spring has sprung!

The weather has been amazing! The days are getting warmer every day. Today we are expecting temps to actually reach the 70's! This week's beautiful sunshine and warmer climate (very windy though) has brought me to the outdoors. I am a gym brat-- I don't really venture outdoors to workout like mane people here on West Point. But this week, I changed my routine. Yes, I actually took my workout outdoors. There are some killer hills here and they can kick butt! Blue has also appreciated my new routine. She gets to go with me all over and she too, gets a good workout. I figure this will only last for the next 2 months. Once the humidity arrives, see ya! Back to the gym I go! Actually, I do plan on frequenting the gym a couple of times a week to get my strength training done at the Body Pump classes. If you have never attended a Body Pump class, you must! It is an hour of light weights and high repetitions of non-stop sets targeting your entire body! They are fun, motivating, and a super workout!

and he takes third!

I was just updated on F's race today. He placed 3rd and is very happy-- we are thrilled and proud of him!

We'll see how he does tomorrow in Central Park...

at the yard sale

Today was a full day. Early in the morning, F took A1 to go take her exam, the SSAT. Meanwhile, the girls and I hung out outside while the neighborhood held it's bi-yearly Yard Sale. We decided not to participate-- it is too much work and hassle for the amount of money people will be willing to pay. So, we usually give away the kids' stuff to friends and we donate the rest to Goodwill. The kids were very busy running around and chasing each other. They did have some sit-down play once in a while... not much though. At some point, they decided they wanted to play make-up artist. So they began to pile on the make-up and the nail polish. This kept them busy for a good 30 minutes.





A2 is making sure she glams those pretty eyes...

In the front of the houses-- across the street (a narrow one-way street) is a little hill that the kids love to climb. They are constantly scaling it and playing up there.

A3 made sure she painted her fingernails...

Here is one of our youngest little neighbors kids--Little Miss. A! She was so cute , I couldn't resist!

We did have an incident today. One of the neighbors-- one nobody really knows well-- had their dog out during the yard sale. He bit a couple of people and also A3. A3 is alright-- she went to the ER and had it checked out. Is she afraid of dogs now? Heck no! As soon as we got home, she went over to another neighbor's yard to play with her Husky!

We are finally winding down for the evening-- dad has the DVD in the machine, the munchies are ready (he brought home Panera! YUM!) and we are ready to relax! By the way, A1 feels confident about her performance on the SSAT.

surfer girl

Apparently, I went out surfing last night and I refused to take A3 along. I surfed for hours and caught many, many waves! ha ha ha

A3 informed me this morning that she had a nightmare last night. I asked her to share it with me. She went on and on about how I went surfing and I did not take her along! I can't help to chuckle when I get a visual... yeah right! Last month when the family and I went to Great Escape during Spring Break, I didn't even want to body surf on their cool-high tech man-made wave pool. Not with 30 people watching! A1, A2, and A3 of course rode the wave. A3 was probably the youngest kid that I saw there try it. She did okay, but when then she wiped out and she no longer wanted to do it again! A1 did well. And A2 was a PRO! She even got applause! Again, this is a 6-year-old we are talking about! She was riding the wave for so long, that the person teaching yelled to her to do a trick-- get on all fours-- and that she did...like a PRO! She was so darn good! The sad thing is that while everyone cheered for her and high-fived her when she was done, Daddy wasn't there to watch...:( He was somewhere in the hotel grading papers. And well, the line to get back on was about an hours wait-- 5 and 6-year-old's don't do appreciate the wait.

what's up with all the code?

• Happy hump day everybody. Let me start off today by going over all the (ahem...shhh) code like A1, A2, etc... As I have mentioned in this blog, we are a military family. Despite the fact that most people that visit my blog will have good intentions, there are still some very unscrupelous people out there. So for the time being-- (until I can ease my extreme paranoia) I will refer to most people in the family or anyone that I post photos of as a letter. I know, I know-- it can get to be a drag. But while I am still new to the blogging deal and I get more at ease with it, please bear with me.


• Another clarification I would like to make--(and I thought I'd mention since my good friend P over at show242family brought it up)-- yes, there is a third Brat for those of you that don't know me. NO, Blue is not in any way or form, our third brat! :) A1 has been hiding from me whenever I whip out the camera. She ducks for cover and fights me over this. So, I have made it my mission to get her by this weekend. Somehow...somewhere... If not, I will be left with no choice but to confiscate her cell phone and download her photos... I have seen those photos and I am sure with that threat over her head, she may become quite the little model!


• On to A3. Today after a long day of school and shopping, the girls were playing so nicely and I of course, being the mother that thinks every little gesture and movement is better than the last, took the shots! Enjoy them!

A3 has a depth to her that astonishes me ever so often. Ever since she was a baby (not that she isn't anymore) she would gaze out into space it seemed. Now that she is adapt to verbalize her feelings and thoughts, she usually has a question or a statement to share after one of these moments of Kiddie Meditation. ha ha

She really gave me a hard time today taking her photos. Most of the 50 I took were candid.

If there is something that I can be accused of is: Preseverence.

I also wanted to share my joy about my good old pal (another Army wife and mom) that just began her blog. I know she will do an awesome job. She is quite the scrapbooker. She is taking suggestions about what to include in her blog, and my input is going to be: Please P-- share your scrapbook pages! Hopefully she can give us ideas and tips... Oh and let me add, she is a chef. So maybe if I twist her arm, she will also add a recipe corner... C'mon-- do it! I, myself will be adding one in the next few days when I get a little time to get organized. I will add her blog address to my page ---> side bar ---> so visit her site and take a look at her beautiful family!

Hasta Luego!

what day is it?

It is Tuesday today and we all know how I feel about them. There are just not enough hours in the day to get everything done. I am finally done with tomorrow's homework (it is 11:45pm) and I really should be in bed considering it is almost midnight. But I just wanted to include some news that I was given today. I found out that I am graduating in the top 10% of my class next month. Is that not exciting? Not too shabby for an old gal with 3 kids and a non-stop routine...Okay, okay enough about that.

I don't think I had mentioned this, but I took out all refined sugars from my diet for a week. I was doing great on day 5...until tonight. I was at school and I needed a drink. I popped into the bookstore and quickly grabbed what seemed to me a Diet Cherry Pepsi. Half way through drinking the bottle, I noticed it wasn't diet. Yep-- I wasn't very happy. I guess I will just have to ad another day. This means that on Friday I can have a candy bar again! Not that I need it, of course :()

Goodnight!

monday, monday

This morning before school, A2 and I had a few minutes to spare to take a moment to takes some shots of her. I was afraid that we would get rain and again, the natural light would be at a minimum. She was ever so playful as always...


I am not kidding-- she loves to pose!

Blue got out today...again. Honestly, I am losing my patience with her-- I have to remember not to let the little things get to me. It is tough though. She keeps getting out and roaming the neighborhood until she decides to come home. I have tried chasing her, driving after her, you name it, I've tried it! I may have to call in Cesar to help us out. Yeah, the Dog Whisperer! F makes fun of me when I watch the show.

I read somewhere today about making not-so-unhealthy brownies. Grant it they are still not healthy, but not as unhealthy as the normal variety. Apparently, all you do is take a Devils Food cake mix and a can of pure pumpkin, mix them together and place batter into a muffin mold and voila! I don't know how they taste, but I hear pretty good! I think I may have to make some tomorrow sometime...

Oh and on to some super-duper news. I found out today that my cousin is 12 weeks pregnant! This will be her 2nd as she has a little girl that was born just a couple of weeks prior to A2's birth. I had the opportunity to be in California (where we originally come from) during my last trimester. During this time, two cousins and I had baby girls!

Oh well, Monday...Monday...

more change

Yep, I changed it once again. The black background kept bothering my eyes and it distracted me from the photos. I guess it would work for a single shot, but I have so many on the page that it gets too busy. This looks cleaner than the last one.

a3's fun...too!

A2 isn't much of a model-- she really could care less if the camera is after her-- or perhaps it's an act... yes, that must be it!

She is always after my cup of Joe, why is that? A1 was the same way. A3 takes every opportunity to swipe anything of mine that contains some form of caffeine.

CAUGHT in the moment! She can't say it wasn't her when I ask who drank my drink!



She is always the character! A girly girl, really...

She is a Texan for those that were not aware...

Really! Hails from Fort Hood, Texas!

After our little photo shoot fun, the neighbors came out and played with the girls. We hung out until the cold got the best of the moms. It is already April, but the air still has a crisp to it and at times, somewhat chilly.

On another note, F had a race today in the city and he came in 10th. That is terrific! Sorry, no photos or details. I promise one of these days I will have the entire story!