing titles. Of the above, the only three I didn't finish were Observatory Mansions (I had pneumonia the week of BC, and never picked the book up again), The Lost Symbol (busy month?), and Freedom (didn't get the book on time, hope to read someday).

BC forces me to read books that I normally wouldn't. While I would have eventually picked up some of the above anyway, the majority are titles that I wouldn't have chosen, but am glad that I've read. I'm hoping to begin writing brief reviews of each book that we read (present tense) beginning with Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls. If you love reading and aren't part of a fabulous Book Club, you're missing out!

Don't ya just love a bargain?

Those who know me well know that I love bargains, deals, clearance racks, etc. I do a lot of shopping at garage sales, on eBay, and on Craigslist. I have gotten items off of Freecycle and from the side of the road. I like good quality brands and items, but I don't like spending a lot of money on them. Garage sale season is upon us, so the last couple of Saturdays I've packed up the kids and headed out to sales that I found out about on Craigslist. Sometimes my "deals" don't turn out to be deals afterall. Last week I bought a baseball glove for Zeke. It looked brand new, and at $2, I thought it was a pretty good buy. It turned out to be for a left-handed player. He's right-handed. Oops. This week, I bought a bunch of books, and we found a few things for Quin, including a like-new pair of Carhartts for 50 cents, which was probably my best buy. After a couple of sales I went to Agway and bought some flowers and plants for the yard. After quickly dropping over $100, I wondered why I bother shopping for bargains when trying to make my yard look nice costs a fortune and there aren't exactly clearance racks for plants. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about plants and gardening to save money by knowing when to transplant plants, separate them, or do anything else really, except water them. I guess that's a plus to the 7 days of rain that have been forecasted for this week; I won't have to water the flowers!

I ran...

...early in the morning. I did it. After refusing to get up earlier than normal, I've come to realize that if I want to run, that is when it needs to happen. I slept in my running clothes and slipped my sneakers on this morning. I was ready to head out the door for a short run at 5:30 when JD told me he was leaving in 10 minutes. What! The whole idea was that he'd still be home to be with the kids. We didn't communicate that he was leaving early for work or that I wasn't planning on staying in and using the treadmill. I almost went back to bed. Instead, I ran on the treadmill. Not too far, not too long, but better than not running at all. So far I'm feeling good and energized. Maybe getting up earlier a few days a week won't be so bad afterall.

Flashback to Florida

In April, I headed to Florida with the Crew for 9 days of beautiful sunshine. We don't travel much due to our work schedules and finances, but when we do, it's usually to Florida. We have relatives to stay with there. My mom and her husband own a condo there. It's warm there. This year, JD's step-brother was getting married there. A destination wedding which just so happened to be 20 minutes from my parents condo, on a weekend that I had off from teaching, at a time when my parents would also be there to watch the kids. Perfect. My sister, "Dolly", flew with us to Ft. Lauderdale where we stayed for three days with my aunt and uncle.

My little swimmers

The kids splashed in their pool all day long, and we were happy to watch them have fun and enjoy the warmth after the longest, snowiest Vermont winter ever. Then we drove to Ft. Myers where the condo is and the wedding would be. We stayed at The Pink Shell on Ft. Myer's Beach with JD's mom and step-dad.

Their Mama and Daddy

The welcome bbq, rehearsal dinner, and wedding/reception were all very nicely done. After the wedding we headed to the condo for three more days, which included beaches, shopping, pools, mini-golf, a sunset sail on a catamaran for the 30th birthday, and more shopping. We drove back to Ft. Lauderdale on the final day to catch our flight home.

Tips to cheaper travel: 1-Be willing to drive farther to an airport (We had a direct flight on a low budget airline out of Plattsburgh, NY). 2-If you can, rent a vehicle away from the airport (We saved $400 on our minivan by getting it off-site). 3-Don't feel like you have to go to expensive attractions (We decided not to try Disney and are glad we didn't spend the money. The kids had a blast at the beaches and mini-golfing and would have hated the lines there).

I love Florida with the kids. It's a vacation, but not a super-relaxing vacation. I think I will love Florida without them too. We're hoping to go back kid-less in the fall with friends. I'm watching airfare. :)

To run or not to run; that is the question

I decided to start the new year with a goal of getting in shape. I haven't really run since I played sports in high school and really wanted to be in shape enough to run a 5k. I started a Couch to 5K program on December 31st. It was hard to find time to run, but I did, and finished the program in time to run my first 5k at the end of March. My time wasn't great, but I was okay with that; my only goal was to finish without having to walk. It was a freezing cold day and I had many layers (including two pairs of pants) on, but I survived. I then took a few days off, and a few more, and well, I hang my head in shame as I say that I haven't run since then. And we're into our second week of May now.

Reasons I haven't run:
I don't enjoy it enough to try hard to make time for it. (I refuse to wake up any earlier, the baby needs to be asleep so I can get an uninterrupted run in, by the time that happens, or hubby is home, I'm worn out).

Okay, so I guess there is just one reason, but it's a big one: I don't love running. I do love how I feel afterwards, though, and the sense of accomplishment, and knowing that I'm doing something good for myself. I don't want to give it up. I want to love running. I want to have time to run.

I'm going to sign up for another 5k. It's at the end of June. I will have to start running soon, like tomorrow. Ryley and Zeke are playing t-ball, so I have an hour in which I can try to get a run in while they're at practice. It will mean pushing the baby around town, but I have a decent stroller and that should go okay. So here's to giving running another chance. Stay posted to hear how it goes.

I'm back!

After many busy, exhausting months, I'm back! Quin is 8 months now and life is a little easier, although busy in a different way as he's crawling around and getting into things that he shouldn't. Ry and Zeke are playing T-ball, JD switched jobs, I'm teaching full-time, summer is on it's way, and life is good!