31 Days of Savoring: The Season

Symbol of Harvest
(haiku for Writer's Workshop)

Dirt smeared ball of orange
Waiting for someone to pick
Symbol of harvest!

*Linked to Weekend Bloggy Reading and these Parties.

Without Kids?

No children???


Oh, a life of leisure...


No one to stand over the bed breathing at 7 am.  
        On the dot.
                Every single day.


No one to argue over who owns the frog plate.
         Even if there's 10 other plates in the cabinet.
                  Just because sister/brother wants it.


Hours of quietly reading through the library catalogue.
          In front of a fireplace.
                    With MY cup of hot cocoa.


Shoes lined neatly by the door.
          Absence of tracked mud through the kitchen.
                     Coats hung uniformly in the closet.


Ability to be spontaneous, freedom to be available.
            Lunches in fancy restaurants with real crystal.
                      And crisp white clothing.

No "I Love You" post-it notes stuck to the bathroom mirror.

             Strategically place over the finger prints.

                       Written in Mommy's best lipstick.

No excuse to run like a wild man on the beach.

              Throwing sand into the air.

                        While squaking like a sea gull.

Evenings without board games or little league or bedtime stories.

               No whispered "Mommy, I love you" 's.

                         In a quiet, dark night.

Absence of lit-up faces over kitty cats and Christmas lights.

                Days without celebrating new friends and learning to read.

                         No one to pretend house with or bake cookies for.

Scales tip and waver between the good and the missing.

                Less laundry= less laughter

                         Less mess= less memories

                                  Less responsibility= less joy!

MY life without kids= Just LESS!

*Linked to Writer's Workshop, these Parties and Weekend Bloggy Reading

Beach Dreamin'

Dear Summer Beach Vacation,

We miss you!

The days are getting longer.

The weather's getting warmer.

And my toes are itching

to dig in the sand.

The kids have talked about you all year.

They've miss your crashing waves.

Your skipping stones.

Your warm bonfires

and toasty marshmallows.

We're coming!

We're coming!

I know it seems so long to wait,

but we'll be there soon.

We're counting the days

till we see you again.

Sincerely,

A Very Home Sick Family

*Linked to the Writer's Workshop.

Royal Wedding Gift Guide for Dummies

While I'm pressing my dress and sprucing up my hat, I realize that I have yet to purchase a wedding gift for the most celebrated wedding of the century.  In case you've haven't heard, Prince William is finally going to make Kate Middleton his wife.  Although I'm not sure how you couldn't know about it.  I've been at my mom's this week and all TLC is showing is re-runs of the same five shows on the Royal Family.  Blah, blah, blah... Sorry William and Kate, but there's only so much I can take.  How would you like to see re-runs of my family played over and over and over again?  Boring!

Anyways... I do still need to pick up a gift.  Just in case anyone else finds themselves in the same predicament, here's a quick list of the hottest wedding gifts for the happy couple:

(Image Credit)

1. Fancy hat collection--Kate will be expected to keep up with the fashion sense of future mother-in-law, Camilla Parker Bowles.  A replica of this hat will go a long way in getting her started.

2. Royal family tree--Have you seen this guest list?  Who can keep them all straight?  That's one crazy looking family tree.  Kate's certainly going to need a cheat sheet.

3. Driver glasses--Who can forget the horrific crash that took Princess Diana's (William's mother) life?  One of the cited causes for the crash was the relentless paparazzi.  For this young couple, let's all chip in and buy their driver a new pair of sunglasses.  Heck, we can scrap together enough for glasses for William and Kate as well.

4. Disposable camera--Because we know there's just won't be enough photos of this wedding.

5. Royal Fruit Sparklers--Originally dubbed 4th of July Fruit Sparklers, these are sure to be the hit of the buffet line.  The entire royal palace will be raving about them.

6. Princess Paper Dolls--Kate definitely needs a set of these Paper Dolls (@ Living Locurto).  This way she can relive her wedding day over and over again.

(Image Credit)

7. Umbrellas--That's a lovely coach, but with rain in the forecast, I'd suggest a pair of these. 

(Image Credit)

What do you think of my color choice?

8. A copy of Enchanted, Princess Diaries, Cinderella, etc--After all it's not everyday a commoner becomes a princess.

9. A bottle of Tylenol--With Prince Harry throwing the bachelor party, William is sure to need a few for his early morning ceremony.

10. Vaseline-- With that procession through London, both William and Kate will need a little Vaseline on their teeth to keep them smiling.  Ouch.  My face hurts just thinking about it.

So if you've already done your shopping, good for you.  But if you're having a hard time finding the perfect gift for the royal wedding, hope you find this list helpful.  I'm off to go hat shopping!

*This post is a part of Writer's Workshop.