on my radar

dear readers, i have so much to tell you about; mystery girls trip, my recent spa day, a mini-camp with wee volunteer, plus a whole slew of goodies i've been saving for this and that.

but for now i will just leave you with a song.

you see, my big boy had his adenoids out this morning. so we are at home taking it easy. (side note: parents, always, always trust your gut.  ben has been a mouth-breather his entire life, and the older he got, the more problems it caused with the quality of his sleep.  i expressed a concern to his dr. long ago, who kind of swept our concerns under the rug.  eventually, we had to get a second opinion to confirm that in fact, his adenoids were incredibly large and impeding his breathing.  we are looking forward to meeting the well-rested version of benjamin).

what was i saying?  oh yes, the song.

i. am. obsessed.

i haven't been this in love with a song in a while.  while i love this artist's first single, take me to church (ben and i love to sing it at the top of our lungs in the car), the radio plays it approximately 42 times an hour.  this is hozier's second single, from eden.  it's still new and not over-played.  yet.

turn it up, friends.

have a fantastic weekend, lovers.  

i'll catch you on the flip-side.

love,

coco

p.s. here is a video we have already watched four times today on youtube, per ben's request.  he wants to grow his hair out, and i think jack white may be part of the reason ;)

greatest hits

hi booboos.  whatcha doing?  me?  i am sitting here in gym clothes eating hot spinach/artichoke dip for lunch.  doing my best to negate my work out one meal at a time.  i sure am glad it's friday.  you?

here's a peek at our week.

1) this boy.  oh, this boy.  he now insists upon carrying his "pack-pack" everywhere.  it's full of dvd's, in case you are wondering.

 you know that mom you see chasing her toddler who is running away from her (screaming) at full-speed, only stopping to turn his head to make sure mom is still chasing?  you know the one, she's usually sweating, using her stern voice (and promising herself in her head that once she catches the running child, she will not beat him in front of the gym full of people at mommy-and-me gymnastics class).

she's the one whom you lock eyes with and give an empathetic smile to, all while wondering to yourself why she has no control over her banshee child.

let me introduce myself.  my name is cortney and i was that mom on tuesday.  we lasted 15 minutes in gymnastics.  

 good thing he is cute.  seriously.

 2) trader joe's has been in east dallas for a month or two now, and i must say, i love it so, so much.  i walked into supertarget the other day and i felt guilty.  i'm sorry supertarget, i've started seeing someone else.  it's not you, it's me.  and the dark chocolate almonds.  you don't have those.  tj's does.  sometimes a break-up is as simple as that.

 3) i remembered i had these empty bins in the garage immediately after i remembered a little trick i saw on pinterest long ago.  have your kids finger paint in the bin.  genius, really.  clean-up: a dream.

 below: he's just looking for shit to touch.  naughty.

 4) i got love notes "hidden" throughout the kitchen from my big boy.  sweet angel boy.

looking forward to my training run (haha!!! just kidding.  dreading it.) and hanging out with my main squeeze tomorrow night.

how was your week?  what are you looking forward to?

love,

coco

bye-bye baby

just like that my baby became a fuzzy-headed toddler, who became a little boy with a fierce love of dinosaurs/trains/elephants/gorillas/ninjas, who then became a kindergartener.  like, in the blink of an eye.

next up: junior high, puberty and prom.

i'm not ready.

this morning ben's excitement turned into a nervous confidence as he entered his classroom.  he did great and didn't bat an eye when it was time to say good-bye (which is really all you can wish for as a parent).  i, on the other hand, had to walk out of the building in silence, for if i opened my mouth to speak, i would have gurgled instead.

i am a crier.  i cry when i am angry, happy, scared, frustrated, and apparently when my child starts kindergarten (and pre-school and mother's day out.  whatever.)  today was no different, even though i am so excited for him and he is so ready and i am so ready and he loves his teacher.

never in a million years did i anticipate missing thomas the train this much.

miss holford.  an aggie.  whoop! 

we suck at the self-timer. 

my sister-in-law shared this article by beverly beckham with me.

this part kills me:

September whisks kids away and entertains them and beguiles them, but returns them not as they were but changed and in a different size. That’s why parents cry as they stand and wave goodbye. Because first grade becomes fifth grade becomes high school becomes college even as you watch.

How is this, I wonder, that a day alone with a colicky baby and an I-don’t-take-a-nap-anymore 2-year-old can feel like a year? But 18 years can go by in a blink of an eye? 

 click here to read the rest.

are you plagued with the crying gene like me?  how do you cope with big changes?  

the newest kinder-mom on the block,

coco

normal day

via

i was reading cup of jo today and read a quote that brought tears to my eyes.  she applied it to motherhood, but i don't think you have to be a mother to understand it.  these days we get bored with, the days that seem tedious and monotonous and sometimes lonely, are days we will one day long for.  may i always be grateful for these "normal" days.

“Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.”

― poem by Mary Jean Irion