Strawberry Sunday

Today we're having a lazy Sunday morning.  It's raining, or about to, and Jack asked to watch a movie.  Actually, he said, "I want to watch a couple of movies."  And thankfully, he asked to watch Nemo instead of Cars.  I just have to fast forward through commercials since we recorded it on the DVR.  If he can get through one movie, I'll be impressed.

But last Sunday on Mother's Day, I took a few pictures of the festivities and then never got a post written.  So, here it is, just a week late.

I wanted to go strawberry picking sometime this month but knew that I couldn't go by myself with both of the kids.  I thought maybe we could all go as a family.  And then I thought about it a little more...Jack would be ripping anything even slightly red off the strawberry bushes and Casey would be running down the rows and stepping on strawberries.  We would need one person to pick and two more to chase Jack and Casey.  

Before Mother's Day came, Pat asked me about 5 times what I wanted to do.  Finally I figured that Sunday would be a good time to go strawberry picking...by myself.  Actually, with my mom who was in town.  

So, just before naptime last Sunday, Mum and I headed over to pick strawberries.  Apparently this was a pretty popular Mother's Day event and there were a lot of people in the field.  There weren't too many berries to be picked without a bit of searching, but we finally picked through a row and called it good.  They opened early for Mother's Day and we probably should have been there when they opened to get the good ones.

~Oh, I understand now how we are going to watch a "couple" movies.  Jack's plan is just to watch about 20 minutes and then ask for a new movie.  We've moved on to the Lion King.  Hakuna Matata.~

Now to make strawberry pie and strawberry jam...

  

These are my strawberries all chopped up to make jam.  It made 2 cups of refrigerator jam.  I thought Jack would go through it in a couple of weeks.  However, after about a year of eating PB&J almost every day for lunch, he's decided it's time to take a break.  Figures.

At one point, I actually said, "I'm surrounded by delicious, fresh fruit."  And then I had to take a picture of it.  This picture reminds me that I haven't done anything with those key limes.  They're just hanging out in the fridge.

Closeup of the strawberries before they met their fate with a little sugar.

The pie crust that Mum made for the strawberry pie.  And then we forgot to take a picture of the finished product.  Rest assured, it was delicious. 

Add a little shopping trip to Marshalls, some takeout from Smokey Bones and it was a pretty good Mother's Day.  Oh, and my Mother's Day gift was a trailer that I can pull behind my bike with both kids in it.  Now I can take them to the playground if it ever stops raining.

Jillian's Remedy for McDonald's

In the past few weeks, I've read about many bloggers who have embarked upon Jillian Michael's 30-day Shred challenge.  I wanted a challenge, but secretly I thought it shouldn't be so tough for me.  I've been going to the gym most days, getting cardio 3 days a week and weights on 2.  I finally bought the DVD after one of my best friends said she had it too.  Ummm...it was a little tougher than I was.  I was even so wimpy that I put my weights down and did the exercises without weights.  They were only 5 lb weights.  She combines upper and lower body moves at the same time and I hate that, like squats at the same time you're doing bicep curls.  I'd like to blame it on being slightly un-coordinated, but I probably just need to suck it up, like Jillian says, and feel the burn.  In the meantime, I'm finding that the techno-y background music from the DVD that is still running is making me type faster.  

I should also add that it's 80 degrees in my living room and humid.  I really hate turning the air conditioner on so I suffer through a few warm days if I know that the temps are going to go back down enough to not need the AC.  The kids were a little sweaty while playing, my hair was a little frizzy and the dog was panting all day.  I kind of feel bad for her, but I'm not putting the air conditioner on to make the dog more comfortable.  I've already made far too many big decisions (like buying a new SUV a few years ago) based on the dog.  

Pat went up to see a Phillies/Nationals game with his brother tonight, so I'm on my own.  I spent entirely too much time trying to figure out a good dinner plan.  I couldn't figure out anywhere to get good, healthy, cheap food with entertainment for the kids so we went to the mall and went to McDonald's at the food court.  It fulfilled 3 of the 4 criteria.  There was a play area for the kids to work off the fries.  (And I just worked mine off with Jillian.)  

Jack impressed me by eating 1 1/2 chicken nuggets.  I can't remember the last time he ate chicken.  I suppose there was some healthiness involved for him because he loves the fruit and walnut salad there.  

Casey wasn't very happy that she couldn't wear her shoes in the play area.  The girl seriously has issues with shoes.  She saw someone's crocs sitting on the bench and made a beeline for them.  I had to distract her by plopping her on the slide.  After which I had to continue to put her at the top of the slide because she couldn't climb up it herself.  

As soon as we were outside after leaving the play area, Jack said, "It's really quiet out here."  And it was.  Because there weren't 15 screaming kids around us anymore.  I just thought it was funny that he noticed it. 

Mission accomplished - kids fed, energy burned off, good french fries consumed, time killed between naptime and bedtime.  Of course, had I not left my dinner plans to the last minute, I could have called a couple of my friends whose husbands are at sea and had some company and made a decent meal.  Next time, next time.  Now I'm going to try to get to sleep early.  I'm already past my self-imposed time to get off the computer...and I haven't even done any online shopping yet.

 

Guest Room

Now that I've recovered my dog and double check the front door locks every night, let's move on to something else...

Kelly at Kelly's Korner started this a couple of weeks ago.  If you click on the house, it will take you to her site which will show you her guest room and have links to over a hundred other blogs who are posting their home "tours."  She's already done kitchens and living rooms and has moved on to guest rooms this week.  

I didn't realize I had so much to say about my guest room until I started taking pictures.  For some reason, I feel like I need to justify everything in there and why it is where it is.

Our guest room is the FROG (finished room above the garage) and it is the guest room along with the playroom.  It is pretty neutral and doesn't really have a theme.  There are some sports pictures on the walls that Pat really likes.  He really wanted them up somewhere in the house but he spends very little time in the room.  I'm wondering if I should just embrace that theme and do a little more with it, or try to add some more feminine touches.   

The dramatic entrance - 

These are the "back" stairs from the kitchen and they lead directly up to the guest room...all 19 steps.

This is the view from the hallway that also leads to the guest room.  Although it is not very decorated, I love the spaciousness of this room.  I like that the little couch and coffee table fit in there perfectly and that there is plenty of space around the bed.  Tugger usually sleeps in here after she gets kicked out of our bed.  She also likes it because she likes to look out the windows at everything going on in the street.  I would like to always have nice linens on the bed and pretty pillows, but they would just get covered in dog hair.  As it is, I try to put a cover over everything and she usually ends up pushing it off.  Apparently the micro-suede duvet cover is softer for her.  And at the head of the bed, you will also find the dog's body pillow.  What can I say - she likes pillows and I don't really care if she has that one.  At the foot of the bed is our old tv stand.  We moved it upstairs after Christmas for Jack's train set.  Sometimes he uses it and sometimes the tracks are spread all over the floor.  

This is the opposite side of the room from the bed.  There is even room in the drawers for guests' clothes.  The chest used to be in front of the bed until the trains arrived.  Tugger hangs out in the crate when we are out of the house.

Jack's train piggy bank - the love seat - the pillows that are supposed to be on the bed  

These windows used to have Roman shades (like behind the love seat) but they were falling apart and didn't look nice in the window anymore.  Pat bought these faux wood blinds and installed them.  He has a thing for wooden blinds.  I don't really think men should care about any type of window decor.

There are closets on each side of the bed.  One has all my crafty stuff in it and the other has toys.  

And that concludes the tour of the guest room.  Somehow there was still way too much about the dog in it.

  

Early Dog Morning

Oh. My. Gosh.

I just saw my dog, my real dog, running down the street chasing the newspaper person on his bike.  It is 4:50am.  

At 4:12am, I heard barking and realized it was my dog.  Wondering why she was barking in the backyard at such an hour, I headed downstairs to find out.  Turns out, she was in the front yard, having let herself out the front door which was standing wide open, due to some wind that was blowing as I fell asleep.  And due to the fact that I didn't dead bolt it.  

She was barking at a frog or some small animal that was in the bushes.  I got her to stop barking, but then her running free-for-all started and she took off.  There is no point in chasing her.  Eventually she gets tired and comes back to the house and I offer a little trail of treats, a la Hansel and Gretel, and she comes back into the house.

But, chasing the newspaper guy???  How far is she going to chase him?  I'm not worried that she will hurt him, but it would certainly be scary seeing an 65-lb Boxer dog bearing down on you at full speed.  I don't think she has the stamina she used to have, but how far away from the house will she be when she realizes this?  Here I was, thinking at least there were no people around at 4 am for her to be bothering.  So wrong was I.  

I had decided to come into the house and lay on the couch for a while until she barked again.  Then I realized I wasn't going to sleep and got up and it was at that moment that I saw her sprinting after the bike.  I wish I hadn't seen it so I could think that she is running around behind our neighbors' houses and not in the more general area of the city of Chesapeake.  Which is only one of the largest land mass cities in the US.

Last night she took a piece of pizza right off the counter while I was standing there.  Suffice it to say, I am not so happy with this dog right now.  Hopefully I can post an update soon that doesn't involve a trip to the pound on Mother's Day.  Did I mention she doesn't have a collar on and that I have the paperwork to register her sitting right here on my desk?  How often do you think the paper boy has dogs chasing him? 

Okay, it's now 5:36am and Tugger has returned to the neighborhood.  I have spent the last 20 minutes trying to lure her into the house and she's not taking as well to the little trail of Beggin' Strips as I might have liked.  I've had her in the house but as soon as she gets her treat she backtracks outside.  I just tried to grab her and she got away.  But, at least I know she's here and I can hopefully get her inside soon.  Probably not soon enough to salvage some sleep though.

Dog Days

The dog has been barking all day.  If I had a nickel for every Woof! that came out of his mouth today, I would be able to send him to a kennel and not have to listen to it anymore.  

Except for the fact that the dog is actually Jack and I don't think I can send him to a kennel.  He says, "Woof woof" and I have to say, "Be quiet, dog."  But the dog does not become quiet.  He just continues to "bark" and I have to repeat myself.  If you ask Jack what makes the dog stop barking, he says you have to yell "Be quiet, dog!"  Even that doesn't always work.  

Yesterday, I bought some Scooby snacks at the grocery store because I thought Casey would like them.  She was at a birthday party about a month ago and she "woofed" them down.  Now she won't touch them.  Instead the dog keeps doing tricks to get more treats.  The dog asks to be put in the crate and asks for treats.  The dog pretends to play fetch and then asks for treats.  We can't even put the treats in the cupboard for fear that the dog might "need" one.

It was cute at first.  Now I prefer my real dog, who doesn't really bark all that much.  She is happy with table scraps (compliments of Casey) and doesn't know how to ask for treats.

During some of his off-time from being a dog, Jack was playing hockey.  Pat went out to the store to get something and asked Jack if he needed anything at the store.  In a very matter of fact voice, Jack said, "I do need some new pillows."  His little high pitched voice makes it even funnier but that's hard to capture in print.  It's a lot of fun to ask Jack what he needs at the store.  Sometimes it's toys...sometimes it's pillows.

  

The Not Me's

About 7 weeks ago, I started reading MckMama's blog, "my charming kids," when another blog I read (Kelly's Korner) was asking for prayers for MckMama's son Stellan.  Her son was in the hospital until about a week ago and she continued to blog the whole time, sharing Stellan's story with the world.  Now that she is back home, she is getting back to a weekly blog entry titled "Not Me! Monday" where readers link with her blog and share all the things that "didn't" happen to them over the last week or so.  This is the first time I've posted my "not me" items since she didn't do them during Stellan's hospital stay and I didn't start reading her blog until then.  

We actually have a little family joke about the "Not Me's" as they were responsible for a lot of havoc in our house as we were growing up.  Mum would ask whose turn it was to do the dishes or who had left the juice out on the counter or who was going to hang the laundry out.  Most likely, the responses she would hear would be a "Not me!" from me, and "Not me!" from Jenn, and sometimes even a "Not me!" from Dad.  And hence the "Not me's" became responsible for a lot of things not done, not done right or not wanting to be done in our household.

Anyway, in keeping with Not Me! Mondays, these things did NOT happen around here recently.

- I did NOT take 2 dogs for a walk today around the neighborhood.  One of those dogs was NOT my son and he was NOT wearing an actual leash around his neck or yelling "Woof!  Woof!" the whole time.

- I was NOT disappointed that Jack only watched 2 episodes of The Wiggles after a 5:40 am wakeup call.  I did NOT want him to watch a little more TV so I could snooze for a little bit longer.  I did NOT slightly regret taking the pacifiers away permanently, since he would have slept longer or watched TV longer had he still had the beloved nuks.  

- I did NOT ignore the fact that Casey was possibly eating dog food so that I could get some real food ready in the peace and quiet that that may have given me.

- I did NOT accidentally delete last week's episode of 24 and then play dumb about it to my husband when we were looking to watch it at a later time.

And that's all I'm coming up with for now.  Writing this has taken a little longer than normal, but I now feel like a real blogger because I've added html (to get that image at the top) and I've linked myself to someone else's blog.  Of course, MckMama's blog has got to be one of the most read blogs on the internet and I'm one of 750 or so others who have has written a "Not Me!" Monday blog entry.   

     

Jack has been pretty funny all week and Casey is obsessed with shoes.  And I'm a slacker for not writing all of this down earlier.  

I never cease to be amazed at the new things coming out of Jack's mouth and how much his language improves every day.  Today he was running around saying, "Aye aye Captain!" and saluting, mixed in with a little, "Aargh matey.  Walk the plank!"  It is also amazing where he picks up many of the things he says.  He just seems to absorb all the words in the books we read every night and also comes up with a bunch of phrases from the shows he watches.  His current favorite shows are Caillou, The Wiggles and Thomas the Train.

Casey usually likes me to hold her for a few minutes after her nap.  Unless she spies a pair of shoes somewhere and then I have to let her down so she can go get them and bring them to me.  Then she usually finds Jack's Crocs and tries to put those on too.  Or any other pair of shoes that she sees.  Then she gets very frustrated because she can't get them on.  It's getting a little frustrating for me at this point.

The Nuk-Man came and got Jack's pacifiers on Friday night.  He was kind to leave a present for Jack - it's a floor mat with a town drawn on it and some new cars.  Jack can drive his cars around and be creative and imaginative.  Jack is a big fan of the present but, so far, not a big fan of his naps anymore.  And this morning he was up at 5:40 and did not go back to sleep.  Hopefully he figures out how to put himself back to sleep without a pacifier soon.  Today I gave him a bigger pillow...maybe that will help.  Maybe it's wishful thinking.

I've also been fighting a battle against sand that seems to be never-ending.  It's like we have a beach in the backyard now that we have a sandbox.  It always gets in Casey's shoes.  Then on her changing table and then into her bed.  I've changed sheets, changing pads, and shoes way too many times this week.  My new strategy is to set her up on the counter and put her feet right in the sink and rinse her off.  

And that's enough randomness for tonight.