Routine.

Guess what. I used the elliptical machine again today. Yes, that means all of you who guessed I was lying about using it on Monday were WRONG! Ha.

For the record, I don't actually dislike exercising...I just haven't had it as part of my routine for years now. (Once upon a time, I really was in fairly decent shape, LOL!) I could list any number of excuses as to why I haven't made better use of the elliptical now that we finally got one (last summer) but most of it boils down to finding time to fit it into my normal routine. So. I've decided that I'm going to treat soccer season (the next 7 weeks) as a little routine-builder...yep, gonna make time for it and hope that at the end of the season it's become a regular part of my routine enough to stick. ;) 

So. Thus far, two people each have one correct. I'll give folks another day to guess and then tell you what's what tomorrow night.   

Just for kicks...

Yes, I'm on the tail end of April Fool's Day. These past few years it's really snuck up on me, and I'm sad to say that I haven't pulled any good pranks for years now either. Poo. Maybe next year?

In any case, just for kicks, here are a dozen random statements. Most of them are true. Three are not.

1. Our van broke down yesterday and was the cause of our longest Target visit ever. (Three hours on my own, I could probably handle...three hours with three boys, not so much.)

2. I still bite my nails, though I've tried many times to stop.

3. Asher fell out of our borrowed rig this afternoon and ripped his pants.

4. Page 73 of the May issue of Creating Keepsakes features an article I wrote that is dear to my heart. (The website "extra" material that goes with the article isn't up yet.)

5. I managed to finish 32 layouts during March, many of which had been in my to do pile for ages and I'm just happy to have them done. ;)

6. We filed our taxes yesterday.

7. I actually used the elliptical machine yesterday!

8. Micah just got done informing me that the picture of a dentist on his new toothbrush is a "bad guy." (All three had check ups earlier today and let's just say that Micah was not thrilled. This is actually his third visit, but the last time was to fill two cavities, so he had not great memories. Today, he actually spit on the dentist.)

9. I finally labeled all my wooden drawers that hold my loose alphabets!

10.  This gave me a headache (only because I kept watching and watching and then asking the boys to watch). Try it and tell me what you see!

11. I have numerous frames up around my house that don't have any pictures in them yet...and haven't for years. Yes, embarrassing. One day I'll do something about it. Really.

12.  I had pizza for dinner tonight.

So, which three aren't true? And what do you see on number 10? :) 

Why?

Why is it snowing again? (I thought March was supposed to be in like a lion and out like a lamb...course, a lamb is white, so I guess in some sick way this works.)

Why didn't I clean out the bathrooms sooner? Randomly decided to tackle some spring cleaning on the bathrooms today...beyond the general disinfecting and cleaning of things (though, that in itself took awhile) and on to actually going through all the cabinets and drawers and tossing old stuff that no one really knows why we still have. Yup, big ol' heavy duty garbage bags full of unnecessary stuff. Whew. All in all, the bathrooms *look* about the same. But I somehow feel better about them now, so I guess that's worth something. :)

Why did I decide to tackle the kitchen after the bathrooms? I suppose it's satisfying to toss bags of stuff, so the kitchen seemed like the next obvious target. Realized pretty quick that it wasn't going to be a one day deal...as just sorting the pantry cabinets yielded more than all three bathrooms...yeah, embarrassingly lot of expired stuff. Thinking it'll probably take me the rest of the week to finish the kitchen this go round...want to address the appallingly disorganized status of the spices, finish going through cabinets and the fridge/freezer, and reassess the actual kitchen wares. Yes. I just get this way sometimes and seriously need to sort and purge. I haven't actually done this to this extent since we moved into this house almost four years ago, so that's something. Course, I had a third boy during that time and much of my sorting and purging ends up being of toys and boys' clothes. :) (Incidentally, those are next on my list after the kitchen.)

I suppose the only answer is, of course, because.

First soccer games & a PSA...

The boys had their first spring soccer games earlier today (okay, technically yesterday given the time I'm writing this). The weather was gorgeous for a change, and we took full advantage of that fact before the storm came through (yes, there's snow on the ground right now...honest). Thankfully, this season the stars aligned just right such that both boys play at the same park instead of across town from each other...can't tell you how happy this makes us. :) Noah's game was first:

 

(Sorry, not the greatest picture! Still messing with the best settings for these action shots...any and all suggestions are totally and utterly welcome!! (Working with a digi SLR (Canon XTi) with a 24-105 lens...I think those are the right specs...looking into a sports lens, but not sure that's in the cards right now.))

Though at this age, they technically don't keep score, Noah will proudly tell you that his team scored 3 goals today while the other team did not. :) So, he's pretty happy. His team is a bit more than half the same as last season, which is great...same coach, too, which also makes Noah happy.

Asher's game was just after lunch, and Uncle Zach, Aunt Marcy and cousin Makenna joined us to watch. Makenna and Micah had a good time playing and posing (Micah's just 5 months older):

 

Um, yeah, can you tell which kid is totally used to his mom snapping more than a hundred pictures in short order? ;) I actually didn't get as many pictures of the boys' games because Micah kept insisting that I take *his* picture.

In any case, Asher's team is also about half the same as last season with a coach he knows (last season's assistant coach)...good stuff. Ash had a great game and actually kicked the ball a good number of times. It's amazing to me the difference in the two boys' teams and age divisions, though. Asher's team looks so small out on the field compared with the teams in Noah's division...the division Asher will be in next fall. Oy. Here's a picture (requested by Asher) of his favorite part of the game:

 

Yup, treats rank up there pretty high. :)

After the games, we headed home and played in the front yard some more, along with Ali from across the street and Makenna (who came to visit a bit longer). Called it good when the clouds started rolling in and the wind picked up.

Now. The PSA (public service announcement)...it's officially time to start remembering to use sunscreen when going outdoors for that long. Fortunately, the boys and I are all fine, but let's just say that Nathan will be a bit uncomfortable for the next day or two. At least he was wearing long sleeves and all, but his face, neck and the backs of his hands (strangely) are pretty red. Ouch.

Given the snow, the boys and I are planning a nice lazy day at home tomorrow. Hope spring has actually sprung wherever you are! (And don't forget to share any photo tips for sports if you have them!!) 

Little brother & an Asher layout...

First off, happy, happy birthday to my baby brother, Joe! He's 25 today. Here's a picture of him with the boys back in September 2006 (yes, I have more recent photos, but I like this one):

 

Also, it was pointed out to me that last week I shared some layouts but none of them featured Asher. ;) In my defense, that was because I'm more caught up with Asher's albums than with the other two so have been doing more pages for Micah and Noah's books lately to try to even things out. But, I don't think I shared this one that I did for Creative Impressions back in February for CHA:

 

These pictures are from just this past December and I love all the Creative Impressions goodies used here (the felt snowflakes are seriously awesome!). Also so happy with that Fontwerks stamp font used for the title!

Okey-dokey. Need to go run a bunch of errands now. First soccer games of the season tomorrow!