I think I (gasp) need a break from Disney

In the past 16 months, we have missed maybe half a dozen weekends at Disney. On the weekends we go, we usually only go for one day, but it’s a full day – often multiple parks, staying until dark – later into the night, and then driving home while the kids sleep and I read/sleep. A few of the long weekends we’ve gone multiple days, driving to and from both days, and four three times we’ve stayed over locally instead of driving (one weekend was for Spencer’s birthday, the other three were just random).

What I’m saying, is I think I’m a little Disney’d out, for the moment.

We went to Epcot yesterday, on the final day of the World Cup which was just poor planning on my part. Spencer was hanging out with with a friend of his on Saturday and we did some Macy’s exchanging so yesterday was Disney. People, it was hot and we were cranky and I think we all fought all day. The kids wouldn’t stop running down inclines and sitting on chain barriers (big pet peeves) and C and I argued several times. It just wasn’t the most fun day for me. I do recognize that a not-so-great day at Disney is still probably better than average days other places, but by dinner when we had more issues I was just ready to go. So we went.

So maybe we’ll skip next weekend? Only time will tell. C has to work on Saturday so I’m taking the kids to Chuck E Cheese and the children’s museum (I know, I know, glutton, punishment and all that) and we’ve got our belated family birthday dinner which should prove fun. Today is my me-time day. Last Monday I did grocery shopping and took a run and a shower and we had TJs chana masala which meant a distinct lack of cooking. I think I’m out of prepared TJs foods right now, so I may actually have to cook tonight. I have to do some grocery shopping, and I’d like to get in a run if I can manage it. I’m hoping that I’ll still have an hour to myself that I can sit and read/take a shower, but I know I’ll end up straightening the house and measuring the closet to see if I can replace the boys’ clothes bins with actual dressers.

Halfway through this post, I saw this come up in my Facebook newsfeed. Obviously I need it – I’m feeling a bit down and pessimistic apparently. So once I hit publish, I am going to try to go 24 hours. And then maybe another 24 hours. Before I go, I’m going to put up 3 things that are making me happy right this minute:

- I started listening to Neil Gaiman’s book The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and it is adorable. I didn’t get very far because I listened on my walk Friday, but I have a day flight on Wednesday and I’m planning on not reading an actual book. I’m going to close my eyes and let Neil Gaiman read to me. His voice! So endearing!

- Friday I was having one of those nights but it was C’s birthday so I was trying – TRYING. Everything was getting to me, although I tried to set myself up for success – we went out for dinner and I had my favorite burger (incorrect the first time, but amazing the second, Guacamole Bacon burger at Red Robin, no mayo and cheddar cheese instead of swiss) and let the kids watch Toy Story on my ipad during dinner for extra calmness, but I just couldn’t get out my funk. My wonderful husband, on his birthday, sent me for a walk on my own while he let the kids watch a movie and handled things. It was a lovely hour walk while I listened to the Gaiman book.

- Sunday morning Spencer decided that he was going to teach Henry how to play chess. It was shortlived because H didn’t care 10 minutes in, but it was super cute.

Friday bits

- This week it has been so hard to get out of bed in the morning. Bed! So comfortable! I feel like this in the mornings:

I’m hoping for a couple good nights of sleep, ideally of going to bed earlier so I can catch up the right way instead of training myself to sleep later than I am normally able. I have another 4am wakeup for a flight on Wednesday and I have to be able to get my butt out of bed.

- It’s been very rainy this week, which means that we grill like this:

It works out though – we grilled twice this week, once hot dogs and last night we did grilled chicken and grilled Caesar salad (where you grilled the romaine lettuce and the onions too). I think I’m not a big fan of grilled lettuce – it was too limp for me. However, I bought a Caesar vinaigrette by Kraft (which is always BOGO at our grocery) and by golly, it was delicious. I was hesitant because I don’t like Greek dressing – really is Roman general dressing that much different? Yum.

- I go through phases with my work music. For a long time it was 90s, and 80s, and then for a while the Broadway channel got me through the day

But I’m currently obsessed with the Love channel. Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Bread, Poco, Bette Midler … while I’m unfortunately unlikely to hear a break through Warrant Cherry Pie, it’s very soothing and singable for my workday.

- I feel like I’m channeling Kori with all these gifs. For the sleep gif I was looking more for a sloth/chunk one, but this I feel is more Kori:

(new meaning to "Friday bits", yes?)

- I’m thinking of doing a shrimp boil next week a la Heather. We did one when we backyard camped and it was very successful. Although really we just needed the shrimp and sausage because the kids don’t eat potatoes and if there’s shrimp and sausage they’re unlikely to eat corn too. Anything else we can boil that they might eat? I’m also thinking of picking up a bag of clams and steaming them on the grill, which makes me excited but I have no idea if they will eat them. Maybe if I tout them as shrimp relatives?

- I did the baby feet thing, and I’m here to tell you two things: it really works, and if you have eczema it won’t work QUITE as well as it does on other people and will be pretty itchy at first but still. So much better. I just greased up the eczema spots to try to get rid of those so I’m not giving you a picture but I swear. Excellent. If you do it, make sure you soak your feet every night to help the peeling, and rub the dead skin off while it’s in the water. Amazing.

- Spencer is learning how to play chess, and he’s very interested. Daddy’s way of teaching appears to be by creaming him while telling him how he’s creaming him (seriously, who castles on their first game with their six year old?) but Spencer actually took it fairly in stride. He wants to play me next, since I’m not as good. It’s a fairer fight.

- This thing is amazing. My mom bought me one months ago but I thought it was a cheesy gadget and didn’t even take it out of the box until I saw someone else had spiraled a cucumber and I thought “hey, I should try that.” Enter fantastic lunch for this week. This has spiraled zucchini, avocado, garbanzos, feta, Kalamata olives, cilantro, olive oil and lemon juice. It was phenomenal, really. Highly recommend.

- Obligatory photo of the second born – from this morning. Obviously we need to get him bigger pjs, they’re all crops at this point.

10 on Tuesday - what makes me happy

My hands smell like strawberries and Dijon mustard from making my breakfast and lunch today and there was this crazy bitch on the road who was tailgating like it was going out of style while she flung her cigarette butt out the window … so let’s just say I need a pick me up besides my chocolate truffle coffee (although thank you Archer Farms K-cups for that contribution). SO. Here are 10 things that make me happy:

1. Henry seems to be coming out of the dreaded 3.5s quite nicely. He still throws himself on the floor in a snit all the time (especially if he asks someone to ‘let him win’ and then he doesn’t win, competitive little bastard), but for the most part he’s so fun to be around – it’s so fun to see a small child’s mind work.

2. Having a local Trader Joes. You guys, I do 80% of my shopping there now even though it’s not super close because I love it so much. Ghee, lovely fruits and veggies (the watermelon was fantastic), olive demi-baguettes. I would have said 95% of my shopping, but I did a full shopping trip at Publix yesterday. There are a slim amount of things I don’t get there because I prefer certain brands (hello, Wright’s bacon) and I don’t go every time I just need milk or eggs, but still. So. Good.

3. Speaking of TJs, vino verde. Chili lime chicken burgers.

4. I went for a run yesterday. Like, more jogging than walking for 28 minutes and it felt good. Really good. Might do it more often good.

5. I haven’t yet had my breakfast (coconut greek yogurt and strawberries and blueberries) but I’m already looking forward to my lunch – roast beef, Havarti w dill, Dijon mustard and romaine lettuce on a spinach wrap. Come to momma.

6. I love food.

7. I’ve started rearranging the boys’ room in my head. It’s only so long until I start doing it in real life at this point. I’m the only one who realizes this right now. I just got my heart set on a writing desk for Spencer, and therefore the entire room has to change to accommodate that.

8. We are less than a month out from our trip to Colorado, and I will be on vacation for 9 days. NINE. I gave myself a buffer of a day on either side of the trip, so what will happen is there’s a weekend. Then I work Monday. Then I’m off for 9 days (NINE!). Then I work for two days. Then there’s another weekend. I’m ludicrously happy with this arrangement. I need a break.

9. I’m making Spencer keep a journal for the summer. This is not something he would put on his list of things that make him happy, but it makes me happy. I love journals. That was the only reason I wanted to be a teacher, so I could assign journals and then read them. (thankfully I came to my senses to realize I couldn’t deal with the rest of what teaching entailed before I went down that road.)

10. C has to work a couple Saturdays for busy season, and I’m planning fun things to do with the kids. I’m not good at lone wolfing AT ALL so on these days I usually set up things to do so I can be the “fun parent”. I’m thinking of taking them to Chuck E Cheese because we have leftover tokens from a year or two ago which was the last time we went (C HATES the place) and then I might take them to one of those paint your own pottery places. Any other ideas?

What makes you happy?

Always in need of a break post-break

So that was the longest 3.5 days off work in forever. Was it really a week and I stopped counting the days right? Well I’ve come to the part of the day-after a long weekend where I yearn for just one more day to lay around doing absolutely nothing. The problem is if I were given an extra day to do nothing, I would not do nothing. So it’s probably a good thing I didn’t bother.

Thursday’s 3-boy 3-hour extravaganza has pretty nearly cemented my theory that I was not meant to parent three children. So. Much. Noise. I kept them outside in the splash pool for the majority of the time but still, so exhausting. Within an hour of him leaving, I was in bed asleep and ended up sleeping through the night – 11.5 hours. They did have fun though.

We went to my in-laws for the fourth, and it was wonderfully fun. I never do a ton of swimming because I couldn’t go underwater in my contacts, but I finally invested in a pair of goggles and that was a game changer. I swam non-stop for three hours (and paid the price later, in case you were wondering. Holy painful shoulders, batman!) and drank sangria and ate hamburgers and it was pretty much the best thing.

Because we’re insane, we decided late in the day to go to Hollywood Studios (after all that swimming, mind you) to ride a few rides and see the fireworks. It was mostly successful, except that Henry didn’t make it through any of the fireworks (who starts them at 10:30pm? Dude, kids?!?) but when he fell asleep it was pretty darn cute.

MY BIRTHDAY. I was granted sleeping in on my birthday, which is not to say that the kids slept (despite the late night, of course), but then I got up and made breakfast. I thought about asking to go out for breakfast but meh, we had food and I can cook it and I enjoy what I make so much more than if anyone else did. Also over breakfast, I decided that for My Birthday I would actually like to go to Disney. Seriously, this was a thing I suggested. I also requested an Epcot dinner so we made reservations and I made lunches for everyone and dinner for the littles and off we went. So fun. If ever you go to Disney for your birthday, stop at guest services and get your happy birthday pin. Even at 34, it was so fun to have every Disney cast member (and occasional guest) wishing me a happy birthday. I daresay it was MORE fun as an adult. We dined at Nine Dragons, which I was hesitant about because I’m not a fan of Chinese takeout but it was delicious. And they gave me cake and a card with Happy Birthday in Chinese written on it, because Disney is awesome. (plus I bought myself some ears. Happy birthday to me.)

Sunday was to be a non-Disney day because every once in a while we need those. Hey, the grass has to be cut sometime, right? I did a minute amount of gardening (the weeds were as big as the bushes, truth) and then took a walk with Henry to Target in the drizzly rain, where I proceeded to buy all sorts of things I shouldn’t have bought knowing I had to walk a mile back home. But now we are proud owners of a badmitton/volleyball set and ladder golf, as well as a dozen odds and ends. (An aside – even though H was THERE when I made these purchases, when we got home he exclaimed to his brother “BUBBA! MOMMY BOUGHT ME BACON!!” so we know where his heart is.)

My mom volunteered as tribute to give us a date night, so we ate at a local brewery and saw Edge of Tomorrow (Tom Cruise+alien war+Groundhog Day) and I drank too much which is a consequence of seeing a movie in a club area – the theater has a bar where they apparently only make club drinks, so my “make me something with gin in it” became “gin, vodka, tequila, curacao, something I didn’t recognize, grenadine and club soda – aka, every other club drink designed to get you hammered for $8.50. The movie was fine – not my kind of movie, but my kind of movie is not one that you need to see in theaters so we picked an action flick.

And now it’s Monday again. Terrible, wonderful Monday, where I will now plan on taking a bubble bath when I get home and finishing the book I’ve been reading for the last WEEK because I can’t seem to concentrate. And everything will be glorious.

HOOOLLLIDAY!

It’s my birthday week, and with that I feel like not doing anything worth a brass farthing. I grilled dinner Tuesday night (every piece of dinner, actually, going pan-less FTW) and set up the table outside to eat, and we all melted with extreme temperatures. Why does it have to be 97 degrees on July 1? Dude, seriously. I filled the blow up pool too, so the kids swam while I grilled and it was all idyllic except for the crazy humidity and the aforementioned blasted heat.

But then that tropical storm out east broke the temperature by causing crazy downpours and we hung out inside watching tv. I’m trying to start a July arm challenge that may ultimately kill me, so I did my calesthetics (the arm challenge plus crunches that made me want to throw up) and then because I got very little movement through the day I started walking through the house while watching baseball, and jogging in place on commercials. Sometimes I’m certifiable.

Oh! And we managed to not kill the gerbils in over a year, so we decided they were entitled to a larger cage to work off all that slothly fat of theirs (they couldn't fit through their own tubes, honestly). So we got them a topper which is apparently not well made and took C forever to get together, but they seem to like it.

Last night we used a coupon and went to Carrabba’s, which made me obscenely happy – thank you, Chicken Bryan. We’ve started packing dinner for the kids when we go out locally unless there’s a kid meal deal – it costs us $10 less just to bring their food, and then I know they’ll eat it with minimal complaints. Last night they had pb&j, cheez-it mix, blackberries and blueberries, yogurt covered raisins and two marshmallows for dessert. I had a reasonable quiet and happy meal. Wins all around.

We’ve got minimal plans for this weekend. I get off early today because daycare is closing early, and I was toying with driving over to Disney for the evening but a friend of the boys’ is coming over for a few hours instead. So apparently after he leaves we’ll do the usual Friday night dinner of movies and popcorn – the boys have been wanting to see Pirate Fairy since it came out, and it’s finally on Netflix, so that’s the likely plan.

For the Fourth I plan on SLEEPING IN, but then we are headed over to my in-laws to swim and have a cookout and not do any fireworks as per our usual ritual. The lack of fireworks is the ritual – the rest of it is just because it sounds fun. It doesn’t really matter about the fireworks – I’ve been listening to neighbors set them off all damn week. Why, why, why?

The rest of the weekend is up in the air. Disney, maybe? More swimming, maybe? Sangria almost definitely? Possibly using my free Red Robin birthday burger and free scoop of ice cream from Baskin Robbins? It’s a long weekend and I’m going to not think about anything hard for the extent of it.

What are your weekend plans?

Books I read: June

Dude. I’ve read (or I’m reading the last of) EIGHTY BOOKS in six months. Last year I struggled to 90-ish for the full year, but this year I’m just flat out enjoying my reading. I really think the rereading helps – I always know there’s something that I’m going to really enjoy. And I LOVED my rereads this month too.

reread:

36. Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

37. Attachments - Rainbow Rowell

38. A Discovery of Witchess - Deborah Harkness

39. Shadow of Night - Deborah Harkness

40. The Face on the Milk Carton – Caroline B. Cooney

new:

31. Things a Little Bird Told Me - Biz Stone I read this because Janssen recommended it, and while I agree that it was light and fun and witty, I felt myself taking exception to the idea that knowledge is overrated and manufacturing opportunities always works out. I wanted somewhere for him to give an example when it didn’t work out for him instead of just feeling like he lead a charmed existence. Yes, I know he worked hard, but you can’t just always assume things will work out your way. I want my kids to expect to work hard and give them a foundation of knowledge and experience, not simply luck.

32. He Found Me - Whitney Barbetti A friend wrote this, and I thought it was lovely.

33. Deathmaker - Lindsay Buroker Ahh, Lindsay. Not my favorite, but I still look forward to the next one.

34. Whatever Happened to Janie? – Caroline B. Cooney a friend recommended the series and I remembered the first from my childhood but didn’t realize there was a whole series. It was a little young for me, but very enjoyable. I’m glad I went back and read it.

35. The Voice on the Radio – Caroline B. Cooney

36. What Janie Found – Caroline B. Cooney

37. Janie Face to Face – Caroline B. Cooney

38. The Signature of All Things - Elizabeth Gilbert Shalini was enjoying this so I put it on my library requests. I liked it very much, and expected not too. SO MUCH GOING ON. You know the phrase “sweeping epic”? Yeah, that. And also it didn’t really feel like anything *happened* at the same time. I spent a lot of the book trying to figure out how I felt, and then decided I loved it.

39. Sacre Bleu - Christopher Moore This, I couldn’t get into. At all. I puttered through the first third and then decided that I had better things to do with my reading time.

40. The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch I’m not quite finished with this one, as I decided to fake nap on the plane on Monday since I had to get up at 4:15am to make said plane trips (day trip for work). I say fake nap because I can’t really sleep on planes, but I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep for most of the ride. Anywho, Stephanie recommended this and I am quite enjoying it. I’m finding things a little predictable but very fun, and I needed a fun read. I think my next is Orphan Train.

Bucket List

This weekend C and I went to breakfast at a place that, instead of asking for your name to call out when your order is ready, asks for your bucket list item. We had never been there and were a little taken aback – bucket list? I don’t know what’s on my bucket list! My smart ass husband didn’t know what was going on right away and turned it back on the cashier – what’s on YOUR bucket list?

Anyhow, I blurted out ITALY and so that’s what was called out when our biscuits and gravy and eggs came out. I’m not sure if Italy is on my bucket list. Would I like to go? Sure. Is it something I would feel incomplete having not done before I die? I really don’t know how to answer that. C would say that the concert that we were supposed to see this weekend which got moved to October would be a bucket list item.

Skydiving was a popular answer, and there was another Italy in the mix before we left. One person simply used “Live Well”. I think that’s an excellent answer. That’s the most lovely request out of life – to live well.

So this morning I’m back at work, so of course I’m thinking about my bucket list. I just can’t think of anything I feel like I HAVE to do in my life. Perhaps I’m being too serious about it. Maybe I should come up with things that I would like to do, that will make me happy to do. Travelling is up there – I’d like to see Europe, I’d really like to see Australia and New Zealand. I’d like to run a half marathon (no ambition at all for the full 26.2 miles). I’d love to have the money to fix up my mom’s house completely and pay off all her debt. I’d like to see more Broadway shows (since I’ve only seen one).

But the things that make me happiest, looking forward in my life, are quite simple. I want to grow old and be comfortable in life – not needing to be rich but not worrying about how to pay my next bills. I want to see my sons grow up and be happy and pursue whatever vocation makes them content. I want grandchildren and daughters (or sons, I’m not picky) in laws. I want the time to spend with my loved ones and the awareness to realize what I have and to embrace it.

I want to live well.

What’s on your bucket list?

(BTW, this is where we had breakfast, and if you are anywhere in the vicinity of Jacksonville run - don't walk - to this place. I've never had better biscuits and gravy. Ever.)