Crazy Days Of Summer

I can't believe how fast this summer is flying by. Day after day seems to be filled with activities. Not exactly the ones that I need to be doing... like laundry, vacuuming, bill paying... no, I have become the 'entertainment director' of some sorts. It's not a bad job, I enjoy hanging out with the kids. Playing games, going to a movie or going for a walk is just fine with me. I've even had time to read! (The reason for so many book reviews on my blog!) I just can't help feeling guilty for not doing the housework.

No... I take that back. Maybe it's a different kind of guilt. It's when I look around the house or go to make dinner and see we don't have anything to make, that I feel guilty for NOT feeling guilty. Should I feel guilty? I mean.... everyone in my house is over 18 except for Baby Boy (11), and Baby Girl (7).  And they are pretty self-sufficient. There really isn't anyone who needs me to do much for them.

We do hit up the dollar menus more than I'd like, but it's nice to be out of the house and not 'tied' to it. I use to be on top of everything... the bills, the shopping, the laundry. I could tell you where anything was in the house. Now, it's anyone's guess. I sometimes wish I could 'do it all' like I used to. But it just doesn't feel the same. It was a full-time job then. With overtime! 24/7. I enjoyed it. It's what I did... what I had to do. I don't want to do that anymore. I enjoy spending my time with the people in my life rather than just taking care of the 'things' and 'to do's'.

Don't get me wrong. I do take care of the house and family. I feed the kids and do the laundry... blah, blah, blah. Just not as detailed or punctual... and not nearly as organized as I used to. But now we have time to do other things. Even relaxing is new to me. I'm beginning to enjoy it! Although, I do realize I need to have balance in my life. I used to live by lists that had to be completed each day. I wanted a clean and organized home. I realize now that I just didn't need it to be perfect. Now I'm on the flip-side. I want to enjoy life... but I don't want to be lazy or have no purpose or motivation.

For now, I'll just enjoy the summer while my kids are still young enough to want to hang out with me. My kids are going up fast and they won't always be kids, but my 'things' and 'to-do's'... they aren't going anywhere. Believe me... I've tried to catch up on them for years and they're still here... 'to-do'.

Summer Begins with Judy Moody

The first week of summer vacation has gone by at lightening speed. So far, I don't have a plan. Maybe that's why it feels like it's flying by. Hmmm.... yep. I need to get a plan!

We haven't done anything yet, other than relax and hang out. I thought we'd take the first couple of days to just get caught up. It's been so busy lately, it sounded like a good idea to get some rest. Hahaha! Will I ever learn that you can never get caught up?

So I guess the first of the fun began yesterday. My son had a friend over for the day. One of his best friends actually. He moved away last year and now they only see each other every now and then. After a full day of hanging out, they asked if my son could spend the night at his friends' house. I said "Fine.", and my daughter said "But I'll be bored if he goes!"

So... I thought we could have our own 'girls night'.

We went to see "Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer".  My daughter, the 7-year-old, really enjoyed it.  It had a lot of action all through it and she was engrossed through the whole movie. Well... there was this really short zombie scene that she didn't like. But other than that... she loved it.

I liked it too...but not as much as I liked Ramona and Beezus. At the beginning, I thought the characters were a little too 'cartoonish' for me and I was afraid it was going to be really cheesy. But I was surprised. It turned out to be very entertaining. They did a great job of making the characters like the book and the story did keep you interested. It was fun!

It's a great movie for any Judy Moody fan. Even if you haven't read the books... I think you'll enjoy taking the kids. It's a colorful, funny, entertaining movie with a fun story.

I'm hoping to see a few family friendly movies this summer. We'll probably do some crafts, cooking, and keep them up on their math and reading for next year too. I'm sure we'll have plenty to do to keep us busy.

Speaking of busy... I'm off to do some book reviews before I get behind. If I could only get in the habit of writing a review as soon as I'm finished reading... something to work on.

I hope your summer is off to a great start!


Thanks for reading and God bless!
Mary Ann :)

Fun Summer Recipe... Jello Salad AKA the "Pink Stuff"

Summer is here! No, not officially, but it sure feels like it here in the desert. 80 to 90 degree temps means it's time for bbq's and picnics (Memorial Day?). Or maybe just sandwiches when it's too hot to use the oven.

This is a favorite recipe. When we have a family gathering, someone's going to bring it. And it's never enough... we all go back for seconds. The kids love it and it's a cool dessert for the hot weather.


Jello Salad or "Pink Stuff"

1 lg. Cool Whip

1 lg. cottage cheese

1 lg. box strawberry-banana Jell-o (or 2 small)

3-4 large bananas, sliced

Mix all ingredients together. Let stand in refrigerator 15-30 minutes.


How easy is that!

The first time I tried this was at a baby shower for my sister. Wow... that must be about 25 years ago! So... it must be good 'cause we're still making it.  I remember it was made with lime Jello and crushed pineapple.

You can use any variation you like. Strawberry and banana are just my favorite. If you have a favorite combination or come up with a new one... feel free to share your version in the comments below. Nothing like a new recipe!

Enjoy!
Mary Ann :)

The Last Week Of Summer... Vacation.

We are quickly approaching the final week of our summer vacation. School begins a week from Monday. So how can we pack in all the activities that we didn't get to do? Ughh...

It seems funny to me that I enjoy summer vacation more as an adult than I did when I was in school. Not sure why that is. Maybe it's because we got bored so easily, or maybe because we didn't have money. Or maybe neither of those reasons. My kids seem to get bored too and we don't always have money to do what we'd like. I guess it's more because we are better at planning our summers. Or even just the days in general.

I've come to find that I don't function well with the 'play it by ear' approach. Seems that most days drift by without anything meaningful happening. BUT... when I have a plan ... now that's when we can have fun. It's when I start the day on purpose that I can really enjoy it.

It's funny, because my husband is just the opposite. Yes... he does his share of planning. Only HIS plans are subject to change. Anytime. And often. Before we actually end up doing anything. He is a planner. But he is more interested in having fun than sticking to the days' itinerary.

So... for the next week, the last week I have to spend with my kids before they go back to school, I have a plan. I'm sure you knew that. :)

I'm planning to have a relaxing time with my kids. A quiet time. Time to sit and listen to them, help them be prepared for the new school year, and just be together before we get back into routine.

We've planned to have a 'pajama day'. That's one of our favorites. We hang out in our pj's all day... watch movies... order pizza... make smores... or whatever we feel like doing. We just do it all in our pajamas. It's not like a 'lazy', 'nothing to do' kinda day. It's planned. So it's fun. For some reason... I love to have pizza, on the couch, in front of the tv, in my pj's. Just seems to make life a little better. Don't you think?

And I'll be sure to leave a day or two open for my husband to 'plan' his fun with them. It's my way of planning to be spontaneous.  ;)


Thanks for reading!
Mary Ann :)

My late 4th of July post.

What a great time we had for the 4th of July weekend. My hubby had family visiting from out-of-town.... his brother and his brother's mother-in-law. (His wife passed away last year.) We also had my dad and one of my brothers over along with most of my kids and my best friend. We had a BBQ... chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers (I guess I should say 'turkey' burgers), potato salad, corn on the cob and baked beans. Yum!

Food, family and fun. They just go together. I prepared for the BBQ most of the morning and cooked while everyone visited. Usually the girls end up in the kitchen while the men entertain themselves... and sometimes even the kids. Everyone having fun and enjoying the company.

For the kids... it's a little like Christmas. They are so excited and ready to burst from anticipation... they just can't wait to light all the fireworks. Baby Boy comes in the kitchen multiple times to tell me how great this one will be or to ask 'Can we light this one now... you can't really see it in the dark?'  Is this where they got the phrase "Christmas in July"?  I wonder...

When darkness finally arrives, we head on out to the end of the driveway. We get our bucket filled with water to douse the used sparklers and other fireworks. We have our trash bag and our broom. We have a lighter, a camera that I don't use because we're too busy lighting fireworks. A couple of camping stools to sit on.... and we're all set.

I think it's funny that every year the kids ask for the bigger fireworks. Mostly because they know I won't buy them. We usually pick out all the smaller 'inexpensive' ones. The way I see it.... I buy the small ones, the kids get to light them - safely, of course - they have a thrill and we get the benefit of watching all of the neighbors' more expensive fireworks. Well... why should we ALL spend a lot of money... right? You can only watch so many at one time. Works for me!

It really was a great show this year. We drove down to the end of our street which happens to be at the edge of the desert/mountain. Most of the neighbors who buy fireworks gather there. And since they're going to light them anyway... well, you know. We watch. It was a great show! Fireworks right above our heads!

Then we all go home... amazed at how it got so late, so fast... and we say our goodbyes. Baby Girl is exhausted as she lays across the bottom step and declares that she can't make it up the stairs. Sleep awaits us all as a welcome end to a wonderful day spent with family.

Can't wait to do it again!


Mary Ann :)

"Camp Plastico" comes to an end. Sort of.

Last week was our home camp... "Camp Plastico". I'm sure you're wondering where we came up with the name, right? Thought so. Let me tell you... My Baby Boy is very much into plastic army men. And lots of them. So his idea was to make 'homemade' army men. And since they're made out of plastic... yeah, there you go... "CAMP PLASTICO". 

And by the way... I have NO IDEA how to make your own army men. Just sayin'...

Well... Baby Girl wasn't easily convinced. Especially since she is quite the 'princess'. Her idea of camp was a bit different from his... but, since she loves hanging out with her brother, she was finally swayed. "Camp Plastico" it is.

The first day of home camp is always about the t-shirts. We each make our own 'camp' t-shirt that we wear when we do our camp activities at home or if we go out for activities. Keeps them from painting on their good clothes. The kids have fun thinking of a logo and what color paint we should use. Should we all match? Make our own logo with the same colors? Or the same logo with different colors? It usually differs each year, but always fun to do. The kids did a great job this year. It was amazing how much paint was actually on the t-shirts instead of the kitchen table! Yep. They're growing up fast.

So during the week we had many crafts for them. With the army men theme in mind, we went to Michael's and picked up several projects for them to do. My son really wanted to make a diorama. (Is that a word?) Anyway... that's what he wanted to do, so most of the smaller projects were things that would lead up to and tie-in to the diorama. That would be made on the last day of camp so they could use everything else they had made during the week. Well... most of it tied in.

We found some great little kits at Michael's... but after checking out the cost, I decided we could explore and see how we could create the same thing for less. They had a lot of little model kits for $1 each so they picked up 3 each. A jet, a cannon, fire engine, castles.  Out of everything we bought... I was most impressed with these because they were a nice size and they took about 1 1/2 hours to complete. Sand the wood, put together, glue, paint. And the kids could follow the directions themselves. Hey... for a buck... that's a lot of entertainment. AND... I only watched. I let them do them all on their own. If you knew me, you'd know how hard it was for me to sit and not offer my help.

Anyway... we also made posters, painted ceramics and wooden animal figures. We averaged 2 projects a day and still didn't finish them all. That was pretty good. For less than the price of sending just 1 of them to day-camp, we had a week full of fun and quality time spent together. It was relaxing. No set time. Just have fun and be creative. We even had a couple nights of  'camp food'. They like to choose meals that they don't normally have so it feels like 'camp'.  All in all it was a great week.

This summer we will have another camp week.. cooking camp. AKA "Camp Plastico: Part 2". I've found several kid friendly recipes for them to try and they are so excited. I can probably have them cook every day for a week... maybe 2 things a day... for around $20 using what I already have in my pantry. To send them to the 'cooking camp' offered by their school it would cost $99 each for only 6 sessions. Teaching them myself is not only cheaper but it let's me in on the fun too. You know... homemade really is better!

Thanks for reading,

Mary Ann :)

Affordable Fun for the Kids

With the kids home all summer, I try to find affordable activities. This is one you may already know about... but I thought is was worth sharing.

Regal Entertainment Group, offers the Free Family Film Festival. They show free G or PG movies every Tuesday and Wednesday at 10am. No... they aren't new releases. But if your kids are anything like mine... they will watch a movie several times and still enjoy it. Plus, there a few older ones that they never saw on the 'big screen'.

Also, check out AMC Entertainment. They offer movies for $1 every Tuesday morning at the AMC Summer Movie Camp. Check them out to see what's playing in your area.

And there you have my summer fun 'tip of the day'!  :)

Enjoy your summer!
Mary Ann