Welcome home, Daisy Mae!

Dog Days of Summer

Avonlea and I took the pups to the dog park today for a little picnic. The juggling of two dogs and a toddler was a bit much for this mama.  So we picnicked under the trees, away from the other mamas and the other babies who giving this mama the stink-eye. It still was a perfect day....perfect company, perfect breeze, perfect moment for dancing in the sunshine. 

My three pups.

I forgot to edit these before the posting.  ignore the poor lighting...:)

The never-ending struggle...

What's this? an impromptu day off AND a snowstorm?

yes it is.  yes. it. is. 

I fought the chill with homemade baked potato soup. 

and homemade peanut butter cups. 

to. die. for.

and playful puppies.

Stella and I came inside to a toasty Merlin. He is the best animal I've ever had.....Stella has yet to prove herself to me, although she is getting much better with regular exercise and lots of love.

With the girl at her Daddy's, and my beloved hard at work, it was just me and the menagerie tonight.
As much as I love them, it makes for a lonely night.

I do not often get a full day to myself.  I never know what to do with myself. I spend hours thinking of all of the "amber" things I could do...
"I could paint!"
"I could organize my bedroom!"
"I could go to the mall!"
"I could make all those gazillion phone calls that I've been meaning to!"
"I could bake ALL the things!"
"I could finish that craft project I've been meaning to finish!"
"I could pick up my guitar!"
"I could go to the gym, AND go for a walk, AND do my pilates DVDs!"
"I could blog...."
"I could................."
I literally do this for hours.  While I float around the house, sipping my coffee, absentmindedly cleaning the house, doing the laundry, throwing away old mail, sweeping....filling my brain with all of the things I COULD do...

Literally, hours go by...

Until half of the day is gone. And all I have to show for my day "off" is a clean kitchen and some lame pictures of my pets.
My boy always tells me that I overstuff my days off.  I've been conscious of this and have been avoiding it lately....spending more time playing with the girl, training the dog, cooking when I can, splitting her nap time between chores and things that I'd like to do.

It doesn't change the fact that I constantly feel behind. Behind in every aspect, really.
It makes me wonder...do other mothers feel this way all of the time like I do? I'm not so sure.

I'll just tell myself that they do though.  Because we can't always be the lead horse in the race....we can't always have it all together, right?  Some things have to slip behind while other things pull ahead to front and center. The daily struggle.

I have another day "off" tomorrow before I save some babies during the night...

I could do a million things!
I could catch up on my DVR!
I could make it to my spinning class!
I could go have lunch with my sister!
I could.....

*sigh*

well helloooooo there!

Happy Autumn!
I am enjoying the start of my favorite season with a new darker hair color, some pumpkin spice lattes, and snuggling up on the loves in my life. I can't wait for dryer weather, apple picking, punkin pie, and halloween festivities.

Halloween was never my favorite holiday, but for some reason, I am super excited for this halloween....the girl woke up one morning this week saying "mommy! i be DOROTHY for halloWEENS?"
How could I not oblige that perfect request? So with Etsy making her halloween costume, and some consignment store ruby reds, my girl is gonna be the cutest darn dorothy that you ever did see!

How is your autumn looking?

<3

if you were gonna twist my arm....

if you were gonna twist my arm, i would tell you that THESE were my top 5 pictures from my AMAZING photoshoot with Ms. Katie Slater last month.....
seriously....i seriously loved EVERY photograph, and had a very difficult time picking my top 5.
for more favorites, in much better configurations, visit her website. (it wont let me put it in for some reason...my MAC is being fresh.)
She is an amazing artist....i am head over heels.






Enjoy the rest of your summer, my friends! We saw our first golden rimmed maple leaves today.....autumn is approaching!
:)

Meet Ms. Stella.....

Meet Ms Stella Luna.....she is a now 13 week old baby girl Silver Labrador that I got from a breeder in Ohio.
She is a LOVE! a little furry cuddle bug, loves to play, and is pretty smart and quick to pick up commands. She is almost completely housetrained, and is doing fabulous.
Avonlea, Sean and I adore her, and although life is busy with two potty training toddlers (stella & avonlea), life has never been better! :)
enjoy some pics, in no particular order.....