Last Friday Before Vacation

1. Yes, I really have been watching the Olympics during most of my waking hours. I'm not really much of a sports fan, but every two years I turn into some sort of fanatic. My family is very tolerant, even though both children keep asking me, "Why do you love volleyball so much?" I have no good explanation: I never played, I never saw my brother play when he was in High School because I was away at college, the only games I ever watch are in the Olympic broadcast because the USA is stupid and doesn't have a professional league like Russia and Turkey and Italy and China and.... But I watch every minute of every Indoor Volleyball in the broadcast (and get upset when NBC preempts it for things like Handball or Floor Hockey or when they only show portions of the matches; you can actually watch the whole game on the website, but it's only available without the color commentary and that's half the fun) and a lot of the Beach Volleyball as well. And all my fun will be over tomorrow.

But then I get to start packing for vacation, so it's not like I'll be bored.

2. Various photos from the past 3 weeks:

Alex with his new orange bird, a reward for getting a tooth pulled by the dentist.

We went to the shore 2 weeks back and the reason these photos are good is that my mother took them. The waves were so high and strong, we left early due to exhaustion, but the kids had fun in spite of being knocked down regularly.

Proud owner of the whole collection (minus the Mighty Eagle, which is priced ridiculously high). To his annoyance, I moved them around for the benefit of the picture; he always puts them in the correct order: Red Bird, Blue Bird, Yellow Bird, Black Bird, White Bird, Big Brother, Green (Boomerang) Bird, and Orange (Balloon) Bird.

I haven't touched it in two weeks, but made good progress until them. And, yes, I had to do a lot of frogging on the edges of the tail because my counting was off.

Great Miranda pictures, taken by my mother.

I think Miranda was dressing up for my birthday on the 27th of July: a fancy dress and rain boots. Yes, she is adorable.

3. On Thursday, we fly from Philadelphia to San Diego, via Houston, which breaks up the trip in a nice, half-way point for the children to get off the plane and run around for a bit. We will spend 12 days in California celebrating the wedding of a dear cousin and enjoying the company of my family. The children are very excited and I am trying not to be anxious about packing perfectly. Trying, but not being very successful. Instead, I've been catching up on correspondence and noticing all kinds of household chores that suddenly seem terribly important: defrosting the freezer, cleaning out my closet, trimming the trees and shrubs in the backyard.... I haven't actually done any of these things, mind you, but I'm cataloguing them in my head, instead of planning what to pack. Or I just go back to watching the Olympics.

4. Marshall and I are going to see The Dark Knight Rises at the IMAX Theatre at The Franklin Institute on Sunday night. One of our favorite babysitters is about to go back to college but she was able to squeeze us in before she goes.

5. I hope to see a whole bunch more movies while I'm in San Diego on vacation so I'll do a movie update then.

6. I mowed both lawns this week. Because July was so dry here, and we don't water the grass (or the weeds), I was able to put it off until the backyard returned to its natural jungle state. Although with all the rain forecasted for this weekend, I may have to mow again before we leave so as not to return to even worse conditions.

7. Surely I've done more in the last 2 weeks but celebrate my thirty something birthday and watch the Olympics? I can't remember. And, anyway, I have more volleyball to watch.

Here's Jen.

Sorry To Worry You

I haven't been posting because I've been recording approximately 35 hours of Olympic coverage every day and spending any free moments watching the sports I'm interested in (Indoor Volleyball, Swimming, Diving, Gold Medal Tennis, Beach Volleyball, Gymnastics...) and skipping all the rest. I will try to get back on the horse this Friday.

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. 

No Matter What, Trust God!

1. I am tired. It was another very full week. I'm going to really try to keep this post "Quick." I mean it this time. Really.

2. Here's the progress picture of Celestial Dragon:

You will notice that I finished up the top blue section which I used as a diversion while I was dragging my feet over the section that needed frogging. But, after I finished that, I had no more excuses so I spent the 2 hours studying the pattern and my work, back and forth, until I figured out where I went wrong. Another 20 minutes taking out about 20 stitches, and then I moved on. I haven't redone that section yet so I'm not absolutely certain I found exactly where I went wrong (it is a very complex pattern), but I'm hopeful that I identified the right wrong (hah!) and can move forward.

The great thing is that I'm really starting to feel confident about my work on this pattern and my progress is faster than it ever was when I worked on it previously (2-3 years ago). It helps that I'm still using the lesson I learned with White Lilies on Red: work on one small section at a time and don't move on until you finish it! So this dragon's going to have a whole head real soon like!

3. While stitching in the evenings this week, I've been watching the Olympic Trials. So much fun! Just no more gaga over Michael Phelps, please. I've moved on.

4. A few movies were viewed last weekend:

• On Friday night, Marshall and I watched Let The Bullets Fly. We are both long-time fans of Yun-Fat Chow and he played against type this time as the bad guy, which was fun to see. We are also new fans of Wen Jiang who both starred and directed the film. A little quirky but a lot of fun.
• On Sunday night, my mother graciously watched the kids for us so we could finally go see Prometheus. It was good and very pretty. And Michael Fassbender was excellent, as always. 
• Only 4 more days until The Amazing Spider-Man opens!
• I still want to see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, though. But I'm not sure I want to see it alone, so it may have to wait for video.

5. I know, I know; I should have put VBS as number 1. It's only what we did ALL WEEK LONG!

The program for this was Sky and I'm sure we will be singing the music for the rest of the summer. And the theme was, guess what, "No matter what, trust God!"

Some highlights:

• Miranda is a social animal so she loves activities like this; she would do this every week all summer long. Alex has more difficulty adapting to the schedule and following along with his peers. But he was given 3 boys who, at different times, helped him through his difficult times so that he could participate. I am so very thankful!
• While the children were off learning how to trust God, I spent 3 of the mornings writing cards and postcards for Youth Group students (16 postcards and 17 Mission Trip cards) in peaceful, quiet places where I could pray over each card and write from my heart. 
• Wednesday morning I spent with my mother-in-law and Thursday with my mother, which is always fun. We got to have whole conversations without children interrupting!

The end result is the kids are tired and happy and so am I: WIN-WIN!

6. The only down-side is that Alex got stung on each thumb by yellow jackets on Wednesday when he was outside and his thumbs are now inflamed which necessitated a trip to the pediatrician's after VBS ended, this afternoon. He was prescribed a very, heavy-duty antihistamine and, if the swelling hasn't started to recede by tomorrow, an antibiotic. More fun for all.

7. The church picnic is this Sunday after church and it's at the lake and we are going to play and have a good time until Miranda is crying with exhaustion (which is our barometer for when we need to leave a party). And then we will go home and call it a good day.

That was shortish, wasn't it? :)

Here's Jen.

Lessons in Disappointment

1. It's Saturday morning and I really need to get something posted for this week.

It wasn't that awful of a week; I think the severe thunderstorm that ruined our beach day yesterday is coloring my perspective on our week. But I had forgotten how much I don't get done when both children are home with me all the time, while Marshall is working very long hours and my parents are still out of town. My mother-in-law was a huge help this week, though; I'm not sure how we would have managed driving home from Long Beach Island yesterday in a terrible downpour without her help navigating and placating the disappointed children in the back seat.

2. I really did try to plan fun things for the children to do this week. They had a cool babysitter last Saturday night while I was out celebrating the end of the school year with the ladies in my small group from Youth Group, we went to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese on Sunday night, met the cousins at Chick Fil'A on Monday for lunch, went swimming at a friend's house on Thursday afternoon and then to the beach Friday.

But then the beach trip was rained out by severe thunderstorms and it was a difficult trip home because Alex's spirit was just crushed by having to be dragged out of the water when he was having such a good time, and then he had to sit in the car for more than an hour while we tried to decide if we should just go home, and then sit in the car for two more hours trying to get home through the horrible storm. (Our usual travel time to Surf City, NJ, is 75 minutes.)

I was so disappointed for him, because we had talked about it all week and we got a late start because while I was trying to get everything ready, both he and Miranda were horsing around and collided, which caused him to bite his tongue, which bled everywhere and upset all of us. And added half an hour to prep time. So we might have had an hour in the water before the thunder started.

I know Alex has to learn to cope with disappointments just like any kid, autism notwithstanding, but it breaks a mommy's heart.

3. Our other big disappointment this week was Wednesday morning, I dragged both kids out early to the Cinemark Theatre in Somerdale for a showing of Rio, a household favorite. I left in such a time to leave about 5 minutes before show time so that Alex wouldn't have to sit in the seat interminably, which was a problem at the only other movie we've been to all together, but when we arrived, all the tickets were sold out. It was very hard for both children to just turn around and go home, especially with half an hour travel time each way.

I'm hoping to see Despicable Me there on Tuesday, July 3. We'll plan better for next time.

4. On Tuesday, I was working on paperwork for Youth Group and the children were bored, so I put the sprinkler on in the backyard for them. And a happy, muddy time ensued:

Somehow, for any descendant of my mother, water + mud is always much more fun than just water. Maybe it's a sensory thing.

5. I did get a few pictures of the happy boy before the lifeguards rushed us out of the water:

The last two are of Alex wallowing in the sand, bemoaning his lack of surf. It took forever to get all the sand off of him and I don't think it will every completely come out of his white shirt; that's what I get for buying white instead of yellow like last year.

And just so you don't think Miranda was bored all this time, she was happily digging with her cousin, Collin:

The depth of the hole is Collin's work; Miranda was just incidental labor.

6. I did make some good progress this week on Celestial Dragon, although on Tuesday night I ran into a problem on the bottom-left side of his jaw. I made a mistake somewhere and haven't been able to figure out where my counting went wrong, so I've left the thread trailing and moved onto to other sections. If I can't figure out where I went wrong, I'll just have to frog the whole section, a fate which I'm doing my best to avoid.

But he has half of an eye now and a tongue a looks a lot more interesting.

7. I have trouble finishing things. I was two-thirds of the way through the last Harry Potter book for, like, a year. I've had the last episode of the Miss Marple series left the watch for almost the whole week. Also waiting for me on my DVR:

• the last 3 episodes of this season's Castle;
• the last 4 episodes of this season's Justified;
• the last 2 episodes of last season's Leverage;
• the last 3 episodes of this season's NCIS;
• the season finale of Person of Interest;
• the last 9 episodes of this season's Star Wars: The Clone Wars;
• the last 4 episodes of this season's The Mentalist;
• the last 5 episodes of Thundercats;
• the season finale of Unforgettable;
• the last 3 episodes of Band of Brothers;
• the last 7 episodes of last season's Covert Affairs;
• the last 3 episodes of Awake; and
• the last episode of Ken Burns' The War.

Maybe I just latch onto the next, shiny thing that comes by (which lately has been episodes of the original Perry Mason series from the '50's). Or I just don't want to say good-bye to a beloved series that won't have any new episodes ever (like Awake). Or I'm avoiding emotional conclusions (like The Mentalist). Or I hate cliffhangers so much I'd rather wait until the new season starts before watching the end of the old season (like Person of Interest). Or I'm just strange.

Bonus 8. So Marshall and I have had difficultly coming to agreement on new blinds for the back door, since the children destroyed the previous two sets. But with the summer heat beating down on us every afternoon, we were finally able to find something we both liked, which he installed this morning:

It will help tremendously. We may buy a fancy topper sometime, but the priority now was to keep the heat out in a room that already runs hot in the summer, however cool the rest of the house is.

Here's Jen.