Lately...

I have been feeling a serious itch to go...go...go...somewhere...anywhere.
I need a change of scenery, in a bad way.
I fantasize about being able to just decide I want to go somewhere and actually do it.
No worries about who/how everything will be handled at home or how I am going to
pay for this imaginary trip.
Wouldn't that be nice?
I'm thinking somewhere with a beach would be perfect right about now.
If you had to pick somewhere to go, anywhere, right now...where would you go?
Who would you go with?



Sadly, the extent of my getting away(ha) was heading out of town and through the country
to a little Amish town about forty minutes away last weekend.
Sad, but true.
But, at least it was a tiny change of scenery{ie: not these four walls}.

And it was a sunny day so I got my big camera out and took it with me.
My iphone and the lack of sun and bad weather has made me so lazy with picture taking lately.
Anyway, we went to an Antique store and a big Amish bulk food store that sells a little
bit of everything including local eggs, meat, cheese, etc.
Oh and they had the most extensive stock of gummy candy I have ever seen, I snatched up
some gummy colas quick-like. My fave.

****************

Today it is back to being gray and a little wet and depressing.
Man, I realize there is no sense in complaining about the weather but mama needs some
sunshine. I wouldn't even care if we had a ton of snow if the sun would just come out
and stay there. Please and thank you.

So you don't leave here feeling depressed now, because that is not my goal, here are some
much happier, non-gloomy photos...
{iphone pics}
Oh and I think I have told you guys my instagram name wrong like 3 times now...
I might have a problem.
Anyway, it is @lucky13amy.
I always say it backwards.

I am on book three of The Hunger Games and I don't want it to end.
I love these books, lovelovelove.
Have you read them?
Do you not love Katniss? and Peeta?

My girl did a lot of painting yesterday.
She usually likes to wear her beret when she paints.
Phoebe thinks the paint might be food so she is waiting for some to drop.

Valentine for me from my sweet little guy.
Translation: "Cupids arrow is on you from me"  he meant to say "from me" he said : )
He is so sweet, seriously.
And I'm not sure why he is calling me Amy here...?
Too funny.
Well, hope everyone has a great Thursday...this is the last day of school and then a 4-day
weekend. Wahoooo!

{Virtual Coffee}

Good Morning and Happy Valentine's Day everyone.
How's it going?
I am actually writing my coffee post on Monday evening and will post it tonight so
it is up and ready for Tuesday morning.
Last week we had lots of trouble with our connection and I don't want to have to worry about
that happening again tomorrow. For some reason we have had a lot of trouble with it
lately and it is so annoying. Frustrating.
You wouldn't want to hear me when that happens, it's kinda ugly.

So if we were really meeting for coffee, I would have to ask what your Valentine plans
are...do you celebrate....or not...do your kids have parties at school?
I have to tell you that when I was in school I LOVED the Valentine's Day party...or maybe
what I really loved was making our shoebox Valentine mailboxes.
Did you make those?
I loved  that.

Anyway, grab a seat and a cup of coffee and one of my mom's sugar cookies because
she makes the best sugar cookies and homemade butter cream icing ever.
We celebrated Eric's birthday with my family on Sunday and she sent us all home with the
extra cookies.

So tell me about your weekend....how was it?
We had a three-day weekend but it still didn't seem quite long enough..funny how that
always happens, huh?
But this weekend we have a four-day weekend, no school Friday or Monday and I am really
looking forward to that!
I think I am as excited about days off of school as the kids are and maybe even more so.


Saturday we all went to a little Amish town about 30-40 mins away and went to an antique
store and a really cool bulk food store that sold just about everything including local
eggs, meat, cheese, etc.
The kids went crazy in the candy aisle, they had gummy everything.

Today (Tuesday) I have to go to school to help out with something during lunch recess
and then back to school at the end of the day for the Valentine's Day party.
I am happy I get to help, I would feel really bad if I had to miss a lot because of work, but
Monday was such a long day and I think Tuesday is going to be another one. Oh well.
Right now it is snowing and is supposed to get a little icy tonight and I really hope it
just snows and snows, enough to cancel school...or else just stop now.
A snow day sounds really good to me.
If we were really meeting for coffee today I would tell you that if we did have a snow day
I would love to spend it in bed, curtains open, sun shining in, watching the snow fall and
and reading The Hunger Games. I am on book two and I cannot put it down.
I absolutely loved the first one.

Doesn't that sound wonderful?
A day in bed, under the covers, reading all day...
Sigh.
Oh yeah-- and pretend you don't see my messy dresser over there, k?
Well, tell me what your plans are for today/tonight...
Are you doing anything special for Valentine's Day?

Well, thanks for joining me here for coffee today.

I have to get going now though because I have a book waiting for me : ) 

Have a great day  everyone.

HaPpY VaLenTinE's day.

Right Before My Eyes

How is it that you can actually see your baby getting big right in front of your eyes?
Growing up?
I don't like it, I don't like it one bit.
And to tell you the truth, I'm not good at accepting it at all, things changing...
I like things just the way they are.
Does it ever get any easier?
Sigh.

We Made It

*Thanks for all of the great comments yesterday, really...y'all are just the best.
And if you didn't read my "Day In The Life " post over at Annalea's go read it.


Check out the cute little necklaces my girl and I made last week...
A bag of wooden beads and a little paint is all it took.
I love the colors, I picked those out because if I had let Miss Charlotte it probably would
have been pink, all various shades of pink.

This was actually a great craft too because it kept her busy for quite a while.
I tried to tell her she should do another coat after the first dried but she didn't want to
and liked them that way she said.
I did two coats of paint on mine though.
I got my beads at Joann Fabrics for just a couple of dollars.
I love a fun, cheap project that actually turns out cute.
Don't you?

Next up?
More necklaces in rainbow colors.
Now that is going to be seriously cute, pictures to follow.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Another thing we made this week; heart-shaped crayons for Charlotte's preschool class.
I have done this before for my own kids and also for gifts but I thought it would be cute to
give one to each of the kids in her class for Valentine's Day.
So simple and cheap and the kids can help, too.
Just unwrap crayons, break them in smaller pieces and then melt them in the oven.
We melted ours in heart-shaped silicone baking cups at 350* for 5 minutes or so.
Take them out and let them cool.
I got my Wilton baking cups at a craft store a couple of years ago after Valentine's day for
like 75% off. I love after-holiday bargains like that because ummm....I'm cheap and I'm not
spending twelve dollars on baking cups.

Wow, that's a lot of color.
Happy Weekend, friends.
The kids and Eric are headed to the open gym again this morning and I
think I will sit right here with my coffee and new Artful Blogging magazine.
Then at some point I have to get up and clean the house, I have to.

My Mom Thinks Blogging Is Weird.

Ha. She does though.
And I can talk about her because she would never read my blog.
She can't understand why people would put all of their business out there for strangers to
read, she doesn't get it.
I have to say, before I was a blogger myself I couldn't quite imagine sharing some of the
things I have here with strangers either.
And another thing?
I might have even thought it was a bit strange that the bloggers I did follow thought they were
friends with the other bloggers, like real friends.
I might have kind of even thought to myself;
Oh, that's kind of sad, don't they have any real-life friends?
Because these online friends they don't really even know, they are not like REAL friends....


I was wrong.
Happily wrong and happy to admit it.
There are so many positive things I have to say about blogging, so many benefits.
Besides the countless things I have learned about myself--
So many people who have become real friends, through blogging...and instagram and Flickr...
and this whole crazy little online world.
I wouldn't have it any other way, I feel so lucky.
I was thinking about this already because of Leslie's comment in my guest post at Annalea's
yesterday, because I agree completely.
These are people I never, ever would have met...because of location, age, living circumstances...
so many things that make us different but deep down we are all so much the same, it is a
wonderful thing, it really is.
It makes the world seem so much smaller and so much more connected and I LOVE that.
Love, love, love it.
I can't say that enough.


Then this morning the mail comes and look what I opened up...
Eeeeeeek.
These books are from my friend Shauna, who I have never met in "real life" and maybe
never will.

I guess you know what I will be doing this weekend, huh?
I cannot wait.
I am already fantasizing about going to bed early tonight just to read.
Yay!

***********************

{A little Insta-Friday for ya...}

1. early morning snuggling in bed  2. coffee stop on the way to school  3.valentine's coupons for the kids  4. smash

5. smile  6. our backyard  7.  at my fave coffee shop  8. frosty windshield from the inside of the jeep

9. ready fro preschool  10. getting ready for V-day  11. ooops, my calendar is still on January : )  12. hi there

1. the neighborhood   2. the seat of my car--i would dare not show you the floor  3. craftin'   4. coffee time

1. broken dishwasher--another sink full o' dishes  2. brownie lovin'  3. grocery shopping  4. fave quote

************************

There is no school today.

We are still in our pajamas and I am getting ready to make pancakes and sausage for lunch.

I love no-school days.

Here's to a three-day weekend.

Happy Friday everyone, hope you have a great day.

PS-- Charlotte really, really hopes daddy gets me heart-shaped diamond earrings for Valentine's Day.

And mommy really, really hopes that daddy doesn't listen to Charlotte : ) 

A Day In The Life....

I am over here today, come see me.

Please and thank you.

Begin :: Documenting

{One Little Word 2012:: Begin}


When both of the kids were babies and even during my pregnancies
(especially the first one, naturally) I was really good about documenting.
Saving cards and shower invitations and putting them in a scrapbook to save forever....
Taking pictures and actually printing them and even--gasp-- passing them out to family instead
of only emailing or texting them.
Making scrapbooks, writing in baby books, keeping track of all of those little things we think
we are never, ever going to forget but inevitably do....I did that.
I don't anymore.

It's funny because in a way, by blogging I am documenting more of our lives and so
many of those little moments now then I was then, but in a different way.
But I feel like I have been missing something, really missing something.
A hard copy, notes in my handwriting, picture books to actually sit down and look at with the kids.
I decided I(we) need a hard copy.


I need a Hard Copy of Birthdays and first days of school and going down the
big slide at the playground for the first time and fishing and playing in the sprinkler and
baking and Lego creations...all of it.
All the big things and all of the little things, too.
The everyday things are what I really want to document for my kids--and to be honest,
for myself, too.

Recently my cousin was sent a bunch of pictures of her dad from a high school girlfriend
of his. Pictures and keepsakes my cousin and her brother had never seen before.
From someone that they do not know.
Imagine if this girlfriend had not kept these things, had not realized that all of these little
things tell a part of the story of his life.
I love stuff like that and especially in their case when their dad is not around to tell some of
these stories, to get a little piece of the past.
It's just another reminder to me that I need a hard copy of our little lives.

So I ordered the beginner Project Life core kit and I am going to go print pictures either today
or tomorrow and I am beginning to document in a different way, in another way.
Oh-and I ordered the Clementine kit and I like it as much in real life as I thought I would.

I will keep you posted on how this goes, I think it will be very do-able for me...but then
again I think that about lots of things : )
And being a picture-taker, a journaler , a saver of scraps of paper and notes and ticket
stubs and hand-drawn pictures...I really think I will like having it all together in one place.

********

I love this quote, just because.
Happy Wednesday, hope you all are making today happy.