Take Me Out To The Ball Game

We've had a summer full of baseball.  I'm quite content with my life as a "boy mom", and I hope to have many more summers spent at the ballpark with my boys. 

Mark and the boys at the Rangers Game in July.

Mark and Will outside of Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

The fam getting ready to go into the ball park.  Ben's asleep.

We absolutely loved this stadium.  One of our favorites!

Attending a Cincinnati Reds game at the Great American Ball Park

Mark and Ben in front of a mosaic in the ballpark.

View of the field.  You can see the Power Stacks in the distance.

The highlight of our baseball games this summer.

The Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field

Great memories...well, great except for the long rain delay.

Making memories

Leaving the game early because we have two tired little boys.

Thanks for indulging me as I reminisced. 
What a fun summer of baseball we had!

World of Little People

Our World of Little People

 

The Fisher-Price Little People are some of my boys most loved toys.  They are well-designed toys that encourage imagination.  My three-year-old and one-year-old can both play along.  You can see in the photo that Will seated all the different Little People figures around the picnic table at the airport and lined up all of the cars on the road.  He can play, if he isn't interrupted by Ben, for a long time.  He sets up a world of Little People and makes it come to life.

If you are a parent of a young child who plays with Little People toys, then you have most likely watched the free DVD included with many of the toys.  My boys love it!  We know Eddie, Sarah Lynn, Maggie, Michael and Sonya Lee like they were members of our family.  The funniest thing about the claymation DVDs is Aaron Neville.  When Will first watched the DVD, Mark and I looked at each other and said, "Is that Aaron Neville singing?".    Very random!  If you've ever heard the theme song then it's probably stuck in your head now.  Sorry!

One day my boys will outgrow their Little People toys, but I just don't know if I'll be able to give them away.  I've grown to love them, too.

Missing My Boys

I'm back to school this week for teacher inservice. It's been a very demanding schedule with meetings, lesson planning, dissecting curriculum and professional development. I love my job, but I love my boys so much more. I'm fortunate to have an ideal childcare situation. The boys stay with my mother-in-law while we are at work.  They adore each other. It's a comforting feeling knowing that my little ones are so well taken care of, but it's still very hard to be away from them when we've been together all summer.

Hmmmm...can you tell I'm missing my boys? Sorry for the photo overload. I get the camera out every opportunity I have because I just want to capture these special moments.

Psalm 37:4

My flowers in the spring.

Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

Maybe it's not that you will get all that your heart desires, but that your desires will change as you delight (find gratification, joy, satisfaction, pleasure, contentment) in the Lord and his will for your life.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 6:33

Along the same lines, it's not that earthly wealth and means will come to us, but that we will have the ability to see things from a new perspective.  We will see the blessings we have now and realize the blessings which we are promised if we are faithful Christians.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

James 1:17

I'm thankful and grateful for all of the perfect gifts I have been blessed with.  I hope I have the wisdom and discernment to never take these gifts for granted.

Milk Glass Mania

My aunt (who is one of only about 10 people that might actually read this blog) has been on the hunt for milk glass, which you can read about here.  She even came up with the phrase "Milk Glass Mania" because she's clever like that.  I've been dying to use that as a blog post title since she mentioned it in an email. 
Finally, the time has come! 

It's time to show you all of the wonderful pieces of milk glass that are now in my collection. Once a very chic lady with great style told me that everyone should collect something.  I've never been a collector UNTIL now.  I'm hooked on milk glass. 

And so, without further ado, let me show you the lovely milk glass.

Seven beautiful pieces of milk glass from my aunt and uncle.
So pretty and each piece has a unique story!

Bud vases from my great aunt

"Bill" written on the bottom of one vase.  Bill is not her name but the nickname she went by in her small town.

Bud vases given to me by a friend who I attend church with.  He's also the florist in our small town.

Beautiful bowl from a family friend who gave me this beautiful piece of pink depression glass.

All of the milk glass has found a home on top of my cabinets for now.

Starting this collection has been so much fun.  I've had fun scouring thrift stores and trade days this summer.  My husband has even gotten on board and supports my milk glass collection.  The best thing about this collection is the overwhelming generosity I've been shown.  People have so willingly given me the pieces (which means they really wanted me to have it or that it's not really that valuable to them) for whatever reasons, I don't care. I'm so thankful!  Regardless of the motives, it's meant a great deal to have nice people give so generously. 

I will still be on the lookout for milk glass and will happily show you when I find more.

Happiness Is...

Happiness is a refreshing Izze soda. 

I found these at Target.  They are a little pricey, but I made the splurge to celebrate the final week of summer vacation and the beginning of a new school year.  I love blackberries, and I love Izze sodas so this is a winning combination.  You can see that two are missing...hmmm, wonder where those went?

What I Wore Wednesday {Road Trip 2010}

Most of this week has been dedicated to Teacher Week, but I love WIWW and didn't want to completely neglect it.  I was just too lazy to wear cute clothes this week for WIWW so I thought I'd reach back in my photo archives and choose some photos from our road trip across the Midwest that we took earlier this summer.

First stop St. Louis, Missouri

We visited the Gateway Arch

Cardi: Ann Taylor LOFT

Green and White shirt: Old Navy

Skirt: Old Navy

St. Louis Cardinals game (my husband is a huge baseball fan)

pink/coral shirt: J Crew (outlet)

white layer tank: Old Navy

Bermuda shorts: Gap (outlet)

shoes: TOMS bought at Whole Foods

On to Indianapolis, Indiana to spend a week with one of my best friends, Angela.  I didn't take many photos of myself that week.  We visited the Children's Museum one day, and I did get this photo of me and my bestie outside of the Barbie exhibit.

Black Cardi: Gap (outlet)

White Ruffle Shirt: Gap (outlet)

Gray Skirt: J Crew (outlet)

Cincinnati, Ohio

We attended a Reds baseball game.

Cardi: Ann Taylor LOFT

Green shirt: Banana Republic (outlet)

Bermuda shorts: J Crew (outlet)

Shoes: TOMS

Chicago, Illinois

We visited Oak Park, IL and walked down the picturesque Forest Avenue.  We enjoyed the beautiful homes and admired Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio.

Gray cardi: J Crew (outlet)

Navy and White Stripe Tank: Gap

Skirt: Old Navy

More Chicago...

"The Bean" in Millennium Park and a Cubs game at Wrigley Field

Black cardi: Gap (outlet)

Jeans: Seven A Pocket from amazon.com

Two different shirts: White shirt from J Crew (outlet) and the t-shirt with the tree print: Junk Food from Nordstrom Rack

Shoes: TOMS

Relaxing in the hotel room in my favorite kind of outfit after a busy day of sightseeing.

Black pajama pants: Gap (outlet)

Gray shirt: J Crew (outlet)

Ben's pajamas: Target

I'll be back next week with outfits worn to teacher inservice (sigh) which means summer has come to an end.  To see more cute outfits and meet new people check out The Pleated Poppy.