fall cleaning...

i think i have mentioned just a few times that fall is my favorite season.
fall compliements me.
simply, i have a love affair with fall.

my 14 year old neighbor/babysitter declared the other day "you get in your baking mode in the fall"

i love that she knows that!

i have begun my fall "nesting".
at this time this morning, the stars, planets and everything else aligned themselves and BOTH (you read it right BOTH) of my boys were STILL sleeping.



i was able to take a few sips of coffee without refereeing or preparing their breakfasts.
i unloaded the dishwasher without monsters helpers.
i was up & showered and ready to take on the day before them.
that makes a huge difference.

today was the first day of school for jack.
i adored having a purpose for our morning, a goal.
routine + me= happiness!

this little guy was excited about the first day! 

he now says "TEEEESE" for cheese!

his idol... jack, was in the bathroom making a mess getting ready and he was not thrilled to be left out!

getting him to pose is impossible! this is why i have no good pictures of him.

just action shots!

so busy looking out for all their friends they couldn't stop for a picture!

i can't believe he started his last year of preschool today.

suddenly, my little baby boy, seems SO big!

my cup is full!

so my most recent project!

this is the problem....

what, the messy deck?? NO!

the open deck. 

for sam to escape! 

and believe me, he does! 

and gates don't even necessarily stop him. 

yesterday i found him several houses down, after escaping the gate at his cousins house.

VERY SCARY!

against my husbands every wish.

i built my own gate!

i could not buy one, they don't make them long enough to fit & be compatible with the elements!

i borrowed my neighbors circular saw (i did not know the word for it until this day)

i had a very useful apprentice!

this picture is deceiving as it eludes to the fact that my husband was involved or did it.

not the case. i am the handy member of this family.

we all have strengths, his is not handy work! 

his father showed up mid-chaos and said "why is he watching the kids and your building?"

i just looked at him and pleasantly responded "because he is better at that"

but his muscles were needed a few times!

jack takes after his mommy ;)

and... the finished product!
it is not level.
not perfect.
but i did it all for under $70.
and i am quite proud of my work!!!!!!

and love that sammy is locked on the deck!

so there you have it!
i have a few other things i have been working on!
and life is getting back to normal... so stay tuned my friends!

HAPPY FALL!

everywhere the signs....

there are signs every where in my life.

this is one of my favorites.........



i wish i had been more creative. i really do.
i have found myself stuck in this ready for fall and nesting state of being.
but really feeling this pressure to enjoy what is left of summer while i can... thinking i will be missing it sometime soon!

the fall thing keeps winning! and im loving it! cooking and cleaning and organizing. i have bunch of pictures coming up... some projects i've been working on and fun thats been had!!!

go check out the other links at the site... that are far better than mine!!!

last hoorah!

summer is over... not officially but, you know!

and let me tell you I WORSHIP FALL!

i even transform... "fall robyn"

my 13 year old babysitter and neighbor declared excitedly today: "i love fall. its my birthday and you get into your baking mode!"

score! at least someone enjoys my treats!

i can not wait.

football is starting to pop up on the tv. the nights are getting cooler! it just makes me happy even thinking about the mere thought of crisp days, snuggling on the couch, little boys with sweatshirts, using the oven again... i love it!

but we had a great summer. aside from the sammy being a bit of a handful and into every. single. thing. he could find. summer was great.

recently we made it to avalon for one last HOORAH!!!!

we were lucky enough to take my parents. it was so special for my mom to enjoy a place so near & dear to our family. my sister also crashed the get away and stayed at a local hotel {scoring some major deal on some internet vacation site}.......

we packed the long weekend full of beach time, dinners out, shopping, ice cream, beach... and more beach!

this was our first night eating out... at the windrift. 

it sits right on the dunes & overlooks the water. jack has never been out to eat in avalon.

he got a strawberry daquari.

this photo scares me for his "future".

this is why dad's are WAY more fun than mom's!

the seagulls in avalon are aggressive.

by this i mean... they have literally taken the food out of my hand as i was putting it in my mouth. 

scary stuff!

nothing more funnier than a little boy sticking his finger out from under being burried... and giggling 

"do you see a wittle fingerrrr?"

this was a series of pictures. im learning to shoot on manual! self-teaching for now.

f/13, 1/320, iso 100. i did not edit! YEAH! too bad my "subject" was screaming at the shells!

my sweet little man helping his pop pop to the car because he forgot his cane. 

i adore him when he does things like this on his own. it makes my heart ooze.

behind the tough, wild & crazy boy... is a intensely sweet empathetic boy!

the fishreman's pier.

best breakfast in town!

you're not allowed on the pier. but the owner let me sneak out. i had no time to fix my settings hence the overexposed background.

i love this photo... not because its a great photo. but what it is.

my dad doesn't move around much anymore... and we got him to walk out the dock to sit and watch the hurricane waves come in and surfers. he & jack sat there and took it in. 

i was proud of him for making the walk... and glad jack slowed down for a minute to sit with him.

and glad he got to see what avalon is for us.

mom & dad! 

this visit to avalon was just before the hurricane. the waves were insane and the sea treasures on the beach were equally as cool!

beauty!

my nephew! 

now if only i knew how to edit that man in the background out! 

me & my sister at the pool sippin cocktails!

sea treasures... dolphins! 

jackabie decorated the fence for his nonna with pine cones for when she returned!

my love!

a rare photo of me & my guy!

so long avalon! nothing like a nice send out of 5 plus hours of traffic! 

it was worth it though!

woody & buzz

today... is a sad day.
today... i cried a lot.
today... i saw woody & buzz.
and that was sad... because woody & buzz were perched ever so carefully into a flower arrangement that greeted visitors who came into the funeral mass.
woody & buzz do not belong at a funeral.
but today, woody & buzz were there because this funeral was for a 2 year old little boy who was taken to heaven far too early.

this funeral changed me forever. i had never met the little boy. but i had been great friends with his mommy in high school. the pain and heart break this family is going through is beyond my comprehension. i simply can not stop thinking of them and praying for them.

i have kissed my little heads today way more than i normally do. i have stopped and smelled their smell. i played lego's longer. i hugged tighter. i got down in the sandbox. i stayed very calm while disciplining today. all because God has allowed me to be so lucky to do these things today.


today i learned that today we should be grateful for what we have. for tomorrow, it could be gone.

the priest today said to the grieving parents something to the effect of, that death of children is one of God's greatest mysteries. i felt relief to hear these words come from the priests mouth, as for the past several days, as i have processed this families overwhelming & unthinkable loss, i have struggled, as i pray for them, that i pray to a God that took this baby from them. it's confusing. but comforting all at the same time. i feel a tremendous sense of guilt that their tragedy has me counting my blessings.

today... stop. and count your blessings.
and pray for this family whose lives will never be the same.
pray they are comforted by happy memories and that God helps them through the process of grieving.

positive penelope

when the going get's tough... i put on my "positive penelope" attitude.

i recently saw this while shopping down the shore. or something LIKE this. so i went to etsy to see what i could find. this shop is great!

I LOVE THIS! 

i hope santa remembers!

*i know... two posts in one day... getting crazy!

good morning

good  GREAT morning! 

this week's you capture, a few days late, is "morning".

this morning we woke up and went for a hike at the local audobon center in town. 

we went with my best friend since i was 4. 

we grew up in the woods together- our homes adjacent to one another. 

so our walk was very remeniscent of our days spent in what we fondly refer to as 

"the woods"

"the woods" is a place. a specific path that connected her house to mine, through the woods and a swamp. we played for hours and hours and hours in "the woods".

i took this photo of our boys, at almost the same age as when we met! 

the kiddies running on the trail!

the little friends on the lake!

we let sammy out of the stroller ... he didn't quite want to stay with the group!

abby and jackabie! i love how he snuggles her right in!

the morning light coming through the trees

this may be my favorite! i am self-teaching myself to shoot in manual only. it is very hard in certain lights!!!! 

a stroller, a daddy, a daddy with a baby on front and a big kid... all on the planks!

nervous nelly on the planks!

just when you need it!

sometimes a great day comes along just in the nick of time!

yesterday was a nice day. nothing out of the ordinary. but it all just fell into place. we went to a friends house we haven't seen as much as we'd like and it was so pleasant. the kids played... they laughed & had fun! nothing better than kids giggling with laughter as they run around playing. we were able to catch up with my friend... we chatted about kids... and life and all that other stuff! it was so nice! i had no intentions of staying as long as we did but we were all having so much fun it just happened! and i needed it!

then we came home and jack and i played... candly land, cariboo, play doh. i got my phone back up and running {do not hand your 17 month old your cell phone "just for a few minutes" to keep him out of your hair... especially with a cup of coffee in the vicinity!}

i made dinner. BEFORE dinner. that is the key in my house... if i can get dinner made when the baby naps, life  is less chaotic.

i made turkey meatloaf. that is a sure fire winner in our house! a few years ago, a friend of mine read an article somewhere about making them in cup cake pans... this way you could save & freeze them for your children ~ and they are the perfect portion for the littles . i thought the idea was genius! i am not a huge "freezer". i always forget to make enough to freeze, and the few times i do freeze, i forget it is there! but these little guys... i don't forget! and the boys both love them!
especially the square ones... made with this cool square cupcake tin i found at home goods!

{sorry for the terrible photo... i forgot to snap a photo during the daylight hours!}

we played outside after dinner. and just as i was nearing my all set point, my niece showed up to finish off the bedtime routine!

and i went to see eat, pray, love with my bestie. it was nice to go to the movies with just her. no kids. really nice. i liked the movie. not loved. i usually love julia roberts, but i found her to be the wrong actress for this role. it never quite jived for me. but i loved the message of the movie. which is interesting because i did not enjoy the book... and never actually finished it. but the message, balance. love it.

i have a ton of random pictures. i think i'll get myself organized and share soon!

i think in blog...

do you other bloggers think in blog? 

you know, your experiences, thoughts, feelings, etc... think about how they could be a post? 

i do. 

but lately i'm all over the place. i feel very overwhelmed... and insecure. lots of moving parts in life. i haven't had time to compile my thoughts and blog. i wish i had more time!

i am so very blessed in life.

the bigger picture.

i have healthy children. a wonderful family and amazing circle of friends. 

but the day to day, minutia details of life has gotten me a tad bit overwhelmed these days. the tiny things that happen every day that ad up to a much bigger picture. it will all fall into place. this im sure of. 

i saw a post at at this blog recently that stuck with me tremendously. 

"comparison is the joy thief".

i love everything that means. every way you analyze that statement. all that it stands for and could mean. 

i love it.

on another note... here are some pictures of the memories we have been making these last few days of summer {for which that i am grateful for... i am so ready for fall. Fall Robyn is ready!}

we celebrated my god-twins first birthday! i can not believe they are one! they have taught me that life is short {read there story through that link}. 

life is precious. 

and that you should thank God for your blessings each & every single day!

macy girl enjoying her pink cupcake!

happy birthday babies!

jack and his buddie blake at the super duper weenie truck!

if you do not know what the super duper weenie truck or restaurant is. 

you should look it up.

it is SO cool! so american!

and nothing makes it more fun than the ice cream man!

and my husband... getting in touch with his inner child! 

it was great! his giggle every single time {which was about seriously close to 100 times that day/night} he hit the bottom was priceless!

and mister nathan enjoying his cupcake!

we also took a morning bike ride to the beach up the street.

surprisingly we have not ever done this. it was one of my favorite family moments this summer. just the four of us. together. having fun!

"keep off"

my boys listen well!

we flew a kite! i think that was on our summer to do list! 

which reminds me... i have a few left to check off. better get a move on it!