Mommy's got some more bragging to do!

Sorry guys, but mommy has got to brag on her kids some.
Yesterday Audrey brought home her AR folder and she had all 100's in it. I'm so excited because she wasn't doing so hot on her AR tests when school began and I know that she has been working really hard on her reading. She tends to compare herself to Kylie a lot and even though she is just as smart as Kylie she doesn't see it and gets down on herself a lot. Typical middle child behaviour I suppose. 
Kylie is also doing really well on her AR tests. She set a goal for herself at the beginning of the school year, she wants to make the 100 book club by Christmas. Currently she is at 81. I think she'll make it. She's testing on books in the upper fifth grade level (she's in third) so I was a bit worried about her getting in over her head, but she seems to be doing fine. She also won second place in a writing contest between the third, fourth and fifth grades. She's a little embarrassed because now her essay is being submitted for competition among the other schools in the county. She hates extra attention so this is killing her. 
Sophie? Well she had kind of a rough night last night so I'm going to have to dig deep here. Hmm..... oh she helped me make this cake yesterday and didn't even try to eat any of the chocolate. she's a huge chocoholic so that's saying a lot.

Don't laugh at my pitiful jack-o-lantern. Well okay, go ahead and laugh, I know it's kind of sad. I've been told that it tastes really, really good though. I wouldn't know because I've haven't had any since I'm trying to be good and all. Anyway, I'll quit bragging on my awesome kids now. I hope all of you have a fantastic day today!

Weekend recap

Happy Monday everyone, hope you all had a great weekend! Mine was wonderful. My husband finally had an entire weekend off. I can't even begin to remember the last time that's happened. Saturday we took the girls to the fall festival at their school. I was a really bad mom this year and did not sign up to do anything! I know that sounds awful, but I have to admit it was so nice to be able to watch the girls play. 

 

They had a fantastic time and slept very well that night. Sunday was just a lazy day of doing nothing. Well for me anyway. The kids played outside while their daddy worked on a little project for them and I sat around and read a book, watched some HGTV, and did a little online shopping. I didn't even have to cook because dear old husband did it all this weekend. Pure bliss. 

 

Open Letter Friday

Being the dork I am I often compose little letters in my head to companies, annoying people, etc. I thought I would start sharing them with you guys (I know, I know you're thrilled right?) on Fridays. If you would like to add  yours you are more than welcome to either include it in the comment section or if I can ever remember how to do the McLinky thing then I'll include a link up at the bottom of the post. Happy Friday!
Dear Hopeless Homeowner,
As I have been walking in our neighborhood everyday I've noticed a few things. One thing I've noticed is that your house is for sale. Not a huge deal as there are houses for sale everywhere right now. The thing that strikes me about your house however is the fact that it has had a for sale sign in it for at least a year that I know of. I'm not a real estate expert nor do I play one on t.v., but being the good neighbor I am I thought I would give you some selling tips. 

• Mow your lawn. Apparently buyers don't enjoy wading through weeds to get to your front door. Crazy, huh?
• The orange-y brown and black paint job? Not that great. I'm sure it was probably the height of home decor when you painted it twenty years ago, but today not so much.
• Park your trash can behind your house on days of the week you are not expecting trash pick up. It really smells and I'm sure no one wants to see how many Budweisers you can consume in a week. 
• And last but definitely not least....your car. No, I'm not knocking the kind of car you drive, but rather all of the crap that is on it. Anti-government bumper stickers are one thing, but when you take shoe polish and write all over every available window space? Not so good. Most people tend to be somewhat freaked out when they pull into a  yard and notice all the government conspiracy theories you written all over the windows.  

Anyway, I hope that my tips helped you because I personally would really, really like to see your home sell. 
Sincerely,
Your somewhat freaked out neighbor

This and that

I hope everyone has been having a fantastic week. Mine started off horribly, but I think it's finally trying to redeem itself.

• Sophie and I have been walking everyday since Sunday. I used to have the neighborhood mapped out and would walk 3.3 miles a day and try to beat a certain time to get finished, but this time I'm not looking at the clock or measuring distance at all. We've been taking different routes everyday to keep things somewhat interesting. Hopefully we'll get some cool weather soon so I won't feel like a puddle of sweat when I'm done. Oh, and I have not weighed myself either. I kinda, sorta know what I weigh but I don't want to get too focused on weighing myself all the time. I think that once the clothes feel loose then I'll weigh.
• Today is my older brothers birthday. I'm a crap sister because I still haven't picked up anything for him yet. He's 41 and single. I'm thinking a girlfriend.
•  We've been dealing with horrible nightmares this week. No, not the kids. Mine. I know it's because I went to funeral services earlier this week, but I had no idea it would affect me so much. 
• I've been a little stressed lately. My husband has had to work extra days to fill in for people at work so I've been doing the single mom thing for about three weeks now. Yesterday he finally had a day off work and it was so nice. I made him mop the kitchen floor. 
• Apparently when I'm stressed I like to shop. I checked my emails this  morning and had a ton of shipping notifications. Currently I'm waiting on eleven packages to arrive. The sad thing? I had four arrive yesterday. 

Have a great day everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

Fun at the park.

Linking up with Angry Julie Monday.

Talk about a wake up call

I've been thinking about getting into shape for quite some time now. Not so much for looks (although that would be a huge bonus!), but because I just don't feel so great. I used to walk about 3 and a half miles a day, but a few years ago (yes, I said years!) I had a knee injury that took forever to heal and things just went downhill from there. I've basically done nothing since then. Yes, I am hanging my head in shame. Anyway, I recently ordered some fancy shmancy new shoes for myself and a cheapy stroller for Sophie. I know Sophie is really kind of old for a stroller, but since I pretty much have no one to watch her I figured I might as well take her with me. Well both of these items have pretty much just sat unused for about a week. Until yesterday. 
Yesterday I received a wake up call. Literally. Remember when I posted about how much I hate those phone calls that come before 10:00 a.m and after 10:00 p.m? Well, I got one yesterday. My mother was calling to let me know that my cousins wife died of a heart attack Saturday night. A heart attack. You know those things that are only supposed to happen to really, really, really old people? Yes, she was older than me, but not by a huge amount of years. It just breaks my heart that someone so kindhearted and sweet will not be around anymore. Not only does it make me sad that the world has lost a great person, but as I said it was a huge wake up call for me personally. The thought of not being around to watch my babies grow up just makes me ill. So yesterday I took the first step. Literally. I slipped on my fancy shmancy new shoes, asked the kids if they wanted to join me and off we went. I know it's not much, but it's a start and hopefully it's the beginning of a healthier lifestyle.

Open Letter Friday

Being the dork I am I often compose little letters in my head to companies, annoying people, etc. I thought I would start sharing them with you guys (I know, I know you're thrilled right?) on Fridays. If you would like to add  yours you are more than welcome to either include it in the comment section or if I can ever remember how to do the McLinky thing then I'll include a link up at the bottom of the post. Happy Friday!
Dear Clueless Mom,
Storytime at the local library is such a fun thing for our children. What is especially fun? Watching your child beat on a glass door for over twenty minutes while you sit around and pretend you don't notice. Not only is it loud and distracting to the children that are trying to listen to the librarian it makes me a nervous wreck. I'm telling you this because while you sit outside the storytime room with your other mom friends drinking your coffee (By the way the no food and no drinks sign they have posted? I'm pretty sure it's for everyone) I've got my phone ready to speed dial 911 when the glass breaks and little precious starts to bleed out. So please don't worry about your child, just go back to being oblivious. And when your child runs through the library pulling books off the shelf? Don't worry about that either. I'm sure someone will pick them up. Same thing with the puzzle pieces your angel was throwing at everyone. Now that was amusing. The ear splitting screams were kind of fun too. Looking forward to seeing you guys next week!
Sincerely,
Annoyed Mommy