What do you do when you’ve had a full day of entertaining little ones and your husband won't be home for bedtime? My solution: dig out this awesome pulley that has been waiting to be used for a project (we got it as a gift for Chris awhile ago). I taped it up to the banister, attached by a ruler, and the boys played with it for over an hour. They thought it was the best. And I agreed. It was super fun.
I love bedtime. That is, I love it when it's time for the boys to go bed. They're great, but man, by the time 8pm rolls around, I'm ready for a break. I'm sure you understand.
As much as a love bedtime, I really can't stand our bedtime routine. It's not even that long: just pjs on, teeth brushed, two stories read, potty, into bed. Pretty simple, right? Somehow reading at the end of the night is about the worst thing ever.
Enter the audio book. The boys got sucked into a Boxcar Children audio book after school today and decided they wanted to try to finish it before bed. They sat like this (photo above) for 15 minutes as I finished folding laundry and putting it away.
I'm not saying this is going to become a frequent occurrence, but it was a glorious break tonight.
This is snow. On April 10th. That is all.
Our six year old loves presents. Based on the amount of toys in our house these days, I’m a little less enthusiastic about them, but that detail doesn’t seem to bother Chase. He is in total paradise unpacking, assembling, and playing with all his sweet gifts (thanks, everyone!).
I’ll admit it..I do really like helping with the assembly process. Even if it does mean adding to our collection. The pure excitement the gifts bring him definitely makes up for my embarrassment over how much he receives. At least he’s very appreciative! That’s something. :)
I feel like my life should be divided into two categories: Before Kids (BK) and After Kids (AK). In my BK life, I was more carefree, more spontaneous (ok, still not that much), more selfish. In AK life, I’m definitely more exhausted, more routine-driven, more selfless. But in AK life, I’m also filled with more pure joy and happiness than I ever could have imagined. I have this six year old to thank for that. He made me a mom: the hardest but most rewarding job ever. Today we said happy birthday to our first born. The last six years have flown by and been eternally long at exactly the same time. I just love this guy so much.
And here you go...
There you have it. We’re feeling pretty lucky.
I’m back! As promised, I won’t leave you out of all the fun birthday festivities. We knew we were going to be out of town on the big day so the birthday mantle and birthday photo collage (top two photos) went up a day early. Chase didn’t seem to mind. Â
Between those going up early and a birthday dinner on Wednesday night, we’re really stretching the celebrations out this year. I guess that must be what happens when you turn six (6!!!).Â
Sometimes it just feels like the weight of the world is too much to shoulder.
It's been a stressful couple of weeks for our family. I'm not going to go into it here out of respect for everyone's privacy (sorry), but I'm sure I'll share at some point.
With everything going on and a feeling of constant overwhelm, I've decided to take a bit of a break from the blog. Chase's birthday is coming up this weekend, so I'll be back for that, but I'm going to give myself this bit of space in my day.
You might recognize the photo above. I posted it almost two years ago when we were getting ready to uproot our lives and move to Wisconsin. This little weed was inspirational to me back then and I have found my mind wondering to the image over and over again recently. There is hope. I have hope.
It wasn’t the Easter we expected but we managed to make the most of it. Family is the best. Â
Aunt Andi put together an epic egg hunt for the kids tonight. Never again will they be able to collect this quantity of eggs. Robbe went to bed saying it’s already the “best Easter ever.”Â
Just under the deadline, we managed to get our eggs dyed. It was a fun way to spend a cold (and snowy!) afternoon with the cousins. And somehow Robbe managed to dye all his eggs without spilling. Needless to say, it was pretty surprising.
Every year, for as long as I can remember, my dad’s store has volunteered the time to put together Easter bags for the local Easter Egg Hunt. This year, the boys got involved with the assembly. It made me so happy to do this with the boys after spending so many years doing it with my parents. :)Â
We were lucky enough to spend a good chunk of the day with this birthday girl today! The boys were more than a little excited that she picked ice cream for her birthday treat.
Happy birthday to a woman I’m lucky to call my mom and my friend. I love you!Â
Check out this meal. Nothing could have hit the spot more tonight.
Here's the recipe: Spinach Goat Cheese Frittata.
So good.
I promised a Mexico recap and here it is! You can't complain that I shared too few photos.
And we're ready to go back. Thanks again, Mom + Dad, for an incredibly memorable trip.
There will be a longer post (with photos!) detailing our dreamy trip to Puerto Vallarta but for now I’ll just say that we’re home. We’re doing laundry, catching up on life, and playing with every single toy in the house just to make sure no one feels left out. Â
We're enjoying fun + sun in Mexico and I'm unplugging. I'll be back on Sunday to share all the details. Until then, I realized I never shared the last podcast that Mary Catherine and I recorded. This can keep you company while I'm gone. :)
Mary Catherine and I say farewell to Season 4 of Starr Struck radio by sharing some of the things that surprised us most about motherhood. Chances are, we'll be back. But until then...
We made it this far. Next stop: warmth + sunshine! Think happy thoughts for an uneventful flight.
We've been counting down to tomorrow for a long LONG time. We're heading out for a week-long tropical vacation and the four of us could not be more excited. I've even managed to shed the dread that usually comes along with traveling with the boys. It's hard to say whether I've grown more flexible with age or if it's just that the boys are getting easier (I'm sure it's the latter, actually), but I'm not fixated on how hard the plane ride is going to be, or where the boys will nap, or what they'll be eating, or how they'll sleep at the condo. It feels very freeing. I haven't felt this way before a trip in about six years (!!).
We've been talking a lot about what Mexico is going to be like. We've been pumping the boys up for lots of beach + pool time, have been trying to explain to them what it'll be like to be in another country, and have been chatting about expectations. To tie a bow on this topic, we brainstormed a list of "Vacation Rules" last night. I'm sure we'll add to the list, but so far, here it is:
We're going to take that last one very seriously.
**Please note, I'll be checking in tomorrow before we board the airplane but after that I'm signing off for the week. Hopefully we'll have lots of good stories + photos to share upon our return.**
After staring at these toys in our living room for the past two weeks, I finally gave in and put them all away last night. The boys have been on a serious Lego kick so all other toys have been neglected.
What’s the first thing Robbe did upon getting home from some errands this morning? He took out all the toys I just put away and then happily played with them for an hour. It’s like he sensed it somehow. Kids are weird.
Our friends invited us over for an early St. Patrick’s Day celebration tonight. The kids had a blast hunting for gold coins, creating masks, making rainbow necklaces...oh and eating potato soup with Irish soda bread.
Thanks the super festive evening, Ashley!Â
small city | BIG DAYS
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