After three years of homeschooling my children, we enrolled them in a local private school this year. I loved teaching them at home, and we grew so close! But, the littles began wondering, out loud, what it would be like to be in a classroom environment again. They wanted to give it a go this year and see how they liked it, so we began researching the schools in the area; found one we were all excited about and got them enrolled!





Their first day of school was a little bittersweet for me. I was a bundle of nerves, hoping they'd transition smoothly & instantly love it. For the most part, they did. But my youngest had a rocky few minutes the first two mornings. Tears rolled down her little cheeks and pleadings for me to stay with her eyes & her lips. Oh, my heart just BROKE! She had been SO excited and then once she was at her desk, the newness hit her. The reality that she was on her own for the day, without knowing anyone or how things would transpire caused momentary panic and tears. She was soothed & kissed and made it, but boy, was it tough for us both to let go!! By day three she was a-ok (thank goodness!).




And THIS kid...my sweet, quiet, sensitive boy. He breezed into his classroom, sat down & was just ready for whatever! I was SO proud of him! Picking him up after the first day, he kept sighing & saying how much he loved school, his teacher, the classroom... It was AWE.SOME!





I had been worried to see/hear their response to their first day but when I arrived, there they were, two smiling faces- ready to spill all the exciting details! What an immense relief & blessing! And so we begin this adventure, together but apart. We're all going to learn A LOT!

A family favorite.

We've been making this a few times a month.
It's easy, tasty, requires but a few ingredients...
Plus, it satisfies my crazy craving. If I eat something salty, I crave sweet. If I eat something sweet, I crave something salty. Here- the best of both! The nutritional value isn't the best, however.


KETTLECORN on the Cheap....

Ingredients: Popcorn, oil, salt, water, brown sugar.




First, make your popcorn. We love our popcorn popper!





Salt to taste once it's popped.




While your popcorn is popping, take a small saucepan & add 2 Tablespoons of oil and 2 Tablespoons of water. Then add 2/3 cup light brown sugar. Stir and bring to a boil. This will only take a minute or two because it is such a small amount, so don’t walk away from the stove! As soon as it boils, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 3 minutes.




It'll look like this...





Carefully drizzle the liquid over the popcorn, carefully mixing with a spatula or wooden spoon.
It's very sticky & retains it's heat for a while- and upon skin contact, it HURTS. Don't ask me how I know...just trust me.




After mixing throroughly, give it a taste and salt a bit more if need be.

And VOILA!
This is best eaten with an ice cold coke by your side.





XOXO
~S

swoon.

These have been sitting on my computer for a while..just little things that make my heart pitter patter.
I'm HORRIBLE at documenting where I found things...so just don't even ask..sorry!
I need to remedy that so I can give credit & links...next swoon pics will have that, mmkay?

Classic Salt Water Sandals in red. For me.
Of course I'd love to have a pair in navy, white and red for Josie- they're timeless & hold up so well!
But I love them for myself too. I wore my last pair for several years until they literally started falling apart; even then I had a hard time letting them go.



this pic is so stinkin' TINY! What happened, I do not know. No do-overs. I'm feeling far too lazy for that. Just trust me (or get out your handy dandy monocle.)..it's VERY cute. I was just prowling the web one night for wardrobe ideas for shooting weddings. Necklines can be tricky when you're going to be stooping, bending and leeeeaaaning (seen While You Were Sleeping?? If not, fuggedaboudit). This seemed like it would fit the bill. Picture over black fitted jeans & boots. I *think* I found this on the FREE PEOPLE website..which is gob FULL of fabulous goodies. LOVE that place. The textures and draping are very inspiring.



Beautious orange clog heels. How I love thee.



This necklace is from Anthropologie. I've loved it from the first moment I laid eyes on it. They've been sold out for a long, long time. There's always Ebay. someday. In fact, I think I swiped this pic off Ebay. Sorry, sweetest sins boutique (and btw- I don't like the name of the boutique, nor am I promoting it.)



Clog boots.
Shoes. Love. Boots. Looking to find a good pair to love. Clogs? Uber-love.







Spent the majority of today looking for a nice, clean hotel close to Disneyland for our vacation in a few weeks time.
FINALLY found one with hundreds of positive reviews. Photos of newly revamped rooms. Close to the park with shuttle service. Pool for the littles. Flat Screen for the hubster. Free hot breakfast every morning for me. Yay!

Gotta go.. when it comes to watching Project Runway, multi-tasking becomes impossible for me.

XOXO
~S

Still playing catch up on the blog but not much time to post this week.
I'm working on all sorts of things that need to be done in the next week or two.
Can't believe that Summer is wrapping up and all my preparations are in regards to end-of-Summer activities and school enrollment.

We have friends who are enduring a crisis that I cannot fathom. Their 11 year old daughter is hospitalized with E.Coli and it's very serious. Her poor little body is having a hard time but it appears as of today, she may be rallying! I certainly pray this is the case..she's the sweetest little girl & this family has already endured much hardship. Isn't it always so very curious when you witness someone who gives,gives,gives- especially with focused intent on sharing Christ's love; and you see that the more they try to do- the more they're tested?? This family is case-in-point for sure. The beautiful thing is, that Satan has nothing on 'em. Their situation has already been used for good, in bringing so many believers together in prayer and faith for healing! They've caused most anyone who has heard of their situation to pause and realize that this life is short and we don't know what the next day will hold for us and those we hold dear. There are SO many life lessons to be learned! God's allowed this to happen for good..and I've seen and felt some of that myself. PURE AWESOMENESS.

Good things that have been blessing me lately:
* God's faithfulness made visible
* warm, sunny Summer days
* seeing the kids eyes bug out at hearing the music of the ice cream truck coming & dashing outside
* hearing the littles get so excited about school
* my camera. i heart it lots.
* the ability to get rid of junk and make some $ in the process
* spending more time with my sister
* gorgeous, shimmery sunsets





Things I'm LOVING...
* Top Chef
* seeing my dearest friend several times in a single month. a novelty- sad but true!
* PROJECT RUNWAY!!
* fresh plums
* making fruit smoothies as our post-pool snack almost everyday
* going through the kids closet & realizing they're already set up for school clothes!
* getting rid of junk around here!
* my new IKEA drinking glasses
* I've been dreaming at night again..like, consistently. This is HUGE! (hasn't happened in long time)
* getting to know new friends via email & letters, that live clear across the U.S.=coolness
* coffee. (I think it would be on every "thankful for... or I Love..." list!)

XOXO
~S

Cute Cousins.

Just a couple cute ones of Josie & Addie from last week.








XOXO
~S

Random Summer Day Moments..delicious.

Just snapshots taken throughout our Summer of 2010 so far...lots more to come!

Pool Posers.







Sunglasses & ice cream cones.



Josie is wearing a lot of jewelry lately. She's very selective, yet "less=more" does not compute.



Countless trips to the library. Air Conditioning+stacks of books=bliss.





Love the glass in the children's area..so pretty with the light coming through.




Love the light. Love the bun. Love the tan. Love that girl.






I put some deep conditioner & coconut oil in her hair (after just a few trips to the pool her hair turns into green tinged straw) and wrapped her hair in a bun while the oils did their thing. It was SO cute. Of course SHE hated it! She kept begging me to take it out. I pretended not to hear her and got my camera out instead. The next day we went to Silver Falls with my parents and my Mom complimented Josie on her shiney hair. It really DID look silky and healthy! Being the mean Mommy paid off..I got cute pics. She has pretty hair. She'll learn to love the bun.
Embrace the bun!!!







My fun find so far this Summer- the green chair. She's a little rough but refined. I love her.



Look at those eye balls. He'll grow into them someday.
....I hope.



Matthew: "you're so cute I could just squeeeeeeezzzze you to death!"
Ollie: "snort. sniff. snort. sigh." (inside: "thanks for the chiropractic adjustment.")



Early one Saturday morning...











Making hand shadows...







My goofy gus...love him...





Love Josie's hair in this one.











The girls LOVE when Matthew uses his Jedi powers to stay mid-air.
"Do it again!"
"Do it again!"


XOXO
~S