Amy Beth

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:

IMG 0258

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.

IMG 0255

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!

IMG 3728

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.

IMG 3732

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!

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.

IMG 3667
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.

IMG 3697

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!

May 15, 2015

These Days // 18

Thesedays2

Happy weekend! These past couple of weeks have been full of good things. Here’s what’s going on these days:

IMG 3626

Celebrating: my sister’s college graduation! The whole family made the trip down to Nashville for the weekend for the ceremony. We also got to see her senior art show, go to the zoo, and eat at some tasty local restaurants. It was a full but fun time!

Surviving: the first stay at a hotel with two children. I was a little apprehensive about how it was going to go but they were both troopers. We kept so busy during the days that when nighttime came around they were both more than ready to go to bed.

IMG 3586

IMG 3606

Spending: lots of time outside. The weather has been ideal around here the past week or so and we’ve been soaking it up.

IMG 3631

Cutting: fresh flowers from our yard. We’ve got several purple things in bloom right now. So pretty! (Don’t be impressed. I didn’t plant any of it.)

IMG 3666

Planning: meals to use up the veggies from our first CSA box of the season. This week we got a salad mix, sweet potatoes, asparagus, strawberries, dried beans, and cornmeal. I’m excited to put it all to good use and try a few new recipes!

Have a fabulous week!

May 1, 2015

These Days // 17

Thesedays2

Another week has flown by. Here’s what’s happening these days.

17110401027 c7b85c5744 o

cuddling: a puny baby. Poppy had her 4 month shots this week and has been a bit feverish and tired. I gotta admit though, I’m enjoying the extra long naps.

wearing: a new Apple Watch. I’m officially the owner of more technology than is reasonable. But first impressions are that it’s pretty fun and helpful! I plan on sharing a more thorough review after I’ve spent some time living with it.

IMG 3546 copy

eating: Craisins. I let Charlie nibble on a few of these when I was throwing them on top of a salad and he’s been hooked ever since. I like them on crackers with cream cheese. He likes them in a pile on his plate. I can’t decide if this is a good snacking option or not. On the one hand it’s a serving of fruit with vitamins and fiber and antioxidents. On the other hand it has just as much sugar as a serving of cookies. Why are snacks so hard?!!

17033569207 acc0a2c446 o

watching: what we say. Charlie has entered a phase of picking up on all our grumpier phrases and words. This past week we’ve heard him say things like, “Darn it!” and “Gosh!” and “Never, never, never!” Thankfully our language doesn’t get much more colorful than that around here, but having a three year old pick up on all your word choices certainly makes you think a little harder about them.

making: a backyard garden space for Charlie. We took a bare spot in the lawn and made a little brick border and added a couple of old paving stones to give it some boundaries. We plan on planting sunflowers around the edges and maybe adding a couple of other small flowers. Otherwise this will be a place for Charlie to dig to his heart’s content. I’m excited to see what we can grow there this summer.

That’s all for today. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend filled with friends, flowers, and fluffy bunnies.

Coffee with Caitlin


P.S. Here are some posts from the archives that you may have missed:

  1. Making Messes – thoughts on creativity and perfection
  2. Playing with Color – some color scheme inspiration for your next project
  3. Rainbow Birthday Party – easy and simple ideas for a 1st birthday
April 24, 2015

These Days // 16

Thesedays2

This week has flown by! I’m pretty sure if I hadn’t had to write this post I would have forgotten all of it.

Here’s what’s happening these days…

IMG 3513

IMG 3496

watching: Charlie and Poppy interact more and more. Charlie, while always kind to his little sister, has always been pretty cautious and hands-off with her. I feel like this week he has finally started to feel a little more comfortable with her, as evidenced by these pictures of the two of them next to each other. Those have been really hard to get up until this week.

17023332797 0f427cd366 o

making: my favorite spread yet in my Project Life album. Be looking for a post about that in the coming weeks!

IMG 3459

cheering: for the racers in the soap box derby. Last weekend our town had it’s first coaster car race on main street and we walked down to see the action. It was a lovely spring day and a fun little outing. Charlie was a bit disappointed that he couldn’t ride in the cars though…

IMG 3451

IMG 3527

growing: grass in a tiny pot. We got one of those grass growing kits at Target last week and have been watching the little shoots of grass pop up all week. I’m impressed at how fast it’s grown!

IMG 3475

loving: how alert and interactive our little girl is getting. Smiles are coming all the time these days, and she’s always trying to add to the conversation with her coos and gurgles and grunts. She can get pretty noisy!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Coffee with Caitlin


P.S. Here are some posts from the archives that you may have missed:
1. Parmesan Tilapia – one of our favorite quick and easy weeknight dinners
2. The one where I finally finish up our gallery wall
3. Some good reasons to consider cloth diapering

April 17, 2015

These Days // 15

Thesedays2

Hello, friends. Here’s what’s happening these days…

answering: why? All. Day. Long. It is Charlie’s favorite question. He likes it so much he doesn’t even care what the answer is. Because he’s just going to ask it again. A sample conversation:

Me: Charlie, it’s time to put away your toys.
Him: Why?
Me: Because it’s almost bedtime.
Him: Why?
Me: Because it’s getting dark outside.
Him: Why?
Me: Because the sun goes down at night.
Him: Why?
Me: Because God made it that way.
Him: Why?
Me: God is supposed to be the answer to everything! Can’t you just be satisfied?!

trying: a new routine. We’ve been working on bringing a bit more structure to our days. I started implementing new after-breakfast and after-lunch routines this week and so far it’s been going well. It get us out of our pajamas, give us time for school and play, and builds in a little time for cleaning up the house as well. Somedays that’s all that gets done, but at least it’s something.

learning: more letters. Our new routine has given us a regular school time and Charlie’s been doing so well on learning his letters. Someday soon I plan to do a post sharing all the activities we’ve been doing.

reading: “The Journey” by Mary Oliver. My husband shared it in his newsletter this past week and it left me nodding and murmuring things like, “isn’t that the truth.”

The Journey

by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice—
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do—
determined to save
the only life you could save.

leaving: you with these pictures my husband took, because you can’t have a blog post with out pictures, and I didn’t really take many good ones this week. I feel like they capture life around here so well.

16922346177 dbb3fd410c o

16985827460 46f8d836f6 o

16967031169 dfde41b5b6 o

17114921782 2a137acdcc o

Enjoy your weekend!

April 11, 2015

These Days // 14

Thesedays2

High five for… late Saturday night! Some weeks I just can’t get in a moment to write my Friday posts. This week has been full, but good. Here’s what’s been going on these days:

loving: the warm spring days. They’ve come with a lot of rain as well, but the warm sunshine in-between storms has been worth it. And it’s given us a few good puddles to splash in.

IMG 3354

IMG 3357

watching: lots of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. When I first heard about this show I was confused. A funny cop show? But it is indeed funny, and about cops. Watching it gives me similar enjoyable feelings as I got from watching The Office back in the day. So if that’s not a recommendation, I don’t know what is.

planting: some flowers in the front flower bed. We got a couple of hyacinths from a friend at church, some violets from my Aunt Barbara’s funeral, and then I tried transplanting a few irises from the side of the house. I’m interested to see if any of these things live.

celebrating: Easter! We kept it pretty low key this year, but still managed to include some fun egg dying, some easter egg hunts, and the worst deviled eggs ever.

IMG 3396

Easter eggs

planning: some new pieces to go on our walls. Hopefully these projects will get done soon and I’ll be able to share them on the blog.

getting: out of the house! This week has included trips outside the house to go to church, the playground, a friend’s house, the grocery store, and the mall. Not to mention a few walks! That’s some major activity for this family of homebodies. What’s even more impressive is that at least a few of those outings involved me going out with both children at once! Without my husband to help me! It has given me the sliver of confidence I needed to attempt that more often. Maybe one day we’ll go to the library, or Target, or (super excited about this one!) Hobby Lobby!

I hope your spring has sprung and you are soaking it in! Enjoy!

March 13, 2015

These Days // 12

These days image

It’s another Friday! Here’s what’s been happening these days:

loving: the first signs of spring! I went outside without a coat today. There are tiny green shoots sticking out of the dirt. The snow has finally melted away. And the daylight has been saved. I really hope spring sticks around.

bouncing: my baby on my knee. She loves it and it makes her smile.

celebrating: Charlie’s birthday. Still! We had family in last weekend for a little birthday party. I love seeing how much Charlie is loved by his family.

making: more pages in my photo album. Be looking for more posts about that soon.

thanking: God for the wonderful community of support we have around us. We had Charlie and Penelope dedicated in church on Sunday and it was such a reminder of how much God has blessed us with friends and family to help our children realize the full and wonderful life God has for them.

Enjoy your weekend! Hopefully it acts spring-like for you too!

March 6, 2015

These Days // 11

These days image

Hello, hello! It’s almost another weekend! I hope you’ve been enjoying the “these days” posts as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them. I find it’s a nice way to look back on the week and acknowledge the good things that have happened. It’s all too easy to live these little moments and then forget they ever happened to you. I hope that by having a record here on the blog that I will remember the little, everyday moments that make up my week.

So these days we have been:

IMG 0074

making: granny squares. I’ve been spending several evenings this week binge watching The Mindy Project while crocheting little granny squares. I love how quick and easy they come together. I have grand plans of someday turning a bunch of granny squares made from scrap yarn into a big cozy blanket.

Photo Mar 02 12 35 06 PM

celebrating: Charlie’s third birthday. We kept the celebration pretty simple here at home. Charlie went with me to the store to pick out some cookies which we then made for lunch. Complete with candles.

Photo Mar 02 7 38 55 PM

And then he got his very own camera as his present! It’s been a fairly regular thing for him to pretend to take pictures, so we figured he would enjoy getting to do it for real! He was so surprised and I think a little in awe when he opened it up. Which was pretty much the cutest thing ever.

planning: a trains birthday party. His actual birthday may have been a simple affair, but this weekend a bunch of family are coming in town for a slightly bigger celebration. This year’s theme is trains because I couldn’t bring myself to do cars again. The boy is nothing if not consistent in his love of transportation vehicles.

wanting: some new art supplies. I have dreams of someday knowing how to paint. But that takes practice. And some paints and brushes to practice with. Maybe someday I’ll get around to getting those things.

IMG 0073

playing: in more snow! After getting over a foot a couple weeks ago, which just so happened to be the most snow our area has seen in years – or rather, decades – we got another foot and a half this week! Which breaks the all time record for snowfall in a single storm. When it rains, it pours. In it’s frozen form, apparently.

Just for fun: here’s a link to the biggest snowfalls on record in Kentucky (as of last winter. It doesn’t include this past month’s craziness). I remember playing in the snow as a kid in ’94 and ’98, which got 10″ and 11″ in a day respectively. Those are some of my best winter memories. The two snows we’ve gotten in the past month both beat those. I hope we don’t have to go another 15 years before Charlie sees another big snow.

Enjoy your weekend!

Coffee with Caitlin

February 27, 2015

These Days // 10

These days image

This post is brought to you by a couple of hours by myself in a coffee shop. Glory! It’s amazing how quiet a very busy and loud restaurant can seem when you are a mother. I think it’s just the fact that none of the noise is anything I have to pay attention to.

Here’s what we’ve been doing these days:

IMG 0061

sprouting: potatoes. I went to throw some potatoes in a crock pot this week and found that they had started to sprout and go soft. So we turned them into a science experiment instead. I have no idea if anything interesting will happen. Maybe they’ll grow some fun stems and roots. Maybe they’ll rot. Maybe they’ll just sit there until I give up and throw them out.

IMG 0060

Related: sticking toothpicks in a bunch of potatoes is fun! Charlie made a “town.” Can you see it?

IMG 0063

learning: letters. We’ve done a few letter A activities this week that have gone over pretty well. If we continue to have success with a few more letters I’ll be sure to share what we’ve been doing here on the blog soon.

enjoying: time at home with my kids. I feel like this week has finally started to look a bit more like what I hope to get out of my days as a stay at home mom. I’ve stayed more or less on top of some basic housekeeping and still managed to get in some fun playtime and actives with Charlie. And I’m getting a few moments to myself too! We still have a ways to go in terms of establishing a constant routine, and someday I need to work up the courage to get the kids out of the house, but we’re making progress and I don’t feel like I’m going insane.

organizing: the pantry and kitchen cabinets. We got some new dishes and packed up some old ones to pass along to my sister. Now I feel like our kitchen has a bit more breathing room. Thank goodness.

IMG 0064

graduating: speech therapy! Charlie has aged out of the early intervention program in our state and has made so much progress that he no longer qualifies for services. We’re so proud of him and the progress he’s made. And so thankful to Ms. Z who has been coming to our home each week for the past 8 months to help him. We’re going to miss her!

Enjoy your weekend!

Coffee with Caitlin