hello monday.

Hello, Monday.



Hello to the last Monday of school.
Hello to the last Monday of school.  That deserves two hellos.

Hello to a goal of making my bed everyday this week.  Starting tomorrow.  Sorry, today.

Hello to bike rides with the hubs.

Hello to talking & reading & dreaming outside on the porch until 10 pm. 

Hello to a nursery full of diapers & wipes, & even more full of love. 

Hello to colorful salad making.  With avocados. 

Hello to ice cream with a former student.  Who says she wants to be like me when she grows up.  #fullheart

Hello to a newly renovated closet.  Goodbye to one thing on my to-do list. 

Hello to a sweet card from a friend.  I love friends.

What are you saying hello to, today? 

She gets it from her mama

I am surrounded by beautiful mamas.

Girlfriends who traded in their wine glasses & tube tops for sippy cups & burp cloths.
Kindergarten mamas who sneak in lunch box notes & hold hands at bus stops.
A step-mom who never had children of her own, but doesn't think of us as anything but.
A mother in-law who brought my love into this world.

And, my mama.

Beautiful on the inside, & out.  I usually hear one, two or all three of these things when people meet her.  "She looks so young."  "She has to be your sister."  "She must have had you when she was 14."  She grants her youthfulness on good genes & staying out of the sun.  Shoot.  Already lost that battle.

It's the small moments with her that I remember most from my childhood: Christmas baking, heart shaped sandwiches, warm blankets after playing in the snow, bedtime stories, beach walks.

Did she make mistakes?  Sure.  Like when she bought me windsuit outfits & took me for perms.  Evidence of these activities has been burned.



And while I hope that I inherited her "good genes" & might too be questioned as if I am an older sister one day, I hope I get her love the most.  Because it's fierce.

A special kindergarten mama passed this poem onto me this week & I have thought about it all weekend.  I want to make copies, throw them from the top staircase of a tall building, & plaster it all over my house.  As a wishing/waiting/hoping Mama, I think this is a perfect take on motherhood & just a great life mantra as well.

If I had my child to raise over again ~ Diane Loomans
If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd finger paint more, and point the finger less.
I'd do less correcting, and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I would care to know less, and know to care more.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging, and less tugging.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I'd build self esteem first, and the house later.
I'd teach less about the love of power,
And more about the power of love.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you beautiful mamas out there.  You are doing a great job.

highlite81

Dinner with friends this weekend sparked a fun conversation on college, cell phones, and social media. Two of which were not around much in my life between 2000-2004.  Which is a very good thing.  I can't imagine how my college experience would have been different if I had my iphone, facebook, twitter & whatever else is out there.  I would have done a lot less studying and way more stalking.  No...we just had good 'ol American AOL instant messenger "back then."  My screen name was abs402 & dev's highlite81.  Something to do with high school football, I think.  

Speaking of highlights...here are some from my weekend! 

1// my mini-marathon runner

2// cinco de mayo-ing

3// an Indiana county lesson.  Still couldn't tell you where we live.

4// wine & dine with my mama.

5// downtown brunch

6// encouragement from a friend.  I need to use the postal system more often.

7// libby sandwich 

8// renting a movie.  last people on earth to do this, I believe.

#8 ellaboration.  Devin wants to see the new Star Trek coming out this month.  We never saw the first one a few years ago so we thought we would Red Box it.  Except for there is not a Red Box in the galaxy in Indiana that had the flippin' movie.  Enter Family Video.  And a cute Captain Kirk.  

Beats William Shatner any day!  

What are some of your weekend highlights?

Granola Footballs

In the Fall, I am a football widow.  It really is nice stinks to be by myself every Friday night while Dev is at varsity games.  I wish I could be there to sit in the cold metal bleachers, judge stare at the snobby high school cheerleaders (that I used to be, #sorrynotsorry), & stuff my face with sodium-ladden popcorn.  Buuuuut....because I drive almost an hour to work + contain 26 5-year olds all day, I have a good excuse not to go to the games.  Now, when we have a baby I will be in the front row cheering them on in whatever they choose to do.  I just hope it involved tutus, glitter & dance routines to Thriller.   

Last spring, DC & his football-coaching buddies decided to compete in a Tough Mudder competition.  This involved diving into ice cold water, scaling walls & getting electrocuted while crawling through mud.  This also involved not inviting their wives.  But, you can better believe I quizzed him on who complained about their wife on the way down & that it better not have been him.  I don't think it was though, because I asked the guys when they got back & they said he never talks bad about me.  Reason #34,567 why he is awesome.

Back to this post's theme: food.  When the boys (I love calling grown men boys...I think it's cute) left for their trip to Ohio, I made lots of snacks for them to take.  I'm not good at a lot of things: shooting a free throw, working a remote, or driving the speed limit, but I am this: a good treat-giver.  I packed iced sugar cookies, sunflower seeds, double-fudge brownies, chips, you name it.  Then I thought I would be clever and try to *sneak* in something somewhat healthy...these protein energy bites.  

About half way through the drive, I get a text from Devin saying, "Everyone loved your balls.  They're gone."  Iced sugar cookies?  Still there.  Brownies?  Barely touched.  My "Balls" as so lovingly described...GONE.  These babies are addicting.  Super easy.  And you probably have all of the ingredients in your pantry.   Since the Tough Mudder, I have made them at least 5 different times for the coaches & they are devoured.  Therefore, I renamed Granola Foot-"balls"....the most original I could come up with.

Go make them now.  You won't be disappointed.
And I promise the football coach in your life will love you for it.

Granola Football Bites
1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup reduced-fat peanut butter
1/4-1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (could also use raisins, cranberries or any kind of nut)
1/3 cup honey & 1/3 cup light maple syrup (or you can do 2/3 cup of either)
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
2 T vanilla protein powder (can omit if you don't have it & they will still be fine)

Mix all ingredients very well & chill for 30 minutes.  Roll into balls & devour, or pass them on to a friend who has had a tough week!

Now, if you are going to the store to buy the ingredients and have to stop for gas....please don't pre-pay, walk off, & accidentally leave your full gas pump.  Not that I did that this week or anything.

Happy weekend, friends.

Welcome to Holland.

Most of you know that Devin & I are in the process of adopting a baby.  While I don't really want this blog to start chronicling every detail of the process, it is a HUGE part of our lives right now.  Leaving it off wouldn't seem right.  Kind of like Zack without Kelly.  Or chocolate without peanut butter.  McDonald's without their amazing diet coke.  Therefore...proceed with caution in this post.

We had to attend an adoption class last week as a part of our homestudy.  I haven't had to go to a class since college.  So... Let's go back 10 years & discuss what class was like for D&A in college.  Being that we were both education majors, we had some overlapping classes.  Picture this:

Dev: Arrives to class 10 minutes early.
Abs: Arrives 10 minutes late.

Dev: Wears jeans, & a freshly ironed shirt.
Abs: Wears sweatpants & whatever shirt may have been on the floor.  50/50 chance for make-up.

Dev: Supplies on the table: Leather bound notebook, pens in every color, matching folders.
Abs: Has to ask him for a pen, may or may not have her homework.  

Dev: Raises his hand for every question.
Abs: Talks to the person next to her.  

That pretty much covers it.  They say opposites attract & they are right (whoever "they" are).  Now, I consider myself a very organized, thought-out person & I think DC would describe me as that also....but he also calls me his little free spirit.  But hey - free spirits can be dang good teachers.  Just ask all 8 classes of kids I taught how to read.  #AEIOU

I found that nothing had changed 10 years later when we found ourselves back in class.  I went to get coffee, he sat us in the front row.  He had his notebook, I had to dump out my purse for a pen.  His eyes never left the speaker, I got elbowed for texting.  But man, do I love my little rule-follower daddy-to-be.  

The class was great & we are learning a lot about raising an adopted child, dealing with issues that may arise & just how to parent in general.  I'm thankful that we are discussing things ahead of time.  Because I know our world is about to be ROCKED.

The speaker started out by reading an essay called "Welcome to Holland" & I found my eyes filling up with tears the entire time.  I think it describes my feelings perfectly about this whole process.

Welcome To Holland

By: Emily Perl Kingsley

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?!" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! 

I'm supposed to be in Italy."

All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy.

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.  So you must go out and buy new guide books. 

And you must learn a whole new language. 

And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... 

because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things....about Holland.

This is my Holland.  And it's just about ready.
(artwork by my kindergarten class.  otherwise known as the coolest thing I have ever laid my eyes on.)

CDF (coffee date friday)

If we had coffee today, I would tell you these 5 things...

* three of my dear college girlfriends launched a fabulous website on what it means to be a whole woman. Check it out....its full of life.  I was honored to be their first guest writer.  LIOB, ladies!

* I went to the gym for a class this week & was the only person who showed up.  Which meant an hour of pure misery free personal training.   The instructor is 6 months pregnant, with Jillian Michael's body (are you getting a visual?)  Insane.  If that didn't motivate me to hold my plank a little longer, I don't know what will.  

* I love flowers & would happy to get some delivered every week for the rest of my life.  I don't care that they eventually die.  They make me smile. 

* our kindergarten class pet, Jake The Tadpole, went to pond Heaven this week.  I got to school in the morning & he was belly up.  After avoiding eye contact with the kids for as long as I could, I finally had to break the news.  The gasps lasted for a solid minute.  Heartbreaking.  If you happen to be out in a creek this weekend & could snag a new Taddy for me, that would be great.   

* today is my 31st birthday.  I get to be queen for the day forever.   Even though 31 sounds uneventful, I am super excited for what is in store for me this year.  Hopefully it will involve snuggling a person that is 2 ft tall.   And big, fluffy cupcakes.

What 5 things would you tell me if we had coffee?

Cation

"We're going on cation" as my sweet nephew called it.

Otherwise known as Spring Break to a 3-year old.  The sand is brighter when looked at through the eyes of a little boy.  The ocean is bigger.  The waves louder.  The smell...that's the same though.   There is nothing quite like the smell of a sea breeze.  Throw in some dead fish after a storm though, aaaaannd not as nice.  You win some, you lose some.

Here are some of my favorites from the week.  Dinners out, dinners in, glorious seafood, twin tots, game night, Easter Sunday.  And, the beach.  I'll see you next year.  That's a promise.

Behold.  The cream of the crop.  Two screaming kids, one that looks like Michael Jackson, and two adoptive parents-to-be.  It's enough to make our social worker crumple up her report, toss her clipboard & run for the hills.  (please don't!)  We really are good with kids.
Just not when they are hungry & ready to leave the house.

Let's not forget my instagram faves.  Man, do I love The Gram.

I can't wait for my next "cation."  I hope that it has something to do with a Gondola, on a street of water, with a man wearing black & white.

Where is your dream "cation"?