Kid Day

When I was growing up, my mom took us kids on an outing once each week, every week of the summer.  We dubbed it "Kid Day," and we loved it.  There was only one rule:  nobody except the four of us.  No friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, relatives, pets.  It was one day each week that we spent together, doing something we didn't get to do during the school year.  Our very first one was at the grounds of a local estate.  We had a picnic and fed the fish in the koi pond.  When that was relatively successful, my mom felt brave enough to venture further out.  Over the years we went to Indian villages, the beach of a local lake, and other places that have faded into my memory.  We'd load up in the morning, drive to the location, and spend all day there.  Then we'd pile into the van again and come home happy and tired.  No wonder my mom loved it.

I tried to start Kid Day with our three the summer Addie turned 1, but it was too hard to lug the double stroller everywhere.  Grayson was only 2, and he's not a big fan of walking, so I'd have to push that gigantic thing, loaded down with two diaper bags, and it just wasn't worth it.  Now we're a lot more mobile--everybody walks, and the umbrella stroller is only brought for when somebody needs to be restrained.  Typically that's Addie.  So this year seems like a good year to start.

Yesterday, after an impromptu walk because it was only 80 degrees (In June!  In Texas!  A miracle!!), I felt brave.  "C'mon, guys, let's go on an outing!"  We drove to Cabela's, a gigantic outdoor/hunting/fishing place, and started off with lunch in their cafe.  We plotted on a napkin what we'd like to do for future Kid Days, and after lunch we walked around, looking at all the dead wildlife.  The boys thought it was awesome, although Addie was terrified of the buffalo head.  Then we went through the "Big Country"wildlife museum , followed by the museum of elephants, zebras, lions, and the like.  Addie didn't love that one, either, but the boys sure did.  They walked around with their pop guns, shooting the dead animals.  Nice.  Then we saw a polar bear, some kind of yak-type animal, and wolves up close, and finished it off with spending about 30 minutes in the aquarium.  The kids were so mesmerized by the turtles that the aquarium manager came out and gave them a quick lesson on turtles.  After buying life jackets and new Crocs, we went home.  The kids were happy and exhausted, and I chalk that up as a success.

They don't know it yet, but we're having double Kid Days for the next two weeks--later this week I'm taking them to see my parents at their lakehouse, and I think it's safe to say that'll be their favorite Kid Day of the summer.  Next week I'm taking them to our church's camp to spend the day while Pace speaks to the youth, and then we'll have another shorter outing later on.

My favorite part about Kid Day is not even spending the entire day doing something out of the ordinary and fun, but knowing that when my kids grow up and have children, there's a good chance they'll carry on the tradition.  My own memories of Kid Day are so sweet, and I hope my three feel the same way.  It makes all the work worth it.

Summer Dreaming

Summer is fully upon us, and with ten weeks to go, I'm soaking up the knowledge that my house will be:

A. Fully organized,

B. With all necessary curtains sewn,

C.  The school room redone and ready for school,

D. Including the Closet of Terrors that holds school stuff and too many toys,

E. And I'll have knit a cardigan,

F. Quilted a quilt,

G. Sewn pajamas,

H. Cleaned the house to sparkling,

I.  Taken the children on weekly, meaningful outings,

J.  And scheduled a weekly time to write my grandmothers letters.

I wish.

That would require a personality change, and it's not likely to happen.  So instead, I'm hoping to:

A.  Clean the Closet of Terrors (hereafter COT)

B.  And write a letter to each of my grandmothers.

There.  Much more attainable.

Think how lousy I'm going to feel if I don't at least accomplish that.

No, don't think about that.

Because it might not happen.  The COT is pretty terrible.

Maybe if I make it through the summer without melting in this heat, I should just chalk that up as a major accomplishment,

And call it a day.

Backyard Follies

Stubborn is as stubborn does. My bet's on the boy.Francine takes the spot of "Favorite Chicken" since Princess Sweet Pea is no longer with us.  Lucky Francine.  
Like I said, lucky.  Not too many chickens get to swing on the tire swing with a 7 year old.  Not that many probably want to.  But she's not chicken.
My guess is, he's pondering which pet can be the next swing guinea pig.
And she doesn't care what they do, as long as they push her high and fast.  She's an adrenaline junky.  Like Francine.

Seasonal Depression

I think most people get this in the gray of winter, but mine hits sometime mid-June or so. The thought of facing long weeks of 100+ temperatures, day in and day out, gets me downright blue. I'm already dreaming of fall, which is indicative that I'm a self-abuser, because "fall" doesn't arrive until well into October. Or November, some years. That's a long way off.

I'm combating the heat wave this year with a three-pronged approach:

1. Don't go outside between the hours of 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.
2. Don't wear shoes unless absolutely necessary. By following #1 above, shoes aren't very necessary.
3. Stand staring into the refrigerator multiple times during the day, pretending I'm thinking about what to cook, so the kids don't catch on and suck up all the cold air.

I think I can make it until October. Only 74 more days to go.

Terms for the Dictionary

Some items to add to our personal family dictionary:

A. Reappearing Cat Syndrome--adj. Term used to describe a cat that fully disappears into thin air, only to reappear nearly a week later, after being appropriately mourned. You know that song, "The Cat Came Back"? Well, she did. Five days after our cat "got eaten by a raccoon," she mysteriously reappeared under our deck. Grayson, nonchalant as always, gestured toward the deck and said, with utterly no fanfare, "Hey, look. It's the cat." As if it weren't a miracle, and as if it hadn't been five days with no sign of her. We were all relieved, greatly, especially since that means O.C. was probably not raccoon kibble either, but is rather living it up in a neighbor's house. We can also now face at church the family who gave her to us.

B. Crazy Lab Syndrome-adj. Term used to describe the two different types of labradors, i.e. "Regular Labs," who calm down after 2 or 3 years and become nice, normal pets, and "Crazy Labs," who never calm down and always remain insane, chewing, jumping, hyper disasters. Shadow was officially diagnosed with CLS by my vet, although it wasn't much of a shock. Hooray for me. Ironically, he's not the one with thunderstorm anxiety.

C. Thunderstorm Anxiety-adj. Term used to describe a 90 pound golden retriever who tries to hide in the smallest possible space upon the merest hint of rain. Favorite spots are: inside the children's bathtub, achieved only after slicing custom bath curtain to shreds; inside the front-loading washer, achieved only after chewing out the rubber gasket; my closet, achieved only after destroying the lower shelving in an effort to hide inside my shoe. Solution: daily doses of melatonin to chill him out, and larger doses of anti-anxiety drugs if clouds happen to pass in the horizon.

Well, at least I can say my life is educational.

Serene

I told Bridget Wednesday afternoon that I was going to live a new, serene life. I think she laughed hysterically at me, and I wondered if I'd get struck by lightning for claiming such a thing.

And I was, so to speak--a couple hours later a tornado passed through the area and our electricity was out for over 24 hours. And we had a house guest. From D.C., where they don't have tornadoes. And it's June in Texas, which means it's too hot for no electricity. The next morning, on my way to Bible study, I got drenched to the skin from my waist down running through the thunderstorm that lasted 18 hours unabated. That afternoon, I took both dogs (170 pounds total) and the three kids to the vet to discuss Crazy Lab Syndrome (my vet's actual words) and Thunderstorm Anxiety. $400 poorer, and suffering from noise fatigue from the kids, I drove back home to my hot house with no light and defrosting refrigerators. So much for serene.

But today? Today it's Saturday, and the air is cranked down to a very expensively low number, and the dogs are drugged for the next round of thunderstorms which are supposed to arrive tonight. I've spent the afternoon sewing, clearing a path in my sewing room (Does anybody else stack projects on every possible surface?), and eating oatmeal cookies. Today is much better. Much serener, if you will. But I won't--won't say the "s" word, actually, just in case lightning strikes twice.

Afternoon Shadows

Everything is always prettier in the afternoon shadows!

Fried Green Tomatoes, Anyone?

This tomato may be tiny, but it holds serious power--Caiden is mesmerized with our tomato plants, enough that he ferreted the camera during naptime for a covert tomato photo shoot.  

There are about 20 of them growing in our garden, in every size from beefsteak for me and Gray to eat with nothing but salt and a fork, to oblong Romas, perfect for homemade salsa. Funny thing is, Caiden doesn't even like tomatoes.

Beauty on the Bench

This is my first experience growing purple sweet potato vine, and I'm in love with it already.

Caiden Saves a Turtle

The other day I drove over a turtle, and in the rearview mirror I noticed a little head sticking up, wondering what went by.  I turned the car around and asked Caiden if he'd like to be somebody's hero.  He happily rescued the turtle, who was the size of a tea plate, and we all crouched by the road, bestowing on it good wishes for a happy (and roadless) future.  We were right in time; just as he moved the turtle off the road, several cars came flying by.  Lucky turtle.

Yesterday I sewed a skirt for myself, in honor of "our" turtle:

Lucky me!

A Little Shed

Here it is, before:

And with one slight improvement:

Plans are brewing in my head for shutters, window boxes, curtains.  All I need are some paint chip samples and free labor (my children), and by next week we'll have not a little shed, but a little playhouse.  I hope.

Happenings

A lot has gone on around here, considering we're on "vacation."  We went to Canton Sunday afternoon--Texans know what Canton is, and the rest are missing out!  Largest flea market in the U.S., with fantastic corn dogs to boot.  My husband, who preached this weekend with the stomach flu, decided on a whim that we should go right after services let out.  (No wonder I love him deeply.)  By the end of the afternoon, he was ready for Cuban food for dinner.  That man has a stomach of steel.  We found lots of things for the boys' bedroom, which has remained undecorated and uninspiring since our move last year.

On Wednesday I went out for an afternoon by myself and drove straight to a quilting store, followed by a yarn store with so much yarn I walked around with my mouth open, looking completely ridiculous.  I came home with bags of fabric and a couple knitting projects (How did that happen?  I only went in to look!).  I'm making the boys matching Bento Box quilts for their beds, and I also saw some George Washington fabric to make Grayson pajama shorts from.  He has a thing for the Revolution.  Now his nighttime attire can match.

Yesterday we realized our new cat is missing, and after doing some detective work, we've come to the realization that a raccoon is hunting our cats.  O.C., rest in peace.  So Pace has a friend bringing us a raccoon trap, and that should be interesting.  I try not to think about a 30 pound night creature carrying off my cats.  Seeing the food chain in action makes me want to give up meat.  Except that I really like hamburgers.

So today is Friday, with not much on the list except to buy something to make for dinner (Yes, I'll post that pasta recipe really soon!), and do some laundry.  And maybe sew a little.  Or a lot, if I can convince Addie to take a really long nap!  My quilt is almost fully pieced, and I'm toying with the idea of hand quilting it.  I know it'll take me forever to finish it, but do I really want to hurry, just so it's finished?  I can't decide.  If you hand quilt, what do you think?  And then there's fabric for a few skirts, and summer pajamas for the kids, and . . .  My project list is overwhelming.  

Speaking of projects, we have a little shed used to store Christmas decor, and I want to paint it and convert it into a playhouse.  I asked the kids what color I should paint it, and the majority voted for barn red, although Addie's request was pink.  She got booed by the boys, poor thing.  I'm going to start on it next week, in my spare time (When I'm sleeping?  Bathing?  Eating?  When, I have no idea.).  It's a small shed, so I hope to have it done by week's end.  I have images of shutters, window boxes, curtains.  I'm my own worst enemy!  But it sure will be cute when it's done.  :)

So that's what's going on around here.  A little of this, a little of that.  Happy times.

Vacation

Pace is off much of this week, so we're in full-vacation mode:

• A crepes bar for breakfast, which earned me Domestic Diva status in Caiden's eyes

• A lazy morning with thunderstorms, pajamas, and coffee

• An afternoon movie with the kids

• Maybe some sewing, if I can sneak upstairs unnoticed

I'd planned on getting lots done this week, since it's officially June and not Mellow May anymore.  Looks like I'm going to be mellow for one week more.  Oh, well. Productivity might be overrated :)

Best Ever Muffins

I'm working myself into the habit of a Saturday baking day.  (Thank you, Home Comforts.)  One of the fastest ways to make everyone in the house happy is to serve homemade muffins for breakfast.  Each Saturday, I make three different kinds, two dozen each, then freeze them.  We don't go through that many in a week, so I have a stockpile building up.

This week I made these, and they've won the prize of "Best Ever Muffins" in our house:

Gingerbread Muffins

(Makes about 3 dozen muffins)

3 eggs

1 c. molasses*

1 c. brown sugar**

3 1/2 c. flour

1 T. baking soda

1 T. ground cloves

1 T. ground ginger

2 sticks unsalted butter, melted

1 c. hot water

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.  

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease muffin tins, then spoon batter into muffin cups.  Bake for 20-25 min.  Let cool a few minutes, then serve warm.

I read that these are from a 1930s recipe for "convenience foods."  The batter keeps for weeks in the fridge, or you can, like I did, make all three dozen at once and freeze portions for later.  Bring them to room temperature before serving.

This would also make a delicious quick bread; pour into a greased loaf pan and up the cooking time to around an hour or so.  Enjoy!

*I ran out, so I used maple syrup in addition to the molasses.

**I used turbinado sugar ("Sugar in the Raw") instead of brown sugar.