Summer Summer!

Next week is the end of the school year. Normally, that wouldn’t really affect me because, like most people, I’ve always worked year round. But now that I’m in a school, I get the same days off as the kids. Which mean…summer vacation!! I get to spend all day with my kids for three whole months! We can play and go on walks and go to the pool. They have my undivided attention- and will whine. And drive me crazy. And fight with each other constantly. Hmmmm, maybe I should rethink this…

Anyway, I do think I need to have a plan. A schedule- so we’re not just spending the whole day in our pajamas watching Ninjago. I’ve been researching this a little and there are so many ideas! Pinterest is a black hole from which I’ve emerged several hours later. But my basic outline is this:

7-8am- Wake up. Make and eat breakfast. (Fingers crossed and prayers said that they sleep in till 7am)

8-11am- Play outside. This could mean going to the park, going for a bike ride (if Ezra ever decides he wants to start riding his bike and not just sit on it), playing at the water park/ clubhouse pool, or some combination thereof.

11-1pm- Get back home and clean up. Make and eat lunch. Watch the newest episodes of Blaze and Paw Patrol. (You may wonder why I keep saying make AND eat meals. My kids are very enthusiastic about telling me what they’d like to eat- it’s the actual eating, that’s the challenge. A couple bites and they’re done. I tried telling them they wouldn’t grow big and strong if they didn’t eat. The reply? “But mommy, I thought you wanted me to stay little forever!” Check and mate.)

1-3pm- NAPTIME!!!!! Wonderful, blessed words.

3-5pm- Craft time. This means I have to attempt another visit to Michael’s. The scene of The Dark Incident. I know better than to get a whole huge bag of something to re-use. I tried that with beads when we were going to make necklaces. I’m still finding beads in the couch, in the fridge, in the pantry- wherever Ezra can reach. Lego building is included in this time so I foresee myself building lots of ships and buildings for the boys to totally destroy in five minutes. But they love it and I love them, so I suffer through.

5-8pm- Make and eat dinner. Baths. Clean up. Probably more television, not gonna lie. I’m going to really focus this summer on getting the boys to be more responsible and take on some additional chores. They like to use the hand-vac and broom already, but actually cleaning up toys is like pulling teeth. The little ones get paid quarters when they help and that’s a pretty good incentive, even if Ezra has no idea what to do with the money. He collects it in his backpack and then runs around the house jingling madly.

I’m sure I’ll improve on this schedule as the summer wears on, but if I can just keep to a loose routine, I think we’ll all benefit. I didn’t really include Micah in this because he’s already got his summer lined up. He plans to bounce from one relative to the next, gracing us with his presence for a week or so at a time. If you have any better suggestions for summer schedules, please let me know!

With Love,

Susanne

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’m not a fan of cooking. I mean, I can cook. I managed to keep Micah and myself alive when we were on our own for a few years. But it’s not my favorite activity. Chase and I have an agreement. He makes dinner, and I clean up. Before you think he’s getting a raw deal, you should see the number of dishes that man can use for one meal!

Anyway, what I prefer is baking. One year back in high school, I won so many blue ribbons at the fair, I lost count. Fresh bread, pies, cakes, you name it. But my favorite thing to bake is chocolate chip cookies. And mine are the best you will ever have.

 

I learned this delicious skill from my grandma. She was a sweet, southern lady and she could bake anything! She even made fruitcake taste good! I remember sitting in her kitchen when I was little and she’d always have a cookie jar on the counter full to the brim with chocolate chip cookies. And if those ran out, she had bags of them in her freezer. She never used a recipe- she just had it all memorized. That’s how she taught me- and I’ll never reveal what’s in them. I love making cookies for my family and they remind me of those priceless memories in grandma’s kitchen.

She’s up in heaven now, and I guarantee Papa and Jesus are asking her for some of those amazing chocolate chip cookies.

PS- If this post made you hungry, here's a couple of recipes you should try from the judges of my favorite baking show. They're pretty yummy and super easy to make with the kids.

Duff Goldman's Andes Mint Cookies

 

Nancy Fuller's Peanut Butter Blossoms
 

Lorraine Pascale's Cookies and Cream Fudge Brownies
 

With Love,

Susanne

How Florida Categorizes Hurricanes

As a nearly-native Floridian, we generally view hurricanes a little differently than most. I assume it’s rather like the northerners who laugh when the south shuts down over a sprinkling of snow. Here’s my personal view:

 

Category 1- Hmmm, it’s raining a little more than usual this afternoon.

 

Category 2- While grocery shopping, add a couple cases of water to the cart. I also add some snacks that are designated ‘hurricane supplies’, but who are we kidding? Those get eaten long before the rain starts.

Category 3- Buy extra batteries for the flashlights. The kids proceed to burn through all the batteries while playing hide and seek with the flashlights. *My* kids also break the flashlights pretending they’re light sabers and having an epic battle.

 

 

Category 4- Stock up on ice, drinks, and steaks. Spend the time grilling out and toasting the hurricane for giving us time off work.

 

 

Category 5- Realize we may not have power for a week and panic about how to entertain the kids. Haha, just kidding..kinda. But if your husband is a first responder and will be gone the entire hurricane (pre, during, and post), he will insist you evacuate. And you have to take the kids.

Next time I’ll relate my Hurricane Irma evacuation experience. We ended up heading to Atlanta, along with half the population of Florida. Cayden still talks about it. Although he confuses Orlando and Atlanta, and refers to both as Atlando.  

With Love,

Susanne

Kids Say the Funniest Things...and I Love It

We hit up a free Braves baseball game

Last year the boys and I evacuated for the hurricane. We ended up in Atlanta and had a great time of exploring the aquarium, zoo, parks, and especially the 'ho-in-tel', as Cayden pronounced our hotel. I love the words kids come up with when learning to speak. One of my favorites developed after that Atlanta trip. We go home to visit my family outside Orlando and Cayden has managed to combine both big cities together into one awesome name. Just ask him. He'll tell you his favorite place is Atlando.

My little Chewiebacca- down to the crocs

When Micah was younger he loved going to Chick-Fil-A, aka Chicken Away. How could you say no to that? And the  adorable way he told me his ears hurt. "Mommy, there's bumblebees in my ear." I didn't have the heart to correct him for a long time...then my teacher sister took it upon herself to 'help' him learn to speak the 'right' way. (Notice the quotation marks- I still disagree and it's still a sore subject.) He learned that lunchbiddles were really lunchables, woo-woos  must be called firetrucks, and Chewiebacca actually had the much more boring name of Chewbacca. That was a devastating time for me- I hate that they have to grow up.

Fortunately, Cayden came along and has a whole new world of fun words for me to enjoy. Plus, my sister is four hours away and can't ruin it. He loves playing outside, but when the bugs get bad, he comes running back to escape the spagheettos. And this year for Easter, he got a basket full of goodies from the Oyster Bunny. Where that one came from, I have no clue.

Two of my men

I'm still waiting for Ez to talk enough for me to find some new gems. Right now, he likes ruff-ruffs (dogs), and shrieking 'MAAAAAAA' at the top of his lungs when I'm a full two feet away instead of holding him.

So in conclusion, go visit the scenic Atlando. While you're there, take your ruff-ruff for a walk to Chicken Away, then head to bed wearing your jammy-jams and make sure your mama gives you night-night snuggles.

Best buddies

With Love,
Susanne

Why I Haven't Blogged Lately

I haven’t blogged in almost three weeks. I’m struggling. Not with anything huge or life changing, just the ordinary day to day. I’m exhausted almost all the time and I don’t know why. I’m rarely up

for the gym anymore, but fortunately, Dara pushes me to take her for a run in the mornings. I don’t have a long work day compared to most, but the hour drive each way wears on me. 

And I feel like it takes all my patience and energy to get through work, so that by the time I get home, I have little left for my family. I take vitamins, I eat healthy, I exercise. Not sure what my problem is lately. I did finally cave in and make an appointment for blood work with my doctor, so maybe that will yield an answer. It could just be that I’m a working mom and I need to suck it up and stop whining. If so, I’ll stock up on caffeine and do my best. 

I love my kids and husband. So much. I don’t want to be short with them or get frustrated so easily. But have you ever tried taking three kids (11, 3 ½, and 2) to a restaurant alone and had to wait nearly half an hour for your meal? They were trying to be good, but what would you do with a salt shaker, pile of napkins, and butter packets? Ezra had a decided opinion. He used the packets as missiles- a couple landed on their targeted strangers. Cayden cried because his mac n’ cheese was hot and I wouldn’t let him salt it. Poor Micah patiently picked up every dropped fork and spilled sippy cup. 

This is an incredibly scattered post today, but it’s very representative of how I’m feeling. I know other moms who are just super heroes! They work full time, have several kids, juggle sporting events, iron their husband’s clothes, and still manage to have a Pinterest worthy dinner/house. I want to be that woman! I just don’t know how. I will end this on a positive note. I have a wonderful weekend ahead- boating with the boys, time with my friend, and then out with hubby for a concert and dinner. 

Cheers to super women! 

With Love, 
Susanne

A Random Post About the Weekend

Saturday was the kind of weekend day I love. No commitments and we can do as we please. So we lazed around until noon, made a leisurely lunch- well, I supervised while Chase did all the cooking. (Clean-up is always harder than the actual meal preparation when my enthusiastic husband is in the kitchen.) 

Then, we went into town to visit our second home, Home Depot. $200, a vehicle full of plants and mulch later, and I believe we’re ready for spring. Since Dara thinks it’s her mission in life to destroy and eat my favorite plants, I decided to try my new calamondin in a pot on our newly screened porch. Have you ever heard of a calamondin tree? Probably not. They’re sometimes called ornamental orange trees or some nonsense like that. They’re actually very tart and perfect to squeeze into sweet tea. In a couple months I should have some ripe- come join me for a glass!

Back to my day. Chase wanted to get a hair cut, so he volunteered me to entertain the boys. We strolled through Petsmart and had a knock-down drag-out fight over which cat toys we were going to purchase for our non-existent cat. The answer was none. But I had to do the walk of shame out of the store holding two hysterically wailing children.

Fortunately, we had a quiet ride home, except for that darn movie, Rio 2. Yes, we're still watching it- here's my previous post about this issue. And yes, I'm considering hiring a hit man to 'make it go away.'

The boys are very into bowling now. Well, they like to set up the bowling pigeons and chuck the ball as hard as they can at them. Pigeons are bowling pins- I've corrected Cayden three times, but now we just gave up and call them pigeons. Poor Dara was torn between dodging the bowling ball and the excitement of chaos.

So that was part of my weekend. We went on the boat yesterday and my sunscreen application was sadly lacking. Today I'm various shades of red and really feeling it. And what Monday would be complete without a disaster? Poor little Cayden woke up and promptly threw up all over himself, his bed, the carpet on the way to the bathroom, and, of course, on me. On that pleasant note, have a wonderful week!

With Love,
Susanne

The Memory Filled Beaches of New Smyrna, FL

Obviously striking my diva pose.

If you know me, you know that I am not a fan of change. I like familiarity, stability, routine. I come by it honestly- my dad is the exact same way. As a kid growing up, the one family vacation my siblings and I could count on was going to the beach condo for the week of July 4^th. Every year. Same week. And even though we’ve all grown up, my parents still go. Every year. Same week. One of more of us usually crash there for a few days with them, but since I’ve got three kids now, it gets crowded.

And it’s the one week during the year my dad gets to do everything his way. He fries fish for almost every dinner (mom made him give that up at home years ago.) He goes down to the ocean in the morning and late afternoon, announces the tide schedule to the room at large as if that will make a difference in his routine, and puts up the same beach umbrella he’s had since before I was born. And I love it all. There’s something to comforting in routine and in knowing that no matter what has been going in in life, that week at the beach remains unchanged. My family will always be there. They will always have pizza the first night, and they will always watch from the balcony as the sky fills with fireworks on the 4^th of July.

Johnny may kill me for this picture.

The condo building they rent from every year is filled with people of the same mindset as dad. They’ve been coming for years and it’s rare to have a vacancy- especially on a holiday week. I’ve been on a waiting list for three years and finally this summer, we’ll have our own condo. A one bedroom condo for five people, but it’s still a victory. I know mom and dad are glad they’ll have a place to send the boys when they’ve had enough chaos. So this summer, we’ll begin to establish our own summer beach memories with the boys. We’ll stay up late playing in the pool when the lifeguard is gone and won’t take away our pool noodles. We’ll get up early to comb the beach for shells then walk to Mon Delice for a French pastry. We’ll play tennis….well, my sister will attempt to teach us the finer points while I hit balls over the fence and the boys use the racquets as swords. And it will be wonderful!

With Love,

Susanne