No school = more fun?

How do you really sum up summer vacation? Some days are so much fun you don't want them to end. And then there are other days. I must report how different this summer is already with 3 kids. Maddie is so grown up now, she insists on using glass-ware at meal times. No more plastic character plates. Really, I think we're onto something, because it'll take up a lot less room in the cupboard!

And Hailey, being the 1 year and 1 week old that she is, is getting into everything. Did I block out this stage with the other two? It's fun, but when I'm trying to get something done - say, mealtime, or sweeping the floor, for example -- it's a pain. Speaking of sweeping the floor ... that's another chore that picks up during the summer, apparently. Yesterday I swept the kitchen eight times and vacuumed once. How is that possible you might ask? Me too.

This week really starts the summer adventure, though. The 3rd of July is the big picnic at my aunt's cottage, and next week will be day camp, then road trip in mid-July. Swimming lessons when we return, and we're already into August. Let's not wish away the summer. I'll just think about this current week, ok?

Today's mini-adventure was to the town park with a friend. It's fun, just a lot more work with all the kids. And let's just remember I'm a much happier girl with caffeine!

There's Something About Eggs

A couple of weeks ago my dad came over really early to watch the girls. At 7 am he knocked on the door. Now, I realize that in some people's homes that is insanely-early and everyone would still be sleeping. Pre-kids that might have been true for my home. But, the Three were up exceptionally early that morning, anticipating Grandpa's visit.

Rewind about 28 years.

Papa was going to babysit us for a short while while my parents went out! How exciting! Other people rarely watched us, so this was a real treat. And, he was coming to my house! I don't remember the time of day, but the very vivid memory I hold is that he made us scrambled eggs. I remember standing on a chair next to the stove watching him make them, the brownish pan he cooked them in, and the three of us sitting at the table eating them. I told my mom when she got home what we did, but am not sure if she realizes the impact of the eggs and Papa Vince!

Back to 2008.

As I was running around the house getting ready to leave (Mike and I both had early morning commitments that day), telling Dad the last minute instructions for the girls, he asked if I had eggs. (of course?) He was going to make an egg for himself and when the girls realized what he was doing, they got very excited and also wanted one. Chloe was thrilled, and Grandpa held her up so she could see inside the pan on the stove. The next day, she recited the entire morning to me - and got excited about Grandpa making her an egg!

I'm guessing the girls will always remember the morning Grandpa came to babysit them and made them eggs ... doesn't every granddaughter have that memory of her grandpa?

Weekend News

Ok, so I totally stole that title from Maddie's 1st grade writing class. (they write about their weekend happenings ... there's always so much for Maddie to write about!)

Father's Day. Yesterday was the day we celebrate Dads. Isn't it funny how our culture doesn't make that big of a deal about Father's Day? But Mother's Day! It's like it's own little holiday. Kids should have a day off from school. We should have a parade! But seriously, dads are great. Take my husband for example. He's an awesome father - patient, kind, fun, caring, did I mention patient? For "his" day he wanted to go golfing with some friends. I thought it was odd, because since it's father's day should you spend it with your kids? I really don't care, but he had a great time. The weather was perfect!

Saturday night, we decided to give him his Father's Day present a little early. (Sunday mornings are complete chaos in our house, getting ready for church, etc.) So the girls "hid" the present behind their backs -- and presented it to him with great care (er, I mean they flung it at him). A new MP3 Player! Woohoo! Yes, he was totally surprised and excited by the whole thing. I hinted that they also come in pink so he could buy another one sometime for someone else in the household.

When he got back from golfing yesterday evening, he announced "This is the best Father's Day ever!" Who knew?

Friday. Aren't Fridays the best? The whole weekend in front of you. It's almost exciting when we don't have plans on Friday night, because one phone call can totally change the entire night and rest of the weekend. We're totally spur-of-the-moment people, when our schedule allows for it, that is. As I was splashing around in the inflatable pool with the girls, the phone rang.

"Hello?"
"What to come over for pizza and to swim in the pool tonight? Mike can meet us here after work." said the caller
"Yesss! We'll be there in 90 minutes!"

It happened that quick. I shuffled the girls out of the water, dried them off, got everyone dressed, packed up extra clothes and the wet suits. Then my suit. And Mike's. And the last clean towel. And pj's for the kids. And all the baby gear (bottle, formula, etc.). I made a quick phone call to Mike (his reply: Yesssss!) ... and we were off!

Use punctuation, people!

I find it extremely annoying when people don't use punctuation. I know in the texting world it's a lot easier not to use periods, capitalization, and other various grammar rules, but seriously - they're there for a reason! Think back to 2nd grade. Remember the kids who read aloud in one run-on sentence because they didn't understand that you stop when you see a period, and pause when you see a comma? It's just as annoying as an adult to read when other people don't know how to use proper grammar rules! Here are a few basics:

• Capitalize the beginning of each sentence.
• Use a period at the end of each sentence. Sometimes, an exclamation point is appropriate!
• Sometimes, you have to use a comma.
• Put a space in between words - so thattheydon'tlooklikethis. Unless you're typing a web address, of course.
• If you need some help typing, practice typing so that your fingers stay on the "home keys". In time, your speed will pick up and you'll be typing as fast as you're thinking. You can even practice in a chat room or online somewhere. Here's just one web site that came up when I googled "typing help": http://www.berkeleyprep.org/lower/llinks/typing%20games.htm

Back Tracking: The Street Sale

The very minute I came back from vacation, I began the street sale project. I say project, because if you've ever done a garage sale, you know how much work it involves. But let me truly describe what it involved. This was no ordinary garage sale! I worked w/ a neighbor to coordinate the entire street/neighborhood sale. We ended up with 22 houses participating, which is really impressive since our neighborhood is so young (3-5 years old!)

As you know, the "garage sale corner" in my basement was growing, so I had to go through the items, haul them out into the garage, price them, and come up with a clever way to display it. That's the typical work for a garage sale. I'm not complaining. My dad also had a truck load of stuff to contribute ... which meant I went through each box, threw away a ton of junk, and put the rest of it on tables to sell. That stuff didn't yield a ton of money, but every little bit helps, and it's all part of the fun, right? My mom and 2 friends brought their stuff over, too ... but since they were responsible for sorting, hanging, pricing, etc. their own stuff it was a little easier on me.

Then there's the hot dog adventure. Mike and neighbor-man set up their tent in the morning, and grill hot dogs to sell. Sounds simple, eh? Not bad once the supplies are purchased, the signs are made, and everything is set up. One guy (customer) walked as fast as he could with his cane and yelled "those are the best hot dogs I've ever had!" He was referring to last year's hot dogs, and came back for more! At this point I'm thinking that we should charge a whole lot more than we currently are.

Did I mention that it barely made it to the 50s that day and we all froze? Or that because of the cold, the kids --and I mean a ton of kids-- were in my basement coming up with clever things to do with a giant box that contained my wedding dress?! And of course Hailey needed to be entertained for the day. Thanks Mom :)

The neighbors were really cooperative ... everyone contributed towards the advertising, and appreciated the blog I made so customers could see what items were at each house. Really, it was quite an undertaking but so much fun for the event-planner in me!

If you're planning on doing a garage sale, email me for a bunch of tips!

Don't Get Me Wrong

Isn't that a song?

Just because our vehicle shopping is done doesn't mean I need to stop blogging. If not to annoy the swarms of people who are reading this, then at least for a little distraction from everyday housework and things that I "need" to be doing.

Isn't it funny how when someone has an opinion they're all too eager to share it - even if someone else doesn't want to hear it?

Just a random thought of mine.

It is Done

It is done. That was a favorite saying/lesson/teaching of mine during Leadership Summit last year. It refers to not looking back to sin after you've been forgiven. No matter what, It Is Done, and we shouldn't worry about what God has already forgiven us for.

But that has really nothing to do with my real reason for writing tonight. I'm saying "It is Done" and I'm really referring to our minivan search!! It's done! Complete! Finished! That's it! In other words, we bought a minivan! I think quite possibly I'm more excited that the whole process is done rather than the van itself. Don't get me wrong - the space inside of the vehicle is quite exciting to me. The girls won't have to touch each other, Chloe can't take Hailey's binky and play with it herself, there will be no fighting over someone grabbing something out of someone else's hands, and Maddie will finally be able to buckle her own seat belt again. But on the other hand, there's a few things that I will miss about our three-ring-circus-squeezing-into-one-ring: the possibility of the girls holding hands, Maddie helping Chloe with a juice box and being able to hand it right back to her, reaching toys for each other, me able to reach pretty much anything that is on the floor, having the diaper bag so close it's usually touching someone ... should I go on?

All that said, God really led us to this vehicle and I -more than ever- am a believer of "God's timing." It's no coincidence that we found this vehicle on the very day that Maddie and I got baptized. It's no coincidence that it has the exact features we wanted (dual sliding doors, quad seating and a CD player). It's no coincidence that it was under, (yes, under!) our budget. So much so that we can start saving for our next vehicle. Or at least the large quantity of gas this one will consume.

And so let me sum up the past week. Last weekend, we were ready to buy a different minivan with a ton of creature comforts, as Mike puts it. I loved the seating arrangements, and it even had a VCR (and DVD hook ups) for the kids in the back. It was ugly, don't get me wrong, but it had some nice qualities. So we took out a bunch of cash and drove over to the dealership. There were some things wrong w/ the van and while the salesman could have taken a significantly amount less (cash talks, apparently), we would have been responsible for fixing the problems. Not really something I was interested in. Plus, the girls were driving me crazy and running all over the place. I wanted to escape fast. Then there was another one (almost the same vehicle) from a private party seller - little to no features. He was asking too much for the vehicle and when we offered less, he seemed a little offended and said the lowest he'd go was, well, more than we were willing to pay for it. We were disappointed that this was taking this long and our endless hours of searching the Internet, bidding on eBay, calling and emailing sellers, checking carfax, loading the girls into the truck to check out yet another one - wasn't yet done.

Meanwhile, the family we bought our Big White Whale from was preparing their vehicle - for us. Only they didn't know it yet. God's timing is perfect ... if only he'd clue me in sometimes, huh?