Merry-Go-Round

They can remove all of the teeter totters and replace the hot metal slides with ones made of colorful plastic. They can even lay down safe shredded rubber instead of cement slabs under playgrounds nationwide.

Just don't mess with the merry-go-rounds.

It's Time To Act Like A Grown Up

This morning dawned cloudy with a looming dark sky, threatening rain. The forecast for the rest of the day looks like clouds and 74 degrees. I muttered to myself "It looks like we won't be going to the pool today." In that very moment, I think I heard my house whisper a sigh of relief.

Yesterday I was out of town from about 10 am until after 9pm. Nate called me mid day in a bit of a panic. "How's the house?" I didn't understand what he was asking. "What's the state of our house? Is it a disaster?" I was three hours away from home and was trying to remember how I had left it. We had left in a hurry and I was pretty sure it wasn't good. I asked why. So and so was stopping by and Nate was on his was home with this person right behind him. No time to tidy. When I found out that the person coming over was a dad with seven kids to his name, I breathed a sigh of relief. "It's fine Nate. He'll understand." And he did. And it was fine.

But today, I hang up my bathing suit and I'm going to try to get some stuff done around here. Wish me luck. It could get ugly. I hear the dust bunnies are restless. Maybe even rabid.

They Taste The Same

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Like roasting mini marshmallows because we are out of regular ones.

Walmart's Shelves Have Been Lined With School Supplies For Two Weeks

Our school district hangs in the balance of old school and up-to-dateness. Just a couple years ago we were still marching into the high school gymnasium with all the kids in tow, just to sign all the papers and write a check to register everyone for school. We are not quite to the point that we can register online, clicking our children into school. As it stands, we receive all the necessary forms in the mailbox. They can be filled out in the comfort of my own home. In my pajamas. While drinking coffee. No children need to be dragged across town and made to sit in plastic molded chairs, waiting for me to update their information while twiddling their thumbs.

So this morning I filled out all of the necessary papers. Pink papers. Green papers. Carbon copy papers. Right in the middle of it all I came across the question that makes me chuckle every year. Times four. Four of my kids are headed off to school. Four times I laughed at this question. It's an insignificant little check box right in the middle of a bunch of other check boxes. Asthma? no. Heart problems? no. Blood Pressure Problems? no. Hearing Difficulty? *chuckle*

I am tempted to include a short paragraph when I send the registrations back in.

To Whom It May Concern,

Please note that I did not check either the yes or no box concerning my child's hearing. The test results have been inconclusive. Even contradictory. When the words "(insert any of my children's names), time to clean your room!" are yelled at the top of my lungs, three inches from their ear, no response. Completely deaf. On the other hand, when I whisper "(insert any of my children's names), do you want some icecream?" from the kitchen with the dishwasher, air conditioner, and oven fan running, through a closed door and while they are listening to their iPod, they respond within 3.45 seconds. Thus, I am unsure which box to check. Do with it what you will.

Sincerely,

Heth of the Laundry

Marathon Training: Day Forty Eight

New territory.

This morning we ran 14 miles. That is .9 miles more than I have ever run in my life. In fact, at 13.2 we let out a "hooray!" because each step was new distance. Training for and running a half marathon in 2006 took us to 13.1 miles and this morning we exceeded that. From here on out it's new ground.

And also, I am very sweaty.

TXT ME

How do you know you are too old to be texting?

When it takes ten minutes to send a message to your husband because you are using full punctuation and words like "casserole". Casserole is not a word that is meant to be texted. Is texted even word? Like I said....

Too old.

Updates

Since this blog has been mostly silent with the occasional post about vacation, I will update you on some of the goings on around the Laundry Pile this summer.

• First of all, the pile of laundry is fairly large right now. I'm hacking away at it one load at a time. That is when we are not at the pool.
  
• Toby learned to walk while we were on vacation. He's in that stumbly, out of balance, but still trying phase. It's completely adorable and I want to gobble him up.
• Jack is now 5. He had a birthday on the very day we were driving home from Northern Minnesota. I decorated his car seat with green balloons and streamers in an effort to win him over from the worst birthday situation possible, a whole day in the car.
• The kids just got back from "Grandma camp". They spent three days and two nights at my parents' house and we were childless. They made tie dyed shirts, played Frisbee golf, had a campfire, made a pinata, slept in a tent, and who knows what else. Nate and I went to a local water park without them and ate out as much as possible. Lots of Starbucks was consumed.
• I also took the child free opportunity to do some gardening. I made a new flower bed behind my garage. It was quite a sight, a crazy sweaty lady digging up her lawn. I do what I can to provide entertainment for the neighborhood.

In summary. Summer is good and I love it. Lots. Favorite season of the year hands down.

Not Just Any City. The Treasure City.

Words cannot even begin to capture the experience of a visit to Treasure City. Last year I mentioned it briefly. It is a whole 'nother level of shopping.

Are you in the market for an alligator head? They've got it.

Is that one too big? Are you living in a tiny little apartment and you just don't have the space? How about a mini? They are fun sized.

Where else can you find a row 'o horses?

I will warn you though. Once you are face to face with this much selection, you will have a hard time making up your mind. For a long time.

I wonder where they get it?

Whoever said the money can't buy happiness has never been to Treasure City. Because when Nate opened his white butcher wrapped, $4.99, "surprise package" that turned out to be a caller ID box, we laughed harder than we have in a long, long time.

Good bye Treasure City. See you next summer.

Vacation.

Ok, so here is the official vacation post. I have narrowed my 1000+ photos down to a mere 16. It's pretty much one of those vacation slide show experiences where your dang neighbors/family/friends/whoever, drag you over and pour you a lemonade and make you look through all of their snap shots from their recent trip to the Grand Canyon in an RV and it takes four hours. Except I have no lemonade, there are only sixteen pictures, and you can leave whenever you want and I won't be offended. I won't even know.

First of all. The best way to start a day at the lake is pancakes. This is my plate. Don't even think about stealing one of my pancakes.

We pack lunch before heading to the beach. PBandJ taste even more awesomer at the lake.

A typical day might include a little snorkeling,

some hunting for "crawdaddies",

definitely some jumping off the dock,

some jet skiing, (I am now a self declared "jet ski enthusiast")

a little bit of fishing (a lot more if you are one of the guys),

some swimming, reading in the sun, minnow catching, and then watching a gorgeous sunset.

This year we celbrated the 4th of July while at the lake. A couple highlights:

We also celebrated a certain someone's 5th birthday. This is his second birthday while on a vacation. Poor kid. I hope The Hulk cupcakes for breakfast made up for it.

We did a little bit of touristy shopping. My brother Luke bought a fabulous little lute type thingy that he proceeded to serenade us with.

And also a deer slingshot. Because it is the awesome.

And also, a coonskin hat is a must have.

On the way home we had to make a stop at Cracker Barrel for supper. Can't resist the rocking chairs for a family pic.

And we also stopped at Treasure City. But it deserves it's own post. Here is a teaser.

The suspense is killer isn't it?

Truely The Laundry Lady

When I said I was avoiding the unpacking process, I wasn't kidding. I did most of the suitcases but quit part way through, choosing the pool instead.

We have gone the past two days.

In an attempt to simplify the take-the-troop-to-the-public-pool ordeal, I packed all of our stuff in a big laundry basket. I rolled up all the towels, threw in all the rest of the junk (snacks, sunscreen, phone, keys, etc) and we took off. While standing around, talking to a friend while the kids played, she told me what her 9 year old son had said when he saw us walking across the parking lot. "That Heather, she's pretty smart. She just brings her laundry to the pool!"

The kid is a genius. Next time I'm bringing along a load of whites and a jug of detergent.

Vacation Is Over

We are home from the lake. Man, was that great.

Final photo total? 1081

It's going to take me awhile to wade through all of them. I have some favorites, here is one of them. Makes me wish I was still sitting on that dock instead of avoiding the unpacking process.

Prepare Yourselves

We have been on vacation at the lake for almost a week.

I have taken 853 photos.

Make Mine A Caramel Frapp with Whipped Cream

Another reason I love The Great White. More than one cup holder. *ding*