Pop-tarts and Pickles

Baked potatoes with butter, sour cream, salt and pepper

Greek salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, and feta

French fries, of course

Ginger-ale, with or without grenadine for a little sweetness

Brown sugar cinnamon pop-tarts

Omelets - ham, cheddar and tomato

Strawberries with nutella

Absolutely perfect purple grapes

Sugar snap peas with ranch

Ruffles dipped in ranch

Kraft mac and cheese

Cup O' Noodles

Rondele cheese spread

Kettle Korn

Broccoli, asparagus, peas, even kale

I bought pickles, but they haven't sounded good at home. I'm currently dreaming of a regular Arby's roast beef sandwich. Mexican restaurants with good beans and rice, maybe a chimichanga. And lots of of meat/cheese paninis. Maybe I'll live at Panera for the next month.
A month oughta do it. Maybe 6 weeks if I'm not so lucky.

That's right: 10 weeks down, 30 more to go. :)

What's warming my heart these days

This is a crummy time of year, even if you're trying hard to see the glass half full. Because, dang it, I'm a little tired of rain and clouds by now. As evidenced by the fact that I feel like life is just routine and there is nothing to blog about or take pictures of. In fact, my camera had a total of 6 (SIX!!) pictures on it from the last full month. We're doing plenty of things, but they are inside and the same things we've been doing all winter. So there's the whiny context for this post.

I was thinking about the happy little things that are warming me up right now, while the sun shirks it's responsibility.

Grace telling me, "I love you, Mommy. But best of all, I love to kiss." (huge pucker and lots of kisses on all the parts of my face)

Ellie's 2nd grade concert, where she was so excited to wear a skirt to curtsy. This made perfect sense to me because they were doing square dancing. But she saved the great big giant curtsies for the end when the audience clapped and she was right smack in the middle of the risers in her purple skirt. 2 huge ones, that I only saw the top of head do. But I'm smiling about it all the same!

Grace's independent fashion sense. I'm trying to document more of her outfits. I think all my girls have done this. Lydia says it hurts her eyes and that makes me smile as much as the diva herself. This is Grace, all dressed and ready to go meet her preschool teacher for next year.


Carver is all about sneaking right now. Mostly cute things like, "I sneaked up and brushed my teeth ALL BY MYSELF," he says with a huge grin. Or "Grace sleeping and I sneaked in give her kiss." His clothes don't match right now, either. But he's dressing himself completely on his own, not trashing his closet in the process and that is a happy thing, indeed.

Watching Tangled with the family and Lydia busting a gut, laughing so hard it's contagious. I love that girl and that her sense of humor is just like her dad's.

Lydia played the piano tonight at an Activity Day recognition night. Her first time in front of so many people (that's what happens when I'm the teacher - recitals are small!) and she did great and felt so good about it. Warmed my heart, for sure.

Bike rides with my friend, Sarah. Running in the sunshine from time to time. Reading good books. Strawberries in season again and learning to use the broiler instead of the grill. Phone calls from Derek at lunchtime. Daffodils he picks from our yard that remind me of the sweetness of being engaged in the spring 11 years ago.

There are lots and lots of silver linings lately, but I'm still ready to give up the clouds all together!