SUPERREADS FOR SUMMER

Now that my test is over, I'm back to reading for fun! I just finished the most recent book by one of my favorite authors, Craig Johnson. I am so lucky that the Bettendorf Library keeps me supplied with all of the new releases from authors that I love. Right now, I have three bestsellers on my library stand just waiting for me to get to them. What a lovely feeling that is! Even though my to-do list is a mile long, I am just tickled to have such good books on my TBR pile. Something lucious to read is a big part of a great summer!

PUJOLS GANG

Albert Pujols is by far the most popular player for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is a terrific hitter and leads the league in home runs. He has also worked very hard to become an outstanding first baseman. All accounts of his activities off the field suggest that he has remembered his modest beginnings and is focused on activities to help the poor in the Dominican Republic and to help special needs children. He and his wife have a child with Down's Syndrome. They sponsor a prom for special needs kids. How cool is that! As you can see, all of the baseball fans at our house decided to join the fan club and support the Cardinal great!

A TASTE OF HEAVEN

We didn't go to a ballgame today. Tickets were just too hard to come by. Everyone wanted to see this game, I guess. The guys were disappointed because the Cardinals lost yesterday and Pujols hit two home runs today. Still, the temp is somewhere close to 98 degrees and it is not a pleasant day to think of sitting for 3 or 4 hours in the sun. We spent some time at Union Station which I love and then we came to this little cupcake shop. Mary Kate noticed the ad and Alex figured out that the place wasn't far from the Metro station. We were nearly melted by the time we reached the shop. Still, it was all worth it. The girls claimed that the cupcake and slice of Twinkie cake were divine. Mary Kate thinks that running a store like this would be her dream job! What a fun day! We also stopped by the Basilica Cathedral of St. Louis. The mosaics were absolutely gorgeous but my pictures aren't the greatest.

HE'S 20!

It's kind of hard for me to believe but today is Benjamin's twentieth birthday. It doesn't seem that long ago that our first baby was born. He has been a joy to us nearly every day of his life. Oh, sure, there have been a few bumps along the way. Mostly, though, it has been a pretty wonderful twenty years. He's not a baby anymore. He is on his way to being a good man. What more could we hope for. Hopefully, his 20th birthday was a pretty special one. He got to go to see the Cardinals play. Even though we didn't spend $250 to put his name up at the ballpark, we tried to make sure that he knew that is was his special day. Enjoy the next twenty years, kiddo, they are bound to go quickly but what fun they will be!

CUPCAKE QUEEN

Mary Kate loves to bake cupcakes. I am the cookie baker and she bakes cupcakes. Cupcakes tend to drive me crazy. I hate getting the batter in the cupcake liners. It doesn't bother Mary Kate in the slightest. Her favorite cookbook is the "Cupcake Doctor". Today she made a batch of cupcakes for Benjamin's birthday tomorrow. There are a yellow cupcake with a dollop of cookie dough batter in the middle. The frosting is chocolate fudge. Everyone says that they are absolutely delicious. She even took a dozen with her to work tonight. No doubt, she will be a popular girl. She certainly made Benjamin happy with her birthday treat!

COMFORT FOOD

Today I made banana bread. My mom made it for us all the time at home. I make it pretty often, too. It is a favorite of Benjamin's, so sometimes I make it for him and take it or send it to him at school. Mom always put nuts in hers. I never bother. Still, it is like a piece of my childhood that I have shared with my family. I love a slice when the bread is still warm. It crumbles if you slice it too early, but I really don't mind. The smell is the best! Well, one of my favorites anyway - right up there with baking cinnamon rolls or chocolate chip cookies. As Alan Jackson put it in one of his songs, "A piece of my childhood, not to be forgotten..."

SWEATY STAIN JOB

Poor Alex! He has this week off. The one job that really, really needs to get done is staining the deck. We have put it off too long and it has to be done this summer. Until this week, the weather had been fairly pleasant. Not this week. It is so hot and humid. Today, it got up to 100 degrees. He has been working mostly in the mornings but even so, he is dripping sweat within half an hour or so. He is determined to get the job done, so Mary Kate and I have made a point to bring him ice water every hour and to convince him to quit by noon. Today, he worked a little later and he has had me running for more stain a couple of times. What a trooper! Not the way that a guy really wants to spend his vacation!

SUMMERTIME SLEUTH

Mary Kate has been enjoying her summer days. Sure, she runs every morning and she works 3-4 nights a week. Still, she finds time in the afternoon for fun. She has been on a Nancy Drew kick. She is reading one mystery after another. Then, in between books, she does her Nancy Drew mysteries on the computer. They keep her occupied for hours. Sometimes, she would not seem to be having a good time. She mutters, growls and complains as the game stumps her and she can't find a clue. Overall, she must be having a pretty good time, though, because she loves spending her free time solving those mysteries. Enjoy yourself, Mary Kate! There may be summers in your futures where the mysteries are harder to solve than the ones Nancy solves so quickly. Still, how can a girl go wrong if Nancy Drew is her role model?

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY/BIRTHDAY

Every couple of years, Alex gets kind of cheated. His birthday lands on Father's Day and we celebrate both on the same day. It seems that he really should get two separate days to celebrate but it doesn't always work that way. We tried to make it a fun day. We all went to mass then had breakfast at The Machine Shed. It's a favorite of his. Poor Em had to miss out because she had to work. Then Benjamin headed to work. Alex was able to watch some golf - the rest of us HATE to watch golf and take a little nap. By supper everyone was home and he grilled out for us. Not a wild day but hopefully, the kind that he likes. P.S. He finally got to open his new grill! Yippee! I'm sure he wasn't surprised but it was what he wanted.

YOU GO, EM!

Emily came home from basketball camp with a medal! She was the top 3-point shooter at camp. Now, we've known that Em could shoot pretty well, but there are a couple of girls on her team that are known for their 3-point shots. Emily beat out one of the best girls on the team by one shot! Woohoo, Em! Coach will be putting you in to shoot at clutch time. I think Em was pleased but maybe a little surprised herself when she got the award! Way to go, girl!

BRIGHT AND BOLD UNMENTIONABLES

Yep! I can't get too specific here for fear of offending someone's sensibilities but one of the things that is part of a house of three active women is lots and lots of sports bras. If you don't live in a houseful of women and stay far away from the gym, you may not know that these bras now come in the prettiest, boldest and brightest colors imaginable! My favorite ones are bright green and orange. Today, Mary Kate and I were at Target and found the most gorgeous sports bras in purple and hot pink. As the girls are busy with their summer sports, they spend most of their mornings in t-shirts, athletic shorts and yes, brightly-colored sports bras. Em wears a sports bra and shorts alone on those hot, steamy days. Not Mary Kate - she loves bright sports bras too, but please, cover them up! Well, whatever, it keeps our laundry bright and lively!

TIME FOR TOAST

This has been the "Year of the Appliance" at our house. I never really thought about how old and outdated our toaster was until we got the new appliances in our kitchen. We've had our old toaster for about 20 years. It still works okay. Sure, you really can only use two of the four toaster slots because the slider button to adjust the darkness level is broken off on one side. You have to be pretty brave to try toasting your toast when the setting might be set to "Very Dark" and you can't tell for sure. Today Mary Kate and I set out to get a new one. We had a few requirements - it should be black or with black trim and it should hold four slices. We found this one at Target and think it fits the bill. It's made for bagels, too! We were so bold that we are throwing the old one away. Wow! What a year this has been!

PASS IT ON

I took my recertifying exam today. It was quite an experience. My best guess is that I passed but it sure wasn't an easy test. I know that there were quite a few questions that I just had to guess. The whole test thing was kind of crazy, too. I had to go to a test taking center in Davenport. I had my picture taken and my fingerprint scanned before the test. All of my things, including my watch and my bracelet had to go in a locker. Every time I wanted a break, I had to raise my hand to be excused. My fingerprint was scanned. When I returned to the test, they checked my I.D. and scanned my fingerprint again. Then one of the test takers logged me back onto the computer which had my picture on it. (Like maybe I had found a body double in the bathroom who was willing to take my exam for me!) Luckily, I was done in about 3 and 3/4 hours. I am just relieved to be DONE! As for the pile of books that looks quite a bit like last week's picture - well, I'm taking them to Jane tomorrow! Her exam is next year and I'll advise her to start studying very soon!

SHHHHH! IT'S A SECRET!

Don't tell anyone, but this is Alex's Father's Day and birthday present. Benjamin and I figured out that Tuesday was going to be our only day this week that the two of us could go and pick it up. Picking it up was the easy part. Two strong men with a dolly rolled it out to our van and put it in. Then the trouble began. Benjamin and I had to unload it at home. It was very apparent that this big boy wasn't going far. I had a flash of brilliance and cleared out a space in the corner of the garage. The garbage cart got rolled outside and we pushed and shoved this big box in it's place. Cleverly disguised by two blankets, I'm quite certain that Alex doesn't have a clue. Ha! Oh well, at least he know that we haven't forgotten to shop for his big day - both his birthday and Father's Day fall on the same day this year.

I WANT MY LIFE BACK!

I have been studying like crazy for my recertification exam. Every time that I am tempted to just take it easy and stop studying, I get this terrible panicky feeling that I really don't know everything that I need to know for the test. I just keep reviewing and reading over my notes. The truth is, though, that I just will be so glad to be DONE with the test. I certainly hope that I pass 'cause if I don't, I'll be facing another exam. Right now, I just want to have this behind me so that I can start doing the things that I really enjoy doing - like scrapbooking to get ready for graduation and reading books for fun. I want my life back NOW!

PACKING FOR A PICNIC

Sunday was the CFM picnic. CFM is one of the good things in our lives. We have made so many good friends and gotten to be closer friends with other people that we knew before we got started in the group. Every year, we try to close the season out with a picnic. It's one of those yummy, bring your family's favorite dish kind of thing. Everyone will bring their lawn chairs. The guys will put a couple of beers in their coolers. It's just a time to kick back and relax, chatting with friends. For sure, there will be a ball tossed around by some of the kids - maybe a football, maybe a frisbee or a baseball. So, we will pack our basket and look forward to an afternoon of fun with friends.

B#

Today the girls are taking their ACT tests. Not only do they need sharp pencils, they had also better be feeling pretty sharp! Emily did fine on her test one year ago. If she can raise her score by a point or two, great. If not, it's okay. Mary Kate is nervous, though. This is her first time to take the test. Sometimes, standardized tests aren't her strongest suit. She did really well on the last set of tests that she took, so I'm sure she will do fine today. Tests are stressful, though, no matter what!

PRETTY IN PINK

I think that Wave Petunias are one of the coolest kinds of flowers ever. You just plant them and they grow. They just keep spreading and growing nice and bountiful. We have had the kind of summer so far where it just keeps raining every couple of days. I haven't had to use to hose to water the flowers. What a great deal! No work and I just get to appeciate what pretty flowers are growing on my deck!

HITTING THE BOOKS

I have been studying diligently since I got home from my review course. I still know that there are some subjects that I will cringe when I see on the test. I have books that I take with me to work. Books that I review at home. Books that I hope to finish this week. Even one book that made me so crazy I'm not sure if I will look at it all. The questions were so hard that they made my head spin. I haven't tried them lately and I am doing better on some of the review questions that positively stumped me before the review course. I will be so glad when this is over and I then when I find out that I have passed...at least I'm hoping that will be the end results.

DINNER EXPERIMENTS

Maybe it goes back to the "Newlywed Game" we played to celebrate Valentine's Day with CFM. One of the questions was to the husbands, "What is your favorite thing that your wife cooks?" Alex didn't have an answer. Neither did I. He said that he could have chosen Hamburger Helper. Well, my feelings were kind of hurt. After all, I do try to cook. I am known as a pretty good baker but I've never been a great cook. Alex's mom is a very good cook and my mom is pretty good, too. I decided that I had better try a few new meals and spice things up a little. My first few attemps at something new and different were not greeted with wild enthusiasm. They mostly got a "thumbs down". Sandy was part of a group that put together a cookbook as a fundraiser for a little girl with health issues. I found lots of fun new recipes there and this is one of the first that I have tried - Spaghetti Pie. It got 3 "thumbs up". A keeper!

LUNCH IS ON ME

Lunch is a big summer adjustment for me. I go from feeding myself whatever I want to having three hungry kids to feed. It is a treat to go out to eat once in awhile. Godfather's buffet is one of our favorites. We watch for coupons and we keep our stamped cards to get "Buy one, get one free". Sometimes the four of us can eat at the buffet for just a little more than $10. Not bad. Today, I had to work till 1:30 p.m. so we were too late for the buffet. We ate a pizza instead. That's okay! We'll save our coupons and stamped cards for next week!

ALL IS CALM

I love having everyone home for the summer. This summer with all of the kids working, the schedules are pretty helter-skelter. We all post our work schedules on the fridge so that everyone has an idea of who is where. The girls are also starting their summer practices for cross-country and basketball. Still, the craziness is a definite change of pace for me after having the house to myself most school days when I'm not working. As much as I love the hubbub of summer and the kids, I have to admit that I enjoyed the peace and quiet this afternoon when the kids all went to a movie. Home alone at last!

OOOPS! I forgot that Mary Kate was playing with the camera! This is what I look like after too many hours of studying!!

SUNDAY MORNING

One thing that I love is when our whole family can go to mass together. It doesn't always happen, especially with all three kids working different shifts every week. The kids are always good about getting themselves to church and I try to make sure that people don't have to go to mass alone, at least not very often. As much as possible, we try to find a time that works for nearly everyone. Yesterday, it was 11 a.m. The kids may not be thrilled to roll out of bed but they don't fight it. They know that in our house everyone goes to church. I am also pleased that Benjamin seems to be in the habit of going to church at ISU. It is just the right way to start out the week.

BACK TO SCHOOL

I spent the past week in a review conference to get ready to take my recertification exam. The program was very intense. We were in class from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday. On Thursday, they gave us a break and we were done at 5:30 p.m. Friday we only went till noon. Each night, we had a 120 question test. I also tried to do a little extra studying each night, either reviewing notes or the previous day's test. Yuck!!! I do have to say, though, that the course was very well done. I learned a ton and reviewed so many topics that I was very rusty on. As grueling as it was, I am so glad that I went and I feel much better prepared to take my test on June 17.

CONFIRMATION

Last Sunday, my niece Marlee was confirmed. I love confirmations. They are so special. It is wonderful to see young people pledging their dedication to their faith. Marlee is a delightful person. She is funny and spunky. She is like her mom, my sister Sandy, and yet very much her own person. After confirmation, we had a great barbeque at Sandy and Pat's. We had fun watching Pat's grandkids and seeing Sandy's new van. All in all, just about a perfect Sunday!

TRASHY BUSINESS

I am way behind on my posts, but hey, that's gonna happen sometimes!!! Last Saturday, the girls and I helped pick up trash at the various Mel Foster locations. The Lourdes youth group is trying to earn money to go to NCYC in the fall. We were paid $900 for a morning's work. There were probably 25 people helping and except for having to be there at 9 a.m., it wasn't very hard work. The girls and I went to Bruegger's afterwards for a bagel.