Labor Day Weekend

I'm sitting on my couch, trying not to look towards the kitchen where the counters are piled full of dirty glasses that all need to be washed by hand.

Whose idea was it to use the all those glasses that don't fit in the dishwasher?

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In between dinner out with friends on Friday night and the above after party kitchen mess, we grilled pizzas for our own little family.

One was topped with steak and gorgonzola, arugula and shaved parmesan...but my new favorite?  Mixed cheeses (goat, asiago and fresh mozzarella), fresh figs, proscuitto, and arugula.

Oh my.  Tell me...would you eat that?

Today we're hanging out at home.  Aside from washing all that glassware and scraping some wax off the patio from a bunch of drippy candles last night, there is not one thing on the docket for day.

Bliss.

Last night we had friends over for a party in our pretty little garden...an end of summer party, but also a reunion party of sorts.  It had been awhile since this particular group had broken bread together and lots has happened in all of our lives, so this get together was healing.  And good.  And fun.

It's interesting how friendships evolve.  Some fade away but others last through earth shattering events and I'll be the first to admit, I'm not one to let too many people into my friendship circle.  I've got my core group...some live far but are a simple phone call/text/email away; others I see on a day to day (or week by week) basis.

And some that have faded away end up coming back into light again and you wonder why they ever faded away in the first place.

One word.  Blessed.

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Happy Labor Day...I hope you are enjoying your long weekend!

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Just A Bunch Of Stuff

1.     I wear a lot of black.  I like black.  It goes with everything and I am such a fashion nightmare that even I know that you can't screw up with black.  Right?

2.    I eavesdropped on a conversation between Alex, my 17 year old, and that guy that I like so much...they were discussing what Alex had read in Revelations the night before.  And to quote him, 'Dad...it's nice to know that God has my back.'

(grilled veggies drizzled with olive oil, balsamic and basil)

3.    I love Danielle Steel novels.  There, I said it out loud.  I like that they are predictable...they start out fine, have a tragedy and then everyone lives happily ever after.  And I love that I can read a whole one in a day or two.

4.    OK...while I am at it, I love Bachelor Pad.  Smut TV at it's best.  Drives that guy that I like crazy and yes, it does go against everything that I believe...but it is SO entertaining!  

(grilled bread topped with goat cheese and olive oil)

5.     I wear old fashioned hard contacts.  It's so convenient to be able to pop one out, spit on it, and then stick it back in your eye without a mirror...though I don't recommend doing this right after eating.  That would be gross.

6.     I use the phrase 'you people' a lot when talking to my houseful of boys...things like, 'you people are driving me crazy' and 'you people need to stop wrestling in the house' and 'if I catch you people drinking out of the milk carton again...'

(the perfect summer meal!)

7.        School starts in one week.  Yep, we're STILL on summer vacation.  It's actually kinda fun and while I am ready, I'm not.  In fact, I'm kinda mourning this year knowing that next year will be a big year of change for us.

8.        I love jigsaw puzzles and want to work on one.  Badly.  Unfortunately, there is no spot to leave one out in our little house on our little street because we, well,  live in a little house.

(chocolate croissants and an asparagus frittata) 

9.       Nutella was put on this earth to make me happy.  I believe that wholeheartedly.

10.      My youngest (who will be 13 this week) asked me to make a necklace for a girl he likes and he wants it to say 'angel' on it.  Lord help us as we raise boy #3 through adolescence.   (FYI, it isn't happening.  The necklace, that is.  Unfortunately, adolescence is inescapable...)

(Nick's...where everybody knows our name.)

11.  The above picture?  A pizza from Nick's, which is HEAVEN in pizza form.  

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Summer Is Ending

The door to summer feels like it has slammed shut and even though my younger boys are still in the lounge around all day mode (school starts on the 8th and 9th of September for them), I am back to work.

And I'm having trouble managing my time...I'm only paid to work a certain number of hours and what I need to do is just stop when that period of time is up.    

One of the few cons to working from home.

We are approaching that time of year that I love so much and I've been in the mood to cook things that go in the oven for a few hours...the kind of things that are almost always served with mashed potatoes.  Or homemade bread.  Or dumplings or noodles.  Or any other thing you can think of that causes one to add a little extra padding to themselves because it tastes oh so good.

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But we're not quite there yet.  For one, my freezer still has ribs and brats and strip steaks in it and two, I am just not ready to lose my outdoor dining room.  I love it so much back there and even though we have a heater, it's not the same as those warm summer evenings.

she's gonna kill me.  =0)

Brian has had the most incredible (and expensive!) summer ever...a month of music summer school, skateboard camp, basketball camp, the pools and beach and water park and skateparks and six flags and just plain 'ole hanging out with friends.

This week?  There's nothin'.  Absolutely nothing and he is bored.  Totally, utterly bored...but I'm not feeling too sorry for him.  He's had fun and now it's time for boredom.

He'll live.

Alex on the other hand...well, he's living life to the fullest.  I can't believe I'm about to have another senior in high school...

he's gonna kill me.  =0)

Next week will find us back into some sort of routine...the boys will be back in school, which means bedtimes and breakfasts on the go and (gasp) homework.  But for me it also means the return to bible study and some girlfriend time and floors that stay clean for a few hours during the day.

I like clean floors.

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How about you?  Happy summer is ending or no?

Busy Week

Summer is winding down and my boys are milking it for everything it is worth...staying up late and sleeping until noon, which means this mama has had some quiet mornings.

Makes up for the extremely loud (and active) evenings.

Though who I am kidding.  No quiet mornings for me...I'm back to work.  I was hired back with the same company I worked for before (which I really, really like) doing kind of the same job plus lots more (still part time) and all of it (for now) is from home.

On the phone.

And we all know how much I love talking on the phone.

Not. At. All.

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And why is it that we cannot seem to get a burger WITHOUT cheese from the golden arches for my non-cheese loving baby boy??

(and why we are even eating at the golden arches I'll never know...but I do like their new mochas!)

So, where was I?  All these phone calls are frying my brain!

Oh yeah...mango salsa.  Definitely a far cry (thankfully) from the golden arches.  Was life complete before I made this?  Pretty sure the answer is NO.

Sweet mangos, cilantro, creamy avocado, crunchy cucumber, spicy jalapeno and SALTY CHIPS...let's just have a moment, or two, of silence.

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(and a word of caution...you WILL get green stuff in your teeth if you eat this.  It's just the way it goes.)

I love this time of year (heck, I love all times of year)...but especially this time of year when a slight chill settles in as the sun goes down.  We've got a basket full of afghans that we pull outside for whoever might want one...the other night we actually bundled up and watched Roman Holiday in the backyard in the candlelight.  

Dreamy and romantic, even with green things in my teeth.

Today, following a ton more phone calls where I am interviewing people on the phone who don't speak much english (and my four years of high school spanish isn't helping a bit, but I still stand by my 'everybody understands friendly' motto, even on the phone), I'm sneaking in a little lunch date with that guy that I like so much. 

WooHoo!

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So tell me...how has your week been?

Weekend Highlights

what I am thankful for, weekend addition:

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a house packed to the gills with family.

a ginormous cake.

flea medicine for the cats.

a big 'ole family dinner at my sister in laws.
did I mention the big 'ole cake?
cousins playing in the ocean and skateboarding and playing with a pogo stick.

a moment in church I won't soon forget involving Isaiah 40:30-31 that made my middle boy sit up and take notice.  It says:  

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint.

He leaned over and said,  'MOM (cuz my boys can't seem to say it quietly)...I totally get that!'

Ingrid...it is Spring.

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playing wii sports with teen boys.
italian beef with sweet peppers.
'you is good.  you is kind.  you is important.' - The Help, such an important story that needs to be remembered.

boys who wanted a new, end of summer video game and a mom with a houseful of windows that needed to be washed.  win, win.

a 3 way cable tv splitter.

ok...one more shout out for the ginormous cake.

cooler evening temperatures that mean a blanket on the bed.
palmolive dish soap.
brothers.  this time, grown up ones.

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Mercy

I have fallen in love with Pandora radio over the last few months and love more than anything to hop in my car and after doing a rather unconventional way of hooking my phone up with my car stereo, turn it on and select a station.

bowls of spaghetti...

The station depends on what kind of mood I am in (though it ALWAYS has words...sorry, guy that I like so much!) and is anything from The Weepies (my drive to the beach, feelin' kinda mello) to Bob Seger (feelin' kinda old school) to Bob Marley (thanks to my middle son!!) to The Carpenters (when I feel like singing at the top of my lungs).

But my current favorite is Francesca Battistelli, a Christian artist who is all over the radio.  

I like her music.  A lot.

...and meatballs...

One of her songs is called Motion of Mercy (which I thought was called Mercy in Motion when I started writing this but when I looked it up saw that I was wrong, so now this isn't going to make as much sense because my brain thought it was something else)  and it got me thinking.

Gotta love when that happens.

WD. 

(that means Whoopsy Daisy, in case you were wondering...)

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...followed by a long nap on your mama's bed.  is there anything better?

Anyway, the song had me thinking about mercy and how warped my sense of mercy has been.  I've often thought of it as something I ask for when I (gulp) demand it (which is often) during a crisis (Lord...please?) but not as something that is ALWAYS there.

And yeah, I demand.  When things are rough I tell God that 'I need mercy NOW' cuz I am bossy.  And self centered.  

 I forget about the daily, never ending gift that it is.  As sure as the air I breathe, his mercy is just always there.  Day in, day out.  24/7.

It's constant, with no peaks or valleys.

I need to be less about me and more about being thankful for the amazing gift he has given me.  

yep.  sleepovers with cousins are better, or so I've been told.  =0)

Life in my little house is full right now.  Summer is winding down and we are no where near ready to let it go.  There's been beach trips and Six Flags visits and water park experiences and teen driving adventures and fresh figs off our very own tree.

It sounds crazy busy, but in reality it is calm and fun...and for that I am thankful.  We haven't had much calm 'round these parts the last few months, so I'll take it.  I'm not looking ahead to tomorrow while trying to figure it all out...just finding the joy in the simple.

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Growing Up

For 30 hours this weekend I had all three of my offspring living together under one roof...30 hours of me walking around with a smile on my face that couldn't have been wiped off if I tried.

All just seems right in my little world when I know where everyone is sleeping and eating and breathing and watching TV.

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They look like a motley crew, now don't they?  It makes me laugh because I was such a mum of appearances when they were younger...they all had the cute haircuts,  clean faces and wore little sweater vests and black patent leather shoes.

And best of all?

They always matched.

I can't even remember when it happened...the un-matching part, that is.  I'm sure it happened overnight when one boy or another had a growth spurt and suddenly didn't fit into a planned outfit.  I'm also sure I was totally thrown off balance at that moment and now that I think about it I have to laugh because I probably thought the world was coming to an end.

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My boys no longer match.   They don't always dress the way I'd choose or make the choices I would choose or say the things I would choose.

But here's the thing...I accept them for who they are.  All three of them are so different from who I thought they would be when I rocked them as newborns, but at the same time are exactly what I prayed for them to be.

Strong.  Vulnerable.  Polite.  Wickedly funny.

Summer is winding down in these parts, though school doesn't start until September 8th.   It's a rather big year for us...three of my three will be celebrating milestones this school year.  We'll have a college grad, a high school grad and an 8th grade grad all within a few weeks of each other.

Graduations seemed so far away back then.

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