Balancing Act

It has finally cooled off some. If given the choice I would have curled up in this spot all weekend. I treated myself to a new book on my last trip to Target and the temptation to cancel all plans, make a pot of coffee and let the kids run amuck while I read was enticing. However, there was a best friend to celebrate, soccer games to attend and a sweet sixteen party to get dolled up for.

Our weekend in a nutshell...

{cat ear headband to accessorize her outfit for school}

{spoooooky}

{surprise!! dessert+vino for Amanda's 27th}

{love these girls}

 {sideline snuggles with grandma}

 {happy sweet 16 Lani Rose}

{pre-church monopoly}

 {fall tradition at grandma's}

The weekend was full. While that helps pass the time while Drake is away, downtime is what rejuvenates our bodies and minds. The Lord most have known we needed a slow day because Sammy woke up with a fever early this morning. I am praying it's just a fever and passes soon. In the meantime, soup is simmering, laundry is going and daddy is somewhere between here and Wisconsin. We can't wait to see him tonight!

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Confession of a Teenage Dork

Drake is gone this week. It has become custom that when he is gone for a decent length of time I do some sort of home project to pass the time. This week it was painting the family room. What is a paint job without some good tunes to rock out to? Wait for it...

Oh yeah!! I created a pandora station that plays Whitney, Mariah and Celine. It mixes in a little Luther Vandross and Boyz II Men. This was my adolescence. If I wasn't babysitting on a Friday night or on my one "Drake Event" for the week (I was only allowed to see him once a week to avoid us becoming "too familiar" with one another) you could find me in my bedroom listening to KyXy 96.5 and trying to perfect the art of tiny butterfly clips in my hair. Every night it was love songs with Yvonne Carlin and let me tell ya' it was my jam. Yep, I was that cool. 

Sarah and I realized we were soul mates when she admitted to eating taquitos in her car and listening to our gal Yvonne. While it was more than our mutual love for Bryan Adams and Eric Clapton that bonded us, it was a good start. I can sing every late 80's early 90's love song word for word. My saving grace in high school was that I wasn't too awkward looking (all though some of the outfit choices were highly questionable).

On one hand I can count the number of Friday night football games I attended at my own high school, same could be said for pep rally's and other school functions. My senior year I organized my schedule so that I was done every day by noon. I didn't need to be involved, I didn't need to fit in. While I had friends, Drake and my mom were my best friends. I know the Lord had His hand on me. His grace allowed me to be very comfortable with who I was and I was protected from so much.

I am fourteen years removed from high school and while my life circumstance have changed dramatically I'm still as dorky as I was back then, inclined to the same things. Reading mystery books, watching corny shows on Netflix and listening to cheesy love songs. I have my close friends. I have my family. And of course, I have my sanguine husband who prevents me from being a total recluse. I don't have to be besties with all the mom's on the soccer team or be invited to girl's wine nights. I have to force myself to arrange playdates for the kids.

All this to say I sometimes feel like modern day adulthood has become a continuation of adolescence. With the onset of social media we are constantly bombarding our selves with what other's are doing and what we are not.  What the cool mom's are doing and where we are falling short. While our family does do fun things and Drake's job allows us great opportunities, he is gone a lot and it's mostly the kids and I at home. Uninvolved and unaware. Yes, I still rock out to love songs, but the benefit of not being 15 anymore is that I'm not confined to my bedroom with my Emerson boom box and my Drake events don't have to end at 10pm (wink). 

A few photos from our week:

{minnie shoes+cabbage patch doll}

 {easier than actually exercising}

{from the wedding in palm spring: we got caught}

{just keep painting, just keep painting}

{final product}

{cheesy netflix obsession: Hart of Dixie}

{how do you know Drake is gone? Fresh flowers in the bathroom}

{Wednesday, 5:05 pm. no kids, no husband}

Anyone else have a dorky teenage confession?? I'd love to hear...

P.S. If you're craving a little Total Eclipse of the Heart the 80's Pop Love Songs station on Pandora is where it's at. I promise you won't be disappointed. Happy Weekend!!

Fall Adventures

Don't be deceived by the cloud covering, it was a brisk 81 degrees with 45% humidity the day we hit up the pumpkin patch. Nonetheless, we still had fun.

Pumpkin patches have really stepped up their game since I was a kid, think carnival but with pumpkins. Rides, games, snacks, did I mention we didn't even buy a single pumpkin?

{remember Tom Hanks in You've Got Mail on the tiny train: Trent Kellas}

 {Lucy Boo loved the miniature carousel}

 {girl train}

 {buddy Luke in the caboose}

 {sister slide}

 {let the wild rumpus start!}

{besties for life}

The following night Juliana had swimming and so to kill time in between I told Trent and Samantha we were going on a fall adventure. We brought a blanket in the car, they snuggled together and I  turned up the AC as cold as possible. We drove along the coast, we could smell campfires. We pretended that the air outside was so cool we could see our breath and we talked about how beautiful trees are when God turns them from green to golden reds and oranges. We drove thru Starbucks and got hot cocoa. Maybe in the next couple of weeks it will cool down and maybe it won't, but at least we have cold AC in the car and our imaginations :-)

Ramblings

Current mood.

We were up early today. Really early for us. Trent had an appointment to get his cast removed (yay!). Sammy is trying to distract me from writing right now by juggling with beads. Yes, beads. They are bouncing all over the kitchen tile. My eyelids feel heavy and my neck and shoulders ache from painting my bedroom yesterday...I want to nap... I'm startled back to reality by the tiny blue bead that just hit me in the head...

Where was I going with all this?? Oh yes, for a glorious five maybe six hours it rained yesterday. The thermostat in our house actually read 68 degrees at one point, we haven't seen those numbers in that order in FOREVER. Cue coffee pot, fuzzy blankets and slippers. The kids and I sat at the breakfast table with the back door wide open so that the cool air could bless us while we ate.

Once done "Ms. K" announced it was time to make beds and go potty because school starts in ten minutes.

Have I mentioned she set up her own classroom in our garage and runs their school days completely on her own? She looks at her own curriculum and teaches it to Trent. She begins their day with a "morning meeting" where she does a devotional from Jesus Calling the kids edition and then proceeds with their daily schedule which includes recess and lunch. She's amazing. Truly a born leader and makes my job pretty easy. She checks in when she has questions about math or grammar, but for the most part she's educating herself and her brother.

With the cooler weather and the kids at "school" I decided to start a project I had been putting off for awhile, painting my bedroom and bathroom. Armed with strong coffee and a paint brush I went for it,

It was a bigger project than I had anticipated. I texted my mother-in-law the photo above and wrote, "I bit off more than I can chew". Immediately she texts back, "putting on some old clothes, I'll be right over"

She came armed with her coffee too. Projects are kind of our thing together and I savor the time.

{ms. K incorporates home-ec into her curriculum}

{jules and grammy put in a new backsplash}

{finished product: white room}

I love the way it all turned out. I blesses me to have such a cozy space for us to sleep in, but I know that pretty rooms and beautiful back splashes are fleeting. After Trent's appointment we went to Costco. I ran into a friend from high school's mom, she raised six kids. I told her I didn't know how she did it and these were her words to me, "God is always faithful. Our life didn't look like what you girls see on Instagram or Pinterest, but He was always faithful". Truth with a capital T. Who knew the frozen foods section at Costco is where the Lord would minister to me today? 

We are the generation that wants everything to look a certain way, our bodies, our marriages, our children, our homes. Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. Our couches could be flawlessly accented with pillows and our coffee tables graced with bright blooming peonies, but if our hearts aren't raw and obedient before the Lord and His will for our lives then what are we doing?? Food for thought.

A few more photos...

{andy was here}

{side by side reading with Jules}

{fun quiz}

{photo of us taken by a random stranger at the concert}

{cast off. brace for 2 weeks, then home free}

I'm rallying my energy to leave the house to exercise and take Juliana to swim. Tomorrow is our first conference of this school year, I'm wondering if I should just wait in the car and let Juliana aka Ms. K handle it :) 

Cheers to October

Warmly Fall is right. If this heat wave doesn't let up soon we will be getting the kids individual air conditioning units for Christmas. I kid...but seriously can it just cool off already?!

Regardless of the temps outside, Target is always comfortable. Especially when you don't have any children with you and the dollar bins are chalked full of autumn paraphernalia.

{guilty of purchase}

What started as a quick run in to get Clorox wipes and q-tips turned into a coffee strolling,  transform the dining room, stop at Trader Joe's to pick up flowers and more white little pumpkins mini mama vacation. 

I always welcome the changing of seasons and the excitement that comes with start of the holiday trifecta. This month Drake's travel schedule is pretty heavy which means the kids and I hunker down. Easy dinners, early bedtimes. We are hopeful of exploring San Diego museums in the next few weeks and reading some new books. Juliana and I are reading the Harry Potter series together and the conversations we get to have about characters and story lines has been fun. 

Things I'm looking forward to this month:

1. Trent getting his cast off

2. Country concert with my big guy and good friends

3. Baking more pumpkin cookies

4. Cousin trip to the pumpkin patch

5. Movie date to watch Anne of Green Gables with Juliana

6. Celebrating Trent's 7th birthday at Disneyland

7. Adult trip to Cabo 

Lastly, a little randomness...more for my personal memory files :)

{radiator springs with friends}

{made me laugh}

{he's gaining on her}

{octopus tree sighting on my run}

{ah-mazing}

What about you? Anything random you want to share? What your October bucket list? Do tell...