18 summers- no more, no less

Trying to really embrace the concept of only 18 summers right now! She is growing too fast for me to comprehend, too fast for my heart to keep up. Every age and stage brings new challenges and new adventures. 11 is a good age for all the summer fun we have planned right now. I miss naps and her squeaky toddler voice, bathtime shenanigans, and baby snuggles, but now she can choose things, plan things and participate in all the fun things the adults like, too.

Just yesterday she asked how she can help me (I was doing paperwork-boo). I asked her to start the cookies. Low and behold, that kid cranked out 2 dozen chocolate chip cookies with minimal help on measuring or clean up! I finished what I was doing and had one less item on my to-do list. She had sense of ownership and responsibility AND math practice ;) She loves to bake and it was a good break in the rainy day.

18 summers of fun and adventure... We have been to Ohio, Michigan, Florida, zoos, camp trips, flights, day trips, baking days, pj days, no phone zone days, all the things you can think of. This summer is extra special because we have a few big camping trips planned and a family trip out of state. To say we make the most of our summers and our time together is an understatement. We squeeze it all in while still taking rest days, spa days and movie marathon days!

This summer's mother-daughter bucket list looks a bit different. She's been blessed and had many fun opportunities already, but I always let her choose 5 things to do each summer. This summer she has a summer baking day on her bucket list. So, sit around and cook and bake all day??? Basically, the cost of flour and whatever else she can come up with. Sounds good to me!

Here's to a safe and happy summer. Here's to memories and sunscreen and belly laughs that hurt. Here's to inside jokes and new recipes and amazing photos. Here's to #11. And the 7 that remain :(

being a mom means playing detective

For three solid weeks our kid would be fine and fun and dandy until bedtime. Then it would be sneezing, coughing, blowing her nose for a solid 30 minutes. It was enough to drive me insane because we just couldn't figure it out! She was fine all day long. She didn't sniffle once or even come in contact with anyone who was sick. 

My first thought was that she probably needed a good room cleaning. Now that she's taken over cleaning her room (basically to keep me out of there!), my guess is that the dusting is non-existent. I was allergic to dust (and cigarette smoke) as a kid, so I assumed it was the same. Our doctor told us that allergies are a family thing. My klepto style child refuses to get rid of things, so there are piles under the bed of "I can't get rid of this!" stuff.

Finally, after realizing we were seeing a trend on the sneezing, we cranked it into high gear. I tore apart her room the very next day. We vaccuumed base boards, dusted under the bed, back of the closet, cleaned under the dresser (EW!). It was clear that our cleaning lady is slacking on the dusting under furniture. Oh, wait. We don't have a cleaning lady...

At the last minute I also realized she was using a new pillow we had bought about a month ago. And it's down. So we washed and swapped the pillows. My soft fluffy pillow became hers and now I have a new down pillow. And guess what?!?!

She went to bed and not one peep. No sniffles, no snots, no coughs, no drips. Nothing. She woke up happy and rested. So I need to step up the dusting and cleaning baseboards. And no more down pillows! It took almost 3 weeks to realize what was happening but we figured it out and now everyone sleeps just fine. 

Mom=detective