Mommy, Can I have fruit?

So, Rusty loves fruit.  

I mean he.loves.fruit. 

 Like, really really loves fruit.  I think he might marry it one day.  He doesn't want french fries ever for a side, he always asks if he could have a side of fruit instead.  At most restaurants, this usually means your usual run of the mill fruit salad of lots of cantaloupe and honeydew with a few pieces of actual good fruit.  But, at one of our favorite central coast restaurants, Frankie and Lola's, they give him the most beautiful side of fruit.  He loves this restaurant solely for their attention to fruit detail.

 So I decided to do this at home as well.  Nothing warms a mom's heart when she hears her child say, "Momma, you should take a picture of this because it's beautiful!"  Done.

First Day of School

Blynn and Rusty started school on separate days this year, slowly warming me up to my new found freedom. I am officially a human being who gets to have 3-4 hours of uninterrupted time to myself to go to the bathroom, eat a meal from beginning to end, eat a meal that is still warm, walk from one side of the house to the other without 74 requests from my children, and able to clean the house in 2 hours. Something that was taken away from me 6 years ago. And I wouldn't have it any other way. But, I do love my new freedom. I'm planning on being really productive this year.

I love these kids.

We went surfing today!

A Post with Exciting Pictures of My Closet

I cleaned out my closet and drawers today. Here are a few things I learned in the process. There is a back to my closet and it is white. Up until this point, I had never seen it before. Apparently, I wear a lot of black and dark brown. And if I wear anything with color, it is blue or green.

Nobody should have this many empty hangers that were once full after cleaning out their closet.

Wait. There's more down here. I know, it's appalling.

But now it's sooooo much better.

Chores

This week I discovered My Job Chart through a friend's recommendation. It is just like those job charts we put up on the fridge but 1,839 times more cool and fun. Blynn and Rusty can both manage this site and it helps expose them to technology. And, you have less clutter on your refrigerator because you can have one less paper on there. I hate fridge clutter. So far, Blynn and Rusty have thought this to be really fun and have enjoyed their chores this week. I realize this will wear off, but I will milk it for all it's worth. Also, there is a reward section which you can choose to use or tell them that there are no rewards because this is what is expected of them. Or, they could get the allowance that I got forever, which was $2.50 a month for doing
EVERYTHING.

Mid.C.Mo

Can you rock Mid Century Modern in a farm house? Well, I'm giving it a go.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!

The Tour de France has started again. Again my love for Todd will be tested as he is interrupting the most important week of the race with his family reunion.

*

Mario and swords

Over Memorial Day weekend, we went with my family to the coast. One morning when I came down the stairs, this was my view. These kids love their gaming devices and Super Mario.
Notice, instead of a DS, Rusty has a sword. He brought that all the way from home. Todd told them to pack their own 'activity bags' which contained things like video games, pillows, stuffed animals, markers, coloring books; and apparently, for Rusty, a sword. You never know when you are going to need a sword.

Contractor Todd

Todd has built the girls a fabulous chicken coop. He has really upped his game with this coop that I might have him start to build me some furniture. He really did such a great job. It isn't totally finished, but the girls have been living in it for awhile and so far, no complaints.

Here is some artwork for the interior of the coop courtesy of Blynn and Rusty.

And look at how big the girls are getting.

You are making fun of me now, but wait until I bring you fresh eggs.

Hydrangea success

April

May

June

My mom gave this hydrangea to me for Mother's Day last year in one of those foil wrapped single bloom tubs from the grocery store. I love hydrangeas but they are very fragile in our hot climate. I researched this online and saw people saying that the foil wrapped hydrangeas won't grow beyond the bloom you got. I took that as a challenge. And with my fabulous compost and well chose location, I had a great result this year. This hydrangea brings me a lot of joy. Can you tell?