Grace in small things: Saturday hike edition
- Nice hike with Zo this afternoon...a little shorter than we'd planned but we made it home just before the hail and torrential rain, so we did it right...
- ...preceded by some Zo and Daddy time while I got a massage and read and sunbathed for a little while at the hot springs...it was glorious...
- ...and Zo and I made meatballs for tomorrow's dinner...she's a good helper...
- "War" with Zo after the hike...which she won...
- And we're about to go out on Date Night with Zo along, which will be really fun...she's dressed in her polka-dot dress and sparkle shoes and is so excited about the fact that she'll be able to have a Shirley Temple...
Great Saturday. :)
XO
Grace in small things: Only child (for a few days) edition
- Sis and I dropped her brother off with Grammy and Papa today...he's getting some one-on-one time with them which is fabulous...Sis will switch with him Tuesday. She says she's looking forward to not having to tell people to stop (e.g., what she does when Luke teases her) and also not having to compete for the prime Daddy Cuddle Spot position. It's great for the kids to be with their grandma and grandpa but it's also fun for us to just have one...so much easier... Also, it was so cute how lovingly Luke and Zo said goodbye to each other today...without any prompting, I might add...
- I've never been to downtown Meeker...it's so cute...
- Looking forward to a weekend off...this week has been hectic to say the least...
- Wonderful to see my mom and dad as always...
- We've been super lax about family dinners past couple weeks but tonight we had grilled steak and corn...yum and so nice to all sit together...
Happy weekend!
XO
Grace in small things: Swimsuits all day edition
Swim lessons and pool time at the hot springs this morning and then we never got out of swimsuits...I just threw on a cover-up, the kids not even that. A great way to start August!
XO
Day in the life: July 2017 edition
8:30 AM: Kids woke me up and it's a miracle that A) I slept that late and B) they let me. I'm almost always up between 6 and 6:30, either on my own or because of Zo (who, to her credit, if she's up before me gets the coffee started before coming in to get me up)
8:45: Coffe and "My Little Pony" with Sis on the couch
9:30: Walked the dog and breakfast of Rice Crispies and Cheerios combined, milk, watermelon pops I made for the kids. Chicken salad for me. Talked to my mom. Kids played together upstairs after breakfast, building a racetrack. Checked my email
10:30: Shower, house pick-up, laundry, get kids dressed, brush and braid and bow Sissy's hair, teeth brushed
11:00: Kids rode their bikes around the circle and played outside with some neighborhood friends, I monitored from the porch and did the dishes
11:30: Zo came in and helped me put lunch packs together, cheese, Goldfish crackers, carrots, grapes, plantain chips, a few chunks of chicken, water. Quick dog walk
12:00 PM: Errands with our "Summer Mix" we made on the radio—doctor for kid weight check, Lift Up for donations, Ace Hardware where the kids spent some allowance to get a pony corral (Zo) and Matchbox cars (Luke)
1:30: Work. Kids played with Me-Ma who also kept the laundry going, repotted a plant, made chocolate ice cream with the kids...so grateful for her help...
5:00: Daddy's home! Daddy + kid time with some cartoons and talking about their days
5:30: Dinner with blueberries and avocado and bread with butter and honey and milk and carrots and an apple. Jeff and I talked about the doctor visit. I walked the dog while Jeff cleaned up after dinner and had kids pick up their toys
6:45: Long's Drug for double scoop ice cream cones, quick stop at Walgreens on the way home
7:30: Teeth, wash hands and face, jammies (Luke in his underwear, Zo with 2 short bottoms one over the other and no top), read a chapter of Heidi interrupted by lots and lots of questions, hugs goodnight Luke and Zo, Mommy tuck-in with scratchy and song and talking about their days
8:15: Download and edit pictures, bill my work time, check email, blog
8:45: Time with Jeff including a margarita on the porch and discussion of what the fast-moving cloud shapes look like
9:15: Zo's finally asleep after playing upstairs with Luke. Luke's having trouble sleeping and out on the porch with us
9:45: Send Luke back to bed
10:15: Final Luke tuck-in and he FINALLY falls asleep. I watch the last episode of Girls (such a good series, sorry that it's over) and then read until falling asleep at approx. midnight...
Loving these long summer days. Kindergarden's really going to change things around here but that's a month away and I'm all about enjoying the rest of the summer as much as we possibly can...
XO
Grace in small things: New camera edition
- My sweet husband got me a new camera for my birthday and wow...it is amazing! This weekend was the first chance I had to sit with the manual and get some basic settings aligned with how I've been doing things...it was not at all intuitive and I haven't even scratched the surface of what it's capable of but so excited to have something that can do a little more than the entry-level DSRL that I've had for the past 8 or so years...I don't know what I'm trying to do with photography...definitely not trying to make it a job...I just know I like to take some pictures every day, kind of consciously recording things that make me happy...
- Hike today on Spring Creek Trail...so pretty up there...
- Made watermelon popsicles and borscht today...such pretty colors, the borscht is delicious and turned out this deep magenta...going to make honey-jalapeno dressing too before the day is out...
- Daddy helped the kids make blue and pink sparkle slime this weekend and that and some kitchen utensils has kept the kiddos hugely entertained...
- Sitting on the porch on a nice warm summer afternoon...ahhh...this weekend has been so lovely...
XOXO
Grace in small things: Eli's cute drawing edition
1. Fun play date with some friends this afternoon at their new house (yay for them!) and 7-year-old Eli had drawn this for Zo of the two of them...seriously the sweetest...
2. And back at home, Zo made herself a laptop computer and a cell phone so she could work like Mama...the computer even has a little apple icon on the front...
3. Lots of good food in the fridge...makes it easy to throw together simple but nutritious meals for the kiddos (and me)...
4. Kids are loving Heidi and I am loving it too...remember it so well from when I was a little girl...
5. I had the hiccups tonight during tuck-in and it made Zo giggle so hard, me hiccuping while I sang her "Taps"... I told the kids too once that the cure for hiccups is hugs so now when anyone hiccups they get hugged like crazy...
Happy Wednesday!
XO
Grace in small things: Wild West edition
- Woke up at 4:30 AM this morning and thought I was up for the day--almost made coffee--which would have meant about 4 hours sleep...but was able to go back to sleep until 7:30...yay!...
- Balloon on my morning walk...love that we see this balloon almost daily...
- Kids are doing great at swim lessons...
- Both kids super snuggle-y getting out of the bath tonight. We have a new toothbrushing routine too with everything out on the counter that seems like it is making things easier...
- Kids are having the best time playing together before bed...although I have a feeling they've made a mess upstairs...I told them if I come up and there's a mess no screen time tomorrow but it doesn't sound like they are cleaning...oh well...they love screen time so maybe they will learn. My goal right now is no yelling at the kids so this is a good alternative way of handling things instead of getting mad about the mess, right??
Happy Tuesday!
XO
A great weekend...
Over in Pine this weekend with Ben and Jaimie and Bodie, Bailee away on a raft trip, and what fun we had with the Zoo and Star Wars Night with the Rockies and BBQs and beers and seeing their addition and the yard coming along, bouncing on the trampoline and checking out the cows in the meadow and lunch (and changing a flat tire) at the Shaggy Sheep, driving home through Breckinridge...some of my very favorite people in the world...grateful to get to spend time with them over a gorgeous summer weekend...
XO
