No Recess Today.

No Recess Today., originally uploaded by BamaWester.

It's a rainy fall day. Rainy is not a word that we've used much in the last few months to describe the weather. The rain is a welcomed change since we so desparately need it. However, to say it's not cramping our Saturday style would be a lie.

My kids love the outdoors and we spend a considerable amount of time in it. EJ, at least three times after waking this morning, looked out the door and said, "Mom! It looks like it stopped raining. I think we can go outside now." Only to have me confirm that, in fact, it is still raining buckets.

No recess today. However, nothing says that recess has to be outdoors. In the process of creating indoor recess, I've ignored several of my regular house rules today. We've watched Bambi, Dumbo and are now onto The Little Mermaid. We've (well they've) jumped on beds, crawled under laundry baskets pretending to be caged birds, built bridges out of pillows and furniture cushions, and ate M&Ms and peanuts at 11 o'clock this morning.

There's something refreshing and also cozy about being stuck indoors all day. Enjoying the fire and a fresh cup of hot coffee while watching my kids camped out on the floor with pillows and blankets, makes me smile. Gene is away this weekend so it's just the three of us, enjoying indoor recess.

Beautiful Fall Day Part 2

Some of my favorite photos from yesterday.

Beautiful Fall Day

Flickr IMG_3171 copy, originally uploaded by tlheyman.

I took the kids to the lake for a little photo shoot yesterday and it was such a beautiful fall day! Remembering from previous years that the maples along the lake turn the most gorgeous color in fall, it had been on my list of things to do. Had we waited much longer, we would've missed it this year, as many of the trees had already lost half of their leaves. BUT, it didn' t make it any less beautiful! Wow!

The sunlight yesterday on all of those gorgeous fall colors was breathtaking. And, the sunlight on my children dressed in their matching fall colors was just as breathtaking. I'm certainly no photographer (although my wish is to become one) but I'm really proud of how the photos came out. Usually, I'll get one or two shots out of a boatload of photos, that are worthly of framing. Yesterday, while I took over 100 photos, half to three quarters are worthy of framing. Obviously, I'll have to narrow the list down a bit.

A Night... delicious.

2008-05-f09-f14-xgm, originally uploaded by lefteye.photo.

Friends, sushi, and wine. I couldn't dream up a more perfect way to spend my 35th birthday. I ate too much sushi, drank too much wine, and stayed out too late. Indulgences. Indulgences saved for special occasions. Indulgences that today left me feeling, shall we say, another year older.

Life's indulgences. Deserved and needed, at least on occasion. One such indulgence, however, left its mark in a totally diffierent way today. Quality time with some dear, life long friends. One of life's sweetest indulgences. An indulgence that we never do enough of and the one that today, left me feeling loved and blessed.

A Day... all mine.

monday morning, originally uploaded by simply photo.

So, it's my 35th birthday today. And as part of my celebration on this day, I did something that I never do. I took the day off from work AND took the kids to preschool. I get the ENTIRE day to myself. What to do?? So many options and just not enough hours to enjoy them all.

My initial plan was to sleep in. Something that doesn't happen often with two three year olds residing with you. I made arrangements with Gene for him to take the tots to school, something that he never does and is usually part of my morning routine, on the three days that I work each week. Well, I had also decided that I wanted to see them all before they walked out the door for the day, so I asked Gene to wake me up before they left so that I could say goodbye (but totally planning to fall right back to sleep and stay that way for at least another hour or two or three). Good plan. However, execution of plan was a bit different.

At 6:45, Gene brought me coffee in bed (nice.) and then asked the kids to come in and wish me a happy birthday. Olivia came running in with big hugs and kisses and happy birthday wishes. EJ cried outside of the door, telling Daddy he wanted to go back downstairs to watch the Wiggles and drink his OJ instead. Can't blame him, I guess. Problem was, not only was Daddy not yet dressed for work, he hadn't even showered. So, as he got ready for work, I sat on my bed with an initially unhappy EJ, wrestled with the pretty little girl white gloves that Olivia insisted she wear before leaving the house, and watched Playhouse Disney. I quietly mentioned to Gene that "this" wasn't exactly what I had in mind this morning.

But soon, EJ's mood improved and he started asking me questions about my birthday. How many years was I? How do I show that number(on my fingers, of course)? Olivia asking me to hold her hand while she's laying next to me, leaning over every so often to say "I love you, too". -- she always adds the "too" on the end, even if you haven't said it first. Maybe she's reminding me that I should have said it first. As much as my day did not come close to starting out as I had planned, I couldn't have asked for a better start. It was sweet start. It was what being a Mom is all about.

I still got to stay in bed after they all left me this morning. I tried with everything I had to fall back to sleep. I'm exhausted this morning. I stayed up late last night, with the intention and plan of sleeping in. However, as I laid in bed this morning, in my oddly quiet house, the excitement of having the day to myself overwhelmed the thoughts in my brain and there was no falling back to sleep. Then, a must do to do list popped into my head. Crap. I have to email the receptionist at work to let her know I won't be in. I need to turn my out of office assistant on. I need to renew the library books that are now late. I need to check my email to see if the Craigslist seller of the very cool dining room chairs got back to me. So, I grab the laptop and tick them off one by one. Done. Try again to fall asleep. Decide instead that I need to get up and call the Craiglist seller who never emailed me back. Done.

It's now 9:45 and I've made a fresh pot of coffee. I've got new music downloading to my iPod. I don't have the radio, tv, or anything else that might make noise, on. I hear the hum of my laptop and my dog, who is laying at my feet, breathing. It's a gorgeous day. The sun is shining. Time for a shower, then shopping for a new outfit for tonight, then maybe a Starbucks coffee. Tonight, we have reservations at a b&b, the kids are staying over at Oma's and Grandpa's, and 7 pm dinner reservations for sushi with 15 of my dear friends.

life is good.

Happy Birthday to Me....

(day before) birthday cupcake, originally uploaded by jek in the box.

I hope the next 35 will be as good as the first.

For The Love of Fall

As I mentioned in the previous post, we just took our annual fall trip to Prime Hook Beach. We usually travel there four times a year, with the last trip typically being in October. I'm a summer person. Always have been and always will be. So for me, the "fall trip" is really kind of a let down. It's never warm enough to swim or enjoy the usual summertime fun that is supposed to be had at the beach. To me, fall is always a reminder of what is to come... my least favorite season.

This year, however, I've turned a new leaf. A more optimistic one. I'm trying to appreciate fall for what it is... a beautiful season. I mean, really, what is not to love? The colors? The crisp air? The fall harvest of warm your belly foods? So Fall, I've decided to give you a chance. And, you know what?? I actually like you... a lot. We probably had the best "fall" trip to Prime Hook yet. And it was all because I embraced you.

Saturday was spent on the beach collecting shells, building sand castles, and just enjoying the weather... which was gorgeous, by the way. Saturday night we had a fire on the beach. Perfect weather, no bugs and my hats off to the guys for building one kick arse fire. We had mulled cider, bananas baked with chocolate chips and marshallows on the fire, and smores. It was fantastic. Even more fantastic was when everyone went inside to put the kiddos to bed and Gene told me to stay outside and enjoy the fire. There I sat, the only person on this long stretch of beach. Warm fire crackling in front of me, the surf breaking behind me, crisp cool air, water lit by the moonlight, and a good beer in hand... it doesn't get much better than that. If I could bottle all of that up, it would sell for a premium.

I love you, Fall.

We're home...

VALISES OUBLIEES, originally uploaded by Boccacino.

...but wishing we were still at the beach. The weather was fabu-U-lous and certainly didn't feel like October. I'll be back later with trip update and photos.

A Weekend Away

Tomorrow, we leave for Primehook Beach. Our final trip of the year. October is such a great time to visit as it is the start of the fall migration for Snow Geese and Canada Geese. The waters in the refuge actually look white because they are so littered with Snow Geese. It's a beautiful sight to see and with each year, the kids are getting older and can appreciate it more. I'm excited for them to see it again this year.

We're spending the weekend with one of my best friends and her family. She has four year old twins and I love that our kids are so close in age (and another set of twins, no less). I've planned for a campfire on the beach tomorrow night with mulled cider, butternut squash soup and baked apples (on the fire, of course). The weather is supposed to be gorgeous and I'm sooooo looking forward to a campfire on the beach! Summer is just usually too hot to do this plus the bugs are bad.

Here's to a lovely fall weekend at the beach. See you when we return.


1. Sunset w/ Beach Fire, 2. Mulled Cider, 3. November 25 (butternut squash), 4. Snow Geese, 5. Cackling Goose, 6. geeseinflightenmasse_MG_5388.jpg, 7. Untitled, 8. Untitled, 9. 2cattailsgeese_MG_5567.jpg, 10. Boardwalk, 11. Blue Fruit, 12. a long path in fall, 13. Private Beaches14. Not available15. Not available16. Not available

A Great Idea

LOVE, this.



Now, the search is on for a suitable jar for the job.

A New Layout

Just wanted to share a page that I did earlier this week. I think it's my favorite to date. I'll be back later to post a few more.