Does the Journey Seem Long?

Slowly, you get there.

Pound the pavement regularly enough and 5k becomes doable again. Hop on the bike day after day and the miles are no longer insurmountable. Swim enough mornings and even a land lubber like me begins to approach the needed distance.

Fifty-six days until the triathlon. I'm in a very different place than last year. Not as panicked, determined to better my time, and on my way.

North Carolina!

Our family just got back from a trip to North Carolina to see our son, Tough Guy and his sweet wife, Cutie-Pie. It was a fabulous trip and it got us to the ocean with our kids (something, I must admit we've never done before).

The sixteen hour car ride was a bit extreme for the five of us in our trusty Camry. But the kids (age 15, 12 and 6) were amazingly patient and it took only a quiet word from Dad to pull them back when things got out of hand. (Can someone tell me why Dad's word is law and Mom's word is ignored?)

We stayed on the military base (Cherry Point), which was cheap and an adventure! We gabbed and played with our fun son and daughter-in-law. We ate too much. We got sunburned at the beach, gathered lot's of shells, and made a spectacular sand castle (no pics of the beach, 'cuz there's no cheap way to get pictures off of my cell phone and I wasn't gonna get my camera full of sand).

We ate Carolina BBQ. Yum!

We explored a Civil War Fort.

We visited an aquarium. Where we:

pet the rays,

and a sea turtle,

and spent lots of time in front of the shark tank.

A brief look at one of the many things that kept the kids entertained during the 32 hours on the road. Who knew that carrots could be so entertaining!

And yes, we stopped in Metropolis on our way home!

We've only been home for three days and I already miss Tough Guy and Cutie-pie.

Good thing they're coming in July!!

Don'tcha just love summer!?

Git 'er dun!

I've blogged before about my abysmal organizational skills. Yet, hope springs eternal and as the seasons change, I feel the drive to make another attempt. Every year as school winds down, I find myself thinking, "I can't wait until school gets out, so we can get organized." (Which inevitably leads to August thoughts of, "I can't wait until school starts so we can get organized.")

I'm fickle when it comes to housework. I don't like it, I'm not great at it, and to be frank, I'd rather be doing almost anything else (blogging, playing games with my kids, having a root canal). And while I fully realize that my efforts will likely bear little fruit, I nevertheless feel that the struggle, the attempt, is important. Important personally, to wrestle a weakness. And important for my kids to see me try continually to overcome.

 Anyway, school's out, so it's time to make the attempt. One of my biggest problems with the kids and chores is accountability. We set up chores and establish rules such as, no screen time, playing with friends, or going to the pool until they're done. But, within a couple of weeks, it tends to fall apart.

We've tried chore charts before, with varying degrees of success, but this summer, we're trying it again. Hopefully, the visual reminder will help both Mom and kids.

I made the chart last night. Bright colors, this template, some scrapbook paper, ribbon, stickers, and popsicle sticks.  The sticks are green on one end and orange on the other and the kids will flip them over as they complete their morning chores.

I'm determined to make a go of it. And, worst case, we'll be a smidge better with the chart than without. A win in my book!