Havin' a Great Day Here...

If you were to call my home today, I'd probably answer, "Hello, we're havin' a great day here at Sam's!" And...if you called my home today and I answered the phone like that, you'd probably wonder why I thought I was at Sam's Club.

I don't think I'm at Sam's Club at all, I'm just having a super day, but I really do like how the Sam's Club folks answer the phone when you call them to ask a question. They say (or at least they used to say when telephones and not computers, were used to acquire pertinent information) "Hello, we're havin' a great day here at Sam's Club, how can we help you?" It makes me want to go on down to Sam's and see what those crazy employees are up to and maybe buy a 5 pound tub of peanut butter while I'm there.

Early last week, when I was having a great day, I answered the phone with my Sam's Club greeting. I felt very safe doing so because the caller ID on my home phone indicated that it was none other than my Mom calling.

"Hi, we're having a great day here at Sam's!" said I cheerily.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were shopping! I'll call you back later."

"Mom...I'm not really at Sam's. I'm at home, where you called me," I explained quickly.

"Why did you say you were at Sam's?"

"Because I'm having a great day!"

"Oh, okaaaaay..."

And on went our conversation, which included me relating why my day was great.  Today is a great one too, for lots of reasons, the main one being that my kids have been outside playing for most of the day.

There are three wonderful things about that last sentence:

My kids - I love 'em. I'm glad they're mine and I'm glad they are still kids.  They'll always be mine, but they won't always be kids.

outside playing - I've been doing a gob of reading lately on the topic of "living intentionally." Sounds kind of weighty I know, but the subject is fascinating to me.  Part of what I've been reading has really gotten my attention about how little time children these days, mine included, enjoy unstructured times of play especially outdoors. 

In her book Organized Simplicity, Tsh Oxenreider quotes another author, Richard Louv who says, "It takes time--loose, unstructured dreamtime--to experience nature in a meaningful way. Unless parents are vigilant, such time becomes a scarce resource, because time is consumed by multiple invisible forces; because our culture currently places so little value on natural play." 

Mr. Louv goes on to report that between 1981 and 2003, children have lost nine hours of unstructured time per week. I'd like to hand my gang back a few of those hours this summer!

most of the day -after listening to a few chapters of a book on tape and helping me with a few chores this morning, the kids were released into the wilds of our backyard, and have been out there ever since. I've got to call them in soon to get ready for our evening activities, the structured kind alas. They are sweaty and stinky and dirty, but what a super time in the fresh air and sunshine they've had.

Other reasons for this great day include, but are not at all limited to:

A small nagging project that has been accomplished.

A major project that is well on it's way to completion.

Molly in this shirt and these shoes. 

She calls the shirt "my thunny thirt" (sunny shirt) and she lives in the hot pink shoes. 

What's not to love?

Megan's summer freckles are reappearing and I adore them, and her!

Molly took a killer nap and woke up calling for me and smelling so much like a baby again, I loved the walk sniff down memory lane.

I thrilled my outside kids with strawberry smoothies and since I already had the blender out...

I found a recipe for a cold coffee drink recipe that kept me cool while, from inside, I watched the children get pink and sweaty. I'm planning on spending many a summer afternoon with it.

Here's the recipe which I only tweaked a little...

FIRST, send your kids outside to play. Then...

Into a blender place:

5 or 6 ice cubes

1 cup of the left over coffee that remains in the pot after you've reached your morning limit

1 cup of cold milk, the colder the better

1 1/2 TABLESPOONS of Splenda (or sugar, but if you use sugar, you should probably dissolve it into    

      rewarmed coffee first)

Blend thoroughly and enjoy!

Book Notes:
Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living
I'm reading this one and loving it. In one word...inspiring.

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder
This one is next on my list to read. It's been quoted by two very different books I've been reading.

Sippin' at Sam's

Hi! Molly Joy here. All dressed up and ready to roll.

Where am I going? 

Well, here's the situation...we are out of milk.  Dad thaith it's almost time to buy a cow becauth we go through tho much milk these days.  That makth my Mom grin a little, she loves feeding all of uth.  Being out of milk isn't such a big deal exthept that we're out of bread too and I think I heard someone thay we were out of just about anything that could serve as lunch.  Thith makes my Mom grin a little too becauth being out of lunch food usually means we go out to eat for lunch and Mom really enjoys that.  So...

that's where I'm going...out to lunch. Wanna come?

I really like the place where we are going. There aren't any tables large enough to seat our whole family, tho I alwayth get to thit at the table with the big kidth. It'th so fun.  I get to chooth between the pizza and the hot dog special.  I chooth the pizza today.  The only thing that stinkth is that thith place only hath one size drink and that size ith tooooo big fo me! Everybody elth gets their own drink, but I have to share with my Mom or Dad and thath kinda hard from the big kidth table.

It was a really thpecial day today cauth we got to get dessert! Mom and Dad haven't been eating much dessert at all lately and today, they decided to live a little with thoft therve from Tham's Club! (Megan hath taught me allllll about alliteration you know!)  I love the dessert here but by the time we get around to eating it, it's time to get into the shopping cart and race around the store before Dad'th lunch hour ith over. Really, thith part is pretty fun too.  First, we load everyone'th drink into the cart (nobody wants to see all that thoda pop at 88 cenths a piece go to waste) 

...and then in goeth Kate and then me.  

Look at uth chowin down the ith cream! It had strawberrieth in it! Thooooo good. My mom had such a hard time eating and taking pictures of uth...but she soldiered through! 

Ya know what else ith fun when we go shopping at Tham's and other places? Watching all the people looking at us.  I'd look too! I mean really, who pushes THAT many drinks around in a buggy? I don't really think its the drinks they are looking at.  Mom saith they are counting us kids.  She gets a kick out of it too.  She saith that the people looking at us must think that we are a grade school on a field trip to Tham's Club for cheap soda pop and hotdogs.  

I guess when you stop to think about it, that'th kinda what we are!

After we've loaded the buggy with boxes and bags that are mostly the size of ME, I decide to stand up and demand politely requetht that I be permitted to walk about the store for awhile.  Finally, I convinced Dad to let me down. It wath about time too, cause I had a bit of shopping to conquer as well. I saw this patio furniture while I wath eating and couldn't wait to give it a whirl.

The cushion was good and firm that table lookths like it would hold a dinner plate or six. 

Hang on a thecond! That sign doesn't say that it's been stain guarded and Mom saith that is a deal breaker. Did you see the price on it? That'th almost enough to buy....mmmhmmm carry the 4....1,965 drinkths here at Tham's. I'm pretty thure Mom and Dad will think that'th a deal breaker TOO!

Anywayth, thanks for comin' to our gourmet lunch wif us!

Hope to thee ya again real thoon!