Top o' the mornin' to ya - that's Irish for 'good morning' :) Just finished my second double-maybe-triple-caffeinated coffee, the sun is shining, house is quiet (except for my tunes)....Monday morning and all is well. It's truly amazing what a bit of sunshine can do. Seriously, as I mentioned last time, the weather here has been incredible for the last two weeks. Such a mild winter I have definitely not experienced here, and this is my tenth. Bill took the kids to the thermal baths yesterday, and although it's not uncommon to be sitting outside in the pools in January, it was unusually warm and very pleasant. Now if it will just freeze for the third week in February so we can ski we will be in business. We are hitting the sports store after school today to look for skis for the boys. I go back and forth about whether it makes sense to buy them skis, but since Riley will pass to Liam and he will pass them to Keira, we've decided to give it a shot. We are trying to get at least two weeks of skiing in each season, which adds up if we keep renting.

Bill just left the house for a bunch of meetings today and then he's off to the US tomorrow. Funny, he hasn't been home for even a day since the new year. Perhaps thats for the best :) I am not terribly excited about being on my own for three weeks, but I'm sure it will come and go in a blink like everything. His mom and dad are really excited for him to come and visit, and I know that they need him at the moment more than we do. Plus, poor guy, he will be able to bring back lots of yummy weight watchers snacks that I can't buy here :)

Weighed in this morning, 6.5 pounds down from last Monday. That would be very impressive, however my colonoscopy last Tuesday accounts for probably 3.5 of those pounds. Hey, I'll take it where I can get it, and truth be told that was a perfect way to start off my diet (sorry if it's too much information). There's nothing worse than busting your butt and eating like a bird for a week only to lose 1/2 pound. I need to kick up the activity part a notch, but just haven't found the time/place to do that. Exercising is right up there with root canals on my list of favorite things, but from previous experience I know that without it, the process of shedding the pounds is much more painful. Also integral to the mission, finding creative ways to use my 25 'points' each day. Last night for dinner, while the boys were eating big juicy cheeseburgers, I was chowing down on 'BBQ Chicken Snacks', which are comprised of chicken, red onion, bbq sauce, and a sliver of cheese, piled high on a rice cake. It actually wasn't as bad as it sounds. Just have to keep dreaming about those size 10 jeans. That may be a bit agressive, will shoot first for a size 12. Oh, and dream of the possibility that I might actually put on a bathing suit and not gag :)

Need to run some errands and get the guys from school, finish later....

8:30am Tuesday.
...or tomorrow. I'm not quite as chipper this morning, somehow the departure didn't go quite as well this morning. Keira always picks me up, though, on the ride to her nursery. She is going swimming today and is very happy about it. Yesterday the whole nursery went to the 'big TV' (movie theater) to see Ice Age 2, which she's seen ten times but was nonetheless as thrilled as the first. Next Monday they go into Budapest to the puppet theater. Rough life, eh? Just wish she wanted to stay home with me occasionally.

We had Keira's birthday party on Saturday, which was hailed by all as a great success. All the mommies ended up staying, which made things much easier. Keira's best buddy Mia stayed all day, then slept over, so they had a ball. Bill grilled burgers and chicken, as it was 15 degrees (C) outside. Keira's boyfriend Boti was number one on the guest list. He brought her a bunch of roses and a framed picture of himself. Ah, young love. I am uploading some pictures today to the photo blog.(http://mcgannphotos2006.blogspot.com/).

I am starting up the scrapbooking classes again today after a long holiday break, so I really need to go and get organized. I have two ladies this morning from 9-11:30 and three more from 11:30-2:30. Will still do one for the kids Wednesday afternoon, and maybe Saturday morning. Trying to get myself motivated to get back to my own projects, somehow I just never make the time for it at the moment.

Anyway, have a good week, will post again soon.
K.