Five on Friday!

Linking up for Five on Friday. Another week come and gone! Summer is supposed to be slow and easy - at least in my mind but it sure has not been slow or easy around here. Henry has been boycotting sleep of all types - one night he slept eight hours with a two hour party in the crib around 2 AM. Carl is swamped at work. Evie has had lots of change in one week between swim lessons, camp and Mama going to work. I have just been busy trying to keep it all together and not doing that great of a job. Life has a way of taking over without any notice. We are looking forward to a relaxing weekend.

 

Camp Sanity: Evie started summer camp this week and adores her teacher because her name is Miss Claire just like Evie Claire. Mama loves camp too because a little break does us all good! Henry was mad as a hornet that he did not get to stay at camp. Carl picked Evie up from camp on Tuesday and she was thrilled. Evie came running across the playground and leaped into his arms. Carl told me that made his week. Evie and Henry are attending a new school this fall so she is testing the waters with a few days of camp. It was wonderful to have two days with my favorite 23 month old.

Birds in the Garage: Our garage has been an eyesore for quite some time. Walking in there put me in a tizzy trying to navigate the sea of toys, tools and trash so I decided it was time for a clean-up day. Evie helped me drag everything out and I accomplished quite a bit of cleaning until a bird came flying in the garage. That bird was flying around like crazy, flapping his little wings. Birds have always seemed harmless to me until this one made it's way into my habitat. I opened both garage doors and took the kids on a walk. Then, the bird became stuck under the blinds in the window so I raised the blinds. I think that scared the bird so much that he decided to hang out on the window sill for three hours until finally gathering the courage to fly away.

Leaky Bathrooms: Carl and I are fortunate enough to be the proud owners of not one but two leaky bathrooms. We are so excited! It's been crazy trying to find someone, anyone that is willing to tackle this project because we do not really know the problem until pulling out the 1984 tile.  It all started with two wet spots on the carpet in our bathroom. Everyone wants carpet in their bathroom, right? Wet carpet is even better! Then, our Guest Bathroom Shower began leaking through the ceiling into the foyer. I have had nine people out here to give advice regarding what needs to be done because no one wants to touch this job with a 10ft pole. I just want someone to find the problem and fix it. Guest Bathroom is an easy fix but the Master Bathroom fix is all over the board. Three people think we have a shower pan problem, two people think it is a leak behind the tile, one person showed up wearing expensive shoes and designer clothes and he suggested that we gut the bathroom. Never trust a restoration company representative that is wearing Ferragamo loafers and looking like he just left the runway. I told Carl that is has been really weird hanging out in the bathroom with all these men especially the one that appeared to have just left the runway. Courtney's husband, Christian, offered us the best advice combined with the plumber that smells good - we have a temporary fix and no water is leaking. Evie told Ray that she had never met a plumber that smells good . That made us all laugh but his hands were super rough so that's a sure sign of knowledge in my book. Carl and I are planning to start researching tile and looking at bathroom designs because this temporary fix is guaranteed to last from a few weeks to a few years. I never imagined showering to become such an adventure. Evie has chosen plumbing as her career path because "we have not had any girl plumbers yet."

 

Swim Lessons: Evie began Boot camp Swimming Lessons this week and it has been a whirlwind of emotions for my sweet girl. It's a lot different than lessons in the comfort of our local YMCA. The pool is cold - frigid might be a more accurate term, tear-free is not part of the deal and there is absolutely no coddling. Not to mention that childcare for Henry is not an option and all parents are required to stay on deck. Did I mention there is no childcare for Henry? That means that I spend the entire lesson running around the perimeter of the pool attempting to prevent Henry from joining Evie in the pool. These lessons have been great for Evie. Monday she hated it and cried all the way home, "I do not like these lessons. Girl's need girl teachers for swimming. Taylor is my teacher not Brandon." Then Tuesday and Wednesday were great with lots of progress including floating and big smiles. Thursday was horrific according to Carl and the babysitter, Stephanie. Evie was not thrilled to put her face in the water and let everyone know it. It really is true that learning to swim is a journey and even with tears - she has to learn to swim even if it involves every afternoon at the Boot camp Swim Lessons. Between swimming and camp - Evie has been exhausted at bedtime.

Meal Swap Monday: Nap time on Monday was spent in the kitchen. I made Shrimp and Grits for 5 families and was pleasantly surprised that it was much easier than assembling a casserole. Evie served as my sous chef and Henry kindly slept through the meal prep. Someone brought us Shrimp and Grits when Henry was born and I loved it especially since they prepared it dairy free since that was my diet at the time. Shrimp and Grits do not freeze or keep well so everyone knew that they needed to plan to eat these within a day or two. Everyone made delicious meals, the lettuce wraps were my favorite - so healthy and perfect for a summer supper on a hot day. Best part of a meal swap is having a variety of meals to fill in the gaps on busy weeks. 

That's my Five on Friday. Happy Weekend, y'all!