Days Off CAN Be Peaceful!

The kids had off today for the holiday weekend, and I was a little worried about what we'd do because it was supposed to be very hot today. We started our day with french toast, which they'd earned by getting dressed with a minimum of fuss (Gus didn't even need to be asked today). We went to the nursery to get some deer repellent and fertilizer stuff for our plants. We ended up with a new tomato plant. MM named the new one Aim (short for Aimee I later learned).

After getting home with our new friend, I realized I had no way to hang the hanging vines. So we had lunch and then headed back out to the hardware store for hooks and a chain. I have to say, the kids were very good in both stores. We went over the rules in the car each time and I asked that they keep their hands to themselves. I also pointed out that we would be around living things and we wouldn't want to hurt them by accidentally knocking anything over. Seemed to work.

Gus's tomato (who does not have a name) has gotten too big for the kitchen, so we've relocated it outside (thus the deer repellent, which by the way stinks to high heaven, as my mom used to say).

Gus stayed inside most of the afternoon playing Pokemon, but came out to play with the kids with water guns and the neighbor's hose. By the time he came out, most of the kids had gone, but he still had a good time.

All in all, a better than average day! How was yours? Leave a comment and if you've got a sec, please vote in my sidebar poll! Have a great weekend!

Thursday Thankfulness

I know it looks like I've been slacking, and that's probably because I have. After being cooped up for the fall and winter (which to me all equates to 'winter' once it drops below 40 degrees) I've been like a big kid, wanting to be out in the open air as much as possible. So you'll probably notice that I've only been posting a few times a week. That'll change come the fall, but I will definitely keep up my Thursdays - they're good for morale! This week I am thankful for:

My tomato plant which is not only still alive after the transplanting, but growing at a frightful rate! I would have felt awful if I'd killed it. Now we just have to figure out what to do when it starts to reach the ceiling, as my father-in-law wisely pointed out. I'm envisioning some sort of Jack and the Beanstalk-esque post coming before the end of the summer.

I am thankful that Gus's field trip was a success! Monday, we went on an epic journey, to the wilds of Queens, NY to see a production of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Originally, the whole family was going to attend the trip, but MM decided to stay home with her dad instead of taking the 2+ hour bus ride each way. So I had the rare chance to spend some time with Gus. The show was a blast. I never got the name of the actress who was playing Alexander, but I have to say it was exhausting just watching her. She never stood still for a second on the stage - I've never seen an adult with that much energy (and living with my husband, that's saying quite a bit)! And she had to sing! I don't know how she didn't pass out, but she was amazing. The show held lots of laughs and was totally worth the ride. The trip back was entertaining for me as well. At one point, Gus was seated behind his friend who is also a Pokemon expert. I had brought one of Gus's Pokemon encyclopedias to keep him from getting too antsy on the trip. The boy in front started passing back notes about the Pokemon DS game and then would ask Gus to turn to a specific Pokemon in the book and then pass the book through that space between the window and the seat. Then I'd hear, "Aw, that one looks great!" or something similar. This went on for well over half an hour. Hilarious! More importantly, I got to see Gus bonding with a friend. Priceless.

I am thankful that it's nice out so that I can go for a bike ride as soon as I finish this post. One thing I've noticed is that I've got a lot more patience when I a) do something for myself once in a while and b) get exercise c) get out of the house. It seems like this should be so simple as to be unworthy of mentioning, but any parent, especially those who work from home, can attest that it is often hard to pull yourself away and trust that the world won't stop turning when you stop turning the crank. I'm still not convinced, but the sun is out and telling me to be a little selfish. So if the world stops because I'm not sitting at my computer working, or doing laundry, or any of the other 3,950,242,538,408 things I need to do in the next hour...blame it on the sun. I'm out of here!

What are you thankful for today?