summer fun

Summer at our house will officially begin next Monday. This is Sienna's last week of school, and then it will be time for staying up late, sleeping in, spontaneous play dates, cousin sleep-overs, and hopefully 3 months filled with no schedules and lots of FUN!! Here's a list of what I am hoping to fit in for Summer 2010:

* Girl's Get-Away to Santa Fe (second annual trip with some of my close friends from law school)

* make our own popsicles and snow cones

* put up a tent in our backyard to "camp out" (which won't involve actually sleeping outside)

* Creative Escape

* lots of time in the pool

* planting flowers in all of our outside pots

* hometown 4th of July parade

* finger-paint mural

* story time at the library

* take the kids to Toy Story 3

* celebrate Johnny's birthday (June) and my birthday (August)

* host a bridal shower

* attend Sienna's dance recital

* go to the Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings

* take in a concert by the lake on Thursday evenings

beach reflections

We had a blast again this year in Seaside, Florida!! Beautiful, warm, sunny weather and no oil in sight :)

We brought along our friend and next door neighbor to help out with the kiddos this year, and it really made all the difference in our stress levels!!

Some highlights:

Searching for shells on the beach

Celebrating a friend's second birthday

Flying a kite on the beach

Riding bicycles around town

Swimming at the pool

Swinging at the playground

Playing in the sand

Riding in a canoe

Splashing in the waves

Holding onto Daddy for dear life

We also made a trip to the water park, had our family pictures taken, painted pottery, ate ice cream, snow cones and cupcakes, drank an organic "green" drink that I am still having nightmares about, shopped at the outlet mall and even took a couple naps!! I am already planning next year's trip.......now if only we could do something about that drive home!!

my heart

There are days when being a mother, a good mother, seems to require more than I have to offer. There are days when I feel overwhelmed with the responsibility of it all. There are days when I let "mommy guilt" consume me and almost pull me under. There are days when I cry more than once. There are days when I panic at what lies before us (the teenage years, driving, dating, the birds and the bees talks). There are days when I give myself more time outs than my children. There are days when I wonder if I have done anything right. There are days when I raise my voice and must ask for their forgiveness. There are days when I count the minutes until Grey's Anatomy.

BUT.....

There are many, many more days when I am overcome with gratitude for these two amazing little people. Not a day goes by that they don't make me laugh. Not a day goes by that I don't learn something from them. At some point throughout every single day, I close my eyes and simply say, "thank you." They are smart, they are funny, they are witty, they are sensitive, they are kind (most of the time), they are perceptive, they are inquisitive, they are full of life and full of energy. They are teaching me patience. They are teaching me gratitude. They are teaching me to be ever-mindful of what I say, and how I say it. They are teaching me to be in the moment, to look at the world through child-colored glasses, to soak up every minute of every day. They are my heart.