July

So June was fantastic. An unbelievably fast 30 days that swung between trip preparation to trip to trip preparation to another trip. And after pampering us with seemingly limitless fun family time, it has unceremoniously dumped us into July.

I knew July would be hard, coming after the June we just had. No visitors scheduled, no trips, no school, no milestones, nothing. August isn't quite as bad, since we at least have things to celebrate (read: eat cake)...the 10 year anniversary, turning 32 and then Andrew starts Kindergarten the 31st...whoo-hoo!

In order to make July more depressing...I mean interesting...I've decided to challenge myself during this month. And I'm dragging my unsuspecting family along with me. It's like New Year's resolutions 6 months late. And I'm only holding myself to these things for the month of July, unless I begin craving punishment and want to continue through the summer.

1) I am...gulp...giving up tv. Completely. But I am obviously not giving up the computer. Jeff thinks this means I am going to spend all my free time doing chores. -snort- As if. I plan on reading, cross-stitching, drinking alcohol...apparently blogging ;) A girl's got to unwind...

2) I am...gulp...going to limit my children's tv time. I think I may try and limit their tv time to when I'm putting Michael down for his nap and bedtime. I just need the older two zombified while I am tucked away upstairs for a while. But it is going to be really hard to stop using it as "Toddler Prozac"...which is pretty much how I deal with Lily right now. We'll see...

3) I have been researching crafts and experiments to do with the kids and I am going to attempt to incorporate them into our play time. I am SO SICK of playing pretend games. Ugh. At the very least, it will make for some interesting stories, right? Or maybe not-so-interesting stories? Our first experiment has been kind of a flop. I bought some white carnations, and we mixed up some colored water for each of them...in an attempt to color the petals. It kind of worked. Not quite as vibrantly as I wanted. Today? We're making a bug hotel.

4) We are not eating out AT ALL in the month of July. AT ALL. No take out, no drive thru, no delivery. Not even beverages...or ice cream...or ANYTHING. We spent WAY too much money in June, and this is one way to cut back. And it could be fun. Right? Right? I just have to be sure to stock up on easy meals for those days when I feel like putting an ice pick through my eye. I never feel like cooking on those days. ;)

5) I have restarted my exercise challenge again. I got a really bad head cold in week 6, and so failed to earn my I-pod. I didn't start again right away...because there was so much food to be eaten on vacation. ;) So now I am starting again...3 pounds heavier than last time. Ugh.

Okay! Time for misery to begin. Starting....NOW...