My Little Gamers

I’ve never been much of a video game person, but I’m finding out that my boys both love them! Last Christmas, Drew wanted to surprise us all with a video game system we all could enjoy and was trying to decide between the XBox and the Wii. He ended up going with the Wii, thinking it would be easier for our three-year-old to get the hang of. It’s taken a while (he’s almost four, actually, now), but Noah was kicking butt last night while play Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz! We’re trying to teach him that you can just have fun playing — you don’t have to win all the time. But honestly, it did help when he beat his brother once or twice

We’re trying to figure out a couple other games that he might enjoy. We bought Boom Blocks, but haven’t played with that too much yet. Drew is much more “in the know” about the games than I am. The Wii has been good on these hot, humid days, when it’s too yucky to do much else, though. So for that I am glad!

Heading South For The Holidays!

Well, maybe. My brother and his significant other just purchased a home in Raleigh, North Carolina. They close on it next month and we’re thinking of going down there for Thanksgiving. This will be a family vacation home, not their primary residence. I think it’ll be so neat to have a place down south where we can go. Maybe if Drew like it down there we can look at Outer Banks foreclosures and see if we can get a beach house for cheap. (I’d love that!)

In the meantime, though, it will be fun to explore a new state. I’ve never been to NC. In fact, aside from Florida I haven’t really been anywhere in the south, so this will be an adventure. The home is on a golf course and there’s a pool and a playground, so even if we just want to relax and not go anywhere, there is plenty for us to do. I can’t wait to see it!

Feeling Frumpy

Is it the weather? Is it because I’m so tired lately? I don’t know, but I’m feeling prety “blah” about my weight and my looks. I colored my hair the other day for a quick pick-me-up, and it does look better, but still… oh those undereye bags! I’m not sure that even the best wrinkle cream could help me out these days. I also have 10 pounds I need to lose, yet I don’t have the energy to get on with a fitness routine. Though, I guess that maybe if I was exercising I’d have more energy. A catch-22, no? I need to a swift kick in the butt, I think. I’d like to drop the weight by my birthday in October, and then lose another 5 lbs. by New Year’s. I would love to start 2010 feeling good about myself!

Search & Win

I’m super psyched because I just cashed in my first set of 45 Swagbucks for a $5 Amazon e-certificate. What’s Swagbucks you might ask? Only a super easy way to earn point for prizes just by searching! Whenever you want to search for something on the web, use your Swagbucks search instead. For example, if you wanted to look up “best weight loss supplement“, instead of going to Google, just go to Swagbucks and look it up there. You will randomly be awarded prizes of 1, 2 or even 5 “bucks”. Super easy! There are other prizes too, but the Amazon card is the best for me. It took me less than a month of searching to rack up the points. Give it a shot!

Of Swings & Strollers

Laura, like her oldest brother, really seems to enjoy the baby swing. I feel a little guilty using it, so I often will just put her in when I’m cooking a meal or have to attend to the boys for something. Unlike her brother, however, she doesn’t seem to be too crazy about the stroller (yet). Maybe it’s because where we live now we don’t go for as many walks as when we lived in the ‘burbs. Kind of makes me glad I didn’t shell out big bucks for a fancy stroller. I was totally charmed by some of the high-end brands like Quinny Buzz, but we didn’t have the extra money when we were shopping around. Hopefully she’ll like the stroller more since it’s one of those necessary th ings.

Crazy!

Here’s something you don’t hear about every day: a street in a town seceding! Yup, a street in Tom’s River, NJ is trying to secede and join the next town over, Lavallette. Apparently, last winter the street was piled high with snow for three days before the Tom’s River came to snowplow. Also, apparently trash pick up is hit or miss. I don’t know how much of NJ trash removal is private or town, but regardless… who wants their garbage cans in front of the house for days (or possibly weeks)? It’s not final yet; Tom’s River can appeal. I’m sure they aren’t happy about the loss of tax revenue, but maybe they should take better care of their residents!

Home Again

The boys, that is. They spent the weekend at my parents’ house. My brother and his wife visited us on Saturday and drove them back to Massachusetts. My brother was saying how Jake talked the whole way back — two hours! Clearly the boy does not have any kind of speech anxiety. He will talk anyone’s ear off, LOL. They had fun, though. My parents took them to the Mystic Marinelife Aquarium. It was expensive, but they enjoyed themselves. They also had tons of fun just splashing in the wading pool in my parents’ yard. It was a gorgeous weekend for them! We got a lot accomplished over here too. Almost all the random things are put away and the house is basically back in order. Today the siding is being stained and we just have a couple minor things that need to be fixed and this project will be D-O-N-E!!!