..put peanuts on our front window sill like a certain ten year old boy did, the squirrel will come back.
Every single day.  {No hand feeding allowed though! hello rabies shot.}

…take two little girls to the local nursery,
you will most likely spend a good chunk of your morning discussing which color petunias to plant.

…use your camera inside the Wings and Wheels Museum,
remember to change your ISO setting once you start snapping pictures outside,
or you will have many VERY bright photos. {as seen in below pic! Ha!}

One night Jeff and I were telling the girls “stories from when we were little”.
{It’s what they ask for all the time} My Strawberry Shortcake bike was topic that night. 

We explained and googled…finally Saturday walking around a GorGEOUS neighborhood trying to accomplish 90 garage sales (that didn’t happen! we saw a real live banana seat!
Oh I wanted to buy the bike so badly..but $150! and it was a bit rusty! fuggedaboutit.
Really? $150?

We’ve been spending lots of days outside this past week. So glad spring has arrived.
Flowers, sidewalk chalk, planting, green-house visiting, bike riding, ice cream cones…..
Bring it on! Oh sunshine in my windows..I love it.

Happy Tuesday to you.

This is why.

Perfect crust. that smokey, wood flavor. Pizza perfection.

For as long as I can remember Jeff has wanted a brick oven.
(and his wife would be totally fine with it too
It’s just something we never invested in. They are very expensive and we probably wouldn’t use it ALL the time…although maybe if we had one we would??? 

Not the best picture ever. But it’s us nonetheless. Ha!

We played Bocce Ball.
Us girls against our husbands…we were toast from pretty much the first ball toss.

So thankful for the weather we’ve been having these past couple of days. It has been perfect.
Warm, sunny. Windows open, dirty, dirty little kids at the end of the day. I love it.
Once my windows open all I want to do is clean and be outside. 
Which is pretty much all we’ve done this week…oh, and school.
All of us wanted to skip out, but we stuck to it. I’m proud of myself for that. It’s usually not me. Haha.

Tomorrow is rainy and chilly again. Looks like we’ll be baking.
Hope your week is going well. Happy Wednesday to you.

A song for your weekend. 
HERE 

..and for fashion tip Friday.
Things that shouldn’t be.

“Phat Dude” written above your pocket, and in a size 2XL?
Now, for those of you who don’t know what “Phat” means….{Pretty Hot And Tempting}
I’m sure some woman out there thinks you’re “Phat”,
but there really isn’t a need to let the rest of the world know.

Padding in the upper regions of a little girls size 7 dress.
First off, that neckline…sheesh! Second, Really? REALLY??? Size 7!!! 
{and No! I’m not joking…this was in the little girls section with similar dresses!}

I don’t know if this makes me more angry or more sad.

Salami should not be worn as a face mask.
Just sayin….

It’s going to be warm(ish) and SUNNY!!! this weekend. Finally.
Tonight Jeff and I have a great big date..we’re picking up a new screen door. Tomorrow morning I have plans to take my girls out. (while Jeff installs my new door  Tomorrow night Jeff and I are getting together with my good friends from high school. I can’t wait, I miss seeing them. My girls are happy to have Auntie Caitlin visit for the evening. Jeff’s parents are visiting Sunday after church.

How about you? Big weekend plans?
Happy Friday.

School yesterday took place at the Old Stone School House in Midway Village.
Miss (Auntie) Caitlin was the teacher for the day. Dressed for the part, the kids all loved her.

My girls were in Heaven! What little girl wouldn’t be?
Little House on the Prairie come to life.

They wore their “old fashion” dresses and bonnets.
The denim coat is a bit of a stretch..but it was chilly out.

Their school day was just as it would have been in the early 1900′s.

After school  we took a tour of the town.
The Blacksmith, the Church, the General Store…..

…and all of the kids favorite, The Jailhouse!

I love old houses, and buildings, and antiques.
There were a thousand things I wanted to take home. and a couple of buildings I would love to live in. 

Interesting little fact : The hotel in this old little village used to reside in my town.
They moved it quite a few years ago…wish it were still by us instead.

Hope your week is going well.

Today was (yet again!) chilly and rainy.
The day was spent in sweatshirts and lazy clothes. We finished school pretty early.
We baked Praline Apple Bread from a recipe my Grandma sent in the mail. We loved it.

After seeing a picture on instagram, I was inspired to surprise my girls.
Old albums seem to be all the rage right now.

Sam and I went up into the attic and dug out my old Fisher-Price record player
and a stack of records. Records that I listened to when I was a little girl.

{The record player was a Christmas gift from my Grandma. I was five years old.}

Favorites?  My Strawberry Shortcake records from 1981. (one even has a picture on it)
I remember going shopping with my Mom, she let me pick out any record I wanted.
I chose Strawberry Shortcake’s Exercise and Fun Album.
Maybe I should try working out to that tomorrow. Ha! 

I told the kids to be SO careful because the records are worth SO much!
Then I checked on ebay. $2.99-$8.10.   So much for that retirement plan.
Record investments are not the way to go folks.

It’s still raining. We have a fire in the wood stove. 
Happy evening to you.

An upbeat, Country, Inspirational song for your weekend.
HERE

Today it snowed. hailed. rained. and was windier than windy could be.
and even though our Saturday is only a high of 45…it’s supposed to be sunny! 

From the iPhone.

I don’t need one, but….. {anthropologie}
Why I don’t want to visit the Grand Canyon with my husband and boys. {fearless}
We weren’t supposed to exchange gifts. {he said one rose doesn’t count}
Coffee/Brownie/Strawberry Frap {grocery shopping pick-us-up}
Empty lake, lonely canoes. {hoping soon}
World’s Biggest Strawberry! {my reliable sources tell me}

*What ever happened to those fashion tip Fridays?
Maybe I should bring them back.* 

Happy Weekend.

My youngest three were pretty excited that they had captured a bird taking off from the branch.
“Mom! The bird landed on another bird and then was trying to get off for a minute and then flew off.”

I spared you the actual “trying to get off” photos they took.  
Hmmm…that last sentence can be taken a couple different ways.
Okay, lest the wording of this post becomes too X-rated, we’ll move on.

Pretty much the entire northern half of our state is under water.

Chicago has a sink whole. Three cars fell into it! {Photo Here}
Brookfield Zoo closed for the third time in it’s history. It opened in 1934. {Zoo Info}
My favorite hot dogs in the whole world are under water. {Gene & Judes}

Thankfully we didn’t have any major problems in our house…
except a storm window left open in the bathroom that leaked down the wall.
We’ll just blame the kids for that one. *cough, cough*

The kids spent much of the day playing outside in mist and puddles.
Sophia and two of the little boys next door collected a whole pile of worms.
They named them…Fluffy and Shorty were two of their names. They showed me how cute they were.
(I don’t like worms..unless they are in my garden.  

Happy Thursday to you.

Just a little Miscellaneous Monday with my friend Rachel.
Do you know how many times I had to spell miscellaneous before I got it right? Ha.
It’s one of those words that always stumps me.

We’re still wearing scarves and boots around here. Snow is in the forecast for Friday.
Flurries..but nonetheless, the “S” word has been mentioned.

Saturday morning Sammy spent a while making us fresh squeezed orange juice to accompany breakfast.
It’s time consuming, (when you have seven people to make it for but worth it.

Boston. The runners, after such an accomplishment. The spectators, there to cheer people on.
Such a sad, sad situation. 

I started a new pocket book with my girls today. They loved it. I loved it.
I’ll write more about this another day. 

Much needed haircuts for two boys are happening in my dining room.
(I think their barber is pretty handsome.)

We broke tradition and had pasta for dinner tonight instead of yesterday.
Jeff nearly had a heart attack. It’s the one thing he likes to remain the same..pasta on Sunday.
(who’s the Italian one here?  

….and that’s all the miscellaneous (spelled it right the first time!) I have for today.
Happy new week to you.

I have been reading lovely spring stories of being outside and planting flowers and eating ice cream in sunshine and curtains blowing in warm breezes….all while sitting by my fire-filled wood stove.

Rain falling, wind whipping and a little snow in the forecast for tomorrow.  
Windows still shut from winter and blankets are needed during quiet reading time. 
Inside is cozy. and here we are…..inside.