Waiting on the Falling Stars

Well. I am pretty certain that was the longest break in the history of this blog! I could say it's because we've just been having way too much fun enjoying summer and my absence from this space had everything to do with the fact that I've been sitting with my toes in the lake, soaking up the sun, and relaxing with all the books that are on my list to read... But then... Well, actually... let's just stick with that fantasy, shall we? It beats the real truth by a long stretch.

No really. It's not that bad. We have spent time enjoying the lake and the sunshine, I've just been a little busier than I would like with work so it's put a little twist into our weeks, but it's, uh, it's good. It's temporary. Any week now I should be back to my regular schedule... Or so I keep telling myself. Hah.

My kids are currently struggling to stay awake to see if they can spot some shooting stars tonight. H is doing the head-bob on the couch willing her eyes to stay open. Pretty sure she's going to miss out on this one. I'm also pretty sure they're expecting explosions of stars flying across the sky- L looked a little disappointed when I assured her they would have to watch very carefully to possibly spot a few. They keep questioning when the shooting stars are "starting". Hope them stars deliver.

After running to the camp the past couple of days, I didn't mind spending the day at home today doing the weekly catch-up. Laundry, floors, quick scrub through the bathrooms and wah-lah. Good to go for another week. I've never had high standards, but they're hitting an all time low this summer. Good enough for me, this season is too short!

My mom and I picked raspberries this morning. I've never picked raspberries before,so I was excited to stash them in the freezer, but now I want more. Oooh, are they good! I think I'll try to go again early next week before their season is over. And hopefully, with some luck, one of these days I'll turn them- and some strawberries- into jam. Missing my strawberry jam in a bad way.

And look at that- it's dark out. Time to go scope out those meteor showers!

July

And, Hello, July!

I'm enjoying a quiet morning here before the house gets too warm and stuffy (it's quickly approaching that point) and before the the first weekend in July moves fully into swing. Two of my kids spent the night at the camp with cousins- much to their delight, one is attempting a nap as she was kind of on the cranky side since the moment she got out of the crib this morning, and the other is wandering around, bored as can be, with her pink hello kitty bag asking over and over and over again when we are going to the camp.

This summer is picking up pace as the days go by. In early June we took the time to enjoy being outside- even if he weather wasn't always perfect. We pulled weeds from gardens, planted seeds, roasted marshmallows over bonfires in the backyard, and enjoyed those first fleeting days of summer- knowing how quickly the season tends to take off and leave us wondering why we never got to do half of the things we wanted to.

The second half of June passed in little more than a blink. We said good-bye to a dear uncle, one who touched so many of our lives. And we were reminded how faith and family remain the most important pieces of our lives. Without our faith, we are lost.   

This week, we've been spending time close to family, not staying in the house for more time than it takes to fill the sink full of dishes and throw another load of laundry through the wash. We've been to and from the camp many times this week- visiting, getting eaten alive by the bugs, and then ultimately enjoying the view of the big lake from the front porch over cups of coffee and great company.

And through all of the busy- run here, run there, don't forget the swimsuits and remember the juice cup for the baby- packing & unpacking to do it all over again the next day I am reminding myself to take the time to just appreciate moments. Continuing to take time when I can for reading, journaling, quiet moments snatched up after the kids are in bed or before they're awake.

I hope for you, you are finding gentle moments to appreciate summer and all the beauty it offers. And that you have a fantastic fourth of July weekend- whether it finds you camping with friends or spending time in your own backyard- enjoy!

So, we broke down and ordered up a trampoline a few days ago because we were feeling like our postage-stamp-sized backyard was feeling a little too roomy. Between the sandbox and the clothesline and the swing set... and the faded array of random sand toys that never actually stay in the sandbox we figured we should probably really cover up a little more of our very minimal square footage back there. And, now I can just wedge my lawn chair between the back steps and the clothesline, right behind the storage barn, and listen to my always cheerful and giggling children as they are provided with endless opportune hours of fun while I sip my coffee and blissfully read my book. Whhhhaaaaaaaaaatt?   

Speaking of backyard additions- our neighbor just finished constructing an eight foot wall on the side of their deck that faces our backyard. Apparently after 7 years they finally came to the conclusion that A) we are not going anywhere anytime real soon, B) our yard (and the dirty-faced children running around it screaming at the tops of their lungs) really puts a crimp in their summer entertaining style, C) our five foot tall fence really does not hide the mess from their view (and here I so very naively thought it did...) and D) no, we're probably never going to update the exterior of our home or our windows, nor will we ever actually get around to doing any sort of landscaping- much less mowing the lawn in a timely fashion.

Actually, I was amazed it took them so long to come up with that convenient solution. Let their summer grilling season begin! I do hate to inform though- unless they've come up with a solution to drown out the sound, no matter how high you build that wall you'll never block out noise coming out of our yard on a daily basis. The added bonus for me was- now I have no clue when they're out their sitting on their deck so I can stress a lot less. Before I used to at least try to keep the monkeys resembling human beings when I knew the neighbor's were sitting twenty feet away, but now I'll never know if they are there. Perfect.

Oh well. With some hope and if it is meant to be, someday we will be out of this house and this neighborhood. If not... well then, the other neighbors just might follow the wall-builder's lead. I give them a year to catch on. Hah. Just wait till I park the trampoline in the one corner of the yard their wall won't completely hide...now, won't that just throw them for a loop...

No, I didn't finish my dress...

So, apparently what I get for mentioning that I was thinking about making dresses was having to answer to the several people who asked about it. Um, oops. It was zooming along just fine- I was all excited because I've never sewn a dress for myself before- and then I ran into some, uh, issues. I was having difficulty lining things up in the back and I got really frustrated and I put it away and decided to take it back out when the danger of me destroying the whole thing had lifted. And that didn't happen any time last week. But I do want to finish it... Really.

Oh well. You should know be by now.

The wedding Saturday was so beautiful and the whole weekend was a lot of fun. Like always time passed in a blink, but while it was here, we enjoyed it. Being together with family makes me look forward to summer days ahead at the camp. Soon, I hope.

But before that, I have something else to look forward to. This weekend two of my bestest and I are making an escape to do some garage saling... A whole weekend of no kids, no husbands, no responsibility. Part of the fun is in the anticipation, I know, so I will be happily anticipating our getaway all week!

Eep. Just realized I should be planning a real supper tonight since my husband will be home. He's doing night shift all week which is weird because I'm so programmed for him to be gone in the afternoons. I don't switch gears very fast. Then again, I have to give a massage this afternoon so maybe I should leave the supper-making to him. He does a better job of that anyways. I'll just pretend I forgot.

Jack is FIVE

On Friday, Jack turned five, so this afternoon we had a little party for him. Five. Five! As in... kindergarten in the fall, growing up so fast, five. This little guy was so excited for his party today. He asked me for a spiderman cake. Um. Spiderman? How about a lake with some fish swimming in it instead? He like that idea too. Whew! Much easier.

As mentioned earlier, I finished the quilt for him. It really went together quick because I was not worried so much about everything lining up just so like I had been with Lydia's. In other words, don't look too close. He appreciated it and that's all that matters.

One of the things I love so much about this kid is that he really does appreciate everything. He loves to give, and he treasures anything that's given to him. He's very careful about protecting his toys, keeps close tabs on anything of his the girls might play with, and loves to make things for everyone else. He's inventive, creative, and has such a big heart. We love him so much, our little boy.

So happy that he had a fun day today. He waited patiently for his party, and didn't stop smiling the whole time... Happy 5th Birthday, Jack!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy, Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers I know... And most importantly to my own mother and my mother-in-law. Such amazing friendships I share with both of them.

Because I happened to be sick today and because Ryan worked today... it wasn't exactly the most exciting Mother's Day in history, but it was okay. Perhaps if my head didn't feel like it had been stuffed with cotton batting, and my nose didn't resemble a leaky faucet it, and just maybe if every other thing I did wasn't punctuated by a sneeze it could have been a bit better, but oh well. It is what it is and life goes on. The kids were-for the most part- decently behaved letting me spend most of the afternoon curled up on the couch with my book and not complaining over the cold cereal supper. Besides, I get my getaway in 17 days. Not that I'm counting down till my escape or anything.

The garage sale we had, albeit a success for the most part, might have been my last. I know. I say this every year, but this year I think I'm done for awhile. Too. Much. Stinkin. Work. Just possibly might have seemed more pronounced by the fact that this whopping cold was coming on for the past few days. Gee, Maaaaaybe.

I did, on Friday, receive a very sweet Mother's Day present from my oldest. A flower planted in a painted paper cup and a copy of their class cookbook. Here is the recipe my daughter submitted:

Ramen Noodles

First she puts some water, then she puts some noodles when it's starting to bubble.

Then, she um, gets all the water out and then after she gets all the water out she puts the sugar in.

And then she puts it in the bowls!



What can I say? I am a woman of high talent when it comes to cooking. Apparently I do ramen noodles really well, thank-you very much. She also wrote me a really sweet note all by herself, sounding out the words she didn't know. So very special!

Hope your day was wonderful!

(Oh, and p.s.: Spell check doesn't recognize 'Ramen'. Hello. The staple to lazy, er, busy moms everywhere? Cook much?  Sheesh.) 



May... {happy to see you, but how did you get here so fast?!}

A few days into May and I still feel stuck back in mid-April. The weather has helped out with that, as did a fun trip to visit our rellies for Easter. Today, however, was a beautiful day- sunshine and decent temps made it feel like spring. If only I could have slowed down considerably to enjoy it a bit more.

This weekend my sister and I are having a garage sale... which always seems like a good idea in March or so, but always becomes a rather large  and questionable project in the days leading up to it. I've been putting bags up in the attic all winter and when I pulled them down today I was kind of overwhelmed by the amount of stuff we had accumulated. It made me really refocus on my goal of simplifying things this year. Says the lady about to head out of town in couple of weeks for a girls garage sale weekend. Eh.

The other large project going on over here this week is my son's quilt. Yes, his birthday is next week. No, I did not start a month ago when I mentioned it. Yes, I only finished cutting the material on Monday, and you bet I plan to finish it by next week. He is, after all, waiting for a quilt. Yikes. This could get a little tricky. Thankfully it's not a difficult pattern and it's the same pattern I used for Lydia's. Which means I've been moving through it much quicker than I did for hers. And how can I not think of finishing it when he just came down and handed me an envelope saying, "Is it gonna be Mother's Day in the morning?" When I told him it wasn't until Sunday he just grinned and ran back up the stairs. Inside was a piece of paper with a heart drawn on it. So simple, so real, so exactly what melts a mother's heart.

And then... Hah. I won't even tell you what else I'm trying to slip in under the wire. I'm not planning to sew myself and Hannah a dress for the wedding next week. But you never know. Sometimes I think my life is defined by sprints. Will she finish in time, folks? The clock is ticking! I work good under pressure. If it's pressure determined by me, that is. But, oh well. Those last two things aren't that critical. Except that really they kind of are because I don't exactly have a dress. So unless I get ordering fast and just hope it fits perfectly- or happen to wander across something in our Massive Mega Mall- it could have the potential to become a slightly critical situation. But I'm not stressing about that. Yet. One day at a time, right?

Sidestepping away from the project scene, I'm finding myself suddenly very apprehensive of summer. I love summer, love the warm weather and the sunshine and the camp and everything else that comes rolling in when the calender flips over to June. But, this week I've had a taste of what I can expect living where we do.

The road we live on is not a main road, but a lot of people treat it like one. They fly. And I mean 45 miles-per-hour, not stopping for anything sail down our road. Teenagers, mostly. Cruising along with cigarettes hanging out of the windows and music blaring. And although we have a fenced in backyard specifically because of that, this year I have two kids who want to ride bikes constantly. Last year, when it was just Lydia doing the biking the majority of the time, I was a little more relaxed. By herself, she's more careful. But put two of them together? And they're distracted by the other constantly. And even though there's a large parking lot across the street that they ride in, I'm paranoid. Unless I am out there with them continuously- which shouldn't be a problem since I have nothing else to do, right?- I am constantly running to the window to check where they are.

Obviously we're going to have to limit when they bike so that one of us can be out there with them, but there's going to be two unhappy campers under our roof when they realize the freedom they assume they have this week is not going to last. I'm really considering getting a trampoline now. Something to entice them to stay in the yard a lot more. My always low blood pressure has taken a steep incline this week, I think. Something's gotta change.

And that's our current phase of life summed down to a few rather lengthy paragraphs. Hope you are enjoying spring sunshine and longer days!