the difference a day makes (or a few hours)
Wednesday DID end up being a great day that we got to spend with friends at the pool (where the kids snacked continuously, splashed around with their friends, and built pool chair forts) and then joined up after a quick stop home to change and shower/bathe for an AWESOME dinner at our favorite THAI restaurant complete with froufrou drinks (me - Sex on the Beach & Carl - Mojito) and beer (Mike & Jodie).
Yesterday was filled with the aroma of bread rising and baking in my kitchen, fresh air out on the trail (in the form of a solo bike ride - another 24 miles), and sunscreen from an afternoon at the pool (one that was cut short because the kids were cold). So we left and headed to see about signing them up for tennis camp for next week since they informed me that they didn't want to go hiking ("All we do it walk? That's just boring." Were Jessica's approximate words - and Ryan repeated them to me this morning) or bike riding or attend Camp Mommy even though there'd be promise of art projects and chocolate baking projects galore. I was saddened by this sudden turn of events as I was really looking forward to spending time just the three of us with no obligations.... nothing that we HAD to do... the WORLD WAS GONNA BE OUR OYSTER NEXT WEEK!!
I found out it may be the lure of brightly hued candy and cheap plastic toys that won over the hearts of my kids (as the tennis coach is very fond of gifting the kids with loads of the stuff that rots their teeth and has them bouncing off the walls before they can even swallow 4 little teeny Skittles... that and lots of stuff that could only say Made in China on the back).
When we got to the counter to sign up we looked over the list of kids that had already signed up and saw that one of Jessica's best friend was NOT going to be in next week's session (which I then realized that was the real reason behind us being there) so she instantly 180ed her decision and decided she was really wanting to sign up for Camp Mommy after all!! (It's nice to know that friends were the driving force rather than than brightly sugar-coated sweets and landfill material).
Ryan still had the chance to attend but he is really more attached to his sister than he likes to admit. He said that he would rather stay home to be with me but I know that he's really only staying home because Jessica is home and he wants to be wherever she is (either that or he doesn't want to miss anything - and I'm okay with it being a mixture of both). I'm just happy that I am going to get the chance to hang with my kid tribe today and all of next week.
We also got a nice visit from our cousin, Paula, who lives in our neighborhood - yet we don't see as often as we'd like or we should - stopped by to say hello and pick up some gazpacho (our summertime ritual as I always make too much so that I can share some with her). I also sent her on her way with a loaf of challah, and some chocolate chip zucchini cake (which is what was pictured in my previous post even though they look like brownies).
As we were eating our dessert of the aforementioned zucchini cake last night both kids.... BOTH KIDS I tell you - asked me if I would make THIS EXACT cake for their birthday cakes (!!!) (coming up starting in 3 weeks for J). Man, I LOVE these KIDS! They crack me up and delight me! ZUCCHINI cakes!! Ryan won't even eat a vegetable and now he's asking "please, please, please" for a zucchini cake for his birthday. I told them I'd even add some icing and writing on it and you would have though I'd have offered them a toy shopping spree.
Oh and I just have to mention here so that I have it documented before it's <POOF> out of my mind for all of eternity that
- Ryan surprised us on Wednesday by coming in our room earlier than we wanted to be up (that's not the surpise as he does this EVERY day - and it was old LAST month) with his shirt put on all by himself! This was one piece of clothing that he was resistant to doing himself for the longest time - it was the one thing he was holding onto in his clothes dependency on us. Maybe he was trying to hang on to being a "little guy", a coordination issue, or maybe it was a control thing... who cares?! What important to us now and what we're celebrating is that he's doing it on his own now and is SO PROUD of himself!! He now comes into our room insanely earlier than we want but has this cute little grin on his face and then says, "Do you know how I got my shirt on?" To which we smile groggily back and offer high fives!
- Jessica started ordering Ka Prow chicken (SPICY!) at the Thai restaurant last week instead of the delicious chicken friend rice that was her norm (that I would always eat the rice from because it's so insanely good) and I am so stinkin' proud of her! My little foodie!
So TODAY it's figuring out if the kids want to do anything with the overripe bananas sitting on our kitchen counter before they become fruit fly fodder because they always jump at the chance to bake something - ANYTHING when we have some time on our hands, finding the right art project for the two of them, GETTING OUT FOR A BIKE RIDE together, playing games, doing some reading together (Jessica and I are loving The Phantom Tollbooth, which somehow I missed in my own childhood - so glad I get a second chance at it through them. That's one of the best thing about being a parent - that and hugs and kisses in abundance!)
And I'm going to have to find a way to get them out for a hike anyway and GET THEM EXCITED ABOUT IT. I'll talk up the cool birds, trees, and rocks. Make a discovery book for them to track their sightings. But likely I'll say they can take turns using the camera to take photos along the way. Gets 'em every time.

