After a summer away, Heidi returned yesterday and it took until two in the morning to catch up. Keeping with past post-summer-catch-up traditions, there was a self timer and a lot of laughing involved.

Ooooo, so serious.

Also, we made valiant efforts to return a tiny turtle to a lake, but then Heidi hit a possum on the way home, so the animal rescue scoreboard is back to zero.

I’ve promised the girls we will do “something fun” today, so this will be quick.

Enjoying…

This sweet morning moment from the other day.

The lizard whisperer.
After a long uneasiness with little reptiles, Lainey is over it. She’s been chasing lizards with nets all week and has caught (and released) at least six.

The mover.
We put him down on one spot on the floor, turn our heads and suddenly he’s in another corner of the living room. He keeps his motion methods a secret because he is sneaky and stealthlike.

Dash’s new nickname.
A conversation from the other day:
Lainey: “Mom, can his nickname be Fishstick?”
Mom: “Why, yes. Of course.” Brillz.
Fishstick joins Scuba Steve and Stealth.

Spontaneous sister makeover.

What. the. heck.
He’s huge.
Suddenly.

Baby Cobra.

Her cornsilk hair.

This messy bun.

Another blanket lover.

Her dancing smile.
It’s Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” this week. All day, every day.

I ordered this shirt from Passive Juice Motel and am now in love with everything in their shop.

Fave Instagrams this week:

…and I’m over at All Parenting this week talking about dramatic meltdowns after boo-boos and how we’re dealing: The Boo-boo Cry.

That post just felt like espresso.
Calming down and chilling out now.

Happy day, friends!

Less than two weeks to go before school starts, and Lainey’s excited for first grade now that we got that whole peel-daughter-off-leg-first-day-of-school thing over with a year ago. The nervous jitters are gone, replaced with her eagerness to have her backpack ready, clothes laid out and lunchbox packed.  After weeding out the last of the 5T’s in her closet (sniff, sniff), we’ve transitioned her wardrobe and are filling it in with a few new first grade essentials for this year.

Tea Collection has introduced a slew of new styles for school including sturdy backpacks and shoes that will last weather and wear.  Their soft, wrinkle-free cotton takes away the stress of settling on outfit choices in the morning.  I can speak from experience–both Lainey and I love Tea comfort and design, and there’s never an issue over seams, itchy waistbands or scratchy fabric.  The bonus?  All of Lainey’s Tea pieces are passed down to Nella and look as good as new. 

The inspiration behind Tea’s new collection comes from urban China, and we’re loving the new colors and exuberant prints. 

My favorite back to school looks for girls and boys:

For Her: Yangzi Floral Shirtdress, Smartwool Split Stripe Sock, Palladium Pampa Hi Leather Boots, Herschel Settlement Backpack

For Him: City Stripe Happy Hoodie, Twill Moto Pants, Umi Henley Boots, Herschel Heritage Kids Backpack

Welcome back, Tea! 

…and I went there once as a kid and will never forget how magical it was. For a unicorn lover like me, I get this place. I mean, for starters, mermaids live there.

Look.

So when my friend calls me on Tuesday and says “Want to drive three and a half hours with me to take the kids to Weeki Wachee on Thursday?”, there is no hesitation. The pope is Catholic, bears go potty in the woods and indeed I want to drive three hours to show my girls that there are mermaids, and they live in a natural spring somewhere in the middle of Florida.

The mermaid costumes? Don’t be too impressed. I don’t sew, but I glue. The tails are simply a yard of sequiny fabric. Didn’t do anything to it but hot glue a strip of gold sparkly trim to the waist. And then you wrap it around a kid’s waist and tie it in the back. Take the bottom, bring it to front and use two rubber bands to create tail fins. My friend Suzanne made some similar ones out of towels for her daughter’s mermaid birthday party, and they were adorable.

Tops are clearance tank tops from Target with yarn and felt shells glued to it. And the moment we walked into the park and pulled out the tails to get the girls all mermaided up? Holy precious enthusiasm. It was special. Four little girls who might as well just have been crowned Miss America.

I wasn’t sure if Nella would get the whole thing, but she might have been more excited than anyone else. She can say “mermaid” perfectly. With a smile. And a swish of her tail fin.

Weeki Wachee Springs is a state park with a theater built under the spring waters. Built in 1947, the theater and park still maintain the charm of the past–the highlight, of course, being the mermaids who perform underwater shows. After I went there as a kid, I wanted to be a Weeki Wachee mermaid when I grew up and now, after returning years later, I’m kind of sorry I strayed from that goal.

I got a little teary when the curtain raised, watching the girls completely entranced. For a moment that bridge between my childhood and theirs was nonexistent, and we were all just wide-eyed kids–them moved by the magic of mermaids, me by the magic of them.

“Mermaid!” Nella pointed. “Mama, look! Mermaid!” followed by this awkward giggle–a little unsure, a little ecstatic, a little hold-me-closer. And because I’m a big sap, I got all emotional when the mermaids did a synchronized dance to *cough*Enya*cough*. It was moving, okay? And my girls were loving it. For the record, the mermaids sang the same song they sang years ago when I came as a kid, and I was mouthing the words, shocked that I remembered. We’re the sisters of the ocean, and we’ve got the world at our tail. And not that I know this from experience or anything, but if you sing this while waddling around with your legs jammed into one leg of your yoga pants, you will feel just like a Weeki Wachee mermaid. And your kids will be amused. And your husband won’t be.

So yes. Weeki Wachee was worth the drive.

The deal was sweetened though when we decided to stay overnight in St. Pete Beach. We brought overnight bags just in case, but it was far more fun not having anything reserved. Along with forecasting the weather and predicting flight routes, Brett prides himself on finding the coolest hotels. So he was texting us destinations, promising we’d like the Thunderbird, nestled right along the coast of Treasure Island. When we saw the sign, it was a done deal.

We spent the evening volleying between beach and pool, slayed by both the size of the beach in St. Petersburg (HUGE! Like ten of Naples beaches lined up) and the charm of the hotel’s pool area.

And every time Brett called with “Do you like it? Did I do good? It’s cool, huh?”, I smiled and answered, “Yes, yes, we love it. You done good, babe.”

A few Paint the Town Yellow moments from our little trip:

When a family released sky lanterns on the beach, and we got to enjoy them too.

Late night beach yoga.

The heat lightning show that evening, courtesy of God. I felt like I needed to pay someone for tickets.

Live poolside music. Hearing the chorus of “Sweet Caroline” and turning to see this sweet couple who took it as their cue to dance. They were the only ones dancing, confined to the small open space between their room and their pool chairs, but they didn’t care. I loved this little moment.

Nella’s face when I let her hold Dash in the stroller for a little while.

The drive home.
Kids passed out, stale Happy Meals smooshed between carseats, steady rain dancing across the windshield, Pandora streaming, friends talking about life. And then finally arriving home to hear the girls replay the series of events to Brett–Lainey’s in long sentences, Nella’s in choppy phrases. “Mermaid, Daddy. Pool. I swim. I dancin’.”

So, the moral of the story?
Mermaids are out there. Keep your eyes peeled.