Memorial Day Part Deux

DH had the day off work yesterday and we were invited to go boating with friends. The weather wasn't super 'boaty' but heck, it was the last day of May. Plus, cold or not, it is fun to be with fun people.

For the most part we used the giant tube. All of the kids wanted to ride on it. The funniest kid had to be C. She is a little adrenalin junkie. She just smiled and smiled and then would put her thumb up indicating she wanted to go faster. I couldn't believe it. This was the kid that cried through Pirates of the Caribbean.

T had a funny moment too. Scott chucked a Twinkie out at the girls who were having a snack out on the tube. It didn't make it to them. T jumped into the water and went after it like you would imagine a dog would. He came back with purple lips but victorious with a Twinkie still dry in its wrapper.

D seemed to have fun. He thought he wanted to water ski until he felt the temperature of the water. The tube was more than enough.

S loved having a little friend to sit by. She was happy enough to just go on the tube.

And M, she brought a bag with some math work and paper. You know, because she might just get bored out on the lake. Only my little one would do such a thing. What I thought was funny was that she had a little group of kids who were all into it.

Amy and I ended up out there. It's pretty scary I tell you. I'm just wimpy I guess. And I so didn't want to end up tossed in the water. Pretty much every picture of me has my face cringing.

DH and Scott wake surfed. DH surfed for a while and then went down and realized he had forgotten to put on a life vest. Here I was snapping pictures and I didn't even pay attention to that. We were trying to get a nice big wake and most of the kids plus Amy and me were all sitting near one corner. It was um, cozy :)

We went and barbecued at their house after boating. The kids ran around and played. We chatted. The men cleaned up the boat.

Amy and I talked about blogging. It's interesting what different purposes a blog can have. I have one that just has a few pictures now and then to keep S and D's bioparents updated. I have this one which is just a journal pretty much. It's not interesting to other people for the most part but does help jog my memory when I read it. Then I have my picture blog which mainly keeps friends and family in the loop. None of this is particularly entertaining but it's useful. I never would have recorded so many memories if it weren't for this blog.

When we got home I ran to the store. We needed pull ups yet again. (This kid is never going to be potty trained.) I also needed spoons. I don't know where ours go. Thank heavens one of my least favorite stores on the face of the planet sells them in little packs.

So that was our day. We started June this morning. I was thrilled that I stayed in my budget for yet another month. I gave the kids their chore charts this morning. We had a little grumbling from T over his math. Did he really think I was going to give him easy stuff. I realized that I botched the chore thing just a bit. You can't have one kid cleaning off the table AFTER another one sweeps all the floors. Oh well, it's not always about getting the work done. It's about teaching them to work. A good friend's husband made up charts for her kids. They get 2 bucks a day if they do their work. I told her to keep that info to herself. My 3 oldest are getting 10 dollars a month and would be getting less but it's easier to teach percentages for tithing and saving out of 10. I told her I could give them 2 dollars a day but then they would have to feed themselves.

M is less than thrilled with my summer challenge of less wheat and sugar. It's only June 1st and she is whining that wheat is in EVERYTHING. Yep, it sure is. But how about you are grateful that your mom got up and made you eggs and cut up fresh fruit and made a homemade lunch. I don't think she'll get it until she is older. I'm not trying to make them miserable but a) I don't really want to make two meals all the time in order to accommodated DH and T and the rest of the family and b) I am getting more and more convinced that we develop starch bellies. I don't want her or the other kids to have to struggle because I fed them in a way that messed up their insulin responses. So we will do carbs. In fact, occasionally they will have wheat still. It's in everything and I can't be that careful. But I'm going to try to ditch the bread, pasta, and cereals. I figure if they get their carbs from things like veggies and fruit they will get more bang for their buck (or my buck).