Day 31

Well, actually, it is way past day 31. I've fallen way behind so I'm going to give a few updates and move ahead to get back on track!

We made more cupcakes.

We swam in the pool.

Gary the gator has a new small gator friend out back in the pond.

No more snakes in the pool.

We made snowcones.

I called dibs on the good pool float - TIMES INFINITY.

Smudge the kitten has a new home.

We stayed away from the skate park because of the heat.

I bought more Silly Bandz.

It's HOT.

That about sums it up, so let's move along.

Day 30 - AgressiveMother. com

"Be careful!"

"Don't do that!"

Why?

"Because you'll get hurt."

"I said BE CAREFUL!!"

"Stop doing that, NOW!"

"You're scaring me! KNOCK IT OFF!"

That is the sound of me telling the kids to calm it down as they act like wild banshees in the pool. I'm always waiting, on the verge of dialing the first two numbers of 9-1-1, just in case I have to call an ambulance.

"Be careful!!!!!!!" I've said that about 1 million times this summer.

Cole just looked at me today and said, "AgressiveMother.com, that's where you need to go."

What the heck is AgressiveMother. com?? That kid's a riot.

Day 29 - Shooting bugs

Isn't that cool? The dragonflies are swarming all around the yard. They get trapped in the screened-in area around the pool. They are blue and green and there are some really cool ones with brown tiger-striped wings. There are plenty of damselflies, also. They flit around too quickly to photograph.

Little spiders have suddenly shown up in the bushes and under the eaves of the garage. I'm not as crazy about spiders as I am the dragonflies but I still snapped a few shots.

The wasps are swarming around, too. They get in the screened-in area and make the kids scream!

"A WASP!!!!!"

Then, they jump out of the pool and race in the house, dripping all over the place.

Of course, the deadly stinging insect is usually way up at the top of the screen roof, about 20' above the kids. Good thing they got away quick!

Run away, 'fraidy cats, run away!

I always save the day with my trusty can o' wasp & hornet spray. I take steady aim and fire like a pistolero in a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western. The bad guy always drops dead to the ground just like the evil banditos in the wild west did when Clint shot 'em.

It's hot. Too hot to go anywhere. Certainly too hot to go to skate park.

And it's too hot to play outside. And besides, there's no one to play with - Ryan is gone for a month, the other Ryan is gone until school, Justin is at camp, Nathaniel is at his dad's, and all three of the kids are just sooooo BORED with no one to play with.

No one to play with (God forbid, that they play with each other!).

Go play with the bugs I'm watching old movies.

Day 28 - The Gators are restless

Gary the gator has been hanging around lately.

See? >>>>>>>

I'm not sure if it is coincidence or what, but he hangs out behind the house in the pond while the kids are swimming in the pool. Maybe he can hear or feel the ruckus they make.

Usually one of the kids will come running, yelling, "Mom! Look! There's the gator!". Then I race out with my camera in hand just in time to see him sink down so just his head or eyes are visible.

Last weekend, David saw ol' Gary fully up on the bank and judged him to be closer to 6'. I had previously said I thought he was only about 4'.

Last night, while I was straightening up around the patio I saw Gary come cruising down the center of the pond. It was almost dark, so I didn't run for the camera (should have!). I watched him get to the end of the pond and then, suddenly he jumped up right out of the water! I could see his white throat and belly! SPLASH!!

Yep, missed that photo op.

Today Ryan's mom, my neighbor across the street told me that she watched the gator in her pond (not same pond as behind my house!) eat two birds!!

The crazy gators are restless and showing off these days.

Day 27 - Silly is as silly does

Yoohoo! Aunt Christine and Uncle Ralph over there in China!! Hey, see these? >>>>

Your niece and nephews are obsessed with these. Surely, they are super cheap in China - the place they are made.

Everyone wants Silly Bandz (well, knock off Silly Bandz) every time we go out these days and every place we go has some kind of Silly Bandz to sell. Even the hardware store had a sign out that said, "We have Silly Bandz!".

$2.99 at Walgreens, $1.99 at Target, $2.59 at doodle mart, $1.49 at a different Walgreens, $2.99 at Publix, thank goodness we found some for $1 at Walmart!

The children have accumulated a huge number of Silly Bandz. My vacuum cleaner is full of Silly Bandz. The pool skimmer even has Silly Bandz!

Frankly, I think I'm in for an appalling $15 worth of Silly Bandz at this point, not counting the money of their own that the kids have spent!

So, to sort of quote Forrest Gump, "Silly is as silly does".

Day 26 - Cupcakes and clubs

Cupcakes! The very word is enough to get even the most "Ugh, do we have to go?" whiner to grab shoes and jump in the car.

Today we decided to check out Sugar Magnolia's in St. Cloud. It is a cupcake bakery. They had muffins and cookies, as well. The shop was cute and had a fun decor. The lady behind the counter was very friendly and patient.

There were no chocolate cupcakes when we got there this afternoon and surprisingly there was no mutiny! Each of the kids immediately wanted one of the "Salted Caramel " cupcakes. Not wanting to rock the boat while everyone was being so uncharacteristically agreeable, I decided to get the same.

Oh, my yummy, sugary heavens!!! They were so good! and big! Cole was the only one to finish his.

He summed it all up perfectly with his frosting covered mouth;

"It tastes like a miracle!"

This evening we dragged the whole clan to a club meeting (we just joined the local airboat association). The kids spent the whole drive over excitedly pondering all the cool things that being in a 'real club' means. Like maybe shirts or jackets, cool handshake to get in, a cool SECRET handshake, prizes and all kinds of 'CLUB' things that other people, not cool enough to be in the club, don't get to do.

They spent the whole ride home telling us how BORING being in a club is and that they never want to go to be in a 'real club' or go to a club meeting again.

Win some, lose some.

Day 25 - Free tastes better

Usually if I need to run errands or go to the grocery store no one wants to go. They immediately start complaining..

"Ugh, do we HAVE to go?"

"I don't want to go."

" Why can't you go when Dad gets home?"


The one exception is the liquor store. EVERYONE begs to go if Dad is going to the liquor store. The liquor store gives FREE lollipops. And once, when they were out of free lollipops they gave the children a king size bag of Skittles.


"Wow! That was awfully generous!" was my initial thought, then I remembered that they've made enough money off of us to buy stock in the M&M Mars candy company.


Today I needed to run to the pool store for liquid chlorine to combat the sickly green tinge the pool has from all the daily rain showers. The usual chorus of "Do we have to go?" started and continue right through to check out time at the store. Then, there IT was - a bowl full of FREE lollipops.


The ride home was filled with

"The pool store is cool."

"Yeh, I like that place. Can I come with you next time?"

and my favorite from Carlie,

"I think free lollipops taste better than paid-for ones."

I agree.

Day 24 - Lost and Found

Isn't he cute? We found him the other night in the median strip of the busy road in front of our subdivision. David had seen him in the road on his way back from the store.

David and I looked like crazy fools crawling around in the bushes and flowers of the median, trying to flush him out and grab him! Cars kept slowing down and looking. I'm sure the real laugh was seeing me swinging around a white lace tablecloth, trying to fling it over the kitty like a net.

Kitty was scared to death and famished! He's just a little guy. He looks about 2 months old or so.

The kids are calling him 'Smudge' because of the black on his face and one lone spot of black on his white tummy.

So now he needs a new home - QUICK! - before Blackie Chan and Gray Mysterio teach him any of their evil ways. Just what we need - three cats racing around on the roof!

Day 23 - Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July - frantically waving from the good ol' Us of A to my sister & her husband in China! See how all-American we are?

We took great photos in red, white and blue stuff. Doesn't Carlie look happy? >>>>

Cole used his special patriotic ninja flag moves on her so she's thrilled. She'll probably tell him he doesn't exist again today.

Our patriotic photos were interupted by the arrival of an AMERICAN alligator- aka Gary the gator. The kids ran out to see him. I didn't get a great photo before he sunk down but before this shot his whole head and back were visible. Early in the am (while I was sound asleep) David saw him fully up on the bank.

Then we threw some yummy all -AMERICAN favorites in the cooler - Coca-cola, chicken tenders, and hot dogs - and headed for the beach. Who cares if it is gray and rainy? It's the 4th of July!

We had a great beach day but the surf was rough, really rough. It nearly sucked my darling little dumplin's out to sea. They ended up scraped and with swimsuits full of wet sand but all alive. Now my super cool day-tripping transporter (the van) is full of wet sand.

It poured rain at times and we had no problem with crowds or traffic.

Then, we finished the night off with sparklers and watching the fireworks show from downtown Kissimmee.

Happy 4th of JULY!!!

Day 22 - Existentialism

Sob, sob, sob.

"MOM!!!" sob, sob. "MOMMMMM!!!"

Hearing the above, I know that surely, something terrible has happened. Someone or something has injured my youngest little dumpling and I must run to save him! Run, good mom, run!

Well, actually I just turned around from the front seat of the van and looked at him.

"Why are you crying like that?" I asked, as I look for obvious signs of trauma like blood, missing teeth or spilled french fries.

Sniffle, sniffle. "Carlie says I don't exist." Huh?

With the saddest face ever he asked me, "Do I really exist, Mom?"

Oh, good grief! "Carlie stop freaking your brother out!"

I comfort him, "Of, course you exist pumpkin. I can see you and your farts smell. "

Just the right answer to make a 6 yr old boy believe he is real again.

Day 21 - Food for thought

Food seems to be a constant issue here. Everyone wants something "good" to eat. There is "'never anything good to eat around here". The kids fight over the last good thing to eat. "When are we going to eat?", I hear all the time. We spend time baking and decorating our food creations to eat. Really, we do more than just eat.

Sometimes, we go out to eat. Sometimes, we order take-out food to eat. Sometimes, we go to the store and buy more stuff to eat.

Once we played the rhyming game in the van using the word 'eat'. Neat, heat, feet, seat, sheet, skeet, beet, meat, sweet, treat.. it just made them want something to eat.

It isn't always junk food. We eat healthy crap too. Like the fresh cantaloupe we had tonight.

Yummy! Well, fresh cantaloupe that 3 of us had. Two of us are afraid of orange food or something.

And we had this delicious corn the other night! Yummy and super cheap at 10 ears for $1.00.

Actually, 4 of us enjoyed the corn and one of us thinks yellow, bumpy food is of the devil.

So just to balance things out and make sure everyone had something to eat..we made microwave SMORES today! Super yummy, gooey goodness! No one is afraid of brown & white melted slime on a tan crispy cracker.

Day 20 - Summer Doldrums

The summer doldrums seem to have hit the kids. "I'm bored." and "There's nothing to do." are whined constantly while they stare blankly at Barnacle Boy and Mermaid Man on TV.

Bored? REALLY??

'Cuz, I sure wish I had the LUXURY of being bored!

But I don't because.. the truck is broken and we are down to one vehicle this week, it is raining again & the roof is leaking (again!) and I can't find a bucket fast enough. The ac system is leaking on laundry room floor. I think Gray mysterio leaked on the living room floor. Blackie Chan is on the roof and someone is ringing the doorbell - "No, sorry I don't want your religion today". The house phone is ringing. The cell phone is ringing. My ears are ringing from the sound of your little friends playing in the pool -who you are ignoring while you whine that you are bored, and your non-swimming friends need watching in the pool! Dinner cooking on the stove needs watching. I'm watching to be sure Blackie Chan doesn't jump on the counter and I'm want to watch Glenn Beck.

Nope, no time to be bored! Where are Mermaid Man and Barnacle boy when I need them??

Day 19 - POP!

"Hey, MOM!!! Watch me!"

There's Cole using a float to hover upside down in the pool. He thinks this is the most clever thing ever!

"Did you see me??!!"

Do other people's kids just happily float on pool toys, using them in the fashion they were designed, never popping them, just FLOATING on them?? Because, my children don't.

They make forts out of floats. They hang upside down under water in floats. They fling themselves onto floats and skim down the length of the pool (sometimes results in popping). They all bounce up and down in floats to see it they can make a wave of pool water swamp the deck (sometimes rough enough to pop a float). They stack up 2 or 3 ring floats and jump or dive into the 'hole' (been known to pop a float). They try to stand up and surf on a float. They pile as many kids as they can onto one float to sink it. They make water slides into the pool with a long float and the garden hose (potential popping situation). They tried to set Blackie Chan adrift on a float (POP!). See a theme here ? ..POP!

We took a break from popping pool floats to make cupcakes. The boys made 'America' cupcakes and Carlie helped me with the flowers.

Silly Mom made mini cupcakes. You know, the little ones that you can pop in your mouth in one bite. Just getting them cooled and decorated before the kids had eaten half of them was a major effort. The rest of the day someone was grabbing one, popping the whole thing in his or her mouth and looking like a frosting covered chipmunk as they denied taking another cupcake with their cheeks puffed out full of sugary goodness.

Mom turns her back, kid grabs mini cupcake, kid pops whole cupcake in mouth. POP!

Day 18 - How does your garden grow?

I'm longing for some big juicy Hanover tomatoes! I can't find any tomatoes here in Florida that taste the same.

In Virginia, growing a garden full of tomatoes was a piece of cake. Plant 'em, water 'em and pick 'em. Here in Florida, it's not so easy.

Maybe it is the weather, or the soil, or the light, or the chemicals all the neighbors' lawn services spread around for chinch bugs (which is just fun to say! Try it. Say "chinch bugs.")

I gave up on the few little plants I had around here in the flower beds and planters. I planted them back at the end of February. Yep, 4 months and no tomatoes to show for all of my hard work.

I've watered and watered and watered them. The irrigation system waters them and we have rain showers regularly to water them but they just did not grow. They fried in the sun. The plants are small, spindly, brown and only had a couple of blooms. I stopped worrying about them and then, a tiny tomato finally started to form on the burnt-up branch of one wretched looking plant like some sort of defiant, mutant mini-tomato. It is only 2" long and oddly shaped.

So, today I was able to pick a red, ripe tomato. It is definitely NOT a Hanover tomato. It is, sadly, a Florida tomato.

Day 17 - Fun with friends

The kids were all tired and grumpy from their big sleep-over last night. They played on the Skateboard ramp 0' Awesomeness for hours, had a night swim and later, toasted wienies and marshmallows over the patio fire pit. No one was injured or maimed during any activity!

So, it was a rousing success!!

Today the same gang of kids spent a good hour standing on the edge of the road watching cars run over a squished snake and squealing "EEEWWWW!!!" each time they could see its guts come out!
Good summertime fun with friends!

Day 16 - And so it goes..

A big day packed full of fun! Well, fun for me. I ran off to the thrift store to find quality vintage goodies while the kids hung out with Dad.

As I was browsing the linens, looking for a treasure I overheard this very loud, brassy-voiced, one-sided conversation into a cell phone..

"..so then I GO, " He what?"

and she GOES, "Uh, huh"

and then I GO, "Oh no, he didn't"

and THEN she GOES, "yes, he did"

and so I GO, "What?!".."

It was like a comedy skit and after about the 20th or so 'GOES' and 'GO' I wanted so badly to walk over and say it is "SAID" or "SAYS" or even "ASKED" but it is not "GOES"!!!

Maybe that conversation could have been..

"..so then I, astonished, ASKED, "He what?"

and she coyly insinuated with an, "Uh, huh" that he had indeed done it.

I was so shocked that I exclaimed, "Oh no, he didn't!"

She then confirmed that, "Yes, he did."

and I, still in disbelief, automatically replied, "What?!"

GOES??? Go??? How about trying out these other words - whispered, gasped, squawked, yelled, groaned, bleated, interjected, or chortled (thanks to hubby for that gem!)?

So I came home, still reeling from the reckless overuse of the verb "GO" that I had just encountered, to find a house full of kids. Apparently we are having a big sleep-over event tonight. Later, David ran out to the 'store' and came back with ..

THE SUPER COOL SKATEBOARD RAMP O' AWESOMENESS!!! (Thank you, Garrick & Becky!)

The kids were so excited! Everyone was a little intimidated to try a big trick but they still think just having a ramp is cool. I'm sure by Monday it will be THE SUPER COOL SIT ON TOP OF THE RAMP CLUBHOUSE SPOT O' AWESOMENESS. They will just sit up there and look cool!

And then Dawson will GO, "This ramp is awesome."

And then Carlie GOES, "Uh, huh."

And then Cole GOES, "What??!"

And then Dawson will GO, "Yes, it is!"

Day 15 - Another day, another snake

Another sunshiney day in the land o' sunshine! No rain or storms in sight for a change. Perfect pool weather..

The kids did their flying kaplooshes into the pool and then came the now familiar screams..

"MOM!! There's a snake!!!"

"A SNAKE!!!"


This time the snake was playing peek-a-boo with Gray Mysterio and Blackie Chan. Gray Mysterio was really trying hard to hold the little snakie-poo down by the tail. Snakie was having no part of it. He was desperate to hide under the bag of charcoal.

I finally rescued the poor snake from the evil clutches of the formidable Gray Mysterio, but it involved a lot of screaming, cussing, pleading and begging.

"Please, please, go that way snake.", as I prodded it with the leopard print broom that I got from Lowe's.

"EEEK!!!!!!!!!!!" "Holy SH*T!!!!" "GO THAT WAY!!!!!", as it moved towards me instead of the screen door and I run the opposite way.

"OUT!!!OUT!!!!!!!!!! You, DAMN snake!!!", as it headed back toward the charcoal hide-away instead of the door! I jumped around swiping at the reptile with my leopard print broom, wearing my leopard print swimsuit and swearing like a sailor. I know who the neighbors will be talking about this week!

The kids had a few giggles at my expense but the snake was ejected from the pool area and Gray Mysterio was left looking puzzled as he batted at the charcoal bag.

Day 14 - It's a zoo in here

Yes, that is right - Day 14. There is no day 13. I skipped 13 because I'm extremely superstitious and I already have Blackie Chan, the all black cat who climbs on the roof. I don't need any other bad luck stuff around here.

As I've said, the best part of summer vacation is sleeping late..

I haven't been able to experience that particular joy yet this summer, but I'm still sure it exists.


Today I blissfully dreaming, something about winning the lottery or a big prize when I hear an abrupt ,

"MOM, where's my DSI?".

Huh? Your what??? and why I am I supposed to know where it is. "Go ask your brother."

There, I solved that crisis, so back to sleep I go. Good mom award for me.

I was just dozing back off into that especially deep sleep, back into my dream, just about to explain why I selected the exact numbers I did. They were ..


"MOM!!! They really do exist! The BEAV-COON is real!!!"

Huh? the what?? Oh, no brother is awake!


I open my bleary eyes to see my youngest child jumping up and down and holding his fingers in circles around his super-wide-open eyes.


"They have BIG eyes like THIS!!! SEEEE!!!!" He yells excitedly.

Huh?

"And big buck teeth like this!" says this jumping, bouncing boy as he protrudes his front teeth over his bottom lip.

" AND, there are really LIGERS, ZeDONKS, GIRAFFE-IPPOS and TIG-ONKEYS!"

Really? I mean, REALLY???

"AND THEY GO LIKE THIS!!!!" he yells as he jumps onto the bed and starts making loud "OOO, OOO, AAAA,OOOO" monkey noises as he bounces.

Stop that!!

"See, big eyes LIKE THIS!!!" he says again as he leans right into my half-asleep face until our noses touch and I can see how big his BEAV-COON finger-rimmed eyes are.
Get out of my face!!

Go do that somewhere else! There are no Beav-coons or Tig-onkeys or even Giraffe-ippos!

Ok, I solved that animal circus crisis. If I try really hard I might be able to go back to my lottery dream and hear the winning numbers! Almost there, just dozing off and I'm about to say the exact numbers I chose ..

"WHIRRRRRRRRRRRZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!".

Weed trimmer.
Followed by zero -turn lawn mower, followed by a lot of other annoying sounds. The neighbor's lawn service is right on time at 8:30 am. I might as well get up and feed BEAV-COON boy some giant waffles.

On a motivating note, the other boy REALLY, I mean REALLY needs an expensive Tony Hawk skateboard, so he was even willing to try his hand at being our own discount lawn service today. He charges $5.00 but at least he works afternoons, not mornings.

Day 12 - Scenic views

Christine sent some scenic photos from China, recently. People were enjoying the beach and the rocky coastline. It looked so different from the scenery around here.


I noticed these handy-dandy, informative signs are now cluttering up our scenic views around the neighborhood. I'm not sure if it is our homeowners association fees at work or the golf course that is behind them.


In all the time I've lived here in this golf course community, where every other house has an in-ground swimming pool, it has never occurred to me to take a dip in the pond. I've never seen any one else cooling off on a hot summer afternoon in a slimy, algae coated puddles that we call "golf course lakes" either. Not one person swimming, wading, splashing, bouncing on floats, playing Marco Polo or chicken fights in the deep part. Not one.

Good thing we have signs up now just in case my children suddenly decide to take a dip with that cute little Gary the Gator we have out back instead of our nice fresh pool. Now, I can so "No, it is against the rules." instead of my standard reply,

"ARE YOU CRAZY!!?? There are gators in

there!!".

I've always refrained from swimming on the golf course for the obvious reason; because I figured cute little Gary's mom or dad looks about like this..

Day 11 - Chasing Rainbows

Another day, another rainbow.

After the afternoon storms roll through we are having rainbows and double rainbows each day. Tonight Carlie and Cole both begged me to drive them "over there, across the lake to those people's back yard." They are convinced that the rainbow ends right there.

We tried to explain it again but gave up when they PROMISED to share the pot of gold. So we said, said "Jump in the truck!". Off we went on a family trip to the end of the rainbow. Because of the way our neighborhood road circles around the rainbow seemed to be all over the place. Cole said, "Wow! Rainbows move quick!". It faded away before we could pinpoint the exact location of the end and the big pot o' gold.

We hit the skate park again today. It was as miserably hot as last week and Dawson took a nasty fall. His knee is raw but he's still begging for a $100 Birdhouse skateboard that he NEEDS.

Keep chasing that rainbow, kid.

Day 10 - Pool games

Sunny and hot. Perfect pool weather.

The kids enjoy pool floats with wild abandon. Running, jumping leaps are taken off the side of the pool onto stacks of floats or onto a single float that skims along the water's surface to the other end of the pool. Yanking floats out from under your sibling, flipping your sibling over and bashing your sibling in the head with a float 'on accident' are all fun pool games.

I enjoy a single pool float with cup holders in a still, quiet pool.

Today I snuck out to the pool while the kids were watching a movie. Getting onto a pool float is a terrible, undignified experience involving teetering and wobbling, weird pool float sounds and swimsuit adjustments. Getting off is no piece of cake either. I imagine my neighbors are watching and taking bets on how many times I'm going to slip off before I finally get myself perched perfectly on my flotation device. I have finally fine-tuned getting on and off with out getting my hair wet, getting pool water on my sunglasses, spilling my drink, or drenching my true crime book but it is still not a pretty sight.

Once I am on the float and carefully holding the perfect, skillfully balanced position to prevent capsizing I drift along imagining myself in some far off exotic place with warm breezes and rustling palm fronds - well actually, it's Florida so I have warm breezes and rustling palms going on already.

Today just as I'm lost in thought in the very middle of the pool I hear a far off voice say something that sounds slightly like "snake". That's weird. Did one of the children just say..

"MOM! THERE'S A SNAKE IN THE POOL!!"

Snake! In the pool?!!!

Dignity be damned! I hit the water in a big bubbling splash, floundering around blindly for the side or the steps because my face is covered by my dripping wet hair and my sunglasses are gone. While I drag myself over the edge of the pool to lay gasping and sputtering on the concrete my book bobs by. All the while I imagined an anaconda sized venomous snake right behind me about to bite my butt because my swimsuit needs adjustment.

The kids are just staring at me like I'm nuts. "Look at that cute little snake in the pool, Mom."

Carlie decided to name him Fluffy.

Day 9 - Oddly the same

"It's hot."

"There's nothing to do."

"I'm bored."

"There's nothing good to eat around here."

Ah, the sound of my 3 little lambs enjoying summer to the fullest! Of course, it is hot. It's summer in Florida. Florida = HOT.

How can you be bored with a pool, bikes, skateboards, scooters, video games, cable tv and a dozen little friends around the neighborhood to play with you?

And.. there is good stuff to eat around here. I just hid it all so there's still good stuff to eat when I get hungry.

I was glad to hear from Christine this week. She and Ralph are settling in at the hospital in China, for his medical treatments. Strangely, Christine sent me an email today that says..

"It's hot and smoggy here."

"The days are dragging by. There's nothing to do."

and..

" We should have packed more food. The food is terrible here."

Hmmm... that sounds oddly familiar.

Day 8 - Rainy Season

When life gives you rain, make rainbows and I love Justin Beiber artwork.

I like rainy days. For a little while, there is a fresh new look to the same old things around here.

But who would want to take in nature's show when you can stay inside complaining about how bored you are and drawing hearts around Justin Beiber's head?

Day 7 - What Leprechauns do for a living

There was no peace and tranquility this morning..

7:34 am "Mom, are you up yet?"

No, leave me alone.

5 minutes later "Mom, when are you getting up?"

Not right now, leave me alone.

3 minutes after that "When are you getting up??"

WHY???

1 minute later "Now, are you up?"

NO!!!!

2 more minutes later "Mom, when you get up will you make giant (Belgian) waffles?"

Muttering something unintelligible as I roll over..

while I hear "Yay!! Mom's gonna make giant waffles!!!!!!!"

I am sure I DID NOT say I would make waffles, but obviously sleep is out of the question so giant waffles it is.

Rainy season seems to have arrived. By afternoon each day, the skies fill with gray clouds and distant thunder is booming. Today those afternoon storms resulted in a rainbow just before sunset. Cole was convinced that the leprechaun's pot of gold is in that house across the lake.

The last time we saw a rainbow Cole wanted us to drive over to the end of it and get the pot of gold. We tried to explain that the end of the rainbow is far off and not 'just right over there'.

He huffily told us, "UGH! You just don't believe what leprechauns do for a living!"

Day 6 - Frugal baking

Today we are making the coolest cookies ever - STAR WARS cookies! These may also be the most expensive cookies EVER.

Granulated sugar - $2.15
Meringue powder - $5.00

Real butter - $3.49

Confectioner's sugar - $1.85
Cool new icing colors - $3.69
Williams-Sonoma Star Wars Cookie cutters - $19.99
Gas to drive to Williams-Sonoma store - $12.00
Other great things I saw at the mall while going to Williams-Sonoma - $38.79

Luckily, we had flour and eggs and other ingredients on hand!

The kids had a blast, made a mess, and ate half of the end result before I could get it all cleaned up.

6 hours and $86.96 later we had a few dozen of the coolest, lopsided, mangled, sugar coated Galactic characters EVER!

Day 5 - Sweating to the Ollies

What sounds better on a blazing hot 95 degree Florida afternoon than standing smack dab in the middle of a big slab of concrete?

Standing there with two little kids who don't want to be there and are whining to go home, of course.

Holy Moly!! It's hot out there! Who's bright idea was it to go to the skate park?

Standing was the only thing we could do. The benches and ramps were too hot to touch, much less sit on. I learned that the hard way.. by burning a big stripe across the back of my thighs sitting on the metal rimmed bench (well it looked like a bench, but come to think of it who puts a bench in the middle of a skate park and puts metal around the edges?). OUCH!!

The two little ones crawled under a ramp to hide in the shade on the only 'cool' piece of concrete they could find.

Dawson happily kickflipped and ollied until his face was as red as the backs of my legs and he dripping sweat.

{Note to self: There's a reason we had the whole skate park to ourselves today. Remember that next time the boy asks if we can go to the skate park.}