Monday Morning Coffee On The First Of June!

Good Monday morning! Welcome to June, otherwise known to me as the quiet, slow-down, rest-and-relax month. June is for us a month of calm, ordinary days with almost nothing on the schedule. It is the month tucked cozily in between much busier times, a chance to pause and reflect before heading into the second half of the year. 

This past weekend was productive around here. In addition to our regular weekend activities of attending Mass and going to dinner afterward, Flynn had work, Steve went to the farmer's market with Madison, and I got around to doing some much-needed organizing. If you ask my kids, they would say, "Mom is in one of her moods!" This translates to Mom is going to start organizing everything in sight! Nail down your belongings! Seriously, though, we moved in here at the end of last August, and I never got around to making sure things were as functional and aesthetically pleasing as possible. In the past few days, I suddenly decided to tackle that situation.

I emptied my makeup drawer, threw away old, caked-on, empty products, and finally opened the new makeup brushes I bought on sale in December. I moved to the refrigerator, which was really crammed with things long past their usefulness, wiped the shelves, and put everything back in order. I dumped the "Junk Drawer", where everything without a home ends up, and was able to consolidate it down to a notepad, some pens, scissors, tape, and a phone charger no one seems to want to claim. 

Perhaps the most daunting project of all was the pantry. This house was built with a beautiful pantry, and during the survival-of-the-fittest moving process, items were assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. This worked until it didn't, or at least until I couldn't take it anymore! So, I got a few baskets and bins and spent the better part of Saturday afternoon making it more functional and less chaotic! Here is how it looked before... 

And here is how it looks now...

It is so much easier to see what we have now. And I was able to toss some things that were way past the expiration date. 

These three were all comfy with a YouTube video when we headed to Mass.

Things you see on your way to Mass. 

And lastly, my Peyton Rose celebrated a birthday yesterday! While miles may have separated us, she was right there with me all day long. She had a wonderful day made even more special with dinner and a beautiful cake from her mother-in-law, Sheri, phone calls, texts, and a lovely trip to Parker Dam with Christopher. My littlest baby, born with dark hair and a tiny turned-up nose, is twenty-six. To me, she will always be that little girl with the clippy in her hair, swinging on the swing in the backyard without a care in the world.

Have a wonderful day, my friends. Enjoy the fresh air and summer scents. I hope you have many lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer, as my Mom used to sing. And I hope you have plenty of moonlight nights, too.

Billie Jo