Learning to LIVE without a License....

What do you DO all day?

This is the most common question I have been asked since I have not been able to drive. I asked myself the same thing when it first happened. How was I supposed to manage without running to the store to keep my kids busy? I have to say, this has taught me A LOT! Mostly, I have become very creative in making simple activities seem like a BIG deal. Playing in the yard? Simple. Throw in some water guns, water balloons, a squirter, and a sprinkler...it's a water park morning. Playground? A field trip when we include a 'long walk', water, and a snack and head to one 'outside' the neighborhood.

What I'm most grateful for? MY FRIENDS! Seriously, I can not survive without them. I am so incredibly lucky to have friends in the neighborhood that make mornings and afternoons go incredibly fast. And make me feel SANE! Or my the fact that friends who live fairly far way... they are willing to travel, again, to my house that is not close. I really can't tell you how much it means. I have one really close friend who wanted to plan a girls night out. I can't be positive I will have my license back. She volunteered to pick me up and go out up here. Really? I am so lucky.

This is what has made my summer OK. So, thank you...and I OWE YOU!!!!!! One day, I will be able to drive again and repay everyone for their generosity and friendship.

Here is a glimpse of our summer weeks at home....

We had a few GORGEOUS summer days that made it very easy to spend outside. Here are the kids getting ready to meet some friends at the playground.

We waited for some friends by swinging. Skyler actually fit into the baby swing.

Once again, grateful for neighborhood friends:)

Skyler had picked a flower for Sadie on the way home. They were having a moment:)

We had some bananas getting too ripe. Morning activity? Banana bread! Unfortunately, I didn't have all of the ingredients. THANK YOU JENN! She is a frequent baker and was willing to loan us the missing ingredients. This meant a morning bike ride before it became too hot over to pick up what we needed. The rest of the morning was spent baking and waiting....DELICIOUS!

Here they are getting ready:)

Mashing up the bananas. Skyler informed Sadie that since he was an 'experienced' baker, he would teach her how to do it. She loved it until I dumped in the egg and she couldn't do any more taste tests:)

Tasting the fruits of our labor.

So, Sadie has some crazy hair. It gets even crazier after she naps. It was a mohawk when I woke her up from nap today:) She went to sleep with it wet since the kids were playing with water in the 100 degree heat after lunch. I guess they are adjusting to the frequent heat waves because I had to drag them in. This all added up to a funky do.

After dinner it was only 98 degrees...nice and cool:) We had the kids outside playing and they had a great time. It felt like a summer night should, only about 20 degrees too hot.

These flags have traveled from New Jersey, and somehow, Skyler keeps finding where I hide them!

Summer!

How is it that I get so far behind in blogging??? I love doing it...but sometimes it's impossible to find the time to sit down. It's been a while. I recently read a blog that said they won't talk about their kids, the things they say or do. I can't think of anything better to write about! If it bores you to read about my kiddos...don't read my blog:)

We have been hanging in there with entertaining ourselves in our house and neighborhood. But it is HOT HOT HOT! Which is fairly equivalent to a snowstorm. You just can't go outside. Not without two children melting extremely quickly. I have been trying to get them outside for an hour before snack time in the morning. I force them on a bike ride...you WILL have fun. Ignore the gnats flying into your mouth and eyes. Play in the pool. You WILL LIKE IT! I drag them to the playgrounds. Ignore the zillions of bees flying around. That's how our mornings go:) But then I feel less guilty about staying inside the rest of the day.

Last week, we hit a wall and ended up driving each other insane. Nana to the rescue!! She drove down to pick us up and tote us back to NJ. We decided that we would exhaust the kids with fun activities to make up for the quiet days we are literally stuck at home for. Let the fun begin! Blueberry picking, swimming at the lake and playing in the sand, Turtle Back Zoo, a field trip to a working gristmill, more beach, feeding animals at the local farm stand, and playing with the neighborhood kids at night until they are sweaty and exhausted. It worked. It took them a couple of days after we came home to catch up on their rest.

Now the countdown to my next driving test....and positive thinking that I will pass so we can have the freedom to make the choice of whether we want to stay in or run to the store....

Here are pics of just some of our activities. I didn't want to bring my camera to the beach and forgot it when the kids were playing outside and feeding the animals :(

Turtle Back Zoo...waiting for the train:)

So excited! He was first in line and picked the seat he wanted in the wayyyy back.

She loved the zoo...for the first 10 minutes. Look Nana, a monkey!

They loved the exhibit where you can feed the birds. Thank goodness we caught one considering they didn't seem hungry at all.

Sadie's first carousel ride! She loooovvvveeeed it. Cried a lot when we took her off:)

Skyler has definitely learned to love it...he enjoyed it when he realized he would be ok:)

We had a tour of an old gristmill. SO cool. The kids were using a rock to make flour out of wheat seeds.

Checking out the working water wheel.

A little girl dressed in the time period clothes of when the mill was built. Sadie called her a princess:)

One More Thing....

I have to say, despite my crazy day, I LOVE my husband. It's days like these that make me realize why I married him. He could have handled things very differently. I saw he was tempted. But instead? He supported me, encouraged me, loved me, and laughed with me. I'm so grateful that he can laugh it off....but I won't hold him to it if I fail next time;)

I feel the need to vent....

Yep, I am going to rate today one of the worst days I have had in a while. I'm ok with it now. I realize that we are supposed to have these days so we appreciate the good days. It was honestly a day that I sooooo do not want to relive! So, it was the day of my driving test. I have literally been freaking out the past few days convincing myself that I would fail...that even though I have been driving the past 18 years with a decent record, that I would mess up. Well, guess what. I did. I hit the @*($^*)(@*&$()^B curb. I mean really, who puts a curb in the parking lot! I didn't even think to look. I screwed myself. royally. I can't take the test until August 5th. That's another month depending on other people. Shoot me! But please, let me fill you in on what happened BEFORE the test. The first thing they tell you to do is get a good nights rest...than eat a good meal. We have NO food in the house which means the meals never happened. And rest? Well, Skyler started not feeling well last night. Had some insane accidents that I don't have to go into detail with, but let's just say it ended with a major bath in the middle of the night, and carpet scrubbing from his bed to our room. Not fun. for anyone. It's safe to say that I had maybe an hour of sleep between my two kids. I steam cleaned this morning. He was fine, than not so fine. He started complaining that his belly hurt. uh oh.... So what did Michael and I do? Pretended he was bluffing. Prayed he didn't throw up in the car because one of the criteria is that it can't smell. Well, it was close. We pulled into the lot, I dragged him out of his seat, and he christened the lot. Later, we went into the dmv? He christened the floor of that too despite the fact I had an open bag in front of him. He also christened some poor customers' feet. We were sweating now. I was covered in puke. Gross. Sadie started freaking out...the security guard came over to Michael and told him he had to control her or leave. uh oh.... He left..... Than, in the 100 degree heat, we waited for an hour in line for my turn. What do I do to repay my poor husband, grumpy daughter, and sick boy? I fail! Than, Skyler continued to christen Michael's car on the way home. So, one word to sum this day up? DISASTER!!!!!!!!

Next time? Michael stays home with the kids. I sleep the whole night before. And I watch for curbs:)