Because everyone's doing it

Do you ever take a time out? As in, three months' worth of time out? That's my ideal for the summer. I'd support a movement for a second maternity (or mothering) break a few years after giving birth.

It won't happen, but that's not going to stop me from trying. If I aim for down time, chances are I'll get a bit of down time amid all the kids' fun. Did I procure the Pass of All Passes when it was a great deal? Nope. I'm not a fan of crowds, but I'm not exactly agoraphobic either. I've got some cool stuff in mind that will take me and the kids away from my self-imposed time out. I don't even have to come up with this stuff. Sue's done all the planning for me. (This is why I love my internet friends.)

Andy gets to stay put -- he's got a new(ish) job with exactly no time off. Am I jealous? (Maybe.)

My boys already think it's summer, yet they have one more pesky week of school to endure. There's been a picnic, a BBQ, a swim party and even a fishing trip with Grandpa. Who needs Disneyland when you can hold a slimy fish with your finger?

gracias

Yesterday a woman in church summed up how she felt with one word: grateful. Her candid comments about this life and the mishmash of it all made me think of all the things that make my life sweet and often comical.

I'm thankful for words. I'm grateful for a daughter that is at one minute perceptive beyond her years and the next minute an emotional tween. I'm grateful for friends who know that I am weird and like me anyway. I'm thankful for parents that let me play a huge instrument. I'm thankful for the new bass strings they bought me. I'm grateful for fruit popsicles. I'm grateful that I didn't throw up on stage last Friday when I felt like it. I'm thankful for Max and how he reminds me exactly why I wanted to be a mom. I'm thankful that Audrey accompanies me almost everywhere with a happy attitude. I'm thankful for colors. I'm thankful for Izze soda. I'm thankful for the smell that follows rain. I'm thankful for the maple tree in our backyard. I'm grateful for our mild-mannered dog, Dixie, and how she tolerates my kids' antics. I'm thankful to Andy for taking my glasses off my face when I fall asleep and setting my book down and pulling up my covers. I'm glad he and I embarked on this adventure together. I'm happy that he's a hands-on dad. I'm thankful for Target. I'm grateful that I don't have to drive an hour to run errands. I'm grateful for charter schools. I'm thankful for meat and vegetables. I'm glad I don't have to be a vegetarian. I'm thankful for capable, kind and responsible ladies that I serve with in young women. I'm grateful for naps. I am happy and grateful to watch Josh play soccer. I'm thankful he hasn't had a head injury from all his goal-keeping. I'm grateful that my kids love reading and that they love libraries and bookstores. I'm thankful for pinterest and for the new BBQ chicken recipe that is in the crock pot right now. I'm thankful for Burt's Bees lip shimmer. I'm grateful that Andy takes photos of our kids. I'm thankful that he designs handouts and posters for my YW group (every YW pres needs her own in-house designer). I'm thankful for Café Paesan's steak salad. I'm grateful for friends who will venture to Target with me late at night. I'm thankful for texting because sometimes talking is too much. I'm grateful for the lock on my bedroom door. I'm thankful for goodreads and half.com and amazon and ebay. I'm grateful for the stack of books on my nightstand. I'm thankful for people who share recipes on the internet. I'm thankful for temples. I'm thankful for snow and rain. I'm thankful for people who thank God for specific forms of precipitation. I'm grateful for the times I lived in Idaho, Texas, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Utah. I'm thankful for all the really awesome people I met in those places, I'm especially glad I met Andy in Texas. I'm thankful that my in-laws are so loving, kind and generous to my children. I'm grateful for Costco. I'm thankful for Rimsky-Korsakov and Stravinsky and Rachmaninoff and Mussorgsky and Strauss and Mahler and Beethoven. I'm thankful for George M. Cohen and Aaron Copeland and Rodgers & Hammerstein. I'm thankful for digital tuners. I'm thankful for my imac. I'm grateful for my garden, especially tomatoes and zucchini in the summer. I'm thankful that our elderly neighbors take an interest in my kids. I'm thankful for flannel sheets. I'm thankful for garlic. I'm thankful for pineapple and perfectly crisp apples. I'm grateful that my parents adore my children. I'm thankful for books and authors: Ted Kooser, Robert Haas, Bob Hicok, Nora Ephron, Annie Dillard, Markus Zusak, Flannery O'Conner, Wallace Stegnar, Linda Pastan, Lola Haskins, William Carlos Williams, ee cummings, Billy Collins and Carolyn Forché. I'm thankful that my mother taught me to follow a recipe and also how to wing it. I'm thankful for Julia Child and Mark Bittman. I'm thankful for Clorox wipes and paper towels. I'm thankful for coconut oil. I'm grateful for Ritter Sport. I'm thankful for that my oldest can tend her siblings. I'm thankful for a finished basement/rumpus room. I'm thankful to be in walking distance of several parks. I'm grateful Andy knows which stars and planets are which and points them out to me. I'm thankful for wood floors. I'm thankful for soccer coaches, swim coaches and taekwondo teachers. I'm grateful kids don't have the same teachers every year. I'm grateful that my kids are old enough to clean bathrooms. I'm thankful that I am here now. I'm thankful for blogs. I'm thankful for Alicia and Joy. I'm thankful for Cossette and I'm thankful that I married her brother. I'm thankful for hash browns and crepes. I'm thankful for kids that laugh a lot. I'm thankful for Listerine. I'm thankful for spell check. I'm thankful that my kids are out of diapers. I'm grateful for play dough and water colors and play kitchens. I'm thankful for John Hughes' movies. I'm thankful for evening walks with Andy and Dixie. I'm grateful for Thai food and salads that other people make. I'm grateful for you reading these words.

Equal Opportunity Parenting

I spent Saturday at a swim meet with Melina. Andy and I agreed that he would stay home with the younger kids. Melina and I left the house at six in the morning and returned a little after 9:30 that night. Home meets are generally only two to three hours long, but this was a much bigger meet. It was an hour away and we had a three hour break between the two sessions. There was quite a crowd in the aquatic center and my cell phone was being strange. I received a few texts from Andy. He mentioned laundry and dishes he had done and that he'd attached the headboard to Audrey's bed. I told him he was a Super Mr. Mom. When I came home, I learned that I had not received most of the texts he sent me, such as...

Max puked twice.
Furnace quit -- at store for part to try to jimmy-rig it.
Max seems fine now. He's running around.
Heat working again.
Audrey napped because I promised her ice cream if she slept.
I forgot we're out of ice cream.
I'm stuck at Macy's with a flat tire *%#$. Kids home alone. Don't know how long this will take.
I have no one's number in my cell, I deleted them on accident.
Remind me why I didn't sign up for AAA.
Called Reed (ward member who had called him this morning). He's with kids.
Josh called from Reed's phone. He wants to know if ice cream is melted.
Home now. I put spare on my car.
I don't like being Mom.

karma

Last summer, I wrote about a stake young women/girls' camp fireside that made me uneasy.

Can you guess what my new calling is?

I'm the slow one.

Every week or so, I use my crock pot. It is a no-brainer way for me to get dinner done on time.  Some weeks I feel like a super hero because I've used my crock pot two or three times. That's all it takes for me to be awesome. Why didn't I figure this out sooner?

There's this weird thing that happens almost every time I slow cook our dinner. I put the food in and start it cooking and move on to the next errand/child's need/batch of laundry/nap/book/what-have-you and I promptly forget that I've started dinner. A couple of hours later, or upon my return if I've been away, I sniff the air. I look at Audrey and ask her who's been cooking. Then I remember the crock pot.