...is a wonderful thing!
My secret pal from church gave me a book a couple weeks ago and I have been able to read portions of it here and there. It is a compilation of several different ladies who have tremendous senses of humor! Today, I rolled out of bed and gave the kids their breakfast...
gave them the bowls for cereal and poured milk, grabbed my cup of coffee, and sat down to read and wakeup.
Laughter is the Spice of Life is the name of the book and it is divided into different chapters...children, marriage, etc. Today, I was reading the chapter dedicated to all things healthy,
you know, exercise, diet, and the like. All of a sudden, I was laughing so hard I was crying...I looked up to see if the kids heard me...thankfully, they did not! I tried to keep reading and all of a sudden I was snorting...that hasn't happened in a long time! I noticed it got worse when I tried to hold it in...I didn't want the kids to think their mother had gone completely bonkers this early...
can I say 9 am is early?...in the morning! What would Ted think? His wife...all alone in the quiet livingroom...laughing all by herself...while reading a book...I don't want the kids to divulge that info to him...I would get the "you're nuts" look with the head shake!
Does anyone else know that one? If you have ever been to an exercise class, you would have appreciated the story too! Many types of people, mirrors all around, movements that only rubberbands are capable of...
All I could think of was the verse about..."joy comes in the morning"...not that there were any tears last night...but I don't always feel joyful in the morning...especially since lately I haven't been sleeping good at night...and there isn't any reason not to! The kids sleep all night now, we have a wonderful mattress, the air is on, I had a snack before bed and no caffine...am I at the stage in life where this will happen alot?
Ted keeps reminding me that I am almost 40...and Mom and Dad just celebrated their 40th anniversary...so I can't keep going into denial...is this what is going to happen?
I guess I will just have to learn to function in that "not-much-sleep-mode" again...
and laugh about the things in life that are wonderful...and not-so-wonderful...because it sure beats crying! And have a second and third cup of coffee if needed!
Milk and sugar anyone?
"Tastes of Summer" was the tea we purchased for the occasion and it was served in Grammy's new tea cup set.
Daisies and cherry lemonade and banana bread...mmmm!
Mom and I were thanked "for our hospitality" and "delicious food". The girls told us that they "were using their bestest manners". It was a "delightful time".
and we all got a little taste! The girls let me know that Chevy has been eating strawberries off and on. At least one of us is enjoying them!
"Soaked to death" because they had to park so far away...guess which store!!!
Another Barbie movie?
Glue...glitter glue...anything messy will do!
Answer: Have a house-full of little girls (ok...it seemed like more than three!!!) running from one activity to another...with a little brother trying to figure out what to do to aggravate (oops, I mean, keep up with) them. First, send Teddy with Aunt Sara while she runs some errands! Then apply, movies, crafts, giggling, and the fun continues! Finally, throw in a baking activity and everyone is happy!
Aunt Sara + silly Alisa= Two peas in a pod who happen to like playing Memory!
Thank you for the game!
Made to order...vanilla cake with vanilla frosting...no sprinkles...
shared with siblings and a friend for lunch. The "big cake" is for supper with Daddy. What a fun day...Dunkin Donuts for breakfast, three phone calls with the Happy Birthday song sung, trip to the park with Aunt Sara, video and crafts with friends, and more to come!
Our LLBean ice cream ball came in handy for our Monday neighborhood kid activity...MMMM was it good!
Buddies...we're thankful for boys to play with!!!
Everybody needs somebody sometime...what a good doggie...today, that is!
The biggest Mickey Mouse pancake I have ever seen!
The swedish pancakes were wonderful!!!
Grammy read all the Swedish words for us in true Gram Carlson style! Thank you, Grammy, for the the "birthday breakfast"!
I checked out a site that Cousin Sara mentioned on her art blog...and found some neat ideas for those summer days...here we made sidewalk paint! It does come off clothes and sidewalk! We used old paint brushes and new chalk tools too. It doesn't get any better than this...does it?!
$.69 box of cornstarch and $1.19 box of food coloring equals a couple hours of fun! The Crafty Crow's recipe: 1/4 cup cornstarch, 1/4 cup water, 5-10 drops food coloring. Mix well...for thicker paint add more cornstarch. It will be hard to mix at first. We tried the color mixes on the back of the coloring box and had a rainbow of colors!
It was a lesson in sharing too!
But maybe we should go to the park...it is like an obstacle course around the backyard...and dangerous too! Notice the swingset...yeah, the five year old he-man was proud of himself!
I had to share this pic of our Teddys...the younger showing the older the picture he drew "just for Daddy". "That's us, Dad, we're fishing...the circles are the rocks, the blue is the sky...and we have stick-em-up-hair!" He was so proud...and Daddy enjoyed the fact that he had green facial hair! What a pair! Another special Father's moment in the busy-ness of life!
"A man ought to live so that everybody knows he is a Christian...and most of all, his family ought to know." D.L. Moody
"Authentic men aren't afraid to show affection, release their feelings, hug their children, cry when they're sad, admit it when they're wrong, and ask for help when they need it." Charles Swindoll 
Alisa lost her tooth, put it on the counter, and I am pretty sure I "cleaned it off" when I wiped down the counter. "That's ok, Mom, the tooth fairy can get it if it went down the drain!" Does she know who it is? I was not about to take a drain apart!!! Anyway, the tooth fairy's wings were pink and she was happy! 4 quarters=1 tooth! "Mom, I have a window for my tongue!"
The kids found a turtle...twice...so they decided to "put him in a little box"! We kept "Stripe" for a day and then let him go so he could eat...what do turtles eat? We didn't have the internet or wilderness books to help us find out! With all the rain, he had lots of little ponds to choose from!
It is always fun getting settled at the lakehouse...the kids find toys to play with and fun places to play in...and Mommy gets peace and quiet for almost an hour...then we have to take a ride!
How fun to have a special place to hide and play..."seating for one...only!"
We also stuck with the plan to do schoolwork review each day...the girls are doing a good job...now to get serious with the summer library reading program!
