Staying cool-and what do to for 4th.....

There really has not been anything to post about. We have been spending everyday outside either playing at friend's pools or at the beach. I really want to wear the kids out during the first half of the day outside so they nap and get some vitamin D :)



is this Riley or what?

This past week I have taken the TV away from them besides 1 hour (2 shows) first thing in the AM. They really need to play more. They used to watch TV before bedtime but I eliminated that. They now just play outside or with one another inside. Last night they rode bikes and scooters while Frank and I tried to discuss what the heck we are going to do with the island in the driveway now taht we cleared it out.
The have also had "school" work each day in the afternoon. Riley is practicing writing her letters and Devin is practicing perfecting his writing as well as following instruction to complete worksheets himself. He still has thank you cards to write from his birthday but I only make him do 2-3 a day so its a long process for those.

Devin has been doing much much better swimming. He can now swim the length of any pool alone since he has figured out how to come up for air and then continue to swim. He loves that he can swim alone from anywhere within the pool. Riley is getting more comfortable without her chest floatie on and my goal within the next few weeks is to have her swimming by herself as well. She loves to jump and likes to put her face in as well as jump under-she just hasnt figured out how to propel herself forward.

We are having a great time so far this summer playing with friends and enjoying the sun. Tomorrow is forecasted to be 99* and that is H.O.T for NJ b.c I can guarentee the humidity will be 60-70%....Oh well, we will be wet all day somewhere. Other than tomorrow, weather has been mild and wonderful. Nights are cool and we can sit in the porch and hang out.

Fourth of July is coming up quickly. I am actually kinda sad we are in NJ for it. That was one great thing about our NV house. We could sit and watch fireworks all across the valley from our playroom window drinking cocktails together....now we actually have to go to them. I am not sure if we will this year or not. Riley and Devin go to bed around 7:30 and although it is not a big deal for them to stay up til 9 for them...what the heck do you do from 6-9 while sitting and waiting for them to happen? Do we wait another year? Or do we just go, drink Valenzano's crappy wine (since you cannot bring outside alcohol) and hope they don't melt down....?Maybe I can bring in mixers Killington style? Hmmm...

Blah-how is it only Monday? Wish I hadn't given up beer

First blog post from my phone...bear with me.Time has really been flying by aNd I feel like I cannot keep up with everything. I really want the kids to have fun playing with friends outside and at the beach but that really means chores no longer get done at home. It's a trade, we all love getting outside but i loathe a messy house. It's my job, and I'm sucking at it big time. I have also had to give up beer bc I've gain a bazillion lbs since moving home. Beer is my guts enemy along w bagels. I rarely ate bagels more than once a week in Vegas and hardly ever drank beer....it's disgusting how well I was doing when I was training fir tge half marathon I ran in dec to where I am now. Kids don't allow me to get anything done alone so forget working out while I'm home alone w them. I will have to get up at 530 to get it in before Frankie goes to work twice a week then once/twice a weekend- only problem is he's gone Everyother week. Ugh! Enough complaining...I'm done. Kids are doing well. Dev has a fresh mouth and we have had to discipline him repeatably for the same issue. He just gets in this negative fresh snappy mood and it's not good. He's great otherwise and very excited fir kindergarten. We have officially been together for 10 yrs while being married for 7 of them as of this past Sunday. Together for more than a third of my life. Only three people remembered our anniversary-can you tell I'm in a mood? We are celebrating this coming weekend since it fell on fathers day. We are platinum Marriott members so we get free nights yearly so will be redeeming one to stay in center city. Kelly and dan will stay at the house with the kids while we go. We were thinking about a nice dinner out then my gut stares me in the face so maybe tapas instead of heavy meal...just can't wait to spend a night out alone with my love. Thanks again Beaner!We spent all day Saturday on a boat and I was in love as was frank. He asked what I wanted in a boat and he's started to do some research...maybe next summer ;) I could spend everyday in the sun at tge beach, on a boat or in a lounge chair...Riley is my daughter as she fell asleep on the floor of the boat as we were crusing in the inlet. I folded a towel into a pillow and covered her whole body up w another towel. The girl won't sleep in her carseat but had no issues sleeping with a life jacket on over her bikini on a moving boat. Love :)Driving to ocean city tomorrow for the night and can't frickin wait to plant my ass in the sand! Kids should have a ball too playing with their cousins.

why does everything break at once?

When we moved into this house we did not realize we did not have a microwave. Ours in Vegas we had an above the range and I forget that older homes do not have those. The lady who owned the home prior to us updated the exterior and took care of it in that manner but did not update anything inside which is fine...but stinks when you move in and realize you do not have one post move. Not having a microwave really isn't a big deal for me. I did not have one for just shy of 3 years we lived in Vegas either. Long story short there....we looked at so many homes and I totally thought we had an above the range in our rental and NOPE we did not so leaving our old counter top one behind in NJ was dumb. We bought a house a year later and that did not have one either since it was a base model kitchen in a new house. Dumb I know but since I went a year without one I figured I did not need one...and I finally caved just about two years later.

I do not need a microwave. If I could get through the entire time with having to defrost/heat up breast milk in warm water on the stove I can do it now. I do cook nightly and honestly anything that needs to be heated up can be done in the oven or on the stove. I do not want to install one above the range since we have plans to redo the kitchen at some point...and I can wait.

One thing I used almost daily was our toaster oven. I loved that thing-huge black and Decker digital convection guy. That was my go to appliance I used instead of heating up the oven for stuff. Well that died back in March. Now that is not an expensive purchase, but I honestly like not having it sit on the counter. My kitchen in Vegas was very open with lots and lots of counter space and this kitchen blows. There is not much counter space and the layout stinks! It's nice not to have it sitting on the counter staring at us mocking me with the "I take up the whole counter chant."

The week before we went on vacation I noticed the kegerator digital thermometer was reading 74....not good! We opened the door and low and behold the keg was warm. UGH UGH UGH. Thank god we (apparently) drink like fish with our friends and family since we just about kicked a half keg in a matter of three weekends. So now we have no microwave, no toaster oven, no kegerator and then this Saturday night rolls around.

We got home from a very long 6 hour drive, eat dinner and get the kids to bed then Frank sits to watch TV in the family room and as I fold laundry and as he is watching something the TV just turns off. The TV is old in TV standards-bought in early 2008?  and although it was a nice TV then-its outdated of course now. I know he has wanted to replace it and I am glad b.c I want to redo the family room furniture and decor and this gives me the chance....that takes a few grand so.....it looks like we will be watching TV in the kids playroom for a while. I am not a big TV person so I could care less---but he likes to veg to it after a long day or watch ESPN. While he travels I rarely turn it on. Cable is one bill I could definitely skip if I lived alone.

Then last night while doing the dishes I dropped the coffee grind holder thing in the dishwasher and the little button thing that presses in when coffee brews broke off. Coffee maker has been making funny noises for a few weeks now but it still worked so we were good. I refuse to get a Keurig because I enjoy the taste of fresh dripped coffee...we have a grind and brew and I love it....and now its broken. I made coffee like Coffee Bean does and boiled water, placed a filter in a funnel with coffee grounds in it then poured the water in that....still makes great coffee but I definitely cannot do that every day.

So now we have no microwave, no toaster oven, no kegerator, no TV in the family room and no coffee pot all in a matter of 2.5 mo. I just need a shopping spree at Best Buy....

Since moving home time has really gone way to quickly. I cannot believe how quickly the days/weeks go by. All the sudden it is June 4th....He has a rescheduled t ball game Wednesday night which will be his last game and  Devin's birthday is Thursday-I have not picked up anything for him yet...I suck. Not to mention we are having a lil party for him this weekend and I have done nothing so far to prep---just to top it off, Frank leaves tomorrow for work and does not come back until Friday night.  I just cannot keep up.