S is for....

Today, my two teenagers attend school for the last time before summer break...
In honor of this exciting event,
I've written an acronym especially for the occasion...

Snacks... be prepared, because you will go through 5 million of these, possibly more, as you feed your kids... their friends... and sometimes, their friends' friends...
There's nothing you can do to stop it...
a padlock for the pantry might slow them down...
but not much...

UV Rays, as well as the following types;
UVA, UVB, and sometimes even UHF (if the cable goes out)...
all speeding up our aging process and causing our dermatologists to dream of the next big ticket item that they'll soon be able to afford...
(like a Mercedes or maybe this year, a month long trip around the world... the sky's the limit!)
due to all of those rays...
(well, except for the UHF ones...)


More "together time" than you might actually be prepared for...


Main Hangout for sleepovers, as well as xbox marathons...
All husbands hate these...
Moms know, that at your own house,
you know what all the kids are up to,
which is really our secret weapon...
Shhhhh! Don't tell!!!


Endless begging to be driven here, there, and everywhere in between...
Always done with outstretched hands, palms up, for the money that they
will be constantly asking you for because they "need" it!
Hey! I need it too! You know, to replenish the snack cupboard!


Ranting and raving...
It's what all real moms begin doing approximately 2 to 3 weeks into summer...
Mostly due to all of the extra cleaning and grocery shopping that we are forced to do...
But we still have a part of us...
like our heart...
that's happy that our tadpoles are hanging out
for the summer, in the pond, with their mama frog!

Everything's Coming Up....

I love this time of year!
Of course, here in Florida, flowers can bloom all year round...
But around this time, during this season...
Everything's coming up roses...(Think-Ethel Merman style)

That is, if I HAD roses...
which I do not...
But I DO have these in my yard...

Hibiscus!!

I also have an enormous one of these flowering plants...



Bougainvillea!!


I should probably mention, that since I got my new camera... I can't stop taking pictures of

My Sunflowers!!

Which by the way, I never planted... they just sprouted on their own...
It's a great mystery at our house, and we all have our own theories of their origins, ranging from "yard fairies" to my personal favorite, "God just put them there, cuz he knows you like them"(Grandson#1's theory)


I took this shot at my friends house...
It's of those other cool flowers that
I don't actually know the name of...




But they are really pretty...

To be honest, as much as I LOVE flowers, I am actually horticulturally challenged...
I work much better with flour than with flowers...
I'm fantastic in the kitchen...
Not so much so, in the garden...

But as you can see, I'm very fortunate to:

a. Live in a place where beautiful plants thrive on their own, without my help
b. To be host to garden fairies who like to surprise me with plants I didn't ask for
c. Have an awesome Grandson who reminds me from time to time how simple faith can be...