Dragging in June

Three days until Orry's birthday.  I can actually only say that for another 3 minutes.  Crikey.  Well, if you are wondering about our list, you can check on it here.  Not much as changed.  15 more things to do.  Too little time.

Here are some pictures of the most recent things we did:

The grandparents came for a visit

We picked blueberries with our friends

We played at a new exhibit at HMNS Sugarland

And we saw the Transit of Venus

That last event was quite a thrill.  The kids really enjoyed it.  Well, the ones that saw it did...

We've gotten off to a slow start in June.  Maybe it's the heat.  Maybe it's the fact that Troy is working this month and is gone from the house for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week.  Whatever it is, we've got to shake it off and finish that list!  Here's to more motivation!!  Maybe we can squeeze at least one more thing in before Monday...

Mistaken Mistakes

Today was filled with mistakes.  Mistakes I've made hundreds of times over.  Mistakes that were firsts in my life.  Sometimes it's hard not to define our day by how many mistakes it contained.

We had a busy day planned.  Or not planned.  Maybe at the end of writing this I will decided that I didn't plan the day quite like I thought I did.  I made a list of places we need to go.  Library, museum, Whole Foods, and Chase bank.  That was the list.  So we got ready this morning and headed out.

Library first.  This outing was based around mistakes.  We forgot to put a CD back in one of the books we returned a week ago.  We also were supposed to return four books on Monday.  We got to the library just as it opened.  We had to go in to properly give the CD to someone and explain what happened.  I went to the trunk of the van to get the stroller.  No stroller.  Mistake #1.  Taking three kids to library wouldn't be bad if all three kids were over 5 years old and knew better than to take any and every book off the shelf, regardless of their interest in the actual books.  Annie was the handful.  I'm used to the boys crawling around on the floor and playing in their little boy way.  It's Annie that's hard to handle in places like this.  Thus the reason the stroller, with the harness, is a must.  Needless to say, it was a very brief visit to the library.

Denversaurus

Next was to venture some 33 miles to the other side of town to go to Whole Foods.  We decided to visit the HMNS at Sugar Land also, to make the trip worthwhile.  Before we went though, we passed by home to get the stroller.  Mistake #1 corrected.  But one thing we didn't have was Daddy's wallet.  Mistake #2.  Daddy's wallet has the money for the grocery store.  Daddy's wallet also had the check we needed to complete our final mission at Chase Bank.  But a quick trip to Troy's work corrected mistake #2.  So while slightly stressful, it wasn't a major catastrophe.

Hungry children going to the museum is no fun.  Mistake #3-Mommy didn't pack any snacks.  Really?  Come on, Mommy!  I did have two peppermints in my bag.  How pathetic does that sound?  We rushed through the museum seeing all the things we could before our stomachs just protested with hunger.  We quickly made a beeline to the Whole Foods where we had a nice little lunch outside.  The boys got to go to the Sweet Pea Clubhouse while the girls did the grocery shopping.  The grocery shopping was mistake free.  The Sweet Pea Clubhouse experience was good for Isaac (it was his first time being able to go) and not so good for Orry.  Mistake #4-Not teaching your 4 year old how to wipe himself.  That story is best left untold, but I'll let you know when I have corrected that one.

We came home, tuckered out.  That right.  Mistake #5-We totally forgot about the banking.  I'm such a jerk. I got all my stuff done, but forgot about dear darling Troy's business.  Sorry, babe.  He called for me to come and get him from work.  That's when I realized my mistake.  But I offered a suggestion.  How about we go and pick more blueberries and do the banking on the way?  Mistake #5 corrected.  So I quickly got the kids ready and made an after work snack for Troy.  Sandwiches and a cookie, plantain chips and some water.  One the way to get him, the travel cup with the water must have tipped over.  And earlier when I screwed the lid on, I must not have done a very good job.  All the water soaked into the carpet of the car.   Mistake #6.  Could the day get any worse?!  But then I thought about it.  Was my day really all that bad to begin with?

Despite our quick trip to the library, we scored a couple of really great books.  At the museum, there were some moments where we learned about the Acrocanthosaurus, and fulcrums and levers.  Lunch was yummy.  After Orry's experience, he might be more motivated to learn how to wipe himself.  We still made it to the bank before it closed.  We picked 4.5 pounds of blueberries and discussed whether or not a Stegosaurus would have eaten blueberries.  We came home with dirty children and a dirty car.  We washed the car first and the children second.  Tired children go to bed so easily (makes me think we should do this everyday...nah.).

I need to redefine what a successful day means.  The number of mistakes doesn't really matter, if in the end the day was an overall success.  My life would seem very dismal if I only focused on the mistakes and mishaps that have happened to me everyday.  So here's to looking on the brighter side (no matter how dirty it may be)!

One Pick, Two Pick, I Pick, U-Pick

I've always imagined that I would love to own a farm, live on a farm, work a farm. Not so much anymore. Don't get me wrong. I know all the perks of farm life (not firsthand). There's just two things that I really can't get over. Number one, bugs. Number two, sweat. Maybe I would do fine living on a farm in Svalbard, where it's so cold that I imagine I wouldn't have to deal with either of the two. But farming is an important part of all of our lives, whether we live on a farm or not. And it's important to me that my kids know where their food comes from.

First order of business to talk about is our summer plans. We aren't putting the kids into any summer programs (except for VBS), but it's important to me that we still do some learning with all our "free time". So we will concentrate on one topic a week or so, and learn what we can about it through research and hopefully through hands- on experience. Farming was one of those topics. So it looks like we are on course with our summer work. This leads into the second order of business.

U-Pick farms. Uh...What an awesome idea! This is my kind of farming. I was forced to do some things that I don't usually like. Things like having high grass brush against my bare legs, putting my hands very close to ants and other crawlies, and watching my kid throw dirt up into the air only to have that dirt land in his hair, on his face, and down his shorts. Farm living is not the life for me. But for a few hours today, it was (sort of). We found a little u-pick strawberry farm. It is the end of the season, so pickings were slim, but we walked away with 5 pounds @ $1.79/pound. The price isn't better than the store, but the experience was great. My kids have now seen what a strawberry plant looks like. And they can tell you that it doesn't look like a plastic container sitting on a shelf. They have experience eating a strawberry straight from strawberry plant. I have an appreciation for all those laborers that pick those berries that we consume, working in the heat and with the bugs.

Next was a u-pick blueberry farm. This place was a little out of the way, but worth the drive in the end. Here I learned that there are more than 20 varieties of blueberries! That blew my mind. To me a blueberry is a blueberry is a blueberry. But not so. Some are juicier, some have thick skins, some are tart, some are sweet, some have thin skins. I also learned that blueberries grow in a bush (some bushes were rather big and resembled trees). This place has 20 acres and they don't spray the bushes or the berries with pesticides. Annie and Troy had a heyday stuffing their bellies full of berries straight off the bush. The boys enjoyed running in the open spaces. We left with 5 pounds of berries @ $2/pound. That's a lot of blueberries.

We drove home, looking forward to showers and air conditioning. We drove home with a better understanding of where our food comes from. We drove home with an appreciation for farms and what they provide us with. We drove home with a fonder love for nature and all her bounty.