Ten things that made me smile this summer

Another summer has flown by and school begins next week. We have a busy few days ahead of us with sneaker shopping, haircuts, organizing supplies and cleaning out dressers, but I did want to stop and reflect on a few things that made me smile this summer.

#1 - "Mom, can you believe I'm the only Jewish kid in the entire CCD class?" I hope the second grade teacher is prepared for this little girl!

#2 - Watching Jason's face light up when I suggested he take his motorcycle out to do some errands for me.

#3 - Watching my kids enjoy the lake where I spent my childhood summers.

#4 - Boogie boarding the perfect wave with the help of Jason's cousin, Luke.

#5 - Spending four days with my two nieces, Gina and Maddie, and seeing so much of my brother and sister in them!

#6 - Spending a grown-up evening out with Jason and my family for a wedding in Boston.

#7 - Watching the sun rise at the beach with Jason and the kids and then going out for breakfast.

#8 - Running the first PTO Board Meeting of the year and actually knowing what I was doing this time.

#9 - Spending time with my friends and laughing until my cheeks hurt.

#10 - Blueberries

What I did the other night

When was the last time you did anything spontaneous? When you become a parent, your life turns into one big schedule. Nap time, bath time, bedtime… drop everything and go out at the last minute? Can’t, baby goes to bed at 7:30. As the kids get older, there is a little more flexibility, but now you have homework, practice, babysitters. Spontaneity is hard to come by. Those moments that actually bring you silly joy.

The other night I organized a girl’s night out to the movies with three friends of mine. It was quite a production to get it coordinated and have husbands home in time from work so that we could make the 7:20 showing of The Time Traveller’s Wife (a wonderful book by Audrey Neffenegger that I absolutely love, but two out of three people who read it don’t get it… but that’s another post). We were laughing before we even got in the car, and we knew it would be a fun night. Four moms of school age children going out the third week of August without the kids? We could have just driven in circles in the car and it would have been good. Just being with friends was wonderful.

As we were walking out of the movie, we joked that we didn’t want the night to end and one of us happened to look up and see that Julie and Julia was starting in 15 minutes. We looked at each other, squealed and reached for our cell phones to call our respective husbands at home to tell them we were going to another movie. All the kids were home safe, no baby sitters that needed to be relieved, and the worst that could happen would be we had to drag ourselves out of bed the next morning after a late night. It was completely spontaneous and frivolous and silly, and we had a ball.

Our "cheap" blueberries

Yesterday we went blueberry picking with the intention of filling our freezer. All winter long Jason and Alanya eat frozen blueberries on cereal and oatmeal and this is the time to stock up on fresh berries dirt cheap. Ran into a bit of a problem though. I had asked Jason if $27 cash was enough, and he said sure based on what they picked last year. Problem was I didn't pick with them last year. Imagine our surprise when the girl weighed our berries and told use we owed $34.

How embarrassing.

So I get in the car to find an ATM, but remember we are in the middle of farm country. I had to drive almost five miles to the nearest one, had to pay a bank fee for a machine that was out of network, had to drive five miles back to find that Jason had bought the kids water bottles since they had picked berries for an hour in the hot sun.... cheap blueberries? I don't think so.

Today better be good!

Today Jason stood with his coffee at the window, looking out at the sunny morning. He took a deep breath and said "Well, today is my prime!"

He's turning 40 tomorrow and apparently at midnight tonight it's all downhill!

She thinks she's all that at the age of six

Last night Miley Cyrus, someone who is revered in our house by a certain six year old someone, was going to perform on American Idol. When I was six I would have done anything back in the 70's for the ability to record the Donnie and Marie show, or a Shaun Cassidy special, so being the cool mom that I am I DVR'd it for her. When I got up this morning Alanya begged me to put it on.

Keep in mind my kids rarely watch prime time television, not because we don't want them to, it's just that our bedtime routine requires us to start getting washed up and winding down before eight every night. When it really comes down to it, I'd rather have my kids reading in bed than watching tv. Don't get me wrong, they know about American Idol and who is popular and who isn't likely from the bus or playground, they just never watch it.

So this morning I fast forward to the Miley Cyrus song, and Alanya kept watching after that. She saw Matt Giraud get voted off, then he sang, and (gasp!) the judges used their save! Well, Alanya thought this was the best 6 minutes of any tv show she had ever seen! All of a sudden, Matt was her favorite, and he was the best singer, and thank goodness he didn't have to leave! As if that wasn't funny enough, she got off the bus and told me that she was talking to her teacher about American Idol and who her favorites are - Matt, because she has never even seen anyone else! I hope the teacher realizes I DVR'd it because if Alanya really saw it she would have been up at ten last night!

For now, Alanya was the coolest of the cool first graders... finally able to hang out at the water bubbler and talk about American Idol. Somehow I have a feeling next week she'll be begging me to tape it again!

Bunco virgin no more!

When I moved to this neighborhood seven years ago I started to hear about a game called Bunco. If you have never heard of this no-brainer dice game, let me fill you in. Bunco is the new Bridge Club. An excuse to get a bunch of women out of the house, have some laughs and a drink or two if you like. You don't just call someone and say "let's play Bunco tonight", it's a commitment. There are Bunco Groups that meet monthly and rotate houses. Some have crazy rules about bringing the hostess gifts like socks, dishtowels, or even panties. I know, sounds odd, and up to this point I have dodged invitations to join a group.

A few weeks ago I was asked again by someone who was just starting to put together a group. My first reaction was to say no, but I stopped myself. I don't laugh enough. I don't get out enough. You can never have too many friends. And let's face it, life is too short and can throw too many curve balls. A few years ago I told myself I was never going to turn down an invitation, and I seem to have forgotten that, so I said yes.

The other night a friend picked me up and we had a good laugh that I was a Bunco Virgin. I had no clue what it was I was getting myself into. Three hours and two margaritas later I left with $73 in my pocket! Wooo hooo!! I was a Bunco maniac! I won for most Buncos as well as most overall wins! Too funny. Beginner's luck everyone kept saying. When I got home Jason asked when the next Bunco night was... Daddy needs a new pair of shoes!