She was good while I was shopping so her reward was time at the play area!
Author Archives: Jen
Getting ready to run errands!
She loves wearing my sunglasses.
Cleaned up mohawk
Owen was getting a little shaggy so Tom cleaned it up last night.
Memorial Day cookout at the pool!
Otherwise known as Day 3 of 3. 🙂
We had a super fun four hours at the pool for the Memorial Day Cookout! We were there as soon as they opened and it was GLORIOUSLY empty—and quiet—as we were the only ones there! (We were there so early because we know the pool gets CRAZY when they offer free food—everyone and their brother who never come to the pool all summer otherwise show up for the free burgers, chips, and pop 🙄 —and we wanted to be sure to get good seats.) The forecast had called for rain all day, so we were excited that the weather held out and was actually very nice. The sun even came out to warm things up just enough for me to take a quick dip in the pool and take some pics with the waterproof camera! It eventually clouded over but it never rained!
We made her get out of the pool and dry off because her lips were blue and she was very visibly shivering—even though she didn’t want to. Yep, she’s definitely my daughter—that’s exactly how I used to be!
After two towels and some snacks, she was ready to go again!
Katie and her friend Ainsley (they will be moving later this summer). 🙁
The huge crowd (which my pic doesn’t really even do justice)—which we will only see for the cookouts today, July 4th, and Labor Day.
If you leave a bag on the floor long enough…
Pool, Day 2
Two turtles!
We saw not one but two turtles on our family walk this morning!
Saturday Night Dinner…with surprise guests!
Well, we knew about it ahead of time but the visit in general was a surprise this weekend! Roger and the girls were up visiting his other daughter Amanda for the weekend and she lives about an hour away…so they all came over for dinner! I haven’t seen them since we left Jacksonville in 2014!
Can’t you see us with a daughter this age?! We’d take her in a minute. 🙂 (We could have had one this age if we had a kid two years before we got married…or two years after we met.)
One of the best things to come out of tonight? Getting to recreate one of our favorite Virginia photos!
The photo Virginia wanted to take—showcasing the two big guys that she can threaten boys with (a running joke for many, many years):
And just for comparison, the same trio back in 2007:
The Three Musketeers, together again!
And a selfie for the road!
Opening day of pool season!
Of course, Owen knew all the kids—there was a chorus of Hi, Owen when we walked in—and we learned that one of the first grade teachers lives here, as well as one of Owen’s classmates!
The water wasn’t nearly as freezing as I had expected it to be but I still sat in the shade while the kids were swimming.
It was too quiet…then I found this.
Phew! Sometimes things aren’t what you think. 🙂
Volleyball in the street!
I really can’t wait until we get a yard. But he has fun so…
Big shoes to fill. Or to play in.
He likes wearing our shoes just like Katie does!
I never thought I’d wear pink.
But it’s my style top and it was on clearance. 🙂
My new LuLaRoe Julia dress!
I bought it without trying it on so it could have been a huge failure…but it fit pretty well (though I could honestly use some Spanx!) and Tom really liked it so that’s a bonus!
If you’re wondering what LuLaRoe is…
They sell women’s clothing (dresses, skirts, leggings, tees, etc.) from at-home parties and pop up boutiques on Facebook—and of course there’s a big market on eBay. The leggings are usually described as “buttery soft” and the best you will every buy/wear. They aren’t cheap but also aren’t outrageously expensive, so I decided to dip my toe in with a pair of plain black leggings. (They are also known for their crazy patterns. And to be honest, most of them are downright fugly to me.) They have sizes from XXS to 3XL so that’s a draw as well.
A friend actually introduced me to LuLaRoe about a week ago (gee, was it only a week ago?!) and for not ever having heard anything about them, I quickly realized it’s an obsession with some people! I actually had a conversation at a baseball game the following night because a friend showed up in one of the dresses and three of us proceeded to talk about wishlists. 🙂
I signed up for a few Facebook groups and the popups seemed overwhelming with people snapping things up super quick so I went to eBay…where I quickly realized there’s a much bigger selection…but the prices are crazy. (If you buy direct, the prices are set. Otherwise, all bets are off.) They only make like 1000 of each pattern (I think, I’m still new at this) so if you see something you like, you need to snap it up. And once it gets rare, the price goes up exponentially. (For example, leggings are $25. I’ve seen some on eBay for $100.) I liked the black ones so wanted to find a cool pattern. But I wanted to make sure I get the ones I really like. So I searched eBay and watched a bunch and once they go past $30-$35, I’m out. (I figure I’ll pay a few extra bucks to get exactly what I want.) But then I actually got the hang of the Facebook popups one night when I was surfing through three of them at the same time (and chatting with a friend who was at the same three). We were sharing pics and getting opinions…and it was like a shopping outing with your bestie without leaving your house and spending hours doing it!
So once you start looking, you kind of get hooked. As I told my friend, they hit on a brilliant strategy—you can’t just go to a store and look at everything. Or a website even. So you get sucked into looking everywhere at everything every time it’s posted in case you find exactly what you want. My friend told me she belongs to 17 LuLaRoe groups. Yeah, she’s addicted. I wouldn’t say I’m addicted, but I ordered two more pair of leggings and this dress from eBay…and I actually won ANY PIECE I WANTED from a popup drawing!! HOLY COW! Of course they didn’t have anything I wanted in leggings, tees, or dresses (!) so I chose a $70 cardigan because I’d NEVER pay $70 for a cardigan!
So, that’s LuLaRoe. 🙂
Lunch with the good character!
We surprised Owen at lunch today!
It was difficult trying to get a pic so this was the best one. 🙂
We have a good character again!
Owen received a Good Character award at school today! Unfortunately, we weren’t there…and I only learned about it when I got a photo text from a friend!
SERIOUSLY?! AGAIN?! What is it with teachers forgetting to tell us?!
The stars are apparently aligned against us with these awards as Tom happened to have been home and we could have both gone!! And if this sounds familiar, it’s because this exact thing happened last year, too!!
His teacher has since apologized, and (of course, the story of my life) said it was the first time she’s forgot all year. (Ironically the same thing his K teacher said the when she forgot at the end of the year last year.)
I know mistakes happen and in the grand scheme of things it’s not a big deal so I’ll be okay and get over it. It had just been a crazy morning already and I didn’t need another snafu.
I’m just thankful a friend was there and got the picture! (Thanks to Krina!)
Owen had a double play!
Unfortunately, daddy wasn’t there to see it as the garage door broke as we were pulling out of the driveway…so he had to stay and wait for the landlord.
Two of his at-bats (he struck out on his last attempt) and bringing a run in:
And I missed Owen’s best play because it was when he was playing third base and I never record in the outfield… But he caught a pop fly and then tagged a runner out on third! DOUBLE PLAY! The crowd went wild! He was SO excited and so happy!!
Katie was having fun on her scooter—she had never really used it before today and was very tents on it but got progressively better. She’s great about wearing her helmet and puts it on every time!
Katie coloring pink and more pink.
She started out coloring very well. I was very impressed, actually.
And then she wanted everything pink and this happened.
And then showing it off.
Today’s walk went MUCH better.
Apparently we needed the promise of the library park afterward (if she was a good girl)…AND letting her pick which direction to walk on the trail. It still took about an hour but it was much more fun!
That said, she blatantly told me that she liked walking with daddy (or all of us) but not just me. No real reason, that’s just how it is. Thanks, kid. :p BUT! I did get her to admit that she’d be okay doing the walk with Owen along. Which is what I really want—that’s my plan for getting my trail walks in this summer when they’re both home all day. So we’ll see what actually happens.
But she was much more talkative today. She actually reminded me a lot of Owen babbling on and on like he does on our walks. I loved listening to it. Here’s a small sample.
Daddy and Owen 7 years ago
Cuddles in the fresh air
Everyone loves our new screen door… and this is often what happens after Owen leaves for the bus stop.
My little photobomber.
I asked Owen to take my picture this morning but it was a bit rushed since he was on his way out the door to the bus stop…so I didn’t get to set it up right…and I didn’t realize until later that I had a sneaky photobomber. 🙂
I love Marcia.
Marcia Upson, President of Naturally Slim, that is. 🙂
During our previous conversations, she had told me to keep her updated on my progress…so this morning I emailed her my one-year update. I thought she might email me back in a few days, so imagine my surprise when she called me to congratulate me!!
I had also mentioned my time almost being up on NS Town and she said she’d make sure that I still have access. 🙂 Not that I participate there a lot, but I do like to update my thread. 🙂
And then we just chatted for a bit about my success and her loving my updates and that she appreciates the emails since she doesn’t always get to respond on Facebook (technology isn’t her strong suit). And she thanked me again for my video testimonial and I told her that I’d actually just checked out my video testimonial page in NS Town and saw it had something like 1250 views—and I didn’t think much of it…until I checked the other testimonials and saw they all only had like ~160 views. (What?! That blows my mind. How can that even be?! Even with all the people I know there, how can it have so many views? I don’t think the YouTube video has that many views!)
So then she reiterated how much she appreciated the video and said if I ever needed anything…or if I ever wanted to watch the videos again…to just let her know. Wait. What? Yes! YES!! I said “Now that you mention it, I’d LOVE to watch them again. I’ve been maintaining for about two months now and I just can’t seem to get going to lose the last bit.” So she’s hooking me up with the videos again. I’m gobsmacked. And now I’ll have NO reason to be unsuccessful other than my own self. And I’ll take notes this time!!
And then I told her that I had just actually watched the week 10 videos again (that they loaded when I installed the new iOS app) so I had just watched her video on weight loss rewards (for motivation she suggests rewards at different levels—maybe a small treat every 2# with bigger rewards for bigger goals). I told her that I had my new wardrobe so my final reward would be flying to Texas to meet her! She got really excited about that and said they’d pick me up at the airport, we’d go out, and I’d spend the night at her house! WOOHOO! (Of course I’d want to try and see other local peeps, too, but that info will come later!)
So…YAY!! What a completely awesome surprise!!
Chalk with neighbor friends
New bubble machine!
After going through 3-4 of the kiddie bubble machines over the years, we finally just bought a professional one. We’ll see how it goes for the long haul.
30 seconds of cuddle
It took longer for her to get settled in than she stayed with me.
Did the special flower read my post?
Because this is where she was today!! Not perfect, but a definite improvement! (The lead car could also have moved up at least another two car lengths.)
This poor cat.
“But I’m just holding her!”
The dress passed the test.
This is a dress from Le Tote that I was pretty sure I was keeping so today was the real world test. It passed.
They’re getting better at this.
I don’t get as worried anymore that he’s going to drop her.
