Good day!

Clayton's appointment went well. Apart from us being there two hours, that is. It looks like the artery is growing with him so the doctor was happy with that. It looked better than last year's echocardiogram.

It rained all day. Ugh! The garden is going crazy and the temperature has been cool. Last night, Pete was really hot and insisted we turn on the air. Usually, he makes fun of me when I complain it's too hot. Hmmm. Funny, how things are different when it involves the man being uncomfortable.

So today was the last day of the kids' art camp at the university. There was a reception with all the works displayed. We both went to see the art and the kids were very proud (as so were we). Kendall made a self portrait that was really good! Clayton was in the pottery/clay class and made some fun things. The best thing he made was a small colander. Yes, my five year old son made a colander. The teachers thought he was hilarious and they never knew what he would make next.

Kendall--a self portrait


a little Jackson Pollack action

After the reception, I had to run to the grocery store. I was in the mood for poached salmon. Friday is a good day to buy fish at Wegman's. Anyway, the dinner was yummy and the hubby scarfed it up. Clayton ate the salmon, too. Kendall had some Chinese food I bought at the grocery store. Oh well.

I ended up buying some roses at the store. I was just happy and thought the flowers would be a nice touch to dinner. BTW, I'm loving the new dishes from IKEA. I just feel like cooking and setting a pretty table every night. :)

I had a great day today. Seems like I'm getting more organized in the house with the kids in art camp for half a day. Gosh, to think that in September, I'll have the house all to myself during the day. Lookout! I may paint the whole house before Christmas. Yeah, right.

Tomorrow, Clayton has his annual cardiology appointment to check the left pulmonary artery stenosis. I hope it's no worse (which means no intervention). Kendall will go to a friends for the morning because it would be very boring for her to wait around the doctor's office with us. The pediatric cardiologist always runs late. He is a very nice guy, however, so it's hard to be grumpy with him. I've been very lucky with my kids and doctors. For the most part, my kids are very cooperative when it comes to other adults in charge.

I better go to bed for now and get some rest. Tomorrow is my last afternoon of no kids. I keep thinking I will nap in the afternoon but I always find things to do.

OK, I can be opinionated sometimes...

This is not a political blog, but occasionally, I will post something that has to do with what's going on up at the hill. Today, I was listening to NPR when I heard that Sotomayor was confirmed for the Supreme Court. I'll be honest, I haven't kept up with her credentials or anything, so I don't have an opinion whether or not she's qualified. Plus, I'm not a lawyer so what the heck do I really know about law? Anyhoo, I can't believe that only one Republican senator confirmed Sotomayor. That is shameful. Only one broke with party lines and it was Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina. I get so sick of the politicians that I could scream. I'm sick of the partisan politics. It's time they work together. And the party wonders why people are leaving. Hello? You act like a bunch of toddlers up there all trying to get your way and forgetting why you are there! Grow up! Please don't make me register as a Democrat! Come on, Republicans in Washington. It's time to represent most of the people in your party and not the way too far conservative. OK, moving on.

You know that my kids are taking private swim lessons right now. Well, I'm so proud of both of them, but Kendall really took the cake today. She finally has got it. She was swimming and swimming and floating and treading. It was great. Clayton is still trying to put things together. He likes to splash. OK, it's not that efficient, but I'm sure he hasn't figured that out yet.

And tonight, I made a peach cobbler for dessert. It was pretty darn good, if I have to say so myself. I think this is one of my faves when it comes to dessert. I like it with some vanilla ice cream. Oh, and I bought some new dishes while I was in DC this past weekend. I just love IKEA and wish there was one in my town. Anyway, I got plain white dishes and I just love them. Yep, I'm in love with my new dishes.
I made a Caprese salad and I thought it looked so beautiful with the white plate. Traditionally, it is with red tomatoes but I thought the orange tomatoes were pretty. The salad has the colors of the Italian flag when you use red tomatoes. (Red, white, green).

Happy evening, y'all!

JK Wedding Entrance Dance

This will make you smile! Enjoy!

Where does the time go?

The kids have been in art camp this week. It's an afternoon camp from 1 to 4 pm. The first few days were spent running errands during that time. Today, I decided to come back home and do stuff around the house. It was really nice being in a quiet house, with the exception of the puppy sticking her nose in my rear end every time I turn around. In fairness to her, I was preparing a broccoli salad to go with dinner and I think she was trying to snag some food. But, after a while, it does get old. Anyway, time flies by.

The weather has been pretty crappy here, too. I really need some sunshine. It seems like it rains every day or every other day. One is not supposed to wear a long sleeve shirt in summer! And I'm so pasty white, it's embarrassing. Part of that is because I was on some medicine that makes me sensitive to sunlight and the fact that there hasn't been sunlight here.

Well, I need to do some packing. The kids and I are heading to DC to see an old high school friend and her kids this weekend. We always have a good time there. Pete will take care of the dogs and cat and hopefully build a tree house for the kiddos. He was going to go with us but is doing some sort of interview on the Penn State radio and won't get done until later on Friday afternoon. So, we're heading out without him.

And speaking of trips. Did I mention that I'm going to Paris in September? My sister and her husband rented an apartment for a few days and I'm staying with them for a bit. Yeehaw. I can't wait to do the touristy thing in Paris. I went with my in-laws once, and I hardly saw anything that a tourist would enjoy. My husband has been there several times and wouldn't let me go up the Eiffel Tower! So, my sister and I are planning on doing all that neat stuff. Heck, I might even wear white sneakers and talk really loud, too. :)