Man work

I should be showering for work right now, that was my goal. I think the summer bug has finally hit and my motivationt to get anything I SHOULD get down goes right out the window and we find ourselves at the pool, park, fishing etc. This is not a bad thing except we are in week 4 of hubby's summer from "you know where" and it is starting to get past annoying. He has been working weekends and nights until midnight or later. I know this is nothing compared to single parent life, deployed life etc, but it ruins MY little summer fun. Not only am I doing my fun stuff and usual summer catch up but the "Man work". I have been joking that I have had to wear the man pants lately with all the household jobs. Now don't get me wrong, it is my nature to try and do everything a guy can do. I so far have changed my headlight bulb (that was sweaty and exhausting, me and Dave at the parts store are good friends), tailight bulb, a trip to the dump-whole other story, working on basement canned light fixtures and other odd usuall hubby to-do stuff. Last night I about lost it. I wanted to get kids to bed early when small fry comes out with a wall light he waited patiently for a month for dad to get (I did), waited a week for dad to install and now can wait no more. I tell him I don't want to do it, it is 9:00. He proceeds to assemble it and spread the directions out, he wants it on the wall now. We get tools, I screw into a stud, have to find another spot, show him how to use chalk to mark the spots and drilling we install the light. He tells me thanks I tuck him in. One more man job done, it was 10:00 and off to make lasagna for a friend!

Must make

I don't usually post recipes because there are some of you pro cooks on here who are a little intimidating and may laugh at my attempts but I did make make a winner last night (the rhubarb pie with soggy crust not so much). This is from Jillian (Biggest Loser) cookbook. I must say it rocked! You would love it.

Green Bean Salad with Shrimp or Chicken (I chose chicken breast from the grill)

2 1/2 tbs. red wine vinegar
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 tbs chopped fresh oregano leaves (which I forgot I had in the garden, until AFTER I bought some)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 tbs olive oil
1/2 lb shrimp or chicken thinkly sliced diagonally
1 lb green or mix of green and yellow beans trimmed
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup pitted kalmata olives

Whisk together vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper. Whisk while adding the olive oil. Place shrimp or chicken in a bowl and pour dressing over, cover, refrigerate for 30 minutes

Prepare large bowl of icewater, cook beans in microwave-covered for 3 minutes or until bright green and crisp tender, about 3. Drain and immediatly place in ice water and then drain

Spread shrimp or chicken on baking sheet and broil
In a boil mix tomatoes, olives, add beans and dressing serve with shrimp or chicken on top.


I wish I had taken a picture-it creates a beautiful salad

Lake!

Ahhhh there is nothing better than a lake day to make one truly feel it is summer. I LOVE the lake. The day included turtle catching-in true Crocodile Hunter fashion, with diving, splashing, and mud covered fry's. A little bit of bird rescuing-which I am sure it didn't need. And I guess the root beer was the highlight.

Have you?

Maybe it is the wine (I have been abstaining in the hopes of a little weight loss), maybe it is hubby's long hours, maybe it is my calling of working with kids and families, or maybe it is my excessive worry about my kids, but tonight is just plain sad-there is no other way to put it. I have an employee at work who just lost her 7 year old granddaughter-suddenly. She collapsed at VBS yesterday and had passed away by the evening. Her father is a teacher in our district and was out of town at the time. I read her obit-I sit here devastated, shocked and thinkng of her family more than I would like, who mourns for this freckle faced red-head little girl one year younger than small fry. I can't imagine, I really can't. Not to have Big Fry tell me all about kissing or become annoyed at his quirkiness, or hear small fry tell me too many animals on his game are mating or do the "sniffler" one more time at bed time. It makes me want to crawl in bed with them and just hold tight. Which brings me to the question, "Have you?" It doesn't have to be a kid or even a family member, or even a "real" person. Have you crawled in and held on tight to that person or persons who mean so much to you that you would give anything, do anything? I think tonight I will. I hope you do to.

Zoo tycoon

I am not a big video or computer game player and those little reality, weird games on FB like Farmville never appealed to me either-by the way on a side note do not try to contact me through facebook, my account is a screwy and I can't get on. Back to the story...
Small fry recieves Zoo and Marine Tycoon for his bday. It is this little game where you buy things, build things, and staff a zoo or aquarium. Definitely up his ally excpet he kept having his zoo go bankrupt. He puts the game up for awhile until the rainy days last week. We find there is a "kid version" where you can't go bankrupt. He loves it! (Secretly I could play for a LONG time to, my zoos rock!) I ask him how the zoo is going, he looks at me and rolls his eyes, "Great, except for those stupid lions, they keep mating and having babies! I have to keep selling them. Those lions are never happy" this is emphasized with his hands in thrown up in the air.

A hide the laugh moment

I had to hide a big laugh when Small Fry got a mood ring (because big brother had one) and was immediately moody because it wasn't changing. He says "Well great, I am moody and isn't showing anything, it just stays blue!"

To baseball...

Two more games of baseball, and if I have a hunch they may be the last ones small fry plays. He is counting them down and already saying he is not sure about playing next year. You can tell his heart isn't in it 100%. Which of coures drives my competitive heart crazy but it isn't about me. I was trying to think of a cool gift for his coach for the last 3 years. She is awesome and really puts her heart into it and loves baseball and love teaching baseball. I gotta admire those naturally good teachers. I am putting together a book for her of some my favorite pics over the years. Thought I would share them with you...a photo tribute to 3 years of baseball. I may have entered kicking and screaming but in the end I have really enjoyed it.

Summer is here!

The first official summer outing-with nice weather that is. We took papa fishing and actully caught something. Today was the kayak and dinosaur park. I am working on not worrying about a schedule or time. And guess what I actually don't want to go to work tomorrow-and I don't feel guilty about it! 5 days of workouts and trying some new recipes has also been a bonus!

kiss and tell

The one good thing about rained out camping, is there is alot of time to talk to an 11 year old. The same 11 year old who often says he has no friends, nobody likes him etc. I think that is a big sympathy card for my benefit and here is why. This is a snippet of converstation while camping.

Big fry and I are holding hands for fun.
Big Fry: Holding hands with you is way different than holding hands with Jessica
Me: You have held hands with a girl (by the way the secret to getting your child to tell these deep secrets is to never let them see you surprised or sweat)
BF-(very sheeplishly) yes
Me: That better be all you have done
BF-Maybe
Me-Have you kissed?? (really working at not looking surprised by now)
BF-Yeah (red cheeks and much giggling accompanies this answer)
Me: Where
BF-you know at the climbing wall (he later confides to dad that the lilac bushes surrounding the school playground are where all the 5th graders go)

Think I better call my principal friend and have her put in a work order to get some new playground equipment and cut down all those bushes. By the way this story warms my heart-there is hope for quirky kids:)

Is it really here?

Summer that is. I am finding it hard to get into the gear of summer. I am not sure if it was the first camping trip of the year-during which it rained each and every single day, and not just a shower, but a steady downpour. I am also finding myself thinking I should be work when I really don't have to, there is nothing to do there, but after going mach 10 for so long, relearning how to unwind is difficult. I have a gazillion fun things I want to do: landscape, art projects for the basement and patio, have fun with boys, and must-do house projects that were sorely neglected last summer. Choosing where to start is difficult, and preparing for my dad to visit is a whole other project in itself. That and hubby's work schedule this summer is a big downer-he has been going to work each night after dinner or staying until 10 or so including the weekends-I don't know how deployed families or single moms do it-it is not much fun.

The good thing is my time to workout is getting a big boost-I have so missed working out-like lifting weights-not the running kind. My new Jillian cookbook and my Athleta retail therapy will hopefully get me back on track and start some super good habits before the end of the summer. I have also cooked two homemade meals in a row-no small feat during the school year.

At least today the sun is shining and if feels wonderful, so maybe the gears of summer will start to loosen up.

Is it too much to ask?

Is it too much to ask of the fry who gets the following "x"s for needs improvement on the report care (all year) for 1) managing time wisely, 2) make appropriate decisions, and 3) follow directions to do the following while we are at work:
1) not play video games (we took the control card Monday-forgot to take the card out the last two days)
2) complete a pretty simple chore list in an alloted amount of time

Granted the kid is successful in school regardless of these x's.
But today when they fessed up and admitted playing the game AND getting only one thing on the list done that was AT 10:40 after I called to say I was on my way home I really was about to have an adult tantrum.

By the way is it too much to ask to NOT get a hold right before camping???

There is always a first

Visual Image

Me and the frys at the gas station
Small fry: My stomach hurts
Me: Probably too much junk (they have been home alone the last two days after all, who knows what they have consumed)

Small Fry gets out of the car and walks to the back by the tank and promptly throws up, splashing the contents of his stomach on the ground, my SANDALS and dress clothes. Ever felt puke in your sandals? I hope you never do