Family, what are you thankful for today?
Highlights from this week:
Smart children
Dad
Fajitas
Safe travels to Grandma and Grandpa’s
Happy boy
Bursts of energy
Not working late
Electrolyte tablets
Air conditioning
Yummy bread
Getting used to the heat
Fun at Camp Grandma
Ruff Ruffman
Matt the Electrician
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Sunday Grace, our family gratitude journal, is updated weekly.
Read the entire series here.
A recent cleaning frenzy uncovered more than just old toys and dried-up markers. I found some musings from my budding writer, written when she was 5 or 6 years old.
I don’t think I have to explain how these flip-flopped my heart. I will say this: I have a few wishes of my own for my sweet girl.
I wish that your every wish comes true, Doodlebug, and that you never stop dreaming and never stop striving. You will go so far, I just know it. And someday, when you climb that rainbow, I promise to be right there beside you, smiling as big as the sun.
My two biggest kids are spending the week at Camp Grandma, so Smiley is pretty much running the show around here. After quizzing me a thousand times about his siblings’ whereabouts, he finally relaxed and asked me to transcribe his To-Do list for the day.
1. Find all of Rascal’s Star Wars figures and rip off their arms. Then carry the mutilated appendages and various tiny lightsabers around in cupped hands, repeating “Mama, where Obi-Wan? I need fix Obi-Wan!”
2. Grab that Father’s Day gift I never got to play with yesterday. Push the buttons nonstop until Mom tries to distract me with her favorite bait-n-switch move. Nice try, Mom.
3. Make a beeline to the backyard fort and dismantle Doodlebug’s carefully organized piles of mulch, acorns and rocks. Remix the ingredients and make Mama a birthday cake. Smash the birthday cake and throw rocks at her.
4. Stomp around in my brother’s nasty, worn-out crocs.
5. At lunchtime, declare loudly that “I not like pasta today!” and demand “bunny crackers and strawberries and cold milk in that cup. No, THAT cup.”
It’s good to be king.
Family, what are you thankful for today?
Highlights from this week:
3D movies
Blueberry muffins
Leaf blowers
Air conditioning (me too! me too! me too!)
Nice swim break with Smiley
Paper towel hats
Record-breaking easy trip to shoe store
Colorful dinner
Funny videos
My ridiculous brother, Smiley
Peach season
Golden full moon
Dryer is fixed
Evening swims
A productive day
Agua fresca
Pizza
Haircuts
“What??” imitations
Got to see Pop today
Yes, Pop! Pop! Pop!
Balloon rockets
Creamed corn
Swimming pools
Wonderful Dads!
Happy Father’s Day to all you Dads out there!
* * *
Sunday Grace, our family gratitude journal, is updated weekly.
Read the entire series here.
A couple things to note about having three kids home during the summer.
1.) Smiley’s reliable* 3-hour nap is only helpful to me if I can also keep his siblings occupied during this blessed chunk of time.
2.) This is coincidentally the time of day that I regret our family rules about limited video game time.
Of the many options available to the kids, what I’m always looking for is an activity that will hold their interest for hours without my constant attention, supply-fetching, or fear of the house catching fire. I’ve got email to check and an empire to run, after all!
The only problem is that sometimes they take my ideas and get a little…how do you say? creative with them. Last week, my benign suggestion to go outside and put the hose on the playscape slide left our neighbors’ windows flooded and our arthritic dog hobbling for cover.
This week I suggested they make a movie with our video camera. Brilliant! They opted for an interview-style show.
Here’s an excerpt:
“Rascal, if you could have one superhero power, which would you choose: invisibility, x-ray vision or flying?
“I would have FOOD POWER! I would shoot food out of my hands. Like melted chocolate or egg yolk. Like this, yahhhh….!”
Surely they won’t expand on this idea, right? Right?
* * *
*knocking on wood twice for good measure
I know…it’s so sweet I need to go floss now.
Family, what are you thankful for today?
Highlights from this week:
Digging on the beach
Boogie boarding
Diced papaya
Neighborhood pools
Singing funny kid songs with the neighbors
Cheese
Awesome water slides
Five unique personalities
Coffee
Finding lost things
* * *
Sunday Grace, our family gratitude journal, is updated weekly.
Read the entire series here.
I’m back in town…and we have jumped right into our summer routine, which so far consists of swim team practice in the mornings and whining in the afternoons.
That is, until yesterday, when I kicked the big kids out of the house during Smiley’s naptime. I got almost 90 minutes of uninterrupted computer time, the kids got early baths, and the neighbors got annoyed because their freshly washed windows got ruined. Oops. Two outta three counts as a win, right?
Speaking of wins, I’m thrilled to share that one of my blog posts is featured as a BlogHer Spotlight in today’s BlogHer Family section. I’m so honored! Please go check it out and tell us what you think.
It’s that time of year—time for the PeaceLoveGuac crew to unplug and unwind. Don’t worry, we will return soon with windblown hair and sandy suitcases. And just as I did during our winter break, I’m leaving you with a few suggested nuggets from the archives to keep you company while I’m gone.
Considering everything that has happened in my life over the last several months, the highlights I’m leaving here aren’t exactly bubbling over with joy…but they do give you an honest glimpse into where my head has been since December of last year.
Because I’m more of a glass-half-full kind of girl, I’ll start off with one of the most inspiring memories of springtime.
And here’s one of the brighter moments in a very dark winter that I’m still processing the best I can.
This piece of healing was inspired by a good sweat and an even better soundtrack. I’m happy to report that I’m still running strong despite the heat, and I’ve still got this album in heavy rotation. (I even got to see the awesomeness live in one of the best concerts of the decade. Aw yeah!)
The 504 words of this post were some of the hardest I’ve ever eeked out. And they attracted the most traffic I’ve seen in my 18 months of blogging.
I still can’t visit this post without crying, yet I find myself seeking it out about once a month.
One of my favorite photos of the year? It’s gotta be this one of my very first girl.
I like this shot too, but what I really want you to know is that its caption is more than just a catchy phrase to me. It’s a motto I try to live by every single day. It’s both an anchor and an inspiration. Because here’s the deal: The big picture is so powerful in helping us enjoy the small moments of our lives. And funny enough, the small moments are just as powerful in helping us see the big, big picture.
Chew on that for a while, drop me a note, and we’ll talk about it when I return.
Cheers,
Liz
Family, what are you thankful for today?
Highlights from this week:
Sub sandwiches
Mom & Dad, who spend money on our food and don’t complain (too much) when we don’t eat it. (Ha!)
Sign language
Great teachers
Digger trucks
Mom’s voice came back for my birthday reading at school
Seeing both Doodlebug and Rascal at school today
Ciabatta bread
The General Additive Model (what?)
Bread, broccoli, strawberry, strawberry, strawberry
Oprah
Fresh water and natural sunlight
Milk
New piano games
Almost summer!!
Raid the Fridge night
A family nap
* * *
Sunday Grace, our family gratitude journal, is updated weekly.
Read the entire series here.
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