Family Photo MeMe

Karen at Karen in MommyLand tagged me for this photo Meme. I didn't have a family photo. But I did have this photo taken of my 7 year old after we went fishing on Sunday. I'm so bad at following directions. It's not my fault. It's genetic. I swear.


My son was very proud of the fish he and his dad caught. My husband cleaned, cut and cooked all of them. I think there were about 8 total. And one crab. He actually caught a crab on his fishing pole. The crab did not come home.

For my birthday my husband got me a metal detector. It's fun and we tried it on the beach while my husband went fishing. I don't think you really want to see a picture of my kids holding up rusty cans of dirty pennies, so I'll save those for another day.

Now it's time to tag someone else and see if they can follow the rules of this meme. I choose GirlyTwins at Better Leite Than Never. She always has great pics!

Going Out

Friday was my birthday. In case you are wondering, I'm 24 again. At least that's what the card my husband gave me says. (How sweet of him). Although if you ask my 5 year old, he'll tell you, "Mommy's 18." But that's only because he thinks 18 is really old.

My birthday was quiet (as I wanted). Yesterday we hired a babysitter so my husband and I could go out. I wanted to go see a stand up comedy show. My husband wasn't thrilled about having to drive into Seattle. So I bought the tickets and I looked up restaurants in the area. I also found the babysitter. So he doesn't any credit for "taking me out" for my birthday.

It was fun to get dressed up. I can't remember the last time I wore a skirt! We found a nice restaurant to go to before the show. I had 2 drinks there. So when we got to the comedy club for the 8:30 show, I didn't feel like having much more to drink or eat. So I asked the waitress if there was a two-drink-minimum. She looked confused, said, "no" and laughed. Really?? She had never heard of a two-drink-minimum?? She probably just thought I was old.

Is a two-drink-minimum just a NYC thing? No, it can't be. I remember having a two-drink-minimum when we went to see Howie Mandel in Atlantic City. And I remember having a two-drink-minimum in Philadelphia. Is it just an East Coast thing? Or am I really getting old and it's really just a 5-years-ago thing? Either way, I was happy to just order drink and not waste money ordering something that I didn't really want.

Where Did Everyone Come From?

Yesterday I took my kids to the free movie at Regal Theaters. We did this frequently last summer and never had a problem. The theater was always about half full. We always got a seat even the time we were late and the movie had already started. Yesterday was different.

We arrived 10 minutes early. The parking lot was packed. I don't think I ever had to park that far away from the theater. After our 10 minute hike to the ticket counter I heard someone say that the G rated movie, "Horton Hears a Who" is pretty full. So I drag rush the kids into the theater. We walked all the way the seats and couldn't find 3 seats together anywhere, even if I asked someone to move over, it would only be 2 seats together. I didn't want to disappoint my kids. I had already told them that I was going to take them to the movies (and even if I hadn't already told them, the theater kinda gave it away). So I made a quick decision to watch the PG rated movie in the next theater (they always have one G and one PG movie). I have not let my kids watch PG rated movies in the past (except for Madagascar when we were on the plane). But I had been thinking for a while that it might be ok. I mean lots of their friends were watching PG rated movies. And since all of the other kids were doing it, that makes it ok, right? Ahem... Anyway... I had never heard of Inkheart. If you ever want to give your kids nightmares, then I highly recommend it. It didn't have any bad language and no one died, but it was scary! Even I was a little scared at times. So next time I'll have to make sure we get there more than 10 minutes early so we can watch the nice cozy G rated movie.

I started to wonder. Where did all of these people come from? I'm sure they weren't there last summer? Does it have to do with the economy? Are more people looking for free ways to entertain the kids this summer? I don't know about anyone else, but even when I do have a few extra dollars to spend, if someone is offering me a free movie or saying that I could wait and spend about $40 to go see a movie later that day, I'll probably still go see the free movie. People wouldn't really wait until money gets tight to save money, would they? Or do you think that my earlier blog post about the free movies got everyone's attention? Someone my single blog post spread the news faster than Regal Cinemas has for the last 18 years. It's really a toss-up.

Tears of Joy?

Today was my first grade son's last day of school. Every year my son's school is filled with parents who line the walkway and blow bubbles for the kids on the last day of school. I went and my younger son blew the bubbles. When I saw my son walk out of the building and come toward me, I could feel my eyes start to tear up. It surprised me. I don't usually get emotional like that. Maybe it wasn't tears of joy. Maybe it tears over the realization that school is really over.

The Lake

I had a nice rock path on the side of the house. Nothing fancy, just a path with small stones that connected the driveway to the deck. I say had because as of last night, it's not a very nice rock path anymore.

The kids were playing outside while I was making dinner. They asked me if they could fill a bucket with water for the dam they were going to build. They build dams pretty frequently and it was hot out, so I said, "sure." Then they wanted more water to build a lake. (There's one section of the driveway that is lower than the rest and they like to make a lake there and then ride their bikes through it. Classy, I know.) More water was fine too. Then they asked if they could use the hose. No, they could not.

When I went outside to call the kids in for dinner, they weren't playing in the place where they usually build a dam. They weren't playing in the spot on the driveway where they usually build a lake. They were playing in the rock path. They dug a trench in the middle of the path and larger lake portion at one end. They filled it up with water and were sinking matchbox cars into it. (I'm pretty sure this act of engineering genius is proud parent moment #459 for me.)

I was shocked. The kids, however, were proud.

I made them fill in the hole and the trench. Do you know what happens when you dig up a once "nice" rock path? Underneath the layer of rocks is a layer of dirt. The dirt gets mixed up with the rocks. And do you know what happens when dirt gets mixed with water? It becomes mud. Lovely.

The kids wanted to tell their father about the lake they had made. I suggested it wasn't the best idea.

This morning I hosed down their shoes and then used the hose as best I could to clean up the rock path and make it nice once again. My theory is that if spray the rocks the water will wash the dirt back to the bottom. It does look better than it did last night but not as nice as it did yesterday morning. I may need to buy more rocks. But I'm sure you've already figured out how much fun it will be to shop for more of the same type of rocks. Or maybe I should give up and let the kids build their lake. I always wanted lakefront property.

Time to Mow

The lawn was getting long so I decided to mow it today. My 7 year old was very disappointed. He asked me, "Why did you have to mow the lawn today?"

"Because it was getting long," I said.

"But you cut down all of the wheat grass that I was collecting," he said. (The wheat grass that he collects are the grass seeds that grow on the tips of the long pieces of grass.)

"That's exactly why it needed to be cut. If it's long enough to have seeds, then it's past time to cut it!"

How Much?

Yesterday my 5 year old asked me, "Mom, how much is a diamond?"

"That depends honey. But it's usually pretty expensive."

"Oh, I thought it was only 10 cents," was his reply.

"No, that's a dime. A dime and a diamond are different."

"Oh." He looked so disappointed.

I got this lovely Blog award from Mama Zen. Thanks MZ! If you haven't checked out her blog, you should!

And now I'm passing it on to Michelle at Honest and Truly, another great blog you should check out.

Good Bye Rats

Recently my husband discovered that rats were living in our crawl space. The rats found a nice warm cozy home in our insulation. They pulled it down and used it as a restroom and as a nest. Who knew insulation was so versatile?! The rats completely ruined the vapor barrier as well.



Now they are gone. We hired an exterminator to get rid of them and to clean up the crawl space, replace the insulation and replace the vapor barrier. It was expensive. More expensive than the 4 tickets I bought to visit my parents in Virginia this summer. So it looks like we won't be getting that new carpeting this year or painting the outside of our house. Instead we have a brand new, rat-free, crawl space.



Normally if I poured some money into my house, I'd post pictures of the result so that every can oooh and aaah over the improvement. I doubt anyone is going to come to my house and say, "I heard you got new insulation and new vapor barrier and I just can't wait to see it!" But here's a pic anyway.





Beautiful, isn't it? I know you are jealous.

Things To Do This Summer

If you're like me you're really dreading looking forward to spending summer vacation with your kids. Isn't it great that you can choose to sign them up for an expensive summer camp and spend their entire college savings doing so? Of course there are lots of known free or cheap things to do with kids. There are parks, grandparents, libraries, aunts, uncles and lots of other relatives that they can visit. But here are a few more ideas that are free this summer.

Kids bowl free, 2 games per day! Just sign up here in advance. Hopefully they have a place near you. The closest one to me is about 15 minutes away. Not too bad.

Barnes & Noble has a summer reading club. Go here and print out the form. Kids have to read 8 books and then they get to choose a fee book at the store, from select titles of course.

Regal Movie Theaters are having their Free Family Festival. Here is the website to find a theater near you.

AMC has $1 Movies. Not free, but not bad either.

Hope that helps with some summer ideas. I also recommend a mojito once a day to help survive summer vacation. That's for the mom, not the kid.

Going First

Through out the school year my son in first grade has had issues leaving the classroom and getting on the bus after school. I know this may sound simple enough, but think back to first grade for a moment. Everyone wants to be first. Some kids need to be first. My son is one of those kids.

My 7 year rushes to the front of the line as soon as the teacher calls them to line up. And, unfortunately, he'll push anyone who gets in his way. This is not good. And then if someone also wants to be first they'll push each other at the front of the line until the teacher calls them both to the back of the line. This is not a good way to make friends.

My son's best friend is also our next door neighbor. So they ride the same bus home after school. They want to sit together every day. But each kid also wants to sit next to the window every day. So they fight and push over who will get on the bus first every day.

I've pleaded with my son not to fight while getting on the bus. I've pointed out that being first in the bus line really isn't a big deal. It's a 5 minute ride. I've explained the consequences that he could lose his very best friend (and things wouldn't be so great between neighbors). Nothing has worked. The rush to be first in the bus line has continued.

Last week my son's teacher told me that my son had a breakthrough. He stepped aside in the bus line and let his best friend go first. And then you know what happened??? His best friend didn't like it. His best friend didn't want to be outdone. His best friend stepped aside and said, "No, You go first."

My son's reply was, "No, you go first."

And this went on until they got on the bus.

There is no winning.

It Doesn't Really Pay to be Early

I talked to my son's first grade teacher last Thursday. She was planning a "Sea Life" party for the kids to celebrate all the work they did learning about the sea and their projects about different sea creatures. I agreed to bring fruit for the party and asked what time I should be there on Monday. She told me to be there at 1:45.

So today is Monday. This morning I went to the grocery store. I bought cherries, grapes, watermelon and kiwi. I added some strawberries from my garden. I washed everything and cut it up into bite-size pieces for the kids. Then at 1:30 I took the fruit, my camera and my 5 year old and I drove to the school.

I saw one of the other classroom moms in the office. I asked her if she was there for the "Sea Life" party too. She gave me a funny look and said, "There is no sea life party today. That's next week."

"What?! I just asked Mrs. FirstGradeTeacher and she said to be here at 1:45."

"Yeah. Be here at 1:45 on Monday the 15th."

"Oh. Now what am I going to do with all of this fruit?"

The other mom chuckled a little. The office assistant who was sitting at her desk in the office chuckled too.

I did not chuckle. I am just about to search online for a drink recipe that calls for a lot of alcohol and a lot of fruit! Sangria Anyone?

Why?

Why is it that the scale in my bathroom goes up in increments of five but only goes down in increments of one?

Another Proud Parent Moment

Last night I took both of my kids (ages 5 and 7) to the kindergarten orientation at my son's school. Myhusband was still at work. We sat at a table with 2 other kindergartners and their families. The school served pizza and salad for dinner. It was hot day (almost 90 degrees) and I was happy not to have to cook. My kids were wearing shorts and sandals.

During dinner my 7 year old turns to me and says, "Mom, guess what I can do."

I didn't attempt a guess. "What?"

"I can pick up the cheese from my pizza that fell on the floor with my toes."

Proud Parent moment #374 is brought to you by Pizza Hut.

Magic Act

Today I did laundry. It's not usually terribly exciting and not blog-worthy but today was different. Today I put my darks in the cold water as I usually do. Then I put my bras in one of those netted lingerie bags to keep them from getting tangled with other things as I usually do. When I took the clothes from the washing machine and started putting them in the dryer, I found one bra that was no longer int he lingerie bag. Then I found the second one that was also not in the bag. Then I found the bag. It was still zipped up. So either the bras did a magic act and escaped the lingerie bag from the depths of my washing machine or maybe I was in a hurry and did something stupid like throw the bras into the washing machine and throw the lingerie bag into the washing machine separately. I mean the magic act is obviously what must have happened.