Weekend Plans

This weekend is a lot less busy than last weekend was and less busy than next weekend will be. It is nice to have a breather sandwiched in between...Friday the kids get out early, so I think we are going to celebrate the extra couple hours by doing one of our favorite activities...grocery shopping. That's right... there really is no end to my exciting mothering skills, is there? We will probably grab a bite to eat after and then have a quiet evening at home.

Saturday I am going to get my hair trimmed and if you happened to see my pics from last week, you may suggest I get my color touched up too. Gotcha. Madison works the early shift...hooray! and then we have Mass followed by dinner at home. I think Steve will cook some burgers on the grill and I will cut up some fruit, rip open a bag of chips, and call it a day.

Sunday morning is sleeeep in day, and I can't wait! Rhett has a soccer game in the early afternoon, and following that, I am going to make him his most requested meal...tacos. I keep promising him I will make them and this is finally the day! Then it is wind down, bath, shower and curl- up- on- the- sofa -before- the -start -of -a- new- week time.

Well, there is our weekend... all wrapped up. I hope yours is happy and sunny and family-ish, whatever your plans may be!

Just how happy does this make me? : )

One more Prom pic...just in case you missed it...

All the fresh air means someone has been taking short naps again...

My soccer star and his good lookin coach...after he scored his first ever goal!

...which was the perfect excuse to whip up a homemade chocolate cake to celebrate...but then again, who needs a reason to bake chocolate cake?

Best. Santa. Gift. Ever.

Just another afternoon at the ball...

My bestie Marian! We had a wonderful visit! Miss you, Mar!

Just a random picture of my sideboard...no reason..!

Once a month, a cute couple who run a bakery business in our little town have a Cupcake Day. You can place an order for the dozen cupcakes offered that month, and they deliver them to your home! They are delish!

My fave...banana chocolate chip with peanut butter frosting...perfect with my afternoon coffee! : )

Prom And Mother's Day 2013...In Pictures

This weekend was wonderful...and here are the pictures to prove it... First off...Prom!

Prom breakfast for my girl...blueberry coffeecake and fresh fruit...

The Dress...

and the shoes...my girl can dance! : )

The clutch..."vintage" 1986...same one I carried to my prom...

The nails...

and the flowers...

Getting dressed with the cutest little helper around!

Picture time!

And look who was Prom King? : )

Mother's Day

Lots of Homemade love...(my fave!)

Comfy Tee and books to read...(move faves!)

A Mother's Day goal by my favorite player...

and a yummy Dairy Queen cake to round out the day! What a wonderful weekend!

Don't Blink

Madison and her best friend Jeffrey had a great time at Prom Saturday night. I was so happy for them both, and in awe of how they have grown from those two little preschoolers who played spaceship on our swing set into these two young adults who are old enough to drive to dinner, Mass, and Prom. This is what they looked like on their big night.

And this is what they looked like years ago on their first "date" at our house.

Oh,  how my heart smiles when I think of that day. I remember standing outside taking that picture. I remember saying to Jeffrey's mom, my friend and neighbor Sharon, "Someday they will be going to prom together!" And we laughed thinking about that far off day. I got the pictures developed...those were the days before digital cameras, folks...and we smiled at how cute these two were on their very first date. And then I tucked the pictures away and moved on with life.

I answered the door when Jeffrey knocked to see if Madison could come out and play. I cleaned my house. I grocery shopped. I went to church with my little family. I gave birth to more sweet babies. One day, I moved with my family to a new home outside of town, and no longer answered the door to little Jeffrey's knocks. I cooked meals. I decorated for Christmas and Easter and Halloween. I baked cookies and did laundry. I picked my kids up from school. I read books. I gave birth to one more sweet soul. I took trips to Disney world and the beach. I gave baths and brushed hair. I clipped coupons and took walks. I slept. And I blinked.

Then one day I heard a knock at the door. I opened it to see a face I remembered, but did not recognize. It was Jeffrey, wanting to know if Madison could come and go for a ride. Somehow, someway, as I lived my life in what seemed to be the blink of an eye, this young boy who danced in my living room to Britney Spears and swam in my pool for hours on end and ate countless peanut butter sandwiches at my kitchen table had grown into a young man. And he asked my Madison to his senior prom. He told us he would not have dreamed of taking anyone else.

And so now, as I look longingly at these pictures of my Madison and her friend Jeffrey, I realize just how quickly life passes by...and I cherish each and every minute, knowing even the smallest of moments will become a wonderful memory in just the blink of an eye.

Weekend Plans...Prom and Mother's Day 2013

We have an exciting, jam packed weekend planned and I am very excited for it all. First off...my dear sweet only best friend Marian is coming up to visit! I promise to take pictures as evidence that I do actually know a real life person who can stand to be friends with me. Friday night, my sister Margie is taking Madison to get her nails done for Prom, and Steve will be working late so dinner is still up in the air. I am thinking about take out from my favorite place...steak salad anyone?...and then a movie and catching up with Mar.

Saturday will be a busy day of Prom preparations for my Madison. She is going to her first prom with one of her very best friends, Jeffrey. Jeffrey is also her very first friend...she met him when we moved into our old house and they have been friends ever since. He is a senior, and Madison was thrilled he asked her to go to his prom with him. She has a beautiful dress, and is doing her own hair and make up. She is awesome at that and I am sooo glad she likes to do it herself. After pictures here, they are off to Mass and dinner before the Prom. We are planning on Mass ourselves then home for Barbecue beef sandwiches and cheesy fries for dinner.

Sunday... Mother's Day! I plan on being surprised with breakfast in bed...hopefully a  turnover and a cup of coffee and lots of homemade cards and gifts from my littles. Sunday afternoon we have a soccer game.  Hopefully the rain will hold off until that is over...then I am thinking pizza and wings for dinner before Marian heads out. I am secretly hoping for one of Madison's Dairy Queen cakes too! Hint to my hubby if you're reading this. ; )

Well that is what we have planned for this busy spring weekend. I hope yours is happy and sunny and full of love, whatever your plans may be. And to all my sweet bloggy friends out there who are mothers or grandmothers or Godmothers or mothers at heart...Happy Mother's Day to you!

   "It will be gone before you know it. The fingerprints on the wall appear higher and higher. Then suddenly they disappear."
 

Dorthy Evslin

American writer

 

 

Ahhh...bath, blankie, milk, and Max and Ruby...Life is good.

 

 

Ever wonder what Heaven smells like?

 

 

Every few days, I like to make this up for breakfast and after school snacks.

 

 

Two of my three little ladies...

 

 

A sweet little guy brought this home for me!

 

 

Our soccer star!

 

 

He's pretty tight with the coach...and this was before the 3-0 loss on Sunday...

 

 

Peyton all set for the earlier than usual field trip day...

 

 

One of the many blessings of having kids far apart in age...

 

 

watching them love each other and help with the important things in life...

 

 

like learning to pedal a bike! Which, by the way, was Madison's first bike too!

 

 

Time to go in? Already? Really?

 

 

 

 

What's Inside My May Folder

Even as I type this, I can't believe it is May! How I wish this time of my life would slow down...In any case, it is time to take a peek into my May folder...

Here is what is inside...

The first thing inside is the May poem.

May 



The wind is tossing the lilacs,
The new leaves laugh in the sun,
And the petals fall on the orchard wall,
But for me the spring is done.

Beneath the apple blossoms
I go a wintry way,
For love that smiled in April
Is false to me in May.

Sara Teasdale

The next thing is my handwritten list of things to do in May.

May



1. Mother's Day Gifts and cards

2. Complete prep and gifts for Peyton

     and Rhett birthday.

3. Porch furniture out and washed

4. Clean furnace filters.

5. Switch coat closets.

6. Decorate for summer.

7. End of year teacher gifts.

8. Memorial Day supplies

I also have my Mother's Day cards I bought

for my and Steve's mom. I am one of THOSE

people...you know...the ones who buy things

the minute the store puts them out. And then

I can't remember where I put them...

Happy May! Happy Planning!



 

 

 

     

Through A Child's Eyes

Sometimes it takes something small...a quick unexpected moment in an otherwise normal day...to help us stop and not only look at something, but actually see it. Sometimes it takes someone else... someone who is young enough to have a mind full of wonder and a heart full of excitement...to remind us to stop and not only see something, but also enjoy the beauty of it. This is exactly what happened to me one recent spring day.

As I was taking our puppy Kirby out first thing in the morning, I barely noticed the numerous dandelions beginning to pop up in our yard. I went back in and continued my normal routine...feeding the puppy, unloading the dishwasher, getting breakfast. Suddenly, Flynn ran and grabbed my hand. She was bursting with excitement and begging me to come to the door with her. When we reached the door, she gazed out the window and whispered,"Look at all the beautiful flowers Mom!" She was in awe of the bright yellow bursts of color interspersed among the blades of green, green grass. And she was right. When I looked, and actually saw them, I realized they were beautiful.

We stopped what we were doing and went outside. She ran and giggled. She enjoyed and appreciated the beauty of those simple dandelions and in doing so, made me stop and see them too. I saw them not as annoying weeds in need of mowing, but as beautiful signs of spring. And then I ran and grabbed my camera. I wanted to see those beautiful dandelions not merely through the lens of my camera, but through the eyes of my child. And that is exactly what I did.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekend Plans

The first weekend of May is here! How did that happen? I hope the next few months go much slower, don't you? Friday night Rhett is taking some of his friends to camp for a sleepover. I am not a sleepover person. Like. at. all. I feel badly sometimes and worry that could be one of the areas I score below the bar in mothering. I hope my children don't grow up and say, " You know...my mother never let me have a sleepover..." I enjoy having my children's friends over. I really do. Just not all of them. For an extended period of time. All night. But I digress. Steve, the fun parent, offered to take a few of them to camp for dinner and a movie and maybe even a campfire. Madison works, so Peyton, Flynn and I are planning on taking dinner to my parents. One guess what they want. Wendy's. I am not kidding.

Saturday looks to be a beautiful day. Hopefully the girls and I can get some outside time and even get in a walk. Then we have Mass in the early afternoon. I am planning on a family favorite for dinner Saturday night...hamburgers on the grill. It is always our first meal of the nice weather. I will probably have chips and fruit with it too.


Sunday is sleep in...coffee in my jammies...and read the paper day. Ahhhh...can't wait. Then I am planning brunch before Madison goes to work at 3. I am thinking waffles, eggs, ham, and fresh fruit. Then we have Rhett and Steve's first soccer game! Rhett is so excited, and I am excited for him. After that it is showers, backpacks, and lunches and a date with Celebrity Apprentice to round out our weekend. I hope yours is sunny and yummy, whatever your plans may be.  : )

Look who got her first pair of Converse? And they are slip ons, too. Winning!

A few sunny days and some rain have done their job...

Look who got a haircut... : )

"Mom, should I smile like this...

or this?"  : )

Flynn and I baked this up one day...and this mama scored some major points with her kids!

My pretty Peyton and her homework helper...