bruises, beetles and birthdays . . .

Well, I treated myself tonight to a run, since it's my birthday tomorrow. It felt so good to get out there on that track . . . it's a mile to the track, so we (we meaning myself and 5 other girls) warmed up there and cooled down on the way back. It was a great little work out. Ohio has some of the nastiest, biggest bugs i've ever seen. Of course, I've never been to the Amazon, so I don't have much to compare it to, but a huge beetle flew at me while stretching on the track and landed on my tank top and I screamed for someone to "get it off". OOOO I HATE BUGS!!!!

I decided to have key lime pie for my birthday dessert and I'm going to make it myself , as I never have and want to learn. I just spent 1/2 hr on allrecipes.com trying to find the most authentic sounding recipe and I think I found it. So, tomorrow I will go to the store, armed with a list of proper ingredients and hopefully it turns out as good as it looked on the website and tastes as good as all the reviews claim! I so wish I could invite my whole family over tomorrow to help me celebrate. It just isn't a proper party without lots of people. But, the kiddos want to have a party, so we'll see what we come up with. Colin is insisting on cupcakes for the kids (we only need 5 mom).

So, tonight I was craving Chipotle for supper, and decided to make it myself . . .chicken burrito bowls. It takes a long time to make all the little sides . . . pico de gallo, guacamole, corn salsa, fajita mix, rice, shredded chicken, beans, grated cheese, etc. but oh my was it ever good. I used fresh cilantro from my herb garden for the first time, and I think that is what really topped the cake . . .it was delicious and worth all the work. I haven't cooked for a while, so it felt good to spend the time on it tonight. We eat so simple in the summer; the kids are really content with plain food; I just try to keep it balanced.

I think Rona is relapsing with her potty training. She's had 3 accidents in the last 5 days (all PooP. . .YUCKY). But, maybe she's protesting me being gone and her schedule being off. It's all happened when I've been gone, and she hasn't gone to day care for 2 weeks, since the kids are off school. I will have to give her some extra love tomorrow on my day off. She's also started biting the other kids (mostly Colin) when she wants something they have. We're working with that . . .never really had a biter, so I don't know what to do, other than put her in time out, then talk to her about how biting hurts and she needs to apologize and use her words.

Amy has been babysitting for me and will continue to thru the summer. I'm really lucky to have her . . .she knows my routine, keeps the house clean, does laundry if i'm behind and manages the kids really well. I just love her! It's only 2 days a week, but I don't worry about a thing when she's there. I've been taking 1 of the kids with me each day I clean . . .that's a great thing about a flexible cleaning job. They take turns. Colin came today, Aiden and Sylas each had a turn last week and Rona will get to come this next time. Jacklin is in summer school from 8:30-12:30, every day for 2 weeks, so it will be her turn when she's done with that. She is just not very scholastic, but she really tries hard. And, she's the only one going to summer school, and she's been a real trooper about it.

The kids have their last ball games this Friday, before the tournaments start. I still need to get that Pic of colin up here. Kenny is assistant coaching Jacklin's softball team, so they have their first tourny game on Saturday. I'm volunteering in the concession booth and Aiden is gonna help me. There's a youth conference this weekend also, so Sylas will be gone at that, along with all the other youth who could've been a potential babysitter for Rona. There's no way I could take her into a concession booth with me. She refuses to remember what the word NO means when it comes to candy, pop and snacks. Maybe her daycare lady, Gail, will take her on a Saturday morning???

Summer is really starting in with the kids out of school. We've been swimming alot and working and playing. Sylas has been pretty consistent with his mowing job. . .it only took him 4 hrs on Monday, so we're getting better. He takes a lot of breaks, but I think he's getting better at it. We still have help him a bit, remind him of his goals, mow a few strips, bring popsicles, etc. . .you get the picture. I'm hoping next week he'll do it ALL on his own. He really wants to go to Oregon, and he's paying for 1/2 his ticket, so that has been the huge motivator. The elementary school up the road from us serves a free lunch every week day (government funded), so we go there every day. It is a real blessing and saves on our food bill tremendously. Then we can play at the playground afterwards and we usually ride our bikes there and back, so we get exercise in too. I think tomorrow I'll take the kids hiking. There's a really nice park with long trails about 1/2 hour away and supposedly there's a waterfall to hike into. It would be a fun birthday outing.

It's crazy to be turning 35. I used to think that was old, hehehe. I feel so young still, except for the forgetfulness, hearing loss, poor eyesight, and grey hair. Oh well, I plan on aging slowly by having rest in God and in doing His will in my life. There is a great peace that comes from being reconciled to Him. I also want to have godliness with contentment, because it says in the Good Book that that is GREAT GAIN. It's something that I will have for all eternity. I can't take anything from this earth with me into eternity, but what I've gained on the inside by being faithful to His still, small voice will remain. I have so much to be thankful for. "Ask and it will be given to you, Seek and you will find, Knock and it will be opened to you." What great promises !