we'll it's no secret we're not rolling in the dough.since i made the decision to stay home from teaching this year, our fun spending money has gone from a little to barely any. but lately. i've been feeling so RICH!i'm not kidding. i feel like my life is so much richer than it used to be, when i would wake up and head off to school at 6:30 in the morning. yeah, i had a house. and a nice car. and could and would, go off and spend 50 or 200 or however many dollars on shoes or clothes or whatever. but now. i get to wake up and laugh through breakfast with two little girls. then get dressed. or not. and go adventuring everyday. some days, with a playdate on the horizon. some days, the park. some days, just going outside and playing on the gator and with the cats. filthy rich.i get to stay up late with my sweet hubby. nothing wild. he's watching "duck dynasty" and i'm playing on pinterest. we sometimes eat a late snack- cheesecake or cookies. and then we head to bed, and talk about what's going on in our lives. rich, i tell ya.i get to make a little money helping a couple kids get better at math. no testing pressure. no grading. laughing and playing games. and it pays a couple bills, too. not rich, but some money!i get a massage for my birthday, free babysitting all the time from my parents and an insistent "we're going to lunch for your birthday" from my father-in-law. how lucky i am!i get to search for treasures. a tent for $3 at the thrift store? mine! a box full of old glitter and fabric scraps? mine too. someone's perfect broken in jeans, in just my size? i'll take 'em. not spending a lot, but getting a lot. i get to look out my window while washing dishes and see this.
yes, that's a field of bluebonnets. and a limestone bluff with a creek below. i am rich. i'm so glad for these sweet days. no, i don't get $400 bucks to spend at the outlet mall. no, we aren't eating filet mignon and drinking an expensive bottle of wine. and the savings account isn't big.but i'm a rich girl.
dear betty,i've seen you lately. as we took our bluebonnet pictures, you fluttered so close I thought you were going to land on Mia. and as we blew bubbles and laughed at them popping on our heads, you floated right above.and when we were loading up the car at your house, you flew over the bush that is blooming and buzzing with bees. i hope you know that we miss you. a lot. my girls are growing up so fast, you wouldn't believe all the silly things they do and say. Mia is walking, a straight legged hobble, with a huge grin. so adorable. and Henley is saying things like "look at my spyglass!" and "i'm trying to get away from Daddy!" so smart.but lately, I know you're watching us, enjoying these little moments we've been having. thanks for keeping an eye on us. we love you.bonnie
sigh.
saturday night. 8:30. mumford and sons on pandora. glass of cab and a couple dove dark chocolates. well, heck, maybe a few more than a couple.
[were you like me, and didn't get that a few = 3 and a couple = 2?? i seriously was 25 before i learned people were being specific when asking for "a few screws" or "a couple cookies"?!? ]
anyway. it's been a quiet evening, chicks in bed at 7:15 because the hubs is out of town wrapping his handa around another girl (a fish, see pic below) and i just am POOPED out after a few days with him gone! i seriously have to give major credit to single moms and dads out in the world because i couldn't do it. i would die of utter exhaustion. i've been laying on the couch with a snuggly blanket and haven't moved from pinterest and some awesome new blogs and ebay.
today was a fun day. we went to our town's annual book sale. nothing better than hitting the fairgrounds and loading up a box of books for a couple (or is it a few?) dollars. my finds included a 1964 world atlas, someone's old violin practice book, toddler 411, 5 dora books, some preschool workbooks, a bunch of new bedtime books, big stack of house magazines and some old flashcards. it's pretty much a big deal in our town and people line up waiting for the doors to open and bringing all their sturdy sacks and even some bringing a dolly to load up! i love it.
then we picked up some delish tacos and went to play at the playground. there are some great playgrounds in our little town. this one actually was at my old elementary school.
as the girls played (rather, henley played and mia ate rocks), i had so many old memories float around...
*when cody yanked on the swing chains midair and unhooked the swing and fell to break both his legs
*standing on the same blacktop where i brought my pet fish, Scarlet, to bring your pet to school day. being mildly embarrassed about bringing a fish, but hey, what do you do?
* remembering how you could walk down the sidewalks and STOMP! right on the metal drainage covers outside of the class windows. especially satisfying if the windows were open on a bright, sunny day.
*our veteran's day ceremonies each year around the flagpole out front. singing "biscuits in the army" and "as the caissons go rolling along" and a whole military medley
good memories. i was even a high school mentor there and my mom was a teacher there for years. how many hours of my life have been in those halls!
and now i can take my kids there. is that called full circle? :)
randoms of the little ladies...
hen in a dora tee, sweater, tutu and piggytails. style maven? or just her mother's hodge podge? we shall see.
my meems, in a full grin. does anything beat those little baby teeth? break my heart in half.
my chicks on a cool bench. my cup runneth over.
