I Feel So Much Better!

1. Apparently, all I needed was some sleep. My parents took the kids yesterday afternoon from lunchtime until after dinner, so I took a long afternoon nap, and then they came back this morning at 7 am to feed the kids breakfast so that I could sleep until 10 am. I feel like a new person!

2. I didn't get a lot of stitching done this week (I guess I was just tired) but I was able to finish up that bottom section and then moved on to the tail on top. Although, you can tell by the trailing thread that I ran into some counting problems last night and simply gave up, figuring I could fix it when my brain was working better.

Hopefully, it won't require a lot of frogging.

I'm not quite at the half-way point on the basic stitching (don't forget the extensive back-stitching and beading that await me at the end) but I can see it from here and it's a good feeling.

3. Speaking of (or writing) of accomplishments, my dear husband has been working hard on his own to get those other bookshelves built into the other corner in the living room. This morning, he got both of the frames in place:

This afternoon, he plans to work on the actual shelves. Woohoo!

4. Miranda had a wonderful week at camp at the Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge. If she had any behavior problems, I didn't hear about them. It was quite a drive for me as there is no easy way to get there from here, but I have a much better idea of the layout of the city of Medford, NJ, even if it is laid out in the matter of a rabbit warren (i.e., no straight lines or right angles, anywhere, but when you're building a town in the midst of a series of lakes and forests, I guess that's what you get).

5. I still haven't been to the movies to see either The Amazing Spider-Man or The Dark Knight Rises but have hopes for the coming week, since I'm feeling all refreshed and everything.

I watched more Perry Mason while stitching this week, but I think I'm starting to burn out on it and may not make it through all 9 seasons before I give it up. I also got caught up on Longmire and went back to watching the first season of Magnum, P.I. My mother-in-law is right, Tom Selleck is incredibly appealing.

6. Alex continues to be emotionally fragile even though he's having a great summer with school and his afternoon program. We don't know why, so we just hug him a lot and don't worry when he spends all his free time glued to a computer.

7. My birthday is next Friday, the day the Summer Olympics start in London. It's going to be a happy day and it means I'll be glued to the television for hours, watching every bit of gymnastics, swimming, diving and indoor volleyball and maybe a little track and field. I'm not a sports fan, really, but everyone has to make an exception for the Olympics.

And here's Jen. If you missed her hilarious post from earlier in the week, read it here. I mean it, you will laugh until you cry.

Too Much Fun

1. Too much fun in our house means you are crying with exhaustion. That pretty much describes the week. Which would explain why it's Sunday afternoon and I'm only just now blogging.

I planned all these fun things for my children to do to keep them occupied this summer, not remembering that they wake up bright and happy every morning, ready for the next thing while I drag myself out of bed, moaning. Silly me.

2. We were invited to a birthday party at the JCC Camp in Medford yesterday, which has a really awesome swimming complex. Here's Alex having a fabulous time:

3. Miranda also enjoyed herself, just not to such abandon:

4. Instead of cleaning or organizing or sleeping this week, in the evenings when my children were unconscious, I continued to stitch and watch Perry Mason. So, lots of good progress:

5. This week, Miranda will be going to camp in the mornings at the Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge. I deliver her at 9 am and pick her up at noon, much dirtier, or so that is the promise. It should be an interesting experiment.

6. I haven't been to the movies yet. I'm too tired. I've been changing into my pajamas before Marshall gets home from work in the evening. Pretty sad.

7. Is it nap time yet? Maybe after I go fold all the laundry I just dumped on my bed so it would get done before I tried to lay down for a nap.

Here's Jen.

It's Too Darn Hot!

1. We are in like Day 11 of an Excessive Heat Wave and I think it's making us all bonkers. I woke up this morning, just after 6 am, to the sounds of Alex laughing maniacally in the living room, watching A Bug's Life. And it's all been downhill from there.

We did go to Surf City yesterday with both grandmothers, my sister-in-law and the cousins and had a fabulous time, but I think all that time in the sun gave us sun poisoning. Alex had the right idea: he spent nearly 4 hours in the waves, under water as much as possible. His eyes are still red today and he has sunburn all over his face, no matter how much sunscreen I put on him. Next trip, I'm going with zinc sticks, because this is just ridiculous.

2. Here is Miranda with cousin Lilly. They were having a great time and being a lot braver in the waves than in previous years. And yesterday's waves were not inconsequential. But the water was cool and clear and just gorgeous.

3. We've been alternating heavy activity days with quiet days: last Sunday we had the church picnic at the lake, Monday we rested, Tuesday we tried to go see Despicable Me at the Cinemark Theatre (and left halfway through because neither child could hold still or be quiet) and then Miranda had a swim lesson, Wednesday everyone but me went to swim and eat BBQ at a friend's (I was not feeling quite right and spent the day resting and stitching), Thursday we rested and Friday we went to the beach. Today is another mandated rest day because we have another swim party scheduled for tomorrow after church. And then Monday morning Alex goes back to school.

4. My mother and Alex spent most of their time body surfing and looking good while doing it. This was one of those moments when I caught them with the camera off-balance.

5. I still haven't managed to go see The Amazing Spider-Man because no one wants to go with me. Maybe I'll catch a matinee this week, while Alex is at school. And Magic Mike. Really not interested in Brave, though.

6. This Tuesday morning we will be attending the memorial of a dear friend who passed only a few days ago, Robert Jones. He was very dear and we miss him but trust that God knows best when to call his children home. Here is the information for the memorial, if you need it.

7. Most of what I did this week, when not supervising my children swimming in some body of water or other, was stitch and watch Perry Mason, so I have a good progress pic for y'all:

The dragon has a whole face now, but the farther I go, the more the back-stitching scares me. Even the beading seems easier than that. I may finish the whole project, minus the back-stitching, and go do something else until I get my nerve up. I wish the photo could show the density of the stitches; I'm just not sure how I'm going to get my needle through all of that mess all over again. And I use a sharp one already. If you need a reminder, here's the finished product from the designer and another shot done by a fellow stitcher whose blog I follow (sorry, you'll need to scroll down to Celestial Dragon and click on the photo to enlarge).

And now the laundry is calling me. Here's Jen.