It's Not You, It's MAY

I've wanted to sit and write so many times this month, but May is so busy (and work has been so stressful) that I can't seem to find the time.   Just know that I have great intentions to post, and this separation is hard, but it's not you, it's May.

One thing that is helpful at burning off some stress is going to boot camp classes at the gym.  The instructor sets up the whole gymnasium with 20 stations, and we work out at each station for about 45 seconds, then move to the next and repeat the whole circuit three times.  Some of my favorite stations include: flipping a huge tire, burpees on a Bosu ball, pullups on the TRX ropes, handstands, and suicides.  It's a really hard but fun workout and I have three kids who come with me on Saturday mornings.  As you know, the kids who work out with mom are the kids that mom likes most ;)

Walking the dog each day by the water is a nice stress reliever too :)

So is sitting on the porch in the evening with a fire and a card game.

Ax-throwing, our recent date night activity, was fun and blew off some steam:

My kids were impressed ;)

The little three boys have swim lessons on Fridays, and they open up two lanes for other swimmers but I could never figure out how to reserve a lane time...they were always full!  I asked and discovered that to reserve a lane on Friday, you have to log in and sign up on Tuesday after 7 pm.  Maggie makes sure to start reminding me at 6:50 on Tuesday evenings so that I can reserve a lane for her to swim in.  So I pay for 3 kids to have lessons, then Maggie and I swim for free at the same time.  That girl looks forward to her lap time each week.  She is such a fish since she was born in the jacuzzi.

Phil and I celebrated our 19th Anniversary yesterday, and after feeling a bit disappointed by the day (a kid had a project due that we didn't know about! the photos for the said project were printed double-sided and had to be reordered last minute! the dog pooped on the porch! the washer didn't spin the clothes fully! the senior poster I ordered went missing!) we have big plans for next year!  It's really hard to celebrate a romantic wedding anniversary when you still have the demands of seven kids.  Note to self - go away each year!!

But I still love you so much Phil, and I'd rather have a day like that with you than one day without you.

My family has one college graduate, three high school graduates, and three 8th grade graduates this year, so we are having a big family party this weekend.  JP has Prom on Friday night too.  Lots of events coming up, but it wouldn't be May without them.