WHO says no one can eat just one?

Three times now, THREE times - I have eaten just one chip. Just to taste. Oh, I am not going bonkers and starving myself, but I really have the propensity towards munching, so I need to be careful.

I did my twenty minutes of excercise for the third morning in a row. If you ever drop by my house in the morning and the oven timer is still going, I will get to you soon. And don't laugh too hard, please. My morning excercise is quite comical, even the little girls say Mommy looks funny. Well, doing my imaginary skip-roping and intermittent lifting the ten pound weights, dancing around and keeping my heart going as fast as I can for the twenty minutes...it looks pretty funny. I know because we have a mirror in the living room. But I really don't care. The twenty minutes drag, sometimes I dance into the kitchen to see if the timer is broken. blah.

I also went on my walk this afternoon. It wasn't easy. I picked Evelyn up from school. Kathryn and Sonja were with me too. We got a text from Mali that she wasn't feeling well and could I pick her up? She knew I was going shopping. We went to the Toy store because I had some coupons...we ended up buying Evelyn a new bike for her birthday, which is in August. But a new bike at the end of August is almost as cruel as getting a bike for Christmas here in the Northeast. She promises to remember when her birthday comes along that she already got her huge gift. I also got scooters for Jonathan and Sonja for their birthdays. They have to wait though, their birthdays are coming up soon.

Then Aldi for fruit and veggies, Target for Evelyn's suit (she found a nice one for 50% off), a dress and some running shorts for Mali, a sweater for Margaret ($5), some sneakers for Joseph....

Then Price-Chopper. Mali got her own cart and helped me shop. The other three girls helped me get more patience. They danced and laughed and pretend-begged for things. They just plain enjoy life. When they aren't smacking each other.

We got a few movies for the kids at the Redbox, then home...well, almost. I stopped at the gas station because I had $2.50 off a gallon, so I paid $27 for twenty gallons of gas! While I was pumping gas, Mali went across the street to the Dunkin Donuts for two large coffees, I had a Buy One Get One Free coupon. THEN we were headed home...silly rambunctious girls, and coffee.

Home: groceries, dinner, blah. As soon as the situation was stable enough, I headed out the door for my walk, assuring the older kids that I appreciate how much they love me to let me go. The kids had sandwiches for dinner, and fruit. I walked, then came back and made huge salads for Paul and I, and I had leftover soup. The older kids left for the youth meeting and the younger ones watched, "Mega-Mind".

Ahh. Now I am resting with my feet up. Camille and Charlotte Claire are snuggling with me.

Paul came home with a really nice birthday present for himself. A water softening system. I hope it works! Our water is SO hard, we have white splashes on the window behind the sink, on the bathroom counters, on all the dishes and silverware. Our glasses are cloudy, even if we wash them by hand. Hopefully this works.

I am too tired to get moving and get these sweetie pies ready for bed...but...I guess I have to....