Monday Bake and Share

Bake and Share is something that began awhile back.

Our neighbors are so wonderful and it's so much fun for the girls to share little homemade treats with them.

(they share back too!!!)

We decided to revive it over the summer and since Dave is home on Mondays...

well you can figure that one out!!;)

Here is our first almost summer Bake and Share.

In honor of Memorial Day, 

Dave and the girls made red white and blue Rice Krispy treats

Yum!!

someone woke up from their nap and wanted to join the fun!

Come back next Monday to see what we make next!

Weekend Glimpses

Happy Memorial Day!

As you can see...we had a wonderful weekend!

What did you do this weekend??

Lunch Time Farewell

On Friday we met Riley at school  for her last lunch as a second grader.  Dave brought her a very large batch of nachos from a local Mexican Restaurant (she has been wanting to try those for months).  Janey and I brought a lunch from home and Aubrey had some goldfish!:)

It was a beautiful day...upper 70's, breezy and a perfectly blue sky above. The girls enjoyed playing on the
playground and the tires. Riley showed us some of her favorite tricks (yikes!) and Janey gave it a go...with a little help from Daddy.

Then they found a quiet place to play under the trees.  They were making houses with sticks and little rocks.    Seeing that brought back a lot of memories for me.  I remember quite clearly sitting on the edge of the blacktop with my best friend Lisa designing our very own school.  Using big rocks for desks and  little pebbles for people.  We used to go back day after day to that very same spot.  I love seeing that type of imaginative play.

It was a wonderful day and a bittersweet one too.

Glad we could all share it together.

Farewell to lunchtime with our soon to be big third grader!

We love you!

Pancakes on the Porch

What do you do on a Thursday night when your sweet "dinner makin' hubby" is a little busy being sweet" lawn-mowin hubby"...you make chocolate chip pancakes of course!

These are the sour cream ones from Pioneer Woman's Cookbook...YUMM!!
{Thanks Jenn for the chocolate chip alternative}

And of course it wouldn't be a fun almost-summer-event if you didn't eat them picnic style on the front porch!

And you have to throw in one of the these to complete this healthy meal!

Looks like summer is almost here!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Sweet Simple Day

Yesterday was such a sweet and simple day.  It started with a quiet morning of playtime with Aubrey while the girls were at school.   I know the quiet mornings  in the house are quickly going to be replaced with chatter and activity...trying to savor the last few days of it. She is starting to cruise along the furniture and even let go of things to stand for a split. second.   I love watching their feet when they are learning to stand!  Is that strange...anyone else share in this simple joy with me?  I love to watch them as they flex and tighten to try and keep their balance...their little toes curling...

simply adorable

Then we were treated to a late morning puppet show at Riley's school.   I have to say, she made the CUTEST Little Red Riding Hood I have ever seen...but I guess I am a little biased!

simply impressive

Then, I found these two little goodies in my mailbox.  Does anyone else heart Pottery Barn Catalogs???  I hardly ever order anything...but I still love getting them and flipping through page after endless page of design inspiration.

simply beautiful

After lunch with Janey, Aubrey went down for a nap and Janey and I did some work in the basement play room.  I guess it was all the inspiration from the  PB catalogs!  We organized the art area and we were both pretty pleased with our work.  Janey's idea was to make cute little labels for the drawers full of art supplies...I love that girl!

simply organized

{big plans for this space this summer...but that's a whole other post....}


Janey spent about an hour playing with her new friend Splash.  He needed a  home and some goodies to eat and play with.  Riley made one too...a dog named Cody...but he fell victim to the hands and mouth of Aubrey...sorry Cody!


simply creative

Next, I spent two wonderful hours alone getting my hair colored.  Reading magazines I never normally read and enjoying the quiet.  Not to mention losing that grey strip down the top of my head!
{lucky for you no photo here} :)


simply alone

Finally, we spent the evening outside with our friends enjoying some ice-cream and watching the kids play.

simply together

I'd say all of that makes for a pretty sweet and simple day.
Hope you had a simply beautiful Tuesday too!

So Long Monday Mornings...

For about a year and a half now, Dave has had Mondays off.  Can you even imagine???  He works 4 ten hour days and even though I miss him during the hustle and bustle of getting the kids out the door and off to school Tues-Fri , I wouldn't trade it for Mondays off!  On a typical Monday morning we usually drop the kids at school and head out to breakfast some where. When Aubrey was really small we would pop her in the carrier for a nap and even get to grocery shop together too...I know super thrilling huh?  But we loved it.  Alone time together is alone time together...even if it is pushing a cart up and down the aisles whispering so the sleeping baby won't wake up!  Well, with summer right around the corner (knocking loudly on the door) yesterday we said so long to our Monday Mornings!   We had our last breakfast together at Panera.  

I splurged and got the coffee cake!

Dave got a bagel to share with this little sweetie...

...who absolutely loves bagels

Of course Aubrey is with us on these Monday Mornings  

but since she can't talk yet we still count it as a "date"!:)

I know...we are reaching a bit and we really need to get out more....

I guess this is the first of many things that will change now that summer is here.

So "bye-bye" Monday Mornings...

{waving bye-bye!}

We'll see you in the Fall!!!

Hmmm and next year Janey has school all day...oh the possibilities!!!;)

Because of Winn Dixie

About two years or so ago I read that book to the girls.  

What a great story!  Filled with so much love... of all kinds... 

friends, family, community and of course the canine version....

I am a softy for the canine version.

Well, this year Riley read it on her own and it sparked an idea...  

{In case you haven't read the book (or seen the movie) 

Opal decides to throw a party, a way to get all of these random friends she has met  together.} 

...an idea to have a party!

of course Janey quickly jumped on board and they decided to have

 an End of the School Year Party.  

They wanted to plan it all from homemade invitations to games and food

and plan it they did!

{I gave them $20 to spend on food and favors

that was a great lesson on what things really cost} 

They did it all 

from cleaning and decorating to

running the show

Here is a look at their big party planning debut...

I think everyone had a wonderful time

including our two party girls.

 They learned a lot that day,

from the "stresses' of worrying your friends are all having fun

to remembering the little details like "do we have enough lemonade"

I have a feeling there are more parties in our future!

Way to go girls!!!