{Virtual Coffee}

Good Morning!
Happy Tuesday morning to you from my front porch.
It's coffee on the front porch weather, you guys! This makes me so happy. Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!
This morning my coffee isn't quite as pretty as it is in this picture, this was actually last week's coffee at
my favorite little coffee shop, with two of my best girlfriends.
So today I'm having my coffee on the front porch and that's a pretty good place to be this morning, if you ask me- even though I would really love to rewind to last week!

So - it feels like I have not been around here for morning coffee for a long time, and a little scarce around here lately anyway. The days and weeks have felt so busy lately and I end up running out of time for more than half of the things I intend to do every day it seems like.
And speaking of busy... It's May? Say what?
The last month of school is so busy with field trips and teacher gifts, concerts and just extra things to remember to buy and do. Ughhhhhh.

Last week Charlotte and I made May Day baskets for their teachers, this was my idea because it
was one of my favorite things growing up.
I remember cutting lilacs from the bush in our backyard and wrapping the bottom in a wet paper towel and then somehow making something(?) out of paper to hold them... I can't remember that part?
Then we would leave them on our neighbor's doors on May 1.
Charlotte loved making them and even made an extra one for "someone at school" but it was really for me and she surprised me with them the next morning.

Speaking of lilacs...
On Sunday I cut the last of the lilacs from my bush so I could smell them in the house just one.more.time. this Spring.
The rest were dying so this was the last salvageable bunch.
I love this smell so very much, it instantly reminds me of Spring and home and my mom and my childhood backyard.

If we were really meeting for coffee this morning....
I would have to tell you about my latest obsession- I got the first season of Girls from the library and was immediately hooked. I know people have all kinds of stuff to say about Lena Dunham and I don't know the story on her personal life and don't really care because- the show, I LOVE that show.
Now I am on the 3rd season and I can't get enough.
We signed up for HBO free for three months so now I can watch it on HBO instead of getting it form the library, and then I got the HBO Go app on my ipad so I can watch Girls/HBO wherever I want.
I am not gonna lie, sometimes I just LOVE modern technology.

Lastly, this weekend I am hoping(I said hoping, it's not super likely) to do a little work on my front porch-- the underneath part of it needs paintedr, the steps and porch itself need to be scraped so they can be repainted.... and I really want to paint my front door this yellow color.e
What do you think? Our house is a bluish-gray so I think it will look good.
I also need to finally spray paint my wicker chairs, get new pillows and plant some flowers.
Geez. Check back with me in a month or two maybe, it's gonna take a while.

/////////////////////////////

On that note, I am going to finish my coffee and sit here in silence for just a little longer(I hope) before the craziness of another school/work morning gets going around here.
Tell me,what's going on in your little corner of the world? What's new?
Have you been enjoying your Spring... Any exciting Mother's Day plans?
Are you counting down the days until school gets out yet? I'd love to hear what you are up to!


* * * * *

Have a great day & Happy Cimco de Mayo.... I will be celebrating with a fat margarita tonight!

{Virtual Coffee} The "Come On Already, Spring!" Edition

Good morning.
It's Tuesday morning again, how about some coffee?
Last Tuesday over coffee, I mentioned that I was on the couch under a blanket having coffee and I remember thinking, while I typed that, that I really hoped that by the next Tuesday(today) I would be out on the front porch having my morning coffee.
No such luck though as today is another dreary + cloudy day.
Maybe next week? Fingers crossed.

"So yeah, no nice + sunny Spring weather here this week although we did have some nice weather over the weekend. I think we are just all so over Winter and ready to be outside in the sunshine enjoying the weather and getting fresh air. It's near the end of March now... we are ready.

So if we were really having coffee this morning we would surely be chatting about what we did over the weekend, huh? How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?
We had a good weekend, it went too fast, just as every single weekend does, but good nonetheless.
Saturday morning I had to make a quick trip to the store for milk and toilet paper and I left with tulips for myself. Usually I buy myself the clearance bouquets but I decided I needed tulips this time, so I treated myself. I really wanted yellow but they didn't have any so I settled for pink.

It was just the kids and I this weekend and it was a full couple of days, we had a lot of fun.
Friday night we went bowling with my brother and my nieces, Saturday Charlotte had a new friend over to play and Saturday night Wyatt went to a birthday party sleepover.
Saturday night Charlotte and I snuck out in our pajamas to get ice cream and we took Stanley along for the ride with us and learned that he's really not the best car rider yet. Oh, Stanley.
Good thing that boy is so cute!

 {after we saw Cinderella}

Sunday afternoon Charlotte and I saw Cinderella.
Have you seen it? Do you have any desire to see it?
I liked it, we both liked it a lot and I think the original Cinderella has always been one of my favorite Disney movies since I was a child so I was curious how this new version would be.
I wasn't disappointed, Charlotte and I both liked it a lot.
More importantly than the movie itself, it was nice to go do something with just Charlotte and I...
If I'm honest I will tell you that sometimes in the back of my mind I think I had better do these things with the kids while I can because I am afraid one day I am going to wake up and they will be teenagers and want nothing to do with me(for a few years anyway)... Just like that.

Over coffee this morning I might just get a little deep on you about this whole motherhood thing.

It is exhausting. Mentally. I am always second guessing myself... 

And then in the next moment I believe I am doing ot just right... not perfect, but just right... 

The best I can.

Some days I worry over all of the little things- 

Why doesn't she ever seem to play with anyone at school?  Why isn't he 'getting' his math?

And the next moment I laugh it off knowing that she is good, she is awesome and her own person and she will be just fine. She is better than just fine. And so is he.

We bring all of our own insecurities into this parenting thing, even when we try not to.

Some days I want my kids right next to me forever and the next moment I want to get away from everyone and everything and think some thoughts all my own.

Please tell me that I am not alone... That this craziness of motherhood is universal.

My coffee is just about out and I think I have rambled on long enough....
I am thinking that today might require a second cup of coffee... this no sunshine thing is rough in the
mornings in a serious way.

Thanks for stopping by here today + thank you for listening to me this morning.
What is going on in your world today? This week?
Do you have a Spring Break coming up or have you already had it?
Somehow I just realized my kids are out of school all next week for Spring Break... Whoops.
I guess someobody hasn't been paying enough attention to the 1.5 million papers comingh home from school, huh?

////////////

Have a great Tuesday, friends.

{Virtual Coffee}

6:35 a.m.
It is still completely dark still at this time since Spring Forward happened...which is not my favorite thing ever, if you really wanna know.
Birds are singing though and that just makes it feel like Spring out there, even if I am under a big blanket drinking my early morning coffee on the couch.
I love that Spring just feels so close now.

Sometimes after a busy weekend, it's easy to feel, even a couple days into the week, like you are still trying to get caught up. That's exactly how I am feeling this morning.
Since I started working again, my struggle is always the same-- Feeling completely behind on everything at home AND not wanting to spend my entire weekend doing those things. Ha!
I know I need to start spending a little more time getting caught up on these things as well as some time on Sundays to do a little to prepare for the school/work week ahead.
I just need to make myself start doing it already, which is often easier said than done for me.

Do you use Sunday or the weekend in general to plan for the week ahead at all?

If we were really meeting for coffee this morning....

I would tell you that I got to see my three best girlfriends over the weekend.Two of them I have been friends with since junior high and the other since high school. That's a long time, huh?

The older I get the more I realize how absolutely important it is to have friends in your life that you can really and truly count on... and unfortunately, this doesn't always get easier the older you get, either.

My younger self would just die to learn of this... But i have to say that it's not as easy as I thought it would be by the time I hit 40, regarding many, many things and that includes friendships.

That being said, I am so thankful I have these friends that I have been through so much with.

I do wish that I got to meet up with these girls for coffee every week, it would be sooo awesome + 

the mini weekly therapy sessions would be so good for me. Sighhh.

Oh, you wanted a Stanley Update, did ya?
This past weekend was  b e a u t i f u l   and Stanley is loving this weather + being outside just as much as we are.
The kids have been really good about playing outside with him and taking him out, no matter how cold or how much snow we have... But it's just so nice now that we can leave the door open and he can go in and out when he wants.
Stanley is doing well and if we could just get him to sleep in one spot for the night and keep him from going from bedroom to bedroom waking us all up... That would be great.

Sunday we celebrated two of my niece's Birthdays, they spent lots of time outside, cake + ice cream,
The Wubble(having you seen those balloon/bubble things?) and lots of time to play with cousins.
Some days when I am so annoyed/over/tired of where we live, I remember that my kids live near their cousins and grandparents and family and nothing can ever replace all of these memories and the relationships they have...
Right?
That's what I will keep reminding myself.

This weekend I am thinking about taking Charlotte to see the new Cinderella movie.
Has anyone seen it? Thoughts?

Hope you all have a great day... Yesterday it was in the 70's and today it's just supposed to be in the 50's... But I'll take it! No snow, ice or freezing temps? 50 sounds just fine to me.
Tell me what's going on with you....what's new in your world?

Happy Tuesday!

{Virtual Coffee}

Good Morning.

Happy freezing Tuesday morning from Illinois.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr.

It's still really early, the sun hasn't come up yet and it is only about 10* out this morning. It's true.

This, right here, is the weather that has me dreaming of Summer nights on the back patio under the twinkly lights and early morning coffee on the front porch.

So I am really having coffee on the couch under a quilt before anyone else is up this morning, and it's still kinda dark so that picture wouldn't be the best- So I thought I would show you where I wish I was having coffee this morning, instead.

Ahhhhh. How yummy does that look?

I'm kind of fantasizing about this latte and the delicious french toast I had recently at this adorable little restaurant last week in St. Louis.
Not only was the food and coffee so good, it has the cutest logo/signs/menus and the most adorable coffee mugs- I really wanted to sneak one into my purse - And yes, I really did think about it. Do you blame me?

But, if we were really having coffee this morning, unfortunately it would just be here at home.
And there wouldn't be french toast, or anything else really, because we are in desperate need of some groceries in this house.
For some reason grocery shopping is so much worse in this weather... Really though, any errand that you may not mind too terribly much, is always worse in this weather though.
If I could, I would hibernate for most of the Winter.

Oh, I would have some big news for you over coffee this morning, you would get to meet Choo Choo, the newest addition to our family.
He is the sweetest little thing ever and we are so happy to have him here with us!
On Valentine's Day our local animal shelter was having a special meet and greet to encourage people to come in and adopt, so we decided to go check it out.
We wanted to see this dog in particular because my cousin was looking online at the shelter animals and tagged me in the post. Choo Choo was surrendered by his owner with a boxer about five days before and the boxer was adopted the same day.
We are kind of in a state of shock as to how well Choo Choo is doing, he fits right in, he follows the kids around and wants to be near us all the time.
If we can't all agree on a new name soon he will just be stuck with Choo Choo, none of us seem to like anything even remotely similar.

Also, let me just add here that my kids are at a great age for getting a dog I think.
They are so willing to help and are loving the responsibility, asking to take him out to use the bathroom, to feed him, trying to teach him tricks and things already.
It's awesome.
Ohhhhh.... and just look at that sweet face.

If we were really meeting for coffee this morning I would have to ask if you did anything fun for Valentine's Day.
Dinner ? Movie? Anything fun? Are you into Valentine's Day.... or could you care less?
I guess I'm really not that into it... It's like I kinda want to be for the kids but then I'm like mehhhhhhhh, as it gets close, like let's just get this holiday over with already.
One of the highlights for me was a special delivery of my mom's homemade sugar cookies though, delivered by my mom and dad.
Every time I see my dad I am somewhat surprised at how well he is doing since his stroke, it's been about three months now.
There are always little things that remind me he is not 100% yet but considering how things were in the first week, it is truly amazing to see where he is now.
And for that I am so very thankful.

So today I am headed out of town with the fourth grade field trip to the Abraham Lincoln Museum.
I am really looking forward to it, but lord give me strength too because then I remember how big groups of kids can stress me out in situations like this. ha!
Patience is not one of my strongest virtues, unfortunately.
BUT I am really looking forward to it and taking the day off of work is always a good idea and I love this museum, it is truly amazing.

So that's what I am up to today, I am ready for a day out of town and off of work. Yay!
Tell me what's going on with you... What are you up to today? This week?

Oh! And byt he way-- Any dog name ideas for us?
Anything at all?
It's a boy.
Or are we just stuck with "Choo Choo"?
Hellllllllllp.

////////////////

Thanks for stopping by here for coffee today!

{virtual Coffee}

Hey there.
Good Morning and Happy Tuesday to you.
I'm up early this morning and having my coffee on the couch while I keep my fingers crossed that no one else gets up... quite yet.  Just not yet, please! 
This morning my coffee is extra hot and the froth is perfect and it feels so good on my sore throat.
I think this about my third head cold this Winter and I really just feel like staying in bed all day and calling
in to work if you want the truth.

So, if we were really meeting for coffee this morning...

First of all, I would sit far far away from you and not spread my germs, I promise.
But really, if we were really meeting for coffee this morning I would tell you about the progress on my
goal to start waking up earlier during the week.
It's going well.... almost too well now, some days.
My goal is to be up about an hour before the kids so I can have a decent amount of time to myself before the craziness of school day prep begins... And most days I am doing it.
Over the weekend I was gone for two nights and even though I was sleeping on a super comfy hotel bed with dreamy, soft feather pillows, and curtains that kept the room perfectly dark, I was up by 7:00 am anyway and couldn't fall back asleep. It's actually working, you guys!
So if you're not necessarily an early riser by nature, but are trying to get up earlier, you can do it, too. Trust me.

Like I mentioned, I was out of town for a couple quick days and got to spend a little time wandering around St. Louis with my best gal pal.
It was so nice and the weather was absolutely b e a u t i f u l, especially for February.
I think by the time I headed back home on Saturday it was in the mid-60's. Sigh.
Man, I have been trying really hard to enjoy the season I am in and appreciate it because truthfully, I would not want Summer all year long, I just wouldn't....
BUT, that beautiful sunny weather on Saturday got me so ready for Spring, even though it still is a bit early for Spring Fever, especially here in the Midwest.
We have still yet to have a really, really good snow... and it's February... so I am thinking that there's a good chance that some rough Winter weather is still to come.

The talk around our house this week is Valentine's Day, y'all.... What about you?
I am not super into Valentine's Day for myself necessarily but it is fun when you have school-age kids I think.
I loved, loved, loved the Valentine's Day party when I was in school and my favorite thing was decorating the shoe box/mail box for the Valentine's party... Remember that?
Charlotte's class did them at home and took them in to school last week and I have to admit that I was itching to get in there and help her(or just make my own!) but she didn't need my help. Ugh. Whatever.
A couple of years ago I made these cute little paper hearts for the kids and I am going to make them again this year and fill them with the kid's favorite candy.
They are so simple that younger kids can do them to with a little help threading the needle.
FYI, I think embroidery thread is easier for the kids, it is just thicker and easier to manage.

{ I took about ten pictures of her on her "mat" and she made a dumb face on purpose in 
every one of them. This girl... }

If we were really meeting for coffee today, I would have to tell you that some days I feel like my kids are literally growing up right before my eyes. 

Some days that's how it honestly feels and it's crazy.

Each of them are starting to get into their own kind of music and I am hearing the same songs on repeat over and over and over until I am about to hang myself.
Wyatt has been more into his own music and developing his own taste for a while now, but Charlotte is starting to get more into it now I guess.
Since she started back in tumbling last week, she is super into cartwheels and tumbling and every day she gets out the yoga mat and has us watch her do cartwheels. Over and over.
Then,  she decides she needs some music for "her inspiration" and gets my ipad, looks up songs and rotates between Katy perry, Taylor Swift and that one Phillip Phillips song.
And you guys.
I really do mean over and OVER.

Lastly, before we go, since today is Tuesday and The Bachelor was on last night, I would have to ask if you are watching it this season.
Yes, I'm admitting that I watch The Bachelor, in all it's train-wreck-glory.
Oh, it is bad, bad, bad but I admit, after not watching it for years I am hooked on this season.
It's my guilty pleasure after the kids go to bed and it's kind of fun to be able to have a show that
you can talk to your friends about the next day... You know, even if it's pure trash.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////

Well my coffee cup is empty and the kids will be up soon, thank you for stopping by here today for coffee.
It will be a busy day of work and school and a parent-teacher conference, tumbling class and some Valentine-making tonight. Lots to do today!
Hope you have a great day--Tell me what's going on in your world today!

{Virtual Coffee}

Hey there.
Good morning to you + Happy Thursday.
This morning is my early morning, one of the days that my "early to rise"  mission worked.
Hooray for me!
I am batting about every other day so far, not including weekends, and my goal is to eventually wake up early every morning Monday-Friday.
And my ultimate goal is for it to become completely natural.... and for me to LOVE it, every day.
I'm not there yet... but it's a good goal to have.
I love getting the day started slowly, quietly, alone... And in order for those things to happen I need
to be up a minimum of one hour before the kids are up.
Preferably an hour and a half before the kids are awake, really.

I will get there one day, I am not giving up on my dream of becoming an early riser! 

But anyway.
I am up early and having my morning on the couch under a quilt, which is probably the best place
to have it, besides somewhere with friends.
When I am up before everyone else the couch is where I almost always have my coffee, sometimes my
office in warmer weather but in the Winter it's pretty cold in the mornings in there.
How about you? Couch? Kitchen table? Office?
One of the things I really miss since I started working is meeting friends for coffee or having them
come over in the nice weather and sit on the patio and have coffee.
s  i  g  h. 

So... if you were really over chatting with me over coffee this morning we would have to talk about my bright white fancy new living room.
Okay, so it's not fancy at all... but it is bright white.
We painted it white about two weeks ago and man, it is WHITE.
The change is really growing on me though and it just make the space look bigger, more open
and cleaner.
I know that's actually because it is cleaner though, too... there has been a lot of purging and organizing going on here as well.
I am really loving not only the white, but just the act of slowly putting things back up/out and knowing that it's okay to not put everything back out and to get rid of things or put them in storage for now.
It's a process and the hardest part about painting a room to me is that I then want everything new
in the room.
Couches, rugs, curtains, lamps! All the furniture needs a fresh coat of paint!
Everything needs to be new!

{These are just quick pictures I snapped with my iphone, I will take better pictures and share the whole room soon! }

After about two weeks back in school now, after the longest Christmas break in the history of man,
I think we are finally getting back into a routine around here... Finally.
Things are more normal now-- even though Wyatt has had not one, but two rounds of pink eye,
and with all of the sickness going around I am just holding my breath until Spring.
I need to completely stop reading/watching the news because all the sickness and flu and crazy
things happening gives me way too much anxiety.
Yikes.
Around here we have been daydreaming about a Summer vacation and Spring plans and wishing
it was Soccer season already, while still trying to enjoy the season we are in.

It's almost the end of January and I actually feel a lot better about it than I normally do....
Usually by the end of January I feel like I have accomplished absolutely nothing. Nothing.
This month I have made some goals and lists and have actually accomplished a few things I really wanted
to. Wow.
It feels really good for a change.

What is going on in your life? How has the first month of this year been for you so far?
Tell me what you're drinking this morning and where and anything else you'd like to share so I 
can pretend I am not having my morning coffee alone! 

Happy Thursday... Just one day until Friday, y'all!

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

{Virtual Coffee}

Hey there.
Good morning-- or afternoon by now I guess-- and Happy Friday.
I did start this earlier this morning but life around the house with two kids at home both sick and kindanotreallysick took
over this week.
Now things have quieted down and I am finally sitting down to enjoy an afternoon cup of coffee at 3:15 pm. today.
On my couch, under a quilt, headphones in, candles burning, coffee in hand.
Hooray for Fridays!

Seriously though.
I don't even care that the kids are in front of the TV watching Regular Show(I HATE that damn show).

So yes, there's been nasty, funky viruses going around and Charlotte has stayed home for the last three days this week.
Today she was much better but I just wasn't ready to send her back and she wasn't running a fever or contagious
 so she got to go to work with me for part of the day.
Now that is one thing that I really LOVE about my job, the flexibility... it's awesome.

So.

If we were really meeting for coffee today....

I would tell you that I am finally, finally getting into this whole Christmas thing just a little more, you know, 

a whole two weeks before Christmas.

This week I got a little more Christmas shopping done, just a little, I had dinner out with my 

sister one night and then last night I watched Home For The Holidays.

Have you seen it ?

It was good and it made me laugh... Oh and that Dylan McDermott. Sigh.

Now tonight I will be watching one of my favorite holiday movies, Love Actually.

Popcorn and Love Actually sounds pretty awesome to me tonight.

Okay, So we need to talk about Serial.

Or I do anyway... You may not need to yet... But I do.

Have you heard of this podcast? It's getting all kinds of hype and attention right now and 

I am obsessed with it. I confess.

It's like finding that favorite show you didn't know about and just falling in love with it.

So, so good if you're into real life crime/mystery kinda stuff like I am. 

Next week is the 12th and final episode and I am so mad that it is ending already... I need to know more and

 hear more and I need a conclusion here, people.

Please tell me if you are listening to it and what your thoughts are. 

Do you have any fun weekend plans?

The kids have a Birthday party to go to tomorrow and we have a 40th Birthday party tomorrow and I need to

 squeeze in some Christmas shopping and get a couple of Birthday presents, too and...

So yeah, there is lots to do but then there is also Miss Charlotte, who is still not feeling 100%, 

so we will just wait and see I guess.

Are you done with your shopping? Have you started?

What is going on in your little world this week?

Do tell.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

/////////

{Virtual Coffee}

Good Morning + Happy  Tuesday Wednesday errr--  Friday. 
I am craving some kind of normalcy and routine and I thought for old time's sake I would pop in here and do a Tuesday
morning Virtual Coffee post - and then I realized... it is Wednesday morning.
But that's okay, so we are having Virtual Coffee anyway... even though it is now
f  r  i  d  a  y   and I am just now finishing this post.
Geeeez.

Check out my new perfect-sized mug I got at Target last week, I love the blue, my most favorite color is blue.
So I have a thing for coffee mugs, and maybe probably have way too many, but I am always searching for just-the-right-size
latte cups and this one is pretty good.

Anyway- If we were really meeting for coffee this morning...
I would tell you that the last couple of weeks have been an absolute whirlwind with nothing feeling normal at all... 
like nothing, so this feels really good.
Just sitting on my couch,  freezing under a blanket and drinking my coffee... feels perfect, just perfectly normal and I love it.

My dad was in the hospital for thirteen days and he's home now but there is a really long way to go and so many things to 
figure out and.... it's just a LOT. A lot.
So until I am ready to even sit down and talk more about all of that I will just say that my family is so feeling thankful for so
many different things and the whole being thankful/Thanksgiving thing truly takes on a whole different meaning for us this year.

And speaking of thankfulness and Thanksgiving... note the pumpkins I still have out in the living room?
I know all of you love Christmas just a whole, whole lot but it's still Fall(ish) around here.
I stick pretty hard to my no Christmas stuff out until after Thanksgiving rule, not because I don't like Christmas just like
everybody else, but because I want to attempt to enjoy the holiday season I am in currently.
Attempting, I said.

If I am honest I will tell you that I am still not adjusted to this time change at all.
Still.
In the hospital we would look out the window and see the sun going down so early and it felt like
it should be 8:0 pm .... but it was only like 4:45 pm.... which just made for much longer nights.
The hard part for me is the lack of sunshine during the day we have been having lately...
I have learned as I have gotten older that the lacking sunshine thing really bothers me, even more
than the cold weather, if that's even possible.
If I can ever get my tired, lazy $#@ up early in the morning I know I will get to enjoy some early morning light though,
which is a definite good thing.

And yes, it's true, we have had snow already and I just felt kind of indifferent about it.
Probably a little annoyed, too.
Leaving the hospital late at night after a long day to realize it snowed and you need to 
scrape ice off of your car and you don't have a scraper in your car, is not a good thing.
But right here, in this shot... it looks pretty, right?
It did look pretty falling and we didn't get much at all.

One more thing before I go this morning, I just finished this book and I loved it.
It isn't very long at all and was a pretty quick read!
Suddenly, in this weather, all I can think about is reading books and baking and being under the covers way too early in the evening.
Time to nest and hibernate for the Winter I guess.


Thanks for stopping by here for coffee this morning, hope you have a great day !
Any fun plans for the weekend?
Tonight the kids and I are going to celebrate a Friday night not in the hospital with pizza and some movies I think.
That's exactly the kind of Friday night this mama needs!


/////////////

{Virtual Coffee}

Good morning.

Happy, happy Tuesday to you.

It's Tuesday morning and nothing like a cool, random Tuesday morning to wake up and have coffee before everyone else gets up.
I said cool.... I did, like 60* cool.
In July.
Weirdest weather ever for July in Illinois.
They are actually saying that we are experiencing the coolest July in recorded history this Summer.
It's super bizarre and just doesn't seem right... I mean, don't get me wrong, these 75* days are beautiful but we really REALLY
want more swimming weather.

So grab yourself a cup of coffee and get comfy and let's talk all things   S U M M E R, because even
if it feels more Fall-like around here, it is Summer after all.
And seeing that we only have 3 weeks left of Summer vacation as of yesterday, we are squeezing every last bit of Summer
out of everything that we can.

Yesterday I ran into Walgreen's and found a clearance section of Summer/pool things marked 70% off!
I stocked up on chalk, goggles, diving toys and mask & snorkel sets.
I was so excited when I snatched up the mask & snorkel sets for 1.99 because it will be nice once the kids promptly lose/break
them knowing that I didn't pay much at all for them. Right?
So when I got home from work the kids didn't seem to care at all that it was in the mid-70's and breezy, they jumped right
in and gave those new masks a work out!

Don't you remember when you were a kid swimming no matter how cold the water was?
I do, I remember my lips turning blue and teeth chattering and still telling my mom I wasn't cold.
Those were the days....

To be honest, because I am working part-time now,  I am feeling like Summer has gone even faster than usual
and that there are still so many things we wanted to do that I know aren't going
to happen now.
Nothing too unrealistic really, but there are only so many hours in the day.
We have knocked plenty of things off of our list though and I off of my personal list as well.
Because yes, moms have lists, too and there are things I want to do, start, accomplish as well....
It's not all about the kids and their lists, y'all.

Saturday morning Charlotte and my mom and I went to the Farmer's Market and I was reminded why
I need to go every Saturday morning... for the  f  l  o  w  e  r  s   if nothing else.
Because really, huge sunflowers for $1 each?
Yes, please!
And this sweet little bouquet of flowers for $4... and succulents for $2.
We also got peaches and herbs and tomatoes but the flowers... sigh.


If we were really meeting for coffee this morning you would have to tell me all about your Summer so far...
Trips? Activities? Camps? School?
This year since having a babysitter for a few days a week I have been wishing a little that I had signed the kids up for a couple
of day camps, or 1/2 day camps just to keep them busy-- but I didn't.

Well, my cup is just about empty and it's time for e to get ready for work... it's Tuesday so the
kids get to spend the day with their grandparents today... so thankful for that!
No worrying about them sitting in front of the Wii/ipod/tv all day today anyway... whew.

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Hope you have a great day and thanks for stopping by here today.
Now if only I was having a real live coffee date this morning... that would be perfect.