MiMi & Poppy Send a Surprise (Sussy)

The kids love their back to school surprise!
We made them close their eyes so that they could see the gift together. :)

My 1st Grader

Andrew and I (wasn't it last week he was DrewBear?) decided to have a Mommy/Drew day yesterday! Jordan started back to her Montessori school (same teacher, so it was an easy transition), so Andrew and I were pretty pumped about having some time together.

So we dropped off J and kind of high fived each other on the way to the car. I mean, J and I will have two days alone per week with just US. This alone day with my lovely firstborn is rare. Whooo hooo!

First stop, new shoes (and Speed Racer Undies, I love little boys) and a surprise at the Target Dollar Spot for both kids.

Second, we discussed our day. Movies or bowling. That was a tough call. We settled on bowling because mommy always takes them to movies. It was so much fun. We laughed and cheered and ate candy. All before noon! After that? Video games. I am not as good at Ms. Packman as I once was. What a shame. Ha.

Then came today. Up and ready using his chart, he fell right back into his routine. He even had 20 minutes to spare so he was granted 10 minutes of tv.

We walked to school (how nice is it to live this close?) and Andrew had no problem going into class. His teacher seems so sweet and he loves her smile. Haha. This will be a good year I believe. Jordan and I missed him so much, we kind of were lost souls, but with time we will get back into the groove.

Tomorrow will be my first day alone. WOW. J has school M-W-F, so I won't know what to do with myself. Actually, yes I will. Finish my website and launch it, edit a wedding, and fold that (UGGHHHH) pile of laundry. I will also be very lonely, maybe. :)

Last Day of Summer

A while back I posted a list of things that we wanted to do or try...let's see how well we followed through with this list, shall we?

Go to a farm (will be taken care of on our weekend trip)-We did and it was amazing
Make a homemade blueberry pie-Nope, but made many other yummy blueberry creations
Sell lemonade on the corner-darn it no! It was too hot.
Picnic in town square-we did, though it was breakfast
Make cookies for someone who needs cheering up-no, but we did make brownies for someone
Watch clouds all day (Jordan's idea) -10 minutess was all she needed a few times a week
Spend a day at farmers market-we visited a famers market but didn't stay all day
A day at Turner Falls No, too hot on days we could. Maybe a Fall trip?
Make a fairy garden Yes!
Have a slumber party Yes!
Touch an animal that we have never touched YES!
Make a new friend Yes!
Try a new snow cone flavor every week -not every week but we did visit the stand often!

Today

Today is a hard day. I had a bit of a rough night and still in it's shadow.

Today I have fought the shadow.
By making a happy brunch for myself (a cucumber sandwich on my food blog).
By editing a wedding and keeping in mind the couple's love for each other.
By making a grilled cheese sandwich for the kids and listened to them rave about it.
By swimming with the kids for almost 2 hours.
By making silly faces underwater and coming up just in time to have a full on belly laugh.

Today I am focusing on the happy.
I hear the kids laughing and eating fresh fruit.
I see them smashing the fruit juices into their lemonade to create new flavors.
I am reading a book that made me happy last summer
I see the little freckles on the kids' noses and it makes me want to kiss all over them
I dream about an easier tomorrow.

Today I carry on with life.
Laundry
Small daily lessons for the kids
Dishes
Planning dinner for tonight
Plucking my eyebrows
Saying a prayer during my 2 minutes of alone time
Counting the hours until I can have a glass of wine

Today I will admit my frustrations.
I can't finish a sentence of my book without hearing "mom"
I have answered to "mom" a million times this past week
I looked in the mirror to see that I haven't plucked in weeks. Yikes.
I miss my husband when he is traveling but it is a hard adjustment when he returns
I try not be jealous when he is traveling to Seattle where we fell in love, and next to San Fransisco where I always dreamed of going though I lived in California for 10 years..but I get that way while I am stuck here
I know I am human, and my feelings are legit. And he works hard for this family.
I also work hard for this family and I have to realize that my perks are the ones fighting to my left.
I got my feelings hurt today when my son told me as we were swimming that I never play with them or do anything fun.

What I do for them...
Plan fun outings
Play with them daily
Find fun events to do with them weekly
Hug, kiss and pray with them daily
I give them tools to use their imagination and mind daily
Surprise them with trips, events, experiences, movies, and special time together
I taught them the beauty of finding shapes in clouds and shooting stars
Read to them daily
Snuggle
I am trying to give them the best foundation so that they can grow to be the best them.

I know one day they will know. I know one day they will thank me.
I know I am lucky to have everything I have, but some days life is hard. And right now my heart hurts and I am feeling a bit sorry for myself.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Faerie Garden

Trying to complete our things to do this summer, we set out to make a faerie garden.

The kids are enjoying it, Andrew checks it every morning to see if the faeries visited it. NOT BY MY DOING some flowers get moved around. Could it be the dog? Andrew? Chad? Who knows. But pretty fun trying to figure that one out. Haha.