...to share some random tidbits

...since the days seem to be getting away from me lately

1.  I have had a cold.  I am a baby when I have a cold.  I can barely stay awake until I get all the kids to bed...much less any later to work on my blog.

2.  We recently upgraded our bed to this...

King.  Fluff.  Ahhh.

So you can see why I can't wait to go to bed!  

The best part...when Mark gets out of bed at the ridiculous times that he does...I don't even notice.

If I had known how soundly I have been sleeping, we would have bought a new mattress long ago.

3.  I cleaned the garage this weekend.  Well, really my game cabinet area.

Mark was sweet to sit outside and work next to me while I worked.

I wish he hadn't...

I wish he hadn't been sitting right there next to me when the FedEX man delivered a package to me.  While I was standing next to my game-shelf-area.  The area that looked like Hasbro company exploded in my garage...

You guessed it.  The package contained a.new.game.

4.  I have been lucky at the thrift shop lately.  I caught William admiring my loot.  Five silver platters and a cool vintage cart...

$3.50

Nope.  He had not been, nor was he scheduled to go, swimming.

5.  There is no such thing as bed time in our house.

The kids have been doing a lot of this lately...

They might look calm, and sweet, and relaxed...

Don't let them fool you.

...to go to the beach

...for the first time this summer!

Yes.

Really.

And summer's official end is less than two weeks away.

FYI...They don't mess around up here in the North.  Come Labor Day weekend...the ice cream parlors board up, the beaches close, and the ear muffs come out.

It just hasn't been a traditional hot summer.  The days have been beautiful but cool.  Generally, the temperatures barely reach 80.  But today the weather was predicted to hit 82!

Because I was so excited to have a day 'warm enough' to finally head to the beach (remember just how cold the water is way here up in the North) that I forgot to calculate the temperature difference between the coastal and inland areas.  Quite possibly it was more than 10 degrees today.

Chill-ly.  AND windy.

No matter.

We enjoyed ourselves until all the little lips were blue and the all the little ears were filled with sand.

They did a little digging...

A little water testing...

A tiny bit of frolicking...

Posing...

Helping...

Feeding...

Flirting...

Eating...

And sandcastle building...

But alas...barely any swimming.

Maybe next time.

...to share a few projects...

...that I did while Mark was on leave...


Before:

After (a little brighter):

Before:

After (a lot more polished...and with a new seat):

I have been searching Craigslist and sifting through thrift shops for a new project.

I have a few ideas of things that I 'need'...

Patience.  Mostly.  (Because I am not willing to spend very much money.)

The right object to pop up (like a vintage card catalog that's significantly less than the $500 price tags I am seeing).

And Mark around to say things like, "Are you kidding me?"; "Where exactly are we going to put that?"; and , "For every one item that comes in three have to go out!".

...to have a sleepover

...well...to have the kids enjoy hosting their friends for a sleepover.

As I write this, there are ten children here at my house with me (although only seven are actually sleeping here).

Why yes, I do have a drink in my hand.

But no...I haven't had 'too many'.  I made a fully coherent choice to have this many children here.

Would you believe me if I told you hosting ten was easier than letting only one of my children have a sleepover at a time?

Seriously.

A few photos to illustrate my point...

All the silence has cost me is two pizzas, gatorade, and a box of ice-cream bars.

Oh yes...and my own bottle of wine.

Mark is away for the weekend and we try to capture as much quality family time as we can when he is around.  And sleepovers...we don't have them too often when he is home.  I took this opportunity to indulge the kids a bit.  

Well...it's movie time.

If you'll excuse me I need to get to my wine and my own quiet time.  

...to watch the Syracuse football team

...play a scrimmage.

I am not sure that any of us did a lot of 'watching' football...

But we did a tackle:

watched the Syracuse cheerleaders...

played some frisbee...

got some face painting done (by the cheerleaders)...

And then we had a photo with the mascot...

some wrestling...

some chatting...

some more wrestling...

and some autograph getting...

What a fun way to spend a few hours this evening!

...to show a bit of what I miss

...from the days of Mark's leave...

Isn't this a sweet photo:

Minus the junk in the yard and minus the sweatshirt, jeans, and cup-of-hot-coffee in mid-July...

I loved that I captured this moment:  Timber cozied up near Mark while he studies.

Always the companion.

Even at 15 1/2 years old.

Mark's best friend.

...to get back on schedule

...because I like routine.

I like predictability.

I like to check things off of a list.

Our summer has been anything but routine or consistent.

We have had a great one for sure.  The beginning we spent in Michigan, the bulk we have spent spending time as a family, and then last week we took a short visit to see some friends.

This is the week to trying to find a sense of 'normal'.

The things that will find their way back into routine are:

bedtimes
chores
the menu (and actually following it)
reading (as in real books...not video game menus)

Today was off to a great start....

Me:  "Will, why are you up so early?"  (Startled to see William sitting on the couch at 7 a.m. this morning.)

Will:  (matter-of-factly)  "Because on my schedule it says that I need to practice my guitar from 7:30-8:00 and...I also thought I would get my 30 minutes of reading done as well."

No. Kidding.

He craves routine even more than the rest of us.

Noted.

(Disclaimer:  I did not create the practice schedule for Will.  He created it himself, this past weekend, after talking with Mark about practicing more consistently.)