a mother's note to her max

dear max, 

i've never known such happiness as i've known being your mama. you're just about as wild as can be and i'm loving every second of watching you grow up into a young man. you've made my life a real hoot...a healthy challenge...a joy and an honor having such a boy. and good golly, i can't wait to see what kind of big brother you're going to be! we're all pretty lucky to have each other, you know?

i love you 5x30, such sweet friend!  

and a happy happy mother's day weekend to all of you mamas and mamas to be one day and mama figures to somebody special...it really is something to be celebrated! 

aside from some time spent with my guys, sunday i'm going to soak up as much as i can of my favorite mom's in all the world...my own and my 3 big sisters. anything good i've done as max's mama has been because of those gals....

xoxo

jelly belly

 

yesterday was such a lovely day filled with lots of sweets, church and good singing, a easter bunny boy in a fedora and forever untucked shirt, egg hunts and 4 easter baskets and lots of cackling and shrieking with sisters.

it's always a hoot having the family together...getting to all be together at the house we grew up in...running around after our little ones in the yard. 

 

easter is good to us like that...

 

hoping everyone had a beautiful weekend!

there is much and much to be thankful for...minus the easter candy stomachaches. 

happy monday!

thirteen shmirteen

my sweetest (and 1st) nephew is turning 13 this week! i told him he wasn't allowed to but he seems to be doing it anyhow. 

i can't believe how quickly the time goes! our guy at 13 is quick as a whip and the funniest kid on the block... i'm a forever proud aunt!

 amy and nate are throwing austin a party tonight! i made him weird masks, like party nosferatu, party lemonhead from adventure time, party sloth in a suit, and party mr. meowgi (austin's cat), so all his favorite friends could come along. 

i've always wanted to try making a surprise ball for someone after seeing it on heidi's blog a few years ago...this seemed like the perfect occasion! lots of sweets and funny odds and ends and some money rolled up into a crate paper ball.

oh to be 13 again! 

ugh...or maybe not. haha. 

hoping your weekend is going real swell! 

xoxo

traditions

continuing traditions is one of the things i look forward to most this time of year. 

my favorite is sneaking out with my sisters and mom for our annual first bit of christmas shopping. we've managed to keep this tradition for years now...meeting in tipp city for the town's winter gathering, where all of the shops open up all wrapped and decorated for christmas. there are carolers and santa (this year's santa had the most amazing barrel-curled bangs. ack!) and a horse-drawn carriage. 

every year i end up coming home with new christmas bits for the house...and every year i can't resist putting just a few up. after all, it would be silly to box them up for a week or two, right? right!

oh, how i love the holidays!

i can hardly believe thanksgiving is next week. 

this is a good thing though, because christmas shopping with my girls did nothing to satisfy my decorating itch. 

p.s. we (read: i) couldn't help ourselves. 

max and i definitely cheated and started decorating anyways....

i hope your weekend was a happy one! 

 

xoxo

apple tree farm

i'm sure by now you all are a bit tired of me gushing on and on about fall...but will you indulge me one last post? and i promise to not jump into christmas too soon! but i have to be honest...christmas music is already being played on the radio here! 

(which is a dangerous thing for a gal like me with very little holiday self control)

and if i'm being completely honest, i'd have to tell you that i listen to christmas music all year round, especially if i'm feeling down. it's my happy place. 

but this is supposed to be about fall....

my favorite place to visit this time of year is the apple tree farm!

we've been taking the little ones there for years and years...when they were actually little ones! 

matt and i took max and my nephew and niece this past sunday for a bit of last minute fall romping in hay, getting lost in corn mazes, squealing at baby goats, bumpy hayrides, and warm donuts.

it's been such a lovely fall!

and i'm so happy we got to squeeze in one last bit of fall goodness at the farm.

p.s. besides being a mama, is there anything better than getting to be an aunt? especially when they share your reddest red hair!

pie in the sky

after school milkshake and pie dates are my favorite!

amy and i took her son austin and his little friend out yesterday afternoon. those boys are a real hoot!

p.s. i rekindled my love for peanut butter milkshakes. i'll keep you posted as to whether this is a good thing or not. 

have the happiest weekend, friends. 

xoxo

the fishing hole

it's been a tradition for matt's mama's family to travel north to hillman, michigan to fish at fletcher's pond once a year. they've been doing it for decades now...starting when his mama was a little girl. this was me and max's first year going...and our very first fishing trip ever.

i was a little bit nervous, not knowing what kind of fisherman i would be. but the week turned out to be so much more than fishing...it was seeing sunrises and sunsets, family dinners around the table, evening hammock naps by the water, getting dirty without a care, watching my little guy gain a whole new confidence and sense of self. but more than anything it was about being together. totally present with one another.
i could go for another week of that soon soon soon.
matt and his twin brother todd were the best fishing teachers...me and max were real pros by the end of the week. or anyways, we had a wonderful time. even if we did catch more weeds than fish.

this is my northern pike! my very first catch.
i was going to name it and give it a back story until i finished reeling it in...and realized that pike don't like names. or back stories. they only like having scary teeth and squealing the worst sounding squeals and violently flopping about.
(and yes, that is a complete over-exaggeration...but this is my one and only big fish story...so...)
the incredible mr. limpet (i named him anyways) was too small to be a keeper so we kindly threw him back...back to live at coney island and help win WWII.
don knotts would surely not approve.

it was a beautiful trip...northern michigan is really something!
the stars are bigger than any i've ever seen before.
and the world gained a couple of new fisherman...

p.s. max wanted to tell you all a little bit about his trip!

from mr. max...dictated but not read.
matt teached me how to cast his pole. and i did learn how to cast his pole. when i went on the boat on my last day i caught a bass. and me and matt and todd and me and my mom we were so excited that i caught my first bass! and my mom caught a northern pike. and matt caught two bass. and i missed the place that i spent the day with. i can't wait to go there again next year. and i hope everybody that's already living there has a great time.

xoxo