These are a few of my favorite things

I'm going to celebrate them (In no particular order):

• A Memorial Day cookout on the deck with my BFF Gina, and her family.  And trying (both passively and aggressively) to get them to move to our area...or, you know...less than a 9 hour drive away.

• A phone call from Gina the next day that lasted for over an hour...because we still had fun stuff to talk about.

• An almost completed deck- I have to decorate, you know!

• The hope of a family jaunt to Chicago....sometime this summer.

• Trader Joe's mini peanut butter cups.  And suddenly I'm so grateful that Trader Joe's isn't in my geographic area.  And also...happy for friends who go there and share their loot.  :)

• Vodka Tonic's.  Not one hang over.  (!)

• Teachers who care.  We've got 'em.

• Grandparents who help out with my kiddos and cheer for the boys at their baseball and soccer games.

• Easy going friendships- ones that I don't see often but can pick up right where we left off without missing a beat.

• Catching just the right shot of the kids.  The one that makes the other 117 pictures worth it.
• A belly laugh from the husband.

• Devotions on the deck on a crispy quiet spring morning.  Nothing but me and the robins.  Oh, and God.

• The smell of a greenhouse full of blooms.

• My boy's faces when they present me with their homemade Mother's Day cards.

• Unsolicited hugs.

• Protective big brothers- who will get in grown men's faces for their little sister.

• Ear meds for the dog.

• Finding my groove (I haven't found it yet, but when I do...I'll be happy about that).

A Bar Mitzvah of sorts

My husband's family is dutch.


Some stereotypes hold true to this beloved group...

...one of them being routine. 

Schedules. 

 

Traditions.

You could set a clock to their routines.


Every spring, the men-folk in the family take a day off work,

(this is, in and of itself, newsworthy.  The men in this family are born and bred workers)

pack up a tail-gating lunch,

and head to the Big D for a Tigers game.

There's a rule....

...the grandsons have to be 10 before they have the option to go.

A. has been waiting since he was 6 to go.

And his day finally arrived.

So...here's to another rite of passage, little man! 

It's kind of like a bar mitzvah....

only so much better.

(and also GO TIGERS!)

Therapy

 

 

The best BEST nights

 

 

can pop up in unexpected places.

 

Like the ones that start with

 

and unexpected phone call,

 

"HEY!  What are you doing RIGHT NOW?!?!?"

 

followed by:

 

"We're coming to kidnap you.  Right now."

 

followed by:

 

"Get your game face on."

 

 

 

After quick negotiation buying me an hour

 

 

to clean up dinner,

 

put Baby L to bed,

 

change out of sweat pants,

 

and put my game face on,

(less about vanity and more about public service)

 

 

There was a honk on my driveway.

 

 

We found a bar that smelled strangely like my grandmother's basement...

 

 

...but whatever...there were friends.  There were drinks.

 

 

Friends I haven't seen in WAY too long.

 

 

There was drinking.

 

There was talking.

 

 

There was SO much laughter!

 

 

We laughed so hard, other tables were turning and looking.

 

 

By the end of the night,

 

my cheeks hurt.

 

 

And there are still times

 

that I think about funny things that were said that night,

 

and I find myself smiling...giggling and at times out-loud laughing.

 

 

Friendships like this pick my up when I didn't even realize I was limping along.

 

They lighten my load.

 

They pour sunshine into a dark room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Better than therapy.

 

 

With vodka tonic.

Phoning it in- dumb edit button edition

I have a dumb phone.

 

 

That's the opposite of a smart phone.

 

I can't tweet from it.

 

No instagram.

 

No pintrest.

 

No facebook.

 

I make calls.

 

 

I text.

 

 

Occasionally I take pictures.

 

 

 

I'm ok with that...

 

 

 

...because the darned thing is a huge distraction,

 

 

And I can only imagine how much worse it would be if I could do all those things.

 

 

The other day, I was bored waiting for soccer practice to end,

 

and I found something new in my dumb phone.

 

"Edit"

 

Which...is a discovery, of sorts...

 

but you need to know that pictures are about 1"x 2" on my display...

 

So...not much to see to edit.

 

But- when armed with a straightened paperclip, you can make a mean arrow.

 

 

 

Frank's Red Hot sauce.

 

He puts that sh*t on everything.

 

No kidding.

 

Everything.

 

 

And also, dear husband....the geek grin?

 

Nailed it.

 

 

 

 

A aged up in to kid-pitch in the baseball league.

 

He's turning out to be a decent pitcher.

 

He's strong.  Which means his pitch has "heat."

 

Now, we just need to keep him over the plate.  :)

 

 

There's a lot of pressure on the pitchers - even at this age.

 

He handles it well, though (which actually surprises me!)

And managed to get himself out of a pickle a few times.

 

And other times- gave up 4 runs in one inning...

 

...but we're not going to talk about that day.  :)

 

 

 

The Monday after Easter, I promised the kids I'd take them to CatchAir-

 

(a new play place here)

 

It was fantastic.

 

Everyone else was in school- so we had the place to ourselves.

 

But this is my middle child

 

being a middle child...

 

 

breaking the rules. 

 

(There was another inflatable next to this one, and C skipped over-

and tried to do a "sneak attack" on his brother)

 

 

 

 

Dear idiotic Meijer shopper,

 

When I can't even fit my DUMB phone in between our mirrors,

chances are I will not be able to open my door to get in my van.

 

I understand I'm "thicker" than some,

 

but when I opened my door, there was approximately 2" of open space.

 

I don't know many people who are only 2" thick.

 

Thanks for making me climb through the passenger side of my car.

 

#jerk

 

 

 

 

 

 

She's a problem-solver, that one.

Problem (for her):  There's something on the counter that I want.

Solution (for her):  daddy's lunch box will make an excellent step-stool

 

Problem (for me): she can reach the counter.

 

 

Yep, she's grumpy.

 

Lots of emotion balled up in this little spit-fire.

 

But her piggy tails look CUTE!

 

 

Friday 5

1.  I'm trying to discern whether or not I'm under a spiritual attack.  There are times I can tell Satan is trying to sneak into my thoughts (and sometimes words). It's frustrating.  It's exhausting.  It's confusing.

2.  I have a $5.00 off coupon for Meijer. It expires today.  Mind you, I've been to Meijer 3 times since I received this coupon.. but forgot the darn coupon.  Now, I'm trying to figure out if it's worth hauling the 3 kiddos through the store just to use the $5 coupon.

3.  I truly believe that my daughter is going to be a tomboy.  She wants nothing to do with dolls or girlie things, and wants everything to do with balls and mud.  I think that's pretty darn awesome.

4.  Decking materials arrived last week.... and are still sitting where they landed. Nothing more.  I have big plans for that deck this summer!  Get building!

5. Dear Aldi, thank you for having inexpensive gluten free items!  You've made this girl super happy!!!