F is for French Fries

French fries? Yea, I know. Rather pathetic.

BUT, let me explain.

I had some good ideas for "F." "Friday," "favorites" (I even had Mason go around the house and take photos of his favorite things. Too bad I never got around to uploading those pictures!), "family," "football," "fall," . . .seriously, I had some good ones.

And then Dad showed up.

My dad is so awesome. He is fun-loving, energetic, full of happiness, easy to get along with, and has the best heart. He loves his family and my mom like crazy, and possesses a unique ability to be simultaneously goofy and respectable. He also eats junk food like a kid and will use any excuse he can conjure up to ditch his normal diet of yogurt and carrots for something yummier. I think he would even trade his firstborn for a bowl of ice cream. (WAIT, that's ME! Dad, don't trade ME!!) Anyway, Dad and I were upstairs with the kids, just catching up and hanging out, and Mason was writing the letter "f" on his little chalkboard. I was trying to be all educational when Dad said "you know what 'f' is for? FRENCH FRIES!"

Thanks, Dad.

So, clearly, that had to be followed with an outing to McDonald's for Happy Meals. There was just no way around it at that point! I'm pretty sure Dad was secretly jumping for joy when he heard me say it was "f" day. He had a plan the whole time! Clearly, Mason wasn't too upset about the turn of events.

I'm fairly certain Brody would have voted for "F is for Fall" so we could show off our festive decorations, but he didn't seem too upset either. He got some "Mommy Time" while Grandpa and Mason went to McDonald's.

And I even got a salad delivered. I think that's a pretty good FRIDAY.

"BOO!" to you!

The air is cool, the season is fall,

soon Halloween will come to all.

Ghosts and goblins, spooks galore. . .

tricky witches at your door.

The spooks are after things to do,

in fact, a spook brought this "BOO" to you!

The excitement comes when friends like you

copy this note and make it TWO.

We'll all have smiles on our faces

when we see who "BOO-ed" whose places!

I got "BOO-ed" by my creative and spunky friend Lauren at Doodles by Lauren. Now I'm "BOO-ing" you:



1. Lara at Scrapbook Sussies. Not only is Lara one of my best friends, but she also runs an incredible scrapbook kit club and posts super cool paper crafting ideas. Love it! And love her!

2. Karen at Hello World! Photography. Karen is a wonderfully talented photographer who specializes in tasteful and precious birth photos. AND she's my neighbor and friend. AND she photographs my kids. AND the stories on her blog are so well written. She's the best.

3. Amy at Mod Podge Rocks. Because, well, Mod Podge DOES rock. And so do Amy's ideas. I use them all the time!



Keep the festivities going by following these instructions:

1. Cast your spell within the next 24 hours!

2. Copy the poem and instructions for playing.

3. Pick 2-3 blogs you enjoy visiting, explain why you like visiting those blogs, & remember to link back to me.

4. Go to the original BOO PARTY post at The Tattered Cottage and add your MckLinky.



Happy Halloween!

P.S. What's a MckLinky? Guess I'd better find out, huh?

The SUN and the SAND and a DRINK in my hand. . .

Question: "What could possibly be more wonderful than a weekend at the beach with a group of girlfriends?"

Answer: "Not a whole lot."

Some fun {and some FUNNY} memories from our weekend on Fort Myers Beach:

• watching the amazingly beautiful sunset each evening


• Kelly saying, "consider yourself warned, but your son is going down!" (she meant "sun," but Megan interpreted it as "son". . .not as funny in print as in real life!)


• the "Nelly Furtado" Pot (as in a Neti Pot...NOT marijuana pot!! SERIOUSLY, people!!)


• Jamie and me getting a lesson in the natural habitat of sand dollars from a six-year old


• Megan's version of Beyonce's dance (whoa, oh, oh, ohohoh, whaoh, oh, oh)


• those ridiculous rumrunners at Top O'Mast


• sharing iPods and laughing about shared memories from college


• being kicked out of a 7-11 for loitering (yes, for real)

And the best memory of all? Getting to just be "us" for a few days and not be SAHMs or working moms or wives or neighbors. We got to be friends, be relaxed, and be "us."

Fall is in the Air

How much fun is this? A FREE event at a local nursery . . .complete with a pumpkin decorating station,

sidewalk chalk, "goo," and a flower-planting table,

and an unusually content baby.

I'd vote that's a LOT of fun for all!