s is for strawberries

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

Sunday morning Ryan had work to do around the house so the boys and I loaded up and headed off to The Apple Works, an apple orchard, pumpkin patch, strawberry field, and so much more, a short drive south of us. I had never been strawberry picking before and neither had the boys.  It. Was. Hot. But we had fun anyway.

They were serious about finding the very best berries, dark red from top to bottom. I was disappointed after driving to the top of the hill to find that there was no one there passing out any type of container to fill.  Luckily, the boys had snacked on pretzels in the car and we still had their plastic storage bags handy.

Is this a good one, mom?

Poor Dex, his little face goes bright red as soon as he gets in the sun (from heat, not sunburn). 

They were entertained by the hunt and the picking until their baggies were about half full.  They wandered around, enjoying their freedom, while I continued filling the bags.  Isn’t it sweet how Dexter’s never far behind Theo?  Well, on this day it was.  It’s not always. Ha. 

After we were done picking, we drove back down the hill and parked at the store. We paid for our berries and I got the boys a small bottle of sweet apple cider.  They chugged it on the porch of the store and enjoyed a cool breeze and some shade.  Perfect moment in time.

The berries are small but you’ll never taste one sweeter.  So delicious. 

It was a fun mommy, son, and son date that I won’t forget.  Making memories with these boys of mine – that’s what it’s all about.  I think this might have to be a new annual family tradition. But next time we’ll take Daddy. 🙂

xo,
~C~

theo: your next american idol?

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

Saturday night we went to Mrs. Curl after dinner.  One of our favorite summer treats. It was hot out and we expected it to be busy. We were correct.

What we didn’t anticipate was karaoke on the patio.  While we waited in the very long line, we heard what sounded like, I don’t know, a cat dying?  Faintly accompanied by “Let it Go” music in the background. While we ate our treats and watched kids sing a few songs, Theo decided that he wanted to “sing Star Wars.” What he meant was he wanted to sing “duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh” (etc) to the tune The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme). The girl running the karaoke walked around asking for last requests and Theo perked up and said he wanted to sing Star Wars.  Ryan was shaking his head no, afraid that Theo would be embarrassed (or maybe embarrassing) and I shook my head yes. What’s the harm in it?  I figured, if he has the confidence to get up there, I’m not going to squash it.

He had fun too, despite his grumpy looking face.

I went to throw away our trash and when I turned back around, Theo was on stage — but wait.  What was that familiar tune once more?  Apparently at the last second, he asked the girl if he could sing “Frozen.”  So Let it Go played for the 14th time and he stood there smiling and holding a microphone. And not singing. But so proud of himself.

Halfway through, the girl squatted down on the stage with him and sung along. Theo did start singing and it was about the cutest thing.

I felt like he was on the stage of American Idol and just made it through to Hollywood.  I was just proud of his confidence and willingness to do something outside of the box.

That night, while I was snuggling with him at bedtime, we talked about all the fun things we had done that day.

Me:  What was the best part of the whoooole day?  Was it going to the splash pad? Our picnic at the park? Eating those tomatoes from the Farmer’s Market?  Or was it eating outside and telling stories at dinner time?  Maybe that steak and baked potato you liked so much?  Going for ice cream after dinner? Or was it throwing rocks in the creek after ice cream?

Theo:  Getting on the stage to sing was the best part of the whooooole day!

Me: Ohhh! Yes, that was fun, wasn’t it?! I am so proud of you for doing that, you know it?

Theo: Why, mama?

Me: Because it’s hard for people to do stuff like that sometimes.

Theo: Did you ever sing on a stage?

Me: No. Not by myself.

Theo: You should do it sometime because it’s really fun.

Me: Oh, honey…I don’t know.  I think I would be too shy!

Theo: It’s okay, mama. If you get scared, I will come stand beside you and help you.

And then my heart burst into 38 million tiny bits. I love him.

xo,
~C~

memorial day weekend 2014

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

We traveled down to Tennessee to see my mom for the long Memorial weekend. In the couple of days leading up to the trip, I started dreading the drive there and back, assuming I-65 and I-75 would be jam-packed with other travelers. Luckily it wasn’t too bad and we made good time going both ways.

We got there late Friday night. First thing on my agenda for Saturday was to drop off my rings to get that missing diamond replaced.  I am getting them sized down and a couple other little things done so I’ve been without them for a week now. Feels like part of me is missing! Can’t wait to get them back on my finger, fitting and looking better than ever. Nothing like an extreme close-up of your wrinkles to get you feeling really old…

My mom runs the office at a propane gas company and they just moved into their beautiful new facility so we were excited to get the full tour. 

Afterwards, we went to the duck pond to feed the ducks and geese, then played for a bit before going to grab some lunch at my favorite local /small chain restaurant, Petro’s. A must-do attraction EVERY time I’m in town. The boys were melting down by the time we ate lunch so I wasn’t in the mood to try to take pics of that delicious meal.

Ready to feed the duckies!

The rest of the day was perfect for relaxing at my mom’s and decorating a cake with jelly beans. 

Sunday we ate at another of my favorite local restaurants. Why am I so obsessed with food?
After lunch, we just went to the mall and Target. Typical Sunday, regardless of where we are, right?  We’d actually planned on going to a cute park but it started to rain just as we left Riverview Grill.  Rats. 
I didn’t take many pictures on Sunday. We spent the evening hanging out at mom’s. Coloring. Eating. Watching TV.  See, typical Sunday!
Monday – Memorial Day – we took another shot at that park and it was a great time to go. There was almost no one there when we got there around 10am.  

After playing, we grabbed lunch at yet another local delight by the interstate – Harrison’s Grill. One of those experiences that exceeds every expectation. Good prices, great food. Everyone loved their meal. The boys behaved and cleaned their plates.  After only eating so-so all weekend, I was glad to see them get some goodness in their bellies before the long drive home.  We ended a great, albeit short, trip on a good note and hit the road to get back home. 
xo,
~C~