I didn’t think it was possible, but playing Hide-and-Seek for hours CAN be a reality.

My children proved it last week.

It seemed like every time I turned around those crazy kids were counting, running, hiding, and repeating.

There must be something about camping and Hide and Seek.  I can’t think of any other explanation.

I’m playing along with Photo Story Friday and Give Me Your Best Shot this week.

Jeff and I took the kids beach camping last week.  I’m sure for most of you this is not a big deal, but for me, it was huge.

I’m not the biggest fan of tent camping.   I have a hard time with dirt everywhere. I prefer indoor, PRIVATE plumbing.  When I do the dishes I kind of like to have a dishwasher.  When my kids are covered in dirt, I like for them to be able to take a shower and put on clean clothes before climbing into their beds.  I like having clean surfaces to prepare meals on.  I like my own bed.

I’m spoiled that way.

This attitude has caused me to be a bit jaded in my feelings about camping and I’m not always very amiable when the topic comes up.

This summer was different.  The twins are finally old enough that I felt like it would be manageable.

And it was.

We had a great time camping, and I’m pretty sure my kids loved every minute of it.

Except when I was freaking out about them entering the tent with dirty feet.

One of Mama Kat’s writing prompts was about camping this week, to see more, go visit her.

Wordful Wednesday is like Wordless Wednesday, only WITH words. It’s for those of us that can’t contain the chatter, but in a good way. More info. in my tabber box titled WW on the right.

I hope you’ll join with me in thanking Laura from Better In Bulk for guest posting today.  She’s a mother after my own heart, a fantastic photographer and great friend.

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

On Sunday afternoon, after a light snack and a change of clothes, I took a little walk with my youngest daughter, Reese, behind our house. One of her teenage friends had french braided her hair during church, and she looked particularly cute, so I grabbed my camera to snap some pictures of her.

She knew exactly what to do…

When we’d finished our walk and our little photo shoot, we headed back to the house. No sooner had we stepped inside that the heavens opened and a tornado hit. Yes, last week, Maryland was rocked by an earthquake, and this week it was beaten by a tornado. The storm blew in and out rather quickly, and while the winds wooshed and the lights flickered on and off, the kids ran around the house like maniacs, setting out candles and flashlights, making plans for some marshmallow-roasting. We did, indeed, lose our power…but in the middle of grilling our dinner in the backyard, the lights (and the air conditioning — thank goodness!) were restored, and we went on with our evening.

This morning we were shocked to learn that the majority of the state, including some of our closest friends, are still without electricity. In fact, fellow DC-area blogger Jessica from A Parent in Silver Spring, wrote a fantasticly entertaining post on post-tornado stress syndrome. So while the rest of the state waits for their power to come back on, and as the insides of their houses match the outside temperatures in the mid-90s, our house will be a little more full than usual.

And I consider it a blessing. We have power. We are staying cool. And we can share it with friends.

Thank you all so much for continuing to share your photos and thoughts and for your ever thoughtful comments!

I can officially check one item off my bucket list.  You know, that bucket list that I’ve never actually made, but have meant to.

I had my eyebrows threaded, and by threaded I am referring  the Indian technique whereby stray hairs are ripped out by their follicles with string.

Pretty amazing stuff.  It’s crazy that a piece of string and a few tugs can produce such precise results.

I had heard it’s uncomfortable, and it is, but totally worth the $10 it cost for great looking eyebrows in 5 minutes.

Check.  Only like 99 items left to mark off my bucket list.

I know.  I know.

I’m so close. 

When a pair of girls jeans appeared in my laundry room with a note attached to them, I was annoyed.  My kids totally know better than to put their clothes in the laundry with “stuff” in/on them that cannot be washed.  Paper, pens, crayons,  GUM…..all hanging offenses in this household.

I ripped the note off the jeans in disgust, threw it in the trash and then went back for a second look.  The note was attached with a blue satin ribbon, you should know.

What I found both amused and flummoxed me.  See, the note was for ME, from the JEANS.  It said,

1. I am very selfish, so I can’t bathe with my friends, OR we get in a fight, and I bleed all over them.
2. I hate hotness.  I need to bathe  with cold water or I fade and die!  (Please don’t put me through that!)
3. As I said, I hate hot so don’t dry me or I shrivel up and die.

THANKS!

Now, I was flummoxed because I couldn’t help but wonder how my daughter who has never washed a load of laundry in her life would know the proper care and attention that should be paid to her jeans.  And, I was laughing because, after all, I had just received a note “from” an inanimate object, and the originality amused me.

And probably always will.

According to the wonderful water providers for my city, my family wastes/uses extraordinary amounts of water each day.  At least, that’s the only conclusion I can draw based on an EIGHT HUNDRED dollar bill.

After Jeff and I lifted our incredulous jaws off the ground, we tried to figure out exactly how much water we supposedly consumed in the two month period.  233 CCF’s didn’t mean anything to me or Jeff because we didn’t know what a CCF, or a hundred cubic feet equaled.  Imagine our surprise when we did the conversion and estimated that the water company’s records indicate that we used 175 THOUSAND GALLONS during the billing cycle.  175 Thousand gallons is roughly 2916 gallons of water used a day, or 121 gallons an hour,  or 2 gallons a minute AROUND the CLOCK.

WHOA.

When I called the water company, the customer service representative did acknowledge that it was a bit high.  (You think?)  So, she’s sending someone out to read my meter.  Not to worry though, if they find that the reading is correct, it probably just means they’ve under-read the meter the past few billing cycles.  I’m soooooooo relieved to hear that.

Should we still have a dispute after the meter is read then we can talk to a supervisor.  Score.

I have a better idea though.  Let’s just stop this madness, shall we?   Get us a new meter already.  One that is calibrated properly and reads the correct usage.   Your records should indicate that we’ve had issues before.  Like the time last summer when it cost us $600 to fill our pool when we estimated it should have cost under $100.

Turns out that the earthquake that left the greatest impression on my life actually occurred in 1987, not 1986 like I recall.  Furthermore, it was a 5.9 magnitude quake, and I could have sworn it was a 6.1.   AND, the quakes epicenter was in Rosemead, California, not Whittier, as I always thought.

So, when I tell you that I remember the quake like it was yesterday, if I were you, I’d be a bit skeptical.

Suddenly I’m a bit skeptical, and it’s my memory.

Now, when I tell you that I was loading the dishwasher before school when the quake hit, I’m pretty sure I’m telling you the truth.  I recall that the window over the kitchen sink where I  was standing was a garden window with a bunch of figurines on it (hey, I didn’t decorate the house).  Those figurines did the dance of their lifetime.  Some of them even lived to tell the tale.

It was the first big quake of my lifetime and was something we (and by “we” I mean others that felt the earthquake too)  talked about for years.  We still do, actually.  When it comes up.

Everyone had/has a story to tell.  Where they were.  How they felt.  What was damaged.

Except my brother.

My brother was riding his bike to school and didn’t feel a thing.

I’m pretty sure he feels ripped off.

I mean, I would.

Poor guy.

This memory was prompted by the illustrious Mama Kat.

Wordful Wednesday is like Wordless Wednesday, only WITH words. It’s for those of us that can’t contain the chatter, but in a good way.

{Please give Jill, my good friend and not-so-scary-mommy a HEARTy welcome.  I’m so excited she’s here!}

As a mother to three young children, I spend a great deal of time trying to capture the perfect picture of them. I know how fleeting time is and I just want to catch them all at their best. I’ve tortured them again and again to no avail.

Last month, we attended a family wedding. The kids were dressed to the nines. My daughter was is the sweetest little sundress and the boys were in matching seersucker suits. Did you hear me? Seersucker suits on my two and four year old boys. I died from the cuteness and, of course spent the whole day torturing them with my camera. Yes, I got some cute ones, but the perfect picture? No.

And, then as we were leaving, I took one more of the three of them. I was saying “come on, come on, one perfect picture,” hoping for three wide smiles, but they took it upon themselves to show their true personalities.

And, to me? It’s perfect. Smart kids.

{Insert commentary from Angie here:  Jill’s kids are smart.  And funny, and just plain gorgeous.  As is Jill.  And, not to spill the beans, but all of you BlogHer attendees will get to see her in person during her keynote address.  Yahoo!}

Jeff and I celebrated 12 years of wedded bliss this past weekend.

12 years.

It was so monumental in fact, that I didn’t document it in any way; and by document, I mean take any pictures.

I’m not sure what this means, but it just might be insightful.

Or it might not.

If you don’t hear from me for awhile it could be that I’m busy contemplating/re-living the joy of the past 12 years of my life, or, I might be camping.

At the beach.

And, in other news, Christmas in July on Tip Junkie has begun and is featuring hundreds of creative Christmas tutorials and giving away over $1800 in prizes, so you just might want to stop by.

Collective Bias and Elmer’s (as in Elmer’s glue) have joined forces in order to help families in need as the next school year approaches and I couldn’t be happier to be involved in the movement. “Bag It Forward” provided my family with the opportunity to help another family collect school supplies for their children, and it couldn’t have been easier. While I was buying school supplies for my children, I just grabbed a few extra with the intent to donate to someone in need. It didn’t “cost” me any extra time, made me feel good about doing something positive for someone else, and provided my children with the opportunity to learn an important lesson. We can help make the difference in others lives without much effort, and it feels pretty darn good.

If you are looking for a way to give back, why not “Bag It Forward” too? It’s painless and oh-so-rewarding!

If you don’t have the means, why not help virtually?

The Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward is charity blog meme, bloggers are able to raise $10 per blog post for Adopt-A-Classroom by writing a blog post and donating a virtual bag of school supplies . Elmer’s will donate $10 per each post written to Adopt-A-Classroom, up to $10,000.

HOW CAN YOU JOIN? It’s easy.

• Participate in the Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward and by giving away a virtual bag of school supplies and creating a blog post with specific rules described below.
• Elmer’s will donate up to $10,000 to Adopt-A-Classroom.
• You can give as many virtual bags as you want.
• The Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward will officially begin at 12 AM EST on July 22, 2010 and end at 12 PM EST on August 12, 2010. Blog posts submitted to us before or after that time period will not be counted.
• The blog post link has to be submitted in the comment section below for your participation to be counted.
• In addition copy and paste the following text into your blog post:

ELMER’S VIRTUAL BAG IT FORWARD RULES

• Copy and paste these rules into your blog post.
• Create a blog post giving a “virtual bag of school supplies” to other bloggers or write about your Back to School shopping trip at Walmart.
• Link back to the person who gave you a bag of school supplies.
• Let each person you are giving a virtual bag of school supplies know you have given them a bag.
• Leave your link in the Elmer’s Virtual Bag It Forward comment section. You can also find the official rules of this virtual #bagitforward program there.
• Elmer’s is donating $10 for each blog participating in the Virtual Bag It Forward Donation to Adopt-A-Classroom (up to total of $10,000 for blog posts written by August 12, 2010).
• Please note that only one blog post per blog url will count towards the donation.

Here is the photo you can use for your virtual bag or create your own!

Read more about Adopt-A-Classroom

I’m giving a virtual bag of school supplies to:

Laura of Better in Bulk

Amanda at Parenting by Dummies

Francesca at SITS

Kathy at Mama Kat’s Losin’ It

Jill at Scary Mommy

In the spirit of disclosure, I should tell you that Collective Bias provided me with money to help buy supplies for the “real” Bag It Forward but that’s not why I participated.  I participated because it’s for a cause I feel strongly about.  Additionally, it felt great to spend my own money as well as theirs on school supplies for another family.