Family Night at Meadow Lakes

We just got back from Mom's - they had Family Night at Meadow Lakes tonight with homemade ice cream, an ice cream contest and entertainment.  We were late - so we missed the ice cream contest, but Tammy made sure we got to try 4 of the flavors and she made mom a "suicide sundae"!  5 mini scoops of different flavors!

We tried Chocolate Chip, Banana Nut, Orange Sherbert and a Tropical Freeze - the chocolate chip was the kid winner, but Patrick and I both liked the orange!  I am dying for an ice cream maker for my Kitchenaid - I will end up fat as a fart, but I have all kinds of ideas for flavors to try!

 

The kids are still all about the duct tape crafts - they went to Target today and got Neon Pink, Green, Purple, Zebra stripe and Cheetah print...who knew!?  So Peyton wanted to surprise Grandma Peg, so they started a rosebud pen for her while the entertainment was playing.  He was good, but he was the son of a Southern preacher, country/gospel singer...not quite up their alley!  Anyway, Mom got to watch them finish up the pen while we finished our ice cream - how cute are they?

I hope they schedule a few more family-type events - it's an easy way to get the kids to want to go over and to have fun once we get there.  I guess I'll keep my eyes open and plan better next time so we aren't quite so late!

Okay, have to get Patrick to download some new something/upgrade for my phone...my thinking cap is in the laundry!  'night!

Bits and pix from the week...

 Sunday Fun Day at the pool...just me and Peyton - diving board, water slides, pirate ship, mushroom - all the usual subjects...and all in just 2 hours!  It was like speed water-parking!  but we had fun!  I've decided any day with a visit to the pool feels like a mini-vacation, which intensifies the idea of summer, which takes away bags of work stress, which helps me relax...which works right into the whole lounge chair in the sun thing!

 Monday night was a family night - everyone at home for a change plus Gracie stayed over.  We decided on deli/subway-at-home night for dinner.  The kids are hooked on Subway, but since all Peyton will eat is 4 slices of pepperoni and some shredded cheese on a roll and they still charge her for an Italian sub - I decided it was time to bring the Subway experience home!  I stocked up on all kinds of things I never keep at home - salami, pepperoni, banana peppers, 4 kinds of cheese, little sub rolls, hot horseradish mustard!  YUM!  It was fun watching the kids choose their sandwich fixin's...not so much Peyton - she isn't quite ready for horseradish mustard!  but it was good and we were together.  The girls were actually a bit late - they had spa day upstairs...no idea what they did, but they smelled good when it was over and every towel in the bathroom was soaked!  I guess I should have made them little finger sandwiches and tea!!

 Tuesday night was just me and Murph.  Peyton went to Gracies somewhere around noon - I tried to pick her up on my way home from work about 6:00pm, but she wanted to stay longer...no surprise there!  Murph and I went out on his continuing quest for the best beef and cheese nachos in Fort Worth - Tuesday we hit Martha's on Heritage Trace - famous (so they say) for their sopapillas.  We had the nicest server (Ceasar), the screamiest red-headed child at the table beside us and, according to Keaton, the BEST. NACHOS. EVER!  I don't think we're done with the search - there are still dozens of Mexican restaurants within 5 miles of our house, it would be a shame to stop looking!  But, I am sure we will be back - hopefully without the screamy kid!  Anyway, we were supposed to pick Peyton up at 7:30 so we were driving around killing time when the phone rang and, you guessed it (and so did we), she wanted to sleep over at Gracie's.  No worries - I ran home and packed her a bag and me and Murph and Sophie walked it down to their house.  Still hot as heck, but a beautiful night to be out walking in the neighborhood.  Check out K in his new Hillwood Athletics gear!  Are you ready for some football???!!!

 Tonight was another 'just me and the kids' night and I have kind of phoned it in!  Work beat me up today, the heat is ridiculous and I am just plain tired.  I took the quickest nap in history - maybe 10 minutes and then caved and bought McDs for dinner, let the kids watch some Disney channel and just hang out.  Peyton, like all other 9-year-old girls in our area - is all into the duct tape crafts - this is the business card holder, change purse thingy that she made me...I have actually decided to use it to put my nametag in so it doesn't get all scratched up at the bottom of my purse!  She is making her daddy a ring...a big purple and pink flower ring!!!  and you know he will wear it because he adores her and would do anything to make her happy!

My burst of energy came about 7:30 and I made the family get up and power out 30 minutes of cleaning - really just finishing up a bunch of stuff we started when we were prepping the computer and living rooms for the new baseboards.  This is Keaton's 6th grade Landform Forces project.  He worked so hard on this - he started early, he did his own research, he found all his own images off the internet and he got an A.  This is my dilemma - I want to keep each and every thing they ever do, but it just doesn't make sense...so I am going to continue to take pix and blog about them because this one is now in our recycle bin...Keaton put it there himself! I nearly cried!  We cut the WWII leaders project loose before the blog...so it's just gone...sigh...I'm still getting the hang of remembering to take enough and the right pictures...I guess it's a learning process. 

Okay, time for me to wind down - tomorrow holds 2 big/HUGE meetings and a lot of YFL prep work.  But, it's Thursday, and that's Trinity Trails, Radio Shack hill day and that always does wonders for my attitude.  Nothing like walking and talking and venting and laughing with a friend to put everything into perspective!

Good night...

Baseball Free Saturday!

The word of the day is accomplished!  The upstairs bathroom has a tile floor - it looks great so far - Patrick is going to grout it tomorrow.

 This is the floor after Patrick pulled up the vinyl and the toilet and the baseboards...

 This is John Michael, annoyed that I am taking his picture...he was our tile yoda

 This is Patrick snipping tiles to go around things - cabinets, potty, door frame

 This is the near-finished product - pretty impressive, huh?

And if tiling a bathroom on a Saturday wasn't enough - we now have all our baseboards in the downstairs back up.  They are still cracked, but JMC is coming to be "Caulk Yoda" on Monday..."Caulk Yoda" and "Threshold Yoda" if all goes well.  Patrick pulled all the pieces out of the garage, found their places, matched them up, screwed them into the wall and now we (we...isn't that funny???) have to do some kind of caulking to fill in the breaks and cover the screws and make them all look perfect and then sand them and probably repaint them.

 This is Patrick taping off a place to do some wood caulking to fill a gap...this is so exciting!

I hit the bank and got mom's Texas checking account set up finally - nicest. banker. EVER!   We also managed to go to lunch as a family, go to look for towel bars for the bathrooms to replace the ugly shiny silver ones, buy me some new shoes (plus a pair of Nike flips on clearance...SCORE!), play some Webkins, Keaton did his running, I got some sun, we all took a nap and the kids decided to see what it was like to be Sophie...

 She really is the most agreeable dog...didn't seem to mind sharing her room, even in such tight quarters!

 Peyton wasn't as anxious as KMan to get out...she just snuggled in for a little nap!

Looks like napping reached epidemic proportions today for the kids...this is driving back from Garden Ridge and DSW...they find shopping at stores where they aren't getting anything to be exhausting!!!

Earlier this morning I made tomato jam - I'd seen it on DDD and it intrigued me.  This guy used it on his BLTs and you know I adore a BLT.  It had to simmer for 3 hours, but it was worth it.  BLTs (3 separate versions, since I am the only tomato lover in my family!) for dinner tonight as a family at the kitchen table...one of my great joys!  and then for the grand finale...Cupcakes!  I hit the cupcake shop in Keller right after the bank, to redeem my Groupon before it expired - 4 chocolate vanillas, 1 toffee, 1 key lime and 1 samoa...in the family "cupcake war", the toffee was the winner in the formal judging - 3 of 4 votes...a landslide!  The chocolate vanilla was clearly the best (that's why I bought 4!), so it really wasn't fair to put it in the judging.  I choose the samoa, but the coconut put it right out of the running - Patrick picked his off, Peyton spit hers out, Murph made a face...I wanted to lick the plate!  1/4 of a fabulous cupcake is borderline cruelty!  Thank goodness I had a whole choc/van all to myself.  Not that I got to eat it all at once...Peyton had run to the bathroom before she ate her cupcake.  The boys were well into theirs and I had taken my first bite and was bringing the second one to my mouth when she let out a scream - of terror!  One of the tiny geckos had gotten into the bathroom and ran out while she was going to the bathroom - she jumped up on that seat - probably still peeing!  I tried to run in a save her, but she screamed again - so of course, I screamed and ran and shouted at her "get out here!  RUN!!!!" so she ran...her pants not quite where they should be when you leave the bathroom, but there was a lizard...a red one!!!  Keaton fell down laughing!  She couldn't stop laughing and just didn't know what to do - pants down, dripping a little, terrorized by a lizard and still having to finish going to the bathroom.  Luckily, Patrick caught it and took it back outside...and he didn't nip off the end of his tail this time.  All's well - we are cleaned up, the lizard is back in it's lizard home, the cupcakes were delightful, the dishes are done, no one is arguing, and my bed is calling to me.......

I seem to have lost a week!

I have no idea if it was post baseball separation anxiety or the AYP conference or the heat or what, but a whole week seems to have gotten away from me. 

Sunday, I did just what I said I was going to do and got back to our routine - grocery shopping, house cleaning, picking up mom and Sunday dinner at the table.  It really was a nice day, but every day with mom is an adventure.  Her new habit is to spot anything colorful - old red pickup truck in a driveway, a sign on the side of the road, a flower, a red light, anything and say "every time I see that (fill in the blank), I know right where I am".  Now, in most cases the pickup truck or the small sign or the flower are not permanent objects, so we may never have seen them before or the red light is on a road we have never been on together.  I know she's just grasping at anything trying to find her memories, but it's sad....or it's frustrating....or it's annoying - it really just depends on what kind of day it has been, how long we have been together, what kind of mood she is in, are we on our way to an adventure or are we heading back to Meadowlakes...I try to pull out all my understanding and all my patience, but I fail.  I'm rarely ugly about it - but sometimes I'm ruder than I should be or quieter than I could be or less empathetic than I ought to be, and I hate that.  It's just sad that she is trying to prove she doesn't have Alzheimer's by saying things that emphasize that she has Alzheimer's!

I'm going to have to get back to this later - John Michael just headed off to the Butler/Jones compound to build a 'beer garden', so I don't feel compelled to hang around the house anymore and I have a list as long as my arm that needs taken care off.  Must take full advantage of a baseball-free Saturday!

Letting go...

Today was a good day - a great day, even...but it was a day where some things that we have gotten really used to, were no more!

Today was the last day of the AAYBA World Series and possibly the last day of the Barons.  I think the boys will play together, but probably under a new name, with new colors (whatever will I do with all these royal blue tops???) and in a new league.  I am not opposed to change, but I am terribly attached to tradition - which is where this all gets tricky for my heart and for my brain...and probably for my family, because I think I am melancholy and I am positive I never explain it...I never explain any of my emotions, why start with something as silly as this!?

Anyway, here are a couple of pix from the last couple of days - Keaton played superbly at first base - I was so proud of you, buddy!  and although he didn't hit like he's used to - he had smart at-bats - and a triple that set my heart on fire!  The team held their heads high - they hung in there with some tough teams and considering what we've been through and how hodge-podge this WS team was - we were awesome!

Team rally after a great game!

Murph on first on Friday - the hottest day in the history of baseball - ironically playing against the Texas HEAT!  All dirt infield too...the sweat was a magnet for the red dirt - we were fabulous at the end!

Coach Patrick taking advantage of the shade and keeping i-score!

Murph up to bat in his final game as a Baron...sigh...

AAYBA medals for all!

Our team - back row:  Coach Boni, Evan, Jonathan, Garrett, Rhett, Murph, Coach Scott

front row:  Dalyn, Drew, Nick and Alex

not pictured:  Coach Todd, Trey and Mark

Of course, Keaton and Patrick were just not quite done with baseball, so although I had packed a perfectly good swim bag and we were driving right by the pool - they wanted to go and watch Alex and the Yard Dawgs game.  Peyton and I hate to see a good swim bag go to waste, so we headed off to Trophy Club for some cool water and a diving board.

We made good time, got our regular spot, swam in the deep end, played that game where we try and touch the bottom, swam in the shallow end, stood on our hands, hit the Pirate Ship, she did the slides, we played in all the spraying water features and the Miss was ready for lunch.  Off we went, lunchables and drinks and that weird squeezy applesauce for Peyton.  We were chatting and laughing and her tooth popped out - that tooth that has been loose for over 4 months, that we thought was coming out first the day before Mother's Day and then on Father's Day and without wiggling or pulling or complaining that it was bothering her - out it popped!

FINALLY!

Then we had to go back to all of the areas at the pool - because she wanted to make sure she did everything WITHOUT her tooth that she had done minutes before WITH her tooth!  We also did front and back flips and I made myself woozy - I mean, c'mon - how old am I???  I can get motion sickness from spinning myself in a pool?  Geez!

Everyone is spent - tired - lazy - a little sad (except Peyton, she really doesn't care at all that baseball is over and loosing a tooth means cold, hard cash from the Tooth Fairy!)  We all took naps, went to dinner, Peyton is at Gracies for a bit, the boys are playing home run derby on the PS 2 and I am sitting in the dark typing about being a bit sad that baseball is over...

Tomorrow, it's back to normal - hitting Central Market in the morning, CVS on the way to mom's, picking up mom about 1:00, Sunday dinner at home, baking cupcakes at some point and then taking mom home about 7:30.  Laundry, watering the flowers, a bit of weeding, catching up on some house cleaning that has been neglected, getting the kids back on a schedule...it will be good to relax and not be putting 100 miles on my car every day, I won't miss the intense heat or really bad hair or the ugly fact of wearing tank tops and shorts in public on a daily basis...but I will miss the joy of watching Keaton get ready for a game or a practice, putting on eye black, those long blue socks, the sound of the boys cheering in the dugout, the silent prayers every time one of ours was up to bat... heck, I'm even going to miss the routine of packing a cooler and the baseball bag!  

...big sigh...I can't even seem to sign off...it feels too final...oh well, thanks 2011 Spring Baseball, KYA, the Barons, Barons 2.0, AAYBA, Coaches, Parents, Siblings, friends, my blue chair and Chile-Lime sunflower seeds...I will miss you all...

Another Good Day at the World Series

Today the Barons played their last 2 pool games - one at noon and one at 6pm...not at all convenient when you work in Downtown Fort Worth (an hour away!), but well worth the drive.  I feel as if I haven't slept since then, but wanted to put up a couple of pix of the team before too much time passes.

Murph hit a triple, a single, played 1st and caught for a couple of innings - the team played well and won both games!  They ended up seeded 3rd and play tomorrow at 6pm - a team from Austin....should be a good time!

After the first win - new Kelly sunglasses - very pleased with himself!

Warming up the pitcher before the second game - totally different ballpark, different city even!

No idea if this will work - not exactly a technopath, but I got the team cheer...hope you can see it!

 Sun setting on Bakersfield - it was a long day, but a really good day for the boys

The sun has set on Peyton - not a great shot, but she was so tired and sooooo sweet!

Today was a long day - I was ready for a nap by about 2pm.  Peyton went with Gracie to her grandparents house to swim and then stayed at the Millers for dinner (I told her she wouldn't like french dip sandwiches!) and to play American Girl dolls.  Murph went to Heritage Water Park with the rest of his team - Miss Pam hosted them and it sounds like they had a blast.  Patrick picked up tonight, so we aren't a complete family - but we are all home now, watching the All-Star Game...night all!

Barons' Victory!

Today was the first day of pool games at the World Series - here's the boys heading into the dugout - Barons v Keller Raiders (formerly the Richland Raiders).  4pm game time - hotter than heck still, new complex - Railroad Park in Lewisville - very nice fields, nice bleachers, nice shaded area with tables for between games, good snack bar, clean bathrooms (yippee!).  AND the first time our boys have played together as a team - we had to add 4 new players after the melt down and they have never been on the field together - not even for practice!  New coaches, new players, new parents - and biggest change of all - no stress or screaming or insulting from the coaches.

Well, they got off to a slow start - no runs for either team in the first, no runs for them to start the 2nd and then we scored 2.  They eventually tied it up - and that's where we used to fall apart and beat ourselves....but not today!  We had a huge 5th inning - scored 5 more and WON 7-2 - our first win in such a long time!

Murph walked once, grounded out, got to score, picked a guy off at first, had a couple of great "stretch" plays at first, his friend Jonathan had a monster hit in the 5th to score 2 runs, good pitching, good fielding, aggressive base running - we played relaxed and we played well and we won! 

Here they are shaking hands at the end of the game - not a great photo, but a really wonderful moment!

and here is 12-year-old-boy-happiness through a chain link fence!!!

It was a good day for baseball!  Way to go Barons 2.0!

Just 'cuz everything's big in Texas, doesn't mean it can't feel small-towny sometimes!

sitting at Fuzzy's last night, Peyton was reading all the notes left under the glass at our table - various love notes to the wonders of Fuzzy's tacos - and one of them was signed "Reese" - she said "wouldn't it be fun if this was from my cousin"...and I had to think a minute...oh yeah, Reese and Kennedy and Jude and Tiffany and Preston...live right down the road...but no, this was obviously from a Reese much older...and that was that...and then...who walks up to our table????  you guessed it, Reese and Kennedy and Jude and Tiffany and Preston...how small towny for big ole DFW!

I got a great picture of Tiffany with Patrick, but it was with her phone, so I don't have that - and Patrick actually smiled with teeth - very rare!  and it was a GREAT picture...oh well, I am just going to have to live with the fact that I can never capture every single moment!

What a nice surprise!

A Crafty Couple of Days

I worked Friday...and I've had the previous 3 Fridays off...so this was not my favorite Friday of the summer!  And, like most Fridays, Patrick and I both had to work during the day...what to do???  Peyton went to her friend Gracie's and they got to help her mom with their yard sale.  Keaton had his first official day home alone - we checked in a lot and I think he enjoyed it and, most importantly, I think he followed the rules!  With no one to tempt him, he is a good boy!

Patrick picked both girls up to come to our house while he and Murph went to baseball practice - the last practice before the AAYBA World Series!  He won the contest to compete for his team in the Home Run Derby - he was pretty proud of his performance!...so was Patrick!!!  :-)

The girls did their usual pretend games and songs and then the craft bug bit them both....once again, what to do???

Peyton pulled out her craft project book and they decided on snow globes...and we found the stuff to "wing it", but it just didn't feel right...so off to Michael's we went.  We got jars and 2 kinds of glitter and lots of sparkly letters and stickers and do-dads to put in the snowglobes and went home to CREATE!

crafting snow globes is serious business - as you can see from the deep concentration.  I was in charge of the glue gun and Patrick had to be in charge of getting the lids on securely - I failed 3 times in a row.  Peyton and Gracie thought it was funny, but I can tell you it wouldn't have been funny if I'd done it wrong the water and glitter drained out all over our kitchen...and the Miller's kitchen - YIKES!

But in the end - beautiful work!  This is 'pre-water and glitter', but you get the idea!

Today, we hit the pool while Keaton and Patrick went to Opening Ceremonies (pictures later - they are on Patrick's phone!) for the World Series.  We lasted 3 hours - it was hot even in the water!!!  Once again, we came back here - regular imagination games, dress up, singing, fashion show....and that darned craft bug was back!

Another browse through the craft book and we decided to make slime or goo or gack or something slimy and green and salt clay....

The measured, they stirred, they mixed, they colored, they dirtied every measuring spoon, measuring cup, mixing bowl, counter top, dish towel and shirt in sight!  I did the cooking (for the clay), but they had fun and now we have zip lock baggies full of slime and clay, but not just any slime and clay  - HANDMADE slime and clay!  Check out Sophie in the bottom picture thinking maybe they are cooking up a treat for her!!!  She tries to be part of all things happening in the kitchen!

It was a crafty kind of couple of days - I was so glad to be a part of it with my beautiful girl and her beautiful friend.

A couple of good weekdays

Or should I say interesting?!  Yesterday, Peyton came to work with me for the morning.  She was a hit!  Fabulously cute outfit - right down to the sparkle flip flops and new headband - of course I forgot to take any pictures...we were on a mission!  She helped me get membership cards out of the storeroom, put some things in the courier and sort 424 water bottles for the branches!  She also made LT's day!  We saw him heading off for his run and she didn't recognize him because he has lost so much weight and is in such great shape...her words:  "He looks like a college student"...well, you know that story has been told a few dozen times around the Y!  The power of 9-year-old honesty!

I was so proud of how well she behaved - we had a couple of mishaps, but that just because she doesn't understand office politics (heck, either do I!)  Peyton, you were polite, you genuinely helped, you stayed positive, you did a great job of letting my co-workers fuss over you!  Thank you for a wonderful morning!

Today, more interesting...I sat in 3 meetings and left with that "things that make you go hmmmmm????" feeling.  Not sure what book I read it in, but recently I read a whole thing about the dangers of wanting to be right more than you want to be better....man, did I see a lot of that today!  Usually I enjoy the process of meeting, sharing, discussion...but today, I just wanted someone to put a pencil in my eye, so I had an excuse to run out!  The phrase "now there's 2 hours I will never get back" kept running through my mind!  I actually thought of my friend Andre, who I worked with in Lexington...we were in a meeting that was soooooo tedious and he wrote DNR on the bottom of my agenda...too funny!  That was me today.

But tonight, family saved the day!  Murph had baseball - he was hustling!  Making great catches, great throws, strong hitting, good attitude, lots of appropriate "Yes, Coach"'s!  Keaton, I adore the way you love baseball.  I like that you practice better in baseball pants and sliding shorts than you do in shorts and a t-shirt - even when it's 104 degrees outside!  I like that you remember every single good play you have ever made in a game.  I love that I never have to ask you twice to go to practice or a game.  I have really admired your improved work ethic this season - it's been a tough one and you have stayed positive...and I know that genetically you are designed to get emotional about things like that!

Hallelujah, Gracie is home and Peyton was able to spend the day with her - they are getting ready for a yard sale on Friday - so of course Peyton came home with all sorts of new/old treasures - her favorite being a silver pair of little girl high heels.  We put them to good use doing the spotlight dance during one of the commercial breaks of 'So You Think You Can Dance'!  If only America had been able to vote for us!!!  She also has a new/old American Girl doll named Katie - we braided her hair and she watched us play cards...

Go Fish!  I win at many games I play with Peyton - she got 'way more than he share of luck in the game department - I don't think in 4 years I have ever beat her at Trouble!  But I tore it up at Go Fish!  4 wins in a row!  Murph got home and played too - plain old cards at the dinner table...what a treat!  I did notice Keaton looking longingly at his i-Touch a couple of times...he's 12, that's to be expected!  But we made a simple memory tonight and I am always proud of that!

Happy 4th of July!

The last day of a 4-day weekend ... ahhhhhhh!  Slept in, watered all the newly-planted flowers, played ball with Sophie, went to Hillwood with Keaton to walk/run the track - he ran, I walked (and nagged all at the same time...it burns extra calories!)

We took advantage of our day off and took in a matinee at the Dollar Movie - which is now $1.25, except on Mondays, when it's 75 cents!!!  Woo Hoo!  $2.25 for all three of us...and then $15.00 for popcorn and drinks...but what the heck - under 20 bucks for a movie for three!  We saw Rio - not too bad.  Very colorful, very dancy, very sweet - perfect happy ending (and I'm a happy ending kind of gal!), just enough people in the theatre and nobody had to get up in the middle and go to the bathroom...I never know quite how to handle that when it's just me and the kids - I hate to leave one of them alone or send one of them alone...dilemma!

Then we were headed home and I made a U-turn on 377 and headed right out of my comfort zone...off to buy fireworks for the kids outside the city limits!

visions of Deliverance...better known as Azle!  Once we got off the main highway, it was country, country - like back when we lived in Kentucky.  Peyton saw an artsy bird bath and thought it was some freakish outdoor toilet!  There were way more cars in the yards than on the road - just sayin'...and after about 4 wrong turns and turnarounds - we found the firework 'stand'

I had no idea there were so many different kinds of fireworks!

thank goodness for Jay, our fireworks cruise director.  He was so patient, not a salesman, pretty darned honest and accurate in his description of what we were getting ourselves into!  Peyton was totally set on buying the $50 Black Cat whatevers - things that can definately attrack attention and perhaps the police and probably put mom in need of some kind of tranquilizers!  Keaton just wanted anything that was in bulk - 20 of this, 50 of that - and the louder, the better!

ready to check out!  $31.00 worth of after sunset fun on Mount McKinley Road.  What I noticed after we got home and got them out tonight...they all had pretty girly names - LadyBugs, Spring Garden, Happiness Fountain, Cuckoo - they were pretty cool tho'!

We started with sparklers - just like every Fourth of July in my memory...

Followed by the girly named fireworks - this is a Cuckoo!

And it just wouldn't be the Fourth if our next-door-neighbor, Blake, didn't come out and set something on fire - here he is doing his best Harry Potter with a hand held bottle rocket - but it looked so much like Dumbledore using that contraption that took the light out of the street lights outside the Dursley's.

Here's our big finale - quite impressive if you ask me!  Peyton and I were hiding behind the car at this point...I had to run out to snap a picture, but only once I was sure it was safe!  I got hit in the leg by the errant Spring Garden second wave of flames earlier in the show - the flames didn't hit me, the cardboard casing hit me...but it flew at me!  Once I saw that I wasn't on fire, I was fine, but it made us more cautious!  Even hiding behind the car, a zipper shot straight at my head - that was it for Peyton - she was under cover for the rest of the fireworks!

Sophie, as it turns out, is NOT a fan of fireworks...they scared the poop right out of her - I mean it!  She pooped upstairs, locked us out of the house scratching at the door and turned the bottom half of the blinds upside down...and then ran from room to room to room to room once we all came inside.  She is settled down now, but I can tell she doesn't fully trust us right this minute!

I can't believe I have to go back to work tomorrow - that's the danger of great weekends - it's harder when they end.  Oh well, I'm going to look on the bright side and focus on the fact that it's a 4-day week!  As Peyton used to say - "Happy Jourth of Fuly Everyone!" 

YUM!

Today was another one of those Sundays plus 2 (2 kids, that is - Laurel and Alex slept over last night and went to the pool with us this morning).  Being in charge of the safety of my kids at the pool is one thing, but being in charge of the safety of 2 other kids, who were full-on daredevils on the diving board, is another!  I am wiped out. 

4 kids
Wimbledon
my mom
and the best darned carnitas ever!

4 kids - the pool safety thing, the clean up thing, the "I hope they are having fun so they will want to come back" thing, the different rules depending on the family thing, the my kids handle the world better when there is structure thing, the my house isn't my house with extra children thing!

Wimbledon - didn't get to watch until 3:30pm, so I was trying to avoid any news and then, well then, there was a lot of energy spent trying to will Rapha onto another championship...first Andy, the Roger and now this...sigh...

My mom - well, she "went over to What'sHisName's or Joe's (depending on which of the 20 times she told me about it) house last evening for dinner.  His son (or father or brother, see earlier parentheses) came and picked them up, blah, blah, blah...good heavens!  I don't love that she has a boyfriend or good friend or whatever, but I do care if she's getting in a car and going off with him...she doesn't know my phone number and refuses to carry the organizer I got for her walker and she's off her nut for a man and if she gets conned out of what we have left, she's going to end up in a nursing home with Medicaid care...ugh!  What the heck?!

and now, drum roll please........ the best carnitas EVER!.... the real reason for this post.  Dar, Lisa (and by Lisa, I mean Craig!) and Tracy (makes lots, so your Holden Beach crew would love you!) - you MUST make this recipe...I can't do it justice with mere words...it was delightful!

1 bone-in pork shoulder (5ish lbs)
1 bulb of garlic, cut in half lengthwise to expose the cloves
1/2 can of sweetened condensed milk (no kidding, I promise)
1/2 can of full strength Coca-Cola (still not kidding)
2 cinnamon sticks
Kosher salt (more than you think you need)

Cut the pork in 4 pieces, leaving the bone in.  Salt all 4 pieces (like you mean it) Place in the bottom of a dutch oven.  Pour the condensed milk and the Coke over the top.  Add the cinnamon sticks and garlic to the pan.  Add a little bit of water - don't cover the meat, but bring the liquid to 1/2 to 3/4 of the way to the top of the meat.

Cover the pan and simmer on Medium-Low for 2 hours.  I turned the pieces over 1/2 through the cooking.

Uncover, take out meat, let cool briefly, pull apart with 2 forks and fry in a non-stick pan (I sprayed mine with a bit of olive oil spray) until crispy.  The recipe didn't call for this, but I added about 2 more ounces of the Coke to the pan to carmelize it more.

I served mine with warmed corn tortillas (flour for the kids), avacado slices, shredded cabbage (lettuce for the kids), salsa and homemade pico.  I also made Mexican rice (took the easy way out and used one of those packaged things, sorry).  It was the best Sunday dinner in a long time - you could tell from about 5 minutes into the cooking just how good this was going to be...run, don't walk, to your local market and get he stuff and get cooking!!!

The kids decided they wanted to watch Titanic tonight - weird choice, but better than one of the "Buddies" movies, I always say!...but it's so long...the ship will have to sink without me!

Saturday...the way Saturday was meant to be!

Today is Saturday and that takes on an entirely new meaning when you have already had Friday off and know that you also have Monday off.  The kids and I spent the day at the pool yesterday - I am starting to get used to these Fridays!  Obviously the kids are starting to feel right at home there...

totally out in the sun after a big day of swimming and going off the diving board.  The place was pretty empty yesterday - not sure if most folks are taking a vacation because of the extra day off on Monday or what, but it was great.  We had the deep end almost to ourselves and played pool tag - we made a new friend, Shaw, he just yelled out "HEY, are you playing tag?  Can I play?"  I love that in a kid!  Somehow I was "it" most of the time - it was a great workout, I must admit! 

Murph had baseball practice last night and Peyton and I stayed home - she played a game involving horses, dolls of every size, paper plates and shoestrings of many colors - Peyton, I truly love your imagination!  We ordered pizza late, watched Madagascar, I went to bed - too tired to even attempt a bit of food tv and slept like a baby.

Got up on a mission to plant the flowers Peyton and I bought yesterday before it got too hot - up at 7:00, flowers planted by 8:00...but, I didn't get enough...I never get enough.  We've lived here over 5 years and I never buy enough flowers on the first trip.  I knew I didn't have quite enough - I had my heart set on 2 more rock rose plants and a couple of full-sun, drought-tolerant white flowers (which they didn't have at Wal-Mart), but I was way off!  So, 8:30 (after catching 30 minutes of the women's Wimbledon finals - go Petra) - off I went to Lowe's.  I did better on this trip, but still not quite there...no rock roses and no good white flowers...perhaps it was not meant to be for the summer of 2011?! 

I got home - everyone was up, the boys were off to run the track, Peyton was all settled in with a "Good Luck Charlie" and planted some more.  The boys got home and back out I went - stopped at Home Depot, another Wal-Mart, the Plant Shed - beautiful flowers, but oh my-oh-my-expensive! and then off to another Lowe's - mostly because Patrick needed lawn bags and I scored....still no rock roses or white plants, but look how pretty these are??? and ON SALE!

I don't think I've ever waited this long to get my yard in shape, but I also don't remember baseball eating up all of my weekends like it did this season.  We were supposed to have a tournament this weekend - I have never been so happy to not be playing!!!  It was hot as heck today - it was bad enough in the backyard with a hose and a house full of air conditioning, I might have had to go ugly at a tournament with no shade!

The kids both have a friend over tonight - we just cooked burgers and dogs on the grill, had lots of good fresh fruit and I believe we will attempt s'mores tonight if the siren song of sno-biz doesn't get the best of me!  Keaton, Patrick and Alex are playing wiffle ball (neighborhood rules) in the backyard...

...Peyton and Laurel are upstairs playing some game that apparently requires a lot of loud talking and occasional screaming...and really loud, heavy feet stomping!  Oh well, they are happy, I have the shopping done for dinner with mom tomorrow.  We're hitting the water park for a couple of hours in the morning AND I will still be relaxed when I drop mom off...because I have another day off on Monday!  Now, THIS is living!!!

Happy Fourth of July everyone!