Lifelines

We met up with my family tonight to celebrate my mom’s birthday which actually isn’t until August 3rd…but she’s leaving for a cruise in the morning!

By a weird twist of fate, my mom and I will BOTH be in Miami next weekend so we’ll get to see each other beachside for a brief visit.

Until then, here’s the dinner portion of tonight’s celebration.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Travel safe, have an awesome time in Jamaica, STAY AWAY FROM THE CRAZIES & I’ll see you on the flip side!

MWAH!

I just got back from a run.

Yep, you read that right and nope, it wasn’t a typo.

Though I kind of wish it were a sick joke because…I really hate working out.

Some of my closest friends are absolutely totally committed to getting their @$$es up early, before their families rise, and hitting the gym.

That will NEVER, EVER be me.

For the record.

And I’ve always admired this but never really felt compelled in join in the fun.

Because working out isn’t “fun” so stop telling me that it is, People.

Lynn has, since I can remember (10years?) always been one of those for whom exercise is just part of her life. I don’t think she knows any other way. And Scott is the same way. When we visit them, he heads off to the gym while she heads out for a round of tennis.

I sit back, drink my smoothie juice, and pray that it has the power to sculpt my body without my ever having to lift a finger.

But sculpting my body isn’t really why I’m trying to move more. (Look, I don’t even have running shoes! Really! So I stress the word “trying”.) A friend of mine was recently encouraging me to work out, saying it was good for my heart.

How do I argue with that?

I know it is, I KNOW IT IS, but…I REALLY hate to work out and I’m not a gym rat. I’ve tried it before, I don’t like it. I don’t want a trainer, I don’t want to participate in group classes (am SO not a joiner) and my dear Lord, I HATE to sweat.

But! (This is a big but!) But, I know I should do something.

My life is stereotypical of a stay-at-home mommy in that I’m busy being…busy! (And I swear to God, if I EVER hear someone once more utter that we sit around eating bon-bons and watching the soap channel, I can not, will not be responsible for my reaction because I am on my feet ALL DAY LONG.)

I am constantly moving, and give literal meaning to the term “chasing little ones.” Because I truly CHASE. (Darn fast-footed little monster of mine!) So, while I am “active”, I’m not truly doing much to keep my body healthy inside.

I eat healthy foods, taking time to learn to love my veggies, consuming my fair share of super-great-for-you blue-green algae :) but I won’t sweat.

So, I’m trying to sweat and I think maybe I’ve worked out a compromise.

It’s highly unlikely that I will take this time for myself alone. I’m now used to taking time away from my kids to spend with Charlie because it’s mutually beneficial, fun, and I know he wants me to. I can take time from certain kids to give to certain other kids because I think it’s important for them.

But I’m not accustomed to taking time away from them to give to…me.

Sure, I zip out for a hair appt, or a quick lunch with friends, or a mani/pedi but…nothing regular. Nothing every day.

(And I’m NOT giving up my sleep. Not one moment of shut-eye will be lost! I refuse.
REFUSE!)

What I think will work is…playing!! With my kids!

I’ve been going on long nightly walks with Creux most evenings while Charlie cooks dinner. I’ve just returned from an afternoon stroll (HA! STROLL!) where I ended up racing Greer who was pedaling like a maniac on her bike, trying to beat me. It was fun–it still sucked but I was running and cackling and having a great time.

And yes, I was sweating.

Ewww.

Greer is finally old enough to begin tennis lesson and I was thinking that I might take them too, so that we can play each other as she learns and grows.

There’s a place out in New Albany that offers homeschooling classes throughout the year so I might plunk her (and whichever of her brothers is interested) in that and maybe do a series of lessons on the side for me. We can practice together! And it’s something I can PLAY which is different from me trying to convince myself to run a marathon. (Because that is way, way, WAY too much sweat right there! ;) And the outfits suck, sorry runners! The tennis community has whole freaking COUTURE to be worn, with pink rackets and balls! Sign me up!)

Who knows, maybe I can convince a few friends to join me! I’m thinking Carla, Shelly, Jenny and I would make terrific doubles partners! Or Stacie? Jen Nalli?(Yep, am so going to try and drag you ladies down with me. This is recorded attempt number one. Others will follow. You will soon see that I am hard to resist :))

I suppose I’m making a commitment to be more active, to support my healthy lifestyle and yes, so my heart is strong.

So thanks for the advice and the nudges, my friends.

You worker-outters have inspired me!

(And the rest of you are hopefully eating your veggies! A good heart needs good food, you know…)

If it’s nice, we have coffee outside in the mornings.

It’s not been nice enough for that in about a week.

Stupid swampy, rain-soaked chair cushions.

(And I’ve had ENOUGH of the rain, for the record.)

On this morning, we’d set Creux up with his cereal in the kitchen while we were busy making our coffees. And since his siblings were bustling about inside, we snuck out back for a quiet moment before they all used their parental honing devices and came to yell and shriek and run circles around our morning coffee table.

Who doesn’t love to start the day THAT way, hmmm?

We had peace and quiet for about three minutes. I saw Charlie look behind me and start to smile and turned to see my monster baby, having HELPED HIMSELF down from the kitchen table with bowl in hand, standing there slurping up the remains of his breakfast.

Oh, he was proud and happy and…drippy :)

Standing in a little pile of milk!

But it sure was good milk–good right down to the very last drop!

Mommy knew, just KNEW, that while he’d been a very careful little monster that he’d left a milk-based trail allllll the way from the kitchen table, through the living room, and out onto the deck.

Mommy was right :)

Who could be mad though, passing this along the milk-based trail?
A milky hoof print!

He’s lucky that he’s so darn cute.
And that he’s mine.
AND that we have a pot-bellied pig posing as the family dog.
(She’s really not a pot-bellied pig. She’s just a pig. And maybe THIS is why she was pooping all over the house for days?)

All that hard work paid off! He climbed right on up into “his spot” at the table and was rewarded with a second bowl of morning yumminess.

It’s good being Creux in the morning!
(Minus the hole-in-the-head thing, of course :))

So this is the post that I was writing when Blogger decided to eat my whole entire witty introduction last week. Now, you don’t get witty, you just get me trying like hell to get the posts out that I want to get out before we embark on vacation and I bore you all to death with photos from the beach and the spa and the…:)

(You KNOW I will be blogging on-location!)

We’re stepping back in time to the day before Greer’s birthday and my attempt at a) making her happy and b) not digging myself into a three-tiered, hot pink, horrid little character cake.

(I. Was. Sweatin’. It.)

On a shopping excursion to William-Sonoma, I found these darling pastel-colored measuring cups and spoons and spatulas and thought they would be a perfect addition to our kitchen supplies because they’d be hers. (Meaning, back off boys!) The measuring cups are super cool because they fold flat for easy storage and pop out when you’re ready to use them!

I’d coveted these aprons on our first WS go-round but they were like $40!! On a return visit, I scooped them up for $12 (hers) and $13 (mine)! (This link shows them at $20 but they’re cheaper in the store!) The child size is positively HUGE on her but I couldn’t pass up the deal.

I’m a sucker for a hostess apron.

(And Jenny, I tossed one in my cart for Emma, too–I thought she’d like it for an upcoming birthday gift?)

Plus, I wondered if MAYBE I had a cute outfit to wear, I’d get my @$$ in the kitchen more.
(Never, EVER, underestimate the power of “Jardin des Fleurs” accessories! :))

Oh, she had fun inspecting her new tools–and she put them to work, too as she whipped up her own chocolate cupcake mix!

Greer wanted a Barbie cake. Mommy could not find a mold pan for Barbie so she “compromised” on Ariel. I took one look at the decorating monstrosity that would eventually make up the fishy princess and I said these words: “Umm, NOOOO.”
The height! The colors! The fondant!

FONDANT???

I was absolutely in over my head and knew it immediately. So I gently directed her towards the area that I thought I could handle: cupcakes!

God love you, cupcakes, you who are so forgiving to your maker.

I’ve also decided that if it can’t be made in a cupcake, I’m heading to Whole Friggin’ Foods! They have an outstanding selection of cakes that they make using ingredients that won’t turn your child into a bright purple pooping machine for three days afterward.
Hurray for THAT!

Anyway, found these super darling flower cupcake molds at the “Happy Hostess” out in Gahanna. (Thanks for sending me in that direction, Jenny!) These ended up being mini-cakes and were so fun for Greer!

She did allow me to help here and there but mostly, Mama was hands-off! She wanted complete control in the kitchen. (Reminds me of some other bossy-in-the-kitchen relative who shall remain nameless because if not, he’ll make me eat cereal for dinner tonight ;))

These turned out super yummy, no doubt love-infused by a pastel-tool-toting, apron-wearing, gorgeous little bakeress!

(The Final Results are coming up in another post. That’s ALWAYS a whole different post, isn’t it? When the kids get out food colorings and sugars and icings and sprinkles? Holy Yikes. And would you be surprised if I told you that I found all of that without a single speck of chemical dye in them? (Now you say, “No! We’re not surprised! We KNEW you could do it!!” Go ahead. Say it. I’m waaaaiting….:))

Shelly, of course I could not, would not, ever forget about you whilst planning a creek-and-wine date with Carla. Girl, I would beat your door down and Carla would raid your wine rack, stealing bottles left and right, if need be in order to get you to join us.

Though I don’t think we’ll require those drastic measures, do you?? :)

Anyway, I wanted to tell you that your boys have beat you to the punch as they’re ALREADY creeking in my backyard.

I, however, sadly, am friend and wine-less.

Oh well, you can’t have everything, right?!?

Just wanted to let you know that everything’s fine over here!
Kids are running rampant, half-naked, through the neighborhood but no one has been hit by a car, drowned, or accidentally fish-hooked. So I’m calling the day a smashing success!

(Oh, and check for leeches on them when they get home. Shudder. We’ve found two recently.)

Chas and friends, ready to explore the great unknown wilderness of our backyard creek :)

And they’re off! Ready to storm the waterway!

Bye Alex, bye! Please come back because if you get lost or swept into a storm drain, you mother is going to strangle me! And thanks for waving! (Shelly, he’s waving! Isn’t that so cute?! Normally, they all just ignore me :))

Opening my basement door to head to the laundry crypt (Oh, I’ve been on Laundry Vacation. It’s BAD down there! Piles bigger than my Littles, I tell you!) and found two very excited little boys trying to plop some very big fish into our tank! I sent them outside to get things sorted out better without saturating the carpet and dropping fish all over the place. (And so I could make them smile for my camera. Aren’t they sweet? Rhyse is with Bailey here, Alex’s little brother.)

The catch of the day!

Why tolerant neighbors are a BLESSING:

Oh yeah. That’s ours, too :)

Fittingly, I have a book to share that goes along with the “Earth” post I just did last night!

On one of my grab-and-go library runs, I snagged this photography book for Chas because he loves non-fictiony type stuff and has, over the years, learned quite a bit from just reading captions!

And so was the case with this book. Honestly, the written portion is a little dry and not super enticing (though is permeated with more information than you can possibly even IMAGINE) so he didn’t read it from cover to cover.

Neither did I.

But the photos! Oh my goodness, the photos!

This book depicts six of the most amazing natural phenomena on our planet and breaks them down into chapters:

“The Great Flood”–the annual flooding in Botswana that turns the dry desert into a wondrous life-sustaining water world. Think lions and tigers and elephants. (Oh my!)

“The Great Feast”–featuring the Alaskan sea animals that migrate thousands of miles to feast on the newly bloomed ocean plankton. You won’t see Spongebob but you WILL see some friggin cute sea otters and YIKES, enormous killer whales.

“The Great Migration”–lots of animals with horns, coated with dust, traveling through the Serengeti, being picked off by the food chain giants. Featuring many gory predator/prey photos. Your sons will love this chapter :)

“The Great Melt”–this chapter was my favorite as I’m spellbound by the wintry beauty of the North Pole. Santa may or may not live there but for sure, polar bears and penguins do and I’m a big fan! These pictures depict the melting Artic icebergs and showcase some AMAZINGLY gorgeous sights. (And oh, that sweet, troubled polar bear, out treading water, trying to find a chunk of ice to hunt from…)

“The Great Salmon Run”–poor little Pacific coast fishes. They swim thousands of miles to return to the rivers that they were born in, only to become a delicious dinner for the bears waiting for them in the water. (And did you know that wolves like them to? Though they only eat the brains and/or head! WHAT A WASTEFUL BUNCH! ;) Neat photos of brainless fish. Chas dug that.)

“The Great Tide”–this follows the South African “Sardine Run” which we’d see on COSI’s IMAX screen a few months ago. More doomed fish, getting eaten by every darn thing around them, from the air to the water! And I just love that bait ball. What a genius architectural design! Does it work? Temporarily. But it’s an amazing sight! Think dolphins, sharks and crazy diving birds.

So there you have it!
Now I can return this book to the library and pay the (several) dollars in late fees that I accumulated while it sat, waiting for me to share it :)

I just realized that I could show you what MY Cozi looks like!
And so, just in case you’d like to stalk my family members, you’ll now know where each of us will be over the next few days :)

You can see at the top who each dot represents and you can see at the bottom all of the options you have…like print, send to phone, etc.

(Again, you might need to click on the photo to get a better view.)

I tried using this online calendar system last year but couldn’t get into it for some reason. Probably because it took me about an hour to get it all up and running and this time last year, I didn’t have an hour to donate.

But I LOVE this thing!

It’s an online organizational system that is simply FANTASTIC for big families. (It would be great for small families too but I’m looking at it from a Control Mass Chaos perspective.)

Each family member is labeled by a color-coded dot (though they assign them, you can go back in and pick your own–my kids are particular over their friggin dot colors) and when you plunk someone’s commitment into the calendar, you can have automatic reminders sent to their email or phone.

There’s also a family journaling section where you can privately mini-blog. I have one sort of going but if I wanted, I could shoot it over to Facebook in an instant if I wanted to share what I’ve written since they link there. Or I could email the journal entries and photos to whichever family and friends I wanted to share with. I’m mentioning this because many people have expressed an interest in blogging but don’t want the whole world knowing what they’re up to or don’t want the upkeep of another “something” online. Blogs are high maintenance! But private journaling doesn’t have to be.

I love the shopping list section because I can have many lists running at a time (what I need at Costco, what I need at Raisin Rack, what I want to search for at the library, etc) and I can text/email this list to any phone linked to my Cozi. So if Charlie stops at the grocery on the way home, I just click his name and shoot him the list.

I’m telling you, it’s fantastic, this thing!

At a glance, I can tell who’s doing what for today…or who’s doing what in six months if I’ve logged any information in there. We added Emily to our list so that it’s easy for her to keep track of when we might need her…and I can tell when she’s not available if she maintains her calendar portion.

This system has eliminated annoying scrap paper jottings (”See if Em can babysit next Thurs!” “When is that pool party?”) and my wretched multi-calendar usage. Chas is able to get on every day and see what we have planned AND I’m able to send him reminders via his phone which is really nice because he’s positively glued to it.

And one of my most favorite things about this Cozi? The screensaver collage!! It randomly chooses and organizes photos from all of my monthly albums and displays them, changing the groupings every 15 seconds. And it doesn’t just pull from one month, it’ll grab a beach shot and stick it because an apple picking one, Creux’s birth photo and our Cincinnati anniversary trip. I love it and often times just sit and watch for a minute or two, caught up in the virtual trip down memory lane. (The kids love this part too! Greer is forever wanting to see our photos flash on the screen and the variety of photos chosen makes it a terrific time-sucking past-time for me! Who can resist those old Halloween photos? (Not me! NOT ME!))

Anyway, I’m really enjoying this Cozi thing and thought others might be interested in checking it out as well!

P.S…it’s FREE!
P.P.S…there’s a demo on the page I linked to so you can see it working in action–check it out!

Oh! And the screensaver feature also sticks a “your day at a glance” box at the bottom so you can, while running past your computer to chase down a Little-on-the- Loose clutching Sharpie marker, realize that you’re now late for your dentist appointment! Yippee! (But mine is acting temperamental and is not performing for my camera currently. Figures.)

Here’s a collage shot from Charlie’s computer which is pulling from older files (you guys have seen all of mine since I blog them ALL!):

I know it’s hard to see from this tiny photo but that baby in the photos is GREER! (If you click on the photo, it’ll pull up larger.) Clockwise: Rhyse at his 5th birthday party at “Pump It Up”, my sorority sis Jenn holding Greer, my mom at the hospital holding Greer for the first time, my tiny daughter’s newborn hospital homecoming ride, me HUGELY pregnant with Greer (literally about two days away from erupting), holding her minutes after birth, Chas at “Pump It Up”, and…this picture is particularly special because our good friend, Matt, seen on his wedding day here with Jennifer (my good friend Steph’s sister) is no longer with us. We almost didn’t make it to this wedding as Greer was only six weeks old and I couldn’t leave her…but we are both forever grateful that we did.

Let me know if you try this and what you guys think!

I received an email from a friend (thanks Sheri!) about the movie “Earth” that hit theaters, fittingly, on Earth Day back in April.

And oh, how I wanted to take my gang to see it but you all know my absolute and thorough detesting of anything even remotely resembling a crowd, and I knew the theaters would be swamped with families.

I stuck it on the back-burner and then ended up scorching the pot :)

I meant to get my kids to this movie but things kept coming up and we just never made it.

Until tonight! It turns out that “Earth” IS still playing at the dollar theaters!

I’d mentioned it to Jenny and she was excited to take her kids too so we met up tonight at the cheapie theater off of Bethel Rd. (Carriage Place) and watched the show together with our families.

Rhyse decided at the last minute that he’d rather stay home and play so he wasn’t in attendance tonight. (And that kind of surprised me but he was in Play Mode With Friends and didn’t want to quit and come in to get ready.)

I must say that though I don’t really like the cheapie theaters…I miss the bigger screens and the fancy surround sound, and the slightly more luxurious accommodations…but I LOVE the prices here!

It was $4.50 for the movie tickets for our family. We recently saw a movie at Easton in 3D and it was nearly $50!!!

So I’m thinking there’s a compromise in here somewhere. Maybe we’ll split the time at the regular theaters vs. the dollar ones or something like that because it’s a tremendous savings for our family.

Really, it’s quite silly to pay more now that I think about it.

Damn that swank factor and all its luring ways!

As for the movie itself, oh, it was terrific!! We’d long ago watched the entire “Planet Earth” dvds on our family nights and have always been way wow’ed by the images captured on film and tonight’s movie was no different! From start to finish, there was just adorably cute animal shot after adorably cute animal shot and positively jaw-dropping scenes of our beautiful planet.

And Earth’s inhabitants displayed an outstanding performance–not that they were acting but in that they were authentically showcased and documented. They just lived, survived, or tried to :) and it was entertaining and informative and I just loved it. Loved every segment. (But the baby ducks taking their first flight was my hands-down favorite. They were so darling just…falling from their nest way high in the tree…and landing in plump little balls of feathers way down in the leaves.)

Cute, cute, cute.

What was also cute was my eldest son’s own theatrical performance during the show. He’s a funny guy, never misses an opportunity to crack a joke. Loudly. So he spent the 90 minutes playing comedian for Adrienne. He said he didn’t like the movie, it was boring, he’d seen it all before and I replied…”You didn’t like it, Chas, because you were busy entertaining Adrienne! You didn’t even see the movie!” He denied it. But I bet the two ladies who were shooting them evil glares would agree with ME :)

Cute, cute, cute.

I think it’s tremendously important to remind our children constantly that we do indeed share this planet. (I think it’s important to remind adults this too!) No amount of words can compare with these powerful images; I was positively transfixed!

It’s a wonderful family-friendly movie, entertaining yet impactful.
Loved it.

Jenny & gang, thanks for meeting us with us! It was quite clear that the kids had a great time together :)

Fun night, good movie, wonderful company.

I snapped this of Rhyse as we were pulling away. He didn’t even bat an eye! I thought maybe once he saw us loading up that he’d go, “Wait! I want to go!” I even had an outfit ready for him in my mind. But nope. He just waved us off!

This was an neat pairing! We never have this coupling going on!

This stupid rain! Off and on all day long. (I’m not in the photo because I’m busy MELTING.)

The Movie-Goers–my crowd plus Jenny, Emma, Colin and Adrienne.

I won’t be here this time next week.

Do you want to know where I’ll be?

I’ll be right here.

For five days and four nights, I will be there.

Kidless.

(Now do you see why we were celebrating??? :))

Ok, that was a joke. Not where we’re going but that we’re celebrating being kid-free. I’m going to miss my babies terribly. I can feel it already.

But…we haven’t been on a beachy vacation since probably Chas was born that we weren’t chasing a Little around the pool, shore, or parking lot. My novels don’t come home filled with bits of sand because I know I can’t take them down to the beach and read them. Normally, we take working vacations. We have fun but we’re exhausted by the time we get home.

This summer offered an opportunity for a R&R vacation and so, we took it. It’s been the first time in forever that I’ve not been either pregnant (and no, I’m not, despite yesterday’s comment-generating, fresh-baby-gushing-to-the-max post) or nursing. Since I nurse for over a year, (I’ll nurse for as long as my baby wants–Creux decided at 16 months that he was just too big and busy to be cuddled by Mama for any duration) it’s not easy to get away. Especially if pregnancies overlap nursing periods like Greer and Creux. Back then, I could only dream about going to a place like where we’re going next week.

Plus, Emily is available now. She’s not in school but will be heading back at the end of August. It seemed silly to not take advantage of her wide open schedule and sneak away for a few days.

I know I said that Sexy Miami was out after we bought that new air conditioning unit. (Which, I must say, can turn this house into a meat locker in record time.)

I lied :)

Sexy Miami is IN and I’m very excited to just…relax.
Sleep late.
Lounge.
Read.
Not chase anything :)

We searched high and low for the perfect vacationing spot. Miami itself was strategically picked because it is not incredibly kid-friendly. I will go insane if I have to watch families splashing in the pool, enjoying their time together. It’s not easy for me to leave my kids and I know I’ll miss them something fierce.

Miami itself and South Beach just aren’t quite “us”, though. We’ve been before, know the area well enough to know that we’re just not that hip! I don’t want to do Fabulousity at the Beach. We did that, in Vegas, swanked it up at the Bellagio, stayed up all night playing and partying. This time, I want to just kick back. (But I still want a little bit of swank, come on.)

When “The Grove Isle Hotel & Spa” popped up on my google search (after about three days of on-and-off searching and discarding choices), I gasped, rolled back from my computer, turned to Charlie and said, “I found it. I love this place. Take me here.”

The hotel is located in Coconut Grove, an upscaley suburb-type place in Miami and the resort itself is on a private 20-acre island. It offers a full-scale spa (will be taking full advantage of THAT) and waterfront everything. Plus, it’s small–I think there are only 49 rooms!

We’re largely leaving this trip open with very little scheduled as we’ve already done the Miami sight-seeing. We’ll head in there a time or two for dinner or drinks but I’m not feeling compelled to spend my days there running around. The only thing on our calendar are a few spa treatments and perhaps a Key West excursion. The last time we were there together (seven years ago?), we rented a car and drove from Miami all through the Keys and it’s been one of my favorite travel memories ever since. We took a fanboat ride through the Everglades and it was so fantastic, I’d love to do that again.

Ultimately when we’re out, we’ll be scoping for places to come back down and bring our kids. There’s so much to see and do in this area and I KNOW they’d love it.

So, that’s what we were celebrating: our decision to go, our excitement towards this looming journey.

While we do have another adventure planned in late August with our boys, this is most likely the last “adults only” trip that we’ll be taking for awhile. School starts, the holidays approach, lives change.

This will be our summer send-off.

And I plan on saying goodbye in a decadent, selfishly relaxing, laid-back-in-the cabana, red-painted-sand-covered-toes kind of way!

Counting down, starting to scramble…