Wow, where did the last month go?

Hubs has been gradually adjusting to his new job.  Which means C-bug and I have been gradually adjusting back to our routine.  She still has a few weeks before Pre-K starts.

I've been gearing up for my Mama's Group to resume next month.  Being on the leadership team means involvement year round, even though the group officially takes the summer off from meeting.

And now Hubby and I are trying to go hard-core into home improvement projects that we've put on the back burner for awhile.  Our to-do list is massive, but we're trying to tackle one thing at a time.  We've been working hard in this heat, so I finally got around to making my first batch this summer of my iced coffee concentrate.



I posted a pic on Instagram and Facebook, and I know ya'll wanted the recipe, so here goes!


Brew a pot of extra strong (2-3x) coffee (I did 10 scoops of espresso beans with 20 oz. of water).

Mix with 1/2 cup sugar (I put in less), and 1/2 cup flavoring syrup (I do a combination of Hershey's chocolate and caramel, but I would imagine you could do something like Torani syrups), and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Whisk it.  Whisk it real good.

Pour into a mason jar and store in fridge.  When you're ready for a glass, pour over ice about a cup of milk and a 1/3 cup of coffee concentrate (make sure to shake the jar first to mix it well).  Feel free to experiment with your preferred ratio.



I've tried it with different flavored coffee beans and different kinds of milk (coconut, almond, etc.).

In all honesty, I don't know if I should call this Iced Coffee or Iced Mocha.  Regardless, it's good, quick, and easy!  Let me know if you try it and if you experiment with different syrups and flavors!

Feel free to follow me at the links below, where I post a lot more than here lately!  For example, did you know I finished the gallery wall that I've been planning for months?!?  Hmm, maybe I should write a blog post on that sometime.  Maybe in 2017.

Facebook:  Very Sleepy Girl
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Um, Summer?

Yah, you over there, Summer Break.

I know it feels like you just got here and all.

But, um, I'm also very aware that you're scheduled to leave soon.
REALLY soon!
Two weeks, which will, no doubt, fly by!

In fact, this is your shortest stay with our family.

And it's leaving me kind of heartbroken.

I want to hold tight to the memories we've made:

swimming lessons at the local pool, our little inflatable backyard pool, three Vacation Bible Schools, family trip to Virginia, soccer, icee pops, overnight trip to Syracuse (Indiana, not New York), anniversary getaway to Michigan, coffee chats, Tuesdays at the park, ice cream outings...

And yet I look at the little Summer Bucket List I wrote out in May, and nothing is crossed off.  Literally nothing.

0/10

So, Summer, can you do me a favor?

Can you maybe come back for little visits on the weekend?
Can we say not "goodbye", but "see you later"?
Can we keep this relationship going here even past the start of a new school year?
Cuz the truth is, I really like you.  We all do.  I think we've got a good thing goin' on together, and there's so much more we want to experience with you.

For crying out loud, I haven't even had an ear of sweet corn!!!

So, don't leave us, Summer Break!  We're just not ready for this to end!

Sincerely,
Jennifer, Josh, and Catherine

"Mom, I want you to watch me dribble in my throat."

 It didn't take me long to realize she meant "gargle."


She wanted me to watch her brush her teeth tonight.

Again.

Even though she can do it all by herself.

 
I sighed selfishly.  I didn't want to do it.

But look at what I would have missed.



Who knows how much longer this will last...

Thinking about what I was like as a pre-teen, I'm sure it won't be long before she wants to seclude herself in her room and have nothing to do with me.

She won't be calling me from college asking me to come watch her get into her jammies.

The years will pass, and I'll look back on this evening and long for it again.

So I'm going to enjoy these moments while I have them.

Blogger Nifty Betty is focusing on choosing joy all of July, and it has inspired me to write about joy too.

I've been searching high and low for inspiration lately.  Now that I have it, we'll see if I can also find the time required to focus on writing.

I invite you to join me.  You can follow along right here on my blog, on my Very Sleepy Girl facebook page, and my Very Sleepy Girl Instagram page.

There are times I am tired of the monotony of life around here.


Times I want to move to Waco.

Or times I think I can't survive another midwest winter.

But then out of no where, I see a field a cows.

And it makes me love Northern Indiana.

Maybe it has something to do with having just spent an impromptu afternoon/evening with all my family, including this cutie niece of mine.


It makes me grateful that family is so close by.

And as much as we may annoy each other at times (we are family after all),

WE
ARE
FAMILY

And I don't want to leave them.

When I was young and single and freshly out of college I moved far far away out west.  I told myself it would be a season of two years, and that after the two years I could decide what was next.

And that's exactly what I did.

Then after two years I planned to move far far away to the east.  And I got there and knew without a hint of doubt I didn't want to be there.  I didn't want to be away from home, away from family.  I didn't want to have to start all over again with a new home, new friends, new church, new job, new everything.

I wanted familiarity.

And even though familiarity can be old and boring at times...




I find it's also quite comforting.

What about you?  Do you appreciate the same surroundings or do you prefer leaving home and embarking on numerous new adventures?

We are summering well around here.

Other than a broken grill.  Womp, womp.

Catherine took swimming lessons and did amazingly well!

(no, riding the frog was NOT part of her swimming lessons.)

She's completing her second round of Vacation Bible School at a local church.

I love getting to enroll her in these summer programs!

She also just started soccer.  It's so fun to watch 4 year olds play soccer!


The program she's in meets just once a week, which is totally manageable for Mom and Dad, unlike the first soccer program I looked into, which met three times a week (goodbye, life!), eeek!  The other day out of the blue she said, "I wonder how all my soccer friends are doing."

I love seeing that she is thinking of others.

I know too she is missing her preschool buddies.  It kind of broke my heart when she mentioned seeing them at her new preschool this fall, as she didn't realize they weren't changing schools with her.

I (finally) got a smart phone!!  My old (5 years+) phone sadly bit the dust.  I wasn't able to save and transfer my contacts, all my photos and videos, my lists of books to read, movies to see, wish lists for myself and for Catherine, cute quotes by Catherine, inspirational thoughts, to do lists, etc. etc. etc.

I guess for a non-smart phone, it held a lot.

Wow, this is really becoming a downer of a post.

We've been car shopping, as we've been a single car family for almost 6 weeks now.  If all goes as planned, tomorrow may change that.  I'll post details after the fact.

Other summer activities have included ice cream, dvd's, coffee with friends, the inflatable pool in our backyard, a little family getaway, and welcoming our new niece Emma Joy.  For some reason when we talk about her it's not just Emma.  It's Emma Joy.  So, we'll see how long that lasts.



So many other things going on, but I'll have to save them for another post, as I can barely keep my eyes open now.


Are you following along at Very Sleepy Girl's facebook page or Instagram?  If not, I encourage you to do so!

I hate car shopping.

There.  I said it.

With a 4 year old soaking up everything I say (Seriously!  Last month I overheard her repeatedly tell another customer at a restaurant, "My mommy likes milkshakes, but they make her sick." because I had mentioned it to someone a few days prior), I try to avoid using the word "hate", and instead usually say, "can't stand".

But I am using "hate" now.

Maybe because my daughter can't read my blog.

Or maybe because I'm full of passion regarding how I feel about car shopping right now.

We drove 55 miles one way for an appointment to test drive a Prius.  We had been in communication with the dealership for days, and it finally worked out with our schedule for this afternoon.  We arranged child care because I knew there was no way we were taking a 4 year old with us to sit through the car buying process.  And off we went on our journey.

Are you familiar with the term "bait and switch"?

Let's just say it's strange that a car would be sold and yet the dealership would still confirm with us that we were still coming.  Rather than tell us with common courtesy that the car sold.

I don't know if the car actually existed even.

Regardless, I had no interest in dealing with a company like that.  And I had no problem letting them know that.

I thanked them for the complimentary water, and we were on our way.


What a waste.

I'm just ready for this day to be over.

And for us to magically just have a vehicle dropped in our laps.

Ok, not literally.