Birthday Berries

On the 21st I turned 44, for the second time. I say that because I was 44 all last year. On those grocery receipts and anywhere else I have to mark in my age, I was 44. Really I was 43. At least I'm used to writing 44 down.

I spent the day not searching for jobs. Instead I watched movies, shows and picked berries. I picked to have doughnuts for breakfast, because it was my birthday. Travis picked to have Indian food for dinner, because it was Father's day.

A quick note on Father's Day: Retail sucks with it! When Mother's Day is a thing, there's so much to buy and restaurants that give deals for it. When Father's Day is a thing there's nothing! Even the card selection sucks.

Explain this: Why do single moms claim Father's Day as their day? Single dads don't claim Mother's Day as their day. When did this become a thing? I'm not trying to judge. I'm just trying to understand.

Back to birthday and Father's Day shenanigans:

I made the boys watch the chick flick Uptown Girls. I rarely watch chick flicks. Many man flicks are what is played in this house. I consider beat them up, high action movies man flicks. They seemed to enjoy the movie. It's too bad Dakota Fanning doesn't act as much as she used to. She was such a great little actress.

After that I said, "Let's go pick berries!" If you remember this was something I did at work during lunch breaks all the time. Well I texted the boss' wife and asked if I could still pick them. I said, "Otherwise they will just drop to the ground." She said, "Sure we could come pick berries." 

Mica started out holding the bowl, and grabbing high branches for me. That was a help. Isaak's in one of those, "I'm too good to work." stages. So he walked off flinging sticks onto a tree stump. Eventually both boys ended up like this:

I think the boys' behavior drove Travis more nuts than me. I was just happy to get berries.

When we got home Travis picked up dinner, and we watched Nobody's Fool. I told Travis how Paul Newman used to be quite the sexy guy. He didn't believe me.

Here's some sexy pictures of Paul Newman:

What is an older actress or actor that you found to be good looking?

Picking Berries

Just about every day now there are more June berries ripe enough to pick a bowl full. 

I went out with the boys to have them help me pick the berries. 

This is how HELP pans out:

Isaak: "I want to be on the step ladder!" 

Mica: "No I want to be on the step ladder!"

They both somehow ended up on the step ladder. They were up there, and no berries were being picked. Danger was unfolding. 

I glanced over at them (remember I was picking berries), I could see one of them falling, so I demanded that they both get down.

Mica: "Fine I'm going in the middle of the tree to pick berries." 

That was fine and dandy until Isaak thought it was a great idea to go in the middle to. I looked over their way, and Isaak was climbing our June berry bush. It really is a bush, but looks more like an ornamental tree.

I said: "Absolutely not! Get down you little punk!" 

Isaak said, "But I was getting better berries up there."

I looked down at his bowl, and he had 8 tiny berries in it.

I said, "No climbing!"
  
Next the boys decided it would be fun to chase each other around the bush, which looks more like tree. At this point I was on the step ladder.

I'm pretty sure the neighbor's loved hearing me go off on my children. 

That's what it's like picking berries with 2 energetic boys.

My boys are helpful with some things, but berry picking is not one of them! They like multiple quicker tasks. Nether boy has the attention to do one task for a long period of time.