love love loving this weather!!!!

photo found via flickr

Sunny in the morning (perfect for the kids swim lessons)
Stormy in the afternoon (perfect for working in the garden)
I wish every day this summer could be just as perfect!!

where I'm pretty sure I need to buy & renovate a french cottage

I was perusing some blogs and ran across one I haven't seen before & am wondering how could I have missed it. Stephmodo is a great blog with lots of pretty pictures, great ideas and yummy looking recipes (maybe it will help solve my worst question ever problem) Anyway, she & her husband have bought a 400 year old cottage in France (pictured below- no really it's the one pictured below the one next to the castle & the view) and they are renovating it!

I am not jealous at all /sarc.

It sits right next to a castle and just look at those views.

Did I mention the view? Apparently on the drive up one of the many views is of another castle the same one seen in one of my all time favorite movies, the same movie that got me through my first month of marriage & no cable- ie Ever After

You must go and read about how they acquired it. And to see the darling picture of her kids playing on the hill next to the castle.

so amazing!

Here is a photo of a wall they just recently uncovered, I want to live there, even with the dirt floor.

I wonder if I offer to help out she'll let me stay there.
Even though I have no renovating skills I could always babysit. Oh and I could cook- I make a mean pancake ;)

the worst question EVER!!

It's 4:30. You've had a pretty good day. You had to wake up too early again. A few loads of laundry were done & actually got put away. You had a few moments of silence during quiet & nap time. You paid some bills - never fun but it has to be done, luckily your kids woke up just in the nick of time, bill depression was about to take hold. You forget all about the bills while watching your kids play outside & while talking & laughing with one of the best neighbors ever. You cut the tops off a few otter pops & wonder why the kid in the red t-shirt always shows up when the treats come out. You're happy. Content. This is what being a mom is all about. Then the otter pops are done & the kids start telling you they're hungry. You know what's coming next. You don't want to hear it but it's inevitable. Your oldest is first, interrupting your conversation about the cute thing your baby did today, "mom? WHAT'S FOR DINNER?" as the words are uttered everything goes into slow mo- the dark clouds roll in, you can't cover your ears fast enough. "NOOOOOOOOO!!" you hear in your head (also in slow mo). You pray the other kids didn't hear the question. But they have. It's like a plague. It starts spreading from one child to the other. One runs home to ask his mom. The kid in the red shirt wants to know too. Now it's all you can hear. You apologize to your neighbor. She just laughs (she has the secret weapon- she's planned ahead. She probably goes to the grocery store with a list too) The little zombies keep asking. "Food" is not a good enough answer for them. You resist the temptation to start singing the song from Oliver. Finally after racking your brains for what seems like an eternity, with little people's big eyes staring into your soul, you say "Pancakes?". "With bacon and strawberries?" your little one asks, hands clapped together in a pleading grasp. "Sure" you answer. "YEAH!!!!" the munchkins cheer in unison. The clouds disperse, the sun is shining again. You don't remember the grass looking so green. You take a deep breath & your heart starts beating regularly again- the same beat as that song you learned in preschool that one you can never remember all of the words to. The mini's are dancing around. This also catches, spreading like the peal of church bells over some distant European village. You can smile again & kind of want to start dancing too. You decide you better go call the husband to let him know you need him to stop by the store on the way home for some bacon. Suddenly you stop, your stomach drops - how are you going to explain pancakes to your husband? You look around why is the house so messy? You start to panic again. You whip your head around to look at the clock. It's 4:35. You breath a sigh of relief. The frantic 10 minute clean up can wait & the husband will just have to realize he can't have steak every night of the week. As you walk back outside to watch the munchkins ride up and down the side walk & you and your neighbor start to discuss the best way to knock down part of the fence that separates your backyards, you hear the kid in the red shirt say "I love pancakes!"

where there are lots of little things l'd like to share

There are lots of little things I've been wanting to share with you but have been too busy with kids & no husband then getting ready for husband to come home and now busy with kids & husband but I've found some time & can now share

Have you seen any of these? I've seen some others too & always think how fun it would be to participate or just to be surprised with it.

Make sure you go HERE to see the how they did it

sent to me by my friend Wendy

Here's another one- the people's face who were not in on it are priceless!

And I seriously want to do this with my family:

this girls made an instructional video so her family could perform this dance at her sisters 21st birthday. It's so great. & doesn't hurt that it's set to Jamiroquai

Make sure you check out the outfit she wore in the instructional video & read her post about everyone learning the dance- This has made my week & I don't think I'll stop smiling!

where it's been a lot harder than I expected to have my husband back

let me clarify for you ie the husband (Gary read the heading and thought I was being mean)

It's harder than I thought to:

• share the authority again
• clean up after an extra person
• wonder where the _______ is
• have to sync up my schedule daily
• share my teeny tiny bathroom
• have more things cluttering my teeny tiny house
• discuss money on a daily basis
• have to hear the worst question EVER from one more person*

But it's wonderful to:

• have my best friend home
• have someone else discipline
• have an extra pair of helping hands
• get things done around the house
• have my children's dad home
• get a break from putting the kids to bed
• have Kail's energy released by daily jogs with dad
• have someone to run errands for me (yea!!!)
• go grocery shopping by myself
• give my parents a break from babysitting

so you see while there are some hard things that I'll figure out how to deal with sooner or later there are many many more things that negate all the others & make me more than happy to have my husband home

- even if he is going to be working graves- blah ;)

*if you are wondering what the worst question EVER is see a few posts up

happy Memorial Day

What can I say that millions of others haven't already. What an amazing day this is, to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Thank you for your service & sacrifice, we will always remember.

I took this picture at a certain military ceremony I was able to attend recently. A much more meaningful, if not better, picture of our flag than one I could find on flickr. ;)

Check out Michelle Malkins Memorial Day post (the best one I could find), & this one too a bit more on the light side, Black*Eiffel

exit question: Why is it that Google will change their logo for finding the "missing link" but won't acknowledge the day we remember our soldiers who died for our freedom?

where "as we all know, diarrhea is the cornerstone to every good diet" or how to properly cube a watermelon

from The Would-be Writers Guild