I decided to (finally!) update some family pics…some of them are from our vacation to the OBX this summer and some are just around the house.

I can’t possibly add them all; there’s literally hundreds. We take tons of pics of the kids. So these ones are some of my faves. Hope you enjoy!

I sat down to write something and just couldn’t find anything to say.

I’ve done the bit of politics (that’s as far as I get!), the animal posts (LOVE animals), the kid post (Halloween)….

So I guess I’ll just ramble for a bit. Hope you don’t get bored!

I love this season. I love the holidays coming up; decorating, something to look forward to, parties to throw, the changes in smells and sights. I love making a hot dinner for my dh and kiddos when they come in from work or playing outside. I love having an excuse to make apple pie. Or cider, or bread, or applesauce. I love the cinnamon smell in my kitchen.

I love watching the leaves turn colors and trying to pick my favorite one. Bright red, yellow, orange…it’s amazing. Like splashing a bucket of paint on the trees. I love the smell of the leaves and pines.

I love bundling up babies in soft, fuzzy clothes and how cuddly they are. And I love the chill at night and putting a thick quilt on my bed.

This is my (second) favorite time of year and I love drinking in each day.

So now in the political realm there’s a big stink about Sarah Palin running because she has kids.

Since when did the Democrats think women should stay at home all the time??  They’ve held a strong point of women being able to work and raise a family. It’s typically Repubs that have the conservative view of women staying home with kids.

One example they’re using is with her 17 year old daughter getting pregnant.  (I guess my mom would be a terrible mom, too, since I got pregnant at 18!) They say she can’t be an effective VP with all the troubles of motherhood.

Democrats are worried. They thought they had the edge with a woman running for president, and now it’s obvious that Hillary’s flopped. So they have to go sling some mud at the Republicans. It can’t be both ways, but somehow they (D) want it to be. Talk about flip-flop.  “We can do it, but you can’t!”

She IS married. There’s plenty of stay-at-home dads. I’m sure her husband would take a huge share. How could he not? He’s going to be under the spotlight as much as she is. People (I for one) are curious what he’ll be doing to support his wife and what he thinks about the whole thing.

Two weeks ago, I decided to get serious with losing weight. *sigh*

My goal is to lose 1 pound a week…I set it low because my time is limited. I don’t have a big chunk of time during the day to devote to any one thing…Dean cries, or Pierce wants attention, etc. I wanted to set something I could accomplish. So I figure, from that point, it’ll take 15-17 weeks to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Yeah, Dean liked Dairy Queen and Burger King while he was growing in there. Had to feed the growing baby, right?

I met my goal the first week, and tomorrow, for “Weigh-In Wednesday” I hope to meet it again. We pulled a stationary bike out of the garage over the weekend and I tried that out today. OW! I was surprised I could only do 15 minutes. So I finished off my time on the treadmill. I felt kinda jelly-legged when I got off, but it always feels really good to work that hard.

I’m dying to get back to a gym, but my old one closed down. The closest one to me charges for daycare per child, so I’d either have to go at night or take the 2 boys while Gab’s in school and pay for the 2. Plus most of their good classes are in the evening. But with my headaches and cooking dinner and everything else going on in the evenings, it’s very difficult to impossible.

So I’ll do what I can on the treadmill, bike and badminton and hope it works!

Every night since Dean was born, we’ve wrapped him in a special blanket made for swaddling. He ends up looking like a cute little baby burrito, hands by his side. At 2 months old, he begins to get fussy in the evenings starting about 8:45pm. He’s ready to get ready for bed. I wrap him up and immediately he quiets down. It’s like turning on a light switch in the middle of the night. Amazing difference. Then he eats again and is happy until morning. He’s come to predict and look forward to the routine.

Many people feel that predictability in marriage and life is dull, in a rut. You hear it a million times. But there’s a huge difference in predictability and boredom. I can wake up every day with an outline of what will happen. Life is stable…I know what I’m going to feed the kids at each meal. I know they have beds to sleep in at night. I know my car is going to start when I have to go somewhere. I know there’s money if Pierce gets hurt, or Dean needs shots, or Gab needs her braces adjusted.

Fortunately, there are always ups and downs in my day. A couple nights ago, Pierce climbed in bed with us. I woke up in the morning to a huge wet spot by me..nice. So it was laundry first thing. Then the kitten peed in the dog’s bed. I had to go wash that by hand…fun. Then I knew I had company coming, so I had to rush to the treadmill and shower and clean up before they got here. All this by 9:30 am. This is what keeps life from getting boring.

So when you think life is getting too boring, just realize it’s stable. And, ultimately, stability brings peace. And if it’s still boring, shake it up! No one has control over your life like you do. There’s 2 things we can do: complain and do nothing and continue to be unhappy, or complain and make a change.

As for me and my life and family right now, I don’t have the option or time to get bored. With a 5th grader, a 3 year old and a new baby, every day is a new one. Predictable and stable but never boring.