June 9, 2017

A Kite Tale

See what I did there? ^^^ I’m 100% sure it’s been done before, but that doesn’t mean I can’t feel clever about it.

Anyway…

I can remember attempting kite flying a couple of times as a kid. And if memory serves me correctly, it was never successful. Either there wasn’t enough wind. Or it was too windy. Or the kite was a dud. I can remember my father running across the yard with the kite in an attempt to catch the breeze, and a few brief moments of exhilaration when the kite would rise up in the air… before it all came crashing down.

So when Charlie started requesting that we get a kite, I found the cheapest thing I could on Amazon and put it in his Easter basket. It would at least be fun to try. And finally, a day presented itself. Chris was home, (I realized soon after purchasing the kite that this would have to be a whole family affair, as I wouldn’t be able to assist Charlie with a kite while wrangling two other kids.) the weather was cloudy, but pleasant, and the weather app told us there was a 10mph breeze in the air. It would be impossible to fly a kite in our backyard, but we live down the hill from a patch of city-owned green space with lots of open grass to run and lots of open sky to fly. So we took the kids and the kite and made our way up the hill with high spirits and low expectations.

And you guys, it FLEW!

Like, for a long time!

Even Charlie was able to hold the kite up on his own!

Chris didn’t have any successful kite flying experiences in his childhood either, so we were both pretty thrilled.

We flew the kite on the hill until it was time to head home for dinner. All duly impressed with our little rainbow kite.

When we got home I asked Charlie how he liked flying a kite. He replied. “it was pretty fun, but not as exciting as I thought it would be.”

The child clearly needs to experience some kite flying failure in his life. I, on the other hand, spent the rest of the day singing kite flying songs.

When you send it flyin’ up there
All at once you’re lighter than air
You can dance on the breeze
Over houses and trees
With your fist holding tight
To the string of your kite!

Oh, oh, oh!
Let’s go fly a kite
Up to the highest height!
Let’s go fly a kite and send it soaring
Up through the atmosphere
Up where the air is clear
Let’s go fly a kite!

“Let’s Go Fly A Kite” from Mary Poppins

Permalink | Filed under: everyday life, family

February 6, 2017

Introducing Milo James

He’s here!

After what felt like a very long wait, our little Milo is here.

I think he looks like his brother. And I hope he has his daddy’s hair. He nurses like a champ and sleeps tolerably well.

His brother and sister are very sweet with him. Charlie often comments on what a cute baby he is and likes to hold his little hand. Poppy likes to pet his head and squeeze his toes.

I’m still wrapping my head around the whole three kid thing. But one thing I do know, my life that already felt full to the brim, would suddenly feel a lot emptier now without him. Just like the others, he’s made his own special place in my heart.

Permalink | Filed under: everyday life, family, update

November 1, 2016

Halloween Recap

Happy Halloween!

There’s no denying that kids make all the holidays more fun. I’m not usually a Halloween fan, but sharing in the excitement with Charlie this year made for some fun memories.

We went to the orchard a couple weeks ago to pick out some pumpkins.

Then we carved them. Charlie wanted a monster and a monster truck. So I did my best.

I was impressed that he was actually semi-helpful in scooping out the pumpkin seeds and he stuck around the whole time I was carving the pumpkin rather then running off to do something else.

And of course the main event required costumes. Charlie has become a big Star Wars fan, despite not being allowed to see the movies yet, being only 4. But somehow he still knows all the characters and loves to pretend he is a storm trooper. So for Halloween, we went with a Star Wars theme.

Our town has a great family friendly trick-or-treating event on Main Street each year, so we spent the evening walking up and down the street, admiring all the other people in their costumes, and collecting a bucketful of candy.

My favorite moment of the night: after dinner Charlie asked for some dessert. I told him no, because he would want to eat some of the candy he got trick-or-treating once we got home. At which point his eyes got real big and he said, “We’re going to get candy!?”

I have a feeling he’ll know what’s going on a bit better next year.

Permalink | Filed under: everyday life

October 25, 2016

These Days // 24

I’ve had a lot of questions recently about my blog. Mostly along the lines of, “Have you quit?” or “Have my updates stopped working?” This make me feel three things.
1. Disappointed in myself for letting this little space slide for so long.
2. Surprised that anyone even notices.
3. Flattered that people apparently enjoy my ramblings enough to check in and make sure they aren’t missing something.

I’ve been meaning to write a blog post to catch everyone up on my life for quite some time. But it’s been so long I can’t wrap my head around where to begin or what to include. So instead I’ll just let you know what’s happening these days.

expecting: Baby #3. Yep, we have a new little man preparing to make his big debut into our family in late January. This is also a big part of why I haven’t blogged in forever. Pregnancy saps a lot of energy and brain function. And when you have two other kids to raise, anything that’s left goes to them. It’s a happy reason be exhausted though, and I’ve been thankful to have a relatively healthy and boring pregnancy so far.

planning: a renovation to help make room for this baby. I’m reluctantly coming to accept that the baby will probably be here before the extra space is, but that doesn’t stop me from coming up with more ideas of projects to do around the house.

growing: a small summer garden. It’s been a fun project, and is pretty much winding down for the fall. But I have lots of ideas of what I’d like to do to expand and make it better next year.

styling: tiny pigtails and ponytails. Poppy’s hair is getting long enough to play with a little bit and I just can’t get enough of it!

teaching: preschool to Charlie. We’re dipping our toes into slightly more formal schooling this year with some reading and math curriculum. So far we both enjoy it, so I’m calling that a success!

hoping: I can get back in the swing of writing and sharing here more regularly. I’ve missed it. We’ll see!

Permalink | Filed under: everyday life, these days

April 11, 2016

My Yard in Spring

I like to think that I’m the kind of mom that takes her kids out on adventures to commune with nature. That I encourage curiosity and exploration. But the reality is that we rarely leave our backyard. (And then we only venture out on the pretty days.) Sometimes I worry that my children will miss out on all the important things nature has to teach them.

But then we spend a little time looking closely (and I might whip out my camera as well) and I realize that there’s an awful lot of nature to experience within a few feet of my backdoor.

So maybe I won’t worry that my kids aren’t getting enough nature. Maybe we’ll just pay more attention to what is happening in our own backyard.

Permalink | Filed under: everyday life, kids, outdoors

April 6, 2016

These Days // 23

It’s high time we had an update in this space. Here are some of the regular life things happening these days:

Planting: a garden. My sister likes to garden but has no yard. I have a yard, but not enough focus to plant a garden on my own. So we’re working together and broke ground on our little garden this weekend. I’m so excited!

planting

Decluttering: craft supplies, the kitchen, and kids toys. I’m still working my way through the KonMari method and I’m liking the changes so far. Be on the lookout for more detailed posts about each category.

Kitchen sneak peak.

Admiring: the violets in our yard. It’s one of my favorite parts of Spring. I love seeing the fresh new grass dotted all over with purple.

violets

Celebrating: all the things! Since I last wrote Charlie had a birthday…

4 cupcake

And then less than a month later began the quadruple whammy of celebration in my family. My two sisters’ birthdays, my dad’s birthday, and Easter all happen within about 20 days of each other. So we made sure to celebrate it all on Easter weekend when we could all be together.

This involved cake…

Egg dying…

An Easter egg hunt…

A walk to the pond…

Swingin’ on the swing…

And of course the obligatory family Easter portrait.

That may be more of an update than you bargained for. Ta-ta for now!

Thanks to my husband and my father for some of the lovely photos in this post.

Permalink | Filed under: everyday life, these days

October 22, 2015

These Days // 21

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Happy Fall everyone! Here’s what’s happening around here these days.

wearing: a cute new headband from Lady Alexandra’s Etsy shop. Tina from Go Big or Go Home is hosting a giveaway from this shop on her blog this weekend, and since she doesn’t have a little girl she asked if Poppy would model the headband. I must say, Poppy rocked the photo shoot. To see more of her showing off the headband and to enter the giveaway, be sure to check out Tina’s blog!

celebrating: my birthday earlier this month! It was lovely and low-key and included a cupcake castle.

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practicing: wearing my baby on my back. It’s still a little nerve wracking to try to get her back there, but we’re getting better and Poppy laughs whenever I try the Santa Toss.

moving: all over! After several months of pushing up and pivoting and accidentally scooting backwards, Poppy has finally figured out how to move forward! She’s using this new skill to go after all the things we had previously kept out of her reach.

waking: up early. At least for me. I’ve signed up for the Hello Mornings challenge for the next six weeks and I’m trying to start my days more positive and prepared. I’ve successfully made it through two whole days! If you care to follow how I’m doing, I’m trying to post each morning to my new Instagram account. I’ll also post other things I’m doing and previews of what’s coming up on the blog, so be sure to check it out!

loving: each other. I’ve probably mentioned this several times already, but watching these two become friends and love each other is probably my favorite thing ever.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Permalink | Filed under: everyday life, these days

July 7, 2015

Let’s Catch Up

Hi friends! It’s been a while. My only excuse is that I have two small children who don’t like to nap. And who oftentimes think mama is the best and sometimes only acceptable playmate in the world.

I think that’s a pretty good excuse really.

And while I have not been writing much of anything, we have been doing other things in life. And isn’t that what’s more important anyway?

So let’s catch up. In the form of a old-fashioned photo dump.

Charlie and Poppy are becoming great friends. It’s so fun to watch.

They also have a thing for sticking their tongues out at each other.

It’s a special treat to stay up to catch fireflies.

Cowboy hats are all the rage.

This gal is so smiley!

And so is he. Even when he has a horrible cold.

We made a mug for Father’s Day.

Because these kids have the best dad.

So that’s the gist of the last few weeks. Minus the boring stuff like chores and cooking. And minus the difficult stuff like three-year-old attitude and baby meltdowns. But who wants to hear about all that, right? Down the road, this is the stuff I want to remember about this phase of life. Even if it means I don’t get to blog as much. 🙂

Permalink | Filed under: everyday life

June 19, 2015

These Days // 20

These days image

Summer is in full swing around here. There was a time in my life when summer was just … hot. But I since having kids I feel like I’ve been able to tap back into the joys of summer. Playing in the hose. Chasing fireflies. Afternoons spent relaxing on a blanket in the shade. Summer can just keep doing its thing for several more months as far as I am concerned.

Here’s what’s happening these days:

Feeling: so proud of my boy! After a week at the grandparents’ pool he went from insisting he only wanted to sit on the step and put his feet in the water to swimming around in his puddle jumper on his own. Nothing is better than watching him learn and grow and try new things.

He also worked up the courage to push the button on the battery powered 4 wheeler and drive himself around the driveway.

Eating: Chobani flip yogurt. This was another new thing from our week at the in-laws. With flavors like “Salted Carmel Crunch” and “Chocolate Haze Craze” I found myself eating these for breakfast, dessert, and any time in between.

Hanging: a new whiteboard in our school corner. School time feels so official when we get around to it these days. I like having a dedicated space to keep Charlie’s work up for display. We’re also trying a new weekly(ish) memory verse. He’s doing great with it so far!

Playing: in the rain. Charlie has discovered the joys of the summer shower. He’s asking to go play outside even more than usual these days in the hopes of getting caught in a surprise rain.

Hitting: lots of milestones for my girl. In the past few weeks Poppy has learned to grasp for toys and bring them to her mouth, roll from her back to her tummy, and blow raspberries (that’s a milestone, right?).

I feel like this summer is just flying by. I hope you all are getting to soak in the long lazy days!

Permalink | Filed under: everyday life, h54f, these days

May 29, 2015

These Days // 19

These days image

taking: a short break from blogging, apparently. I had plans to post this week, but it just didn’t happen. And rather than feel stressed and guilty about my failure to be consistent with this hobby, I’m just going to say that instead I enjoyed…

watching: New Girl. I started at the beginning on Netflix and have made it a good way through the first season. One of these days I’m going to run out of lighthearted comedies to keep me entertained during bedtime nursing sessions.

I went a little overboard with the rainbow patterns one day.

hearing: giggles from my girl! I’ve heard little happy grunts and coos, but this week brought some full on laughs. It happened while tossing her into the air, of course.

going: to a new (to me) babywearing mom’s group. It’s a bit (no, a lot) out of my comfort zone to go hang out with a bunch of strangers, but it was fun, I learned some new things about baby wearing, and my Charlie got to play with several other little boys his age.

loving: how Charlie really seems to be coming into his own as a big brother these days. He gives Poppy hugs and kisses all the time, he holds her hand and brings her toys if she’s crying, and he even wanted her to sit on his lap! And she, of course, watches him with rapt attention any time he’s near. I’m pretty sure he’s going to be her hero someday.

Have a fabulous weekend, dear readers!