To my dear sweet boys....

Dear Miles and Liam,

Tonight marks the official end to this adventure called "summer vacation."  Tomorrow this mama's got to get up early, put on some professional clothing, and head out into the working world once again.  I knew this day would come, and back in June when I was trying to figure you boys out, I didn't think it could come soon enough.  I'm here to report that it has indeed come too soon.

Little Liam, what am I going to do all day without your smile everytime I walk into the room?  Never again will you be eight months old, crawling everywhere and getting into absolutely everything.  This was my chance to be everything for you.  I hope that we made the most of it.  I know you won't remember this summer, but know that I always will.  My first summer with my dear, sweet, funny, and charming Liam.  I'd like to make a deal with you....if you promise to save your first steps for your sorry, pathetic working mom, I promise to give you all the sweet potato puffs your little heart desires (within reason).  Do we have a deal little boy?

And Miles, my big, bouncing boy.  Your laugh!  How will I survive my days without hearing it run through the house, jumping on the bed, or doing somersaults in the living room?  I'm sorry I didn't think I could survive this summer, because we actually were really good at figuring out what summer was all about.  I'm sorry also for the terrible summer haircut I gave you myself.  I promise it won't happen again.  I need you to promise me that you won't start pedaling your tricycle while I'm gone.  You're so close!  Just wait until I get home to watch you perfect it.

Boys, promise me that tomorrow while I'm gone you won't grow even a smidgen.  Save all of your fun and games for when I get home so that I don't miss a thing.  You are not allowed to read any stories, look for bugs, jump on your beds, go for walks, or play in your sandbox without me.  Don't even think about getting out your swimming pool and sprinkler until I get home.  There will be no tickling or giggling while I'm gone.  I need you to promise that smiling will be kept to a minimum and that you will be waiting for me at the door when I come home.  Promise that you'll miss me as much as I miss you.  I promise you that it isn't possible.

The Day Miles Became a U.S. Citizen....

Yesterday was a big day for our little Miles.  He became a citizen of two countries...two beautiful countries...two countries that will hopefully love him and treat him well.

We took the trip of to Chicago on a whim....spending the days beforehand trying to decide whether to go up for a few days, whether to find a sitter for Liam and just go with Miles, or whether one of us should just run up there quickly to pick it up.  In the end we decided to go up with a family and appreciate all that our beloved windy city had to offer in just 8 short hours. (So of course, the boys requested a trip to H&M, Anthropologie, and the Apple Store.)  It ended up being a fun and tiring trip that was totally worth it.

Heading out to Chicago...everyone is excited to go.  Especially the little blondie that has proven to be incredibly unhelpful on long trips.

On on way....

First order of business...picking up that very important document!

Then a long nap equals a long, leisurely, and fantastic meal for mom and dad.

Family picture!  That's us in the corner, with our newest member - Mr. Giraffe (a stuffed giraffe that Miles picked out to commemorate the occasion.)

It was like we put them there just for him on his special day...

sigh....I love this boy.

Then of course we wrapped it all up with a fantastic dinner at Buca di Beppo where a bunch of Italian women fawned over our children, who then proceeded to babble loudly and rub spaghetti sauce all over themselves.  It was nice.

In the end it was a great, but quick trip.  Liam did great in the car (despite our parental skepticism), Miles was in awe of the traffic, and both boys were in such good moods for the majority of the day (minus the five minutes it took us to literally peel Miles away from the fountain - not pretty.)

How to successfully end a summer....

Bye Bye Summer....

I've heard so many of my teacher friends talking about their summer being over.  For many teachers, it ended awhile ago.  For some incredibly lucky reason, I got about two weeks added to the end of my summer.  That lucky reason was - building remodeling.  Don't think for a minute that I'm lucky enough to ALSO go back to a renovated room.  But I'm not complaining!  Two more weeks to bask in summer's warmth is enough luck for me. I keep seeing my coworkers on facebook talk about "getting back into the grind" and the dread that comes along with it.  The truth is that I still feel like I have tons of time - almost a whole week yet!  I realize I am so lucky.

What am I going to do before the end of summer?

• A quick trip to Chicago
• Finish another book
• Go out to lunch
• Go on a bikeride on a trail I've never been on.
• Go out for morning coffee with my husband - a lot.
• Make more jewelry
• Edit a few more pictures
• Update photo albums
• Finish our home renovation project(s)
• Write a few letters
• Organize my desk
• Watch the Netflix movie we got about 3 weeks ago
• Blog about some things I've been meaning to blog about (this isn't one of them)
• Paint my toenails
• Jump on beds
• Go on walks at Forest Park Nature Center

What am I NOT going to do before the end of summer?

• Clean my house
• Clean my windows
• Empty the dishwasher (I would rather wash dishes between each meal)
• Break a sweat

Oh yeah, and somewhere in there I need to plan something for my students to do the first week of school....no sweat.

Movie Monday on Tuesday - again.

What I know for sure...

This week I have the intensely pleasurable opportunity to spend the entire week at home in Ohio visiting my parents with M and L in tow.
I love Ohio - way more than I ever did when I lived here.  I never appreciated this area and all of it's little quirks when I lived here, and literally counted the hours until I could pack up my bags and move to the big city (I wasn't really thinking "Peoria, IL" at this point).  These days I love nothing more than coming home for extended visits.  Whenever I come home there are always things that I know I can count on.

These things I know for sure....

• There will always be a pan of my dad's rice krispie treats waiting for me when I pull into the driveway.
• I will always sleep extremely well.
• There will always be coffee waiting for me when I wake up.
• I will always find hairs I need to pluck in the crazy magnifying mirror in the upstairs bathroom.
• Miles will always get to go on a bike ride.
• I will always be over-indulged
• My dad will always fall asleep sitting up in the wingback chair.
• I will always get to eat delicious food.
• I will always make at least one trip to Tiny's Dairy Barn.
• My parents will always take very good care of me.
• I will always be happy to arrive.
• I will always be sad to leave.
• There will always be tears shed on the drive back to Illinois.
  

A little YaYa getaway...

On Sunday morning, in YaYa Sisterhood fashion, I packed up my babies and headed to the Lake Michigan Beach to meet my two dear friends from home, along with their babies. 
What was great about this adventure?

• Driving away from Peoria on a tree-covered highway with my car packed to the brim, my babies sleeping, and the Avett Brothers playing on the radio - a scene straight out of a chick-flick.
• Watching all of our boys play together like only boys can.
• Staying up late to talk about serious topics, hilarious topics, (how to save the world and what happens when you're done breast feeding all in one night!).
• Calling our absentee friends late at night and harassing them.
• Adding this memory with them to my rolodex of favorite memories of all time.
• Lying on the beach all day long while little ones ruled the sand.
• Fresh Michigan fruits and vegetables.
• Late evening games of tag outside while the sun sets over the lake.

Wordless Wednesday: Walk to the park with popsicles to go