August Update

I can't believe we are almost to the end of August.  Seriously.  Where has this month gone?
I've actually had a fairly productive month.  It started with my media Sabbath, and got better from there.  I have been spending less and less time on the Internet.  I haven't even been checking my email every day, and I've declared Fridays "Facebook Fridays."  I don't miss it; it's kind of freeing, actually.  I usually watch about 15-20 minutes of local news (network morning shows are complete jokes) each morning to catch the weather (I'm obsessed with weather reports) and find out if anything important is happening in the world.
I love walking.  I've been walking 2+ miles every morning on our roads.  I haven't lost much weight - only like 6 pounds in the last 3 or 4 weeks.  Frustrating, considering I've also been trying to eat better.  But I've had more energy and feel generally healthier.  But I also know that "slow and steady" is a better, more maintainable way to lose weight.
Keeping the house clean is NEV.ER.END.ING.  Good grief.  I've swept the floor every day (unheard of), and am trying to clean the kitchen after every meal.  It doesn't take ridiculously long, but added up, it seems like most of my day is in the kitchen or dining room, cooking, picking up or folding laundry.  (I know, my place is supposed to be in the kitchen.)  But I so much prefer the end results.  It's almost become habit, and it gets so it bugs me if there's stuff laying around.  This is a good thing!  Now, to get  it to bug the rest of my family enough they want to pick up as well......
Nathan has two days of preschool left.  As I predicted, we're going to finish it up just in time to start his Kindergarten.  We'll finish up on Friday, take a week off and then start up again on Labor Day.  (It's not a real holiday.)  We asked him what he wanted to do to celebrate being done with school, and he said he wanted to go on a picnic.  In our yard.  We talked him into going to the lake.
For his curriculum, I wasn't sure how much to do.  We settled on Math, Reading, and Science.  We're using Saxon math, and it actually is a step back from what he's already learned with the Answers in Genesis preschool curriculum.  But it covers much more than numbers - for example, the first lessons are about the calendar/days of the week.  So we'll have to keep up with his addition and subtraction so he doesn't forget all that.  The reading is a phonics approach; we're using A Beka.  And science is also A Beka.  It's actually 1st grade, but he's ready for it.  I think it's considered 1st, not because of the material, but that the student book is like a reader.  The first part of the year is health and manners, then the second is more "sciency."  We're going to try to do some social study/history type things, but the basics are more important.
Oh yeah.  I got these.

I'm sexy and I know it.

When I went to the eye doctor, he said my eyes aren't that bad and normally he wouldn't prescribe glasses.  But it is 30% worse than it was (from  "2" to  "3" points near-sighted, in his explanation).  And I think that that decline all happened in June when my eyeball swelled up, which is why it bugs me so much and I notice it.  We looked at our insurance, and it actually is really good, and pays 100% on glasses.  So I went ahead and got them, mostly for driving at night and whenever I am watching TV or reading lots on the computer (like now).  Apparently they look natural on me, because I've worn them to church twice and also to couples group and the only person that noticed was my best friend (besides my family, obviously).  Paul bestowed his most sincere compliment:  "Your glasses don't look that bad."  Praise indeed. :)
All 3 kids are kind of sick.  Just snotty noses and some coughing.  It wasn't enough to keep the boys from skinny dipping in the freshly cleaned dog pool.  But it still bothers me to hear them cough in their sleep, or to see snot dripping off of Jacob.  Zadie is handling it pretty well, too.
The little miss is not so little anymore.  I'm not sure what weight she's up to, but she's about to outgrow 3-6mo clothes.  Her 4-month birthday was last week.  I know she's teething; you can see the teeth changing the shape of her gums.  She is still so laid back and happy, though!  Oh my goodness, we love her.

Is she not absolutely beautiful?!

She's been sleeping downstairs in the playpen, so we can save money on a/c bills (she'd have to have a window unit).  It's been cooler lately, so she's been doing naps upstairs, and we put her up there the last two nights.  (Too hot again tonight, though.)  I thought it might be a big adjustment for her, but she took it with her usual laid-back nature.  Didn't fuss, didn't wake up.  If all babies were like her, I'd want to have 50 more.

I have had several "refuse to cook" weeks this summer, with this ridiculous heat.  So once again, I made Paul cook outside.  That grill has been completely worth the $100 we spent on it.

We perfected the grilled pizza.  The key is don't rush to get it on the grill, let the heat get down.  And don't screw with the heat once it's on there!  The thermometer reads about 100 lower when there's a pan in there.

Veggie Pizza - tomatoes, peppers, onions, zucchini, mushrooms, and olives.

 The more fat there is in bread, the better the flavor. (E.g. when you make the dough with milk versus water.) And cheese just makes it amazing!

"Breadsticks" - I'm too lazy to form the individual ones, so I press the dough into a pan and top it with spices and cheese.

 This whole meal (minus the buns, I guess, this time) on the grill.  Grilled curly fries - amazing!

 These deserve their own picture.  Bacon-wrapped green beans.  Fresh green beans, wrapped in bacon, sprinkled with brown sugar, garlic, and dry mustard (1/4 c sugar, 1 tsp each garlic and mustard).  SO GOOD.  Add a little water and cook for about 20 minutes, then take the foil off and cook until the bacon crisps up.  If my fall beans in the garden produce, I'm pretty sure this will be what I use all of them for.

Drooling.

Okay.  I need to get to bed.  That's a sampling of what I can think of that we've been up to lately.