July 4th Ideas

July 4th is this weekend! I love this holiday and plan on celebrating it to the full this year. I've been looking for ideas to make our family get together great and came across so many really good ones, I decided I need to share. Please note that I am entirely skipping any main course meal ideas because, well frankly, I'm not a good cook and am leaving that portion to those in my family who do it better than I do and because it would make this post longer than my attention span. So here we go...

PINWHEELS

This is a classic idea from Good Housekeeping Magazine and I put it up mostly because the picture is so pretty. For specific instructions, click on the "pinwheels" label. (No, I am not being paid to promote any of these ideas. I am crediting the sources because I am afraid I will get in trouble if I don't. But if they decide they don't want to sue me and do indeed want to pay me instead, I will gladly accept. Four kids people.)

FOURTH OF JULY DECORATION

This idea is from http://www.familyfun.go.com/. For all craft ideas, I have a need to keep it very, very simple. Partly because my kids are very young and need it simple and partly because I have no patience for the 20 steps it takes to create something I will throw away the next day. So this craft rocks! Very simple.

RED STRAWBERRY TEA

This is two ideas in one. I love the red tea idea and the recipe sounds yummy. I also love the blueberry skewers you can put in many drinks. Thank you again Good Housekeeping.

BERRY SPLASH

Here's a nod to the kids. My kids love tea, but we are in the south. Other kids may not, so for them, here's another great idea (ironically, from Southern Living. I guess there is a southern out there somewhere that doesn't drink tea).


STRAW FLAGS

This is one of my favorite ideas. So simple and much better than a sharpie on a plastic glass, although I'm not knocking it. (Southern Living)


STAR ICE CUBES

These are at Walmart for $1. Did you catch that? One. Dollar.

PATRIOTIC CAKE

Here's a fun idea that is so common I can't credit anyone with it. It's just a lovely idea and something the kids can help with.

PATRIOTIC STILTS

This is the idea that keeps on giving. First, the kids are occupied making it. Then, they are occupied playing with it. Rock on.


FACE PAINTING

You CAN NOT forget to whip out some face paints and and look silly for a few hours. Now, if you are an adult at an all-adult work-related party, I may eat these words. But for the vast majority sitting on blankets in parks and backyards everywhere, it's a winner.

PICNIC BLANKET

Any lastly, when it's time for the fireworks, take this one with you. This is not as much a great idea as it is a great bargain. Walmart is selling these blankets in any size with a matching tote for $19.

Hope you enjoy your celebration!

Bits of My Weekend - Vol. II

This weekend had some great moments. We started with a tradition – movie night. All the kids ran to get their blankets and pillows and favorite stuffed animals (it’s important for the scary parts) and cuddled on top of the “movie night blanket” - an overstuffed, super soft comforter laid out on the floor. Julia especially loves this. She couldn’t care less about TV yet, but rolling around like a dog on the comforter… it’s her happy place.

We watched this classic.



Next up, we celebrated Grandpa’s birthday this weekend. We decorated...





and bought an ice cream cake (which despite the awful writing and ill-advised choice of icing color was de-li-cious)…


and surprised him. He’s a low-key guy who didn’t expect us to decorate and buy a cake and surprise him. So it was that much more fun to do it. He loved his homemade presents and was still smiling even after the sticky-kid hugs. Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

To top off the weekend, I bought the kids a pool. I seriously underestimated what was required to get this thing up and running. Armed with my hand pump, I started pumping away. I pumped…



And pumped…



And pumped…



And pumped…



And finished the following afternoon. I now have biceps like Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was boiling hot and after pumping for seemingly days on end, it didn’t matter that my kids had given up on me and left. There was only one thing to do. But first, I should explain that my youngest is now 19 months old and I am a little late in recovering my pre-baby figure. >>> laughing so hard I almost dropped my laptop <<<. That would be an understatement. But my modesty had melted hours ago and I didn't care anymore. Neither did I care that both my neighbors were in their backyards in full view. I took my full-figured self out into the backyard and got my swim on kiddie-pool style. By myself. One thing about going through some tough times in life is you learn what matters and what doesn’t. And on that hellishly-hot afternoon, my neighbor stopped, looked, and froze with his mouth open. Important? Nope. Funny? Oh yeah. I had a good laugh. I was rewarded with water that could have been pumped in from the polar ice cap. It was blissful. I’m still smiling.



Here’s to laughing at yourself.

Soon to come... 4th of July ideas.

And for other “Bits of My Weekend” blog posts, check out Six In The City.

Bits of My Weekend

Hello to all you "Bits of My Weekend" bloggers. I've been following this for a couple weeks and finally decided to jump in.

Because I am constantly chasing around four little ones (quite literally chasing most of the time), cooking at my house is an evil necessity. Evil because it takes time. Evil because it doesn't magically appear on demand. Evil because it provides an opportunity for my house to be taken apart piece by piece while I am otherwise distracted in the kitchen.

HOWEVER, this weekend was different. My sister, her husband, and my nephews came in town and it was all the excuse this sandwhiched-out mom needed to make some real food. And boy did we. We started as any good cook does... with someone else making the food. Macaroni Grill for an early lunch (oh Pollo Caprese, you have secured your place in my heart forever). Then we grilled out both nights. Apparently, we couldn't get enough of the word "grill".

I decided to try a new recipe for dessert. I thought I was making a tart, but was fooled completely. On the cover of this month's Southern Living magazine is this mouth watering wonder...

Tart? Oh contrare. It's a shortcake cooked in a tart pan. Seriously, I just would have bought it in the store if I'd known. But it turned out to be worth it in the end. Here's how it turned out...




Yummy. Here's a link to the recipe:

Southern Living's Strawberry-Orange Shortcake Tart

Here's to family and long summers! And to check out other Bits of My Weekend bloggers, go to this blog.

The Complete Destruction of My Mind

OR WHY I NOW SPEAK A ONE-SYLLABLE LANGUAGE

I vaguely remember taking my college finals. The clearest detail about it now was my ability to remember an ENORMOUS amount of information and actually be able to recall that information on demand. Today if you asked me to recall any little piece of information at all on demand, I might pee my pants. I no longer have any memory whatsoever. I trace the destruction of my mind to that first year as a mom. Some doctors say it’s the pregnancy hormones. But I know for sure that directly after giving birth, I could still remember my last name.

What happened then? I can only peg it on sleep deprivation. Long-term, mind-numbing sleep deprivation. I’m convinced that’s the culprit. It forced me to use every last bit of physical effort and concentration to focus on four things - food, poop, sleep (for the baby, not for me)and temperature. Is she hungry? Did he poop? How long did she sleep? Is he hot/cold? I became a constant record keeper of the little bundle’s most basic functions. Then with the girls I had to add a fifth… where’s her brother (as in, what’s he doing to make her cry)? God must have known I needed to be able to count these things on my fingers, because I swear I’m not lying when I say I would hold my last finger and trrrrryyyyyyy to remember the one on the list I was forgetting, even though the list was repeated endlessly every day.

Over time, my mind turned to mush. Advanced economic theory studied nightly for hours… poof! Favorite Tennyson poem… replaced with the instructions for making formula. Names of former co-workers… not a chance in… ahem, not a chance. (So if I used to work with you, please do not put me in a position to have to remember your name. I can’t do it to save my life.)

This is also why I think most moms end up counting their child’s age in months. Because for most of the first year, you can still count on your fingers so you’re good to go. After that you lose track and who can remember if it’s been a year yet or not? I couldn’t even remember what year it was period.

I think this is also why we speak the la la language, you know, the one-syllable language you heard spoken in grocery stores before you were a mom and swore you would never degenerate to. But degenerate we have. You can outline your entire day in syllables now…

Peek-a-boo, poo poo, boo boo, kiss kiss, stop it!, come, go, sit, eat, sleep, ni night, luv u.

Oh yes, and… Come here or else – one, two, thr-thank u.

Our Little Spot of Heaven

OR MY BACKYARD

We spent the morning in our backyard. It’s a magical place. I would post pictures but a picture can’t tell you how the breeze mixed with the dew and the azaleas to create a perfume that floated around us. And a picture wouldn’t be able to show how the sun made the leaves sparkle and dance making the ground look like green jewels instead of grass. Right in the center of the yard is a swing set cushioned with pine straw from the five tall pines trees that circle it. The yard begins at our house and ends at the edge of a large forest, but since the fence is only a half-height chain link, it’s easy to think it goes on forever and we are in a clearing. Our back gate leads into a tangle of trails and ponds. Deer sometimes let curiousity pull them out of the forest and give us a quick look. Squirrels, cardinals, blue birds, butterflies, bees, ladybugs, one woodpecker, and a hawk think it’s their home too. There are vegetables in the garden and hydrangeas blooming near the deck.



Also on the deck is Little Crock, our gecko lizard whom I am convinced transplanted here with my parents from the desert. The see-through fence leaves Gracie free to play with our dog-friends next door, Tanzy and Brooks. The dogs call to each other and play and run just like the children do. When the wind blows, you can hear it in the trees and our voices echo like I’ve only heard before while camping in the wilderness.

It’s where Julia first went down a slide, where Olivia learned to swing, where Emma talks to the animals, where William practices casting with his fishing pole, and where they all chase fireflies. It’s where Grandpa grills, Nana reads, and I close my eyes and breathe.

I’m positive unseen angels blow us kisses there ;)

What I Wish I Had

OR HOW TO TORTURE YOURSELF ENDLESSLY

You know all those extremely dramatic TV shows that we all love so much?

These people come to crisis points again and again. You know what they have that I don’t? Not beauty. I’m not ugly looking if you can get underneath all the “life” sitting on top of me right now, or at least I used to be kind of pretty (said every mother ever). Not friends. I have great friends. Not a writer who plans out their life. I think God’s got me. You know what I totally envy about these fake characters? The ability to make a decision and walk away with that last glare, turn a corner, leave the building and never question themselves on it EVER AGAIN. And, just as wonderful, no one else ever questions them about it either EVER AGAIN. Bliss.

Instead, I’m stuck in the real world where I have to chose between rocks and hard places, then explain my decisions in detail one hundred times over and then fall asleep questioning myself again and again and when I’m done with that, I start round two… questioning myself on how my children will feel about it when they’re grown up. Pure torture.

I hear there are happy pills that can help.