What a weekend! In addition to a sunburn and $1 flip flops from Old Navy, the past two days were filled with a whole lot of nostalgia. Here's why: It seemed as though everything we did, I was reminded of my days as a kid. You know those warm and fuzzies you get when you think about the good times of your childhood? That was this weekend for me.

Exhibit A: Last week Rob and I had the front walk to our house put in as well as a slab of concrete on the side of our house for Sadie's kennel. We decided to write Sam and Claire's names in the cement along with the year as a little reminder of where we are today. My mom and dad did the same thing with us - except we did handprints in addition to the names. It is still so cool to see our names in the cement and know that we were so young and carefree. Even at two-years-old Sam thinks its so cool.

Exhibit B: The smell of a summer morning in the country. Wildflowers, muggy breezes, fresh-cut grass. If you know me personally, you know that my husband and I just moved into a house that's located in my old neighborhood. More specifically, roughly 250 yards away from my old house. Yesterday morning I took the girls on a walk while Rob was doing some work outside and it was amazing! When we were young my sisters and brothers and I would wake up early and get outside as soon as we could to re-start our games from the day before. I'll always remember the smells of those summers.

Exhibit C: Bon fires. In my neighborhood, my family is known for our large bon fires in the summer. More noteably, when we were in high school. Last night was the perfect night for one and that's exactly what happened. My brother, Alex,  invited several of his friends over and we just hung out, drank some cocktails and chatted.

These are just three of the things that I love so much about summer and where I live. I am so happy that my girls get to experience the same things I did when I was young and I hope they look back and appreciate them like I am now.
If you want to know how the weekend ended, Rob and I took the girls to Menomonee Park and ate lunch, played on the playground and went through the zoo. We stopped back at my parents house and hung out for the rest of the day. I have the horrid sunburn to prove it.

What are your favorite summer memories?
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So I had a thought. There are certain types of people in this world that just seem to be more approachable and less threatening than others. In my opinion (and experience) some people find mothers more approachable. Do you think this is true? Have you ever seen a mother in the store with her children and feel no hesitation to tilt your head to the side, smile and ask her how old they are? You just can't help it. On the flip side, mothers are usually never at a loss of words for their children.
This brings me to another point. Are working mothers less of threat to other working women? Looking back at my pre-baby years I remember thinking that working moms had to rush out of work to hang out with their children that they haven't seen all day - which gave me a chance to "catch up" on work after hours. At that time I didn't have to worry about anyone else in the morning and was able to come in early without too much extra stress and stay late without dealing with the guilt.
Now that I am a working mother, I feel that I have to work ten-times harder at my job to prove myself and ensure people take me seriously. What's my priority?Yes, there are days that I don't make it to work at 8 a.m. because I spend a little extra time with the girls but there are also days where I work through my lunch and stay late to make sure I deliver the best performance I can every chance I get.
If you don't have children, do you view working parents/mothers as less of a threat in the workplace? Why? Be honest. I really want to know.