TOGETHER

we are a full week back to school now, they even have already had their first day off!  im that mom who is sad when summer is winding down, for lots of reasons, but this summer i just didnt want it to end. i like having them home i like the later nights outside i like snuggling in bed with them late at night i like movie nights i love not making lunches but most of all, i love that i have always had one of my kiddos in the car with me going to work each morning.  this summer, that all changed. now they all get on a bus, the oldest one gets in a CAR, not driven by me!! my youngest little bucket o sunshine is now gone all day in kindergarten. it broke.my.heart.                                                                   she oh so confidently got on that bus, not a care or worry.  not a single...

ugh...why does this hurt so much.. not just the unfollow itself, but when others tell you they have unfollowed. for example...   i followed someone on social for awhile, i liked her posts, her content interested me, she sparked joy.  what started as me reading each post, over time moved to me reading about half the post, then skimming through the post, read maybe half the post to eventually just scrolling by.  then one friday, (yes, i do remember it was a friday, more to come on that.)  i just felt i had to unfollow.  so i did.  later that day i was chatting with my work bff and told her: 'i had to unfollow xxx.' now my super compassionate, feeler work bff just said: 'oh' and shrugged it off.  i apologized to her, as she is a huge fan of xxx and she proceeded to tell me in her always so wise way: 'you don't have to apologize to me.  people bring different perspectives into your life at different times.' my work bff is super, super wise...

friday!! so im linking up with  oh hey friday or better yet, for my oh hey friday im talking my top 5 athleta picks. i love athleta, shocking.  i have been a gap girl most of my life, back in the high school day when i wore rugby shirts, button downs, long sweaters, all in size xl.  i actually wasnt a size xl, but in the 80's-90's oh xl was so so popular.  the bigger, the baggier the better.  now i probably am an xl, and maybe should be wearing that size...but that is for another post. athleta is gap, so it just makes sense it is my go to for not only fitness clothes, but just cute stuff! and bigger bonus...i get to teach insanity there!  every weekend my local store, crocker park , offers free classes.  it is great because you can try out all different types of workouts and then shop...ummm win!  did i mention the class is free.  so just when you think you may fall over from exhaustion, you look around and see those cute tights you w...

I used to be that mom, the one who had her children coordinating in super cute outfits, awesome egg hunts for all the kids and cousins, a scrumptious brunch for the family.  but now... boy, that has all changed.  now that we are a week out from easter, i think i have accepted it.  1//  past - i coordinated kids in easter outfits       present - the kids have clothes on I think this is where it went south, at some point after J came along. maybe it was i couldn't keep up with getting 3 kids cute that early in the morning. I spent money on these cute outfits, they coordinated, I did their hair, had them looking good.  then, those clothes never got worn again.  into the closet they would go and sold at the next resale event, if they would even sell.   i think i have given away multiple cute little ballet flats in every size. i mean come on...does this kid even look happy in this hat?  i wanted her to loo...

it is that time of year, cleveland marathon time, well in my case cleveland half marathon. several years back, after the slowest jog over the finish line of the chicago marathon, i decided i was going to be a halfer girl for my remaining running years.  it is about time for me to run my annual 13.2 miles which also means i have started training to do so.  if you call running a few times a week and maybe throw a 6 miler in on the weekends training, but hey, that is training for me! i have been a consistent runner for about the last 20 years, initially i started running because it burns lots of calories = weight loss.  that is not the case any more, not that i don't still burn a lot of calories, but the weight loss doesn't come with it and that really isn't my goal or my why.  I was recently asked...  'why do you run?' i run because it keeps me sane, or as sane as i can be. :) i know this doesn't just apply to me, nor am i the first to talk abou...

when you live in a cold climate, about late january/early february you need some warm sunshine, like it is imperative! each year, about this time, i need a good dose of vitamin d.  i got just that on my getaway to southwest fl. thankfully my dad and super awesome step mom made the move south several years ago, they are in a good routine, so i can just jump right in. not that i don't love my home, and honestly, our winter has been pretty mild, but even so a blast of warm sun can change so much about your attitude.  getting out of the dreary cle cold i had to maximize my time.  i arrived on thursday late afternoon so i could maximize my 3 full days in the sun. friday - beach day, we get there early to secure a spot and that is it.  sit and soak in the sun.  there is plenty of people watching to be done at the beaches of southwest florida.  now i did walk on the beach a bit and read my book but successfully completed my goal of a solid base for the ...

monday morning bright and early 2 of my girls went in to have their tonsils out. im not much of a remove your organs and surgeries, actually i dont take my kids to the doctor for too much, but this was necessary. grace gets strep or tonsillitis, ummm...i didnt even know that was a thing until we started this madness, all.the.time. she had strep 6 times in 2016. mae had tonsils a big as boulders, ok maybe very large river rocks. her tonsils would actually touch each other when she would get sick. that my friends is scary, like she stops breathing scary. she also snores like, well, like her dad, due to the tonsils. most importantly, her breath, like she can knock you over with the dragon breath, with the tonsils gone all of the above should improve. btw...snoring worse, but im guessing , praying, hoping that is because she is still recovering. i really liked the tag team thing. mae went first, after being all prepped in her stylish hat, they rolled her off in a wagon into the or...