My Little Life

Quite awhile ago, I was talking with a co-worker about Stitch Fix and the cute clothes she had been wearing. She sent me a referral link (and, I'm always happy to reward someone with a referral!) but it sat in my inbox for months. I had even gone so far as starting an account and completing a profile...but I just couldn't get myself to commit to that first box. I had heard that your first few boxes are usually a bust, that you typically don't get things you love until your stylist has really gotten the chance to know your ins and outs and what kind of clothes you really like. That, along with the monthly commitment, led to my hesitation in completing my subscription. Apparently my patience paid off, because one day I received a code for a $20 credit (the cost of one month's subscription) and that was the deal sealer. I signed up, but truth be told, I wasn't really looking too forward to my first box because: FIRST BOX. But then, it came and WHOA NELLY w...

You know the popular quote, "Though the days seem long, the years go fast"...or something like that? Well, my friends that are parents of little, tiny people, there are no truer words. Yes, when we are raising up small children and they need our attention for ALL THE SECONDS of ALL THE DAYS, we just don't ever feel like bedtime will EVER COME AGAIN. We begin to believe that maybe, just maybe, we will die of exhaustion before our children are grown adults. That we will suffer a long, slow, painful death from dealing with diaper blow-outs, sleepless nights, temper tantrums, "I do it myself" demands, and a never ending search for sippy cups and pacifiers. But rest assured, my friends, it will end. The temper tantrums end, the blow outs end, before long they really CAN "do it themselves", and soon those sippy cups and pacifiers are a thing of the past. (The sleepless nights, however? They tend to come back sometime around your oldest child's 15th ...

How can it be three weeks since my kids came home from camp?! I can't believe 1.) That it's been that long and 2.) That I haven't posted in THREE WEEKS!!  And I have so much to say. Anyway, we went to Valleyfair  on Tuesday.  Anyone that's read around here for any amount of time knows this is an annual trip our family has taken since, well, I think since it opened in 1976!! I've only missed a few trips since I started going (perhaps when I was 5ish?) and hot dang, I try to move mountains to make sure I can make it! (Look! It's me! Looking old! And haggard!) We arrive shortly after the park opens and stay until they kick us out! We leave a bit chubbier, a lot exhausted, and all sorts of happy! This year did not disappoint...in fact, the forecast called for storms and with a morning rain shower, we practically had the park to ourselves for the whole darn day! It was awesome being able to basically walk up to a ride and have little to no wait ...

THEY'RE BACK IN MY ARMS!!!!!! Driving home from picking up my loves from camp...one of them (Dubya) received the "Tall Tale" award for always trying to get his friends to believe crazy stories and the other (Belle) recorded the prestigious "Camper of the Week" award, for being the all around best camper and for acing her Firearms Safety test!!)! She also received a Nalgene-style water bottle for this award! The stories and new friendships abound...they made great connections, Belle made a friend from Costa Rica (I was right, she was with the group asking about how to say different food words in other languages!) and loved her bunk mates. Dubya also hit it off with his bunk mates! Both kids are happy they went to camp, Dubya didn't really have any tough times, Belle said Night 2 was her toughest night, then she was fine!  Man alive, did it ever feel good to wrap my arms around them! Now, we head home to unpack and get ready to watch t...

You guys... We are ALMOST THERE!!!!!! 13 hours until I can wrap my arms around your necks and kiss you and love you and call you George!!! Or, you know, like Jack said, "Yoy". (Inside family joke...) THIRTEEN HOURS!!!! Today, I caught a glimpse of this on the camp blog: Seeing those genuine smiles made my heart sing! Can not wait to see you two tomorrow...morning can't come soon enough!

On our way to morning activities today, I called dad and said, "ONLY TWO MORE WAKE-UPS AND WE CAN GET THE KIDS!!!"...dad asked me how old I was, poop head that he is. In other news, WE'RE ALMOST THERE, KIDS!!! So close to having you back home...so, so close!! Eeeeeeek!! It's like camp knows I needed to see pictures of you...so far, all the photos with campers in it have included the two of you! Sure makes my heart happy to see you in those pictures. I wonder who you've made friends with and what you're favorite thing has been so far.  I seriously can not wait to have you guys back. To wrap my arms around you and hear all about your camp adventures. Our home just isn't quite the same without you two here...so I've decided, you can never grow up and move out, okay? We've got a nice bedroom in the basement where you can play video games all day when you're 35...how does that sound? ;) Tomorrow should go quickly...and then, we wake bright a...

After tonight, we will be over 1/2 way through..."over the hump", as Uncle Josh says! Dad left me this sweet note this morning...I suspect he's feeling the same way I am! I hope today was easier for you...in fact, I hope that your worry and unease was short lived and my anxiety over your lonesome hearts was all for naught. Today I caught a glimpse of each of you on the camp blog...one of you in "class" and the other on a canoe. Gracious, sweet loves, do I pray that you are enjoying yourselves! Seeing those photos made me heart a little lighter... (Photo creds: camp) Gram and I did some shopping today...it was good to have my mind and body busy, I find that when I am idle for too long, I start to worry. Funny story, at suppertime we were doing "Roses and Thorns"...my "thorn" was that not all of my kids were home. I asked your two younger siblings on a scale of 0 (not at all) to 10 (I'm lost without them) how mu...