What We Did

Tomorrow is the big day.
I feel like we've been leading up to this day for weeks now.
We made the summer list (which I will reveal tomorrow), strategically planning out our weeks' events in order to maximize fun time and squeeze as much kid loving summer goodness in as possible.
We conquered summer like true bad a$$es if I do say so myself.

So came today, and I pondered, do we go out with a bang and do one last big hoorah?  Perhaps go to the beach one more time?  Go visit a museum?  Or do we keep it simple and mellow?  Keep in mind that by now I am emotionally and physically spent from the challenge of making this summer, the summer before my first born child enters Kindergarten, a summer to remember. 
I opted to the advice of Facebook, which tells you the state of my mental faculties at this point.  I asked my friends, do we make the day grand, or do we chill?  By overwhelming majority, the answer was a resounding "Keep it chill"
So aside from a scheduled haircut, we decided to see where the day took us, and this is where we went...

we loved on Maddie

we took pictures of mommy in her robe eating her Nutella & toast

we made silly faces & told knock-knock jokes

we played Mr. Potato Head, Star Wars Edition, and I started crying when I snapped this picture of Taylor and Sydney playing together.  No, this is not the last time they will ever play together on the floor in their pj's.  But going forward it will be limited to vacations and weekends.  For some reason this just really made me sad.  I think Syd is going to have a hard time with this transition...he's really going to miss her.

we visited daddy's new office and modeled our new Twinkle Toes shoes for everyone

daddy gave them horsey rides until they were dizzy

we went to the bank and got blue lollipops

we got our hair cuts, but first stopped at Sweet & Saucy Shop for some cake pops

we came home and realized it was time to go across the street to the school and find out 

taylor's room assignment for the year.  She will be in Room 30 with Miss Peel

have I mentioned before that we live right across the street from the school?  like literally we walk out the door, cross the street and we are at the Kindergarten classrooms.  When we bought the house we thought how amazing it was going to be to walk the kids across the street, and how comforting for them to know their home is so close they could see the front door.  Genius right?  

Well yesterday Taylor says "I love that we live across the street from my school because if I don't like it I can just walk right out of the classroom and come home."  

Fantastic, I can see it now.  Principal calls me at work to tell me my daughter has gone AWOL on Kindergarten.   

I have been dreading tomorrow for months now.  I can be brought to tears just thinking about Taylor starting Kindergarten.  Art said the other day "I don't mean to sound insensitive, but why are you so upset about her starting Kindergarten?"  I can't explain it.  I have these reasons all jumbled up in my head and every time I try to explain it, I just sound silly.  So I will not attempt to write it here.  I just feel what I feel and that's that.

Wish us all luck tomorrow please.  I think the person that's gonna need it the most is Miss Peel.  I hope she has tissues.

Just Enjoy Today

No Playgrounds & Lollipops today friends.  We've been in swimsuits or gardening attire all week.
Today I will focus on just enjoying the moments.
Today is the last beach day we have before Taylor starts Kindergarten.
I tend to think in terms of finality and last moments and first moments and such.
Makes life more dramatic that way ;)

Gotta go.
Tearing up already.
I'm gonna be a whole heck of a hot mess next week.
Happy Weekend Friends

a life changing moment in terms of chalk

Hello new best friends, which can be found here

they take my chalkboard writing experience to a whole new level

no dust, no icky dry chalk feeling on the fingers, and so pretty :)

of course it doesn't have that "old school" feeling of chalk

but I'll trade old school for chills running up and down my spine every time I write any day

I guess I'm not a chalkboard "purist", but I can live with that

How to Get a Clean, Sand-free Little Girl That Smells Good Too!

Here's my fool-proof method to removing sand after a day at the beach:

Take one sandy little girl

Sprinkle on good old fashioned baby powder

go ahead, don't be shy, sprinkle on liberally

rub the sand off, be gentle, you don't need to use much force

and just like magic,

the sand disappears

no tears, no fussing, just a clean and fresh smelling little girl minus a ton of sand that will undoubtedly get all over your car.  better yet, give the kids the bottle and they will keep themselves occupied for at least 20 minutes watching the magic happen, giving you plenty of time to pack up your things.  packing up is always my most hated part of leaving the beach.  do you have any other tips to saving your sanity at the beach?  please share.  we have 2 more beach days before Taylor starts school (we go every Friday to the same spot with the same group of friends).  I plan to try and enjoy every minute of it.

Happy Monday Friends!

Cautiously Optimistic

Oh my friends where oh where to begin?
Be forewarned that this post may wander a bit.

This blog has been an extension of me for the past year and it has seen me through probably the most challenging and unsettled year of my life.  You see, in the past year, I've gone from not working part time at a company I once loved but grew to hate, to working part time for my husband, to buying a house, to backing out of a house, to buying another house that I didn't particularly love, to a nightmare of an escrow that put emotional strain on us for a time, to deciding to remodel, to deciding not to remodel, to considering to move again, to now also taking a full time job.  Was the last sentence a roller coaster for you?  Imagine how I've felt living it.

Did you catch that last part of the sentence?  I'll say it again, I'm going back to work.  I'm cautiously optimistic about it.  I had planned on writing  a separate post defending my actions, making this grand announcement about how much I've thought it through and we felt this was the right decision for our family, and yada-yada-yada.  But you know what, all anyone needs to know is that after much soul searching, me and my family are at peace with the decision.  If you would like to leave words of encouragement and congrats, please do so, as I will willingly and lovingly accept them.  If not, then please don't.  A fantastic opportunity plopped itself into my lap recently, and so I will be working at a cool little clothing company as an Account Manager.  Basically, I'll be selling the clothes to the buyers of major department stores.  I've done it before at the previous company I worked at, and I loved it.  It was hands down the most fulfilling and exciting role I had.  I'm excited to see where this opportunity takes me and my family.  If you have any questions about this new role, please shoot me an email and I'll try to answer them as honestly as I can!  For instance if you are concerned that my children are going to be left to be raised by wolves, and want to know how we're going to handle childcare, I can answer you offline.  If you want to know how I am going to get dinner on the table, I will probably tell you that it's not really your concern. 

So where does this leave the other things in my life?  Well for starters, I will be closing down my Etsy shop indefinitely.  If anything what this past year has taught me is that I am very good and content when I am focused on 1-2 things.  I am not good when I am all over the place.  I will continue to sew for my children and make gifts here and there, but the demands of the shop are just completely unrealistic at this time. 

I would like to keep the blog going, although not at its current pace.  I think it would be fun to somehow incorporate my work life and the fashion world into the blog a bit more, but in an honest and genuine way.  I'm going to have to think about it.  I will always love to cook, eat, drink wine and take pictures, that will never change.  I will continue to share my life with my family and the occasional recipe here and there, but really we'll just have to see. 

For a period of time in the past 6 months I have seen this blog as a bit of a burden.  A burden in the sense that I was constantly thinking about how I could make it successful.  Increase readership, followers, write content that was going to get comments, show how crafty I could be, post amazing pictures, and on and on.   I've done a lot of soul searching this past year, and I've even started to see a life coach, and what I have learned about myself is that I've dealt with the upheaval and tragedy in my life by being successful.  First in school, then in my career, then as being a mother.  When I stopped getting a real paycheck (and the hubs doesn't pay me), this world of blogging became something for me to strive to be successful at.  And it is friggin' exhausting folks!  I really don't know how these mega bloggers do it.  In the past couple of weeks I can honestly say I've let go of so much of that and it is liberating.  If people read along then great, but if not, oh well.  I will write what I feel compelled to write and tell my story and share our lives in the most honest and real way possible.

You may be wondering what a life coach is and how it's different than a therapist?  Well her answer is; a therapist has you look in your past and work through it so you can live a better present and future life.  A life coach has you imagine what you want your future to look like, and guides you to what you can do in your present to get that future.  Sounds pretty crazy huh?  It's okay, I know it does.  But after one session I have already started to see a change in my outlook.  She is also a Believer so we can talk through things in terms of how they relate to my spiritual growth with God.

In terms of sharing what I learn in my life coach sessions?  I may or may not.  I tend to be the queen of too much information, and so I will have to make sure I censor myself.  I could share about tragedy and turmoil that has been in my life, because if I've learned anything, it's that the blogging world loves a good tragedy.  Some bloggers share their tragedies in a way that is touching, fearless and joyous.  Some do it in a way that makes it seem like they're capitalizing on it.  I think I better just stick to keeping my mouth shut and focus on the future and the positive.  I'm ready to do that.  We have a new congregation we are attending and are enjoying, I got me a new Bible that I look forward to marking up with pen and highlighter, my husband's business is chugging along and I am open to see what the future brings us.  Thanks for coming along with me.

God Bless.

Playgrounds & Lollipops - Fade to Black

When:
Sunday July 18th, 2010

Where:
Breakfast @ Norma's Cafe, Parker Palm Springs

What:
Top: Nordstrom Brass Plum
Skirt: James Perse
Shoes: Sam Edelman
the thought of wearing any other accessories that I brought for this outfit: mind boggling

Why:
I heard about the scene here at the Parker.  I've seen the pictures.  I know what kind of hipsters go here.  So I thought, "hmmm, maybe I should look like the kind of girl that is so hip she can look cool in black and dark heathered gray, in the middle of summer."
Result = total fail.  I could be a poster child for the blog.
I am not hip, nor am I cool, especially trying to stand in direct sunlight of a 115 degree desert sun wearing black and gray.  In fact I'm pretty sure I heard someone walk by as Miranda was taking pictures and whisper "what an idiot."  Okay, maybe I'm being paranoid, or maybe that was my inner self-conscious voice I was hearing.
On another note, I do actually love this outfit.  The skirt is fantastic.  You would think it would be slinky and too tight being it is a stretch knit cotton, but instead it is firm and hides my little problem area (the tummy) incredibly well, while showing off my tanned legs (yippe for 15 SPF)!

Light Summer Reads?

 I think I may have gotten a little overly ambitious.

I really am only going for 1 night, by myself, with the kids, that is,

to Legoland.

Yes, come to think of it, 3 books for 1 night?

Completely overly ambitious.

But I get giddy in a library.

The librarian herself couldn't have been more excited by my list.

These 3 were on it of course, in addition to

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Pillars of the Earth 

(anyone read this?)

I hear they're making a mini-series based on the book

When I asked my favorite blogger book nerd Jules if she had read it,

her answer was "Of course I've read that book."

In fact it was the librarian's personal mission to try and get me that book last night

But alas, both copies had vanished, and she looked me in the eye and declared,

"You have to get that book."

Alrighty then.

On another note though, I had asked for somewhat light summer reads last week.

And Mandy and Mel recommended The Shack

Which I will read, but upon further investigation, I don't think this book falls under the category

"light summer reads."

We'll see.  

If you don't hear from me in the next week, call in the search party.

I may have fallen into a book induced traumatized depression.

I'm sensitive like that.

Have a great week everyone.

I'll be back on Friday with Playgrounds & Lollipops.