Wake up and 10 happy things

This is how I start my day. In the colder months hot water and lemon...in the summer a big cool glass of water and lemon. Don't get me wrong..I love my coffee but I have to have my water/lemon mix first. It cleanses and wakes up the old body after a long sleep (hopefully). Drinking it out of a pretty cup helps too.

The very sweet and creative Melissa at Miss Sew and so  asked me to name ten things that make me happy! I love her blog and how she  writes and that she lives across the pond in lovely England! Maybe she'll let me visit.

Here they are in no particular order...

1. A clean and organized house

2. Happy kids

3. A cup of tea at 3:00

4. Aprons

5. A stack of books by my bed

6. Antique shops

7. Friday

8. Fitting into my skinny jeans

9. A nap on a rainy day

10. When Steve comes home from a trip

Do you Ever...

Find heart rocks on the beach? My kids love finding them...Will found one and saved it for Mother's day....but then he hid it somewhere and then couldn't find it. He was so upset! I keep these in my powder room. I'm so happy beach season is here!

Mothers

This photo was taken 5 years ago...how sad is that? The last photo taken of my mom, sister and I and our daughters. Why is it so darn hard to get family together for photos? The bottom one is Steve, kids and his parents on Steve's last bday in January.

Both my mom and Steve's mom are dealing with some pretty heavy health issues. Steve's mom was diagnosed with Alzheimers last year. My mom..breast cancer. Happy Mother's Day to both of you...we love you!

You want to hear something funny? My sister called this morning to wish me a Happy Moms day and told me what her kids got her. She told me her daughter who is 8 has been so excited about this gift for weeks...telling Jen she can't wait for her to open it..that it's something she knows she'll love. Jen opens the card to find a gift card to Stop and Shop. Is this not the funniest thing you've ever heard? I couldn't stop laughing. Her kids think that because Jen is at the grocery store at least once a week that she must just LOVE it there. I told her to buy $150 worth of magazines and flowers....

Happy Mother's Day to all you  moms out there.  Hannah and I are off to see the movie "Babies"!

* "Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a Mother" ~ Lin Yutang

A Day in My Life

This is my street. There are only 9 homes here and there's a pond and a cul-de-sac at the end. This picture was taken this morning after the last child got on the bus. Look how quiet. On the weekends there are kids everywhere..riding bikes..playing baseball..ghost in the graveyard. I counted 27 kids ranging from 10 months to college age...and they all hang out together. It's really pretty cool.

Here is my house. As I've mentioned before..we've only been in the house less than 2 years. I know little about landscaping...but I'd really love to take the overgrown shrubs out and plant hydrangeas.

And here is what Griffin and I did today. He's still trying to figure out if he likes the beach....he better.

And here is my reward after walking him up and down the beach. Oh to sit in a beach chair on a gorgeous day with a sleeping baby next to you....I wonder if I can get away with doing this again tomorrow.

A Happy Mom

Can I tell you what makes  my heart just sing??? Siblings not just being NICE to one another...but playing together...with out me even begging! I was nursing Griffy down for his nap late this afternoon and the window was open. I hear Stephen and Will outside playing catch....and Stephen giving Will helpful tips. THIS makes me sooo happy...I tell them all the time when they ask what I want for Mothers Day..Christmas..Birthday..etc. My response is always to just love and be nice to each other. (OK..sure I'd love a new Mac laptop or a J.Crew shopping spree)....

And then the UPS man brought this! (Don't you LOVE the UPS man??)....my awesome sister in law Nancy sent me homemade granola for Mother's day. She lives in VT and she and her husband own Stowe seafood....if you live in VT..go get their seafood. I've never had better shrimp!  Nancy and I were pregnant last year together with the babies. We had the exact same due date...her baby came two weeks earlier..it drove me nuts! This is their first baby..a girl and she is the sweetest thing. Love little girls in pink tutu's. She looks mad that I'm taking her picture! Thanks Nan!

Do'ers and Thinkers...what are you?

I love this tree in our front yard...at the bus stop this morning my neighbor told me to take a picture and I'm so glad I did before all of the little white flowers blew away.

There are 2 types of people...do'ers and thinkers. Can you guess what I am? I am a thinker....it  doesn't mean that I don't  do anything...but in my little world it means it takes me a REALLY long time to get it done because I think about it for too long. Maybe it's my personality, my DNA, my self diagnosis of ADD. When I was in  high school EVERY single progress report that came home said..."easily distracted." Maybe that's why I can't finish a project...I'm easily distracted. 

Steve...thank goodness, is a do'er. I don't think we'd be very productive if we were both thinkers. ...I am a procrastinator in the biggest way. Look that word up in the dictionary and there is my face. But you know what? I'm embracing it...the world needs thinkers.  

There are a million things I should be doing right now. I'm going to go think about doing them.

* The two rules of procrastination~ 1. Do it today. 2. Tomorrow will be today tomorrow. ~ Author Unknown

First Communion...

We had a FULL weekend. It started out crazy trying to get Will in his "handsome outfit" (as he calls it)...for his First Communion. He woke up not wanting to go in his "handsome outfit"...good times. Well, after the ceremony was over he cheered up as soon as there was cake and presents.

And I'm thankful I got one picture of the four of them...

And then after brunch I was able to get a few pictures of them still "dressed"....

I'm very surprised that Stephen let me take a picture of him...just one though.

We had a great weekend. Today it was like summer! We went on a family walk on the beach...Stephen had a baseball game...lots of yard work and then dinner on the beach! It doesn't get any better than that in my book.

Oh and if you're wondering about my decision...there still isn't one.

And you know summer must be coming when the kids can shower outside after the beach!