10 on Tuesday

I really need to sit and do some focused blog entries soon, but there are a lot of little things, so here we are again with another 10 on Tuesday...

1. The kids had their eye exams this morning after a year and a half. Charis is now sporting a trial pair of contacts (my baby's growing up!), and Arden has a pair of reading glasses on order. Tobin is getting new frames and lenses that will hopefully hold up. Both he and Charis are supposed to take their glasses/lenses OFF for up-close reading and activities, while Arden is supposed to wear his for the same purpose in order to try to prevent him from needing regular glasses in the near future. Despite desperate pleas otherwise, Kenna is NOT getting glasses. (Nor did she have her eyes examined, I might add!)

2. We've always used whole-wheat pasta for our cooking at home, with the exception of boxed mac-n-cheese for quick lunches now and then. Recently, however, I've become convinced (convicted?) that we need to be more proactive in making sure we are keeping processed foods OUT of our bodies, or at least to an extreme minimum. So, today we had homemade mac-n-cheese, which the kids like just as much if not better. (I ate some myself, and that would NOT have happened if we had made it from a box. Ick.)

3. The problem with #2 is that I have not yet located whole wheat elbow macaroni. I know it's out there--I used to buy it at Walmart in Las Vegas, for cryin' out loud. But the commissary and Walmart here neither one carry it. I'll have to check Kroger's and possibly Trader Joe's, which is quite a haul from our house, but one I will be making regularly in the future.

4. Lucan is now saying...syllables. We're eagerly waiting for him to become more verbal, but so far his word repertoire consists of "Hi!" (with MUCH inflection, as if a grown-up is talking baby talk, which is probably why he says it that way--everyone around him says "Hi-iii" when they see him!), "ya" (yeah), "bubba," "ma," "na/da" or something like that for no. The accompanying shove with his "no" syllable does wonders for interpretation.

5. Ted had an exciting weekend--he attended a Project 86 concert Friday night and took Arden to a Broncos game in Cincinnati Sunday night. Arden was thrilled to go! Tobin was thrilled to stay home and finally watch the first Spiderman movie, LOL. Charis thought the movie was "OK." :-)

6. School is beginning to start up around here. Our city schools start a week from today. Frankly, I'll be glad when everyone else's kids go to school, LOL! Our boys are hardly home these days! But seriously, I can understand why many moms can't WAIT to send their kids to school. Two and a half months without a routine definitely tends to make the kids go crazy. Though I had great intentions for keeping us on a summer-school type of schedule, doing math, Bible bee activities, reading, etc., we've been flying by the seat of our pants the last few weeks, and it's showing!

7. Due to #6, a MOTH schedule is coming soon to a refrigerator near us. (Managers of Their Homes,for the uninitiated.)

8. I can't remember if I already posted this...Ted and I have signed up to run a 5K in September to support some missionaries from our church. My time should be GREAT if, like this morning, I get the urge to use the restroom 1/2 mile into the run.

9. It's less than 2 weeks until the local Bible Bee competition. We're way behind, but we're pressing on.

10. I have a new planner! My brain is happy. :-)