on my walls i would write...

For about a nano second I thought I was going to sit down tonight and throw down some hump day nuggets and mildly pleasing photos from the last few days.  Maybe have a beer or a glass of wine with my nuggets.  I'm so crazy.

No, instead there has been a frantic realization of a 4 minute speech that is due tomorrow.  A speech with a written version, complete with citation page, visual aids (that must be creative and unique) and a costume.  The topic?  Courtship and marriage in the Elizabethan Era.  Which, by the way, is a shockingly unpleasant topic.  Sure, they had fantastically stunning clothing, but as is all too common throughout history, marriage was mostly just a way to sell your daughter to the highest bidder.  Be it a hefty dowry or prestige and honor, girls of that day had a price tag.  It didn't take long for a study of then...to turn into a comparison to now, to morph into a current events lesson.  We took on some heavy topics tonight.

But, 4 hours later...done.  BAM! Moms are magic.  Just so you know.

And now, at 10 PM a round of nuggets seems less like relaxing wine sipping therapy and more like frantic homework.  Since I'm all in high school mode tonight, I'm going to call NOT FAIR that I had to do homework all night instead of chill out like I wanted to.  ~dramatic, exaggerated outrage~

For those who are about to cry foul and shake a finger at me for "doing" her homework....shhhhh.  I wish I was the kind of mom that just did it, it would be easier.  No, in our house it means I get to check sources, proof read, make recommendations, read second, third and fourth versions, insist on more "creative" visual aids, mock score each category to ensure we are catering to the teacher's preferences.

Seriously, give me a diet Rite and some proper 90's metal and I'll make short work of any project.  Or proper 90's dance tunes..."Rhythm is a Dancer" will do the trick.

And now here she is with geography homework.  We need a postcard that represents Sweden and it's most well known geographic feature.

::

Remember this little piece of inspiration?



We return to it tonight to finish this:

On my walls I would write...

love song lyrics 

hear beats fast

colors and promises

how to be brave

how can I love when i'm afraid to fall

but watching you stand alone

all of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow

one step closer

i have died everyday waiting for you

darling don't be afraid 

i have loved you for a thousand years

i'll love you for a thousand more

promises to my daughters.  I promise to always be brave and fight the good fight

our love story <3

i own my past, it is what makes me who i am today

strong is sexy, soft is sexy, being a great partner is sexy, so is having an opinion

you can't have it all, i know my priorities

i will dance wherever i want

i can't live without music

i miss the inner circle


twing
hot thomalla
tt

I'd love to know even one thing you would write on your wall.  It's late, go ahead and share, it's just us girls here anyway:)

Only 2 minutes until it's tomorrow. Homework is done and this momma is feeling quite accomplished tonight.

WOOT!  XOXOXOXOXOXO

Almost Gone

Waves...fake waves through the filter of a baby monitor..can be surprisingly soothing.  I should be writing furiously or furiously editing photos...doing something furiously, while Liam takes his afternoon nap.  Instead I sit here drifting off to the sound of a fake ocean.  Everyone is out of the house, cramming in last minute summer fun, which leaves me to my own summer fun. A quiet house, an early afternoon beer, no cooking or cleaning and the giddy anticipation of my girlfriends coming over later for drinks on our new deck.  

Liam says the deck was the best part of the summer

The best part of the summer for me?

waking up on the farm

Everything about being on the farm.




Annika wearing great grandpa's red hoodie....

Pretty scarves to cover summer hair (who wants to do their hair on a hot day?)

The naked legs and feet of all my girls...my mom, Annika and Autumn.  Their laughter as they desperately attempt to get their feet in the line of the cool air conditioning.

Backyard storming chasing with baby boy and my honey.  

 

I'm a fall girl, so much so I named my first born Autumn.  And right now, choked by the end of summer stifling heat and humidity, it is tempting to lock myself in my house, turn up the ac and ride out the rest of the summer.  But then I would miss the transition.  The canning of pickles, green beans, salsa and jam.  School supply shopping, new backpacks, shoes and art supplies.  Spreading out the gear the night before to label everything with a new Sharpie (can we talk about how addictive Sharpies are?) The last month for sundresses, flip flops and barefoot walks with our Swissy.  Yes better to brave the summer's last assault...face it head on and beat it back with one more tube of watermelon lip gloss!!

One of the "inner circle" just sent me a text..."Sparkly Tracy."  She is having an impromptu end of summer bbq...true story. It's a sign from summer, an invitation to don my pigtails and the blue cotton dress I just bought on clearance (end of summer sales you know...75% off!)  

Off I go, baby in one arm, camera in the other, to sit one last time in the late, late afternoon sun, drinking and laughing with friends.

Summer's almost gone
Summer's almost gone
Almost gone
Yeah, it's almost gone
Where will we be
When the summer's gone? 

The Doors