A Mid Summer's Night

Lately I've been feeling like I've been saying "no" way to often to my children. "Don't do that." "Sean would you stop climbing the furniture?" "Hey Meredith could you not climb the couch?" "OMG Can I just finish one cup of coffee or goto the bathroom without a crisis breaking out?" "Could you both just knock it off for one minute?" Many moms & dads out there know what I'm talking about. The constant movement and sound of children is enough to wear even the most seasoned of parents out.

I've felt bad though. They're not being bad. They're just being kids. They don't care that I'd just like one day where everyone cooperates, no one pulls anyone's hair, the living room stays clean & I get to drink a cup of coffee while it's still relatively hot.

So when I asked Meredith what she wanted for dinner tonight and she said, "ice cream" leaning over to the side half expecting me to say, "no", but fully wanting me to say, "yes"; I couldn't resist.

Ice cream for dinner. It's something you can only get away with in the summer. When the evenings are longer and the weather is warmer (need a better excuse to eat cold ice cream?).

So off we went to meet Rob for "dinner".





There is totally a reason we get ice cream in a cup for Sean & hand him an empty cone. Just saying'





And then it was time for dessert. A run through the fountain/splash pad was just what the "mean mommy" ordered. There's nothing that screams summer to me more than running through the sprinklers. It's very "urban".





And I beam with pride that Meredith is getting over her fear of water.







Sean got in the action too. Rob showed him he could play in the water and he promptly got sprayed right in the face from an unexpected shot of water. Oops.



Yeah yeah.... they can't all be clear. At least I caught his hand in the water. 



The real reason Sean's not walking 100% yet.



Of course as soon as the boogying really got started......





A storm rolled in. The sky billowed with fluffy white clouds and blue skies.



Off in the distance the "Nothing"  rolled in like we were in The Neverending Story. It was complete with rolling thunder and everything.



And the ride home was interesting. At one point I was unable to see in front of me because the rain was falling down in sheets. The wind kicked up and looked like we were caught in a funnel.

Yes I was at a full & complete stop



We made it home & I realized that amongst the mayhem that was our yard.... We were missing an umbrella that was in the stand.



It was in the driveway next door wrapped around (1/2 way underneath) our neighbor's car.