Serenity Now

A reminder from Rhett to me (and all my Type A soul mates and others who love to worry like I do)...

Say it with me:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can, 
And the wisdom to know the difference.
-Reinhold Niebuhr

Strength

Deja Vu

On the drive home from Cate's preschool today, I looked back at Charlotte and had such a sense of deja vu--it was unreal.  It reminded me of a picture I snapped of Cate two years ago while she was riding in Rhett's car.

Crazy, right?

Today

Etsy Shop Recommendation--Genesis Artworks

Cate and Charlotte have never been into bows and, frankly, I have never really loved them either.  We have received a few as gifts, but the girls always seem to pull them out and then I get busy trying to not lose them...at which I generally fail.  Plus, I think they can look too cutesy which is not really what I'm going for.

Except all that changed about a week ago.  I was looking a one of my friend's daughters pictures--she was at ballet class with the most darling white bow holding up half her hair.  I was instantly smitten.  Plus, Charlotte's hair is too short for most styles but a bow in an alligator clip is perfect.  And if Charlotte is wearing something, you can be sure Cate wants one too :+)

First I wanted to make them, but I quickly realized it is almost more expensive to make your own than buy a set.  Plus, mine would never look professional.  After looking a bit on Etsy, I found Genesis Artworks and thought I'd give them a whirl.  They offer alligator clips with a no slip grip and ribbon in tons of colors.  And the bows are only a couple dollars each if you buy a set.  So I did.

Just standing by the front steps holding a stuffed snake--you know, the usual.

We love these bows.  The girls have worn them daily since our box arrived and I die over the way they look!  I don't know the shop owner, but I love him/her.

Plus, I bought a Carolina blue one for Tarheel games and a red one for Xmas for both girls--yippee!  I am so excited!

Comparison

Just Like That

And, just like that, summer is over for us.  I told Cate goodbye this morning at preschool and with it, we said goodbye to summer.  Here is what we did to make the most of our last couple of weeks:

Our family did what every family likes to do--get in the car for hours with their young kids ;)  It was for a good cause--we visited Rhett's parents, siblings, and their kids.  We celebrated Poppa's 62nd (or was it 26th?) birthday and hung out with our favorite little people.

Cousin love--thanks for not flipping the bird, Finley!  (Sorry Deca,  I had to say it ;)

Poppa is a sucker for a card with a play on words! 

Cate offered to help with the cake.

Cute Finley.

Tossing the ball off the deck--a Kier tradition from the days of Sundance.

Poppa and his (little) girls.

Cate also wanted to prep for going back to school.  Prep=new outfits, new shoes, and a haircut.  Ah, a girl after my own heart.

Cate's first day outfit from the fanciest store we shop at--Tar-jay!  Charlotte also used her keen negotiation skills to get a new shirt.  Whatever did she pick, you may ask.  Real shocker here--a glittery Minnie Mouse ensemble.

Pink+glitter+rhinestones+light-up=a four-year-old's dream shoe.

Freshly cut hair, and a fancy lollipop to boot!

Don't worry, Charlotte got the goods too.

It happened earlier than I though, but we instituted movie night on Sunday nights at the end of summer.  Our movies so far have been cute and the girls have been so cute watching them.  Charlotte especially loves movie night--so far, it's pretty much the highlight of her life.

Ready to get this (pizza) party started.

Loving it.

We took movie night on the road when we visited Rhett's family.  This was a particularly suspenseful part of  the movie we picked--Friday the 13th.  Kidding, kidding!  We watched Alladin. 

This is movie night--in a nutshell.

And today, it was all over.  Bring on the fall!

Quote of the Week

Is it Enough?

Recently, I was reminded recently of this Carolyn Hax column that made its way around the interwebs a few years ago.  If you'd like a snapshot of what it's like being home with young children full time, it is a good, quick read.  Go ahead and take a look, I'll wait.

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I've certainly had people ask me, "what do you do all day?"  No one means to be rude, and I never feel like I need to be all high and mighty talking about being home.  Devoting all of my time to staying with my girls is a wonderful, rewarding blessing that I will never stop being grateful to God and my husband for.  But secretly, over time, I have started to let some second guessing seep into my mind.

Am I bringing enough to the table?  Do I do enough for my girls and my husband?  I know I love being home but is me not working at all the right choice for us?

In my old corporate job, we couldn't complete any project without establishing criteria for success at the outset and then taking some metrics at the end.  This enabled us to see if our project accomplished what we set out to do.

But, you can't do that when you don't work at all.  How would I measure success right now?  Would it be the number of times per week:

• I made homecooked meals?
• My children behaved and showed they had good manners?
• I scrubbed our countertops?
• I got both girls to take a nap?
• I saved the family money?
• The girls learned something new?

I don't have the right answer for the best choice for work--full time, part time, something on the side, home full time.  I know every mother out there does the best they can under the circumstances she has, but I sure would like some way to know if I'm doing it right.

Wouldn't we all?

Come to think of it, they think I'm doing ok for now, and that is ultimately what matters.

Clean and Sparkly Rings for $0

I like to keep my engagement and wedding rings clean and sparkly.  Unfortunately, doing things like rummaging through trash for the plastic princess doll Charlotte accidentally threw out and brushing playground mulch off the girls' clothing gets in the way of the bling.

Typically, I buy this product at the grocery store:

I am expensive and full of chemicals!

After looking for it on Amazon, which I think usually has the best prices, I found that it's almost $9.  Note to self: look at prices before adding items to the grocery cart!

I promptly looked up make-at-home ring cleaning solutions and found this very complicated recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of very hot water
• 1 Tablespoon of Dawn dish detergent

Instructions:

• Mix detergent and water in small bowl
• Add rings and leave to soak for ten minutes
• Scrub with an old toothbrush and let rings dry

So I did this today and low and behold, it works wonders.  Between Dawn, baking soda, and vinegar, I am convinced you can clean anything.

Ba-bam!

Farewell Summertime

The mornings are getting a little cooler here lately.  And when I put the girls to bed, it is noticeably darker out.

Time marches on and with it, summer is waning.  We are soaking up the time remaining before Cate is back at preschool and the days are still warm enough for shorts and t-shirts.  Until then, I'll be with the girls, enjoying the time I still can call "summertime."

"Summertime is always the best of what might be."

-Charles Bowden