Summer is going to kill me

Please remind me tomorrow, when I wake up and can't move a muscle to get out of bed, that the cause of my temporary disability is due to all the "fun" that was had at the water park today.

The children had FUN. I had "fun," mainly because there were 68 stairs up to the platform that housed the starting point of the 2 water slides. And because we climbed up that set of stairs approximately 184 times, only to be deposited right back down where we started.

My math skills may be rusty, but my mental calculations tell me that 68 x 184 = 2,476,423 steps (when you take into consideration that the amount of effort it took to climb those steps increased exponentially with each subsequent trip).

My quads say that number feels just about right.

Linky Love 07.06.10

If you're looking for a fun thing to do with your kiddos this summer, this 30 minute jam recipe from Sandy at Reluctant Entertainer will fit the bill. We made this today (although I don't think I used the right kind of pectin, so we have some delightful strawberry syrup) and the kids loved it! It's so easy, despite my own stupidity.

In light of our own recent celebrations of freedom, please do not forget that slavery is still alive and thriving, even in our own "free" country. You can find out more about the tragedy of human trafficking here. You can also support businesses like Sari Bari whose mission is to help women rescued from slavery make a living wage.

Finally my newest blog discovery is Style Your Life. She has great outfit ideas and most of them are so affordable!

Enjoy!

Independence

When we lived in a different town Fourth of July was quickly becoming my second favorite holiday, just behind Christmas. Since we moved to a town where most of the people we know are students who don't profess to consider our city "home" July 4th has been a wee bit lackluster. This year being no exception.

We worshiped at church in the morning followed by our monthly fellowship meal with the congregation. My contribution to lunch was the traditional 4th of July meal of pizza casserole, minus the pepperonis which, although purchased just yesterday, had already gone bad.

After church, Jason and his buddy went fishing while the children and I took a nap and then I tried (unsuccessfully) to convince them that inside voices are a Good Thing when you are playing INSIDE. My ulterior motive was to keep the noise level down to an appropriate decibel so that I could watch the Criminal Minds marathon I DVR-ed on A&E without turning the TV up so loud that it drew their attention.

We had leftovers for dinner, and when J got home we set out to watch the fireworks. When we got to our usual spot (and by "usual" I mean the same place we watched them last year) at the parking garage and were saddened to discover that the police were not allowing cars to actually PARK on the top. This was Kink #1 in our plan for World Domination Operation Watch Fireworks.

Our familial operations often take on Top Secret Titles. Our code is hard to crack.

Because we were planning to use the truck bed in lieu of lawn chairs, and we had no lawn chairs, we chose the most comfortable-looking patch o' concrete and settled in. Actually, I settled in, Jason stood up, and the little ones took great pleasure in chasing and stomping crickets.

Don't feel sorry for the crickets. They totally had it coming.

Once the fireworks got started, J and I discovered Kink #2 in Operation Watch Fireworks. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you know that we seated ourselves in front of Over-Enthusiastic Fireworks Commentary Man. OEFCM commented on 89% of the fireworks displayed throughout the 15 minute spectacular.

"Ooooh, that was a green one!"

"Wow, that one was sparkly."

"That one was 3-D!"

(Sidenote: I'm not sure what type of alternate dimension this guy occupied, but pretty much my whole life is in 3-D. Including 100% of the fireworks I've ever had the privilege of viewing.)

"Cool, that one was red and purple."

"Look, that one had a star in it!"

And so on.

I might not have minded so much if he had actually had fresh pyrotechnic material to share. Rather, he just stated the obvious.

Micah declared each firework the new "record-breaker," but I could never get a straight answer from him regarding the standard by which he rated each one.

So the day wasn't fantastic. Please don't mistake my whining about our painfully ordinary day for lack of gratitude for those who sacrificed their lives for the freedom we enjoy every day by God's grace alone. I'm thankful for our independence and for those who protect it daily. Happy (belated) Fourth of July, everyone.

I wish I'd been there

Y'all. J and I have friends who attend this church! How cool is this?



I wonder how long it took those young 'uns to realize WHO that was? Hilarious!

It's Summer...What else can I say?

My nigh-to-one-month bloggy silence was not a planned hiatus, and it's been an interesting change. Not that I haven't started writing approximately 73 various blog posts in my head, but summer has put a significant halt to all activities not related directly to my children and/or my household.

If I'm being honest, I'll admit that the idea of making loads of cash by blogging is appealing on the surface, but it's times like these that make me SO THANKFUL my little no-name blog with its ones of readers is under zero pressure to churn out posts on any sort of "regular basis." Unless by "regular basis" you mean "whenever the heck I feel like it, GAH!"

(By the way, it is FAR beyond my comprehension how bloggers with below-school-age children can make any time for blogging EVER. Much less multiple times per day. You have my utmost respect, because clearly you must never sleep.)

Lately, if I haven't been alternating between loads of washing clothes and loads of washing dishes, I've been walking a fine line between keeping my children busy enough that they can't argue with one another and not keeping them so busy that they're exhausted and start arguing with one another.

As if.

In a nutshell, the last 4ish weeks have found me in a sunscreen-applying, pool-swimming, library-enjoying, cable-fixing, bathtub-repairing, pool-swimming, birthday-party-planning, errand-running, cake-baking, birthday-party-executing, sugar-coma-recovering, shelf-painting, craft-space-organizing, gift-buying, birthday-party-attending, closet-cleaning, suitcase-packing, conference-attending, friend-visiting, pool-swimming, pre-teen-camping, pool-swimming, book-reading, crappy-food-eating, weight-gaining, internet-connection-desiring, suitcase-unpacking, TV-watching frenzy.

FRENZY!

While that's not an exhaustive list, my activities have decidedly NOT included twitter-following or blog-reading. My most sincere apologies to my blog/twitter buddies. I understand if you never wish to cast your eyes upon my blog again.

I'm trying to catch up, but 4 weeks is like 10 years in the virtual community. I may have to declare Google Reader bankruptcy and click the dreaded "mark all as read" to get a necessary fresh start.

Speaking of fresh, I have clean laundry to fold and put away. Catch you in a few. More weeks, that is.