We’ve just wrapped up Spring break so we’ve been keeping busy and I wanted to share with you some life and home updates today. This will be a truly random post with lots of tidbits!
First, I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! We had a fabulous weekend full of family, food, and fun; a Saturday night of church, then pizza at Pistarro’s followed by ice cream at our new favorite ice cream joint; and a Sunday made of of Egg hunts, lunch at my parents, and several croquet matches. I usually let my father take all of the photos when we are together because he’s a much more skilled photographer than I am, but this Easter my kids asked me to bring my camera to the Egg hunt at Gramma & Papa’s so I obliged and shot several.
Sawyer was the first one out the door, but he was slower and methodical this year with his hunt.
Emmy on the other hand was like a maniac on the loose running this way and that. She did end up finding a few more eggs than Sawyer, so I suppose it worked for her. And maybe there was a method to her madness.
And then I couldn’t resist the opportunity for the obligatory Kids-get-in-front-of-the-forsythia-and-pretend-you-really-like-each-other photo.
And my dad surprised me and sent me this photo of me shooting my kiddos. I love that I am smiling while capturing the moment. And I always close that eye when I shoot… thus forehead wrinkles. Maybe I need to wear a patch. Aaaargh.
This blazer is my absolute favorite piece of clothing right now. I found it at a thrift shop for $3, but LL Bean has similar here.
My parents gave me the tunic for Christmas and I searched every website, and finally found it after many google searches here. It’s super comfortable and the colors are perfect for Spring.
And James Jeans are my favorites! I live in these.
They’re pricey, and I found mine locally at Silk & Burlap, but they are worth it. They fit me better than any pair I’ve owned and I always have a hard time because of my thighs. If you live in the area, I recommend stopping into Silk & Burlap to try on the different fits this brand comes in. I am hoping to grab myself another pair soon!
You may have noticed from the images above that the kids were sporting Fitbits. I was anti-fitbit for a long time, thinking that it was going to suck me in and I was already an active person… I thought I would become a slave to it, much like David Sedaris. After Christmas for some reason I chose to give it a chance and purchased the Fitbit Charge HR and it was eye opening for me! I was achieving at least 10k steps a day, but most of it was in the morning when I ran or walked. The rest of the day I wasn’t accumulating much activity. So it’s been really good for me, and I now try to get in an afternoon walk every day as well. If you’re on fitbit and want to be my friend, you can find me at [email protected] Emmy started asking for one after that and she isn’t dancing at the moment or playing sports, and I am always trying to get her to come walk the dogs with me, so I thought it would be a great motivator for her to see her steps go up up up! She wrote the Easter bunny a letter actually asking for the skinny mint colored fitbit. She told Sawyer about it, too, and one day out on a walk with the two of them and our dogs they discussed how they hoped the bunny brought them each a fitbit. Well, the one she was referring to was the Alta, and the Easter Bunny doesn’t spend that much. So instead the bunny searched the best option for kids, and found the fitbit Zip for $55 and also selected a couple of inexpensive colorful bands to go with it.
The kids had so much fun using them and watching their steps as they ran around the yard, played croquet and more. And I know it will help motivate them to stay active.
And now for some home updates…. and how is that for a transition? I am surely making all of my English teachers proud with that one.
While we were at my parents house this past weekend, my mom had a few things to pass on if I wanted them. I took a bunch of canning jars to give to my friend who does a ton of canning, and I also took a small framed piece of art.
That small black and white sketch is a picture of my grandparents’ house. We grew up in the same town they lived in, and my dad worked in the office in that house for years. When I was in middle school my grandmother often picked me up from school (waving her hands and shouting my name in the parking lot while I walked with my head down silently wishing her to stop!) and I would head over and dust and vacuum the office. The doorbell of that house had an intercom system and my brother and I had loads of fun as kids playing with that. In the wooded area behind the house, daffodils grew like crazy and I loved to pick them every Spring. I remember my Grampa in his velour jumpsuits he just loved to wear, sitting in his leather recliner. I remember the piles of grocery store romance novels my Nana had hidden under the sofa. And I even remember the neighbors… Brownie lived next door and had a pool he let us swim in. My dad grew up in that house, and my mom grew up in the house behind it, although they didn’t really meet until they started going to college together. That house holds so many memories for me… memories of my grandparents who have passed away, and happy thoughts of my parents first meeting and dating and falling in love. That picture brings all of those happy and bittersweet moments rushing back to me. Yesterday Emmy and I decided it would be perfect in her room. The kids love to hear stories from my childhood, so it’s nice to share those little bits of my past with them.
Of course that’s just one small touch for Emmy’s room. We love her room as it is. But Sawyer’s room is another story and a work in progress. I shared plans for Sawyer’s room last month and we have slowly been chipping away. With my work schedule and Chris’ work schedule finding the time to paint was a challenge. But I can tell you that all of the walls have now been painted! We used Clark & Kensington’s Dark Diversion (available at Ace Hardware), and I love this color so much! It’s a deep dark blue and perfect for a growing boy. Here are a couple of peeks of the walls, and yes I will have to repaint that shark!
He is loving the progress so far…. his room is a nice little boy-cave and he slept until 9 or 10 every day of Spring break. I’d say it’s plenty cozy for him.
It’s all about the kid spaces on the home front today… A year and a half ago I worked on the playroom and got it to a point where we all loved it. These images are from that reveal.
Well last August we had a drain issue and the playroom flooded. We had to get new drywall and carpeting. Because of our schedules, it was hard to get the work complete but we finally did it and the kids had their space back…. for 3 months. On Christmas morning we woke to a Christmas surprise… flooding again! Once again we had to move all of the furniture, get new drywall, and new carpeting. We’ve had different plumbers out here and they seem to all think our drain pipe is clear. So we’ve installed a water alarm so that if water does start leaking we will know before it’s too late this time. Our schedules were even more chaotic this time, and we finally had all the work complete just a few weeks ago. And of course that leaves me with wheels turning and I’m thinking of making some minor changes. Oh and do you remember these awesome lockers?
Those awesome lockers now belong to one of my best friends, the same girl I gave the canning jars to. 🙂 She LOVED these lockers and after the second flooding, Chris said to me, “I am never moving those lockers again! They have got to go!” He’s usually not so opinionated, so I abided. I told her she could have them, as long as they hauled them away!
My wheels are turning with this space, but I would love to bring in a little more color in the form of mint, and possibly some pale pink so the overall palette would be black, white, gray, mint, mustard, and pale pink. I am only in the very beginning phase of thinking about it, but two floods later I’m just like hey why not? What do you think? I would love to hear your thoughts!
Well, I think I’ve caught you up on most of the things that are going on around here! Oh, and don’t forget that next week we kick off Dollhouse Therapy!!!! I hope you have your miniature houses ready!
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