{Hello?}

anyone still there?
we are.
i promise.:)

we have been living life and filling our moments with picture worthy things...but none of them seem to make their way here. and for that...i take full responsibility!:) being the chief photo taker and blogger can be hard work don't ya know.
especially when you've gone back to work.
kind of.

yep...i'm subbing here and there.
mostly days when dave can take off the afternoon to be with aubrey (she's only half day k remember?) but i' averaging a few days a week and for a mama who has been home full time for 12+ years that's an adjustment!!
but it's all good and we are makin it work!!:)
and guess what...it's fun!!
and i love it!!
especially when i'm in a kindergarten class!
no surprise there right??
my first love and my job for over 13 years!!
i'm hoping to see a classroom of my own again someday.
someday.
but for now...this is about all i can handle!!
a juggler of many hats i never claim to be!!:)
haha

this was my very first day of work.

such big hugs and kisses right?!:)

catching up on posts and photos.

slowly.

and hope to visit all my dear sweet bloggy friends soon!!:)

have a happy day,

cindy

{47}

47?
47.
47!
not so bad i guess.

bounced out of bed with a little extra pep in my step this morning. no sleeping in for me on my birthday...oh no, if there's ever a day you should take stock of yourself...what you need...and what you certainly should do without...today is the day.

so i headed down to the treadmill with a smile.
and some good tunes.

this one made me smile extra big today and i think it will be my theme song for the year. what do you think?
ha

slid into bed with each of the girlies this morning for their rise and shine wake up. it's their favorite way to greet the day and i have to admit...when i slow down to do it each morning...i feel better too.

when i got to aubrey i said "this is one of my favorite moments of the day"...with her sleepy face, groggy voice and messy hair she rolled over and said, "i know, i know the other two are when you snuggle me at night and when you pick me up from school." i laughed out loud and said "now how do you know that?" to which she replied..."i just know you mom!"
melt

after drop off i went straight to get my hair done. no more repeats of last year. oh no. i was covering those grays before the camera came out this year!

here's a very awkward selfie to prove i am gray-less and 47.
oh yes i am!

...ha i didn't even bother to un-do the seat belt on this one...

i scooped aubrey up at half day dismissal and we went straight to meet daddy for a thai lunch. same thing we did last year. i'm nothing if not predictable right?

later dave and aubrey worked on my requested cookie cake from meg

after the girlies got home we had a yummy dinner.
one of my faves...chicken tacos with all the homemade trimmings.

thank you baby for all the love and yummy goodness this year!
you really made the day special!

then it was present time.
i'm gonna  ask you in advance to ignore all the totally weird and silly expressions on my face! how does the camera manage to capture every dorky look? but if i left them out the girls would be like....."mom...where's the picture of my present/card/thing?"

gift wrapped necklace from homecoming parade and popsicle stick bookmarks

and here she wrapped up a mason jar with some of her candy and coins it...the tag said "a goodie jar for you":)

 not sure what's up with aubrey's expression here....

thank you everyone for all the sweet texts, phone calls and goodies this year. i really do have some amazing friends and family.

but my sweetest gifts on earth live right here!

here's to 47!

i'm gonna make it good!

46

45

44

43

{Today :: Grumpies and Music}

hi friends.
yesterday was a day for me.
ugh!
not sure why.
could have been all the kit kat mini's i ate.
who brought those in the house??:)
ev.er.y.thing was bugging me.

and like it usually is for us mama's, we never get a grumpy day alone.
seems like everyone just has to join us in grumpsville.
am i right?
oh to escape and be grumpy alone....but i guess if we were alone chances are we wouldn't be grumpy anymore....wait...what?
did i just say that?!:)

happy to say today is better.
usually always is.
thank goodness.

right now i am listening to these guys.
loving this one and this one and this one.
basically the whole album rocks.
and their new album just came out.
can't wait to listen.

what songs are you loving these day and how do you get rid of the grumpies??

have a happy day,

cindy

{Happy Friday}

another sunshiny day with temps in the 50's!
life is good.

grabbed myself one of these yesterday.
i've been so good in the soda department lately  (if you don't count pizza nights...i can't have  pizza without coke!) but it was finally "get my hair done day" so i had to treat myself!

 gray is gone and that feels better then any bubbly drink!

wish i could pull off a fun little headband like that!:)

middle of the week lunch dates are still the best.

spent some dreamy wandering moments in my fav place.
don't these colors just make your mouth water and your hands want to grab a popsicle...or some other kind of frozen treat!

and this little beauty flew right into my cart.
perfect piece for a mini bathroom make-over that will happen
some day.
soon.
hopefully!

i'm seeing white bead board...light blue walls...white ruffly shower curtain...barely pink towels and fluffy white bath mats. and lots and lots of girlie inspirational art!
can you picture it!?:)

tomorrow i am heading to chicago for the day with my girlfriend.
we are seeing this guy in concert (ever heard of him? new to me...but sounds good! i'm up for any kind of music and a day of shopping, food and fun) should be an adventure.

hope your friday was a fantastic one...and what's goin' on this weekend for you?

have a lovely day,

cindy

{Bike Rides, Lunch Dates and the Grouchies}

we kept with our new tuesday tradition and got a little exercise after drop off.
these crazy fall temps have us in a jacket to start and wishing for shorts by the end.
yep...this 2.2 mile track takes us about an hour but who's counting.:)

we were on our own this morning.
no buddy to count the wholly worms with.

we still stopped to watch a few though.
and the only thing that kept us moving those last few minutes was seeing if we could see 20 before the car.
we did!

 

aubrey and i have been doing the sweetest thing lately when i wake her up.

when i walk into her room she pretends to be sleeping and rolls away and covers herself up.

the conversation goes like this:

aubi?

mommy?

aubi!

mommy! (said with enthusiasm and giggles!)

and she rolls over and grabs me by the neck and i smother her with kisses.

now that's a good way to greet the day.

 

 

monday night as i was tucking her in, i think she might have talked to me about her first school problem.

"mom...when jake stepped on my foot he said 'sorry audrey instead of sorry aubrey!"

"hmmmm, what do you think you should do?"

"i dunno"

 

after we went through how some names are similar and that lots of people call janey jamie by accident too, we came up with what she might say.

 

then she shrugged and said, "maybe i could just let it go."

ok



 

we picked riley up for our lunch date with warm oatmeal cookies in the car.

they were just good ol' slice n bake.

but you think they were fresh from a gourmet bakery or something.

scored some mom points there.



 

found yet another unexplored path in our park.
it was serene and quiet...till we got there.
and low and behold the path led to one of our favorite places.
imagine that!:)

 riley said, "quick mom, give me your phone...look at that light!"

such a beautiful afternoon together.
so here's the grouchy part.
i get home and start working on updating iTunes so i can sync my newly updated phone and it was frustrating and took me forever and aubrey watched way too much tv and i got a headache and yuck i can't stand when i do stuff like that! obsess over some totally insignificant thing and i just can't walk away from it till i figure it out!! ugh! totally ruined the rest of my day. i got it figured out and all was good, but at what cost really? my stress level was sky high and we all know if mama's havin a rough day...everyone else usually follows!:) i soooo know why that is...but totally a bummer right?

anyway...tomorrow is a no computer no phone no stress day for me!
i am playing sofia and building puzzles.
the end.

 

have a happy day...and if you have the chance...stay in the woods and off the computer!:)

cindy



{Bike Rides and Books}

yesterday aubrey and i loaded her bike into the van, dropped the big girls off at school, and met some friends at the park near our house. we went for a 2.2 mile walk/ride that was so much fun.

we found:

caterpillars

dancing leaves

yellow flowers perfect for behind our ears

sticks

leaves and

seed pods.

it was a perfect "why haven't we done this before and can't wait till next tuesday" kind of day.

 

the scooters and bikes were abandoned midway.

part of the reason our little walk took over an hour.

 

but no one complained.:)

 

***************************************************

 

 

 

today aubrey and i ran into our "little library" looking for one of our favorite laurie berkner cds.

but of course there is no such thing as a quick little trip into the library in our world.:)

 

we were there about an hour and came home with some sweet, sweet books.

 

reading with her glasses

taking inspiration from laurie's these are my glasses song.

 

 

this one was by far our favorite.

 

 

 

check out the authors site too.

lovely.

 

today my heart is feeling full.

i have so many thoughts, dreams, plans spinning around my head:

books to get

things to make/change/fluff/spruce up

dates to make

friends to call

memories to save/print/make

 

 

ahhhhhh.....

it's a jumble in this little mind of mine.

ever have a day like that?

or am i the only adhd dreamer out there??:)

 

what ever your day has brought you i hope it was a happy one,

cindy

 

{46}

it's my birthday!

46

wow

46.

i had to ask dave the other day, "how old am i gonna be again??" you could look at that one of two ways...i'm too old to remember my age or i feel so young i couldn't possibly be 46 already could i?!:)

i'll go with the second choice how 'bout you?

 

 

the night before my birthday was the big soccer game and also my parents last night.

tears and excitement and more tears kept the girls up later then usual.

i knew i was gonna need to pull out the "it's my birthday...you have to be sweet and lovely this morning and get up and ready for school cheerfully" card.

and i did.

thank goodness for well timed middle of the week birthdays.

 

the skies were beautiful for me this morning.

after dropping aubrey off at school, i headed for a birthday frozen mocha/carmel.

 

 

it was the best one ever.
really.
and my tunes and a little car dancing made the moment complete.

later dave and aubrey took me out for thai.
it was super yummy.

we did all the normal stuff we usually do during the day with a little dose of birthday texts, visits from friends bringing gifts, and surprise ones coming via delivery.



 

dave asked me what i wanted for my birthday dinner and what really sounded the best to me was a picnic at the park. simple, easy and zero clean up!!:)

 



 

 

oh how i love this girl...but i'm a bit worried about what her face looks like most days in the school cafeteria!!:)

 

i broke my personal rule this year about getting my hair colored before my birthday.

so ignore all that "i can't possibly be 46 already" gray! and yes i tried to edit it out of the shot a few back but then realized that job's gonna take forever so i gave up!!:)

ha

 

aubrey was sad because she left her card at home:(

i didn't realize she was that sad till i saw this photo.

that breaks my heart!

 

she snuck in a kiss and we promised a do-over at home.

 

lots of yummy treats, lotion, new fall shirts a scarf and slippers.

 

but these four are really my best gifts!

 

 

 

blowing out that pretend candle

it was a wonderful day filled with love.

thank you so much!!!

 

here's to 46.......