Rounding out June

It's been a great first month of summer, but it's been a full and long month, too.  I am so ready to turn the page on my calendar to July and know that we are on the official downhill slide towards Christmas. :)  BUT, first things first - Wrapping up June.  Here's some more summer highlights to round out this month's activities and news.

We gathered up a bunch of buddies

and headed to our beloved Don Fox Park to play.

There was no shortage of splashes, smiles, and sweet friends to enjoy in the sun.

Anna was quick to invite her friend, EmmaLove, over to play a little more later on in the week.  

Thursday was full of errands and such, so Friday was all about a field trip of sorts with a bunch of kiddos from our playgroup.  We headed north to check out Chaney's Dairy Barn on a mercifully overcast and breezy day. :)

We took in a private tour with Mr. Silas

and met Ms. Glimmer

who was so kind as to demonstrate how she gets milked twice a day.

After petting her and her baby bump (she is 6 1/2 mos pregnant)

and petting 6 week old Addison, too, 

we hopped back on our tractor hayride to where our lunches and fresh ice cream scoops were awaiting us.

Then it was time to let loose on the old farm favorite - big black corrugated slides!

We watched the rain come in from afar and, when it did, we let the kids play in it anyway.  :) They had fun camping out inside the big slides actually.

I just love a good landscape shot more and more every year.  Proof I am getting old.  I remember when I was kid saying, "What's the big deal? It's grass and trees."  Ah, ignorant youth.

More roughhousing on the farm.

Anna tuckered out pretty quickly.

By bedtime that night, my poor boy was hit with much throwing up and diarrhea and a fever.  It was a long, rough, messy, sleepless night that landed him sleeping in the kitchen to try to prevent any more nasty, hard-to-clean messes.  Today has gone much smoother.  Weaker and punier, but smoother nonetheless. All he has done is lay on the couch all day.  He took two naps as well and still was asleep in bed by 6:30, bless him.  He hasn't eaten in 24 hours now.  But he sure is cuddly and quiet.   

In other news, Anna got a pretty new Pottery Barn shelf in her room that she is so proud of. 

And since she did not come down with whatever Noah has, she also got to go to her good friend Caitlin's 5th birthday party with a dress-up tea party theme.  Adorable!

All that's left to mention from this week is the odd fact that my parents (again, who haven't been in our lives for a year now) shocked us by emailing not once, but twice, out of nowhere.  First to let us know in a group email that they have moved.  And then yesterday, to invite us to come to the lake with them next month if we would like to.  To which I stared wide-eyed and confused and angry at the screen all at once.  What?!!  Anyway, unwilling to be drawn back into that vicious cycle of that one day peaceful/one day psychotic relationship again, we politely declined and took the opportunity to decline in advance for anything and everything else going forward.  No.  Just no.  And still I just say, Seriously?  Like, SERIOUSLY?  

Anyway, shaking it off and looking forward to moving forward!  Get here, July!

From Fear to Fun in 3 Months

It amazes me to recall that only 3 months ago

  

 this girl wouldn't even put her face in the water in the BATH TUB! 

Now look at her go!

She's a totally different child who has discovered a whole new world.

And I can't catch her above water long enough to get her to smile for the camera!

Having a blast watching my babies grow up. Such a fun trip!

Growing in the Garden

Our garden 

just keeps growing 

and growing 

and growing 

good things

July is gonna be so fruitful!

Recipe: Homemade Mac N Cheese

I had this at a friends party not long ago and it was so yum I hounded her for the recipe.  Turns out, it came from her sister and we had to get her to email it.  Trouble is, my kids just DON'T CARE FOR mac 'n cheese at all.  Like ... they treat it like veggies.  What gives? That is why it has taken me months to get around to making this recipe.  The kids had to be forced to eat it, and let's face it ... who forces their kids to eat mac 'n cheese?  I only made them try a few bites and then I let it go.  But still, Josh and I loved it so it goes here on the blog, too.  Maybe my grandchildren will go ga-ga for mac 'n cheese and Noah and Anna will be searching my blog for the good stuff. Ha! 

Best, creamiest, most yummy mac and cheese Kimmie ever had:

1 lb. of large seashell pasta
1 stick of butter, cubed
1 block of Velveeta, cubed
1 can of cheese soup
1 can (use the cheese soup can) of milk
salt, pepper, garlic salt to taste

Cook pasta as directed on package. 
In crock pot, layer half of the pasta, butter, cheese, salt, pepper, garlic salt.
Repeat layer with other half of same ingredients.
On stove top, heat soup and milk.  Pour over layered mix.
Warm in crock pot on high til creamy and gooey, then keep on warm.

Recipe: Rosemary Ranch Marinade

Um - You must make this!  It was REALLY good! 

Rosemary Ranch Chicken 

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup ranch dressing
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
1 tablespoon white sugar, or to taste
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves -

In a medium bowl, stir together the olive oil, ranch dressing, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, salt, lemon juice, white vinegar, pepper, and sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes. Pound chicken breast to 1/4" thickness. Place chicken in the gallon size ziplock bag, and stir to coat with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours (all day). Preheat the grill for medium-high heat. Grill chicken for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and the juices run clear.

A Week of Noah and Anna

Some things Anna and Noah squeezed into this week....

Kids Night at Chick-Fil-A.  Anna made nice with KidCow and her giant butterfly balloon hat from a new Balloon Man.

Lots and lots of swimming. We hosted two different playdates here at home, in fact, so the pool got a LOT of action!

One morning my babies were mixing drinks of all sorts before I got up.  Seeing this took me back to my childhood when I tried a million different ways and secret ingredients to make chocolate milk. Alas, I would not try anything these two made.  Something about the milk and juice and strange particles floating around in warm water just made my lip curl.  BUT, I cheered on their creative play just the same.

Noah's General Greivous Starfighter Lego set that we snatched up for 1/3 the retail price.  GTP strikes again!

Love Noah's grin during his last swim class.

Anna killing it on her last day of swim class, too.

And of course, more firefly catching.  They collect them, gather in the bathroom in the dark and watch them light up, and then quickly release them again before bedtime. ♥

There was a horse-drawn buggy ride at CFA today for a Cowboy Round-Up thing, so we figured what the heck.  Look closely and you'll see my Noah and Anna and Josh riding alongside KidCow.  Anna and Noah raided the dress-up bin and each found just the right cowboy duds for the occasion.  Noah also got to practice using a lasso. Anna spent that time petting a sweetie pie mini Australian shepherd puppy.

In other news for this week, Noah was able to buy himself a Nintendo DSi with his very own money.  He even had enough cash leftover for me to win him a game on eBay, too.  We bought the DS secondhand (GTP, again) and I had a little anxiety about it not working well, but it works just great and Noah LOVES his new purchase.  He says so every time he gets to play it in the car.  "I love my DS!" And I love that for him. :}  Anna has no money to spend, but she somehow finagled $10 outta me on a Lowe's run today after Chick-Fil-A.  We were scoping out flowers while Josh grabbed a few necessities.  Next thing I know, we are bringing home a new pet for Anna - some pretty Gerber daises.  I stop and grin to think about how these purchases really catch the spirit of my kiddos .... video games and pretty petals.  ♥

Off the Wall ... of my Brain

• I am in a rare mood where i just want all the world to stay out of my face.  Accordingly, we stayed home every day of this past week, not counting swim lessons and drs appts.
• Did I ever tell you we have sea monkeys now?  And I almost killed them already by forgetting to feed them for four days.  No worries, they are fine and ... reproducing already.  I hate that I know where this is going though ... into the toilet eventually.  Poor things.  I seem to be the only one who pays them any attention.  Just like the fish days and the caterpillar days.
• We dropped $1100+ on car repairs and a big maintenance check up for the Acadia this month.  As many times as that car has been to the shop in 5 years, this is the first time we have actually had to pay for anything.  I can't complain about that, I suppose, but I sure don't like the feeling of our short-term savings account sitting on zero now.  
• Chewie's summer kill count is up to a total of 7 birds, 3 moles, and one snake (technically killed by Josh, but found by Chewie) ... and 2 mice via Josh's workshop glue traps. 
• Swim Lessons are officially over for this year.   Noah did great, as did Anna.  They were both so ga-ga for their respective teachers that they made the sweetest cards for them on their last days. Anna, especially, was quite sad to see her class end and cannot wait to start again in March.  When I watch my babies spend more time under water than above it while they are playing in the pool, I am so glad for the time they spent at Sea Star and so glad their fear of water is behind them.
• We downgraded to basic cable this month to lower the bill and it only hurts a little.  I was mourning a few channels that I no longer got as a result ... and then I discovered we do still have them in the lower channels that are not HD.  That's better than nothing, so Kimmie is thrilled!
• We recently finished watching an HBO mini-series via Netflix.  It was so interesting!  John Adams. Check it out!
• We've gotten our first cucumber and tomatoes finally this month.  Noah eats them as soon as they come off the vine though, so I have to hurry to get them before he does.
• We got a surprise check in the mail this week from a class-action lawsuit we entered a claim in waaaaaaay back in AL when I was pregnant with Anna.  It pertained to diamonds bought during certain years ... the years when Josh got my engagement ring and also my earrings.  When we moved, I figured we'd missed out on hearing back how that all turned out.  And then I forgot all about it in the 5 years since....until we got $77 for our cut in the mail this week.  How cool is that?
• Noah got his first sealants this week on his six-year molars and I can't wait for the rest of his permanent teeth to make their way into the world so we can slap sealants on the rest of them, too.  He got two more fillings on a couple baby molars while we were there, too.  I have 3 cavities myself that I am none too thrilled about.  But at least it's not the FIVE that a substitute dentist tried to tell me I had. :S  I hate the idea of getting those fillings and will probably wait awhile to get my brain around it first.  In 34 years, I have only ever had one cavity ... back when I was 21 and I disputed it even then, too. So the news that I have a few more is not welcome but, now that I have a second opinion on them, it is at least believable. 
• We have been broke as a joke this month (last month, too, honestly) and have put all our spending on lock-down.  In fact, we went on such lock down that it looks like we'll have extra money at the end of the month.  I think that is hilarious.  And motivating!  Disney in December is calling our name and we need to save some more moolah!
• In other money woes, Chewie has another UTI and I had to drop more stupid cash on that fact. Grrrr. Remind me not to let the kids talk me into another dog after he dies. I hate spending money on an animal ... especially when we are bleeding money on dental stuff and car stuff and are generally broke as joke as indicated above. 
• Can't believe my littlest baby is knocking on 5 YEARS OLD in just three months!
• That fact alone has us talking again about our next adoption... Just talking.  But talking all the same.

Planning

This week I got out a calendar and this bad boy

and set down to map out days that we will get to work and days that we likely won't.  I am getting binders of curriculum situated and considering things that I will do with Anna while I work with Noah. Setting up a lesson plan book again feels. so. weird.

Anyway, we are looking at logging our first second grade hours the week of July 23rd.  Exactly one month from tomorrow. Truthfully, we'll have a number of hours before then with reading, phonics review, and some science experiments (I think), but the actual nitty gritty routine of at least 4 hours a day will begin then.  And according to my calculations, we'll wrap up second grade in early-mid May.

New Words Lately

maladroit

gaoler

loup

verve

unstintingly

hegemony

dudgeon

whinge

claptrap

antipodean

proscenium

frontispiece

fossicked

fusty

ansible

dirigibles

albedo

littoral

This Father's Day

The kids and I pulled together a few gifts, cards, and a survey tribute to Josh for Father's Day.

Anna serenaded him as soon as his feet hit the floor of the downstairs this morning.  Noah made sure Daddy was planning to share some of his sweet treats with him, too.  Being a top-notch Dad like he is, Josh assured him he will.  The spoils of this Father's Day include a pancake making pan/contraption since pancakes are Josh's trademark dish just about every morning of the year.  We also grabbed him some nice new t-shirts and some of his favorite candy.  And a tie, clearly. :}

Since I am not the cookingest wife, there was no breakfast in bed, but we'll grab donuts and coffee on the way to church instead and do today Josh style ... generally taking it easy and probably outside mostly.  Josh and I are headed to a movie later this afternoon, too.

Anyway, I couldn't help but share the survey results this year. It's always fun to find out the kids' candid responses.  Any which way you slice it, it's clear that my babies know their daddy enjoys them, loves them, and he is the working kind - at home and away. :) Celebrating Father's Day just comes so naturally when you've got a Daddy around like ours.

My Dad 2013

My Dad is funny because...
A - he plays tricks.
N- he tickles me.

My Dad thinks I am funny when...
A - I am a wittle bit fussy.
N - I cry.

My Dad is ____ years old.
A - 20
N - 55

His favorite thing to do is ...
A - play with us.
N - sleep.

His favorite color is ....
A - black.
N - black.

My Dad's job is ...
A - going to work help us get money and keep our car.
N - working.

He loves to eat ...
A - macaroni and cheese.
N - cookies.

He is really good at ...
A - building in his shed.
N - baseball.

My Dad loves when I ...
A - give him kisses.
N - tickle him.

My Dad always says ...
A - "I love you" at nighttime.
N - he wants to go work in his shed.

My favorite thing about my Dad is ...
A - loving him and hugging him.
N - when he laughs and then Mommy laughs and then I start laughing.

In Anna's words, "Happy Fodder's Day," Joshua!  "We wuv you." ♥ And in Noah's words, "Hey!  Is there a Kid's Day? When is Kid's Day?"

Before Father's Day Tomorrow

It's such a weird balancing act to celebrate Father's Day and to ignore it all at the same time.  To be alive to the happy day for my husband and to feel dead to the day in terms of my own father.  

I haven't heard his voice in over a year.  Haven't seen him in over a year.  And I can tell I am staring down many more years of that same thing.  I can feel it, as deep as anything, that this a terminal case. There just is no going back for him (and her) and me.  I think we are officially what you call "estranged".

I typed a bunch of other stuff along this topic and then deleted it.  Just thinking out loud and then wisely letting it go.  Just needed to get it out of my system before Father's Day tomorrow.

My kids and I have a certain someone to celebrate! Gonna dwell on that instead.

Outtakes From This Week

It's been a busy, dare-I-say hectic, week.  Daily I have been reminded what an introvert I am and that I need down time alone at home to feel normal.  So next week we will have to tone down the number of planned events.  It's just not right that summer should be more stressful that the school year, right?

Anyway, some outtakes from this week include discovering a second (and much larger) snake in the back yard.  Thanks for the heads-up, Chewie! 

Right after our Sunday night bible study met, we witnessed two wonderful rainbows right out the back door. It's a pity my camera didn't capture the color ... or the second rainbow.  Just trust me - it was there!  And I have a handful of kiddos that screamed praises off the banister that night to prove it. ♥

Anna commandeered her Daddy to discuss the creation and location of a stand-up swing she has designed in her mind.

Lots of swimming took place since it finally got hot around here.  We had some friends over to swim, too, but I went off camera-duty that day.

Noah's very last t-ball game ever.  Next up, coach-pitch baseball in the fall.

More swim lessons ... capped off with a ride down the slide that Noah was excited to do.  It is just me or does he look TINY there?

One of three playdates.  I felt so overwhelmed, I actually cancelled on two playdates, which is not my style.  Then again, neither is a busy, busy, go, go, go week, so something had to give. :S

After an evening trip to the park, it was time to hunt fireflies.  Why not?  We were already up waaaaay past bedtime anyway.

We hunted til we discovered we were being hunted ourselves ... by mosquitos.  :S  Noah was a firefly catching machine, though, catching 4-5 in a single handful!

The week was topped off by Noah's Closing Ceremonies for t-ball ... which Josh said was a zoo, so we just took a quick pic with his Little League trophy after all was said and done.  The actual trophy was a nice surprise since last year all they got was a medal.

Throw in three dental visits, an HBO mini-series that we were obsessed with, having more friends over to swim, discovering Chewie has another UTI, fielding some head-lice news and fears (thankfully we were in the clear), and getting prepped with Father's Day goodies and you have a packed week for the Browns.  I'm beat!