Bad Mommy

For the past couple of nights, my two year old has taken a long time to fall asleep. I watch him at night as he entertains himself and he seems happy (but not sleepy)...I guess that's the reason he has slept until almost 11 a.m. for the past two mornings. I know he's okay, because it's morning now, and I'm watching him on a little monitor as he sleeps and moves about.

Yet, still, it makes me feel guilty. It takes me to thoughts of lounging on the beach with a pina colada in one hand and a paperback book in the other hand, with no commitments, no plans, no conversation. You know, just quiet time for myself.

Ah, I think I'll have another cup of coffee before he wakes up.

The Beach

One of our favorite family activities is visiting the beach for a couple of days at the end of summer. The beaches along the Michigan shoreline of Lake Michigan are beautiful. They aren't really crowded, and the people we spent time with on the beaches were friendly and relaxed. We've done this for the past couple of years, and we really enjoy Grand Haven, a beautiful little town northwest of Grand Rapids. Another favorite town (also with beautiful beaches), is South Haven. I'm ready for a summer home!

 My little two year old son loves the sand.

 The girls are splashing in the water. Mine are in pink.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

It's a beautiful, sunny, crisp day, and I'm thinking about the fact that winter is coming, and wondering what will keep me warm and cozy so that I enjoy it even more. I think I'm in the mood for crock pots and winter stews. Here are the things that I use a lot. Coffee, several times a day. I like the t-disc and pod coffeemakers and I ended up with both the Tassimo and the Keurig because I love variety.

Electronic rice cooker at least weekly, but maybe more since it's especially good during the winter. If you don't have an electronic rice cooker, you don't know what you're missing. So simple and so good. I'm all about simple, and my children love rice.

The thing I'm really looking forward to this winter, is diving into my favorite classic novels with a big mug of coffee or hot tea. Of course, it has to be during the day so that I can look out at the snowy world and feel a little bit of happy guilt over the fact that I get to hang out IN MY FAVORITE FLANNEL PJ's looking out at the snow every now and then while the world spins by.

Pretty things from Na-Da Farm

I got my first chance to visit Anne Marie and her beautiful farm this past weekend. I had a nice time looking at creative decor, beautiful antiques, hand-made clothing, french pastries, and a lot of beautiful, friendly women. I'm so glad I got the chance to attend the Na-Da Farm Event, and I will be sure to be back May 20th for the next one! Thank you, Anne Marie, and your creative friends, for a great evening!

   My daughter, Jessica, modeling my hand-made smock by Anne Marie. Please ignore my sink full of soaking dishes.

                                  

                                      

The plate is prettier than the photo shows.

No More Silly Bands!!!

A month or two ago, I started seeing "silly bands" a lot while I was out shopping. They looked cute enough in their packages, and I thought my daughters might enjoy sharing them and figuring out what each little band's shape signified. The kids had fun with them for a while, trading them at school and the bus stop, wearing them on their arms (until their arms sometimes had silly bands starting at their wrists and running up to their elbows). 

It didn't take too long for the romance to wear off, at least for me. Once I started finding the silly bands just about everywhere I went in the house, I started getting frustrated about having to constantly pick them up. Soon, the girls started fighting over whose was whose, about who had the most silly bands, and about who had the best silly bands. Then, one of my daughters told me that because so many kids at school were wearing them, the new policy at school was that no one was to trade them or take them on or off during school because they were distracting the kids too much. They had grown into a MAJOR phenomenon. When I started seeing kids everywhere with these "silly" bands covering their arms, and when none of my daughters any longer felt like they had enough of these, I decided to end the madness. I told my daughters that these silly bands were becoming quite annoying and that they were causing the girls to place too much importance on them. Plus, they were causing too many fights.

Guess what? MY KIDS AGREED!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So, we are THROWING THE SILLY BANDS OUT!!!!

Thank goodness!!

Sweet Summer Days

It's almost that time again. Back to school. While it will be relaxing to have some time to do other things, I'll miss the kids while they're in school. It seems like just when you get a good rhythm going during summer break, it's just about time to head back to school.

The kids are excited. They've got their new school supplies, new shoes, and new teachers. They got a chance to see their new classes and to catch up with old friends at their school's open house.

I'll miss them!