can't get enough.

sometimes i wish i lived somewhere that i could 

grow peonies in my front yard.

they just make me so happy.

you know what else makes me happy?

artichokes.

this is the only time of year we get them, 

so we have spoiled ourselves a few times lately.

we steam them, then throw them on the grill 

for a few minutes 

and then eat them with garlic mayonnaise.

yum, yum.

oh, to live like it was summer always...

late breakfast and fresh air.

sleeping in, eating breakfast on the back porch, letting the kids go for a morning swim, reading, making lists and getting our week organized...

i just love june.

june in phoenix is hot and lazy and perfect.

happy.

flowers from trader joe's are the simplest way to make my whole week look brighter.  

i just can't get enough of them.

and, with my baby about to turn one, i need a little something around the house to keep me from bursting into tears...

one of those.

 you know. 

just one of those days where an iced coffee in the afternoon is essential to make it through.

thank goodness for coffee.

a weekend without a husband.

well, we made it.

we get our dad back tonight.

we are quite excited, i must say...

parcheesi

i just love the quiet afternoons i get to spend with this guy.

just the two of us.

what will i do when he is at school all day?

monday, again.

my two little ladies.

it was a lovely low-key weekend.

i never thought i would love weekends more than i did when i was a kid, but now that i have kids, i most certainly do.

there is nothing better than to just be home all together.

after the madness of st. patrick's day and easter on the horizon, it was oh-so-nice to just lay low.

now, back to the craziness of the week!

at least spring break is just around the corner...

a good start.

even just ten minutes of quiet with a magazine and a coffee offers a mighty fine start to the week.

thanks to leftovers from our visit to the union yesterday my day is off to a very good start, indeed.

donuts are my weakness.

donuts and one particular 5 year old boy.

somedays you just need to buy donuts for no reason, sit on the floor and play as many games of hi-ho cherry-o as you can until the cherry-eating baby wakes up.

housework, shmousework.

rain.

there is nothing more glorious than rain in the desert.

especially, when your kids have the day off and you can sit around in pajamas, drinking coffee, reading books and being lazy with the windows open and that wonderful smell filling the house.

and babies always nap better on rainy days.

happy monday, ya'll.

good morning.

this is the face i wake up to every morning.

you won't be hearing any complaints from me...

even if, as my husband points out, i also woke up to her at 12:14, 1:37, 2:06, 3:58... 

you get the picture.

she doesn't sleep a lot.

but she sure is cute, right?

now let's pour some coffee and get this week started.

hello there, monday, my good friend.

it's amazing what a difference it makes when your baby has slept well over the weekend, your husband gets up and makes both lunches and breakfast for the kids, and it's not spirit week, so everyone knows exactly what they are wearing to school.  

hello, monday.

i am looking quite forward to you today.

sitting on the patio drinking beers.

it was a grand weekend.

the weather was perfect,

my sister was in town

and we enjoyed lots of time outdoors.

we had a delicious meal and some beers at 

pizzeria bianco on friday night.  

if only we could start off every weekend that way...

now back to my real life.

sleepless monday

so, this little lady is currently on a bit of a napping strike. she's quite nice about it. not grumpy or fussy. but it certainly doesn't lend itself to me accomplishing much... oh, well. we are enjoying our lazy (sleepless) morning smiling at each other, listening to music and getting absolutely nothing done. here's to a more productive week.

instagram

so, in my blogging hiatus, i became slightly obsessed with a different form of social media.

instagram.

i'm completely hooked.

quick, easy and, oh, so satisfactory.

it's a good fix for a busy mom with four kids.

not that i think i am telling you about anything new.

just thought i'd share that i love it.

the end of an era

i find it a little sad that movie stores will be a strange and distant memory to my kids.

my childhood memories are so tied up in movie stores.

renting movies as a family, with a group of friends for a sleepover, without plans on a friday night wandering into video update in pajamas with your sisters...

you had your favorites or the new movie you were dying to see, always with the possibility of it already being rented by someone else.  

your mom might say yes to the box of milk duds you requested and you live ever-so-dangerously, biting into the first one to discover if it is fresh and chewy or an old box from 1974 that is sure to pull out a filling (of course, you eat the whole box anyway...).  

or your little sister runs into the store ahead of your little brother to remove the actual vhs from behind the box of three amigos to claim, "bummer.  it must be checked out."

our grandkids will certainly listen to our explanation of how we used to "rent" movies with slack-jaws and heads shaking in disbelief.  all that work, just to watch a movie?

with the instant gratification of netflix and the like already such a part of our lives, even thinking about movie stores today seems a bit archaic.  

 

and the drop box? 

 that will certainly give our grandkids a good giggle...

i used to let you wear all of my clothes...

i think my closet is in desperate need of a little sprucing up.

not much color, not much pattern.

and, not too mention, i am totally sick of all of it.

i grew up with a sister on either side of me,

then went on to college to always have awesome roommates,

thus i always had people to share clothes with.

i really miss that every time i become completely sick of my own clothes...

which is a lot.