Welcome to the Zoo

C-Bizzle's cousins spent the night this past weekend. I love when they come over and so does C. I get to try my hand as a mother of three and C has someone besides me to play with. They have so much fun together.

They covet each others' "toys."

They love on each other.

They do everything together. Really close to each other. No, really...they have no concept of personal space. I put a "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service" sign up, but they blatantly disregarded it. They would be nudists if their prude of an aunt/mother would allow it.

There's a thin line between "hugging" and "wrestling."

See?

In addition to the WWF practice he gets, C loves the cool toys the girls bring over.

Poof, be gone!

It didn't work. Stupid wand. C wants to upgrade to the Elder wand. (You are cool if you know what that means).
More wrestling.

E loves her uncle B. Uncle B loves anyone who will allow him to sleep. Just kidding. He loves his nieces.
Even though he doesn't love the camera.

I love the toys the girls bring over, too. G loves to play dress up, and that is just fine in my book. I know that I will likely have a house full of boys, so I jump at any chance I get for girly activities!
One more believer in my royal Princess status.

G later informed me that she didn't like my haircut and that she liked it long. Ahh the brutal honesty of a 4 year old. G better watch it or I'll have my little princess banish her from my kingdom with his wand :)

Princess

The really fun thing about only having girl cousins living in town is that there is no shortage of princess gear and girly toys around.

C$ found a crown from G's princess party and knew just what to do with it. I am saving these pictures to embarrass him on his first date, or at his rehearsal dinner, but I didn't want to be selfish and not share them with my 20 readers first...

Don't kid yourself, buddy. Putting it on backwards doesn't make it any less glittery.

At least he was a kind princess. He played with his royal subjects.

He picked up after himself.

He smiled for the paparazzi.

He wanted to make sure his Princess title was always visible.

Yep. (Disregard the mess in the back. I still haven't cleaned up all of his toys from his birthday. Don't judge me. We're working on a playroom so that we can hide this mess upstairs we have a nice place for him to play with all of his toys).

At the end of the day, C$ knows who the real princess of the house is. More like the Queen B but whatever.

Green with Envy

I haven't done a food post in a while so I decided I'd share this morning's breakfast with you all.

Feast your eyes on the Green Monster. (I certainly cannot claim credit for this delicious smoothie. I first learned of them through Morgan and Anna's former blog, and my favorite food blogger makes them on the reg).

Mine this morning was delicious.

A handful of frozen, fresh organic strawberries

1/2 of a banana, sliced

A generous, heaping handful of organic baby spinach (don't be a wus...you can't even taste it)

A dash of sweetener (I used blue agave but you can use whatever suits your fancy)

Add a few ice cubes, a splash of milk or almond milk and blend!

Enjoy
Aren't you green with envy? (Obviously not of my less than stellar photography skills)

I am SO glad summer is here and we finally have fresh fruit to add to the mix! I spent a small fortune yesterday getting fresh fruit and produce for the week.

Like a Glass of Sweet Iced Tea

I had a trial yesterday up the road a bit in sweet, sleepy Somerville, Tennessee. Visiting this lovely town was like stepping into the past. This town is so charming and southern, like a glass of sweet iced tea.

Just look at the elementary school. Isn't it adorable?

The houses are old and stately. Swoon...
I mean, really.

(If you're wondering, yes. I got out of my car to take a picture of this amazing house).And look at the courthouse. Doesn't it make you want to be a lawyer? (Me either).

But seriously, doesn't it look like Atticus Finch himself might walk right out of the front doors?
This town has an actual farm, right on the Highway. It's like another world that exists just 45 minutes up the road.
Gorgeous.
Look how close they were!
This house is the most swoon-worthy of them all, but I couldn't get a great picture without getting run over by the traffic of the divided highway!
I love how you can see it peeking out from behind the trees.
It is gorgeous.

And of course, I couldn't pass up the John Deere tractor headquarters. Really.

I'm not sure I'm cut out for small town life, but I will say that my quick trip to the country was a tempting experience. It is such an adorably charming place. It reminds me of another place that is near and dear to my heart.

Have a good weekend!

Brought to you by April Showers

After two days of totally crap weather, huddling in closets and hallways with flashlights and pillows, and a stress-filled workweek that is still not quite over, I needed to see something beautiful to remind me to take time to enjoy life. (I had plenty of time to enjoy the drive home as my normally 25 minute drive took over an hour today).

I saw this on the way home today. Beautiful.

The pictures are okay, but it was truly amazing in person. I could've gotten better pictures if I had a fancy camera (I don't), or if I stopped the car (I didn't) or even slowed down (nope), but I hope you all enjoy the bit of beauty I found on my way home today.