It's a hot one today. Or as my good friend Ann Maria would say, "It's a scowrcher." (She's from Boston) The thermostat says 30 and I've been swimming in sweat since early this morning.

Despite the heat, I headed out to run errands after dropping the kids at school. I went to the bank. I picked up some stuff at the Farmer's Market. I started delivering thank you notes to all the people who donated items to our Funfair. And I randomly happened upon my Mom Mojo while I was out trudging through the heat.

What?

Let me explain. 

Mom Mojo is the thing that runs me. It's what gets me up with the alarm every morning. It packs lunches and snacks for school. It makes the grocery lists and decides what we're having for dinner. It does the dishes and the laundry and it doesn't complain. In short, Mom Mojo is responsible for the smooth running of our household.

Well, if the truth be told, I lost mine way back in April (right around the time I started Funfair stuff) and our house has been in chaos since then. Laundry has piled high. Grocery lists have been incomplete. Dinner has been shot from the hip most nights and I have been an all-around wreck when it comes to doing mom-things. It's been just like when Dr. Evil stole Austin Power's Mojo in The Spy Who Shagged Me....except the part with the giant Scottish henchman.

Anyway, while I was out and about running errands today, I felt my Mom Mojo kick back in. Maybe it was the heat, perhaps I finally sweated out all of the chaos that has been multiplying in my cells. Or maybe it was just going around and saying thank you to some really great people. All I know is that somewhere in there, after blocks and blocks of walking, I could feel Mom Mojo pumping through my veins. My walking gait got a little bit faster. I started organizing lists in my head. I started thinking of things I could make with the items in my fridge. I even decided on what we're having for dinner tonight and it was morning! For some people this may all seem a little weird....but it's pretty normal for me and a clear sign that my Mom Mojo is back in business.

Thank goodness!

I love Father's Day. There's just something great about taking a whole day to thank dads for all the amazing things they do! It makes me happy. Plus, I love having a reason for doing something special for Clay. He deserves it because he's an amazing dad!

This year for Father's Day we celebrated by taking a short boat cruise. Instead of traveling out of Kingston, we drove up to a little town called Ivy Lea and caught a cruise there instead.

The scenery is beautiful and some of the houses are absolutely stunning.

The highlight of the trip was seeing Boldt Castle. We're hoping to take a trip there sometime to see the inside of the house and the grounds. It's spectacular.

It was a great way to spend an afternoon relaxing and doing something Clay waned to do. On the way home we stopped in Ganonoque and treated him to some Polish food for dinner. If that's not Father's Day bliss, then I don't know what is. Happy Father's Day (1 day late) to all you dads out there!

Now that the fun fair is over, I'm taking some time to re-organize my life. Nothing is safe. If my children are adding to much chaos to my daily existence, they will have to go...just kidding.

I've been making lists which is never a good sign.

Scary huh? And that's just the front. Here's the back...

Yep, I'm out-of-organizing-control! 

Wait, if I'm out-of-organizing-control does that mean I'm actually dis-organized? I'll have to ponder that.

Anyway, Monday morning I went through our closet, took all the clothes out, threw out half my wardrobe and re-organized everything so it was nice and neat and tidy. It was like a breath of fresh air. Then yesterday I went through my kid's drawers and cleaned out all of the cold-weather clothes in order to make more room for their t-shirts and shorts.

We've rearranged our living room, but it still needs some work. And I'm thinking that more OXO containers would be a boon for furthering the organization of my kitchen cupboards.

Maybe we just have too much stuff. I'm sure there's an item or two around the house that I wouldn't miss if it just happened to leave. I wonder if anyone else would notice? 

Clearly, nothing is safe.

Some stuff might be safe(r) if I get one or two of these.

It's a Swoop Bag. Isn't it awesome? I found it yesterday when I was checking out the Pioneer Woman's Homeschooling page. I was reading up on some advice about teaching responsibility to kids when I came across this genius invention. How lucky is that? Now I'm not sure how the whole responsibility thing will shake out, but I think this bag could work wonders. I'm picturing Lego clean-up taking half the time it does now. Now that would be heaven. And it comes in Tank green. Cole would love it. What more can I ask for?

Back in the good 'ol days of college I used to study art history. And I remember longing to see the great cities of Europe that are knee deep in famous statues, painted ceilings and frescoes. I wanted to walk down the cobbled streets of Italy, sit at a table of some tiny cafe, sip espresso and breath in the history around me. 

What can I say? I'm a romantic. 

Unfortunately, I've have yet to see Europe. Family life has taken a precedent to traveling. Go figure. Ironically, I did travel a bit when I was younger....both times to third world countries that were steeped in chaos more than anything else. Apparently, the romantic in me is never around when I actually decide to leave the country.

Anyway....

I often forget that I actually live in a historical city now. Kingston is an old city by New World standards and the streets are alive with history. Everyday I walk by buildings that are well over a hundred years old and I never bat an eyelash thinking about it until the summer comes and the giant tour buses come rolling into town.

The tourists come from all over the country and all over the world to visit our little city on the river. And I can't say I blame them. Kingston boasts an impressive past. It was the first capital of Canada. It is the home of Canada's first prime minister. It's on the Rideau Canal system. And it's full of cool things like Fort Henry and the Royal Military College which is the equivalent of West Point. 

Now, I don't remember studying any famous Canadian artists in those art history classes (though I dare say there are a fair few). It seems that Canada, like the rest of the  New World, missed out on the great art movements of history. But while there may not be a statue on every corner, Kingston can claim a rich past and I'm happy to call it home.

For the past several months I have been out canvassing the local businesses, collecting items for the silent auction at our school's annual fun fair. It has been a lot of work and has pretty much taken over my life for the past two weeks. Everything else has fallen by the wayside. Exercise. Lab work. Cooking. Logical thought. Everything.

I'm happy to say that today the end is in sight! We finished wrapping our final basket at 2:30 this afternoon and now all that's left is setting up for the big event which takes place on Saturday. Hooray! I'm very much looking forward to recapturing my sanity and getting back into a semi-regular routine of cooking and cleaning and exercising.... I never thought I would actually look forward to that.

Anyway, just to remind myself why I've put myself through all of this stress here are some photos from last year's event. I think I've posted them before, but sometimes it's good to remember the higher purpose we serve.

I love my kids. And they are soooooo worth the extra stress. All my hard work will help their school and in turn help my kids. It takes a village and I'm playing my part.

If you read my post on Petoskey, MI you probably remember that we visited the American Spoon Cafe. Well, we also visited the American Spoon store right next door.

As you can see, the store sells jams, chutneys, relishes, sauces, salsas, etc. They have everything available to sample with crackers & chips and the nicest people are on hand to help you out. We went in specifically looking for some jalapeno jelly to spread on top of crackers and brie cheese and came out 4 jars later...

We each picked something out. Cole went for the Marionberry fruit spread for his PB&J sandwiches. Isabel picked out Milk Caramel to eat with apple slices. I wanted the Jalapeno jelly and Clay picked out the Dill and Caper relish (which makes awesome tuna salad). It was certainly pricier than buying Smuckers from the grocery store, but the taste is worth it. Plus, we were on vacation and we chalked the purchase up as a souvenir. 

If delectable spreads aren't your thing, consider giving a jar of something tasty as a gift to someone you really like. They'll thank you for it.

You can check out all the possibilities at www.spoon.com

I can get my kids to clean up and take a nice picture together. This time just happen to be for my cousin's wedding. Aren't they cute?

Cole actually asked me to buy him a shirt and tie for the occasion. Be still my heart.

This one was almost perfect. In fairness, it was a really bright day and we try not to worry too much about these things. 

The grandparents had better success...figures.

Look, take the kids away and you have a perfect photo. 

We're heading home to Michigan tomorrow and I can't wait. We haven't been home in 8 months! And I would love to cram in a visit with all of my friends and family, but unfortunately we just don't have the time. Sigh.

In honor of journeying back to our beloved homeland, here are my Top 5 Reasons I Love the Mitten State:

1. Family

Every single person in my family lives in Michigan...I kid you not. Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandparents, second cousins twice removed...everyone lives in Michigan. We are a Mitten State family and every time we go home there seems to be an occasion for everyone to get together. We laugh, we cry, we drive each other crazy. It's such a blessing and I'm so glad my kids and Clay get to be a part of it.

2. Friends

We have great friends and a lot of them have spread far and wide across the world. Fortunately for us, some of those amazing people still live in the Mitten State and I'm so happy when we get the chance to spend time with them (not this time though...boo).

3. Great Lakes, Great Times

As I have said before, I'm a water person. I love the Great Lakes. They are so beautiful and have provided hours upon hours of good memories for our family. Need I say more?

4. Holland, MI

Holland holds so many great memories for both Clay and I. It's where we went to school. It's where we meant. It's where we began our life together. Holland will always hold a special spot in my heart.

5. Tigers Baseball

A few years ago, the Tigers captured my heart and I've been hooked ever since. Clay and I look forward to seeing games while we're home. It will be like a little slice of heaven.

So my reading hiatus lasted all of 3 days...maybe 4. I should have known from the beginning that it was a completely absurd idea. I love reading and that's not going to change, so I think I'll just do it. Everything else will get done eventually. Anyway, the point of today's post is not to berate myself for my lack of follow through. The point is to talk about how I find the books I'm reading.

I have a few people that I'm always talking books with, so we pass titles back and forth. Plus, I'm always open to suggestions from my friends and family that live far away. I like to check out the local Indigo store to see what they have in the staff picks section and on their display tables. And it's always interesting to see what other people on Amazon "have also bought" when I look up a book. But, my number one go to place for new material is the library. 

If you haven't noticed, I love the library. It's one of my favorite spots to visit on a weekly basis. There are books and CDs and DVDs, all mine for the borrowing. And my favorite part is that it's always free! Sure you can rack up fines if you're late returning your items, but I'm a toe-the-line kind of library user - no fines for me. However, despite the euphoric sense of bliss I get while wandering up and down the books shelves, it can all be a bit overwhelming sometimes. I mean, there are thousands of books to choose from and they can't all be worth my time. So often I get stuck reading the same author(s) over and over again because I'm not that confident when it comes to just grabbing something off the shelf in the hopes that it might be good.

Luckily for me, our library recently introduced NoveList into the search engine on it's website. When I look up a book or author, I still get all the basic information like whether or not a book is available and where it's located, etc. However, in addition to the basics, I also get book and author recommendations based on my search and it even give me reasons as to why it is recommending each book and author. I wish I could show you. It's brilliant.

If you're looking for something new to read, you should check to see if you're library is using NoveList. If not, you should ask about it and you can always go to my library's website at www.kfpl.org

I hope all the mothers out there are having a wonderful day....and if not, hang in there, it's almost time for the kids to be in bed.  

We have been having a great day here in Kingston. Isabel started the day off right by not waking me up in the middle of the night and I got to sleep in until 8:30 a.m. When the kids finally pulled me from the blissful comfort of my bed there was breakfast waiting for me. Both the kids made special gifts for me at school and they were very excited to share them while we ate.

We went for a walk in the morning and enjoyed the Sunday antique market. Then we came back for lunch, went 10 rounds with writing homework, and planted the flowers they bought me yesterday at the farmer's market. 

Finally, we ended up back downtown at one of the theaters to watch Loony Toon Cartoons on the big screen and afterward we went out for dinner.

Now, it's almost 8:00 and the kids are getting ready for bed. Sherlock is on tonight and school starts up in the morning. What more can a mom ask for?

I have had a wonderful Mother's Day! I hope you have too.