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About Table for Five:
First there was me and my husband, and then there were two wonderful sons. And then there was a new baby coming! One day, we walked into a restaurant, and the waitress asked how many? I said, table for four, please. Then I turned to my husband and said, when the baby comes, we'll need to ask for a table for five. And the rest, as they say, is history. I hope you enjoy my posts, reviews, photos, and giveaways!
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I have so many photos that I haven’t posted to Flickr or in a post here, and today seems like a good day for some photos. These are from last month, when Ryan had a friend sleep over and we decided to make S’mores. Since you can’t light a campfire inside the city, we use our barbecue grill and small twigs and branches from the neighbor’s tree. It works really well:
Nathan shows off his yummy creation. For anyone reading this who isn’t familiar with s’mores, it’s a treat made with two graham crackers, a toasted marshmallow, and a square of Hershey’s Chocolate. Ours were made with dark chocolate, which you must try if you are a dark chocolate lover. Some people like to just barely warm the marshmallow in the fire, others like to cook them until the outsides blacken. It’s a personal preference:
It was Kaitlyn’s first S’more:
We had sparklers left over from Fourth of July, so we let Kaitlyn have one for a minute:
She was so careful with it, and fascinated by it:
It was the kind of night that really makes a summer special, sparklers and s’mores and friends sleeping over. Good times.
Carly Schroeder, who starred in this summer’s soccer hit “Gracie” has a new movie called “Eye of the Dolphin” opening today. Schroeder plays 15 year old Alyssa, who has been living with her Grandma since her Mother’s death, and who is expelled from school in Los Angeles. Her Grandma sends her to the Bahamas to live with the father she has never known, a dolphin researcher, who has no time for parenting a teenager, and who is fighting greedy politicians who want to turn his research station into a tourist attraction.
Alyssa feels alone and unwanted until she befriends an orphaned wild dolphin and discovers that she shares her father’s gift for communicating with dolphins. It is ultimately Alyssa and her dolphin friend who bring together her father and the politicians together. “Eye of the Dolphin” is a family movie written by 3 time Emmy winner Wendell Morris, and it is for all ages, although it is probably most appealing to tween and teen girls. You can win tickets to see the movie by entering at http://www.eyeofthedolphin.net/contests before August 26th (this Sunday). The website also has information about the cast, a photo gallery, and the trailer, which I have here for you to watch:
I don’t have tween or teen girls, and I think I would like this movie!
Last night at around 6:45 p.m., a storm blew through Lansing. The wind knocked a tree branch down that fell on the power lines that power my neighborhood, the neighborhood across the street, and the businesses on the main road a few blocks away. The boys were with my Dad and Jean having a movie/Funtyme Arcade/Dinner date, and at 6:45 p.m. it’s still light out, so that was okay. We located half a dozen pillar candles, Chris went around the house unplugging things, and we sat out on the front porch. Chris put Kaitlyn in her wagon a/k/a the “bus” and walked down to the corner to watch the men fixing the power lines, I walked up and down the sidewalk with her while she pushed her little scooter. Tra la la, no big deal.
By 9:30 p.m. the power still wasn’t on, and Kaitlyn was worn out, so we put her to bed in her non-lit by night light, no-fan-blowing room. Fortunately she went to sleep anyway. Chris and I sat on the couch and talked, and I read most of a book by candlelight. I could have used his Treo to at least email the client I was on the phone with when the power went out, but the Treo’s battery was almost dead. And by the way, why does it take a power outage to remind me that we should keep an extra cordless phone battery on hand as well? No power=no charger to keep the cordless phone battery running.
At 11:00 p.m. I couldn’t see well enough to read anymore so Chris and I went to bed and tried to get comfortable despite the heat, the lack of a fan blowing, and our loud neighbors who were apparently having a great time in the dark.
At midnight, the power came on, including the overhead light in our bedroom, and the downstairs television, which was turned up to full volume. We got up, turned everything off, but turned ON our bedroom fan, the boys’ fan and the air conditioning, and then went back to sleep.
4:00 a.m., power off. Kaitlyn started crying. I got up, changed her diaper, and tried to lay her back down. She wrapped her legs around my waist and wouldn’t let go. Our bed really isn’t big enough for three to sleep comfortably, so I laid down with her on our couch. We tossed and turned for half an hour until I gave up and put her back in her crib, steeling myself to ignore the crying. She went to sleep.
5:30 a.m., power on. Chris got up to check the time and re-set his alarm clock.
7:00 a.m. phone rings-Chris has overslept, he must have turned off his TWO alarms in his sleep. He bolts out of bed. I go back to sleep, and wake up at 9:00 a.m.
Stupid power outage. Stupid darkness.
This review is of a U.K. credit card comparison site, so I hope my U.K. readers are here! CardGuide is a website that helps consumers compare, choose, and apply for credit cards. With school starting up again, many students are looking for ways to finance tuition, books, supplies, and other items, and credit cards are a popular option. It’s a good idea to look for a low interest credit card so as not to get hit with high fees. CardGuide has a page of cards that offer an introductory 0% rate on purchases and balance transfers. There is also a page for cards that give cash back, cards that offer rewards for purchases (offers for the U.K. only), and low rate cards. The site is easy to navigate and is a great way to compare credit cards before choosing one.
Head throbbing. Feel clammy. Stomach churning. Back of neck aching. Friends, I am sick. Don’t get too close to your monitor while you’re reading this, I’d hate to get you sick too. I’m going to bed and it’s 3:00 in the afternoon. Thank god for responsible ten year old sons who can take care of their siblings until Dad gets home.
Hopefully I’ll be better tomorrow and have something to say, until then, I’d love it if you would click this link and read my interview on P.R. firm MS&L’s blog BlogWorks. I’ve been working with MS&L for over a year, and this summer, they launched a blog. Charlie, my contact at the company, asked if he could publish my answers to some questions about blogging. After publishing my answers, he emailed me and called the post “Mommyblogging 101″. Enjoy.