Today was pretty swell. I could not have asked for better weather. Slightly overcast, cool at about 70 degrees... perfect! I just love not having to have the AC on, having the windows open and being able to enjoy the outside. I was pretty lazy this morning but finally got my house picked up and laundry started. Baily's friend Amber came over to play for a while so that was fun for her. A little exhausting for me though. Later on after we walked Amber home Patty came over and helped me weed the yard, trim it up and take back the crazy monster and turn it into a nice tree/bush. It was sooo overgrown and looks so much nicer. I'm finding that I love yardwork and I love that I have Patty right across the street and always willing to help me out with my yard and teach me what I know nothing about about trees and flowers and all that kind of yard stuff. After she was home it was the dinner rush. Why do I feel like my days are ruled by dinner time? It creeps up on me and is so much work. The prepping, cooking, fighting with my kids to eat, cleaning. Oy.
After that we just chillaxed, I got J to sleep and me and Baily watched tv. Here's a pic of her with a sweatshirt on and a warm blanket because she got cold. Cold!! On June 20th!! I LOVE it!! Anyway, we watched this new show called Battle of the Superstars or something and I LOVE it. It's teams made up of a celebrity and a pro athlete doing different physical challenges. LOVE it! Baily loved it too and kept saying how she can't wait to do that stuff when she grows up. My favorite team is Julio Iglasias Jr. (I tend to lean toward the Latinos;) and Brandi Chastain, an amazing soccer player (go figure). After B went to sleep it's been computer time. I really should finish cleaning up my kitchen and doing laundry but I REALLY don't feel like doing it. My man just got home and I would really rather chill and watch tv with him. It's the last day of the first half of the year so I'm really going to try to make this 2nd half even better and work on becoming a better me... goals and all! So here's to a happy new 2nd half of the year!!
Today was a pretty good start to the 2nd half of the year. I woke up feeling extremely tired and weak, like I've been feeling for weeks now, but really wanting to have a productive and good day. So I prayed my heart out to have strength to get done what I wanted to get done and I know 
Heavenly Father helped me today. I picked up my house, finished laundry, got my floors swept, mopped and vacuumed in the whole house and my bathrooms scrubbed from top to bottom. Whew! That felt good. It took a lot of time but my kids were awesome today with Baily playing in her own pretend land for a good chunk of time and J taking a 2 1/2 hour nap (he must 
be going through a growth spurt or something). Later we enjoyed a snack of delicious fresh cherries. Yum! Then I was able to run a quick errand and make dinner and then just relax for a bit after dinner. I finally got to watch So You Think You Can Dance since it's been the Top 20. 
This has been and is my favorite show since it first started. I've had to work on Wednesdays and Thursdays for the last couple of weeks so it's been killing me to miss it. I know this is gonna sound dorky but I get so emotional every time I watch this show. I've said it before and I'll say it again... dancing must be the calling I missed in life. It just speaks to my soul and touches me in a way nothing else can. I love the beauty and universality of the movement and rythym. I just LOVE this show. Before we watched the show though I decided to make this snack that I saw on Paula Deen's show (I LOVE her!) on Food Network (LOVE Food Network!) a 
while ago that looked so yummy and let me tell you... 
YUM! 
It 
was sooo good. It's called pretzel/ peanut bark 
and the combination of the sweet and salty- to die for! I've posted the link to the recipe at the bottom so you should totally try. Easy and delicious. (I used a 12 oz. bag of white choc. chips though instead of the squares and don't overheat the chocolate!) After I got J to sleep and after Robert got 
home Baily and I (she's my little chef helper- she loves to help mommy bake!) decided to make another recipe I've been meaning to make for a while... banana nut muffins. I used another recipe from Food Network, this time from Tyler Florence. They turned out good tasting but I think my baking soda may be expired or may be baking powder because they were a little too dense. At least they taste good though. This post has a lot about food huh? What can I say? I love food! Today was just a sweet day. I really enjoyed putting Baily to sleep tonight too. Her prayers were so sweet and she's just such a sweetheart. Oh how I love my sweet girl! Life really can be as sweet as a bowl of cherries sometimes... if only I take the time to stop and enjoy it!
This is Baily playing on the computer on nickjr.com. She loves it and she's so dang smart!
Robert finally got his basketball hoop in his driveway. Wahoo! Now if only we had more people to play with.
