mondays

mondays, mondays, mondays. this little day of the week definitely gets a bad rap. of course it's always big bummer that the weekend is over - but for this girl, mondays aren't so bad. in fact i often feel like i can accomplish anything on mondays. it's not glamorous - but it's productive, relaxing and a great start to my week. from there things can unravel. things will most definitely unravel...but on mondays, watch out world...ha! here's a little look at this particular monday... as a silly blogging way to hold onto those fleeting moments when things make sense, things are in control and things are clean! 

i work from home on mondays - which means while ella is at school, little b goes to ms. joanne's. i use this day to not only get some good ol' mercer work done...but as a day to get home and me done. the day starts a little bit like this...

 

after ella gets on the bus - i lace up the sneaks for a run. then it's off to the market, followed by a monday morning starbucks treat. all this before 9 a.m... and before my first conference call. productive!

in between calls and a bunch of work i do a whole lot of laundry. it's always my goal to wash it all on mondays. putting away may take all week (or never)...but at least it's all clean for the week. productive!

after a few hours of work - it's time to lace up my apron for some meal prep. monday is my meal swap day - so my one day to cook dinner for four families including my own. lots of chopping, making a big stinkin' mess and even a little time to clean it all up before the bus comes. productive!

after a few after school snacks and hearing about her day - my little ella lends a helpful hand to change the bed linens. followed by some bedroom gymnastics. productive!

meals are packed and ready for delivery. then it's off to pick-up b while dropping off dinner for friends along the way. productive!

the day ends at the playground. and since dinner is waiting for us at home, there's no need to rush. so we don't. we end our productive day with lots playing. thank you mondays!

happy st. patrick's day

brother sister giggles

daddy's shirt

bennett wore his first button-up shirt the other day. he told us it was his "daddy shirt." must say he is looking more and more like his handsome dad every day.  little cutie!

dusting off the old sewing machine

i'm looking forward to my weekend project.  dusting of the old sewing machine! literally dusting off.  literally old.  as you'll see below this little guy hasn't come out of its box since about 1988 (when i was 8). you might not believe it - but i was quite the quilter back in the day.  won my fair share of blue ribbons at the good ol' hardwick fair and 4-h competitions.  impressed?!  my mom was... she'd hang my creations all around the house.  even if the patterns and seams never matched up. i even remember going to a quilters guild...when i was 8!

hoping it's sort of like riding a bike.  and thankful that i still have the instruction manual.  fingers crossed i can get it to work! not sure what my first project will be - think i'll start small.  wish me luck!

couple pics of some treasures i found in the box.

ella loves these erin stickers.  i remember having these all over my stuff back in the day (very territorial i guess)

 apparently i had some mean cross-stitch skills as well

valentine's sweetness

we've had much fun this valentine's season - and i think that making valentine's will continue for weeks to come (ella is enjoying it so). just a few of my favorite things from our february 14th. 

my sweet hubby (love him so)

kid cards (sweet cherubs)

school projects (and watching all of ella's classmates walk out of school with these on)

fondue (delicious & fun for all)

one fish, two fish...many fish!

a couple years ago we had a family goldfish.  it was your basic goldfish who lived with us happily for nearly 2 years in this simple glass bowl (see pic below).  ella loved it and we were sad when it passed.

we had been talking about doing it again - thinking both kids would find this entertaining and interesting. so... saturday morning we visited the local pet shop.  and for the cost of $.29 a piece we got these two little guys (pic on the left), who the kids named emily & billy.  cute, right?!

flash forward to the afternoon.  wes ran out to get a new glass bowl (we learned that ours had a crack in it so were using the temporary plastic one shown above).  he comes home after a visit to ned's fish shop all smiles and quite informed by ned's fish experts.  something was up with him!  he then goes out to car to get this... an aquarium...not the simple glass bowl.  so...our simple one fish, two fish (emily & billy) is now a growing family of fish living it up in this not so simple, bubbling, heated fish paradise.  wes (with input from his new friend ned) are convinced this will enrich the kid's experience that much more.  and...all kidding aside, i do agree. the kids love it!  nice job babe (xo)!

a girls' day

had the treat of a fun girls' day on saturday (yay)!  

brunch at the south end buttery with sweet friends kristen and kristine.  

the three of us started our careers back at putnam investments years ago.  

a delight to visit and catch-up on all the goings on in our lives now ... from fabulous vacations, to the news of a baby, to creative ideas, to stories & laughs from our families.      

later in the day after some shopping with ella - i was invited to visit her lipstick shop.  

for the bargain-price of "ten dollars" i got to get my lips (and teeth) 

exquisitely done up with about 6-8 shades of pink, purple and red lipstick. 

ella thought she'd also give her eyes a lipstick treatment as well...  isn't it lovely?!  

bennett and wes were spared - though she did try!

science & art projects

another snowy day at home called for some new ideas and a few new projects.  ella and i got a head start on our valentines with these cute animal cards.  ella's favorite is the luv bug and mine is the bee mine one.  thank you paper-source.com for the reminder on how to make these little guys.  aren't they cute?

we also have a little science project going on today - melting!  the little scientists have been checking on the status of their bowls all afternoon. we wish the snow outside would melt as quickly so that we could be out swimming like these little animals. 

time to go make some soup & grilled cheese for these talented little artists and scientists!  and... time to start thinking of some new ideas with more snow on the way tomorrow!