friday !!!!!

We are leaving for Florida in one week. I am already packed and organized...not really. With such a long car trip, I am thinking of all the things we might possibly want, then I remember that there are Walmarts here there and everywhere. One of the highlights of January trip to Florida was stopping in North Carolina for some really important things at Walmart...and hearing those accents. It was almost like they knew we were from New York so they were exaggerating the twang. I loved it.

Anyway. Getting prepared for the trip is the funnest part, for the rest of the family. Not for the mom. My head is swirling with things. Next week the van is going to the shop to get prepared for the trip. One thing I won't do is prepare meals or worry about the kids left here at home. Seven of them, they can figure things out for themselves. I will leave Mirielle a credit card, and Aaron will be bad and buy half and half. I stopped buying it, as it is too expensive, switched to whole milk. But when we go away, he always buys it. Anyway, they simply cannot wait for us to leave, they will have a party all week long. Not drinking or smoking, just staying up late and eating cookies and enjoying not having parents around.

I went to the pool three days in a row. Ha, I can't even remember if I went Monday and Tuesday or not...but I am feeling good. I have been eating better too. Staying away from chocolate and that dreaded Easter candy. I haven't baked cookies, so no eating cookie dough. I KNOW when I eat good wholesome foods and keep my hands out of the chocolate chip bag, I start to lose weight. I am tired of maintaining this weight, and want to get losing again. Yes, again. I know. It is taking forever. I seem to gain ground just to have it slip away and start trying harder again, and again. But, I will not give up! It kills me, it is almost May...if I had been more serious these last few months, I could have lost lots more weight by now...but I can't dwell on that.

So our tentative plan is to leave for Florida on Friday afternoon, drive until we are almost there, and stop in Georgia for the night. Then we will only have four hours to go the next day. We can probably make it all the way there, but the hotel I reserved in Gramma's town is booked for Saturday night, so I figured we may as well spend a night in Georgia.

The kids are going to each pack a backpack with a bathing suit, jammies, and an extra outfit, to grab and bring into the hotel. I bought extra toothbrushes to pack, so we won't have to stop and buy any for those who forget. I bought peanut M&M's to baggie up for the ride, and protein bars. I still want to get beef jerky and some fruit, and almonds.

Never mind...I can not concentrate on this today. Mirielle and Aaron are leaving for clinical, and are being chatty. I realized the other day how finite these days at home are with these two. They are graduating next month, Aaron already has a job lined up. They will start working...and move out one of these days:(