Home Again, Home Again...

No church for us today. The streets are still covered with snow and ice. I do not see how we will have school tomorrow unless we have a sudden heat wave...in the next few hours. :)

Katie O, you asked about "reasonable rates" for a beach vacation. One of the few things I have learned in planning beach trips is that you can spend about as much or as little as you want. If you are willing to stay in a place not on the beach, you pay less. And if you aren't nearly as paranoid about sounds as I am (as in us making too much noise), you can get a condo most of the time for MUCH cheaper then townhouses or houses. During the summer, almost all rentals on the beach are weekly. However, if you have the flexibility to travel at different times, most of the rates are cheaper right before June or after mid-August. Unfortunately, our prime travel time with school and all is right during the highest peak in prices. (same with Disney World) The townhouses I mentioned in my last post were even as cheap as 1000 or so for the week. They are "beach view" but from what I can tell from the pictures, they really have a decent view of the gulf and are still pretty close. (Just for the record, to be more economical, I told Mark we could stay in one of those...he went ahead with the one that is directly on the beach) Oh, and obviously some beaches are cheaper than others. There are so many beach areas on the Gulf. Some are really pricey, others a bit cheaper. You really just have to google and see which are which. I would also recommend rentalo. I don't think we have ever actually gotten a rental through rentalo but it is a good place to start. You type what you are looking for and soon you will have offers from people (condos, houses, etc) that meet your requirements. It is a good starting point. Plus I always check out the major realty places in the area...most handle rentals. In our house, I usually do the legwork, spending a day or so searching rentals and bookmarking the most promising, then Mark makes the final call. Anyway, you can also go cheaper if you have a camper...there are some awesome campsites on the beach. With food, we usually like to eat out once a day (it is a vacation after all, plus the seafood is...delicious!), but we always stop by the store and pick up groceries for the other meals. And obviously to save money, you can eat at home the whole time. Most rentals will have a full kitchen. Hope that helps!

We had home church today because our church was canceled due to the ice/snow. Our church parking lot is a bit...hilly. I honestly have no desire to get out on the roads at all. They don't look like fun to me. I am just not a Northern girl at heart.

Anyway, our home church never goes like I think it will. In my mind, it will be this sweet moment of praise and worship. And we do have those. But they are mixed with a lot of other moments. For one thing, there is no nursery to take Child 4to. And he takes full advantage of that. He gets into as much as he can while we have "church". Today we used some music off the i-Touches to sing with. Oh my, have I mentioned how very musically challenged we are as a family? It hurt to listen to. It truly did. I can only hope that God's ears have a special filter and that it sounded charming to Him! Overall, though, it was a special time of worship. I enjoy those times.

The two big kids have been outside as much as possible. They cannot get enough of sledding. A big thanks to our neighbors across the street for letting them sled (we have no hills really at our house). I really need to consider a trip to Colorado for them one day (as long as it doesn't interfere with the beach of course :); I know their daddy is always ready to go.

I think, maybe, just maybe, the kids are growing up a bit. Maybe. Today they were all up around 8:30 which is pretty late for us. (It sure was a treat though) It used to be that as soon as they were up they were asking for food. Today I got up, made pumpkin muffins, and didn't hear one complaint about hunger until the muffins were ready to come out of the oven. That includes the little guy who used to think he was starving...all of the time. It kind of gives me hope for the future.

Yesterday we were on such an organization kick. Today not so much. I have a lot to do before next Sunday though! (We are hosting our Bible Fellowship's Super Bowl party...finally getting a chance to showcase our Panasonic suite of goodies! Anyone is welcome to join us. :)

Recently I have started getting "spam" comments on here. I get all excited when I see that there is a comment then open it to find it is from someone I don't even know trying to get people to visit their sites (which I don't recommend). I have seen an increase in recent weeks...not sure why. Part of me thinks I should feel flattered (haha) but most of me is just annoyed. I am trying really hard to not go to word verification because they frustrate me to no end. (They are always so hard to read, letters all jammed together) For now, I am just deleting the comments as they come and hoping for the best. Spammers, spammers, go away!

I am not sure how my weigh in will go on Wednesday (if we are even in school then). I have been eating fairly regularly and normally (rather than lighter like I should). But I have also been exercising a bunch. Wii Active was almost too much for me today. One thing I have learned as I get older is that my knees are not as young as they used to be. Lunges and squats are tough on them!

One funny thing about Wii Active... I used to do my exercising after the kids were in bed. In a lot of ways it was easier. Okay, still is. But for one thing, I have more energy when I first get home rather than late at night when I am just ready to crash. So I have been doing my workouts shortly after we get home which means I typically have an audience. It is funny to watch and listen to my kids. It is like having cheerleaders around me. "Come on, Mom, you can do it!" (when I am moaning about another set of lunges which I despise) Today I pulled my hair back. You would have thought I had changed the color of my skin. They were in awe and amazement that I had a ponytail! And when I have to run (which is every stinking time), they are usually jogging around the living room with me.

I hope my hubby has a plan for dinner. I don't! I really have been doing better about cooking. (For one thing, I have to...Wii Active asks me how many fast food meals I had the previous day!) Last night I made shrimp cooked in teriyaki sauce. I thought they were divine. Unfortunately Child 2 was the only other one who seemed to enjoy them. Today I have no inspiration. Only hunger for things I shouldn't eat.

Sometimes I feel like the Seinfeld of bloggers...blogging about a whole lot of nothing. Sadly that is my train of thought most of the time. :)

Okay next blog I promise to share substance. Seriously. I have been reading a book called "Gender Matters". It is fascinating. I am reading it for school but am finding it applies just as well at my house!

Reba