3.31.2009

{colins football practice tonight at walsh middle}
this is today.
our day started with cotton candy clouds hanging low above the morning sun as we filled the minivan with bright tuesday smiles and heavy backpacks. the urge to skip the morning run was palpable but didn't stop me. the morning errands brought me peace - groceries filled the car, dry cleaning wrapped in plastic, library books returned in time, meetings and paperwork filled the rest of the day. the pickup line at school is a social event as we all appear to arrive in a predetermined slot. old bananas mashed into banana bread. tuesday folders filled to the brim with masterpieces, tests and a weeks of knowledge stuffed inside a ripped folder pocket. yesterdays dust is now in an old lands end shirt. yesterdays crumbs are now in the belly of a yellow dyson. yesterdays window streaks are still visiting us. frozen chicken nuggets win the dinner vote. football practice x 2 boys. overhead planes fly above the fields offering roof repairs for recent hail damage. reminds me of the planes flying along the shores of ocean city on our summer vacations when i was younger. filling the coffee pot with water, stuffing lunchboxes with oreos and raisins, arranging cereal boxes on the table for morning again ground me. remind me of the joy of the simple things. colin was thankful for football practice. nathan was thankful for going to his brothers football practice. jusin was thankful finishing his battleship math paper.
i am thankful for nighttime prayers.
i am thankful for football practice and homework questions.
i am thankful for this day. simple & real.
this was today.

happy birthday uncle eddie

sending you birthday wishes wherever you are !!

may your day be filled with magical memories & the dinner of your choice !

enjoy !

3.30.2009

{route 1431 - our backyard}
this is today.
the sun was still tucked behind the blanket cloud as we pulled up to school. monday morning molasses at the dropoff line as parents tried to balance coffee mugs & spelling words. beautiful day by u2 blared back and forth off the minivan windows. golf course sprinklers rinsed the car making it feel like an early morning sunshower. end of the month deadlines hang everywhere. i tackle them one at a time - one step forward, two steps back. before i know it i'm heading back up to school to retrieve the boys. no football practice tonight so we enjoy the leisure of doing our homework without playing beat the clock. the windows are open and i hear voices playing tag through the yards. an evening cocktail on the sidewalk unwinds me like a new spool of string. the evening sun shines in and the dust, crumbs and streaks of the day are everywhere but it is ok. this is real life. this is now. i wouldn't trade it for anything. dinner. homework. prayers. the routine at the end of the day grounds me. it pulls me back in as i set the table for breakfast, pack the lunches & make the coffee. it completes my day. it makes me appreciate the little things. the quiet things. the things.
this is today.
this is now.
this is life filled with wonderful quiet little things.

3.29.2009

{saturday football returns - thanks jay for the game pictures!}

nathan in action.

love his free shrek hat.

ate many frosted mini wheats to get it.

can always locate him on the field.

love it that he is still in his own world.

soon he'll worry about what others think of his hat, his hair, his opinion.

enjoying his grin.

enjoying his jokes. same ones everyday.

enjoying his quest for knowledge.

enjoying his concern for current events.

enjoying the world from his perspective.

go. nate. go.

the world is yours.

3.28.2009

friday review. school library. doctor appointments. shots for all. sonic and bandaids. last guitar lesson. school dance tonight. packed and rocked. hello weekend. football games today. cold morning. warm afternoon.

3.27.2009

i'm just avoiding my to-do list right now.

thought i'd blog instead.

really have no words of wisdom, great quotes, funny kid sayings or cute daily picture.

good news: ice machine is fixed. now theres something I take for granted.

i remember life without automatic ice cube dispensers, without automatic ice cube makers.

i remember plastic trays that you filled & loaded into the frezzer.

i remember metal trays with a handle to release the cubes.

i'm remembering making mini popsicles with ice cube trays and toothpicks and lemonade.

i remember how often there were no cubes in the frezzer because the person prior to you was in a hurry.

i'm enjoying a glass of water with cubes right now.

i'm appreciating the simple things.

3.26.2009

{march 2009 - bushy creek}

5 things i'm scared of:

life without God...can't survive a minute without His peace.

all animals & insects beginning with the letter "s".... spiders, snakes and scorpions.

going to middle school parent orientation next week...whole new adventure.

julia roberts cell phone in my best friends wedding...finally watched this movie today.

not appreciating my husband. children. siblings. family. friends.

3.25.2009

which came first...the tornado watch or the lego rescue helicopter?

-

somehow managed to pull the minivan in the garage in case of hail...thats a first for me since we usually keep both cars in the driveway...as fast as the warnings came so did the dark skies and rain and cancelled football practices...no hail in our area...will have to figure out how to get the van out of the garage now...now its sunny again...crazy texas weather!

3.25.2009

5 things i found under the couch today:

1 sweet tart wrapper

2 superballs

3 lenox framed pictures

4 library books

5 lost legos

everything appears to be the normal stuff one would expect to find

except for those lenox frames???

maybe no time to dust them before company arrived?

maybe the boys were playing hide-n-go-seek with them?

maybe i didn't like my hair/smile/wrinkles in the photos?

maybe i was in one of those clutter-free days?

maybe the moving company put them there?

maybe they will like their new home in the photo chest?

heres to the treasures you will find today...

3.24.2009

{the blank form}

{the deep thought process}

5 traditions we have:

once a year, we complete 'the form'. the questions include whats your favorite dinner, what do you want to be when you grow up, whats your favorite book....we have done this for 6 years and i love looking back on the boys answers. over spring vacation we filled ours out, me included. (i'm not sure what i want to be when i grow up yet!)

cheeseburgers & sippel stories.

frosting christmas cookies on christmas eve morning.

explore ut weekend event.

dinner prayers & thank you notes.

3.22.2009

5 happy things right now:

new issue of body & soul.

blank journal pages.

multicolored thumbtacks.

changing starbucks cup holders.

night out on the town you tube laughs.

-

back to routines.

back to alarm clocks.

back to school tomorrow.

spring vacation is over and

spring days are beginning.

3.21.2009

happy anniversary mom and dad.

“the most wonderful of all things in life, i believe, is the discovery of another human being with whom one's relationship has a growing depth, beauty, and joy as the years increase. this inner progressiveness of love between two human beings is a most marvelous thing; it cannot be found by looking for it or by passionately wishing for it. it is a sort of divine accident, and the most wonderful of all things in life.”
- hugh walpole, sr.

3.20.2009

five smiling boys sitting on a bench.

eating blue bell ice cream.

at 11am.

at the blue bell factory.

along with 19,000 other people.

apparently spring break sets attendance records

everywhere.

we decided not to stand in line for 2 1/2 hours to do the tour.

instead we watched the tour on tv screens outside
and posed for pictures.

chatting & movies filled the car ride to and fro.
thanks for driving ms. sarah.
our ice cream was delicious.
what a fun way to end our spring break.
i think we are going to have to pick up some
more blue bell for dessert tonight.

3.19.2009

can't leave cowtown without visiting the stock yards.

looking for cattle.
looking for the camera.

looking for the cattle still.

found them!

lunch at the love shack.

mini spring break vacation comes to an end.

3.18.2009

happy birthday jayne! wishing you a special day filled with giggles, laughs
and lots of ice cream kisses.

3.18.2009

steve had a meeting today so the boys and i headed over

to the fort worth zoo to check out the flamingos.

(19,000 other people had the exact same idea today we later learned

on the local evening news - record breaking attendance &

we were there!)

one of our favorite activities was feeding the birds and

trying to get them to eat all the seeds.
next we got to pet an armadillo
(only in texas)

the zoo was beautiful.

we had not been to a zoo since we left buffalo.

we lasted until our feet couldn't carry us any further.
(and of course a quick trip to the gift shop.)

we headed back to the hotel for a quick swim.

patio happy hour.

barnes & noble to explore the shelves.

fox and hound for dinner tonight.

loved the downtown sidewalks.

loved just walking with no schedule.

loved just hanging out.

spring break continues.

3.17.2009

spring break surprise.

step one: jump in the car & head north

step two: check into a great hotel in downtown
fort worth with an indoor pool on the 8th floor
step three: enjoy happy hour on the outdoor patio and
then walk the square in search of a place for dinner.

step four: enjoy dinner at uno's and window shop
on the walk home.
spring break fun continues.

3.16.2009

the boys still love this game -

gave them 10.00 & let them plan the day.

they come up with such creative ideas.

redbox for free monday dvd - beverly hills chuichua

off to the library to get some books and dvds.

can't resist 4 donuts from round rock lone star - 2.20

off to memorial park to enjoy them.

brought some old rolls to feed the ducks but they wer already full.

explored bushy creek.
went walking in bushy creek.
found perfect spot for a photo.
and yes, i had to beg them to stand still for one picture.

studied our city history.

and found our 'round rock'.

can't believe i've never been here.

hung out under the I35.

boys will be boys.

stopped for happy hour at sonic.

half priced drinks.

one burger and one order of fries.

6.50 with tip.

watched our movie while we munched on snacks.

still had 1.30 left.

off to walgreens to buy some cheese puffs to enjoy

during the rest of our movie.

beautiful night outside.

4 square and kickball in the street.

and 5 cents still left!

3.15.2009

though we travel the world over to find the beautiful,

we must carry it with us or we find it not.

-emerson

spring break continues. the boys went to the movies today to see 'race to witch mountain'. the warm weather returned and what a pleasent surprise to have greet me when i opend the door after work tonight. the warm air always still reminds me of vacation days as a kid in florida. looking forward to a week of no school with the boys. off to rest up. happy week ahead.

3.14.2009

working on summer vacation '08 pages.

came across this picture.

reminded me of colins short story he wrote this week.

title:

'my best bud'

'one day in 2008 we dove to bfloew new yourek'

'i have a best bud name danyle. we plae togethr.'

'we slep togethr some times'

'we love ech other. i rill miss danyle'

good stuff.

great story.

need to practice those speling words more.

we'll see y'all soon.

3.13.2009

rainy. sweet home alabama. last day of school before spring break. working on summer vacation 2008 scrapbook pages. spring break cocktail celebrations. making plans for next week. looking for that sun to return.

3.12.2009

rainy day. basketball parties. gattiland. pta meetings. homework. broke a plate. post office. dry cleaners. coach gifts. work projects. last nights fire still lingers in the great room. dug out a sweater. vanity fair & oprah arrived. nathans play practice. laundry. pivot tables. cannotberitwithout nailpolish by opi. xps1530. podcasts. greys anatomy. today.

3.12.2009

moon river, wider than a mile,
i'm crossing you in style some day.
oh, dream maker, you heart breaker,
wherever you're going i'm going your way.
two drifters off to see the world.
there's such a lot of world to see.
we're after the same rainbow's end--
waiting 'round the bend,
my huckleberry friend,
moon river and me.
guess what movie i watched today.
who has kept this secret from me.
i'm hooked on classics.
i'm hooked on audrey hepburn.
simple. beautiful. classic.
suddenly this episode has new meaning.
watch the mini version over here.
better yet the original here.
read an excerpt here.
take a listen here.
or a newer twist here.
heres to breakfast at tiffanys.
heres to watching a classic.
heres to a rainy day today.
heres to unwrapping this dvd.
heres to finding a hidden treasure today.
may you find one also.
it might just be hiding right in front of you.
it might just be hiding in your bookcase.
it might just be.
now.

3.12.2009

morning routines.
favorite time of the day.
push the on button for coffee.
power up the laptop.
turn on the morning news
turn of the lights.
open the blinds in the kitchen.
recycle last nights newspaper.
pour cereal.
make sandwiches.
go outside and find the newspaper.
sip on coffee.
pack lunchboxes into backpacks.
catch the morning story on the today show.
test the boys on last minute spelling words.
grab a mug of coffee & sunglasses.
pile into the mom minibus.
drop off at school.
back home to say goodbye to steve.
50 minutes of jam packed fun & laughs.
there are morning bologna laughs.
the cold cuts share morning stories with us.
there are morning smiles to be put on.
you should see what happens when a tuesday smile
winds up on a wednesday morning.
there are morning tip jars to be filled upon leaving
moms limo-service vehicle.
there are deep economy conversations when nate
doesn't understand the headlines.
there are morning googles when the boys can't
remember how many medals michael phelps won.
there are espn.com visits when mom & dad can't
remember the sunday night football finalscore.
this is how we start our day.
we pack our lunches before bed.
we set the table before bed.
we load our backpacks before bed.
we find our sneakers before bed.
we locate this missing library book before bed.
we sign all school papers before bed.
we make the coffee before bed.
this is how we start our day before bed.
we love our mornings.
we relax during our morning routine.
we talk.
we listen.
we start our day this way.
it makes for a better morning.
it makes for a better day.
it makes for great morning smiles.
it makes for lifetime memories.

3.11.2009

{my first true bunko win party gift}

tuesday memories.

bunko fun and laughs and delicious new dinner recipe from mandy...nathans basketball picnic...science fair dinner celebrations...warm & sunny march days with shorts, flip flops and open windows...started bel canto tonight...watched the changeling from free monday redbox dvd pile - based on a true story - very good drama movie without giving it away...

3.10.2009

{cherry hill. july 2008. bingo night}

happy birthday charlie.
grab those car keys and drive.
can't believe there are 16 candles on your cake this year.
enJoy your special day.