Summer is...

Boats and Swimming, Barbeque's and Margaritas

HOT and Sticky

Busy and Boooring, Popsicles and Ice Cream

The Library and Catching Fireflies

Fireworks

Picnics and Bubbles

Ice Water, Pink Lemonade, and Strawberries

Long Naps, Good Books

Walks around the Block, Playing in the Sprinkler

Friends and Family

Sunglasses and Flip Flops and Stars in the Sky...

and I can't believe it's almost OVER. I go back to school in just a few weeks and the kids will return to full time daycare. It's been a jam packed few months and I can honestly say I have surprised myself! I have done well staying home with the kids. Granted, I have made sure we are always on the go, but I think I have done OK - NOT great - but OK. This may sound horrible, but I am a MUCH better mom to my kids when I am working. I like to work - especially part-time so that I have quality time with them when I am not. I LOVE my kids to end of the earth but I enjoy feeling productive outside the home. I like having adult conversations, and the social piece that comes along with working. Of course the grass is ALWAYS greener. When I am at work I miss my kids dearly and can't wait for the end of the day - but I know this is healthy for OUR family.

Seth has been gone the last couple of weeks and will be gone a few more. It's been hard. Kudos to single moms! I seriously don't know how you do it. I am so lucky to have my parents so close and nieces to babysit for next to nothing. They save me (and my kids - haha) in times like this - when Seth is gone for long spurts.

Last night I had a major meltdown. This morning I had a small one. Yesterday I locked my keys in the car. Lydia tests me over and over again (as any 4 year old does) until I almost explode. Zachary throws fit after fit after fit, screaming and kicking and throwing his little body around like a rag doll (as all two year olds do) when he doesn't get his way. The TV remote stopped working and the hatchback in my mini van won't stay up by itself anymore - making unloading $150 worth of groceries in 95 degree heat tons of FUN! I attempted mass this morning. I don't know why but I did. It SUCKED! We ended up leaving half way through. The shitty-est part of it all was that we were going to get donuts and smoothies after mass if they were good and they WEREN'T - so we skipped it. I don't know when I will learn to stop threatening consequences when it hurts me more than them! hahahaa. My mom has had Lydia for the day and she called me a few minutes ago laughing. She said, "Boy, have I gotten an earful about your weekend." Hahaha. I guess Lydia informed my mom that "Me and Mommy just need a little bit of time apart." Hmmmm. I wonder where she got that!

Anyhow...Seth will be home tomorrow (at least for a few days) and then on Wed. I am leaving to go on a girls trip with my mom and sister to Minneapolis to see my Aunt Pat. I can't wait!

In closing Lydia was INSISTING on getting her ears pierced yesterday. God love her. She was sooo excited! It was all going great until she saw the piercing gun out of the corner of her eyes. Oh well...She has decided that she wants to wait until she is older now.

I am so PROUD of YOU for trying LYDI BUG!!! Don't worry - Your day will come and it will be SO SPECIAL!

I LOVE YOU LYDIA AND ZACHY!

Alive and Well

We are.. I promise. It's been nuts around here. The kids are in daycare tomorrow so I may just have some free time to blog. That is after I cleanout the pantry, fridge and so on... haha. I have some cute pics to post. :)

WHAT are we going to do TODAY?

Kelly is talking about activities for kids today. It cracks me up b/c I could go on forever. I feel like we haven't slowed down since the day I got off for the summer. truthfully, I sort of dread the summer b/c the last several years have been soooo hard. The kids are a little older now though and this summer has been a lot more enjoyable.

I would lOVE to do some of the FUN activities I have read about on all the other sites but good heavens, we haven't slowed down long enough this summer to breath.

I have been taking Lydia to swim lessons for 2 years now to the best program in Nashville. The problem...It's in Nashville. I'm a big wimp b/c it takes (tops) 25 minutes to get there - we live in a suburb just outside the city. BUT...I got so sick of driving up there. So, I asked her swim lesson coach who i could contact in our area just for the summer. And she suggested we put her on our neighborhood SWIM TEAM! WHAT??? She's 4! She is BARELY 4! The swim team? Can she even swim? She looked at me like I had 4 heads and said "Of course she can swim!" So, hesitantly, I signed her up.

AND...

She's a FISH!

Here are some pics of her first meet - where she actually placed 4th in the backstroke with 5 and 6 year olds!

Excited it's HER turn!

Swimmer's Take Your Mark...

Get Set Go!

Taking a break for a breath and a smile!

FINISH!

Here's the kicker... I chose to put her on our neighborhood swim team b/c I was tired of the commitment of driving into Nashville. Oh Good Lord. Swim team is 100x's that wienie drive. She has practice EVERY DAY! And the meets are roughly once a week! So, the jokes on me I suppose. Although, she LOVES it. She is learning so much and building endurance and we have met lots of great new neighbors. It's worth it.

Lately, when we have not been at the pool, we are dance and dress rehearsal for the recital on Saturday. I have one BUSY 4 year old! Her recital is tomorrow - AT LAST and then at least we will slow down a little.

Then we can get back to the things we love to do in the summer. Here are some of the things I have done with the kids that last couple summers to stay busy...

• The Local Library - Ours has Toddler and Preschool times where they read stories, sing songs and make some sort of craft. It's AWESOME and takes at least an hour! haha.
• The Mall Playground - It's INDOORS and they love it! - then we usually go to the food court and to eat lunch. This takes the "what am i going to feed them for lunch" and the messy kitchen clean up out of the equation.
• Bowling - Our bowling alley has 1 free game per kid all summer long. We meet some friends and let the kids have fun. And...if you can get enough people together you can drag a free game out for a Loooong time. hehe.
• Chuck E Cheese - I love this place for several reasons but mostly b/c they serve BEER! Haha. j/k...(sort of) But also b/c you can get tons of coupons and feed and entertain the kids for hours at this joint. If you can handle the chaos, you can kill more than an hour here!
• Oh, and I almost forgot...Check out your local movie theatre. Many around us offer free (or next to nothing) children's movies during the day (typically morning hours). We haven't gotten a chance to do that yet this summer, but intend too.

Ok, are you getting the feeling I do not enjoy my LONG summer days at home with my kids - B/C you would be wrong. I DO - BUT only if we can stay VERY busy. I am really good at filling up the mornings up until nap time. What I struggle with is the witch hours of 3 - 5:30ish...Does any one else wish these hours away. Man, I do!

That's my contribution. Thanks Kelly and everyone out there with great ideas!

An ALL Afternoon Affair

I swear - for me...changing pictures on this damn blog is like rocket science. It has taken me HOURS!

Why am I so terribly bad at it? I don't know. Perhaps it has something to do with my absolute blog neglection.

I promise I will be back. - That's a promise to myself. Haaaa.

I really don't have much to say today soooo Here it is...

Stolen from Adorable BB

If I were a month, I’d be October.
If I were a day of the week, I’d be a Friday.
If I were a time of day, I’d be 8:00AM.
If I were a planet, I’d be Earth.
If I were a sea animal, I’d be a dolphin.
If I were a direction, I’d be West.
If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be an ottoman.
If I were a liquid, I’d be water.
If I were a gemstone, I’d be a garnet.
If I were a tree, I’d be a dogwood.
If I were a tool, I’d be a screwdriver.
If I were a flower, I’d be a tulip.
If I were a kind of weather, I’d be a crisp fall day.
If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a piano.
If I were a color, I’d be lavender.
If I were an emotion, I’d be hope.
If I were a fruit, I’d be a pineapple.
If I were a sound, I’d be a happy cheer.
If I were an element, I’d be oxygen.
If I were a car, I’d be a convertible.
If I were a food, I’d be a chocolate cake.
If I were a place I'd be a HOME.
If I were a material, I’d be corduroy.
If I were a taste, I’d be a blueberry.
If I were a scent, I’d be crisp fresh linens.
If I were an object, I’d be a blanket.
If I were a body part, I’d be the heart.
If I were a facial expression, I’d be a smile.
If I were a song, I’d be a written by Billy Joel.
If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be flip flops.

Kindness

Kelly's Blog encourages us to tell or share acts of kindness. And I can't wait to share this story with you.

I LOVE random acts of kindness. They make my heart HAPPY. Ok, here goes...

Story# 1

So, I was in college. It was the end of spring semester and I cam home. Well, when you come home from college and all your old HS friends are home what do you do? You go out and DRINK. You go out and drink with the fake ID's that you so proudly acquired while attending college. SWEET! -So, I met my friends out at the most awesome place in Nashville - San Antonio Taco Co. YUUMMMM. My mouth is watering as I type. Anyhow...here we were. The gang was back together again. I don't know if you remember, b/c I barely do...but at the end of the semester in college, you could sell all of the text books (that you never cracked) for at least 1/3 of the ridiculous price that you paid for it. So - ALL of us prepared with our fake ID's and a tiny bit of cash, we were living it up at SATCO! It was FUN! Until I got home and realized that I had LOST my wallet. And in my wallet was my FAKE ID and MY CASH - both - happened to be my absolute PRIDE and POSSESSION at the time. SHIT!!!!!

So, here I was...home for the summer with NO money, but more importantly NO ID. CRAP!

*Now, judge here if you want, but I was a COLLEGE student. And if you didn't get to experience these things...well... then you are just jealous and will judge me. ;) I am ok with that. hehe.

Carrying on...about three weeks later my Mom brings me a small package and says..."This just came for you in the mail." I was confused and ripped into it like it was the barbie I wanted so badly for Christmas every year (My mom never let me play with barbies. She didn't like dolls that had hair! Huh??? I know, I don't get it either...).

Anyhow...IT WAS MY WALLET!! With EVERYTHING still in it - even my fake identification. I would have been happy with just that, but there was also a cashier's check with a note. I will never forget what it said.

"Times were hard and I had to borrow some money. Things are better now and I can afford to pay you back with a littel bit of interest." -Signed Annonymous.

I don't remember the exact amount that I lost or the amount of the cashiers check, but I do know that it was about 20.00 more than I had in my wallet. And sure enough I went to the bank and the cashiers check was vaild. Whoever NEEDED that money more than me at the time is my hero. Not only did he/she take the time and care to send my wallet with everything back to me, BUT pay me back with a bonus.

That takes class. And we all fall on hard times. I love this story!

Story #2 to come. It's all about My Hermy and but I have to emotionally redy for that.

Vacay 2010

We are home finally home from the most amazingly wonderful family vacation ever! After having to abort all of our previous plans (for various reasons), we chose to go to ClubMed in Port St. Lucie, Fl. It was an absolute GREAT TIME! I wish we would have gotten more pictures, but so is life. We have our memories and that's what counts!
Here are just a few to share...
We're on our Way! - Lydi living it up on the plane.

The boys enjoying the sights from way up high
Some views of and around the resort



Still in her jammies, but READY to SWIM!

The kids LOVED the beach!




The Uber Awesome sandcastle Daddy and the kids built

My Boys! Oh how I love them so!