Duck, Duck, Goose!

Friday evening, our neighbor Mary taught my kids how to play Duck, Duck, Goose. She started by asking them to sit in a circle. They tried, but it was more like a semi-circle.

They were not off to a good start.

They listened attentively as Mary explained how the game works, and were eager to begin. They promptly declared the person doing the tagging the "Ducker".

The first girl Mary tagged as Goose lunged to her feet, gauged the distance between herself and Mary and ran the shortest distance around the circle...towards Mary instead of chasing her. Mr. Adorable jumped to his feet too, and ran around in a few random circles in the yard before sitting back down in the circle.

Mary patiently explained the rules again, while I joined the circle to play too.

The second time around, the chosen Goose started chasing the "Ducker" in the right direction, but turned around and ran the other way again so she could beat the "Ducker" back to the empty place in the circle. She didn't want to lose her spot! Mr. Adorable jumped up when she did, and ran around the circle too, diving into her lap as soon as she sat down again.

When I could breathe between bouts of laughter, I helped Mary explain the rules again.

The third time around, my second oldest daughter was tagged. She cut right to the chase...right through the middle of the circle to tag the person who had tagged her. Mr. Adorable was close behind her, and dove into my lap.

I fell over, I was laughing so hard, and while Mr. Adorable helped me sit back up, Mary explained the rules. Again.

They finally got it.

Mostly.

My five-year-old circled around two or three times on her turns as the "Ducker", and included our neighbor's beagle in the circle, too. Mr. Adorable still charged around the circle full tilt every time anyone else did, and dove into whatever lap he wanted, but three or four rounds passed smoothly enough.

Until the second to the last round.

Daughter #3 went around the circle three times before she tagged Daughter #2 as the Goose, then ran as fast as she could around the circle to get back to her spot. Daughter #2 caught up with her before she did, however...and brought her down with a flying tackle that would have made Troy Palomalu proud.

The game ended shortly thereafter, called on account of ... ice cream for dessert. :)

It Doesn't Take Long

How to Drive Your Mother Crazy in 24 Hours or Less Without Even Really Trying

by the Children in our family

Start with a boot sticking out from under the kitchen counter,

and the other one in the middle of the living room, next to the pillows that are not allowed off the couches. (A sticker left upside down on the carpet, waiting to be stepped on, also adds a nice touch.)

Try leaving one magazine open and another wedged behind the cushion of the only chair,

and ponytail elastics and headbands on the couch.

Be sure to store a ball next to the couch,

and don't pick up the toilet paper you dropped on the bathroom floor.

(Don't flush, either.)

Leave a toy egg and a lego car by mom's bathroom sink,

a pair of pink flipflops under the table,

books all over the kitchen counters,

and a stuffed manatee on the old dining room table.

That ought to do the trick!

(It works sometimes with our mom, anyway!)

Garden Bounty

This is my garden. It consists of three large pots containing large, unproductive plants. We don't even know for sure what we planted. It's kind of pathetic.

OK, it's very pathetic!

Most of my friends have real gardens, the kind that get planted in the ground, on time, and that actually produce enough vegetables to eat.

Lucky for me, though, sometimes my friends have plants that overproduce, and they start giving fruits and vegetables away.

So far this summer we've been given blackberries, crookneck squash, basil and other herbs, yellow squash, cucumbers, green bell peppers, zucchini, and now cherry tomatoes. A lot of cherry tomatoes! (Thanks, Deborah!)

I kind of like this gardening business! My friends do all the work, and I reap only the benefits. I get to spend time with other moms, my kids get to play with other kids, and oh, yeah, we get to eat lots of yummy things, too!

Six Hours Later...

Today was our designated commissary shopping trip for the month, but we never just go to the commissary. If we're going to be out and about, I want to get it all done, so we don't have to go out again. So, we went to the PX mall, the commissary, Sam's Club, Walmart, and Kroger, and we did it all in almost exactly six hours. We got groceries, produce, cleaning supplies, diapers, and a new office chair, and while we were at Sam's Club, we also got a pair of glasses tightened.

The chair was in a huge box, and it wouldn't fit anywhere except for behind the passenger seat in the van, in front of the toddler's carseat. He liked his temporary footrest, though. My youngest daughter had two packages of toilet paper and a box of pears for her footrest, and the oldest two girls shared the back

row of the van with a huge insulated bag full of cold food.

It took me an hour to unload the van.

It took another half an hour to get all the cold food put away in the fridge and freezer, and all the rest of our purchases unpacked and set on the counter. They will live there temporarily in relative safety from my littlest helper until I have a chance to put them away.

I don't even want to talk about the state of my fridge.

Let's just say that we'll need to eat a lot of food before I can even begin to think about buying more milk or making yogurt.

I spent a lot of money. I am very, very tired.

I don't have to go back to the commissary until October (or so).

I'm not complaining! :)

Ah, Summer!

The summers of my childhood were idyllic. Long, quiet summers, with no commitments, nowhere I had to be, nothing I had to do, and by the end of each one, I was really, really looking forward to school starting again.

Some things never change.

This summer was anything but idyllic. It flew past, loudly, with all kinds of commitments attached; we had to be everywhere, we had to do everything, and I find myself once again really, really looking forward to school starting again!

I've neglected my poor blogs (but I think they survived...), my house and yard are not quite as neat as usual, we've eaten out more often than I would like to admit, and I've not gotten anything really out of the ordinary accomplished around the house.

On the other hand, my children are happy, healthy, fed, and clean, and we've had some wonderful adventures lately.

It's been a wonderful summer!

(But I'm glad to be back!) :)

Beauty in Bubbles

When the laundry, dishes, food prep, and housework are seem to be never-ending, I find joy in the simple things.

The very simple things.

Like soap bubbles in my skillet.

Unintentional Air Freshener

I got some fresh herbs from a friend this week, and decided to dry some of them.  I couldn't think of very many places that were high enough to be safely out of a toddler's reach, so I hung them from the knobs of my higher kitchen cabinets.

I don't imagine that I will ever combine these two herbs in a recipe, but as they dry we can smell them throughout the entire kitchen, and they smell SO good together!  We've got a couple bunches of mint, and one bunch of oregano.

It's organic, chemical-free air freshener 

that will end up re-purposed as tea and 

seasonings!  Two for the price of one, 

except that it was free!  (Thanks Amy!)

Head over to Tammy's Recipes for 

more useful kitchen tips!