I think, as a mom, there are few things as precious as your 2-year-old sound asleep in her bed with a book in her lap.

Learning to Suck it Up and Move On

I had just opened a brand-new box of cereal and set it on the counter after serving this little angel when...oops! I don't know how it happened, but somehow, the box was on the ground with all the contents dumped out! ARRRGGHHHHH! I wanted to yell, but instead I grabbed my camera...thank God for the gift of laughter, He helps me through so much of my day with that single gift!
So I asked her calmly and nicely to please pick them up...ALL OF THEM, and put them back in the box..."Okay, Mommy...sowry...(then this, with a nice musical tune to it) clean up, clean up...bodys ev-where....(supposed to be "everybody everywhere") So I can't help but smile...but it was apparently far to slow to pick them up one by one so she looked at me and put one finger up and said,

"Just a minute, be right back...and went to get the vacuum, brought it back and asked me to plug it in. She sucked up a few, giggled at the crackle as they shot through the hose and had a blast sucking up all the rest.

She even got me to join in and help her finish, and don't tell anyone, but I kind of enjoyed the crackle of the cereal, too...I'd never dumped a whole box of Cheerios out before and sucked 'em all up with a vacuum, pretty cool, I must admit! So my lesson learned? When life gives you spilled Cheerios, suck it up and laugh at it.

Signs that FALL has arrived...

Mom starts baking a lot more...(these are noodles I'm making for chicken soup, it's just how my Mama did it growing up)

The beautiful waterfall gets covered up with a tarp (to keep leaves out). ..

Flaminguito rakes the leaves...

Daddy bird comes home with a deer!

She calls me Mommy...
You can call me "Magic Mama"
I can turn this...

into this...

With only two hands, a brush and a little help from my friend, Curious George.

Ta da!