I never imagined Zoe as the 'tween she has become. She talks alot now about growing up , and asks those difficult questions that make me feel old and sometimes sad. The last ten years have flown by, but when I look in the mirror I can see every moment. The way my life evolved from a master plan to just getting through each day.. learning to shift my life from " black and white" to an okay shade of gray. The way there is little time for anything besides family, home and work.

Things have been kinda calm lately, and after a whirlwind of working non-stop for the last year,parenting my girls ,ten plus years of not sleeping through the night, and long talks with my husband with his repeated reminders to " slow down" ,  I kinda had a revelation. Something has to give.

 Since the kids were little, Saturday and Sunday have always been referred to as.. " Stay at Home Days." In effort to help Zoe, learn her days of the week, I have been assigning a similar sounding phrase to the name of each day. Friday is " Fun" day.. she has free choice time in her second grade class, and we do Family movie nights here at home.

I look forward to Saturdays as a day to relax-I try to squeeze in some writing time Saturday mornings- and the day is thankfully free of packing the endless stream of snacks, lunches and extra backpack necessities that each school day brings. Saturday night brings a date night of sorts- hubby and I steal our time where we can, with lovely dinners made just for two after the girls are in bed.

So this morning ,I tried some extra " sweetness" for Saturday's breakfast, and of course I plan on stealing lots of sweet hugs and kisses today too. On to the breakfast though.. it should please the pickiest of eaters.. Chocolate Milk French Toast-  3 slices of whole grain bread , dunked into a mix of one beaten egg and 1/4 cup of low-fat chocolate milk, with a dash of vanilla extract. Sprinkle with cocoa powder or mini marshmallows, for other all ages great ideas , especially for the hard to please tasters check this out.. Parents Mag -   Enjoy!