Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Skating Girls

Cordova Skating Rink offered free skating 3 days a week for the summer, and we took advantage of it today!!  I knew signing up for those free passes would pay off, and I'm so glad we got signed up in time!  It's been miserably hot, so hot the girls don't even want to go outside and swim (and I can't blame them!) 






Tonight, we have to go register them for school.  I can't believe they start 3rd grade on Monday!!  I think Ashley is more excited to go back then Jenna is!   Hopefully, this year I won't cry when I drop them off!!  Ha!

I am making Chicken and Dumplings for dinner, it's too hot to cook on the stove, so I am using my trusty crockpot!  I cooked a whole chicken all day (my house smells soooo good) and just added the stuff for chicken and dumplings, plus carrots and potatoes, and will add the biscuits when we get home from registration.   With the other half of the chicken, I de-boned and will use it for chicken-pot-pie later this week!!    I think that menu planning is going to help us tremendously!  I need to look and see what Kroger has on sale next week and go ahead and get next week's menu planned out, complete with Lunch stuff.  Since Ashley can't really eat anything at the school cafeteria, I pack their lunch everyday.  Last year, it was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and lunchables.  Every. Day.  This year, we are going to get a bit more creative! ;) 


I hope ya'll can hear this, because our speakers aren't working!  LOL   I'm loving my new Flip Camera, it's so easy to use and fits SO easy in my purse!!  :)


Monday, July 30, 2012

A day at the park.

Today, the girls and I took a trip to Fletcher Creek Park.  The park just opened near the girl's school, and once the rain shower we had this morning cleared out, we decided to go before it got really hot. 

The park has 2 seperate "play areas" with multiple slides,  and 3 sets of swings.... babies (basket swings), toddlers (lower to the ground), and swings for the bigger kids. 

They have bike trails and walking trails, bridges, benches,  grills, picnic tables, and a covered picnic area.  The only thing I did not see was a port-a-potty, but they did have a drinking fountain.

We did not go on the nature trails, it was just TOO hot, but once it cools off, I can see us spending time exploring those. I love that there are 2 different play areas, and with several families there, there was room for all of the kids to play without running into each other.  I think I counted a total of 6 different slides! 





We came home and swimmed a little (it was little chilly in the pool, if you can believe that) and the girls have been drawing all afternoon.   Ashley drew an amazing Razorback... Go Hogs!

Tomorrow, we are going to take advantage of some Free Skating that we got online for the summer, so that should be fun!!  Anything inside sounds nice to me!!





Saturday, July 28, 2012

Day 1 :: Our "new" life


This summer we have had some major changes happen.  I am no longer working full time, only part-time, the girls have been gone all summer (they are finally coming back tomorrow), I've had some female issues, that I am still dealing with, and I've quit smoking.  Whew.  It's so nice to be able to say that.  I've quit smoking.  It hasn't been easy, but I am determined for us all to start leading a healthier lifestyle!  2 weeks today, smoke free. 

Which, begins my next journey.  I want my family to start eating healthier.  So, starting this week, I am going to stop buying so much prepacked foods, no more "junk" foods, and we are going to start drinking more water and tea instead of soda.  I know it's going to be hard, because we are use to things the way they are now.  But, we can do it!

I want us to be as healthy as we can be, and I want the girls to always make good decisions with their food choices, and I don't see how they can, if Brent and I don't show them how to.  The girls are not picky eaters by far, and I know that they eat healthier at their Dad's house.  Jenna asked if we could start buying more fruit, so Yes Ma'am, we can. 

I'm  going to use this Blog to tell our story.  Hopefully, it will keep me motivated to make good choices, especially when I know I have to be accountable here. 

Also, with our income cut down, I'm going to use this to keep up with that as well.  I don't want to be an *extreme* coupon er, but I do want to save money for our family.

This is a blog about us, our life.   I'll post pictures of Jenna and Ashley, I'll probably rant when things don't go my way, and I will probably fail from time to time.  But, this is a place where I will keep up with it all... welcome to our Story.