JULY W.I.S.H. Challenge - Summer of Positive Change

[MickeyMom76]

HaHa welcome to the 16 year old twin club! Once you start teaching them to drive let me know who you think does better .... DD is taking to it very well - I feel quite comfortable with her and she seems to just listen, follow directions and correct quicker than her twin brother (and her older brother from when he learned) - for some reason my boys are both a bit more nervous about it and they don't respond to instruction as quickly resulting in me repeating and getting louder as I go (hehehe) - DS16 is not all that happy - he thought driving would be easier. Also, this is when it seems the friends in their groups have really stepped up the wanting to try alcohol. At least my two are talking to me and not trying to hide anything (unlike a few of their friends). Mine are in year 11 and so it is full steam ahead preparing for senior year and I don't know they have just taken a maturity turn the last few months (well... for some things anyway).

My son has seemed more confident, but he’s quick to speed up. My daughter is still hesitant and drives slow. But it’s only been 2 days. So we’ll see how that changes

 

[MickeyMom76]

Share something this week that you have been thankful for that fits with this message - did you just get lost in a moment, really found a positive experience or connection, laughed out loud at something or just loved a special moment either on your own or with someone else...

I have always enjoyed one-on-one car rides with my kids. I feel like those produce the best conversations. And this week provided a slightly different experience with them now having their learners permits. But the one-on-one time still provides great conversation. It also seems like it’s been a while since they’ve actually wanted me to teach them something. And bring a teacher and mom, this is of course something I am enjoying. So as much anxiety as teenagers with new driving privileges brings, I am thankful for the moments it provides for us to be together (my daughter even asked me to do a TikTok with her in a parking lot...while the car was safely parked of course).

My kids have always been very close with two of our neighbors families. But they both have girls the same age as my twins and then boys 3 years younger. So my son has always been very close with those boys. But starting high school this year has helped him develop friendships with some boys his age. He really struggled during the school shutdown and our county being in the red zone because he wanted to continue to see these friends. So I’m thankful to have moved to the green zone as it allowed him to spend time with 3 of his buddies for his birthday. And my moment if thanks is actually greeting them at our house as they have never been over. But had always been me dropping my son at their houses in the past.

My final moment is the one when those two close neighbor families gathered in my front yard fairly spontaneously for the girl to give my daughter her gift. It was a white painted wooden box with pictures glued all around it almost like a timeline of their friendship. Then 16 wrapped gifts in three different color coordinated wrapping papers with tags numbered 1-16. And the last one was a jar filled with memories writing on tiny slips off paper.

 

[MickeyMom76]

Good morning - It's Free for all Friday - share anything on your mind - I bet for many of you it is how you are celebrating the 4th of July this weekend...

We don’t really have any big plans for the 4th of July. I think most fireworks have been cancelled. We are about ready to start our kitchen renovation. My brother and dad came over to help move cabinets from the kitchen to the laundry room. Today my brother is coming back because he wants to put some cabinets in his basement. I’m trying to motivate myself to get up and go for a run right now...

 

[PollyannaMom]

I have always enjoyed one-on-one car rides with my kids. I feel like those produce the best conversations.

I've always thought it was because they don't have to look us in the eye. There's something about looking in the same direction instead that helps.

It was a white painted wooden box with pictures glued all around it almost like a timeline of their friendship. Then 16 wrapped gifts in three different color coordinated wrapping papers with tags numbered 1-16. And the last one was a jar filled with memories writing on tiny slips off paper.

That is so beautiful!!

 

[sjrec]

I have always enjoyed one-on-one car rides with my kids. I feel like those produce the best conversations. And this week provided a slightly different experience with them now having their learners permits. But the one-on-one time still provides great conversation. It also seems like it’s been a while since they’ve actually wanted me to teach them something. And bring a teacher and mom, this is of course something I am enjoying. So as much anxiety as teenagers with new driving privileges brings, I am thankful for the moments it provides for us to be together (my daughter even asked me to do a TikTok with her in a parking lot...while the car was safely parked of course).

My kids have always been very close with two of our neighbors families. But they both have girls the same age as my twins and then boys 3 years younger. So my son has always been very close with those boys. But starting high school this year has helped him develop friendships with some boys his age. He really struggled during the school shutdown and our county being in the red zone because he wanted to continue to see these friends. So I’m thankful to have moved to the green zone as it allowed him to spend time with 3 of his buddies for his birthday. And my moment if thanks is actually greeting them at our house as they have never been over. But had always been me dropping my son at their houses in the past.

My final moment is the one when those two close neighbor families gathered in my front yard fairly spontaneously for the girl to give my daughter her gift. It was a white painted wooden box with pictures glued all around it almost like a timeline of their friendship. Then 16 wrapped gifts in three different color coordinated wrapping papers with tags numbered 1-16. And the last one was a jar filled with memories writing on tiny slips off paper.

What lovely, thoughtful gifts!

I had to smile reading your posts about conversations in cars with your teens-I remember those moments with my daughter and now I have them with my grandson. It’s a 50 minute drive between our houses and we have had some wonderful discussions when it’s just the two of us in the car.

 

[sjrec]

We’re having a quiet weekend as well. Our Lions Club carnival was cancelled but they will set off fireworks tonight. We don’t plan on going to watch them. My husband has some work that has to be done by next week so we’re postponing our cookout with family until next weekend. I thought I might make this for us:

https://natashaskitchen.com/shrimp-avocado-salsa-recipe/

 

[sjrec]

 

[Summer2018]

My son has seemed more confident, but he’s quick to speed up. My daughter is still hesitant and drives slow. But it’s only been 2 days. So we’ll see how that changes

I give you so much credit teaching twins how to drive. Teaching my DD how to drive was one of the most stressful times during her childhood. I'm so glad that is behind me. It sounds like your experience is much better than mine, and that's wonderful...especially that one-on-one time. Practice makes perfect!

 

[Summer2018]

We will spend tomorrow in the pool and barbecuing for dinner. Today we are having thunderstorms all day, but tomorrow looks great, 80 degrees and sunny.

The neighbors have been setting off fireworks every night for weeks, so I'm sure they will go all out for the 4th of July. Hopefully it isn't too out of control. My neighbor two houses down lives next door to the family of a professional football player, and he has a huge blow-out every 4th with outrageous fireworks. She had a big mess on her roof and yard from it. I have a feeling that in spite of the pandemic, they will still have their annual party.

 

[Zhoen]

I am feeling moody, but being productive-ish anyway... it is 94 degrees outside, so we are hiding inside, and the house is sooooo too small for that day after day after day... today I have a lot of cooking to do before tomorrow... we are planning to do a potluck bbq in the evening with my sister and a niece or two outside at my married niece's house. My niece is doing hamburgers and hotdogs, but I am planning to bring my own low-fat hot dogs and use high-fiber bread instead of buns, and I am making a family recipe for vinegar cucumbers that is very low-cal... and after that, the virtue ends... I will have a bite of a lot of things, I'm sure, but hopefully nothing too extreme.

I am making brownies to take tomorrow, but probably won't eat those, since my sister said she is bringing watermelon. But I WILL have a little bit of the cobbler I am making today... it is my tradition to make it once a year when the raspberries and blackberries ripen here on the peninsula... depending on the year, it is usually more blackberries than raspberries because of the ripening cycles, but this year everything is a little off, so it's lots of raspberries I picked yesterday, a few early blackberries, and I will add some "cheater" frozen blackberries just to fill out the flavor. It's one of the little ways we mark the arrival of summer.

So along with that, I am spending some time cleaning and organizing the kitchen, which is a bit like sweeping back the tide with a broom... but I'll do it anyway Hopefully the cooking will improve my mood... It's hard to be grumpy when you're making blackberry cobbler...

So to catch up on yesterday, thankful for a peaceful morning yesterday gathering raspberries out in "my" secret spot, for the sunshine on the water, for years and years of good memories that surround this tradition.

... thankful my feet are feeling better, they've been really good this week which is such a relief.

So glad to hear it!

I am thoroughly enjoying “Christmas in July” on the Hallmark channels though!

Teehee, I was wondering how long it would take someone to mention that!

It was a white painted wooden box with pictures glued all around it almost like a timeline of their friendship. Then 16 wrapped gifts in three different color coordinated wrapping papers with tags numbered 1-16. And the last one was a jar filled with memories writing on tiny slips off paper.

That is so lovely!

 

[Oneanne]

We’re having a quiet weekend as well. Our Lions Club carnival was cancelled but they will set off fireworks tonight. We don’t plan on going to watch them. My husband has some work that has to be done by next week so we’re postponing our cookout with family until next weekend. I thought I might make this for us:

https://natashaskitchen.com/shrimp-avocado-salsa-recipe/

Oh, I like that recipe, I could easily substitute peaches for the tomatoes... might be one of my new recipes for the month!

 

[Oneanne]

So far today has been an odd day. I got up at 6am and did my grocery shopping, thinking the stores would be packed during the day with people getting ready for tomorrow. I came home and went back to bed until 10am and I think that's what has thrown everything off... it feels like it should be late afternoon but isn't even lunch time yet. I've got most of the things on my to-do list taken care of, I just have to mow the lawn and do some housework, but I'm ready for tomorrow, except to load up the car.

As I mentioned, I have this strange nostalgic heart tugging response to the 4th of July. I've never been able to figure out where it comes from as we certainly didn't go overboard when I was a kid, maybe picnic type food and sparklers, a couple times going to fireworks somewhere. I also have an attachment to all things colonial, so I think the connection runs deeper than childhood experiences. One of the neighborhood drives I do when I need to get out of the house is thru Old Burien and down around Three Tree Point, which is a beachy little onclave. When I drove thru during the week there were garlands and banners and buntings all around and it just made me so happy. The picture below must be from an actual 4th of July celebration, because normally there are very few people out and about, it is just residential. This year I'm trying to reconcile all the crappy stuff in our national history against the celebration of the 'birth' of the nation, so I'm glad it is going to be more low key and more about summer time at the beach with a nice meal and some nice conversations.

 

[Summer2018]

So far today has been an odd day. I got up at 6am and did my grocery shopping, thinking the stores would be packed during the day with people getting ready for tomorrow. I came home and went back to bed until 10am and I think that's what has thrown everything off... it feels like it should be late afternoon but isn't even lunch time yet. I've got most of the things on my to-do list taken care of, I just have to mow the lawn and do some housework, but I'm ready for tomorrow, except to load up the car.

As I mentioned, I have this strange nostalgic heart tugging response to the 4th of July. I've never been able to figure out where it comes from as we certainly didn't go overboard when I was a kid, maybe picnic type food and sparklers, a couple times going to fireworks somewhere. I also have an attachment to all things colonial, so I think the connection runs deeper than childhood experiences. One of the neighborhood drives I do when I need to get out of the house is thru Old Burien and down around Three Tree Point, which is a beachy little onclave. When I drove thru during the week there were garlands and banners and buntings all around and it just made me so happy. The picture below must be from an actual 4th of July celebration, because normally there are very few people out and about, it is just residential. This year I'm trying to reconcile all the crappy stuff in our national history against the celebration of the 'birth' of the nation, so I'm glad it is going to be more low key and more about summer time at the beach with a nice meal and some nice conversations.

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Beautiful photo.

I also have a sentimental view of the 4th. Growing up, it was always a big deal with picnics and family reunions. I used to watch the movie, "1776" every year and became very emotional. When I was little, we would picnic at home and watch fireworks around the lake across the street from my house. The fireworks were amazing reflecting over the water...not unlike Epcot. As I got older, we would go to the family beach cottage on Long Island Sound and would have a family reunion. Eventually the cottage was sold after my parents passed away, and we would stay home and enjoy the pool. When DD became a teenager, she would be invited to parties so it became even more low-key for us. This year will be the first year in about 8 years that she will celebrate at home with us. I do miss the family reunions, but things evolve over time. I guess that's why I love the fireworks at Disney so much, and going in July after the 4th, we get to watch the Electric Water Pageant on Bay Lake all done up for Independence Day.

 

[4Mickeys]

https://natashaskitchen.com/shrimp-avocado-salsa-recipe/

Yummy! I might try this next time I get a craving - over here we call shrimp - prawns - yesterday I got the craving when on my walk near the beach - so last night I had basically a big 'prawn cocktail' medium king prawns, avocado, home made sauce (mayo and ketchup mixed together - DD was horrified when she first saw me make this years ago - but once she tasted it she loved it lol) on a fresh crunchy bed of lettuce.

Slow start today - but I am determined to get some walking in after I drop the twins off to their work shifts at 2.30pm.

 

[4Mickeys]

Hello all, Happy 4th of July to my American friends

It's Social Saturday ... share one of your happiest 4th of July memories with us.​

 

[PollyannaMom]

It's Social Saturday ... share one of your happiest 4th of July memories with us.

The first time DS saw fireflies! We were in upstate NY, visiting family for the week. We went to a fireworks display, and we’re staking out blanket space waiting for the show to begin. As it got dark, the fireflies started coming out, and we don’t really have them around here, so he was fascinated.

The whole night was wonderful, as it was also a great memory with my Dad. My Mom was always the fireworks person when I was a kid, and he never really got into it, but for some reason that night he did. It was just really special all around.

 

[Summer2018]

The best ones were at the beach house, but the years meld altogether into one, so it is hard to distinguish between them. My favorite part of those days were watching the fireworks out on the jetty. We could see at least three towns' fireworks shows happening simultaneously.

Happy Independence Day!!!

 

[Summer2018]

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Hello all, Happy 4th of July to my American friends

It's Social Saturday ... share one of your happiest 4th of July memories with us.​

Do you have any holidays similar to our 4th of July? My cousin lives in Canada, and they just celebrated Canada Day.

 

[sjrec]

So many wonderful memories at the beach. This is the first year we have stayed home in a long time. Every other year our extended family from Texas comes over the holiday-those are the best years.

 

[sjrec]