Pineapple Mangosteen

I LOVE being a BzzAgent! I get to try all kinds of super cool stuff and talk about it! I LOVE talking about stuff I love, so it's a win-win!

I am currently trying the Glade Expressions Oil Diffuser in my office at work. My co-workers FINALLY noticed the lovely scent emanating from my corner and before I knew it, everyone was checking it out  :) I now have 3 folks interested in becoming BzzAgents too! I chose the Pineapple Mangosteen scent for the office and I absolutely adore it. It makes me so relaxed and helps me focus when I'm drowning in to-do piles. Plus, I don't have to worry about it spilling, which I'm sure the cleaning company appreciates.

I am definitely a fan  :)

Road Trip Weekend!

Woohoo! Road trip to Indianapolis this weekend! Rick has to do some work down there, so we're going with him. Looking forward to seeing my aunt and uncle and escaping for the weekend. 

I LOVE road tripping with my family - our boys do SO WELL and Rick and I get along best on road trips, I think. Not that we don't get along in general, but you know what I mean! Indianapolis isn't a bad trip either! Long enough to count as a road trip, but not too long that you have to plan a huge thing. We're leaving Saturday morning and we'll be home on Sunday. 

Plus... road trips mean staying at a hotel. We LOVE that! When I was a kid, we didn't stay in hotels - we took a trailer and camped wherever we went. We, on the other hand, don't have a trailer, so when we go away, we stay in hotels. Josh and Logan are super lucky in that respect (in my opinion anyway - I would have LOVED to stay in hotels when I was a kid!!!).

I'm glad we're not leaving tomorrow night (which was the original plan). That would have involved getting everything packed tonight, and I'm just not up for that tonight. It was my late night at work, and I have to be back there at 8am tomorrow, so I'm glad I don't have to worry about having everything ready to go tonight.

I wonder what fun things the boys and I will find to do while Rick's working. Anyone have any tips for fun stuff in Indianapolis??

Feeling Crispy Outside!!

It's starting to feel like fall here along the lakeshore! Over the last couple of weeks, we've noticed the occasional brightly colored tree as we're driving along the highway, but the temps have stayed up there and summer has been hanging on.

Not today!

Last night we got SO MUCH RAIN! The boys and I stopped at the video store on our way home from daycare yesterday. By the time we were done choosing our selections, it was pouring rain outside. It never stopped. The temps fell and it rained and rained and rained. 

This morning we awoke to bright blue skies and a fabulous breeze - and you could definitely tell a cold front came through! I wore jeans all day. The boys and I went to the Farmer's Market this morning and picked out some beautiful Macs for apple crisp. We decided to hang around Montague for the morning and it was perfect. We walked down by the water, stopped by the Book Nook and Java Shop, had lunch at this tiny corner soda fountain with like 6 things on the menu and then just sat on a bench soaking up the sun until we were ready to be done. I haven't felt that relaxed in a while. It was nice to just do whatever we wanted and enjoy being together. No schedule, no plans, nothing.

The apple crisp just came out of the oven, and I'm sitting here drinking a cup of chai, debating whether or not I want to dig in tonight or wait until tomorrow. I told the boys they could have it for breakfast before church tomorrow - they're super excited about that  :) (Trust me - this is a RARE occurrence! The only reason it's allowed is because it took me too long to slice the apples and it was past bedtime before it was ready)

I'm looking forward to church in the morning, football in the afternoon and seeing family in the evening. Sounds good to me.

The Boy is Definitely Mine.

I was feeling some stress today and needed to get out of the house. Rick took Logan, so Josh and I took off on a walk. I had my iPod, he had his mp3 player. He doesn't usually walk with me, but when I walk (or even when I'm on the treadmill), I can't help but dance along to the music. I looked over and noticed that Joshua was dancing along to his music too. He's definitely my kid. He might look and act exactly like his dad, but there's a tiny little bit of me in there and it comes out when he listens to music. I'm ok with that  :)

Just Another Saturday...

So, here I am, sitting in my hometown, covering the family business for my dad. Funny how when you've been gone for so long it just feels different. Not that I'm not here on a semi-regular basis... my parents live here, my grandma lives here, I have friends and family all over here! It's just different being here for a slightly extended period of time.

I was sitting at a friends house last night. She lives behind my mom's house and I used to babysit her kids way back when. We're still good friends with them - shoot - they were our daycare for the boys before we moved away! She's known my kids since the very beginning.... and I've known her kids from early on. Her youngest just turned 16. I've known him since he was born. Her oldest is 20! Her middle daughter just got her Senior Pictures done... it's hard to wrap my brain around that. We were sitting there talking and just catching up since we don't see each other much.

They've had some big changes in their lives this past summer... her husband's job was outsourced, he's been home all summer and now he's looking at being able to start collecting retirement this fall. Her oldest daughter has decided to go to school for Theraputic Massage this fall, her youngest is thisclose to earning his Eagle Scout Badge... it's amazing.

I sit there and think that MY oldest is about to be 10. As in double digits (eek!) 10! In less than two weeks!!! My youngest is starting first grade in just a few short weeks. My husband and I just celebrated a decade of marriage last month.... it's crazy.

I guess sitting at the family business, being surrounded by the very things that put a roof over my head and food in my stomach makes me think about the past. It's quiet here at the lot - I've only had one customer so far today (although I fully expect to be swamped right about when it's time to close up shop!) but I'm just sitting here looking around and feeling a little bit sad. Not really sad, I guess, more like... I feel like remembering. Being grateful for my past and excited about my future. My boys are still relatively little, my husband and I are still relatively young... I hope we have a lot of good years ahead of us.