Bring on the summer drinks!

I am a fan of tasty summery alcoholic drinks.

Can I get a woo-hoo?

I wanted to share a few that are just plain awesome and remind me of the outstanding friendships I have with some amazing women.


This first one has a story behind it. Beth posted about it back in February '07 and she has a way with words, so for the full story go here. But this drink is from a bar in South Bend, Indiana. I actually called this bar 2 months after our party night to find out how they made the drink. I found recipes online, but it just wasn't the same.



"Sex on the Beach"
* 1 cup Malibu rum
* 1 cup vodka
* 1 cup peach schnapps
* 1 cup OJ
* 1 cup cranberry juice
* 1/2 cup pineapple juice

The next fruity concoction is from my dear friend Amanda. We've had some fun memories while drinking this sangria, some of which included a pogo ball. You're never too old to bounce on a pogo ball. Don't let anyone tell you any differently. And one warning about this drink - watch out for any stems that might still be on the fruit. They're not fun to swallow. Trust me.














"Peach Iced Tea Sangria"
* peach iced tea powdered mix
* 4 cups water
* 1 cup OJ
* 1 cup vodka
* 1/2 cup apricot or peach brandy
* small pkg. frozen mixed berries (slightly defrosted)
Combine ingredients and allow to sit overnight.

And the last drink I bring you is from the parents of my childhood friend, Jennifer. Her mom would make these awesome slushes and we would taste test them. Once I was old enough, (wink) I began making them. So if you like a frozen sweet drink, this one's for you.


"Apricot Brandy Slushes"
* 3 tea bags
* 2 cups boiling water
Boil for 5 minutes, then add:
* 2 cups sugar
* 5 cups water
Stir until dissolved, then add:
* 12 oz. frozen lemonade
* 12 oz. frozen orange juice
* 2 cups apricot brandy
Freeze. Makes 40 servings. (Woo-hoo!)

Party time! Enjoy!

Mr. Independents

It's been quieter than normal around here these past 5 days. That could be due to the fact that Taylor went on his first camping trip with his best friend. And that means one less bored child to sit around the house and complain that there's nothing to do besides nit-pick with his brothers. I do miss him and am very thankful that he is returning home this evening.

This morning there was another round of 'too quiet', you know the type that instantly makes you know that something is going on that most likely shouldn't be. (We have lots of those moments in our household.)

Hubby was out the door at 5 am and Luke awoke slightly thereafter. It was incredibly too early to start the day, so I brought him in bed with me and we fell back asleep. Or so at least I thought we did. I know for a fact I sure did. I was in the middle of a dream which happened to be about Luke playing with my makeup and smearing it all over our garage when I instantly woke up and sat straight up in bed. I look over next to me and there is no Luke. So I jump out of bed, trip over Carson who is asleep on the floor (nothing new there) and stumble into the kitchen where I see the back door wide open. I run out and hope to see him in the backyard, but no, he's not there and the gate is wide open. Oh crap. It's 6:30 in the morning on garbage day and my 3 year old is somewhere outside beyond the safe boundaries of our fenced in yard. I run around to the front of the yard and in the back of my mind I am hoping there are no neighbors out to see my crazed-manic self in PJ's and wild bed head.

And there he was. That little turd went across the street and was getting the newspaper! Thank the Lord there were no cars around. This is the reason I still have child locks on my doors and locks on my gates. They were not engaged - obviously.

Is a three year old supposed to be this independent this early on? He even dresses himself, uses the potty on his own, gets his own snacks, prepares his toothbrush and does a pretty good job of brushing his teeth by himself. Sometimes it's alarming, such as this morning's episode. And add to it Carson's newest thing, which is to take a shower the first thing when he wakes up in the morning. He's 5 people. It's not normal, but I'll try not to complain too much.

I want my boys to be independent, but dudes, slow it down. Let me still have some Mommy duties, seriously!

Cute comic - Pickles

Every once in awhile I get around to reading the comics in the Sunday paper. I clipped this particular one a few years ago and I giggle every time I read it. (You may need to click on the picture to increase the size.) Enjoy.

A busy little bee I am

I think I've come to the conclusion that I like reading blogs more than I like updating my own. (Although I did add a new profile picture, you like?)

Have you noticed that lately? It's been a bit quiet in this corner of the blogosphere.

Summer tends to slow down my computer habits and it finds me outside quite a bit. I can be found lounging at the beach with the boys, lounging in the backyard by the fire pit, lounging in the grass watching the boys ride their bikes. Lounging has been the activity of choice for me, and I must say I am enjoying it thoroughly.

I haven't been that much of a slacker even though it sounds like it. I took my working out habits up a notch. Last week alone I took a total of 14 group exercise classes of which 9 were cardio/high impact aerobics and the other 5 were strength training classes. I decided to take the day off on Sunday. My husband deserved a little of my face time especially it being Father's Day and all. We even managed to have a date night this past week.

See, I have been busy.

And the countdown is on until our moving day. Only 12 days until the moving truck and moving men get here. It's unreal how fast this month is going. I am trying to cram in as many things as I can before we leave the area. Such as the working out, an actual date with my husband having my parents babysit, daily swim lessons for Carson, everyone getting their final haircuts, Taylor having an early b-day/going away sleepover party, girls night outs of which I have 3 more planned, and even a concert in Chicago on Thursday night with a group of good friends. There is so much excitement and activity. It all helps keep my mind occupied so I don't dwell on the fact that I am moving away from everyone and everything I've ever known. Ugh!

I need to go organize something now before my mind shifts moods.

A rude wake-up call

Today is the first day of summer for us. School officially ended yesterday for my oldest, therefore we begin summer break. Taylor spent the night at a friends house and Jason is out of town so it was just the two younger boys and I.

My two early risers were not in the house and I was pumped to be able to sleep in with no distractions. Little did I know how wrong that thinking was.

First off, little Luke wakes up crying at 5 AM and is soaked with pee. I rinse him off and have him hop into bed with me hoping and praying he will be able to fall back asleep. Not of course without his "bunny" milk, which is what he has every morning when he gets up, except that this was 2 hours before he should be up. Either way, he didn't care and wasn't going to settle until his bunny milk was served.

Just to clarify "bunny" milk is chocolate milk made with Nesquik, you know the cute bunny that's pictured on the container. It's a term that began with Carson and has stuck.

So we all settle back into bed and begin to drift back to sleep. It's wonderful. Until I hear the sound of a chain saw - at 6:45 AM! Who the heck cuts down a flippin' tree that early in the morning? Seriously! I turn up the fan to try and drown out the noise, but it's pointless, the sawing continues and then is replaced by the sound of chopping and sawing. If I didn't know better you would think Noah was out there building his ark. And this neighborhood I live in doesn't have full mature trees, so I wonder what was being cut and chopped, firewood perhaps? But couldn't that wait until most normal people are awake for the day, say 9 AM? I would have even settled for 8 AM.

So in between the sounds of construction my mind seems to drift off yet my body still feels awake. It's a very strange in between place to be where your dreams seem very real. I was dreaming about being chased by a deranged Gothic pierced and tattooed person with a chain saw. It was so pleasant.

And during that sleeping but not really sleeping phase I somehow knew the phone was going to ring. Sure enough, a minute or so later my phone rings and I am completely awake.

Completely irritated and completely awake. Is it nap time yet?