peelosophy

Remember those Garfield comics?  What I remember the most about them was that Garfield hated Mondays.

Or what about The Bangles song Manic Mondays..love that song – but I can’t relate.

And then there’s, T.G.I.F., don’t get me wrong, I do like Fridays – but Monday is one of my most favorite days of the week…

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I heart my backyard.  It’s mostly the nature thing- being outside is so therapeutic for me. The kids are entertained for hours out there. The size of our backyard is just manageable for us, but there is also room for ideas.  And of course, we have lots of ideas.

There are those things I would just like to update…

• grass that is plush and perfect
• a fence that matches on all sides, but not a privacy fence – I love our neighbors too much and there is something about being able to look up or down four backyards that says community to me.
• some new plants in some of my established flower beds

And then there are the other ideas that I get when I am out there…

• For sure, we need a PATIO.  I’ve been going back and forth between patio and deck, but I think patio is what would do it for me.  It would need to be big enough to fit out patio furniture and grill with extra room to spare.  I like flagstone like this, but way bigger…

(Sunset magazine)

or a stamped concrete like this…

• I would LOVE LOVE LOVE a hot tub too.  The problem is privacy.  I know it would go at one end of the house.  Maybe something like this with a little more tall foliage…

• A water feature, later I do want little pond, but for now I want this fountain – I just can’t find one that’s not under $200.  I even have a place for it! I am totally serious.

There are a couple of things I would want to add to the playground area.

• A couple of these diggers like these, of course John wants to build them with his new welder…

• a kids size picnic table like this one, of course I would want to build it…

• some sort of fort on the ground.  I love the idea of a living willow fort like this one, but I can’t find where to buy willow in the States.  I love how natural it looks, like the forts my brother and I used to make down by the creek.

But I would settle for some sort of camouflaged tee pee or barrack similar to this…

• An outdoor shower attached to our house, just a simple teak shower, more for when the boys come into the house to hose them down.

• It should be said, that John wants to make some sort of man-made creek that drains and a half-pipe back in the play area as well.  I’m trying not to think about that too much.

That’s about it for now. Feel free to enter me in whatever backyard sweepstakes/makeover you can find!

Pop Pop Pop! – katherinemariephotography: I don’t remember how I came across this blog, but before you click it, if you are having serious feelings of inadequacy as a mother, save it for a later date.  Seriously, these themes of the week that she does with her kids are gorgeous and totally off the hook as far as I’m concerned – that’s a compliment from afar.   She is clearly an amazing designer and photographer and I have become addicted to the beauty she is creating, but have allowed myself to only take a peek when I can  admire without feeling bitter.

Back to the Basics: Batch Cooking – SimpleMom: I have been waiting for something like this post to get me exited about batch cooking again.  I used to do it here and there a couple years ago, but lost my rhythm.  I thought this post was great to jog my memory and to encourage ideas that I haven’t tried before.

Before/After Chad’s Filing Cabinet Planter – Design Sponge: I don’t have time.  I have so many unfinished projects.  But I want to do this – I know exactly where it would go and what I would plant.  Oh well.

Dirty Little Secrets: The Riverside Church Blog: I  love this post that Kim wrote.  I loved reading the comments that people wrote about it.  I have read this book too. There are so many ideas from this book that really resonated with me, but I could never put it into words and this book does a great job.  I’ve always wondered where parenting righteousness comes from and why is it so hard for moms/women to be honest with each other;  this book addressed alot of this for me.

This summer has been atypical for us. No camps – we had Jumpstart Kindergarten which killed the camp prospect.  No vacation outside of St.Louis.  No weekend agendas – we are too exhausted from crazy long work weeks.

Instead we have delighted in the simple pleasures and really that’s what summer is all about right?  Simple lazy days and easy nights.

Some of my favorites are long family walks – dogs included, playing in the backyard, frozen treats of any kind, having friends over, grilling, staying up “late” to catch fireflies, did  I mention playing in our backyard? – yeah we do a lot of that.  Others are….

Sharing popsicles with friends…

Sidewalk chalk. Henry loves princesses.

Webster parks.  I take for granted how many great parks we have around that we enjoy several time a week.  And the landscaping is so beautiful.  Kudos to Webster Parks and Recreation.  This is a landscape sampling from Larson Park aka “Bug Park”.

This isn’t exactly a “pleasure”, these were my feet after the Fourth of July Webster Carnival this year.  We went on the 4th, as usual, but it had rained most of the morning  and left the fairgrounds super muddy.  It’s probably one of the Top 5 most disgusting things I have ever done for my children.  But they got to ride all the rides they wanted…

I went to Aldi yesterday for fruit – glanced in the freezer section and they had…JELL-O PUDDING POPS.  I don’t know if they are coming back or not, maybe they are overstock from 1985.  Don’t know, don’t care.  I’m super excited!!!

You should be out the door already to get you some.  Maybe you need a memory jog.  Bill Cosby.  Vanilla, Chocolate and Vanilla/Chocolate Swirl flavors. Jell-O Brand. Made with real pudding.

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I’m blogging about my mornings this week because I want to be intentional and accountable about how I spend my time without kids.  To see how I came to be with out kids and how I desire to spend my time click here.

This morning I did do more running around than in days previous.  My mother-in-law, Peggy, had a procedure done this morning and needed a ride.  I was glad that it landed on a week that I wasn’t babysitting so I could help out.

After I dropped off Peggy, I kidnapped my friend Jen who just had a baby 3 weeks ago and headed off for coffee at Starbucks in Old Orchard.  I had a tall vanilla latte (my standard) and a buttery croissant.  We had a really sweet time.  It made me vaguely remember what the first couple weeks with a newborn is like – I’m not ready for that yet.

I picked Peggy up from her procedure and went to Strattons Cafe in Old Orchard for brunch.  It’s seldom that Peggy and I get to hang out with out kids and by ourselves, so it was nice to spend some time with her.  I had the French Toast, which I wouldn’t get again, it was so much and I needed something else to counteract all the bread.  I did get the Island Oasis smoothie which I will get again – it was delicious.

So I guess today’s theme was food and good adult conversation.  Does it get any better than that???

I’m blogging about my mornings this week because I want to be intentional and accountable about how I spend my time without kids.  To see how I came to be with out kids and how I desire to spend my time click here.

This morning I had no idea what I was going to do.  Nothing was planned.  I figured I’d head over to Kaldi’s in Kirkwood with a few books I was reading and go from there.  I ended up popping into Madison Avenue Salon to see if they had any openings for a pedicure. They did and could get me in right away AND they were offering a special, buy a pedicure and get a manicure for FREE.  What the heck? Only if I had “time”, they said.  And I did have time, so I did.

I ended up having a great conversation with the nail tech, Catherine.  She is a mother of five, ranging from 22 to 9 years old.  She was very encouraging and just real about being a mom. I really enjoyed our time together.

At the salon, I also started to read a book Kim lent me called, “I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids“.  I LOVE it so far.  I’ll probably blog about it in another post.

Afterwards, I headed up to Kaldis to grab a quick lunch before I got the boys.  I tried something new – the Turkey Artichoke Sandwich and the Berry Tea.  I was not disappointed, really delicious, but a bit messy – glad I was alone.

My husband John is the most amazing man I know.  He’s 32 today, always a year younger than me, and I wanted to celebrate him in this post by listing 32 things that I adore about him.

1:  He is SO thoughtful.  I really fall short in the thoughtfulness department, especially in our marriage.  If he is getting “a treat” at the store, he always picks up my favorite too.

2:  He is very generous with his time.

3:  He has a great sense of style.  I know this sounds crazy, but ask him his opinion, you’ll see.

4:  If he knows I’m interested in something, he’ll be interested in it too.  For example, I went to a purse party and asked him to look on the company’s website before I left to see what he thought of the bags.  He looked and pointed out a few, but we couldn’t pick one I loved.   At the party, I was undecided.  And without me calling him first, he texted me, “Check out the Charlotte (the style), it’ll be perfect.”  he was still looking for me even after I went to the party.  What guy does that?!?!

5:  He has amazing taste in women.

6:  He knows how to fix stuff.  From water heaters to Transformers to cars to gadgets.  And if he doesn’t know how to fix it right away, he’ll learn how or point you in the right direction.

7:  He understands and appreciates the fine art of teasing.  This is a big deal to me. I can’t really explain it.  But I like to be able to laugh at myself, and teasing allows us to not take ourselves so seriously.

8: He goes clothes shopping with me.  He brings me different sizes and some that “you should just try”.  He shows me the freedom of looking beyond the sale racks.

9: He is a good friend.  If a friend is in need, he does whatever he can to help out.

10: He rubs my feet whenever I ask.

11:  Every night when John comes home, the boys run to the door when they see his car and try to lock him out of the house.  They will be pushing with all their might from the inside, in turn, he will be pushing with “all of his might” from the outside.  All the while saying “Oh no! I can’t get into the house, how will I ever get into the house?” He eventually get in and they all hug and love on each other. This happens every night.  The boys think it is a riot and I am giggling just thinking about it.

12: He takes my ideas seriously.

13: He takes me seriously.  When I was suffering from chronic nightmares about zombies (i love zombie movies), he made the nightmares go away.  He came up with a plan.  He told me, when the zombies came, and he was still at work (which always happened), I would take the boys and the animals and drive to our friend JP’s house in Sullivan, MO.  John would meet us there.  He reassured me how perfect this plan was because, Sullivan was in the country and zombies migrate towards the city to feed.  JP has lots of guns and we would be safe.  And that was all it took, no more bad zombie dreams.

14:  He lets me know when I am being too serious.

15:  He knows my limits and picks up up the slack, most of the time without me asking.

16:  He exercises humility regularly.  When he is wrong, or if he is unsure he’ll admit it.

19:  He’s practical.

20:  He is a patient teacher.  He has taught me how to do a lot and is very patient when I don’t catch on right away(which is always). He is also like this with the boys- they are going to learn a ton from their Daddy.

21:  He’ll watch chick flicks with me.

22:  He gives great advice.

23:  He tells me when I am being crazy, in a nice way.

24:  He loves his mom and his sisters very well.

25:  He has alot of forethought.  He’ll be going to Walmart for something for him, and without me prompting, bring home some new socks for the boys because he noticed them getting holey.

26:  Henry said, “I like it when Daddy wrestles with me.”

27:  He is a great kisser.

28:  JJ said” That he plays Lego Star Wars with me and he lets me buy guys.”

29:  He knows so much stuff.  This can drive me crazy, but sometime it comes in handy.

30: He makes sure I have time for myself and time with my friends.

31: He makes me laugh like no one else does.

32: He loves me unconditionally and very well.

• Look! Miniature Garden- OhDeeDoh: I’ve loved the comeback of all the little terrariums.  My Grandma had a terrarium on her kitchen table when I was little, I loved looking through the glass at the little green world inside.  I really like the one on this link because it’s a little more interactive and I wouldn’t have to worry about the humidity levels in a terrarium. I have always wanted some succulents too – so it would satisfy that desire too.  One might be a feature on my porch this summer…
• Snapshots – Soulemama: I do love Soulemama, but there are times that I will read her and other great blogs – mostly of people I don’t really know- and totally get down on myself for not sewing a dress for my daughter during naptime or letting JJ play some more Lego StarWars instead of engaging him in some amazingly creative project.  This post was just the reminder I needed that blogs (mine included) are only “snapshots” of the lives we live.
• Now I know my ABCs – Totally Tots:  I am in love with this site right now.  I have been loving the Bible Bites and now with this Alphabet theme -  I can’t wait to get more into it.  We’ve set up our Chicka Chicka Boom Boom magnet tree and have had a lot of fun.  I really like that it’s stuff that doesn’t take a lot of planning and it’s totally engaged the kids – especially Henry.
• Starfall – This site has helped Henry’s mouse skills tremendously.  I think because the surface area of what you click on is bigger.  He loves the games and it all ties in with the Alphabet theme mentioned above.
• Can FaceBook Be Your Friend?- Real Simple: I’m still not interested in joining Facebook.  John asks me about once a week, “When are you going to join Facebook?” – I tell him “I’m not” and he says, “But I just want to be married to you”.  I guess that’s sweet, but I’m still not.  There are many reasons why I’m being “stubborn” by not joining and this article stated a lot of them.  The writer has come to a find a balance with Facebook, but I think I lack her willpower and desire…I’m okay with that. I will, however, check into the legality of our marriage if I am not on Facebook. hehe

My friend Liz and I were talking about Trader Joes last weekend.  She told me she never knew what to buy there and  that she could never find the yummy stuff everyone else did.  I remember that feeling and started compiling a list of my favorite things from TJs,  mostly from trying them after a friends recommendation.

I only go to TJs about once a month.  Most often it because I need to bring something to a party or I’m having people over.  I know lots of people who do all of there shopping there who would know way more about the goods than I do.  (Hint Hint – share what you know) But here’s my little list and Cary made one too on her blog here. Check it out.

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