A day in the life.

Life with two kids=never a dull moment. Case in point:

* I was getting Elijah dressed for school this morning and I couldn't understand why they would include such thick socks with a summer outfit. It wasn't until we got to school and one of his socks fell off that I realized that I forgot to take the cotton out of the toes. Oops.

* Harrison hates going to school this morning. The only time that he gets into the car without a fight is when I promise to stop at "Doctor Mark's" (the gas station) on the way. Mark - who owns the gas station - always comes over and talks to Harrison in the mornings, and Harrison is in awe of the cars in the garage. By the time we leave the gas station, he is grinning from ear-to-ear, and I feel like a hero - at least until I have to leave him at school and he starts crying, "Don't go, Mommy!"

* This afternoon, I picked the kids up after school. Harrison was playing outside in the sandbox with his friends. He comes up to me with a weed and said, "I picked this flower for you, Mommy!" My heart melted. On the way home, he asked if he could hold my flower, and I gave it to him. We get into the house, he sees hubby, and says, "I picked this flower for you, Daddy!" Traitor.

* The second I picked up baby Elijah this afternoon, he broke into the biggest smile ever. Made my day.

Now Harrison is in bed and Elijah is asleep on my lap, and all is well. Ready for more adventures tomorrow...

In defense of summer.

Sometimes, I feel like I am the only person on the planet who doesn't love summer. My hair gets frizzy way too easily. Mosquitos and other bugs creep me out. And I would choose sweaters and jeans over bathing suits and shorts any day.

But summer does have (a few) good qualities. Swimming. Taking baby Elijah for long walks. Enjoying a cold drink outside at night.

As baby Elijah and I took our evening walk today under a beautiful sunset, I thought about summer's redeeming qualities. And I realized that summer was the backdrop of some of the best times of my life. Like:

- the summer before my senior year of college. I lived on campus as an RA, worked a part-time job at a bagel place, and spent all of my free time with my friends, hitting the Morristown bars (especially the Palm Grill). My favorite days were Sundays spent down the shore with Marie. We would stop at Quik Chek and grab some lunch, then hit the beach together - getting tans and avoiding jellyfish in the ocean. We would come home tanned and exhausted. Awesome times.

- the summer after my senior year of college, when Ari and I started dating. There is nothing like summer love - or even a summer crush. Again, I was working part-time and enjoying my last summer between college and adulthood. I spent time with friends - but I also spent a lot of time getting to know Ari. We would take weekend trips, go out for ice cream at Denville dairy, and spend evenings watching movies and talking until we fell asleep.

So, while I would prefer to skip over summer altogether (fall has cooler weather, cuter clothes and apple picking!), I guess that it isn't all bad. As long as I can skip the frizzy hair.