it's officially summer!

We heard the tinkling song of the ice cream truck as it wound it's way through a couple neighborhoods near us and my kids were moping about because the ice cream truck has never ever in their lives come down our street. And then, the unimaginable happened. The music got louder and louder and closer and closer. The joyful screaming commenced and the kids bolted from the backyard, through the house and out the front door in a blur of motion as if their very lives depended on getting that ice cream truck to stop.

Mission accomplished, they sat on the front steps and ate their treats. A delicious sneak peek at the wonders summer has in store for them.

inch by inch, row by row

I bet you are all astounded and aghast at the leaps and bounds of progress I've made on this here quilt. Well, don't be sending me a congratuations card quite yet. This looks more finished than it actually is. But, doesn't it look FANTABULOUS!!!??? I am loving loving loving it!

Real quilters have design boards which are felt boards on the wall they can stick the quilt blocks to until they find a pleasing design. I have a dusty cat and dog hair littered floor. What I am doing right now is laying out all my block halves into rows so I don't have the same colors next to each other in any of the stars. I don't want to put them together willy nilly and then at the end discover I have only red left. Because you know that would happen. So during naptime the past couple days I have laid out the entire quilt block half by block half. It is not sewn together so I can still rearrange blocks if I need to. But the next step will be to sew the block halves together and then the rows and finally sew each row to the other to form the quilt top. This is my favorite part of the whole process. Finally getting to see what the finished quilt will look like. And have I mentioned, I LOVE IT!!!

Maybe, just maybe, Katie will get to sleep beneath her quilt this winter!

Resolutions

Want less, cherish more.
Eat less, savor more.
Talk less, listen more.
Toil less, praise more.
Worry less, pray more.
Bonnie J. Manion

This poem hangs on my fridge. I think it's a good reminder to love life as it is. We're never quite happy with ourselves or what's going on in our lives. So many of us make resolutions to do more, accomplish more, change ourselves. Not that that is a bad thing, often change is a very good thing, but sometimes we just need to remember to embrace ourselves for who we are and our life for what it is, right at that very moment...the good, the bad, the challenging and the joyful. It's all in there. Every single day. Rise to challenges and revel in the joys and resolve to love your life.

dogs can be so gross sometimes

You would think the damn rabbit would have learned it's lesson the first time the dogs chased it and it got stuck in my chain link fence. Which required several people and wire cutters to free him. But no, we have the bunny with short term memory loss and it wanders back into the yard where two big dogs live. Two big very fast dogs, it would seem.

Because tonight, when I should have been relaxing on my couch watching Modern Family, I was outside swatting away mosquitoes while cajoling Mudge to drop the bunny. Yes, I did say bunny. They caught it. And they ate it. Well they ate half of it anyways. I am throwing up a little in my mouth just to write that.

Mudge decided to show off his hunting prowess and arrived at the back door with the head and front half of poor Peter Rabbit. I was at a loss as to what to do. I could not let him in so I went out. He sat and stayed but "drop it" was out of the question. No dog treats or cheese or even bacon could convince him to drop his prize. What was sickly comical about the whole ordeal was my attempting to get Mudge to drop the bunny while avoiding looking directly at him or the bloody bunny. Because every time I did, the bunny was looking right at me and I'd scream. Truly gruesomely horrific.

I came in to get some more bacon and the kids asked me if what I was trying to do. Since they could see Mudge at the slider with a bunny in his mouth there was no point trying to sugar coat it so I said "I am trying to convince Mudge to drop half a dead bunny." Teresa gagged and choked out "It's only half dead? Will it be okay if you can get Mudge to drop it?"

Ummm, yeah, I don't think so sweetie.

swan lake

After over a month spent sitting on her nest, Juliet, accompanied by proud Papa Romeo, takes her little brood out for a swim. Is this not the cutest thing ever???

what we've been up to

multiple dance rehearsals and recitals

curler installation times five so she'd look like Shirley Temple for each and every rehearsal and recital

the joy of being a backstage (aka SuperMom) for one each of the above mentioned recitals and rehearsals
softball practices with the newest little leaguer on the block


baseball, baseball, baseball...cheering on the current #1 team in town! (#12 is our MVP)

visits from the tooth fairy



a night enjoying the arts...first the art show and then the third grade recorder concert (which was quite enjoyable despite what you may think 3rd grade recorder concerts sound like)


chaperoning a field trip to Boston with said musically talented third grade

Sometimes it is exhausting when I look at my daybook and see how full every single day is. Between school activities, sports, other extracurricular activities and the usual household obligations, it seems there isn't any time left to even breath. But I cherish all these moments, the big and the little. And quite honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.

That doesn't mean I won't complain about my crazy busy days, because I certainly do plenty of that. ; )

a face only a mother can love

beauties and the beast

I was in the car with my three kids and a friend of Katie's. Sam had the book River Monsters (his current favorite) with him and he was holding up the book so the three girls could see the photos in an attempt to gross them out and maybe even scare them. Much to his dismay, photos of critters such as these beauties, caused the girls to ooohh! and aaawwwww!

As in "awwww...look at his teeny tiny little teeth"

and, "wow! That little guys mouth can open so big!"

This seemingly eyeless giant salamander even got a few "he's so cute!"

and this one..."aaaawww, he's smiling at us!"

this one was declared, "as beautiful as a seashell"

Sam finally closed the book in defeat and the girls saw the picture on the front cover and it was then they all shrieked in fear, disgust, and disbelief.
"oh my god!" Teresa spit out, while hiding her eyes. "That man is creeping me out!"

from her mouth to God's ear

Every night my kids say their prayers. They say the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory be. Then we have some free style praying. I ask them if they have any intentions and then give them the floor. Sometimes they pray for help on a test, sometimes they ask for nice weather so they can play outside, they may ask God to help a sick, sad or worried friend and they always keep family, friends and pets on their list of people they want to ask God to keep an eye out for.

The other day we had a very late bedtime due to after school activities that kept us out till after seven. I decided bedtime was going to happen without our usual round of books and we'd skip prayers too. Katie was having none of it. She was okay, not happy but okay, with the no books but no way, no how were we not going to say our prayers. It touches my heart the way she said it, "Mumma, we HAVE to do our PRESENTATIONS to God so he knows what's in our hearts."

the other royal wedding

Katie got a bit caught up in the wedding frenzy the other day and decided we needed a wedding of our own to celebrate.

Mudge is looking quite dapper in his bow tie and the Bride Daisy dazzled everyone with her one of a kind designer gown.