what a difference a week makes!

whew! this past week has gone by so fast, and now summer's almost over.

ivy finished up her swimming, and all this week has been asking if it's time for swimming! lol i was definitely ready for it to be over, after 5 days a week, for 6 weeks. she starts up kindergarten, right after Labor Day. conveniently, that's when collin's preschool also starts up. if anyone has any suggestions on how to get her to wake up earlier/go to bed earlier so she can get to school on time, without sleeping in, i would LOVE to hear about that! we have just shy of 2 weeks.

andrew has moved out of his crib to the futon mattress & bottom bunk bed. the futon mattress is on the floor. when i put him in the bottom bunk bed, he climbs down and goes to the futon mattress. i took the crib apart late last week, so we could have more walking room in the boys' room. he doesn't seem to prefer either while being put down to sleep(for naps & bedtime). he will literally not sleep at nap & stay up late at bedtime--rather cuddle than sleep in a "bigger boy" bed, which is making me rethink this choice. ivy moved from her crib to the futon mattress when she was about 18 months, since collin was going to need it(they're 20 months apart). i don't remember how old collin was when he moved out of the crib. i think close to the same age, because he kept climbing out. something i'll have to check with @ andrew's dr. visit today.

i've been busy cleaning & rearranging our patio--to make room for a new to us treadmill(used, on craigslist, so i can run/jog/walk in the mornings before everyone gets up, after tom's deployed).

our desk, lovingly dubbed "the bomb shelter" got the boot, after about 8 years. we got it a little bit after we were married, from one of tom's uncles. we call it the "bomb shelter", since it is built very sturdy, all metal, and weighed easily over 200 lbs. it was a lot of work, but i managed to get it out of the house to the front yard w/the help of a dolly...then a branch on the peach tree bumped it, and it fell upside down. this was all while tom was at work. i stuck a couple "Free" signs on it. i was very surprised i didn't hear whoever got it(just since it's like a 2-3 person job to move it), but it was gone within a couple hours of me putting it out there. today my arms are bruised from it. the "bomb shelter" got replaced with a small file cabinet that's sitting on a metal frame w/wheels--much easier to move.

i need to go thru photos today, but i bet i have one of the "bomb shelter". this is its replacement:




the new to us treadmill took some work getting into the house. fortunately, the missionaries were riding past our house, while we were trying to call around last night to see who could help us unload it out of the van. we had to got thru the side gate to the backyard, and then disassemble some parts first so it could fit thru the door.

i put it back together while tom was watching some of the Olympics, and tried it out this morning while everyone was still sleeping. it's got some good cushioning, so much that when i ran i couldn't feel it in my knees, like i do out on the sidewalks. it's got a spot for me to plug in my mp3 player, so i can listen to music on it's speakers, if i want to. i tried out the fan it has, to help cool me down when i was sweating buckets. anyway, i'm excited for this. gives mommy a little more energy & makes her a lot less grumpy.