Wheelbarrow Manor

Weigh In Wednesday

2009-06-24T14:28:00.002-05:00

Technically I haven't weighed in yet today but I haven't posted on my progress in a while. So far I've lost 8.8lbs. That's in 5 weeks. Yay! I wish it was a little more of course, but overall I'm pretty pleased. I still don't feel like I've lost much and no one is noticing yet of course. It will be nice when that starts to happen. That is when you really start feeling motivated. I'm at the point right now where my excitement is waning and the weight loss is slowing. I would have blown it by now if I wasn't going to meetings. Tonight's weigh in will be interesting. Iwent out to dinner on Saturday, celebrated Father's Day on Sunday and then had cake and cupcakes for my birthday on Monday. In the meantime I've had 3 sick kids, one who has been SUPER grumpy and hard to deal with during the illness, so I've been very stressed out. Again, knowing that I had to face the official weigh in at the meeting is such a big help in not completely blowing it during the challenging times.

This Makes You Feel Warm and Fuzzy

2009-06-24T14:25:00.002-05:00

North Korea threatened Wednesday to wipe the United States off the map as Washington and its allies watched for signs the regime will launch a series of missiles in the coming days.

VBS+First Day=Crazy

2009-06-15T18:21:00.003-05:00

Today was the first day of VBS for us. Big Bear has been the past two years and knows the drill but it was Me Too's first time to go as a true VBS'er instead of hanging out in the nursery. Campo, of course, is putting in his time at the nursery. And last, but not least, I did my part as a volunteer. Truth be told, I don't know who loves VBS more or gets more excited about it, me or the kids. It really is a lot of fun. You always get to meet new people but what is more fun to me are my VBS friends. There are certain people that I only ever see once a year at VBS. Some I look forward to seeing, others I forget about every time until I see them. So fun! Me Too and Campo had a little trouble at first but quickly got into the groove...Campo even got comfortable enough to drink some bubbles! And no, he's not burping bubbles!

What was really fun was getting to see Grampy. He came over to speak to the kids at the end of the day and the girls really got excited to see him!

Here are some pics. Notice how unhappy Me Too is at the pictures with Grampy. She was tired and hungry at the end of the day. She really did have a good time!

VBS 2009

Book Review: The Angels and Their Mission

2009-06-12T15:32:00.004-05:00

My most recent Catholic Company Book Review is The Angels and Their Mission by Jean Danielou. Truth be told, I've had a hard time with this book. I picked it because I wanted a departure from the family/NFP/mom books that I've been reading. I felt like having a change and broadening my horizons...well, I did that with this book for sure! The cover of the book should have been my first clue that this is not a book about cute little angels flitting about heaven. I was really wanting a book that explained more about angels - the different hierarchies of them etc. In this book, Jean Danielou went a quite a bit beyond that and was definitely writing to an audience more well versed in the subject of angels, and even in the subject of church fathers, than I am. At the first mention of Pseudo-Dionysius I was like, what is a fake Dionysius verses a real Dionysius. And then he mentions Origen and I couldn't figure out why Origen was capitalized or what he was trying to find the origination of. Now that you all know how uneducated I am in our Church Fathers...I'll continue with the review.

I quickly figured out that this wasn't exactly what I was looking for when I chose this book and I admit that I had a tough time getting through it. And I've had a tough time figuring out how to review this book. I did something that I never do when starting out...I looked at another blogger's review. It was my friend Julie D's at Happy Catholic. I know that she loves angels and the curiosity of what she wrote versus what I was thinking just got the better of me! What I read was both shocking and exactly what I expected. Huh?? I know, right? The part I expected was that this was a pretty easy read for her. She's way smart and very knowledgeable already about angels so this for her while, as she puts it "not light, bedtime reading", was pretty easy for her to get through. What shocked me was that the part of the book that absolutely blew my mind because it was such a new concept for me was front and center in her review and apparently a new concept for her too.

Just as, at the Nativity, we see the Word descend, surrounded by the angels of heaven, and meet the guardian angels of earth, so now we see Him rise, accompanied by the angels of earth, and meet the angels who guard the gates of heaven. but these do not recognize Him, because He appears united to the human nature that He assumed and bearing the marks of His Passion. Thus, they question the angels who are accompanying Him to find out who He is.

[...]

Thus, the mystery of the Ascension completely amazes the angels of heaven. for what it reveals to them is really a mystery, hidden up to then, an entirely new reality, disconcerting at first glance

I love the image of the angels just being blown away by Jesus coming back to Heaven and they don't even recognize him because of his human nature! Wonderful! Love it!

This book is a tough read, but it is well worth the time and effort it takes to get through it. It has opened new thoughts and concepts to me. It has made me more interested in exploring and studying the Church Fathers which I admit to knowing nothing about. The chapter on The Angels and the Spiritual Life states that the angels try to help our spiritual life progress. I think they did just that in guiding me to read this book.

This book was reviewed as part of The Catholic Company's reviewer program. Read more reviews here. Order the book from The Catholic Company here.

Weight Loss Links

2009-06-06T05:00:00.000-05:00

Now that I've gotten my big behind firmly planted on the weight loss bandwagon...here are some great websites that are saving my life!!

Hungry Girl - Cute site! Lots of recipes, tips and fun facts. Even information on saving money!

Gina's Weight Watcher's Recipes - Love this website. She's got tons of recipes for things that she's made lower in fat, calories and/or WW points. There are some good ones but watch out! Some are for experienced cooks and, to me, some of the ingredients are hard to find. I have one recipe that I've searched and searched for one ingredient...I have all the others! Frustrating! So be sure you know what you're getting into! On the other hand, I have discovered a couple of new things that I've never tried before and like now!

Life Is Sweet - This lady also has some great recipes. I can't wait to try the Mexican Tortizza!

I remember how much fun I used to have trying to find new recipes and foods when I was on plan a long, long time ago. It became like a game to try to figure out just how well I could eat yet stay within my health and point guidelines...and still LOSE!! I've tried to get that back for so long...I'm so excited that I'm back in the game!

Splash...No Swim

2009-06-05T14:59:00.003-05:00

We were invited to go to the KC pool with some friends of ours today. The KC pool is a big deal. If you are a Knight in that council (I think that's the word...) then you belong to the pool. This is a different council than our parish one. This one is several parishes that go in together. (I'm probably not explaining it right...my hubby isn't a knight so I'm not up with all the lingo). Lots of neighborhood people want to belong there because it's really nice so they stay on waiting lists for years until they get that lucky phone call. We've never gotten on the exclusive wait list because even if we got that lucky phone call, we wouldn't be able to shell out the cash!

Anyway, the kids were so excited. I was so nervous. I wasn't sure how keeping up with 3 kids at the pool was going to work...especially now that I have a toddler. My girls haven't started swimming lessons yet and we don't go to the pool much so they aren't very good swimmers. You can imagine my relief with both Big Bear and Me Too were telling me that they only wanted to play in the kids pool. The KC has a really great kids pool with a big shade over it. It slopes down and the deepest part is only a couple of feet. There is a lifeguard right there too which makes it nice when you're trying to look in several different places. We've taken Campo swimming over at my mom and dad's house as well as just the little pool out in the backyard...you know the little blow up kind...as well as had a sprinkler on. He will have NOTHING to do with any of it. He cries when I try to put his hands or feet in the water to splash, he cries when I show him the sprinkler, and he even cried watching the rest of us swim one day until someone took him inside. He loves baths so the only thing I can figure out is that the pool/sprinkler water is cold and he must not like that. But, I feel like I have to keep trying so at one point today Me Too and the family we went to the pool with all really wanted to go to the big pool. So we headed over with Big Bear throwing a tantrum the whole way because she just wanted to stay in the little pool. I got in the water with Campo and he started screaming his head off. Me Too got in and immediately started screaming her head off. And Big Bear was already screaming her head off on the side of the pool. We were quite the sight! I tried to calm everyone down but they just all started screaming louder so we went back to the baby pool and stayed there the rest of the time. My kids just really aren't pool kids. It's my fault for not exposing them more...I'm just really not a pool mom. Oh well, my only hope is lessons which we'll be starting soon. Maybe that will help all of us! But, for now, we'll just stick to Big Bear and Me Too mostly just splashing in the tiny pool in the backyard or going to the spray park.

I look at it this way, at least I'll save money! It cost me $12 to get in...and all they did was splash! But, at least I got a little sun and some time to chat with my good friend!!

Weigh In Wednesday

2009-06-03T21:07:00.003-05:00

What a shame to come up with such a cute post title right before we're going to start going to the Saturday morning meeting. Blah. Oh well!

I lost 2.6 tonight! For a total of 6lbs in two weeks! Yay!! Whoo hoo!! Go me, go me, go, go, go me! Could've been a lot more if I'd worked out a few more times but Campo has been sick and getting up at ungodly hours of the morning on top of it being a crazy busy week. But, as of this morning, everything is done and we have about a week and a half until VBS starts to just relax and have "lazy days" as the girls call them. You know, those days where you stay in your pajamas all day unless YOU decide you want to go somewhere? Those are the kind of days when I don't put on make up all day! Love em! The girls love em too! I usually get a work out in on those days. Anyway, all in all, I'm very proud of myself, pleased with the results, and looking forward to getting back to being a WW leader myself again!!

Wee Wildcat Graduation

2009-06-02T14:43:00.005-05:00

Big Bear has been going to a little program at the elementary school where she'll be going to kindergarten next year called the Wee Wildcat program. Each month she goes to "classes"...music, P.E., art, science, reading, math...in the classrooms she'll be in and with the teachers that she'll have next year. It's been really neat, not only for her, but for me as well. I got to go to each session with her and see what sorts of things she'll be doing and where she'll be doing them. It's given both of us a great sense of peace to be more familiar with this new important place where she'll be doing a lot of growing up over the next few years. Last week they had a little graduation ceremony for the kids. They graduated from being Wee Wildcats to being KinderCats and were officially welcomed into the school as kindergartners. They got little diplomas and the school put together a slide show of pictures that had been taken throughout all of the sessions we had attended. They played a song called "Let Them Be Little" by Billy Dean that made all of the parents cry. And then the kids could show their parents and grandparents all around the school. I thought this was a neat twist. It gave Big Bear such a feeling of pride and ownership to show off her new school to Grammy and Grampy. You could tell she felt special because she knew her way around the school. We are so blessed to have such a neat program at our school. Many of my friends have commented on how they wished they had something like this for their kindergartners. While I am still struggling with this whole letting go thing...in fact, while writing this post a little voice inside is crying out, "NO!! I can't let her go!!!"...I know she is going to learn and grow so much. And what makes me feel so wonderful is that she'll be in a caring and loving place. This is a public school that doesn't have to put any effort into their students before they are even students! How great does that make me feel as a parent! Lots to come on all of this...lots to come!

Does God Care About My Weight Loss?

2009-05-28T16:04:00.003-05:00

I took a big step last week and rejoined Weight Watchers. About 9 years ago I joined the first time, lost 40lbs, reached lifetime membership and went to work for them first as a receptionist (weigher), then as a leader and then in the main office of the Dallas/East Texas franchise which has since been sold back to Weight Watchers International (wrote a little about it in one of my other attempts to lose here). I left after a bad situation there kept getting worse and worse. Since I was given severance, I respected the owner's request not to speak to anyone after I left and just sort of disappeared. So going back after all these years with many, many pounds put back on since the last time anyone there saw me wasn't exactly an exciting idea to me. I've put it off for way too long and finally decided that I didn't really care what anyone there thought of me...I just want this weight off! Part of that clarity came after a real honest prayer time. I was journaling and I asked God in my journal plain and simply to help me lose weight. I told Him that I was giving Him all of it...my constant feeling of self consciousness, my lack of self control, my bad feeling about myself...all of it. After I wrote it, I immediately thought to myself, "That's silly, God has too much other stuff than to care if I lose weight or not". Now don't get me wrong, I know God loves me and cares about me. I just wasn't sure if He was interested in getting down to that kind of a level. The journal I write in has a verse on every page. I looked down at the verse on the page where I was writing and it was

Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. Psalm 55:22

I knew that He was telling me that He would take it from me, that He did care about even something as small (to Him anyway) as my weight struggle, and that He would give me the strength to do it.

This message was confirmed when I walked into the meeting last Wednesday. I had been so nervous all day. I looked up the name of the leader there and knew that it was someone who I was not familiar with but wasn't sure who the receptionist weighers would be that night. But even more than just who I would see, I was nervous because I had that last chance feeling...like this better work or I'd be going off the deep end as far as my weight is concerned. I immediately felt comfortable when I walked in. The old smell, the old look...it was just nice. I didn't know the receptionists but then the leader walked in and I knew her but I was confused because it wasn't who the website showed as the leader. Nevertheless, she is a really nice lady and any nerves or anxiety left at that point. I didn't get to talk to her before the meeting but afterward I went up for the new member meeting and introduced myself. She was so excited to see me and told me the most amazing thing. My name had some up in two conversations she had recently had...one being that very day! Can you imagine? Someone I haven't seen in 6 years and my name comes up the very day that I waltz into her meeting...and she was subbing at that meeting that night! That isn't even her normal meeting. I felt so blessed that the Lord had paved a smooth road for me to return and feel so welcome. I knew right then that He truly does care about every part of our lives and want the very best for us.

I went to my second meeting last night and was down 3.4lbs! Happy day! I'm on my way to my goal and I know I'll reach it this time!

If you have something you are struggling with please know that it is not too small for God to care about. Give it to him. Ask him directly to help you with it. If it is within His will for you, he will grant you his graces and mercy to help you with it.

40 Years!!!

2009-05-24T14:41:00.002-05:00

My parents are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary today! Amazing, isn't it? I'm not even 40 years old. My husband and I will be celebrating 10 years in October...we've got a ways to go to get to 40! But he and I are so lucky to have two sets of parents who have made it to the 40 year mark - so rare these days. What a great example for us and our children to look to and follow. I know in my parents case (and I'm sure my inlaws too, I just wasn't around them much until about 13 years ago!) there were some tough times...in their lives and their marriage. But through it all, they depended on their faith to see them through and here they are being blessed to celebrate this occasion. And I believe they are being rewarded for their faithful lives so far. My dad has a job that is fulfilling to him in many ways. My mom has a beautiful home that she loves to paint, stencil, repaint and paint some more! They are able to enjoy their adult children in a new way and, of course, they are in love with their 5 beautiful grandchildren! And, best of all for my brother, sister and I, they have such servant hearts and pour that all into us and our kids. I know that I am so blessed (and a bit spoiled) to have such loving, caring (not to mention FREE) babysitting almost any time I need it! My mom takes up my skinny girls' pants when they're too big - I have no idea how to even do it! Anyway, it is such a great testament to me to see an example of sticking with a commitment, even when it wasn't easy and how God will bless that and even allow you to come out the other side.

I love you Mom and Dad! Here's to another great 40 years!!

Me Too's Sing A Long

2009-05-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

Me Too had her first school program! She's such a big girl and she did such a great job. Some of the kids shut down and wouldn't do anything but no Me Too. She was having so much fun. And the first time everyone started to clap, you should have seen the look on her face. She loved everyone clapping and cheering. I leaned over to Doug and said, "I think a star is born!". Grammy and Grampy were there also which thrilled Me Too to no end! Here are some pictures from the big day.

Big Bear will be having her last one at the end of the month. It's these little events that serve as such monumental time markers. For Me Too it means she's big enough to start doing stuff like that at her little school and for Big Bear it means she's about to start doing stuff like that at a new school.

Big Boy Haircut!!

2009-05-15T14:17:00.006-05:00

Campo got his first haircut today! He looks like such a big boy! And he was so good! The girls got cuts too. Check it out!

Email H-E-Double Hockey Sticks!!

2009-05-01T08:46:00.002-05:00

That's what I feel like I'm in these days! I get SO much email. Sadly, not much of it is personal or even remotely interesting. It builds up over time...you get an account here, sign up for information there, register for a drawing somewhere else...and SHAZAM! You're in Email H-E-Double Hockey Sticks!! So then you get indignant enough to unsubscribe from everything which places you squarely in Unsubscribe H-E-Double Hockey Sticks. Some websites make it easy...you just have to click or enter an email and you're FREE!! Uncluttered! Until you get to the next one that you have to log on to in order to edit your preferences. Here's the tricky part because you have to remember your password and user name for a website you got an account on a year ago in order to print one darn coupon. So you spend 5 minutes trying to get logged in and then you have to maneuver your way to the very hidden part of the website where you uncheck on little box! And then...the kicker...the message that says it will take about 2 weeks to make the changes to your account. Who remembers what they did two weeks ago? How about yesterday? An hour ago? Yeah, me either. So I have no idea if they ever really do unsubscribe me because by now I've done so many I can't remember which ones I've even done much less which ones to check back on. An organized on top of things person would write it down...that's not me so get over it. So, at least for now, I feel a little better because I know at least a few of my junk emails will stop, and hopefully a few more will be ending in a couple of weeks. But, deep down, I know there are more to take their place the next time there is some great savings coupon, loyalty program with their shiny points and prizes to be earned or a grand prize to be won! I guess I'm just a sucker for Email H-E-Double Hockey Sticks!

Easter Stuff

2009-04-18T20:27:00.004-05:00

Finally, Easter pictures! My Lent was good - not great, not bad. It could have been a lot better I'm sure. I went to the Holy Thursday mass and Good Friday service which usually blow me away but didn't this year as much as usual. I wanted to go to the Easter Vigil but circumstances that happened earlier in the week all sort of snowballed into a situation where I just couldn't make it. On Thursday night after the mass I got home and crawled into bed. Just as I got super comfy and started thinking about how happy I was to be there, Doug ran in and said he had cut his finger and needed to go to the ER for stitches. I called my poor dad who was just wrapping up...not only from the mass but wrapping up his day which had started with a 6:45am men's prayer group. Yikes! Of course, later we realized that there were a couple of other people we probably should have called but Grammy and Grampy are the first ones I always think of and the ones who would need the least instruction as to the care of our kids and where to find things in our house etc. So off we went to the ER and got home around 2am. Now I do not do well with lack of sleep and that proetty much just ruined me for the next few days.

We decided to go to 7:30am Easter mass after realizing we would only be getting to mass about 30 minutes later if we wanted to get a seat at the 9am. It turned out to be one of the nicest Easter masses I've been to since I've had kids. We weren't squeezed in and it didn't last super extra long because the crowd for communion wasn't too long. The kids did great. Me Too got very upset though. With her bottom lip sticking out she told me how sad she was that the shepherds put Jesus on the cross and that he was dead - she's 3, okay, give her a break...she knows more of the story than some! I told her no, we were there to celebrate that he was not dead anymore, that he had risen! But we were sitting in the front row and she looked up to the huge crucifix hanging high in the middle of the altar and pointed and said, "No, he's dead". I tried telling her that it was just there to remind us of what he did to take away our sins. Well, there was no convincing her otherwise and how do you explain that one to a 3 year old?

The only bummer of the day was the pouring rain which caused us to abandon the girls' sandals (which took two trips to get the sizing right) for tennis shoes with their nice dresses. Oh well! After we got home from mass we had cinnamon rolls, bacon and eggs. It was all dark outside from the rain and inside the house was warm and cozy and breakfast-y smelling. It was lovely!! The kids found their Easter baskets and we all got naps in at some point.

Late in the afternoon we headed for Grammy and Grampy's house where we had a lovely dinner and more Easter basket surprises!

Here are some pictures!

2009-04-16T18:31:00.001-05:00

Just testing mobile blogging!!

Easter Crosses

2009-04-07T05:00:00.001-05:00

The girls love to paint so I got them some little wooden crosses from Michael's and let them paint Easter crosses! It was super fun!

The Campo Shuffle

2009-04-06T05:00:00.001-05:00

Campo likes to do this funny little dance. He walks forward and then shuffles backwards over and over again. We caught it on video yesterday...for a little while until it seems he got annoyed with our snickering at him!

Saying NO!

2009-04-05T16:03:00.004-05:00

I know at a certain point children start saying "NO" to everything. Actually, I should say, I know at a certain point children start saying anything at all! This is not the case with Campo yet! However, he has started shaking his head "NO" in response to a question...any question actually...and it has the whole family in stitches!

Here's what I mean!

Eggs and Dirt

2009-04-05T15:40:00.005-05:00

We started out yesterday with the annual Easter Egg hunt at our church. The kids love this event and had been asking me when it was for weeks. You have to get there right at the start time because if you are late, you'll miss all the eggs. As soon as they say go, the kids are off and those eggs are gone in a flash. So, in our effort to be on time and not miss out on the main event, we forgot a couple of important things...no, not the kids. Our stroller for one which meant that Campo had to be held most of the time...and our camera. So disappointing. I did get a couple of pictures of Campo with my cell phone though.

Then we came home and headed outside to play and do a little yard work. Campo had a blast but played in the dirt and got more dirty than I've ever seen. He even had dirt caked on the inside of his eyelid - yuck. Here is a picture...made even yuckier by the runny nose mixing in wiht the dirt! What a boy!

Prayers Needed!!

2009-03-24T21:52:00.003-05:00

I spoke with my dad, a Catholic ordained deacon who works full time for our church, earlier and his tired voice reminded me to do this post...I did it last year too but a little late. It's my plea to everyone to remember to pray for your parish priests, deacons and whoever else is instrumental in liturgy planning and execution. This time of year is so busy and so stressful for them. Holy Week services really take a lot of planning and coordinating and it can be tiring! I go into a little more detail in my post from last year if your interested! Otherwise, just pray for them to have strength and energy and for things to run smoothly!

Family Movie Night

2009-03-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

Family movie night has become a favorite thing to do in our house as in many I'm sure. This past weekend we watched Happy Feet and ate Mexican food. Tons of fun...although I did not enjoy the movie at all. I thought it was really slow and boring. All of the singing bugged me too. But the kids had fun and that is what matters!!

If you do not do family movie night, may I suggest that you do? It is so special and fun! We don't always get all the way to the end of the movie and it is definitely not without interruptions...ask my sister who joined us for one not knowing how trying watching a movie with kids around can be! But it is so much fun and the girls really do enjoy them!

Just Chillin!

2009-03-16T13:13:00.006-05:00

I talked in this post about how Campo likes to sit and sleep with his hands behind his head and his feet crossed. Here's a picture of the arms!

And that serious face, we see that a lot. His teachers at school say he always seems to be thinking about some pretty serious stuff.

Here is another cute picture that shows how he crosses his legs too. Cute!

President Obama's Pro-Abortion Record

2009-03-16T13:10:00.003-05:00

Here is a great pieceon Obama's recent pro-abortion activity. This is just going back to last November folks...I'd hate to see a life time compilation. Go read it.

Freaking Out Update and Kindergarten Round Up!

2009-03-13T11:02:00.008-05:00

Well, not only did I survive the kindergarten picnic last Friday (read about my freak out here), I also survived Kindergarten Roundup this past Wednesday...but not without water works of course! It's been a trying week around here!

The picnic was great! Luckily it wasn't slated for today...yucky, rainy, cold...and was on a day that had exactly the opposite weather...warm, sunny and beautiful! Me Too had strep throat so she stayed home with Grammy. It was very strange going to a family event without a member of the family and I kept telling everyone that there was one more! The bubble machine was a hit but didn't work exactly as I had planned. The kids did swarm our area, but Big Bear, who is very happy playing by herself, was off running around other places! One mom did ask me if I was the one who brought the bubble machine but I really didn't need it to meet anyone. Since everyone there was pretty much in the same boat and since the express purpose of the event was to get to know people, everyone was pretty friendly and open. The most important thing was the Big Bear had a blast and left more excited about kindergarten than before...if that is possible!

Next was Kindergarten Roundup on Wednesday night. Grammy helped out again by keeping Me Too and Campo so that Doug and I could concentrate on the information that we were given. And boy, did we get information! It was a little overwhelming. Also overwhelming was seeing my Big Bear leave in a big group of other future kindergartners to have story time in the library. As I watched them line up and leave the cafeteria, it hit me hard and strong that this is really it...the thing I've been dreading since the day of her birth...kindergarten is almost here!!

Here are some pictures from the picnic:

Big Bear running in a game of tag!

Campo had a blast at the picnic.

Except when someone started getting too close to his french fries!

And even daddy had a great time on our blanket with the kids!

Oh, and someone had asked about the bubble machine...Target...$8.99. Here is what it looks like...comes in different colors.
The genius of it is the way the bubble blowers are positioned inside there. It causes it to blow out tons of bubbles at once! And since you don't have to hold it...no yucky bubbles on your hands! Yay!

Not good for the bubble machine are rocks inside of it. Thanks to the kid at the picnic who caused us to find this out! Luckily, daddy fixed it!!

Freaking out, freaking out...I'm freaking out!!!

2009-03-06T16:37:00.003-06:00

We're on our way in just a little while to a picnic for incoming kindergartners at Big Bear's new school. I know ONE person going to this school. So I'm nervous about meeting new people...that is not my thing...all the while still seriously struggling that kindergarten is even happening at all!

So here's what a nerd I am...I'm going with a strategy. This past week I got the best bubble machine I've ever seen...and I've seen quite a few! Most of them are terrible and still end up making your hands all bubble soluntiony which is what I hate about bubbles and makes me drawn to using a bubble machine in the first place. This one does NOT do that and it blows out zillions of bubbles!! I know...I'm weird to get this excited about a bubble machine. That's me...deal. Anyway, my strategy is to take my fabulous bubble machine to the picnic and blow zillions of bubbles which will entice all of the children to come to our blanket and get my child noticed as the most fun bubble machine girl around while at the same time putting myself out there as the most creative and "in the know about bubble machines" mom!

Brilliant eh?