Friday's Five: Beach Time

I'm on beach time, where the days and hours blend and melt one into the other. Where you have to check the paper to know what day it is, except that you don't remember the last time you looked at the news. So I'm pretending it's still Friday, even though it's Saturday night now and might be Sunday by the time I get this posted.

We've been at the beach since Wednesday, visiting with my long-time friend, Shannon, and her family. It's our first time here with four children (her two and my two), plus both husbands over the weekend. The definition of crazy fun -- sometimes just crazy and sometimes just fun, but always worthwhile.

Here are five things I love about spending time at the beach with a friend who's known me since my single days and continues to be my friend after all these years:

1. Watching our kids turn themselves into little shake-n-bake babies, coating every inch of their sweet bodies with sand and loving every minute of it (see photo). Then bathing all four of them together in the shower outside the beach house, soaping and re-soaping until their tiny white tushies are all clean.
   


2. Reading a book, an actual, wonderful, honest-to-goodness novel. Shannon finished it on Wednesday and I burned through the 400+ pages by Saturday night. Not only was The Help a great book, I finally made the time to read. Of course, it helps that Shannon and our husbands were there to entertain the kids so that I could read uninterrupted for more than 15 minutes.
   


3. Staying up too late, talking about everything from Michael Jackson to forgotten friends to Punxsutawney Phil to our families to saving turtles to where we want to buried (or not) when we die. We might not have solved the world's problems, but it's way more fun than chatting on Facebook.
   


4. Wearing a bikini on the beach, because it makes my husband happy to see me in one and I don't feel self-conscious around Shannon because she loves me in spite of myself. And she has probably had as many body-image issues as I have over the years (although hers are different ones than mine and she looks fantastic).
   


5. Having a schedule, which sounds counter-intuitive for the beach -- but only if you don't know Shannon. She's a planner, in the most high-maintenance way, and I love it. We always know what we're going to do and when we're going to do it -- when the schedule is filled with nap times, snack times, trips to the pool and the beach, you can sign me up for that plan any day of the week.
   
   

What's best of all is knowing that we'll get to do this again next year and the next year and the year after that. We've been friends too long, know too much, survived too many tales to stop now. And I can't wait to hear her stories next year about her plan to become a figure skater performing at intermission during the Penguin's games despite the fact that she currently doesn't know how to skate. It's going to be brilliant.

New Music Monday: Driving with Children

Okay, so it's not really Monday. But I composed this post in my head on Monday, so I think it still counts.

Will be spending a lot of time in the car with my children this week -- first, a quick trip to Nanna and PopPop's while I have work meetings, then an extra-long weekend at the beach with dear friends. All good travels, but Mommy has to do something to keep everyone entertained in the car since we won't have Daddy with us.

Here's what we'll be listening to while we cruise I-40:

• Rockin' the Suburbs by Ben Folds: Junius likes listening to "Chuck's brother" -- and I do, too, despite the fact that I have to sing loudly to edit over all the cussing. We'll probably have to stop listening to this one soon (Juni's ears are too good and I really don't need him dropping the f-bomb at his Baptist pre-school), but the drums and piano are really fun for now. Need to talk with Big Bang Boom about recording a kid-friendly version of this album.
  
  
• Greatest Hits by The Bangles: We have a lot of Manic Mondays at our house, so this just seems appropriate. And I figure this is a good opportunity to teach my children about the brilliance of the 80s. Or at least prepare them for karaoke.
  
  
• Quick by Eddie From Ohio: EFO makes great car music, so you just can't go wrong with them. Plus this album features a gorgeous a capella song called "Great Day" that we played as we entered our wedding reception, so it always makes me happy.
  
  
• Dear Mr. Sinatra by John Pizarelli: Junius refers to this one as the "Ring-a-Ding-Ding" song. Always need a little something jazzy in the car -- and I love watching their little baby heads bounce in the back seat while they pretend to play trumpet.
  
  
• Cry Cry Cry by Cry Cry Cry: One of my sweet neighbors brought me this CD over the weekend -- have only listened to the first few tracks so far, but they're some really good covers by Richard Shindell, Lucy Kaplansky and Dar Williams. I'm hoping by the time we get to this one, the kids will be snoozing and I can just listen and enjoy.

FREE ICE CREAM! Or, What It Looks Like to Host a Party for the Neighborhood

"The Aftermath"
______________________________________

96 people (including 41 children)
+ 2 scoopers (thanks to my husband and Monsieur D!)
+ 17 cartons of ice cream (plus 2 leftover for the host family)
+ 36 single-serve cups of ice cream
+ 2 bottles of chocolate syrup
+ 4 bottles of sprinkles
+ 4 folding tables (borrowed from helpful neighbors)
+ 2 containers of wipes
+ 9 scoops and scores of spoons and cups
+ 2 yards to play in
+ 1 beautiful sunny blue sky
=
The perfect way to celebrate a wonderful neighborhood.

We're thinking this might need to be an annual event.
Thanks, Edy's!
______________________________________

Junius scooping some ice cream for his Mommy.

Pippi... well, I think the picture says it all.

Friday's Five: Short Good Reads

"Everything changed the day she figured out there was exactly enough time for the important things in her life."

That's one of my favorite StoryPeople quotes by Brian Andreas. I have it posted on my white board in the kitchen to remind me, in the midst of the craziness, that I can choose how to spend my time. Lately, I'm not sure if reading just isn't as important as other things or if I simply haven't made the time for it. Either way, the only "literature" I've been getting lately has been the newspaper, my blog-reader and children's books.

So, given that a lot of us don't have sufficient free time to sit down and read long, juicy novels, here are five more from my list of good reads -- all collections of short stories or essays:

1. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris:If you live in Raleigh, I think you're required to read David Sedaris. Not only is he hilarious, but he grew up in the neighborhood next to the one I live in now.
   
   
2. Wilderness Tips by Margaret Atwood: I discovered Atwood's novels first, starting with The Handmaid's Tale -- her short stories are just as good.
   
   
3. Cowboys Are My Weakness by Pam Houston: Smart women looking for wild men to love. Need I say more?
   
   
4. Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott: I don't read a lot of non-fiction, but Lamott's essays are irreverant and witty and clever and biting and hilarious and intelligent. Highly recommended.
   
   
5. Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott: Okay, so maybe this is cheating, but it's essentially "part 2" of Traveling Mercies so I thought it made a good #5. Same recommendation applies.
   

What are your favorite short(er) books to share with the time-challenged?

It's Not as Big as I Expected

I came home this morning from taking Junius to preschool camp (it's bug week) to find this package on my doorstep. Who knew that ice cream for up to 100 people could fit in such a relatively small box?

And thanks to the magic of dry ice (and the gloves that Edy's so thoughtfully packaged into the top of the of the box), it all arrived safely unmelted and has now been transferred into the freezer.

Turns out I can get 12 cartons of ice cream plus 36 single-serve cups of light ice cream in my own freezer. Again, who knew?

So far we have 70 people signed up for the party, including children. Am feeling very popular at the moment.

Now if I can just keep myself from sampling every flavor before the party on Saturday...

Second Quarter Meal Report

That which gets measured gets done. Or so they say.

The adage doesn't always work when it comes to public education (see: NCLB), but it turns out to be true for me for meal-planning. As I reported back in April, I started meal-planning (with help from a new dry erase board) for the first time this year. Wasn't sure it would take, but figured it was worth a try -- anything had to be better than too many nights of frozen pizza or hot dogs.

Now that the year is halfway through, we're still eating frozen pizza (8 CPK BBQ chicken pizzas this quarter, to be exact) -- but we're also eating out less, using more of our groceries before they expire, and eating a greater variety of meals. This quarter I also added a meal sharing plan with my neighbor on Tuesday nights -- one week I make dinner for her family and my family, the following week she makes dinner for us all.

Out of the second 13 weeks of 2009, we were out of town nine nights, had dinner out (date night, friend night or just take-out) eight nights, and got dinner from our meal-trade six nights. Of the remaining dinners, here's a sampling of what we had during Q2:

• 27 different dinners
• 18 nights of leftovers (a.k.a. good planning)
• 8 different dishes involving chicken
  
• 6 nights of hamburgers or hot dogs on the grill
  
• 4 nights of tilapia with veggies
• 3 nights of French toast with turkey sausage and fruit
• 3 nights of sweet potato and black bean casserole
• 3 nights of skillet meals from the freezer
• and assorted other dinners
  

Must admit, I'm kind of proud of me. So what are you eating these days?

Junius Fest 2009

What starts with Buzz Lightyear and a Lightning McQueen lunchbox and ends with one very tired and slightly sandy four-year-old?

It's J-Fest 2009, a four-day birthday extravaganza!

Here's a list of the highlights from Junius's birthday and the three additional days of celebration:

• Opening presents from the parents (mentioned above)
• Receiving an early morning phone call from his girlfriend (at the end of which he said, "My mom needs to talk to your mom. I love you!")
  
• Riding with the top down on a breakfast trip to Biscuitville with Daddy
• Spending the morning at the park with KT and G (two of his favorite friends), plus a ride in Ms. B's car (which is nearly as exciting as playing at the park) -- including brownies and a Buzz Lightyear kite
  
• Splashing at the pool for more play time with KT and G
• Getting FOUR WHOLE DOLLARS in the mail (three of which will go into his bank, where he is "saving for college," and one of which he plans to spend on chips at the pool snack bar)
• Eating dinner at Chick-Fil-A (with KT and the fam) -- including more presents, ice cream and time to run around
• Listening to a sweet birthday voicemail (to which he tried to talk and respond through the answering machine)
• Hosting a pool party with four grandparents, two parents, one sister and 12 friends -- including cupcakes, Chex Mix (his favorite snack) and juice boxes
• Grilling out cheesburgers and hot dogs for dinner
  
• Opening presents from friends and family, then trying to play with all of them at once because every single one is "just what I have always wanted!" (especially the "Mack" truck from the movie Cars)
  
• Using power tools to help Pop Pop build a super-duper sandbox in the backyard, then playing in sandbox after Daddy filled it with more than 1,200 lbs of sand
• More time at the pool, more cheeseburgers, popsicles and play...
  

The next morning, his first words to me were, "Did any more of my presents arrive?"

Dude can get his money's worth out of a birthday. Guess I can add that to the list of things he seems to have inherited from his mother.