Gettin' er Done

Last summer, my kids never wanted to go outside. Maybe it had something to do with our old swing set (the only photo I have of it is a winter photo):


So I convinced Sam that we needed to buy the behemoth swingset on display at Costco. "Come on," I said, "You're good with your hands, I bet you could put that bad boy up in one weekend." He reluctantly agreed. (I won't mention the fact that he almost had to sell a kidney to pay for the thing!)

After getting the 7 huge boxes home, he laid out all of his supplies.

He even set up a work table in the backyard complete with all of his tools and the how-to dvd (yes, it comes with one!) set up on the portable dvd player. If it had been me, I would have just opened the first box and started drilling.

After working for an entire day (some of it with his dad) Sam came inside cursing the thing. He was delighted to find he had a third degree burn on the back of his neck. The next day, he soldiered on (with a dish towel hooked onto the back of his hat to cover his neck--sexy.) The goggles gave him instant street cred.

Fast forward a week. This was Ryan every day as Sam worked:

Ryan hates to be inside when anyone is outside--especially dad. Finally, the Behemoth was finished.



Look how much fun they are having:

Look how much he enjoys being outside:

Look at that smile:

I ask Sam if those faces make it all worth it. His reply "Probably not."

On the Wagon

I'm going to Kauai in less than a month. They say the air is so dewey sweet there you don't even have to lick the stamps. I don't care about that--I am just worried about getting harpooned.

I honestly thought I would have gotten skinny for this trip. I have been working for 10 years to afford this trip, and by working, I mean spending a ton of money on American Express to earn airline miles. We are going without the kids which means we will mostly be laying by the pool or beach, getting massaged, sleeping in, napping, eating out and more laying by the pool. Of course, I will be getting the spray-on tan before I go because everyone knows tan fat looks better than white fat.

But in the meantime, I am doing everything I can (starting today) to look a little better in my swimsuit. My personal formula for losing weight is working out everyday, more weightlifting (the only thing that changes my body) and less candy. I don't diet; I won't. The minute I tell myself I'm on a diet or restricting myself I am eating a bag of chocolate chips or hot dog buns out of desperation. So instead of dieting, I try to add more healthy things to my diet, like a lot more protein and less chocolate.

Enter Costco. I love these Yoplait smoothie mixes you can buy from Costco. They are in the frozen food section and they are so yummy. The packages have frozen berries and frozen yogurt chunks. I love smoothies but hate dealing with the fruit. This is easy, you dump it in, pour in milk and viola--a yummy smoothie. Sometimes I had protein powder to make it a meal. Even my kids will drink them and they don't drink milk or eat fruit 99% of the time--I know I'm in the running for mother of the year.

So any other great yummy low fat/low cal food I need to know about? Also, do you have any great tips for places to visit in Kauaii. I am generally not a sight-seer. I'm too lazy--I'd rather lay by the pool. But I'm up for suggestions.