When I talked to my dad on the phone last night, he was complaining about not being able to keep tabs on us because I haven’t been blogging.  Sigh…I blame it on the summer. (Hey Dad, did you notice how I didn’t respond with a snarky remark about how you could keep better tabs on us if you would just roll your RV into Seattle instead of gallivanting around the countryside?  I’m very restrained like that.) Summertime, for us, is all about relaxed schedules, running around having fun and recharging our batteries.  I feel good when I remember to feed the girls…who has time to blog? (sorry!)

School starts in three days…not that anyone is counting or anything.

KT just showed me a Fred Meyer’s Rewards card reminding me that she had told me we had one.  I rarely go to that grocery store so it didn’t really matter to me.  She asked if she could have it…I pretended to think about it for a moment before answering that she could.  She shouted “YES!” and ran off to her room.  Huh…strange kid.

I’ve never been one to get excited about new school supplies, yet the full restocked cabinet makes my heart go pitter-patter in a strange way.

Mimi has an ear infection.  She has been on antibiotics for three days now and claims that it still hurts.   I haven’t quite figured out if it really hurts or if she’s milking it. (she gets that from her dad)  I’m hoping that she’s just being a Drama Queen.

Tomorrow, KT is going to take bus to downtown Seattle to attend Bumpershoot  and see one of her favorite bands with a group of her friends.  I have to admit that this terrifies me in so many ways.  It’s possible that we have been a bit over-protective with our babies…and it’s really hard to loosen those apron strings.  Bumpershoot is an all day music and arts event.  Lots of fun (just as long as you don’t mind loud music and crowds)  I hate it that my kids want to grow up…

Speaking of aprons…I have this crazy idea that I need one.  Of course I’m too cheap to buy one, I’m going to make the exact one that I need want.  Only I’m having a horrible time trying to decide what fabric I want to use.   Yep, you can just call me Miss Decisive…or should that be Mrs. or perhaps Ms.Decisive.  Hmmm….

Ok, three hours left of August…where on earth has the summer gone? I hope yours was great!   I’ll be seeing you a lot more, just as soon as we get on schedule with the start of school in three days. (Not that anyone is counting or anything….)

I realize that some of you out there think that I’m a bit nuts for whimpering about our recent weather.   In many areas of the country, ninety-five degrees is considered “normal”.  (I pity you poor souls…but not as much as I pitied myself this weekend!)  Here in Seattle, it just doesn’t get that hot. Our homes are built to bring in the light and retain the heat.  Nobody has air conditioning here.

My game plan to keep the house cool was to open all the windows at night to cool things off as much as possible.  During the day, all the windows were closed up tight and covered with blankets to keep the searing hot air out.   This only managed to keep the house temperature down to a barely tolerable eighty-six degrees.

There is something about all that heat that made our pants fall off.  Nope, I have no idea why this would happen.  Yet, I as I blearily looked around at my family we were all spread out in the dark cave  we had created wearing just our T-shirts and underwear.   At least we were until KT asked if one of her friends could come over and hang out for a while.   Grudgingly I gave her permission and we all went in search of a our britches.  (After all, it’s only polite to be fully dressed when guests come over)

An hour or so later, the kids were downstairs watching television while I was snuggling up as close as I dared to the fan upstairs.  All of  a sudden I heard a huge bellow followed by embarrassed laughter. 

It turned out that Shaun had emerged from Karazhan and had decided to sneak out and try to scare the girls.  (Shaun has a thing about trying to scare us…we usually just tell him that he scared the rats out of us….whether he did or not…just to make him happy)  He had silently crept down the hall and burst in to the room shouting “Ta DA!” at the top of his lungs.

It was then that he realized there was an extra kid in the room.   My swift-minded husband leaped back out of the room before anyone had a chance to realize that the shorts he was wearing were really his boxers.  (Oops, I guess we forgot to tell him to get dressed)

Fortunately our “excessive heat warning” is now over with. (Oddly it has been replaced by thunderstorm and hail warnings…strange summer we are having).   We are at a very refreshing sixty-three degrees.  Still…if you decide you want to visit,  you might want to call first. 

I’m just sayin’….

It’s taken me nearly twenty years, but I’ve just realized that I don’t exactly have the ideal marriage.   I grew up thinking that marriage was supposed to be like the Cleavers.  Ward and June were always perfectly groomed, always supported each other, had intellectual conversations, rarely argued (and if they did, voices were certainly never raised), and had nearly perfect children.  (Hmmm…kinda boring now that I think about it.)

I’d like to think that Shaun was being caring and thoughtful (as Ward would be) when he first forwarded the weather report that we were in for a heat wave this weekend to me yesterday.  He was obviously letting me know what we were in for in advance so that I would be forewarned.  Being a practical(ish) man, Shaun knows that one should do all they can do to prepare for bad weather….like…um…make ice cubes or something.

I started having doubts as to his good intentions when he mournfully carried on of how blisteringly hot it was going to be as he helped me haul a bulky fan upstairs.  Suspiciously, I studied his face closely to judge his sincerity.  Shaun  seemed to be genuinely worried about my comfort so I chose to think the best of him. 

When Shaun got to work this morning, he called to somberly report that he had heard on the radio that it was supposed to get up to 95 degrees today.  I sighed then dryly asked him if he was enjoying himself.  He couldn’t stand it a moment longer and burst out in a loud obnoxious laugh.  “Yes” he said, “yes, I am!”.

That my friends, seems to be the cornerstone of our marriage.  We mess with each other.  Constantly. 

If you had to pigeon hole us, we would never make it into the hole of Ward and June (nor would be want to)  In my opinion, we seem to fit more closely into the mode of Lucy and Ricky…we’ve got just enough spice to keep things interesting.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go grab a few of those ice cubes I made last night…

Despite the fact that my mind works in a very random way, I’ve never written a random post before.  I love reading them though (especially Tink’s) Since it’s been over a week since I’ve posted, there seems to be a lot to catch up on.  I’m giving myself ten minutes….

Shaun and Mimi went to visit our niece Tomi last weekend.  As they approached the state line, Mimi called me on the phone.  “Get ready!” she said.  “Spread your arms out…it’s almost here…are they spread?  OK…here it is!” And together we hollered out “Two places at once, we’re in two places at once!”   I didn’t bother to point out that I was actually not with her…

My mom started posting again! That was a huge surprise to see…go say hi.

I really, really love my Jeep.  I had no idea a mode of transportation could be so much FUN!

KT wasn’t able to start reading her book until Saturday evening.  Then she read it straight through only pausing to eat. (she wasn’t about to eat while reading and risk getting something on her precious book!) I watched as she laughed and she cried her way through it.  She kept wanting to share parts of it with me, but held back so she wouldn’t ruin it for me.  At about three in the morning she gently laid the book down beside me.  When I asked how it was, she sniffed and told me that “it was perfect…just perfect” and went off to dream of Edward.

Shaun brought me roses when he returned from Cour d’Alene.   He likes to bring me flowers at random times as he feels that they have more meaning than bringing them to me when society says he is supposed to.  I like that he thinks that way.

In the last week (I’m not counting last week as I didn’t blog) I’ve had comments from a husband, a friend, a sister-in-law and a cousin!  Maybe it’s silly, but it makes me so happy when friends and family comment!

Oops, time’s up!  We have to go to a picnic and now I seem to be running late!

“Mom! I almost just had a major freak-out!”

I calmly arched my right eyebrow at my eldest daughter, waiting for her to continue. (OK, I didn’t really arch my eyebrow at her, sadly I’ve never been able to master that particular skill, but I’ve always wanted to…)

“I just realized that I hadn’t re-read all the books and then I remembered that I had them all memorized.  Bye Mom, I love you!”  she blurted out in one breath and then off she went to work with three thick books tucked under her arm. 

In case you happen to be one of the unenlightened, tonight at midnight marks the release of Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in Stephanie Meyer’s  Twilight series.   Guess who plans to be at the front of the line at B & N?

It all started five years ago when one of KT’s friends suggested that she read a book that she had come across.  It was about a girl that fell in love with a modern day vampire.  By the time she had finished reading the book, our KT was smitten with Edward, the oh-so-romantic lead character.  With each additional release, KT fell deeper and deeper in love with this fictional boy…er…vampire.   So have all of her girlfriends…

Of course, KT, in the spirit of sharing such wonderfulness, has urged me to read the books along with her.   I don’t know if it’s my contrary nature or what…but I don’t like Edward.  (There, I’ve said it…now please don’t hurt me!) Some may be fooled by that old-world Victorian charm, but he comes off as a bit too smooth and slimy for me.  As I constantly tell KT, (mostly to mess with her) Jacob (who just happens to be a werewolf) is the true hero of the story.

I’m sure my girl will be up until the wee hours of the morning, once again falling deeper and deeper in love with her favorite vampire.  (How can any human male even compete with the wonderful Edward?)  I can’t wait for her to finish the book so I get my chance to read it!