Well, don't you look sharp?

I splurged a few weeks ago. In fact, I probably will not get birthday or Christmas presents from my husband for the next three years. But it was so worth it. I already own some of these knives. This summer, a young man from our church was selling them. I bought more. I love to cook. These knives rock. Enough said.

Pretty things...

If I had my life to life over - by Erma Bombeck

"If I had my life to live over, I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television - and more while watching life.
I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."
There would have been more "I love you's".. More "I'm sorrys" ...
But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute... look at it and really see it ... live it...and never give it back."

In the spirit of this great poem and the great sentiment it contains, I'm pulling out my pretty teapots and teacups and using them for daily tea, instead of keeping them packed up for "someday"....I'm injecting a little bit of "pretty" into my daily teatime....just for me.

Our little Kindergartener...

E was a total rock star this morning. She is so excited about all things Kindergarten: her own desk, uniforms, backpack, lunchbox. Here are some snapshots of our morning!

Busy days....busy nights...

Recently, my days have been full of end-of-summer activities with E, and my nights have been spent working on a fun and different freelance project (more details soon!). Love, love, love working on projects that are fun, and that I am passionate about! Happiness!

Silly girlfriends...

E and school buddy Emma had so much fun

on the last Friday of summer....

park time, a local story time and

lunch-date time together. Silly girls!

Does this look comfortable to you?

Our cat picks the strangest places to sleep!

On top of a bag full of library books?

Weird.

Sweet Baby A...

E's Kindergarten teacher happens to be a dear friend of mine. We grew up together at our church -- and now she's back "home" just in time to teach my dear, sweet girl! Mrs. T has a little one of her own now -- a six week old we'll call Baby A. E is enamored with him, of course. One day this week, we went up to the school to help with Baby A. so Mrs. T could get some work done in the classroom. I had no problem at all spending some time with this handsome little man. E was pretty tickled to help, too. Is it any wonder that since then, she's been calling all of her baby dolls "Baby A."? Love it!

Getting ready for Kindergarten...

E's teacher came over last week for a "home visit" (one of the million things I love about our small, Christian, classical education school). E had a chance to get to know her new teacher and talk to her teacher about Kindergarten. One thing Mrs. T left with us was a huge "about me" poster for E to fill out before the first day of school. Of course, E couldn't wait to get started. E asked for my help with some of the writing and assembly, but I think it's hilarious that the one thing she wanted to write on here was that she does not like gum. My silly girl! What a fun way to start the school year!

"Mommy and E school" - end of summer/back to school edition, part two!

E is so excited about going to school - to KINDERGARTEN, specifically. And her enthusiasm is spilling over into the last days of Mommy and E school. She's coloring picture upon picture for her new teacher, going through worksheets like mad, reading like crazy and much more. She's been having a ton of fun with this reader/puzzle set I picked up at a discount book store. You do the puzzle for each key word in the reader....the puzzle spells out the word and makes the picture. So cool! We're having fun in our last few days of school together, before it's time for her to go back to school....for real!

No all-girl playdate is complete....

...without a dress-up, fairy-princess tea party!

These sure have changed since I was a kid...

I know I've talked about this before....

but seriously, these are the coolest things.

Since we've been stuck inside a lot due to the heat,

we've been spending a lot of time creating stuff like this!

"Mommy and E school" - end of summer/back to school edition!

Summer is wrapping up (well the free time/no-school part of it ... not the hot temperatures part of it) and after a few weeks off from Mommy and E school for out-of-town guests, we're wrapping up the summer by getting ready for E's debut into KINDERGARTEN!

In this house, we love paper chains....counting down until the first day of school required E to create a fantastic, purple and pink Dora-decorated paper chain. We're also finishing up some worksheets and craft activities, reading lots of library books about Kindergaren, and E recently enjoyed a home-visit from her fantastic Kindergarten teacher Mrs. T! (They read "The Kissing Hand" together - love that book!)

E is so excited! A new backpack. New hairbows. School uniforms. A classroom with her own desk. Old friends. New friends. New teacher. BIG FUN!

We're sad to see summer go, but it's so sweet to see my girl SO excited about school. Here's to Kindergarten! Hip, hip, HOORAY!

What do you do...

....when it is flaming hot outside and you do not want to cook?

Make this ... we've had it with chips or on soft tacos. Or you can just eat it out of the bowl with a spoon. Yes, it's that good! So fresh and cool and tasty! And exceptionally good with an ice-cold adult beverage. Ahhhh. Much better!