the empty harbor ...

regular readers are sure to know how much the ocean plays into our lives here in my little seaside town.  we have a harbor well-known by sailors around the world and in the summer it fills up from shore to shore with boats of all shapes and sizes ... 

this is my little ladybug on the left in her sailboat, taking lessons in the 'shallow end' of the harbor a couple of years ago ... you can see what is literally like a parking lot of boats all attached to their moorings throughout the harbor behind her ...

it's an astounding number of boats packed into the harbor, isn't it?!

but by the time the frigid new england winter rolls around, all the boats are gone - pulled out, shrink-wrapped, and stored away on land ... only about five boats remain in the harbor at this time of year - rugged working boats used by fishermen and lobstermen ...

so imagine our surprise this afternoon when we looked across the empty harbor to see this beautiful and most unexpected surprise ...

grainy phone camera shots, but shots nonetheless ... shots of a gorgeous swan quietly busying herself - all alone - in the very same shallow end of the harbor where beginner sail lessons take place in the busy bustling summers ... all the white dots you see out in the harbor are the empty moorings where boats tie up all summer long ...

it was so quiet, so serene, so peaceful ... the little ladybug and i pulled over and spent a good 15 minutes on the shore, just silently watching her as she reached underwater with that long neck and came back up without a sound, gliding along the surface so smoothly she left no wake behind her ...

what a wonderful moment with my ladybug ...

~

the swan in the pool is singing

and up and down doth he steer

and singing gently ever

dips under the water clear

~heinrich heine~

looks like someone's gonna need a new ...

... team jersey for Super Bowl Sunday ... 

hard to believe that just 3 months ago, she fit into that exact same jersey with room to spare ... 

and now it barely passes for a kerchief ...

our sweet baby Isabel is growing up
♥

playoffs weekending ...

we aren't exactly what i'd call a "sports" family over here ...

and although they are 100% dedicated to their skating each winter ...

and their sailing each summer ...

team sports have never been a favorite for the ladybugs.

so the whole culture of team sports just isn't a part of our lifestyle ...

thus it seems somewhat ironic that we live in what might be

the #1 sports fanatic town of all times ...

manbug is certainly dedicated to his hometown teams ...

he grew up here in 'titletown' with two brothers to share it all with -
back in the heyday with boston legends like bobby orr, larry bird, and cam neely ...
 how could he not be?!

but without any sons, i think poor manbug
figured he would be all alone when it came to rooting for his hometown teams ...

but somehow, the manbug was able to bring our youngest up as a diehard Patriots fan ...

you might recall that her big christmas gift last year was a pair of tickets

to see their beloved Patriots play.

but our season ended shortly after that game last year ...

another year of heartbreak ...
it's been all about the heartbreak ever since that dreaded superbowl loss in 2008 ...
in fact, we still cannot speak of that game -
it still stings ...

so you can only imagine the anticipation as our Patriots advanced 

with each passing january weekend this year ...

only to arrive at the final four this past weekend ...
excitement abounded!

so little ladybug channeled her energy as only she can do ...

it's a patriots floral arrangement ...

made from her own drawings fastened to pipe cleaners and arranged in a vase ...

the #12 jersey, the super bowl trophy, a helmet, the pats logo ...

and, of course ...

football flowers ...

an artist and a football fan all at once ...
how can you not love that?!

soooo hoping that the Patriots don't let my little ladybug down on super bowl sunday ...

{thankful for}
1.  the creativity that pours from my children
2.  hometown team in the super bowl
3. the 59-degree record-breaker today (!)
4. housebroken puppy
4.  a smart puppy who gets it right 99% of the time
5.  tuesday nights with the girls - it means make-your-own pizzas and a dvr'd cake boss!

halfsies ...

It would appear that January is not going to be the quiet dull month I had hoped for ...  my 7th grader has a homework load that keeps her working late late late ... Manbug's feeling stress with his work too, office politics are especially volatile right now ... even the little ladybug is feeling an extra load as she learns to juggle her schoolwork with her extras ...

See the math homework peeking out from underneath that Girl Scout cookie order sheet?  After she totaled the orders and finished the math sheet, she still had weekly spelling-word sentences and a Spanish vocab quiz to study for ... sheesh!  Was I ever juggling that much at age ten?!

With everyone feeling the squeeze, is it any wonder that my desk piles have gotten so out of control that there are now overflow piles that reside on the floor ...

It's a sad state of affairs.  Manbug is not pleased ... heck, I am not pleased ... but I've vowed to take back control this weekend.  Seriously, I'm locking myself in and beating down the piles.  And it's gonna feel sooooooo good!  Sad to admit, but I'm actually super excited about it ....

But I have to say ... and it's really true ... that in spite of all that we've each got on our plates right now, I think that my newly adapted resolution to have us all start each day with a positive thought has been incredibly beneficial - like yoga for the soul ...

This morning's positive thought was easy ... it's big ladybug's half birthday today!

Fast forward 20 seconds ...

Here's another positive thought ...

I mean, seriously, how does this dog keep getting cuter?!


{thankful for}
1.  my amazing half-birthday girl  ♥
2.  girl scout cookies
3.  sunny skies
4.  getting the jcrew puffer coat i've been wanting for half price (woot!)

ten on ten - no, seriously ...

no joke ... i actually did a ten on ten ... instead of just talking about it ... or doing a 12 on 12 ... or forgetting it altogether ...

the only unfortunate thing was that there just couldn't have been a more dull day to document!  for me, yesterday was a much-needed stay-at-home day to catch up on all of the things that got set aside in the chaos of last week ... i paid bills, i did mountains of laundry, i posted a blog entry, i baked muffins, i actually never left the house at all with the exception of the school runs ... 

but dull or not, i played along ... so here goes ...

mid-morning muffin cleanup ...

love this sweet face ...

just me and the bills ...

and the laundry ... 

carpool line ... clearly, the highlight of isabel's day

i love this sweet face too ...

goldfish and long division for homework ...

little ladybug solved a couple of rush hour cards after dinner ... she is amazingly skilled at these puzzles!

meanwhile my oldest is working on the 'stay' command with the pup ... check out at that focus!! 

puppy school was followed by some pre-bedtime playtime

and there you have it ... as dull as watching paint dry ... but there it is ...

slammed ...

i'm not gonna lie ... last week was tough.  our re-entry back to the reality of schedules and alarm clocks and jobs and chores and homework and carpools - after such a blissfully quiet and relaxed holiday - was b.r.u.t.a.l.  no one in this house was happy.  appetites were slim as sleepy faces dragged in for a sunrise breakfast each morning ... and attitudes were even worse ...

(image via sodahead.com)

as the weekend finally arrived, we all felt like we'd been completely trampled by the work week.  big ladybug started a tough new trimester filled with stepped up academic demands on top of her daily after-school play practice.  little ladybug has just one week left for her GS cookie sales and now realizes she's fallen way behind.  i've got two huge due dates this month for a major volunteer job that will require hours and hours of work to complete.  and toughest of all, manbug will be facing some unprecedented challenges at his office that will likely result in his departure from the company.  let's just say restructuring's a bitch ...

it's no wonder i lost all control as household ceo last week... 1st-of-the-month bills were still lying unpaid, the week's worth of mail was stacked and unopened, to-do lists were scribbled onto the corners of loose scrap papers stuffed into my wallet, calls and emails were going unanswered.  meals and laundry were just about it on the productivity meter!  i'm here to tell you ... it was bad.  and i was sinking fast ...

-----------------------------------------------------------

... so this week it's time for a change ... i've been so inspired by cindy's gratitude list at the end of each post that we've vowed to at least start each day with a similar plan: to share at least one positive thought at the breakfast table - with the hopes that it will set the course for a positive day ... because after all ... 

image via pinterest

i admit yesterday was a challenge - monday mornings aren't exactly a welcome guest in this house - but we managed a couple of mediocre positive thoughts ... better than nothing (my positive item was that they had at least participated - which was a nice change from the cookie monster attitude above!) ... and guess what?  monday went ok!  and this morning was even better on the enthusiasm scale:  it's an art day for little ladybug at school, big ladybug was excited to be wearing a new outfit from christmas, and tonight's dinner is 'make your own pizza', when we'll catch up on last night's "Next Great Baker" ... and there was more!  the biggest gratitude item of all was that we woke up to a huge surprise ...

just the lightest dusting of snow ... but totally unexpected, which resulted in big smiles ... plus it was the first of the season and thus even more welcome ... and what's cuter than isabel's little pawprints in the snow?!

so now ...

as cindy does ...

{thankful for}

1.  the power of positive thoughts

2.  good health when so much is going around right now

3.  no grocery run today

4.  the colors of sunrise reflected on snow-dusted lawns

5.  a housebroken puppy

new years weekending ...

well, it was definitely a different vibe from our christmas weekending ...

and a complete 180 from last year's new year, too, for that matter ...

in short, it was a lazy lazy stay-at-home new year's weekend for us ...

you may remember that we are fortunate enough

to have an every-other-year bonus arrangement

of traveling to Aruba for the New Year ...

to join my mother and her husband

at his time-share condo on the beach ...

but this year it was his children's/grandchildren's turn to join them ...

so we enjoyed a staycation this time around ...

and, honestly, it was heaven-sent ...

chillaxing and recharging were high ...

and productivity was low ...

unless, of course, you're a certain little ladybug ...

er, I mean, Cake Boss Junior ...

this little ladybug took her christmas gifts and hit the ground running ...

she followed Buddy's recipe and instructions to a T ... and it was absolutely fabulous!

way to go, sweet ladybug :)

for the record, her wish to "let it snow" did not come true ...

in fact, there were days that hit the 50 degree mark ...

not that this particular Floridian is complaining or anything ...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!