Day 1

The problem with going a long time without blogging is that I fell compelled to sum up. But summing up is not my strong suit so instead, the details of today.I canceled one of Zoe's camps because I felt like I hadn't seen her at all this summer. Yesterday, as she was reading my YA novel, she put it down and came and sat on the arm of the chair next to me, her long hair tickling my nose, and started reading. I said, Z, I'm writing the same thing you're reading over there. She said, but this is so much more interesting. Stroke by stroke, it's more interesting. 
So without day camp, you think we'd have unfillable hours but instead, every hour is overfull. This morning, after I went running, Max and Z watched Curious George while I graded my Creative Process class (awesome class. Awesome kids for letting me grade.) I made one of my favorite breakfasts of eggs over easy with salsa verde and queso fresco on an English muffin and an avocado spread instead of butter. I'm trying not to eat refined flour but once in awhile, on a day of running, pre-swimming, with Cleo getting up three times in the night to go out, I felt a little processed flour wouldn't kill me. Swim lessons are at 10:15. You would think this would be enough time to get three people in swimming suits but the interruptions of Max, yes, I'll give you some gummy bunnies if you sit on the potty, Zoe's concern about her gummy bunny status, Zoe wondering what book to read to Max as he sits on the potty so I can finish grading,  Cleo's slipping down the stairs which makes her pee on the floor, Max wanting to paint on the potty, me carrying books out of Zoe's room so Erik can scrape her popcorn ceilings next weekend with Zoe screaming mom, he did it, he peed on the potty, to me dropping the books to swing Max around like he won the Olympics, Zoe wanted to watch the actual Olympics while she takes a break from reading The Cat in the Hat to Max so he took himself to the potty,where he peed, mean that an hour is not enough time.
Still, we made it to the lesson. In two weeks, Zoe has gone from dangerous, shoulder-scratching, flailing kind of swimming to a calmer, down the whole Olympic sized pool lane, actual-stroke swimming. Max, who likes to jump into the water but not put his head under the water, simultaneously laughs and cries throughout our parent and tot swim class. The pool is cold and his lips turn purple but he will throw and swim after a ball 75 times as long as he doesn't have to put his head under water, which sometimes he does. I would be happy to stay there for 75 throws but I can't because holding a two and a half year old afloat for a half an hour is its own kind of laughing and crying muscle situation.
Once I'm  out of the house, in the car, running to and fro, I may as well run errands, although this is where the day goes. I was going to make the ground turkey laab for dinner. I needed lemon grass and only New Frontiers sells it. For $1.19 a stalk. $20 of seasonings later, we run to the pediatrician's office to get two copies of Max's immunization records for school. I've registered him for two places this fall. One where he has to be potty-trained and the other where he doesn't. Today is the first day I had high hopes for the first.
Then, I had to run in to Basha's because I forgot the lettuce which would have cost $27 at New Frontiers anyway. Plus, I had promised Max a doughnut for his good potty-work and New Frontiers does not believe in the power of doughnuts.
To lunch with dad! This would have been a good idea had Erik more than twenty minutes to eat. He and his workmate joined us. I had to commend Joe. Going to sushi with a 7 and 2.5 year-old is its own kind of relaxation experience. Max wanted rice soooooo much that he made 72 syllables of the word. Zoe didn't say anything because who was this guy from dad's work and what is a bento box anyway. In the end, Erik and Joe left two-seconds after they ate, Zoe declared that sushi is better at night and Max wanted his 45 syllable doughnut.
We came home. Max peed in the potty again. Zoe said she'd take a nap in Max's room. Zoe came out of Max's room to show me something. I got made because she was keeping Max up so she said OK fine and went back to bed and now I'll never know the secret mystery of 1:19 p.m. on Thursday, July 26th.
I do not think I will make the laab with the lemongrass because the flavoring was too similar to the gyoza in Zoe's bento box which I had to eat one of because even the gyoza weren't as good as usual even though they used plenty of scallions and something lemon-y, similar enough to laab to make me want to make tacos for dinner.
Now I'm typing. This and the other thing and maybe two more things. Then, I'm going to clean out the car, finish cleaning out Zoe's room, help Erik paint the deck some more (a whole deck post forthcoming?) and make dinner of either tacos or laab but I can use ground turkey in either case so it's already like a vacation because I don't have to go to the store again.