These Days

I have to admit that over the past few weeks I have slowly started to feel like a new woman.  For the first time since Sydney's started Kindergarten I have had the pleasure of dropping her off to school and having an entire day stretched out before me to do as I please.

These days have taken many forms, some have been wildly unproductive, spending hours on end reading e-mails and blogs and playing on the computer, and some have been structured and busy.  The best days are a mix of the two and I'm fast finding ways to make every day feel like this.

This morning started early with a phone call from my Dad letting me know that my Mom was in the hospital after suffering a serious concussion from hitting her head after slipping on some ice outside.  There were many phone calls back and forth and finally, this afternoon, I got a hold of my Mom at the hospital and was able to chat with her to see how she was doing.  I hate being so far away from her at times like this.  She is on the mend and is hopefully heading home tomorrow. 

I had dubbed today a bit of an organizing day at home.  There are many areas of my house that have been in some state of disorganization for a long, long time.  Many are hidden in cupboards and closets and today I decided to tackle one that had been bothering me for ages, my baking cupboard.

Behold my before picture:

And the after picture:

With a bunch of glass jars and some very cool chalkboard labels my baking cupboard now looks Pinterest-worthy!

It makes me so happy seeing everything so neat and organized!

Yesterday Sydney had early dismissal at school so she and I decided that we'd take advantage of the time and headed into Bellingham to spend the afternoon shopping.

We had the best time wandering through Target and Bellis Fair before having an early dinner at Red Robin and hitting up Trader Joe's before heading home.

I spent a good chunk of my day unpacking this heap of shopping bags from our trip.  We are stocked up for the next few months!  Love it!

We always stop to have a little fun while we're in the states, Sydney loves playing on the riding toys at the mall and with the photo board at Trader Joe's.

And we couldn't head home without a quick stop at Menchie's for dessert..

Sydney and I had another special time together this afternoon after school at Pure Nails while we simultaneously had our nails done.  It was fun!

I am beginning to find my groove with these long school days to fill while Syd's away.  It feels good!


Oh and in case you're wondering what the cover picture is for this posting it is the result of some pretty cool block building by Sydney with some cool new blocks from Splash Toy store that is closing at the end of February here in Dunbar.  We love this shop and are so sad to see it close but are getting some pretty awesome toys and art supplies in the mean time at amazing prices!