A Summer Indulgence

Compared to many adults, my history with coffee is short lived.  As a teenager I didn't even entertain the idea of drinking coffee.  I didn't really even drink soda in high school.  My abstinence from pop was mostly due to my coaches recommending that we not drink it.  There was never a specific reason behind this.  I recall the phrase, "it doesn't do you any good" being thrown around and of course, that is correct although I doubt a star player would have been affected in a detrimental way by drinking a Diet Coke every once and awhile.  I don't even know what they would have thought if they could see the Starbucks frequenting teenagers I see around town.  Of course, my hometown did not have a Starbucks.  It had a café where adults gathered to drink straight coffee poured out of a pot that cost .$35 a cup and it had churches where adults would linger over what I thought was quite watery and unappetizing cups of coffee on a weekly basis and sometimes more often.  When I was in 9th grade a new convenience store opened which brought the ultra sugary and sweet gas station cappuccino to us but even after that I didn't have any interest in drinking coffee.  I made it through college hangovers, law school finals and even my working years without coffee. At my job I actually witnessed several full on office meltdowns when the free coffee provided by the company ran dry and someone had to rush to Sam's Club before everyone lost their minds.  I was rolling my eyes big time as I sipped my hot tea and Diet Coke, thinking I was so awesome.  I just didn't get it...coffee was gross.  The beans smelled good, but still...

And now, this is a regular sight at my house:

That's coffee being brewed into a pyrex cup which I let cool and then pour into ice trays which I freeze to use in iced coffee.  Yes, there is random debris in the frame.  I can't even pretend my house is neat anymore.  There are boxes of legos and packing tape on the counter.  And that's the least of it. 

How, you might wonder, does a person tumble down the slippery slope of distaining coffee to occasionally purchasing a gas station cappuccino half cut with hot chocolate to having a cup if someone made it at their house to owning a Keurig and making ice cubes out of coffee?  The obvious answer would be having kids and not getting enough sleep but this didn't even start until after Tessa was born I had two newborns without coffee!  The real answer is...creamer.   This creamer, specifically. 

My mom had it when I was visiting and I love coconut and almond joys so I thought I had to get in on the fun.  Soon, I was digging out our coffee pot which only came out when the parents were visiting to make myself a pot.  Then I got a Keurig for Christmas and my journey along the continuum was complete.  If all the adults I know are any indication, I'll never go back and I could go even farther and become my parents who drink watery coffee at 9:00 at night. And then there was that time that my mom wanted coffee after running a half marathon...I still think that was weird.

So now I often brew up some iced coffee before an outing or just to drink around the house.  There are many recipes out there and you can also buy it in big bottles from the store. I feel like buying it premade is not very economical and having a big bottle of a favorite beverage sitting in the fridge just taunts me to finish it so I drink more than I should.  I make single servings from the Keurig by brewing one cup and then brewing a second serving of the smallest cup size through the same K-cup.  I don't even know why they have that teacup size portion on the machine.  Who only wants a few ounces? Then I let it sit out while I go about my morning.  For some reason, it takes forever to get cool even though the coffee I try to drink hot seems to be cold in minutes.  How does that work?  Then I put a few regular ice cubes in with coffee ice cubes and creamer in a big water bottle with a straw. 

Speaking of that, Tessa is potty trained now.  She's doing really good.  She's four months from turning three so it was time and she took to it right away.  She also immediately figured out that screaming "I have to go potty!" every five minutes is an effective way to avoid napping and going to bed. 

Here are a few pictures from the weekend.  I was home alone with the kids all weekend and it was rather boring and tedious.  I tried to entertain them through the days without structure but there is only so much a person with a brain can handle.  We saw some footage of those little pills that turn into sponges shape like things when they are placed in water so I braved the dollar store with all three kids to find some.  They had a few packs left and they were all "princess" themed but I didn't even care.  Not having toys defined for certain genders is a new thing, right? 

They got a kick out of this activity, as did I since these things were around when I was a child.  Tessa chose to be unconventional and pop her pills open before dropping the wadded up sponge in the water.  The end result was the same so it worked out fine.  I also let them each choose something else at the store since Ben saw a magnifying glass and said, "Oooh, I really would like that magnifying glass!  I have always wanted one of those!"  Tessa chose those beads she is wearing in the picture.  Of all the fun junk in the store she picked those.  Oh well.  I chose some Sour Punch Straws in the movie theater sized package and ate all of them in the car on the way home. 

And finally, Milo started standing.  This is big news  to be placed at the end of the post but that's just how the pictures were in order.  He has been doing it here and there for the last week, usually on shorter surfaces like the dishwasher door.  But now the breakthrough has come and he is doing it everywhere.  This means that our safe zones for choking hazards and such are no longer safe!  Awww crap! 

I have been waiting for this day since he has come to this milestone later than the other two.  Ben started standing when he was six (almost seven) months old.  I don't remember when Tessa started.  I will probably only remember when Milo started because he was older.  Now the chaos in the house will be taken up another notch, just when I thought there were no more notches. 

Here are a few more pictures from the weekend.

Here is Tessa amusing herself with carrying shovels of dirt between the rock wall and a bucket.  What a thrill.

Here is Ben at the park trying to use the big kid swings.  I have tried to teach him to pump his legs but he doesn't quite get it yet.

And here is Milo hanging out in a baby swing.  He liked it.  Ben liked pushing him.  Tessa liked sitting in the other baby swing screaming, "NO PUSH MEEEEE!" whenever I pushed him.