Rick is off playing poker tonight, enjoying a much deserved night away to hang out with friends. I am home, already in bed (before 9pm) and all 4 of the kids are in bed (we are watching our niece again for the week). I'm enjoying a mostly quiet house- outside of the whispers and "Shhhhs" coming from the girls' room down the hall (hence the title of the post), the spin cycle on the washing machine, and the whoosh of the baby monitor.
... Well, so much for semi-silence. Riley's drapes (which weren't very sturdy to begin with) just fell (or were pulled down), causing a mini-crisis. Both girls crying (out of fear or guilt?) and Riley declaring, "My room is ruined!"...20 minutes later, after calming the girls down, I can finally settle back in for my "me" time, which will consist of me finishing this post and reading about 3.5 pages of the 7th Harry Potter book before I can't keep my eyes open any longer and crash. Probably with my glasses and the bedroom light on, too.
Had a garage sale today, so we had a very early start, and we'll do it all over again tomorrow. It feels so good to purge so many things that have been taking up precious space in our closets, drawers, 3rd car garage stall, and shed... Whatever doesn't sell will be shipped off to Goodwill first thing Monday morning. It never ceases to amaze me how much people will haggle and offer WAY less than the price marked... I mean, at least wait until the second day of a sale, when I'll be
much more willing to take a quarter for everything, then 1 hour after we open on the first day. Definitely the most difficult thing we've sold so far has been the entire bedding set and decorations we had for Riley's room when she was a baby... I nearly cried. Okay, I teared up a little bit.
Running with the new schedule has been going much better, which is good news because I dropped the $100 entry fee for the Portland Marathon a couple of days ago. No backing out now. I find it a little funny I was willing to PAY somebody else $100 to LET me run for nearly 5 hours- voluntarily. I've also been following along behind Rick in eating WAY too healthy. He started the P90X program on the 2nd, but I need to figure out a balance between the crap I was feeding myself before and the starvation I'm feeling most days while I deprive myself of carbs and all things yummy. I want to be supportive, but no Starbucks whenever I want it is pushing it a bit too far. :) But seriously, I don't think I've been eating enough carbs my body needs to recover from running so much, because I've been getting a little dizzy and feeling sort of weak, so a minor adjustment may be in order. I'm
certainly ready to say goodbye to these pesky 10 pounds that don't seem to want to leave my body since having Cooper.
I'm hoping Rick will let me post his before and after photos on here when he's all done with the 90 day program. He's working his butt off in the workouts everyday, so I'm really proud of him! (He even got up before 4am today to complete his workout before we had to set up for the garage sale- total dedication. Or he's just mental.)
Alright, off to put the smackdown on two little girls who are STILL awake- at 9:40pm!!!
Make that ONE little girl who is still awake:
"Mommy, I need a hug and kiss." "Mommy, I need to go potty." (which she did)Riley: "Mommy, I need cuddles." me: "Maybe tomorrow, it's too late tonight." Riley: cough, cough, "Mommy, I don't feel berry well. I think I need cuddles right now." me: (on the inside- AAAAHHHHH, I just want to read my freakin' book and go to sleep!!!), but really I cuddled with her for a few minutes.Somehow I don't think this is over... at least Cassidy is asleep. Riley is the lone holdout.
Current favs: 
He's a happy, healthy, growing boy!
Doesn't his face just say, "Get me outta here!" .jpg)
Clean teeth, some bubbles from the prize box, and alone time with mommy and daddy grocery shopping afterwards equals one happy little girl!
After playing outside in the heat and realizing Tyson was sweating like crazy under his hair, Rick decided it was time for a little buzz cut. So, last Monday night he pulled out the clippers and took Tyson to the garage... where he screamed bloody murder the entire time! Rick was worried the neighbors may call CPS or something. As soon as the clippers stopped, Tyson immediately stopped crying, looked at Rick and said, "Thank you daddy, for cutting my hair!" Then declared, "I look great!".jpg)
The kids were kept entertained during the car ride by watching movies on the our old iPhones.
First stop after setting up camp was the beach! The temps were HOT for the coast, around 90 degrees. Perfect day!
Of course, I was expecting cooler weather and didn't pack swimsuits... we had the white trash kids on the beach in their diapers because I didn't want a dirty stroller!
Playing in the sand with grandma and grandpa.
Cooper, enjoying the beach and warm weather, too!
One of the only photos of me from the trip... also to prove Cooper isn't ALWAYS stuck in the stroller.
Love baby feet in the sand!
Love dirty beach faces, too! Sand and snot do not mix! :)
Riley looking sweet.
Day 2 we visited the batteries at Fort Stevens.
The kids had fun climbing around in an Indian longhouse.
Rick and the kids.
"Driving" an old military jeep.
We made our way into Seaside for the afternoon to have lunch. Grandpa bought the kids their very first ice cream cones- mint chocolate chip, YUM!
What messy fun!!
Probably my favorite photo from the trip, taken on Rick's cell phone.
We planned to return to the beach, but the kids found digging around the campsite to be fun, too.
Riley was making some yummy "oatmeal".
While Tyson played on the fire pit, eventually falling in and getting ash everywhere... thank goodness for the bathtub in grandma and grandpa's fifth wheel!
I think Cooper liked camping.
We also fit in a quick bike ride around the trails at Fort Stevens.
