press play.

It is 12 midnight, Saturday night, and I'm sitting down to blog. You know, I'm excited for this blog. It's been a while. A lot has happened the past few weeks that have left me in a crazy rut. I've been down in the dumps. Silly right? As I type this out, my Pandora Radio is playing "You can't always get what you want" by the Rolling Stones. I'm chuckling to myself at the lyrics: "you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you get what you need". That is exactly the reason for this post.

We don't always have control over our life situations, but you know, sometimes sh*t happens. So, after feeling sorry for me all week long (what a wasted week), I decided to have a little fun. I'd say it all started Friday morning. Nate called, he was coming home from work early. Hey, that never happens, and I was so excited. I got to spend Friday afternoon at the swimming pool with my Brown Bear, Isabelle. It was great relaxing and soaking up the sunshine. Friday night Isabelle went to the Woodbine Rodeo with my Parents, so I decided to take Penelope too. Check out the pictures.. I think they enjoyed it ;)

Saturday was a dreaded call day. I say dreaded like it's horrible for me, but in reality it is so hard on Nate. I am so thankful he loves to work like he does, but he has been a little under the weather, and I worry about the long hours he has to put in. Since he was stuck at the hospital, the girls and I headed to Woodbine for the day. The parade was great. We loved all the pretty horses, and friendly faces. I just love Woodbine.

We had a great picnic at the park, played some carnival games, talked to some pretty great people then headed to my Parent's house. I had a nice run in the 90 degree heat, then we hit the sprinkler and ate Popsicles! I love how my girls just know how to have fun. Pure entertainment.

Just when we didn't think the day could get better... papa brought home a 4-wheeler. Woot! (yes, we had as much fun as we look like we were having)

And it got even better.. roasted marshmallows, need I say more?

It's not like these things are out of the ordinary, but you know, today felt nice. I've been caught up in the everyday grind. In this cycle of wanting something else, something more, but I have all I could ever need right here. I am so lucky, and feel silly the times I lose sight of that. I'm not saying that I'm cured from thinking that way again, but today I feel pretty darn good.

We ended the day helping Grandma and Grandpa pick peas and beans in their meticulous garden. It was so simple, but I know the kids are going to remember days like this forever. Perfectly content, finding what we need, and not wanting what we don't.

I'm so thankful for today.

Cheers!

-Angee

In a good place

It's been a long week. Enjoyable, but long. Nate was out of town for work, so I was on my own with my little birds. It's not like he's home a lot, but just knowing that adult conversation isn't far away is always nice. So, I kept myself busy all week so I wouldn't go too nutty in his absence. (Don't tell him how lost I was without him, that'll be our little secret)


Today's post is just a reflection of how happy I am in this life, and how I feel like I am in the place I'm supposed to be in. People always ask me if I am going to go back to work as a nurse. My answer (for now) is this, I can't think of any other place I'd rather be than with my kids. This job is the most important job I could ever have. Sometimes I feel like I'm failing miserably, but the rewards far outweigh any discouragement I ever feel. 


Tonight, we went to meet Nate, he was running a little behind. Lucky for us, I happened to have my camera in the car! 


Talk about being in a good place... 

Some of the best moments happen when you aren't looking for them, but if you're ready, you can catch them. 


Cheers!


Angee

This one's for you, Daddy!

I know, I know, It's been awhile. What can I say, things have been busy... ya, ya, ya I say that every post. But seriously, my little Sister got married, we hosted a party at our home, had a family reunion, and Nate and I celebrated our wedding anniversary. All this was added in to the daily mix of Nate working 80-120 hours per week, softball games, and the all important "keeping the kids entertained so I'm the coolest mom ever job". Yep, that's right, they think so, and I won't argue with that. 


So anyway. This post will be quick because I'm getting ready to run out the door to Isabelle's softball game, but someone very special is missing his 3 little girls, so this post is for him. 


I got a little crafty and made this fun chalk board. I was so excited to use it, I thought I'd test it out on my favorite little faces. Surprisingly, they were all compliant when I told them that it was a special project for daddy!


So here it is.. This one's for you, Daddy!

I love summer. I really really really love summer. (added the third really just for you, Alyssa) For a thousand reasons I love it, and today was full of them. 


It started out with sunshine... Oh yes, sunshine in my windows in the morning is like an instant battery charger. It just motivates me. I'm not going to write and tell you how crazy productive I was today because of the sunshine, because I was too busy playing with the girls all day. It was perfect.




Isabelle got to have a slumber party with Alyssa and Grandma Nette last night, so Ceci Penelope and I headed off on a walk into town this morning. It ended up being quite adventurous. 

We spent some time at the "river"....

And

This jump,

Was AMAZING!
(lala loopsy agreed)

 Jumping Shoes

Penelope pretending the dirt bothered her, but we all know better!

 

After our long journey into the city, we stopped at the post office, then headed to the grocery store to purchase a picnic that we took to the park. 

They shared their lunches with eachother

Ring-Pops for Dessert

Ceci waiting for Penelope to finish her lunch.
She needed a teeter for her totter.

I LOVE HER "DOLDEN" CURLS!

Helping a Sister out.

I often joke that I judge our day by how much dirt they have on them at the end of it.... I'd say today was pretty darn good :)

I am so grateful that I can spend this whole summer home with my 3 little dumplings! 

I Found a Treasure! (or it found me)

So if you haven't noticed, I can get excited about some pretty unusual things. Some things not so unusual like getting to crochet in my bathing suit on my deck while Cecilia naps during the day (ok that may be a little odd), and having an ice cold beer after a long hot run. Seriously these are two things I enjoy the most. Another favorite pastime of mine is chasing my girls around with my hefty camera in hopes of getting that "perfect" shot. You know, the one were you catch them looking just like you see them in your head. All you mommies out there know what I'm talking about. My little birds give me looks that I'm sure no one else gets to see, and I just want to catch that forever. Well, when you chase them around on a daily basis, they kinda get sick of it, so you have to get creative. Hence this post. 


I found a treasure, I mean a chair. And I big puffy heart L-O-V-E it. The girls kinda like it too ;) 

It made it's facebook debut modeling some hats and other things for my Angee's Originals page. For those of you who haven't checked out my page, show me some love and "like me".  I justified the purchase by putting my ancient treasure to work right away, and I think it did pretty darn good. 

 Mostly I just couldn't wait to use it, so I made my pretty little Sissy Alyssa sit on it first. She looks pretty good on it don't you think? She's such a great sport!

Goldilocks gave her approval.....

And Ceci thought it was fun to dance on!                                         

I'd say it looked pretty good on Belle too!

Sometimes when we aren't looking for them, treasures find us. Don't pass them by.

Hearts,

Angee

Life is Sweet

Every morning I wake up at 7:20. Every morning I find my 10 year old daughter up brushing her hair and getting dressed like the responsible little lady she is. I wake up a sleepy eyed Penelope, and every morning she is happy. I'm so glad my girls love school, but I'm so ready for summer days of relaxing and family time to begin. Honestly, I miss them when they are at school. Every morning we get up, and Ceci and I have our coffee (hers hot cocoa) and we send the big girls off to school.

Many mornings I get teary eyed as I watch them cross the street looking so big. Many days Penelope gets past the fence and takes off running because she is so excited to go!

And, every morning Ceci waves goodbye and they yell "Bye Ceci! Love you!" as they hurry away for their fun day of learning. She's usually pretty sad to see her "best friends" leave, and this makes me feel the need to keep her days eventful. I don't have time or patience to sit and read books and play games all day long so we go! We do things! Many mornings we are out for walks or we go to the zoo. The local workers in the post office and grocery store know Ceci pretty well and she is often greeted with dum dums and peppermints when they see her. Yep, the life of a 2 year old is pretty sweet. 

Today we took a stroll through my hometown downtown, Woodbine. Gosh is it beautiful! I miss that little town and all the happy people in it. Walking down the streets, I just feel good. So comfortable. It's nice to go where everybody knows your name. I couldn't pass up the beautiful sites without taking time for a few photo-ops.

Of course being her 2 year old self, she wasn't having it...

  So, I bribed her with a sucker....Yes, I'm that mom. You know what, it was worth it. What's a little sugar gonna hurt?

Yep, it's pretty darn good....

 She loved it so much, she gave it a hug!

She even insisted on getting two extra suckers for her sisters. Yep, life is sweet.

Cheers!

-Angee