Evening The Score

It's just occurring to me that Summer is officially over. Sad. Very Sad. After picking up Camp today, I drove over to the Tuesday produce stand to pick up some peppers and tomatoes, only to see a deserted gravel lot. No peppers. No tomatoes. No peaches. The season is over, and I'm not happy about it. It's a dang good thing that all the best holidays land in the fall and winter seasons, because otherwise they'd have no redeeming value. I've always said that the colder months are better because winter clothes are cuter than summer clothes, but now that my whole clothing sitch-e-ation has changed--not to mention the horrible things that added humidity does to my hair--my attitude about the fall and winter months has changed. Like I said--thank goodness for the holidays.
So far, Camp is really enjoying school. He gets annoyed by my asking for too many details, and he never says things are wonderful, but he always comes home happy and hasn't expressed any concerns, so I'm assuming all is well. I'll get to start volunteering in his classroom at the start of October, which I'm really excited about.
Jane and Dan are in swimming lessons again and Janey had her first soccer game on Saturday. Man, that girl is darling. She was a little timid at first, but soon enough, she was running all over the field--looking back every now and again to revel in Camp's cheering for her. Soccer will have been a huge blessing if for nothing else, just as a reinforcement to Jane that Camp really does love her.
And guess what? I got to do a little decorating recently. Nothing big, but exciting still the same. My friend Kim is in the middle of moving and was getting rid of a bunch of stuff, so she gave me some fabulous contact paper that she was done with. At first, I considered covering the backs of my bookshelves with it, but because I'm not sure it wouldn't harm the wood, I decided to just cover some books instead. I know it is totally lame to not be able to read the titles of the books, but it sure looks good. By the way--have I ever posted pictures of my family room after having painted it blue? Well here it is. I swore I'd never decorate with blue, but I'm eating my words now. I can't seem to get enough of it--although I 'm still accessorizing in green and red. (By the way--these are the new toss pillows I'll be asking for for my birthday. What do you think?)

I had a showing the other day, so I decided to take some pictures while the pillows were still fluffed and the lines were still in the carpet. Those things don't last long, you know. Man, I love it when my house is clean. I almost want to just move out onto the porch.



Brian ran a half-marathon trail run on Saturday in the rain after having worked through the night like half the week, and he still kicked fanny big time. So big time that I didn't even make it to the finish line in time to cheer for and congratulate him. Yikes. And he's just signed himself up for a marathon trail run for the weekend of his birthday. Can you imagine running 26.2 miles of trails?! I think I'll grab my next opportunity to go through his truck for illegal stimulants. The guy's obviously lost his marbles.
So anyway....


It's a good thing I just previewed my post because I almost forgot to explain the title. We're having a boy"! Final score (most likely): boys--2, girls--2. Tie game.

Chapstick

Have you guys all seen Napolean Dynamite? A couple months ago I put it on for my kids to see what they would think of it. They loved it. Isn't that funny?! So they've watched it several times now....Well yesterday, out of the blue, Camp said to me, "Mom, will you bring me some Chapstick?"
"No, buddy, but you can go get it yourself," I replied.
"But my lips hurt real bad," he quoted in Napolean's voice. It wasn't until then that I realized that Camp didn't want Chapstick at all. He just wanted to engage me in a fun Napolean Dynamite dialog. I was totally impressed and laughed for a second before I replied (the best I could in Kip's voice),
"Just get some from the nurse. I know she's got a bunch of them in her drawer."
Camp finished it off right on target with
"I'm not using hers, you sicko!"

Oh, man. What a cool kid I have. That kid's got a memory just like his dad's. I couldn't believe his timing and wit.

Speaking of Camp--his first day of first grade is tomorrow and I'm totally stoked about it. I'm stoked for him and I'm stoked for me. I get to go with him tomorrow for the first couple hours, and I'm feeling like it's my first day of school all over again, too. I wish I had a cute new outfit to wear. Do you all remember all of your first days of school? I remember how exciting it was for me to get a few new outfits for school over the summer and although I would never officially wear them before the start of school, I would line them up on my bed nightly and try them on often... Over several years, most of our school shopping was done at the University Mall in Orem--during our visit to our Grandma Hatch's house. Later on, I remember getting stuff at Contempo. I remember this pair of navy blue Squeeze brand (is that what those things were?)shorts that had white and yellow daisies all over them. I loved them. They were just BARELY long enough to gain my mom's approval, and I wore them with a matching navy v-neck. I was thinking they'd change my life. They didn't.
I have so many memories of being so excited to get new clothes. I remember this one time in elementary school when I was lucky enough to have my mom take me to K-mart to get a new outfit. I chose this ruffly white skirt with stretch pants attached and a baby blue t-shirt. I kid you not--I was so excited to wear that outfit the next day at school that I did not sleep a wink that whole night. I felt sure people were not going to be able to take their eyes off me. Oh, boy...
All growing up, I spent ALL of my money on clothes--I never spent a dime on CD's or fast food or anything else. I just loved getting new clothes. When I worked at the GAP in the Fashion Show Mall my senior year, I'd go over to the neighboring hotel on pay day, cash my check, and head back into the store to spend it on clothes. I didn't make much money working there--or I didn't keep much money, rather. But I got new clothes a lot.
It's interesting how my shopping habits have changed over the years. These days, when I am lucky enough to have a little money to spend on myself, I almost always spend it on something decorative for the house. I care much more about how the house looks than I do about how I look. I would still love to look stylish, but I just don't have the money or time to realize that dream. I shouldn't say that. If I never bought anything for the house, I'd probably be able to dress a lot cuter. But it seriously baffles me when I see other mothers here in Florence who always dress stylishly, because I'm thinking, Aside from anything else, how in the heck are you able to find the opportunity to go shopping to buy those clothes when you have kids? Where are your kids when you are shopping? The few times I have attempted to shop with my kids, I have become so exhausted and overwhelmed so quickly that I've been lucky to get out with a new pair of sweats.
ANYWAY...I'm excited for tomorrow, new clothes or not.

Oh, just one more thing about clothes before I shut up about it, I promise. On Sunday at church, a friend of mine commented to me that her mom had commented to her (did you get that?), "Ann shouldn't wear that shirt she's wearing because it makes her look pregnant." So funny. Luckily for me, I AM pregnant....almost 20 weeks along. Yep. Luckily for me, I am pregnant... :)