Simple Woman's Day Book

For July 31, 2010

Outside my window... is the kind of summer day that I think we all live for. Beautiful, warm sunshine, a few fluffy clouds and no humidity. There's a gentle breeze that is bringing the scent of freshly cut grass our way, too. It's a great day for reading in the hammock, followed by a barbecue with good friends -- which is exactly what we've got planned for today.

I am thinking... that I can't believe summer is half over. Seriously, July 31st? How did THAT happen?

I am thankful ... for my friend Amy. She's been watching Hannah and Lizzie for me a couple mornings a week so that I can run errands, do interviews and stare at my bellybutton. But I'm thankful for her for so much more. I'm thankful for her advice, her sense of humor, her dedication to her (and my!) children, her circle of other friends that she shares generously with me, and her fervent love of Big Brother, so I don't have to feel quite so dumb for loving it just as much. Thank you Amy!!

From the kitchen... lots going on in there. There's a blueberry cobbler that I made last night sitting on the stove, lots of chips and dips ready to be put out, burgers, etc. (including CHEESE in case Tommy Garrity or one of his parents is reading this!) for the grill and corn, lemonade, ice cream and a tomato/mozzerella/basil salad to round things out for our BBQ in a few hours.

I am wearing... pink tee shirt, blue shorts, bare feet. But I'd rather tell you what Hannah is wearing: hot pink leopard print fleece pants, turtleneck with snowflakes on it, and a sweater with bold stripes in lime green, neon blue, hot pink and bright yellow. On her feet are yellow crocs and no socks because, you know, it's summer.

I am creating... a plot to make the rest of the summer last L.O.N.G.E.R. It's flying by and I've still got lots to do with Hannah and Liz, although we have been keeping to our one special adventure per week plan, in addition to time at the pool, schoolwork and watching "The Lion King."

I am going ... to spend the next 30 minutes de-pooping the backyard. Oh joy.

I am reading... "The Friday Night Knitting Club." According to my Kindle I'm 29 percent done with it and I can't say I like it or don't like it. It's just kind of there. Maybe I can't get into it because I have attempted to learn to knit at least six times in my lifetime (so far) and I have never been able to do it. :( It's a book for book club though, and I wonder if any of the other members are enjoying it.

I am hoping... that my friend Jeanie (from the twins club) continues to improve. She battled cancer while pregnant with her twins and now that they are here and she's cancer-free, she's had a blood clot/stroke that put her in the ICU for two weeks. She's home now and recovering well, but just had a slight setback showing that the clot is not dissolving as quickly as the doctors had hoped. If you're the praying type, she (and I) would appreciate a quick prayer for her.

I am hearing... "The Lion King II" and two girls laughing hysterically at Pumba and Timor (or whatever their names are). I am just happy that we're temporarily off the first Lion King.

Around the house... things look great. One of the best things about entertaining is that I have a reason to stop doing fun stuff and clean the house. Which is exactly what we've done for the last few weeks (because we are JUST SO POPULAR!) and the house looks nice. Rob even shined up the hardwood floors this morning, which is great for everyone except maybe Cash who has a little trouble running on them much to the delight of the other puppies (Hannah and Liz).

One of my favorite things... is doing magic with Lizzie. I am terrible at magic, but we have this magic kit that I picked up for a pittance at Michaels so Lizzie and I have been going through the tricks. Lizzie has potential. I do not. She guesses how I do every single trick. But we still have a lot of fun and she thinks she's going to be a magician when she grows up now. Although she was very disappointed to find out that the "magic" is really some sort of trick instead of "real" magic.

A few plans for the week ahead... BBQ with friends and Rob's brother (UNCLE DUDE IN THE HOUSE!)tonight, cruising and probably a picnic tomorrow, a playdate with Hannah's best friend Phoebe later this week, playgrounds, parks, swimming and I think our "special adventure" will be bowling, but we'll see.

A picture I am sharing... me and the Banana (taken by Lizzie):

Everybody in the pool

I'm starting with this picture because I just love it ... the Garrity Posse:My brother T.A. and his family (sister in law Ann, and their kids, Tommy, 8 and Brenna, 3) came down this weekend to beat the 117 degree heat in our pretend pool. As usual we were the ONLY people in this pool (which we don't own, but if possession is 9/10s of the law, we actually DO own becaise we are often the only people there) until the late afternoon. That gave us a chance to invent a whole new sport ... keep your eyes open because I'm pretty sure it will be in the Olympics in the next few years or so.

I present...Dolphin Jousting. Here is a joust between Tommy and Lizzie. It was a hot contest with lots of yelling and hitting with noodles...

Here, Tommy strikes a blow that is barely blocked by Lizzie:

But it proved too much for her dolphin, who dumped her... (because they were our guests I put in the pictures of Tommy's win, but let me say in the interest of full disclosure and not just because she is my daughter, but Lizzie won 2 out of 3 jousts...)

I think this is already an Olympic sport, but if it's not, you saw it here first. Synchronized jumping in a pool. That's Rob on the left, Lizzie on the right. Oh, and they are not very good at it:

Brenna hung out mostly on the stairs doing what she does best -- looking cute.

We followed up the swimming with a barbecue and impromptu birthday celebration for Ann, who turned (I think) 29 last week (you're welcome, Ann!) I didn't get any pictures of the BBQ or the great birthday cake or presents being bestowed, but I did manage to catch TAG numbers 2 and 3 (or 3 and 4 depending upon whom you ask): The four youngest grandchildren:

In between cooking, and swimming and running around outside getting sweaty (so humid that my camera wasn't working well outside!) there was the usual playing of computer games:

Lizzie showed Brenna how to use her Princess computer:

Oh, and since I promised the women that I would post NO pictures of older chicks in bathing suits I have NO pictures of Ann and only this one of Aunt Beanie (my sister) who was doing her best to fend off Cash, who, she soon found out that Cash thinks that the hammock is his for sleeping AND as a chew toy. He was happy to substitute my sister for the chew toy part, though.

It was a very fun day, but between the heat and the swimming and the running around we were all exhausted by the end of the day. So T.A. and Ann decided to let Brenna drive home:

Cooking with Dad

I was at a friend's birthday party earlier this week and was skipping dinner, so Rob took the opportunity to cook something I hate for dinner (shrimp ... YUCK!) He also took the opportunity to exercise extreme patience and let Hannah and Liz cook with him. Mostly Hannah. Rob is a good person to cook with because he follows recipes EXACTLY so if there is one tablespoon of oil to be added to the pan, he can measure it out and one of the girls (mostly Hannah) can pour it in. I'm much more of a Zen cook ... a little of this, a little of that until it feels right, smells right, looks right.... I prefer to be "one with the food" so there is much more yelling when I cook with the girls (which is un Zenlike, I think.)
Anyway, here is Hannah sweating the onions:

Everyone (except me) helped to peel and prepare the shrimp:

Lizzie took a break to play a little dress up with Cash. She wants me to get them matching hats:

Hannah was still hard at work in the kitchen though. Hannah LOVES shrimp and was very excited to be preparing her own dinner. Here, she poses with one of the little bottom feeders:

Here's the finished product. There was a little left over for the next night to have for dinner, although at lunchtime Hannah told me that SHE would like to have the scampi for dinner and so she and Rob had to fight over it:

In case you didn't get the idea of how much Hannah LOVES shrimp (and garlic and onions and NOODLES) here's her reaction when Rob put the dish on the table:

We are amused

Guess where we spent the hottest Saturday of the summer? That's right, with people dressed as giant candy bars and peanut butter cups!
It was fun though -- and believe me no one was more surprised that I was by this fact. This first picture was actually taken on our way OUT of the park and you can see that the girls are still smiling. Now, before you look at the rest of these pictures let me say that I didn't want to take my "good" camera into the amusement park, so I took my not-so-good camera, which is not-so-good apparently because it just stops working when it feels like it and then starts up again for no reason. So not only are these pictures pretty bad, there also aren't a lot of them.
However, I did manage to photograph the highlights for posterity.
And THAT, I'm sure is why Mr. Giant Hershey Bar is smiling.

The reason we were at Hershey Park is because Rob's company has its annual picnic there. I'm not sure there's a good reason why I was MESMERIZED by the local singing group, the Milkmen. I watched this show twice. In this song they are dancing to the number "Shake, shake, shake ... shake shake shake ... shake your HERSHEY'S, shake your HERSHEY'S." The best song though was M I L K, sung to the tune of Y M C A.

Rob and the girls preferred the ice cream that was part of the catered barbecue. Here they are enjoying the chocolate eclair bars. Prior to this they had fudgesicles and creamsicles. Yes, I let my children eat THREE ice creams at Hershey Park.We played games, too. These prizes were won at one of those squirt the water at a target game. When Hannah won her prize it was just she and I playing so she had no problem "winning." I had planned the same for Lizzie but just as the game was about to start, a guy put down money for his FIVE children and I was pretty sure that Lizzie couldn't beat them, so I took matters into my own hands and won the game and then let Lizzie choose the prize. Because that game had seven people in it, the prize was larger. I could have waited to let Lizzie win during the next round, but that would have cost me another $4. So disappointing the other five children seemed more economical... :) But the rides were the stars of the show. There were plenty of kiddie rides, so we stuck to those, although next year I think we will graduate to the slightly more thrilling rides like the round-up and the scrambler. This year we were happy to do the monorail, the bizzy bees, the ladybug, etc. Here's Lizzie on the monorail:

And Hannah with Rob on the monorail. There were some great pictures to be had during this six-minute trip, but this was one of the points where my not-so-good camera was not cooperating.

Oh, and ROB'S favorite part of the day was the food. The BBQ was nice. Burgers, chicken, dogs, salads, drinks, ice cream .... all very tasty and there were so many people working it that there were NO LINES. Which is, I'm sure, why we went back a second time a few hours later... This is the ladybug ride:

This is a mini-version of the fast swings ride. Hannah said it was her favorite. I told her that next year we'll go on the bigger one:

Lizzie liked this ride, too. You can just see her coming around the bend:

This is the bizzy bee ride. It was the only kiddie ride that seemed a little young for Hannah and Lizzie. Lizzie still liked it, but Hannah thought it was too loud. Basically the bees move really slowly and the kids push the buttons to make them buzz REALLY LOUDLY. We'll skip this one next year. The good news about the heat, though, is that the lines at the kiddie rides were short -- if there was a line at all:

We finished up the day on the Merry Go Round. Rob refused to ride, but I, thrill seeker that I am, rode one of the ponies. I thought I was so smart by choosing a horse that was in the down position, making it easier for me to get on. However, once the ride stopped, my horse was in the HIGHEST position making my dismount slightly less than graceful. I'll just leave it at that... ;)

It really was a nice day, even with the heat -- although the bathrooms at Hershey Park are air conditioned, just in case you need that info. And it was nice to see some of Rob's coworkers (hi Rekha!) and have some fun with the girls.

Simple Woman's Daybook

For July 12, 2010

Outside my window... It's hot, but not as hot as it has been. The grass is pretty much burned brown and the weekend rain didn't do much to change that. Right now I'm thinking that the four feet of snow we had in the winter was preferable to all this heat, but I'm sure if we get another four feet of snow in the upcoming winter I will probably be missing sweating by the pool!

I am thinking... about dinner and it's only 3:30 p.m. I don't know if I'll last until 6 p.m. without one of the dunkin' munchkins sitting on the kitchen island.

I am thankful ... that I've been released from physical therapy. My PT told me that with injury a lot more depends on the PT's skill at manipulating the muscles to get the best healing, but with balance issues it's all about practice. So if you see me wandering around without my cane taking these tiny mincing steps DON'T LAUGH, as I'm doing my at-home program!

From the kitchen... something with chicken in it for dinner. And couscous with raisins. Further than that ... I don't know. Oh, and munchkins (the dunkin' variety) for dessert. If there are any left.

I am wearing... light pink polo shirt, tan pants, hair in a bun (or bund as Hannah says.)

I am creating... not much today. I'm back to writing my web content, but things at the Eagle slow down in the summer. I do have a young adult book that I'm completely rewriting, but it requires more concentration than I'm allowed during the day when I'm answering the important questions of life such as (from Lizzie): "Mommy when your butt itches are you supposed to scratch it?"

I am going ... to the pet store to buy some training treats for my crazy but lovable puppy. He's pretty much got run of the house now and so we're working on some additional training. Lizzie's favorite thing to say to him is "CUT IT OFF" which is her hybrid of knock it off (which I say all the time to them) and cut it out, which is what she usually says to her sister. It cracks me up every single time she says it. Cash, of course, has no idea what she's talking about.

I am reading... "Dead in the Family" by Charlaine Harris. It's the most recent installment of her Sookie Stackhouse vampire series (the HBO series True Blood is based on these books.) It's not nearly as good as the others as not much happens in the book, but I love the characters (I'm 9 books into it!) so I enjoyed it nonetheless.

I am hoping... that I like the food at the taste test tomorrow. I'm doing a taste test through RDT in Limerick and the last time I did one I liked about 85 percent of the V-8 drinks I tasted, but a couple of them were TERRIBLE. It's a fun little gig although I don't often qualify for the tests (I'm too old, I think!) Locals should look up their website at www.rdteam.com to get on the mailing list for qualification surveys. Tomorrow's survey will take about an hour and I get $50 when it's done.

I am hearing... a videotape of Hannah and Lizzie from when they were about 9 months old until the Christmas right after their 2nd birthday. It's about the fifth time Hannah's watched it today as she thinks she's quite the adorable little toddler. Lizzie has banished herself to the basement where she is playing with Barbies. I found the tape while I was looking for something else in the basement and it really was like buried treasure.

Around the house... things aren't too bad. The girls have been doing their homeschool work pretty diligently and today's letter-writing lesson (they each wrote two letters to relatives) are still on the table. We're babysitting my sister's bird BeBop so he's taken over the dining room. Cash keeps barking at him, and then running in to try and get me to come see what he's barking about and then he goes and barks some more. Then he'll forget about the bird for a few hours and then the whole thing begins again. If he didn't have such a LOUD bark, it would be kind of funny.

One of my favorite things... is Walmart. Yup, that's what I said. Wal. Mart. I just bought six pairs of shoes (two pairs of sandals, two pairs of hot pink sequin-ed sneakers, one pair of shoes and another pair of nicer sneakers) a large tent (don't ask why but we're going to try some backyard family camping which Rob doesn't know about so SURPRISE honey, we're going to try some backyard family camping) and four outfits for the girls and the total was about $130. I don't mind getting shoes at Walmart because even the best (read: expensive) shoes only last about a month around here. So I LOVE WALMART.

A few plans for the week ahead... Our pool, then Terry's pool, then our pool again. I've got the taste test and some final PT stuff to do so the girls will have a babysitter for a few mornings this week which makes us ALL very happy! This weekend we're going to Hershey Park!

A picture I am sharing... This is Rob on Father's Day. I never got around to posting pictures. The girls gave him a hat, a subscription to Newsweek and a book by Garrison Keillor. They also made him pictures and cards. He was most excited by Hannah's card in which she proclaimed to the world that her daddy is 20 years old...

No Day at the Beach

Contrary to the way it looks in these pictures, we only went to Grandma Connie's house for one week. I told the girls that they could bring some toys and stuffed animals as long as it fit into their backpacks...

And this is what we ended up with. This is in ADDITION to the giant suitcase that held their clothes and sundries. Go ahead and ask me how many of these toys got played with. Go ahead. I can tell you because it's easy to remember: None. They played with the stuffed animals at Grandma's house. But that's okay because the did take everything OUT of these backpacks, hide them all over Grandma's house and then whine: WHERE IS MY ............ fill in the blank ......... when we were getting ready to leave. Good time. :) Seriously, the girls really enjoyed packing for their trip to the shore.

And, as you can tell from the previous post (which you should read, in case you missed it) we did spend some time at the beach. But the great thing about Grandma Connie's house is that if you don't like the beach all the time (like I don't) there are many, many other things to do. For instance, you can paint the ceiling and trim on the large (beautiful) porch....

Or you can kill weeds in the crevices by the road (disclaimer: Grandma Connie did not request this service, Rob thought of it all on his own because, well, he's kind of a crazy person) ...

You can drink Irish Coffee made special for everyone during a game of Rummy 500. Let me just say that I did NOT drink the freshly made and alcohol-laden Irish Coffee and I still lost Rummy 500 miserably. The original Rasmussen children consider Rummy 500 a full contact sport (along with the other family favorite Monopoly) and I just couldn't keep up. I didn't mind losing to them (twice) too much, but it did sting a little when Lizzie beat me at Go Fish the next day. The tradition continues...

There's always time for relaxing in the gorgeous Cape May County Park, too. Here's Rob and his mom (not his sister although it looks like it) under a tree in the park:

We also went to one of Rob's old haunts, Urie's Fish Fry. Rob worked there for something like 17 years when he was in high school and college:

Hannah ordered fried shrimp and ate every last one of them. Lizzie had the chicken fingers and fries and ate most of MY noodles alfredo:

Hannah LOOOOOOVES shrimp.
The girls in their Zoo Camp attire, with Rob:

I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM, WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM, especially Rob and Uncle Dude who went for the extra large sundae's:

We had a great picnic in the park following Zoo Camp one day. Food was from Hugits where Rob and I spent many a Saturday back in the day:

Hannah, Aunt Linda and Lizzie at the ice cream place:

We found lots of things to do indoors, too. Hannah watched DVDs with Trevor the dog.

And both girls enjoyed their trip to the library with Grandma. My kids looooooove the library!

There's always some dancing at Grandma Connie's too. Aunt Linda is teaching Lizzie to salsa dance. You can see how hard she working her out by the sweat on Lizzie's back (actually her hair was still wet from the beach, so don't call the authorities or anything):

Here's Hannah's self-portrait. In it, she depicts herself wearing the amount of lipstick that she's choose to wear if I let her, which I don't:
Lizzie's self-portrait which shows me that, even though she insists she wants to grow her bangs out, she really wishes she had NO bangs:

This is Lizzie's other piece of art. Pretty good, don't you think?

Oh yeah, there were more of those sports things, too. Uncle Dude went out and BOUGHT MY CHILDREN BASEBALL GLOVES. Seriously. Isn't there a law against that or something? Never mind that they look like they are having fun.

Okay, LOTS of fun. I'm happy to report that there was some catch-playing since we've been home (but I had nothing to do with it) but they are not sleeping with their new mitts as suggested by their uncle. So there.
More dancing. This time we were dancing to ABBA tunes in the kitchen...

Grandma can play "Fernando" on the accordion, but it now dawns on me that she got away with NOT performing for the week. We'll have to remedy that the next time we go visit. You'll see Hannah is holding a fan as she dances. Aunt Linda gave them the fans from Chinatown... They were so pretty that I couldn't resist dancing with a fan (and the one Linda gave Hannah, too!) ha ha...

Uncle Dude had the right idea about how best to use the fans, though: Hannah posing with her fan:

Lizzie and her fan: That's all for now ... Suffice it to say we had a great week at the beach and NOT at the beach, too!