linda bean

My Aunt Linda.

My mother's sister.

Man alive do I ever love her.

Some would say that God played a joke.

Paige was more like my mother.

They were extremely close.

Paige is lucky in the fact that she got to know my mother as an adult.

Got to have those conversations with her that I never got to have.

About grown up stuff that I was still too embarrased to talk to her about at 24.

I envy Paige that.

The relationship they had.

And I envy the fact that my mother knew her children, but will never know mine.

I am more like Linda.

Both of us like to be home.

On the front porch.

Both of us like casseroles.

And green beans, potatoes and smoked sausage.

We have the same taste in books.

And I can tolerate the overly sweet wine that she enjoys.

I think God did this because he knew what was coming.

Knew I would need a mother figure as I navigated through those early baby years.

And Linda delivered.

She came and spent some time with me when Ellie was born.

Cleaned my house.

And made me lunch.

I remember being overwhealmed.

Linda had to have seen it.

She just took the baby.

Gave me a hug.

And told me the things I needed to hear.

She loves my kid like no other.

Linda is the kind of lady that does everything for everybody.

Always making bread for people.

Or dinner.

Helps at church.

Reads to the 1st graders.

Always has rice crispy treats when we come home.

Cause she knows we love them.

And loves to rides her bike around town.

She lets Ellie go through her vast jewelry collection and wear whatever she wants.

Even though it has to drive her bananas.

And she sends her money in the mail for candy and ice cream.

Last night I commented on her spoon ring, and how much I loved it.

She gave it to me right off her finger.

I told her I was going to give it back next time I come home to visit,

but now I am not so sure.

I have fallen in love with it.

Linda Bean.

We all love you.

But I love you something special.

Thank you for being there.

For me.

And for Ellie.



what i miss

Nearly 3 weeks in.

And while I am very happy working, and like the people and job and such,

what I gave up is starting to set in.

It is a transition.

I know this.

It will be easier when school starts.

I hope this.

I have been spoiled and lucky to get to be home with her as long as I was.

And my job situation is really ideal.

And I was lucky to find it.

But there are some things that I just really miss.

Like lazy mornings.

And hearing her little feet patter down the stairs while I am drinking my coffee.

And knowing she is getting a good healthy breakfast.

And deciding what we are going to do for the day.

And then doing it.

I miss having time.

Just time.

I feel rushed a lot now.

And I don't like this feeling.

I don't feel present.



 I feel like I am missing stuff.

Not important stuff.

But sometimes that is the most important stuff of all.

I don't like to miss stuff.

And she is mad at me.

She doesn't know it.

But she is.

She asked me on Sunday night if I was going to work again this week.

Yeah.

Broke my heart a little.

 But we are soldiering on.

Figuring it all out.

It will get easier.

It will become normal.

And for that I am grateful.

But I'm not a fan of the transition.

Nope.

Not even a little.

lately

Still catching up.

I know.

I promise I will get into a groove.

Swear on teetee.

(which in our family is unbreakable.)

One night last weekend, I forget which, as they have all run together, Ellie and I went on a night walk.

We were testy and grouchy and it was past her bedtime, and we went anyway.

We both needed it.

 We also hit up the aquarium.

This dude and I had a lengthy staredown.

He won.

 And Chris and I snuck out for a little date.

With golf, dinner and a movie.

It was pretty nice.

He was in a prediciment here.

I shot an easy 42.

I almost beat him.

He is, at this very moment, trying to qualify for the Cleveland Am.

He didn't play very well yesterday, meaning he has to play well today.

C'mom Chris!

You can do it!

 On Sunday morning last week,

she chose Kashi over Cocoa Puffs.

Yep.

It was a proud moment.

 Then, that evening, we had grand plans to hit up a golf course and get a quick nine in.

But we passed a fair,

and well...

golf didn't happen.

 This is my cantaloupe.

She is twice as big now.

You go girl!

 We also hung with Iz a bit.

Love that girl.

15 is a fun age to hang around.

Boys are a big topic of conversation.

And she let me read her texts!

From a boy!

An English boy!

I think I understood about 2/3 of it.

:)

This past Friday night I went to an open house of one of the architects I work with.

He had just so happened to redo all of the offices of the president and board of governors of the Cleveland Clinic.

Needless to say, it was pretty swanky.

We got to walk through the new space.

It is all clean lines, and white, and light wood.

With it's own kitchen for their own chef.

It must be good to be the President of the Cleveland Clinic.

We have also farmers marketed, garden partied, and saved the life of a cat this weekend.

Today is cleaning and swimming.

And hoping that Chris plays well.

Happy Sunday!



catch up

Please excuse me.

I am adjusting.

I only work until 1, but I am amazed at what I have trouble getting done these days.

It seems like I come home, play with Ellie, and then it is dark.

It is all I can do to keep the house tidy, feed us, and keep up with the laundry.

Chris helps a lot.

xoxo

Blogging has taken a backseat.

That's bad.

So here is a little catch up post.

We had visitors!

No one ever comes to visit us.

:(

Lori and Dawn came a few weekends ago.

We just love them to pieces.

We hiked and ate good food and explored the city and played lots of euchre.

They had fun.

Or so they said.

So come visit us!

We will show you a good time.

Promise!

We haven't sat down for even one second it seems.

Ellie is adjusting to her babysitter ok.

But she is mad at me.

She doesn't even know it, but she is.

She is a little crabby and moody.

Like I said, we are all adjusting.

 Look at that cat.

He snagged that strawberry 2.4 seconds after this pic was taken...

 We did manage to have some down time in the woods on Sunday.

The woods make me feel better.

As does making out with my husband.

So bear with me.

As I try and figure out this whole part time work stuff.

You mom's who work full time...

Kudos.

working

I got a job!

Crazy right?

I have been looking for awhile.

But was being very picky.

Had to be the right hours.

And the right pay.

And the right environment.

That's not too much to ask, right?

I had just decided to stop looking for the summer when a friend of mine sent me a job he had heard about.

2 days later, I had a job.

I work for an architectual design firm downtown.

They design for hospitals, colleges and universities, and libraries.

I am their Director of First Impressions (my own term) (a.k.a. receptionist) and will also be doing a lot with their wellness program as I get comfortable with the front desk stuff.

I can already tell though, that I am going to be used for a whole lot more.

I have a feeling I will be doing all of their social media updating and acting as a personal assistant for a few of them.

And that is what I was hoping for.

The office is this really cool open loft space.

With a view of the lake.

It's pretty sweet.

Hours: 8:15 to 1.

And 8:15 to 3 when school starts.

2 teenage girls are taking turns watching Ellie.

She is usually sad to see me walk in the door.

When school starts, she won't even know I am gone,

except for the fact that Daddy will be taking her to school.

I just finished my first week.

I love it.

It was worth waiting for.

lemonade stand

So we had a lemonade stand yesterday.

Sister made mad money.

I used to make, like, 2 bucks.

She made a killing!

We debated and debated on what organization to donate too.

We talked Ronald McDonald House.

And animal shelters.

And then I read this THISPOST.

I have been reading this blog for awhile.

And I love reading about Shawni and her gorgeous family.

As soon as I read what Max was doing, I called Ellie in and showed her and she instantly wanted to donate to Max and his book fund.

She loves to read and was so sad that all kids don't have access to books the way she does.

I am so proud of her.

And kids like Max.


Want to buy some books for some kids who need 'em?
Click on the link.
Max tells you what to do.

as promised...

He is such a dork.

But he is my dork.



pelee!

So we have these friends.

They are new friends that we met through the girls.

Ellie and Natalie are besties.

And met in school.

Don't you just love new friends?

You get to talk about all the stories all your other friends already know.

And learn new things.

And so on and so forth.

Anyhoo,

these new friends own a cottage on Pelee Island.

Which is the southern most Canadian Island in Lake Erie.

We got invited for a visit.

Um,

it is heaven up there.

They have found themselves a great little piece of property right on the lake.

And I loved every minute I was there.

I think the best way to go about talking about the vacation is to do a

"TOP 10 BEST THINGS ABOUT VISITING PELEE"

So here you go.

1.  The Ferry.

We all loved the ferry.

But don't ask me to go below deck again please.

I might throw up.

(That is Cedar Point in the background.  Chris rode that behomoth coaster 2 summers ago.  The one that goes straight up and comes righ back down.  He is crazy.)

 2.  Having a rainbow start our vacation.

How cool is that?

Oh.  And this is the view from their back deck.

I KNOW!

 3.  Spending lots of time with this guy.

With no phones.

Cause there were Canadian roaming charges and such.

I didn't miss my phone.

At all.

Matter of fact, I was sad to turn it back on.

 4. Skinning dipping.

Yep.

I did it.

The boys were up at the cottage putting the girlies to bed.

And Yvonne and I did it.

It was dark.

And I mentioned how terrified I was of swimming in dark lakes, and Yvonne mentioned that she had never skinny dipped at the lake,

and one thing led to another,

and we were naked in the lake.

It lasted about 2 and a half minutes,

but we did it.

Check it off the bucket list.

 5.  The lake itself.

Good grief is it ever gorgeous up there.

And the water was co clear.

You could see your feet even when you were up to your chest in water.

However, there are water snakes.

Not a fan.

But I only saw one.

And they are harmless.

 6.  Swimming.

I wasn't sure how Ellie would take to the lake.

She is used to nice clean pools.

But she jumped right in like she has been doing it her whole life.

They swam so hard on Monday morning, they were napping by 11:30.

In the am!

 7. Beach lounging.

Who doesn't love a good beach lounge every now and then?

 8. The winery.

I have been to a few winery's in my day, but this one might be my very favorite.

No joke.

It's good stuff up there.

We got a loaf of bread and a hunk of cheese and split a bottle.

I got a few Pelee Pinks to bring home.

And a spicy red for the winter.

I think the rose wine is making a comeback.

 9.  The beach fire we managed to keep going the 3 days we were there.

It was good stuff.

I have never had a campfire on the beach before.

I really, really, really hope that wasn't my first and last one.

 10. Our hosts.

These people know how to host.

The whole weekend was comfortable and easy and fun.

Thank you Eric, Yvonne, and Natalie.

We had the very best time!

 11. I know I said 10 reasons.

It's my blog.

I can do what I want.

The beach glass!

There's good findings up there!

I went for a jog walk when we got home and I found myself looking on the sidewalks around my neighborhood for beach glass...

 12.  Getting out of dodge for a bit.

We needed it.

Yep.

I'm a fan of Pelee Island.

Be on the lookout for a series of photos Chris took of himself.

They are hysterical!

And deserve a post all their own.

I don't know why he does it.

He knows they are going to end up on here.

Silly boy.