Getting by

The weather has turned from hot and dry to really hot and sticky.  I'm anxious for that monsoon season to kick it into high gear.  I was joking with my friends that it's going to rain every day while we're in Pennsylvania and that monsoon season will promptly end upon our return.  So I had to laugh when I checked the extended forecast only to find that the day of our departure really does mark the first of several days thunderstorms for the Chandler area.  So typical. 

I have been consoling myself with the idea that I will (FINALLY) get to see my first firely.  I'm also looking forward to eating some authentic pierogies in Pittsburgh and picking veggies from my in-law's garden.  Which reminds me, remember those tomato plants we planted?  Dead.  Such is the curse of my black thumb.  I promised the girls we would try again once the heat breaks.

Every morning Elise pops up from bed with a big smile and a loud "get out of bed mommy!". She's been this way since she was just old enough to smile.  This is a trait she's definitely inherited from her dad because I have never been, nor will I ever be, a morning person.  Still, it's hard to be in a bad mood when you have your own personal cherub to pull you out of bed.  After stumbling downstairs Elise always asks for the same thing to start her day, yogurt.  I've never met anyone so enthusiastic about eating the same thing EVERYDAY so I had to document it. 

My belly seems to be getting bigger by the day and I've finally reached that point where it's not a lot of fun to paint my own toes so off to the salon I went.  I dropped the girls at my sister's house this morning and drove straight to the shopping center around the corner from my house.  I picked up an iced tea and proceeded to spend the next 60 minutes reading trash celebrity magazines while a nice lady filed, massaged and painted my toes. Ahh pure heaven!

We've been lying low lately.  Keeping indoors mostly, reading LOTS of books and lounging under the fan in the playroom. Kate keeps us entertained with her puppet shows and Elise has already "married" the prince (aka daddy) several times this month.  I was grateful that she hired me as her wedding photographer!

My daily grateful

• a blender that makes awesome powdery snow ice
• an impromptu game night with my sister and niece
• the sound of cicadas buzzing in the trees, who needs crickets, cicadas = summertime
• my library card and their willingness to keep lending me books in spite of the numerous late fees I've had to pay
• reruns of Giada's Everyday Italian, Elise is just as excited about her cooking as Kate was at that age

Comments

[Alexa]

I love Pennsylvania and fireflies! I don't know where you will be, but something memorable that I experienced as a child was going from farmhouse to farmhouse asking the owners if I could pick something. Everyone was happy to let me sample their fruits and veggies and taught me how to tell if it was ripe to pick. Unfortunately they didn't teach me how to GROW anything, and I, like you, have dead veggies this season (cucumbers) =(