It all boils down to: I've just gotta DO it.

With 5 small children, finding time to make it to the gym, any gym, is pretty impossible for me. Especially since my husband is often traveling for the Army, and even now is deployed. So I decided to take matters into my own hands. I have begun building my own little "gym."

I have a treadmill and a special chair to help with sit ups (I'll explain that in a moment.) I think the next thing I'll buy is set of small dumbbells. I need to bulk up this pitiful set of arms I have.

I have the most awesome set up for my treadmill. I knew I wouldn't just get on there for an hour and keep walking. No scenery but the wall in front of me. Simply music is a no-go. So I've tweaked and experimented until...! I have rigged my portable dvd player to the console of my treadmill and now I watch movies while I walk!

As for the special chair: I have a bad back, and sit ups strain my lower back muscles. This chair takes the strain off my back and isolates my tummy muscles. It also helps me not strain my neck. Is there anyone else out there like me who ends up using their neck too much when trying to do sit ups?

Now, I've only had these things about 2 months. So have I seen incredible results? No, but I know it is good for me and WILL yield results... if I can just keep at it.

Even with my beautiful set up of watching movies and old tv shows on dvd, I still have to get on there and just DO it.

Sometimes, self-discipline is hard to muster up. It's like a warped circle. What is the key to self-discipline? Well, bottom line is you still just have to make yourself do it. So the key to self-discipline is to have the self-discipline to develop self-discipline. Wha-?

What is that green thing in my fridge?

No, it's not mold. Or even old jello. (Green jello is ick, by the way. Red jello is the only way to go in my book.)

Instead, it's my son's beanie alligator. No one would fess up to who put it there. Guess the summer heat got to him a bit?

New piece of furniture

As homeschoolers, we need lots and lots of storage space. What we had been using was a sad little black shelf unit my husband had used in college. It was made of pressed wood and had definitely done well considering, but was looking rather pitiful. It only had two shelves, and each shelf was only about 2 feet long.

So I went to a fabulous little store in the area; they sell solid wood furniture at super prices. It is so much cheaper than a furniture showroom, because it comes unstained. BUT I pay them to stain it, which only adds about $100 to the cost. You can't beat that! So I got this solid oak shelving unit for a mere few hundred dollars. Yes, it's true!

Obviously, I've put stuff on every shelf, but do you see how much room is unused? I'm so happy! This piece will serve us very well!

My girl was an actress for a day!

I signed my oldest up for an art class in a neighboring town. They were to learn how to paper mache, make puppets and props, and then perform some small plays for the parents at the end of the week. They chose "Hansel and Gretel" and "The Gingerbread Man."

I'm really tight on how much of my children I show online, but since she was the fox in "The Gingerbread Man" and wore a mask, I can post a couple pics!

Ahhh! Beware the one-eyed fox! Actually, a bit of a "wardrobe malfunction" when her hair kept falling down into her eyes under the mask.

Her entrance into the play - she was cute and funny, eliciting a lot of giggles from the crowd. And no, that is not me in the background.

Talking to the gingerbread man.

Eating the gingerbread man!

I loved watching her do it all. She was so very cute and blossomed quite well. She is normally a very shy child, and even cried the first two days when I dropped her off. But the teachers said she never acted shy once she got in there. And certainly when it came time to do the play, she wasn't shy at all! I was so proud!

Good talk with my man.

I just got off the phone with him. He is having, as usual, a busy day over there. It's nonstop until he goes to bed, every day.

He called because he saw on our private blog that I was dealing with some pretty intense emotions regarding his deployment.

We had a great talk. I found out some of the things he is feeling, which is really good because he isn't the sort of guy to just offer those tidbits. Turns out, he feels the same way I do. Wow, is that good to know. It's very reassuring and comforting. And more importantly to me, he doesn't think I'm a wimp to feel this way.

Sadly, our talk only lasted 15 minutes. Suddenly he blurted out, "I gotta go." Ahh, well, another day, then.

Raisins = wealth?

My 2nd child just asked me, "Mommy, if we had no raisins, and we had no money, what would you call that?"

My oldest piped up, "Poor."

Having a large family can save you money

Don't believe it? Then let me share my Friday experience with you.

The kids and I were at the mall, when I decided that I wanted to look in a jewelry store for a necklace. There was a HUGE sale going on, so I thought it was worth a shot.

Everything was gaudy and huge. I asked the saleswoman if they had anything small and delicate - much more my style in terms of jewelry. (I like simple, delicate, elegant.) She directed me to the clearance counter. Score! Clearance is definitely up my alley!

There I found a small diamond necklace that looks like THIS. Except mine is done in yellow gold.

The lady broke down the discount for me (50% off, plus another 30% off), and it quickly went from a nearly-$300 necklace to a mere $101! Then she offers me the lifetime warranty on the necklace, which was incredibly reasonable.

After some hemming and hawing, even leaving the mall at one point, I went back to buy the necklace. She tells me the total is only $113. I questioned her, because that was less than what it should have been.

She smiled and said, "I gave you an extra 10% off." When I pressed her for a reason, she just smiled and said, "Because I wanted to." I pressed again (I know, some of you are saying, "Just shut up and take it!"), but I was very curious. That was the 3rd discount!

She finally just said, "Well... you have five kids."

So there you have it. Who says having a lot of kids is too expensive? It actually saved me some money!

What do you think of the new look?

I am so excited about this little makeover of my blog! I like the name, the look, the colors - all of it!

Take notice that I did keep my pseudonym, but will be changing the kids'. No, these will not be their real names.

Now, please be patient with me. I've started converting the posts from the old blog to the new coloring. The old colors I used are so hard to read here and look awful with the updated color scheme. I'm all the way to 2007, so it may not affect you at all, unless you are the sort of person who likes to go back and read old posts.

The roosters are such slackers

A couple weeks ago, I woke up every morning around 4 a.m. for no particular reason. That happened... oh, probably 5 or 6 mornings. So I gave up and adopted the if-you-can't-beat-'em, join-'em outlook.

And I now go to bed around 8:30 with my children and get up at 4 a.m.

I am not a morning person by nature. I prefer to hang out with the owls each night and join folks for lunch the next day. (Of course having children has changed how late I stay up and sleep in.) But this is working remarkably well. This way I am getting at least 3 hours of solitude every day, guaranteed.

By the time the kids get up in the morning, I've had some serious alone time. I've read my Bible, exercised, and conquered any projects that I wish.

I never thought I'd be living the "early to bed, early to rise" lifestyle!

I made homemade bread!

Recently I got a grain mill and a Bosch. So now, I am making homemade bread! After 2 failed batches, this was my triumph! Behold, and marvel!

Fresh from the oven!

See the beautiful waffle pattern on the lower half of the loaf? That is a nice touch from the bread pan.

Ooh, what lovely bread slices. Moist, soft, yet firm enough to make a great sandwich!

YUM. Don't you want some?

All sliced, bagged and ready to be frozen or used!

Thinking of changing my blog

I was thinking TOTAL makeover.

New pseudonyms for the kids, for myself. New title. New look.

LOL whatcha think about that?

Just want to essentially start over. Something light and fun.

Yes, I know. I'm fired.

But if you fire me, then there won't be a blog. Not that there will be a loss of posts or anything if you fire me.

Let's see... since I last posted, not much has changed. Just one tiny thing: I'm starting to make my own bread. I'm cheating a bit and using a Bosch to do the dirty work for me. Shhh, don't tell!

Even grinding my own flour. I can't believe I'm doing that. But it is so easy. Dump grain in one spot. Turn dial. Flour comes out in a different spot. Voila. Fresh flour.

So, am I fired?