Friday Ramblings--The Hot Edition....

Did I say hot?  I meant....HOT.  Really HOT.

See?

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My little one has been walking around with a terry headband on.  You know, like tennis players wear?  Nope, he isn't playing tennis.  He's just watching the movie GARFIELD.  Again.  Although, I must say, he can get pretty physical while watching TV...

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Can you believe June is almost history?  The days are flying, flying by.   We are spending many of them in our little backyard pool.  Best investment ever!  I'm sure we will spend most of July the same way.  It is hard to wrap my head around the fact that the summer break is about half over.  I love having all of my boys at home.

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 I also love the easy days of summer.  However, I do find myself wasting a lot of time.  I have things I want to do and things I need to do, places to go, people to see, etc. etc., but I seem to spend a lot of time turning in circles.  Or doing nothing.  Maybe I should create a schedule for myself...  (Set some Internet time limits, maybe???)  

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May 1st, I made some changes in my diet.  I went to a low-carb, no sugar style of eating.  The first two to three weeks were HARD.  I felt like crap.  It has gotten easier and my cravings for sweets are gone.  I can even drink water now!

Now, I do feel the urge to indulge occasionally.  I can't be perfect, right??  Overall, I've been running a tight ship and I'm feeling better, stronger. And after years and years on the same thyroid hormone med, it's now way too much for me.  Weird!   Could this be the result of my cleaner eating?

I've lost a little weight-about 20 pounds, give or take a couple.  It's slow and I know that's mostly because of my lack of exercise.  (Not to mention my ummm...advanced age.)  It's coming off, though, and that's what matters.  I'm just trying to be a healthier me this year.  And yes, I do plan to get off the couch and add some type of exercise.


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Well, the laundry is calling me.  And so is the pool.  So,  I will leave you with this photo...

...of Dawg.

Just because it's been a while. 




Happy Friday!

Wordless Wednesday--GRAND grandson...

This boy loves to smile...

...And it makes my heart swoon.

*That last photo gives me a glimpse of the mischievous future.  



Can you believe my baby grandson is 12 weeks old already???

Wordless Wednesday---Who Has MY Camera???

Oh....

That's just a bit much of a close-up, little buddy!

Wordless Wednesday--The Beach...(never gets old!)

Never...

Never...

Never...

Ever.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig....

We're back home today--another Florida vacation delegated to the past.  I think this is the first vacation that has actually felt like a vacation to me.  I am home again and feeling no stress from being away.  However, I am missing the maid service, especially the clean towels on demand...

I am enjoying the new batch of memories created.  See the photo above?  I have several  versions of this same shot taken over the years.  I must dig the old ones out and compare.  The pier at Fort Walton Beach is just beautiful and makes a great photo backdrop.

Do you agree???

As I empty suitcases and bags, returning items to their proper places, I am thinking a lot about my summer plans of reorganizing my home.  I am not dreading it; I look forward to the challenge.  Sometimes you have to remove yourself from the daily grind in order to change your perspective.

I am feeling peaceful and optimistic.

Thanks, Destin.

The Rare Red Tiger.....

Pretty amazing, huh?


Thanks to a very talented face painting artist in Destin, Florida...

Friday Ramblings---The Vacay Edition

While enjoying a little downtime here on the Florida coast, I happened to think about how neglected my blog has been lately.  And how quickly time is passing.  I mean....what the heck happened to April???  I had plans, man.  Real plans.  I had several posts for Autism Awareness, being that April is Autism Awareness month.  Did I post them?


Nope.  


I also planned to post our Autism Story (header tab) during April.  Did I??

Nope.  Didn't post that, either...


I still have posts about Eli's Make-A-Wish trip sitting waiting to be cleaned up for publishing.  His trip was a year ago.

Seriously.  We were in Orlando, FL this week last year.


I should post all this stuff, shouldn't I??

It's never too late....right??

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And have I even posted about Caleb?  My grandson??


Not much....

He is 9 1/2 weeks old already!

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Maybe I should set aside a specific time to blog a little each day.  You know....make a plan.

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So....we are at Club Destin on vacation this week.  The weather is perfect.  Hot, but perfect.  We're hoping to do some khaki and black family portraits in the next couple of days.  I can't wait to get my black-wearing, skinny jeaned, long-haired boys into those khaki pants!  (cue the evil cackles)

We are spending most of our day time at the indoor pool and the late afternoons at the beach.  That way we don't have to worry about the heat of the day and sunburns.  We hit the outdoor pool at night.  Of course, it's hard to get a Florida tan that way, but they say tanning is bad for you.  I'm sure that's true, but everyone knows fat looks much better with a tan....

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So...what's been happening?  Well....  Since little Caleb joined our family in March, I've been holding, rocking, changing, bathing, feeding, playing, and loving him.  So sweet!


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Eli came down with some crazy pneumonia and his xrays showed some weird/scary stuff on his lung.  Thankfully, it was all clear a month later and we don't have to worry about that any more.   Eli's six month heart and neuro check ups went well.  Cade's six month neuro check up went well, too.

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I've been thinking a lot about spring cleaning, major decluttering, and home organization.  I've cruised around Pinterest, pinning great ideas left and right.  I've added some ideas of my own.  Some day, maybe, I will implement them.


*sigh*  


*heavy sigh*

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The boys had fun during their spring field trips and fun school days.  Eli finished up preschool and registered for kindergarten.  The older boys did very well as far as grades:  my 8th grader was exempt from every single final exam and my 4th grader was on the A/B honor roll the entire year.  And my oldest boy will be a senior this fall.  Wow....

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We finished up May with this family trip to the beach.  I posted a few photos yesterday.  Did you notice my new short hair and highlights??

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I'm thinking June will be spent making more fun family memories and hopefully completing a few DIY projects. Then I'll post about it all here for a change.  (And back track on the missing posts I mentioned earlier...really!)

What a concept...


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So.....

What's on your summer agenda??