Oh, what do you do in the summertime?

We assemble the gingerbread house kit that has been sitting on top of the fridge since December. While not assembling this in December made me look like a rotten Mom to my kids, letting them assemble it in June made me like an awesome Mom. It all averages out, right?

Laws of the Universe

I am a firm believer in the law of averages.

In the presence of some overly chipper and bubbly person, I feel the need to become as bitingly sarcastic as absolutely possible just to keep things on an even keel. I wouldn't want the universe to be all askew due to an overabundance of cheer.

With the belief firmly in tact, I suppose then I shouldn't have been surprised that if playroom looked like this:
(This is a picture of it looking clean, btw.)

Then the family room would clearly need to look like this:


How do they move so fast in their destruction? It's like my kids can sense that there is clean carpet somewhere and are magnetically drawn towards it.

Kale

We do Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, we buy a share in a farm and we get a share of whatever grows each week. We did a co-op back in NJ, but I really enjoy the CSA better. Spring in Ohio means lots and lots and lots (did I mention lots?) of greens come in our share each week. Every lettuce imaginable and all sorts of other good leafy greens. Coming up with new and exciting things to do with all of the greens week after week can sometimes be exhausting, so the farm is nice enough to send out an email with ideas each week.

Here's a tip from the most recent email:

Cut the kale into thin strips, and put your choice of dressing on it, then massage it! Five minutes is all it takes, and the process softens it up so you can easily eat it raw. If you want to add anything else to the salad (shredded turnips or radishes, pickled beets, gorgonzola,etc.) do it AFTER the massage. Enjoy!

I confess that I was amused at the idea of massaging my kale before eating it. When I mentioned this to Todd, I said something like, "Massage Kale for five minutes?! Why would I do such a thing?!"

Todd smirked and said, "Well, I could imagine you would if it were a hot guy and his name were Kale."

It's a fair point. ;)

"Safety Rules"

In case anyone needed further proof that Benjamin is practically a clone of Todd we had this delightful experience at a McDonald's on the way home from FL yesterday.

Nathaniel: Okay, Mom, we're done eating can we go play on the play equipment?

Me: Sure.

Benjamin: But MOM, it says you need socks in order to play!!! We're not wearing any socks!

Me: Eh, let's just play until somebody notices us and kicks us off. (I did NOT want to rifle through luggage to find socks...and I think it's a silly rule.)

Benjamin: MOM!! It is a safety rule! Let's not find out what happens if we don't wear socks! Let's NOT take risks!

It is because of this child that I climb far fewer fences than I used to. He's making me all law abiding. harumph.

Beachy Updates

Being at the beach totally rocks!...except when it rains every afternoon. I don't mean soft and gentle little rain. I mean the kinds of thunderstorms that send all three of my boys running from the TV (!!! Yeah, I was amazed, too) into the bed to cower under the covers.

Yesterday at the beach it started thundering and lightning while we were in the water. So we got out to leave. It seemed like the sensible thing to do. 10 minutes AFTER the first lightning strike the lifeguard finally called everyone out of the water. And not everyone would come!!! So she had to drive down along the beach and yell for people to get out of the water and THEN the beach patrol finally came and kicked everyone off the wet part of the beach altogether.

Benjamin kept looking at the silly wet people nervously, saying, "Mom! Don't they know that water conducts electricity!!"

Personally, I think that if you choose to play in the waves or lay on wet sand during an electrical storm, the human race stands a better chance if you get whatever's coming.

Beach Memories

The surf was rougher today than it has been all week, but Benjamin and I had lots of fun playing in the waves. He kept jumping on my back every time a big wave came, which reminded me of this story from a beach trip 10 years ago. My darling friend Mark, whom my children now refer to as Uncle Mark, and I went to Seagirt with a my roommate and one of her friends. This was the story that I told Benjamin of that long ago trip:

Mark said, "Emilia, let's be pirates. I get to be Columbus." To which I replied in a perplexed tone, "but Mark, Columbus wasn't a pirate...he was an explorer!" Ignoring me, he said, "I will be Columbus and you will be my Santa Maria, so I can ride you". At which point he jumped on my back and clung as tight as possible just as a large wave was coming. Unable to hold us both above water, we got mouthfuls of the wave. Disgusted, he climbed off and said, "I must have mistaken you for the Pinta. She sank, you know."

Benjamin found this story all sorts of funny and didn't stop laughing until a wave hit him full in the face. (Which I must admit made me giggle...just a little bit.)

Summer

Have I mentioned how much I love summer?

I love having days that are simply full of possilblity and NO set schedule.

I love seeing my boys enjoy popsicles in the backyard. (NO POPSICLES IN THE HOUSE!!!!)

I love being in water most of the season.

I love camping with my family.

I love spending hours at the library or pool, just because we feel like it.

I love being in my garden and then eating the fruits of my labor.

I don't necessarily love the summer long diet to make it possible to be in my bathing suit for most of the season, but I can wait until winter to have that cake. Are bulky, baggy sweaters making a comeback any time soon?

And with that, we are off to the beach and farmer's market. When we get home, we'll put on our pjs and eat dinner and cuddle on the couch to watch a movie.

LOVE summer.