a simple Sunday

...of laundry on the line, and a trip to the farmer's market, and working around the house.

(A humid, breeze-less day means long drying times.)

(Forgot to take pictures at the market, but here's some of what came home with us.)

(We're replacing the shutters because they're faded and cracked and just downright ugly. After Rich took them down, a major scrubbing was in order.)

(It's nice to have such cute little helpers.)
























...of baking dog biscuits, and baking bread, and baking raspberry crumb cake.

(And while Rich had his cute little helper outside, I had my cute little helper with me in the kitchen. In fact, the whole reason we're even baking dog treats is because my little helper wanted to.)

(Italian Herb Bread. By far the best recipe I've made in the bread machine so far...even if the picture is lousy.)

(Again, the picture does not do this justice. This is what became of those purple raspberries from the farmer's market. Mmmmmm.)


...of lesson plans for fall, and crocheting, and a bit of fun reading.

 (Okay, not a lot of progress was made on this front. I just can't seem to get motivated. But every little bit is something...or at least, that's what I keep telling myself.)

(The start of a new bathroom rug.)

(And I even finished a book. I may just meet my summer goal this year.)

a happy start to the weekend

Why am I in such a good mood today?!! Not that I'm complaining, I swear. But I a bit baffled. The boys, but especially Gray, had a rough night last night--which left me only getting a bit more than 3 hours sleep. And most of it was on the living room floor. And there is the fact that I'm really worried about a couple of friends. And then there is the fact that I've got one more hell week of school.

But this last one is probably actually a good bit of the reason for my good mood. Knowing there's just ONE MORE WEEK OF SCHOOL!!!! Yes, I've got so much to do that it makes me ill to think about...but it's JUST ONE MORE WEEK!!!! Not only will Annie and I finish up (except for writing her final quarterly report), but Friday is the boys' last day of school, too! Yes, they can drive me crazy sometimes, but oh how I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE having them around for the summer!!!! :D JUST ONE MORE WEEK!!!!

I'm also happy because Rich is so in love with his Father's Day present. We got him an iPhone yesterday. Really stupid thing to do, because we really don't need that monthly charge...but for now I'm just focusing on how very happy it's made him. :D

And Gray...he's having a great weekend. Last evening, he and Rich went to the Jazz Fest, just the two of them. He had a wonderful time! Including eating himself silly--lemonade, a veggie burger, ice cream, and on the way home, they stopped and had a frozen coffee and a donut! And he got a phone call yesterday from his best friend who invited him to go camping. They'll be picking him up in an hour or so and be back sometime tomorrow. It's just so darn nice to see this kiddo having such a special time! :D

And this picture...well, it just makes me smile.

whinefest

Not serious whining, mind you. But whining nonetheless. :P

*I always forget how tiring this time of year is. Busy busy busy. We've got soccer games four nights a week, tennis lessons one night, testing, field days, field trips, etc., etc., etc. Today was pretty much non-stop and I'm exhausted.

*Insomnia.

*I don't like the heat. I know, I know...it doesn't even get that hot here!!! But I'm wimpy, and the temp in our house has been in the mid-80s for the past few days, and I just haven't adjusted yet. I'm almost tempted to go to the grocery store just to be in the air conditioning. Almost.

*Poor Max is absolutely miserable. He suffers from chronic constipation (yeah, TMI...sorry). It's way better than it used to be, but he's been feeling lousy the past couple days. There were a couple times during his soccer game tonight when he doubled over for a moment or two. But the little trooper wouldn't give up. Broke my heart for sure though. And dingbat me forgot the camera yet again. Bad bad mom.

*I made Annie this cute little dress that I thought she'd love, and she says she does. But she hasn't worn it yet so I'm guessing she's just saying she likes it so she won't hurt my feelings. ;) Wish she'd wear it once so I could at least get a picture.

*Rich is out doing a bird and frog call count tonight (some project he's been taking part in for years). Now, I honestly do miss him any time he's gone, but I'm wishing he was here even more than usual because I'd really love a frozen margarita...and no way can I make them anywhere near as good as he can. (Even though he just uses the frozen concentrate. Which tells you how bad I am if I can't even handle that, huh?)

*I really, really want to homeschool the boys. But I'm too afraid to take the plunge. *sigh* It's all just eating away at me these days.

Yeah, yeah...enough complaining for one night...

self-medication

Not feeling so hot this morning. Nothing major, honest. Just a bit under the weather. I figure a "happy list" might be just be in order.

*The Flyers are playing for the Stanley Cup!!! Un-freakin-believable!!! They only even made the playoffs by the skin of their teeth during the last game of the season...and now they've made it all the way to Stanley Cup finals!!!

*We're set to have another gorgeous day.

*I'm reading Enchanted Night. And I am positively enchanted.

*I've started exercising. Nothing fancy. Just 30 minutes on the Gazelle each morning before everyone gets up. But the really cool thing is that it's become something I look forward to! I pop in a Criminal Minds DVD, and sometimes I find it hard to make myself stop when that half hour is up.

*This is finals week for Rich. He gives a test this morning. And he has a meeting this afternoon. But in between he's coming home and taking Annie and I to lunch!

*And speaking of finals, Annie had her Arabic final last night. She thinks she did well. (And truthfully, with the grades she's gotten so far in the class, she'd really have had to bombed the final to get anything but an "A" for her final grade.)

*I got two more books in the mail (ordered used). From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell. POINT FOR ANA. The Waiting Place by Sean Kelley McKeever. Want to read them both. Right. This. Minute.

*On Sunday, Annie, Rich, and I got Annie's garden cleared of weeds and added heaps of lovely compost to it. So yes, now it looks like a box of fresh, pretty dirt. But we hope to get plants in it sometime this week. Annie's decided on mostly strawberries, a few cherry tomato plants, and an eggplant. We've decided where we want to put our new family garden, and can hopefully get started on it next weekend. (And thank you again, Chris! I haven't been this excited about gardening in a long time.)

bits to smile over this weekend...

*Annie attended the Rochester Teen Book Festival on Saturday. Eight hours of books and authors and friends and fun left her with a smile plastered on her face! It was positively delightful to listen to her chatter away about it all when she got home. She's been a bit down lately, and it was just such a wonderful thing to see her so excited about something, so chatty and bubbly.

*Gray has a new money-making scheme. He has created a chart to tally every time Rich swears. He's decided that at the end of each week, Rich has to pay him a dime for every cuss word he uttered that week. I said to him, "But Gray, Daddy will end up broke." And he replied with this smug grin, "Yep, I'll never have to work a day in my life."

*I got to hear Chris's voice on the phone! I admit it--I am totally phone phobic, but talking to Chris was a pure delight! He swears to me that I wasn't a bumbling, babbling idiot (but I suspect he's just being kind :P).

*I finished Tender Morsels. Oh my. Seriously, this is just a book that will always reside in my heart. I'm still sort of at a loss as to how to even talk about it...it's beautiful, it's honest, it's heart-pulverizing, it's healing. It's perfection.

*We got the test results from Annie's end of year testing (a homeschooling requirement in NY). I've no idea why I worry about it. I never did before she skipped a grade. And obviously if she wasn't ready for work at a level above where her chronological age would place her in a public school, we never would have skipped her to start with, so why do I worry that she won't test well at that level?!! Add to that the fact, the test results don't really mean squat...unless she scores under the 33rd percentile, and then our homeschooling program would be placed on probation. I guess because I am simply accomplished in the art of needless worry. Anyway, the results arrived...and she had a composite score in the 99th percentile. So, big smiles that another year's testing is over. And the results being well more than we need to continue homeschooling. Now if the school year would just end...

*I had the weirdest dream. Now I assure you that at the time it jarred me into awakedness, I was not finding it at all smile-worthy, but now I can't help but laugh when I think about it. In this dream I'd gone to the library and told them that I wanted to volunteer there. They told me I needed to do two things: get CPR training and let them whack off the fingers of my right hand at the first knuckles. I agreed, and they had me put my hand up on the circulation counter and took a big old cleaver...and whack! This is when I woke up. Guess they wanted to make sure their volunteers were serious, huh? :P

today I smile because...

*It is the birthday of one of the sweetest, most wonderful friends I've ever had. #luvchris

*I have several crafty-type projects going that I'm excited about.

*I finally finished making this damn geometry test last night.

*While my aching back tries to remind me of my age, in so many ways, I feel younger than I have in a long time.

*I am reading so many wonderful books right now.

*Rich never leaves for work without hugging me and kissing me and telling me he loves me. 

*The munchkins woke up happy, and the morning routine went uncharacteristically smoothly.

*Only 96 days! 

*Max started his soccer season last night (his first time playing on a team), and while he was nervous at first because he didn't know any of the kids on his team, he ended up really enjoying himself.

*I am listening to Annie hum away to herself as she sits taking that damn geometry test.

*It's nearly 9:30, I haven't made the bed...and yet the sky hasn't fallen. :P