For Those of You Who Think She's Always Happy...

All this because Daddy said "no" to ice cream.

I'm Committed

To fall, that is.

How do you like our display? When I bought these shelves I intended to switch photos every month. That hasn't quite happened, but I have managed to switch every season. It's fun to look back on some of our favorite photos from falls past.

We do have a special Halloween display that will be going up too, stay tuned!

Shelves - Pottery Barn

Frames - Miscellaneous collection from over the years

Harvest sign and owl - Target

Banner - Made by me with materials from JoAnn's Fabrics

Bowling Initiation

This afternoon Lucy and I went bowling with a friend of mine and her son. It was Lucy's first time, and Town Hall Lanes was a good place to get her started. She bowled an 83 (with bumpers) which was pretty darn good! Definitely something we'd like to do again.

Goodbye, Summer

Although Labor Day has come and gone, I have been refusing to admit that summer is over. The hot and humid temps belied the calendar, so it didn't even seem like fall. But this weekend the temperature cooled, football was on, and Husband cooked up his first pot of chili for the season. So there's no denying it...it's time to put summer in the rearview.

I must admit, it's nice to get back into a regular routine again. School is in session, work is in full swing with conferences and public meetings, and there are swimming lessons and Little Gym to keep the little one busy. So no more Summer Weekend Warriors...but we'll have plenty to keep us busy on our weekends this fall.

The Games We Play

Tonight Lucy wanted to play a game before dinner. She chose "Hi-Ho Cherry-O," but when I opened the box, we discovered all the little pieces were missing. I had suspected this, because I have been finding little plastic fruits around everywhere, and have been after her about putting things away in the right place. She apologized and said she would do better. So we opened up another game, and inside that box, we found 2 wiffle balls and some foam letter stickers.

Sigh.

First Day of Preschool, 2013-2014 School Year

Where does the time go? Next year, kindergarten. Oy.

2012...

2013!

Summer Weekend Warriors 8/29: Hazy (Part 2)

Part 2 of our Labor Day weekend is a little hazy, and here's why:

Labor Day weekend libations.

Sunday Lucy and I left Des Moines and made the long drive even longer by continuing on to the northwest suburbs, where Husband's family was gathered for a little barbecue. First, I have to say, when I stepped out of the car I was amazed at how cool it felt outside. After a week or more of high heat and humidity, the 70-degree weather felt AWESOME. Before I knew it, I was sitting in a patio chair with the big orange glass on the left in my hand...and as you can see, others also had big glasses in their hands. It got a little nutty. Someone may or may not have walked into a closed patio screen door. Someone may or may not have spilled their drink all over the patio. I'm not saying who. All I'll say is that damn Vodka is a sneaky beotch.

Since I was enjoying myself so thoroughly, my dear Husband took our daughter home about 8PM and left me at the mercy of his sisters. Let's just say what happens at the Pawlak House, stays at the Pawlak House...and that includes my car, which had a sleepover in the street while I got a ride home with my sister- and brother-in-law and slept in my own bed. Which consequently, I occupied until about 10AM the next morning. It's been a LONG time, folks. No hangover...but tired, so tired. I don't have to tell you what we did on Monday. I'll give you a hint...

Not much.

Happy (?) end of summer!

Summer Weekend Warriors 8/29: Des Moines (Part 1)

This long holiday weekend was so packed I have to split it into 2 parts!

Friday afternoon, Lucy and I headed to Des Moines for our annual get-together with some of my high school/college girlfriends and their kids. 14 kids and 6 moms, are we prolific or what? Kids ages 10 years to 5 weeks old. I think this might be it, but you never can tell with this bunch!

As you might imagine, this photo is nearly impossible to take...

Aside from the 4-hour drive down being one of the longest of my life due to constant (and repeated) questions from an excited 4-year-old whose Daddy had let her nap for an hour already that day, it was a fabulous trip. We spent Friday night in Newton with friends Amy and Broc and their two boys. Lucy enjoyed playing with light sabers and of course their dog, Gus.

Goofing around before bed.

This old boy is 13 years young!

Saturday morning we headed to Des Moines to meet up with everyone else at Monkey Joe's, a bounce house place. It was just too darn hot and humid to try and do anything outside, so this seemed like a good alternative. It was pretty loud in there, but the kids seemed to enjoy it and the moms got to catch up a little bit.

I'm pretty sure my kid was one of the reasons the staff kept coming on the  PA system
to remind kids they were supposed to go down the slides "feet first."

(Semi-) managed chaos!

After bouncing, we went to a nearby restaurant where we had a separate room reserved to have lunch and let the kids run around. Dana and her crew brought along some fun activities for the kids. The mustaches were especially entertaining!

Just look at this crew! And that's not even all of them!

Guess I'll be teaching my daughter the fine art of
waxing the upper lip sooner than I thought...

Lucy was quite at home with the dress-ups!

Saturday night was spent with the Houghtons, and more fun ensued...

The kids put on a show and even made tickets and wristbands.

Ironman and two princesses. I'm still not sure what the plot was,
but there was a lot of dancing so that was OK with me.

Gardening in PJs/princess attire

 Girls, we really must try to get a picture of all of US, and not just all of our kids. I only got 1/3 of us in a photo. Next time - was great seeing you all!