Getting some beauty sleep...

This is what NO nap at daycare looks like at 5pm.



You can imagine how much fun this makes dinner and bedtime...ugh!

1 down...179 more to go!!

I'm happy to report that the girls first day of school went very well. Emma is such a pro at this now. How can she be a 6th grader all ready?



Now, if I could only get Josie to go to bed at night without tears and fussing. We're seeing a regression in behavior and some of her old tricks and bedtime difficulties are resurfacing again. We need a little bedtime magic with our littlest one. I can't wait until it's October and we're ALL into a familiar routine. Have I said how much I miss my Mr. Mom?

Making Pretzels & Anticipating a New School Year

Over the weekend, Josie helped me make pretzels with store-bought pizza dough.



Unroll the dough to form a square and cut into long strips with a knife. Roll the strips (Josie calls them worms) and then place on a greased cookie sheet. Overlap the dough to form a pretzel shape. Brush the dough with olive oil, Parmesan cheese and Italian spices. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. 1 roll of pizza dough makes 9 pretzels.



School lunch boxes are packed, paperwork as been filled out, and new outfits are carefully laid out in anticipation of the first day of school. I’m guessing it’s not going to be an easy night for sleeping, but it has been a wonderful summer.



We have played in the sun and sand of Lake MI, traveled to Washington D.C., Chicago, and Detroit. Most importantly, we’ve just hung out as a family of four. It will be another amazing, hectic and crazy year of juggling full-time work, Emma’s homework and extra-curricular activities. Over the weekend, we took down the baby gate leading to our downstairs.



Another milestone has passed for Miss Josie. I can’t wait to see what else is in store for the girls.

Halloween Sneak Peeks & Birthday Wishes

The girls and I have already started working a few Halloween crafts. Here's a sneak peek at a few upcoming Halloween projects that I'll be posting on the blog over the next few weeks. Be sure to click on the collage to enlarge.



September 6th is a special day in our house.

Happy Birthday to a man who is encouraging, sweet, amazing with children, a creative Halloween genius, passionate about plants, and wildly funny. He IS Christopher. The love of my life.



Happy Birthday, sweetie!

Anyone Need a Payday?

I'm talking about the candy bar. With candy corn now available at the local grocery stores, I've got a great fall candy mix. Please note that if you have a peanut allergy, this treat isn’t for you. Mix one bag of candy corn with half a jar of peanuts. It tastes exactly like a payday candy bar. It’s yummy, addictive and we’re now hiding the mix from Josie.

I have another magazine you need to purchase if you need Halloween decorating and recipe ideas. I picked it up at JoAnn Fabrics. I think I might like it even more than Martha's Halloween issue (shhhh...don't tell her). I've saved every Martha Stewart Halloween issue for the last five years and her newest issue seems to recycle a lot of things from past issues. Don't get me wrong, I still love it, but I was hoping for newer ideas. You MUST get the Phyllis Hoffman Celebrate magazine if you're looking for something a bit different.

Anyone else living for the upcoming 3 day weekend? I'm counting down the days...sigh.