Sunday Morning

Shots from a random Sunday morning:

Swimming Lessons

Lauren and Grace

For the last two weeks, the duo have been going to the pool every day for swimming lessons.  William George attended the first day and proceeded to throw a series of temper tantrums unlike anything seen to date.  George is in that phase where he cries to get in the water (which we did) and then immediately cries to get out of the water (which we also did).  Unfortunately, he then wants to cycle in/out of that sequence repeatedly.  Since I am not a big fan of the public hysteria, we decided to curtail the pool, and then George decided to throw himself down on the concrete several times.  A very kind lady who had just completed water aerobics walked over (and that alone is huge because, for all of the "enjoy every minute" talks you get from people, no one will come within three feet of you if you are having issues with your children in public) to ask me if I knew where the baby pool was.  That was helpful because a) I didn't know and b) that led us to the playground where we at least had a few moments of George not threatening to strike his head against the hot concrete.

The Class

Anyrate.  All of that to say that William George's attendance was short-lived, and the duo and I attended lessons alone while George spent some quality time with Skip's parents. On a related note, his behavior at the pool does not bode well for his swimming lessons next month.

Lauren, George and Grace

Anonymous classmate, Grace and Lauren

The duo, on the other hand, had a blast.  After warming up at the beach and at camp, they were receptive to learning more of the technical aspects of swimming, i.e., how to breathe, etc.

Grace

Gracie, with her long legs, had the most powerful kicks in the class.  Lauren compensated by listening intently and following all instructions to the letter.  Our little rule follower even declined to get in the whirlpool after reading that children six and under are not allowed.  Even after I coaxed her a little, pointing out she's just three months away from being seven and has been in hot tubs many times, she still said, "No! The sign says six and under not allowed!" (She acquired that admirable trait from her father.)

The class

Grace

We will probably take another class later in the summer, but we want to spend a few weeks letting them practice what they have learned so far and to have some recreation time.

Grace and Lauren

Check out their form:

Swim Lessons from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.

We'll be contacting Bob Bowman for coaching soon.  :)

Cook's Illustrated

Years ago a copy of Cook's Illustrated fell into my hands.  This cooking magazine reads like the researchers and writers at Consumer Reports decided to hang out in Martha Stewart's cooking studio for a while.  Cook's Illustrated was created by Christopher Kimball and released its first issue in 1993.  The magazine, like all of the projects stemming from that initial endeavor (e.g., Cook's Country, America's Test Kitchen is a very serious and disciplined approach to cooking (but also very guaranteed to deliver spot-on results).  In Kimball's own words, he set out to make recipes bulletproof after having identified most home cooks' impediments of 1) being haunted by a fear of failure and 2) not following recipes to the letter.  Having tried many of his recipes throughout the years, he accomplished his goal.

Because the magazine does not rely on advertising or insulting product placement, the subscription is a little pricey.  However, CI recently released The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook containing 2,000 recipes over the last 20 years for the reasonable price of $28.00.  (If you are a subscriber to the America's Test Kitchen newsletter, you received the offer for $24.00.) Give it a look.

Visit the Cook's Illustrated website here, and you can read about the interesting Kimball here.  My favorite part is a former editor describing Kimball's awkwardness by saying, "Maybe he doesn't say hello to you in the hall the first two years, but who else is going to let you run up a $1,000 meat tab to make ribs?"

Enumerated Update

Happy Monday, friends! How was your weekend?

Here's the story with us on this fine morning:

1)  Deleterious Neglect: This poor site has been somewhat neglected so far this summer. Lindsey Twins is a little like my fourth child and is the space I rely on to preserve our daily happenings.  Plus, you all have filled the space previously occupied by my coworkers. While you may be bashful about commenting, your e-mails always make my day.

I had hoped to organize a Monday, Wednesday, Friday posting schedule for summer, but instead posting has been all over the map.  We have been really busy since school ended, and I haven't had the camera in hand all that much.  Since I want to have our summer documented, efforts will be redoubled to have some regularity with posting (M-W-F?). How does that sound?

2)  Instagram: So last week Instagram added video to its site, and users can now upload 15 seconds of video.  I understand about storage limitations, but am I the only one who thinks 15 seconds is inadequate? Artistically, I understand the whole less-is-more concept, and I realize I bring a complete inability to edit/curate to the table.  But 15 seconds is not a lot.

30? Can we lobby for 30?

3) Cancellations: I have tremendous guilt and anxiety about one of my little peccadilloes.  Very infrequently, I will cancel a physician appointment if said appointment creates a conflict with another inflexible calendar item.  This probably sounds bad, but as Skip points out, people cancel every day and other people try to get "worked in" every day. The whole thing cancels out.

This year we have made swimming lessons an absolute priority.  We need to nail down swimming once and for all, and all other activities are taking a backseat to swim lessons.  Therefore, when I noticed a conflict with a routine appointment, I decided to cancel.

For me, calling the office to inform that you cannot confirm the appointment is analogous to calling off from work with a flimsy excuse.  Ugh.  It's simply unthinkable.

"No, I'm sorry, we won't be able to make it."
"..."
"Can we reschedule?"
"Well, we can't get you in for quite a while." [Insert passive/aggressive maneuvering here.]
"I understand, and that will be fine."
"The only thing I have is [many weeks away] at 8:00am."
"Fine." [Of course that's all you have.]

Ugh.  

4) Target Stop Sign: So you know how the Target store front is set up? Stop signs are positioned on either side of the street passing in front of Target, creating an enormous crosswalk for customers entering and exiting Target, correct? Stop signs, as in all traffic stops (whether there are pedestrians or not) and then yields for any crosswalk foot traffic.

Friends, nothing makes me want to channel my inner Nancy Botwin more than when drivers fail to stop and/or refuse to yield.

5) 6/30: The Feed + Target collaboration is available on June 30th. 

FEED's mission is described as:

FEED Projects' mission is to create good products that help FEED the world. We do this through the sale of FEED bags, bears, t-shirts, and other accessories by building a set donation into the cost of each product. Thus the impact of each product, signified by a stenciled number, is understandable, tangible, and meaningful.
Read about the collaboration here, and preview the collection here.

6) Millennials: Know any 20-somethings who are currently navigating early adulthood? This book is full of practical advice.  For those of us past that decade, the book probably reads like a flashback. 


How was your first weekend of summer? What's happening with you today?

Friday's Quote

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


Today's quote is in honor of our friend, Ms. Jennifer Sharp, who was taken from us unexpectedly this week.  Ms. Jennifer worked in the infant nursery at our church and took care of the girls and, later, George.  We will miss her terribly.

Mickey Mouse Decorations

At the beginning of last year's school year, we received a note home about three opportunities to help with the (rather large) kindergarten class.  Of course, there was the room mom position, and they were looking for a room mom helper and a volunteer.  I responded by saying that I was sure there was tremendous interest with helping in a room mom capacity, and therefore, I would be glad to help out either as a helper or classroom volunteer.  Long story short, I was happy to serve as room mom for the 2012-2013 class.

As it turns out, the room mom position is not as busy in elementary school as compared to preschool.  Since parties have virtually been eliminated (boo!), my responsibilities included picking up pizza for the class for the Christmas party and decorating the lunch room for the kindergarten graduation/celebration.  That was it for the entire school year, and that was simple enough.

The only possible problem would be my complete inability to be crafty.  Although I come from a family of crafters (e.g., very talented seamstresses, knitters, crocheters, etc.), my skill set does not include anything crafty.  I have never owned a glue gun; I don't sew; in fact, my family is fascinated when I sew a button on a shirt; I cannot paint; and, as I quickly learned, I am completely flummoxed by Hobby Lobby.  My friends, in the 10 days I spent on the decorations, I went to Hobby Lobby more than I have ever frequented any craft store in my entire life.  Each visit, I found an associate as soon as possible and asked where I would find whatever was on my list that day.  Because, as I quickly learned, crafting is very much a trial and error endeavor, requiring many adjustments and necessitating many return visits.  The Hobby Lobby? A DIY quagmire.

In fact, after an initial visit or two, the idea of throwing some money at the decorating challenge was tempting. However, I needed 20-25 centerpieces and many other decorations, and the franchise surcharge on Mickey Mouse gear made the notion of outsourcing cost-prohibitive.  Once our dining room had morphed into a crafting ground zero, Skip even suggested hiring the whole project out, but ultimately we all agreed that doing so would create a new low for room mothers*.  Therefore, I rolled up the sleeves and took a shot at the near-impossible: impressing six-year-old children. (Please don't tell me the obvious... that it only becomes more challenging with each year of age.)

In addition to crossing the threshold of Hobby Lobby, I  entered unchartered territory by joining Pinterest.  I know, I know... I am the last person to join, and I only did so under duress.  Not that the site isn't lovely, mind you, because it is, if you're into that sort of thing.  Anyrate, Pinterest was a lifesaver because it eventually led me to a couple of sites with downloadable Mickey Mouse decorations.  While my crafting abilities are limited, even I can manage printables.  After printing 100 or so Mickey decorations, I came up with a low-cost centerpiece idea.

I started with this:

Then after cutting them out, attaching them to painted yellow sticks, I added ribbon:

And then took the red Solo cup to new heights by making a low cost (but laborious) centerpiece:

Were I to do this project again, I wouldn't insist on painting the sticks yellow (one of Mickey's accent colors), and I definitely wouldn't apply a second coat (ahem, OCD).

The site also had some easy-peasy printable banners, as well as some Mickey/Minnie silhouettes that were great for the walls and doors, but I needed something extra - something special.  One of the ways I give away my Southern-ness (other than my obvious accent) is my penchant for personalization.  Admittedly, I like monogramming, and I was hopeful the kindergarten class would respond favorably to seeing their names incorporated in the theme.  A second site offered printable Mickey silhouettes, and after printing 40 of them, I spent many hours cutting them out.  In fact, I attended a city meeting with the silhouettes and cut out about a third of them.  I was crafting -- in public!

Anyway, after personalizing them, I affixed bows on the girls' silhouettes because only a Minnie silhouette would do.  The duo LOVED this and were definitely impressed.  The Mickey/Minnie graduate wall turned out like this:

This is the genius of personalization and its tremendous return.

I also tackled a Mickey Mouse balloon wreath.  The duo and their class loved this also, and therefore, I left it with their teacher (unfortunately forgetting to photo the wreath prior to the event).

Hands down, the best decorations of the day were provided by the students themselves.  Lining one wall were self-portraits and the students' own words about why s/he have enjoyed kindergarten.  While the duo and their friends enjoyed the Mickey decorations, one can never out-craft six-year-old children.  I was totally upstaged, and not by a small degree. 

All in all, my decorating experience was good, and the lovely fellow moms who helped decorate were awesome.

*In full disclosure, I totally outsourced the balloon arch to a local florist.  (I'm not good with balloons.)

Feedly

Since the clock is ticking for Google Reader (the service shuts down on July 1st), the time has come to consider alternatives.  By way of confession, I'm not a huge Reader user, although I have an account I check from time to time.  For the sites I peruse, I prefer to go to the actual site.  For sites that update infrequently, I check on the Google Reader occasionally, and it makes sense to have a back-up plan in place rather than waiting until the day after the plug is pulled.

Ok, admittedly, I probably would have waited until July 2nd to explore alternatives, but Sarah James at Whoorl.com did the research for me (and you!) and put together a thorough detailing of how to use Feedly.  You can read about it here.  

Enumerated Update

Hello, friends!

How was your weekend?  Ours was glorious, in that nothing-planned, just-hanging-out kind of way. Here's what's happening with us:

1) Apple: I'll go ahead and confess that we watch the Apple Keynotes the way most people watch the Superbowl.  Now, we don't follow the industry rumors and try to speculate about new product releases or anything over-the-top like that (if you do, that's totally cool), but we do like to see what they have up their sleeve.  I still say that the moment Steve Jobs held up the original iPhone during the 2007 Keynote will go down as one of the more memorable inventive moments of my lifetime.
Although we are not Airbook or pro users, we are excited about Mavericks to say the least.

Also, and I readily admit this will solidify my nerdy reputation, I always enjoy seeing Woz in the audience.

Did you watch? What was your favorite reveal? If you missed it, at least enjoy the promo of the Berlin store opening.  

Also, here is a video that didn't make it into the Keynote.  It's riveting:




2) Apple TV: By way of update on our Appletv purchase, we like it, although we still do not view much television.  However, if someone had explained to me earlier that I would be able to use my iPhone as the remote control, we would have bought this product years earlier.

3) Jerry Seinfeld: Season 2 of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee debuted last Thursday at noon and features Sarah Silverman.  This is not a rated G production, but is so... incredibly... funny.  Skip and I have an ongoing debate about the funniest guest (sadly, it isn't Silverman).  My pick is Larry David, and Skip's pick is Alec Baldwin.  Baldwin is the more obviously funny guest, and you might be tempted to think that happens to be because he is the funniest.  Not so.  I think he was the more rehearsed guest, and that makes a big difference.  We are looking forward to the Letterman episode this week, and we recognize fully that his performance could go either way.  We could see the comic genius Letterman or the surly Letterman.  One never knows.  Check it out here.

4) Best TV Series of All Time: The Writers Guild of America recently released its list of the 101 best written TV series of all time.  Seinfeld ranked #2, behind The Sopranos.  This list is interesting for two reasons. First, all of the garbage on television is stripped away, leaving some pristine entertainment. Second, many of these shows originally aired back when I actually watched television. See a connection? When it was good, more people watched.

Anyrate.  With all due respect to the Writers Guild, I'm going to have to disagree with the order.  I liked The Sopranos.  I definitely did.  But Seinfeld reigned supreme.

See the full list here.

 And that's it for us.  What's happening with you?

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the dads, but an especially warm wish to three.  First, to my Dad, thanks for all of the love, kindness and support, as well as the immense love and affection you show my family.  Next, to Skip, thank you for being a wonderful father. The monkeys love you to the moon and back, as do I! Finally, to Ralph, we thank you for all the love and innumerous ways you demonstrate your love for our family. 

Fun fact:  My Dad is one of the most avid readers of this site.  I mean, he could pass a comprehensive examination on the content, including some of the more obscure posts.  :)

Vacation 2013

Just when you thought there couldn't possibly be any remaining vacation photos, I decide to post the Instagram* pics.  As a chronic "overgrammer," there are so many photos on my phone, and some of the Instagram pics were my favorites, and I want to make sure I have a record of them here in the event that something should every happen to my Instagram feed or Instagram proper (gasp!).

With the exception of saying we're ready to return to the beach, this post will conclude the vacation discussion.

*By the way, multiple posts could be written about my love for Instagram, along with my dislike of Facebook, concluding with how conflicted I am since the Facebook purchase of Instagram.

The Grand Sandestin

Choctawhatchee Bay

Lauren, with George

William George

Lauren, Gracie and George

Grace and Lauren

Lauren and George

Lauren

Grace

William George

George

Grace and Lauren

Lauren and Grace

Random shot of the property

Lauren and Grace

Lauren

Grace and Lauren

Gracie (top) and Lauren

William George

Grace, George and Lauren

Vacation 2013

George, Lauren, Gracie

After school ended, we packed five suitcases (along with most of our home) and headed to the beach for six days where the trio enjoyed the beach as well as some much-earned pool time.

Gracie

After checking in and making the requisite trip to the store for provisions, we quickly settled into our routine of spending our morning at the beach, returning to the room for lunch and spending the afternoon at the pool.

Lauren and Gracie

That was our routine for the entire trip, and the trio would have been happy enough to continue that exact schedule for the entire summer.

George and Skip

We expected William George to have some reservations about the beach.  The ocean made him nervous, what with its intimidating size and the sound of the surf, but he was happy enough on the beach.  For the first three years of Lauren's life, she had an extreme aversion to the beach and would not allow her feet to touch the sand.  George is following in Grace's footsteps.  Although he is slightly less fearless, he bravely takes on the sand.

An older George would want me to add that we had red flags for the entirety of our trip.  The water was rougher than usual, and the undercurrent was strong.  I'm sure he would want me to point out that a strong undercurrent is significant when one weighs 25 pounds.

Lauren

Lauren, on the other hand, has safely left her sand/beach issues behind.  She practically rolled around in the sand, along with Grace.

Lauren, Grace, George

William George stayed in our room, while the girls slept with my mom, who joined us on the trip.  Our view was of the Choctawhatchee Bay, and one of our treats was getting George to say "Choctawatchee Bay" over and over.

George

The duo hit the beach each morning as if playing in the sand is their vocation.

Grace

Lauren and Grace

Lauren

They would have stayed in the blistering sun all day but for the need to get George and his fair skin back in the shade.

Grace

Lauren and Grace

By the end of the week, William George was an equal partner in the sand exploits.  They were too busy running from the sand to the water to actually construct many castles, but they built some impressive sand mountains.  

Lauren

Lauren, George, Grace

Mostly, they enjoyed putting sand in buckets.

George and Lauren

Grace, George and Lauren

And playing with water.

Lauren

George

Grace and Lauren

Grace and Lauren

While at the pool, William George was brave enough at the end of the week to jump off the side of the pool.  His sisters were jumping in, and he quickly joined in the fun.

George

George

George

George and Grace

Upon leaving, Lauren burst into tears and said, "But I don't want to leave! I love it here!"  Being the realists we are, we discussed real life versus vacation, and that all of the amenities we were enjoying would not be possible on a long term basis, i.e., even if we moved to a beach town (as was her fervent wish), we would not have regular access to the property, we would not live "on" the beach, and that life would return to normal immediately -- absent all of her friends and family who live close by.  

When that failed to sway her, we simply asked, "Don't you want to sleep in your own bed and have all of your toys again?"  

And then we were homeward bound.