Oh Summer, how we love you!

There is something about Summer that just makes people happy. Mark and I both agree that Summer is best when nothing is scheduled, and fun just happens. The only "official" thing on Megan's schedule this summer is a week long hockey camp. (Something I cannot teach her myself) Other than that...and Mark's golf, nothing is planned. We know dates of when friends/family will be in town visiting, we have a few parties to attend and we have a few ideas of fun places to go to (take our kids to Cedar Point) but we are unscheduled this Summer.

First up, collecting sticks from the yard to build fairy furniture.

 I had to get a picture of her reading like this, because I remember sitting like this when I was a kid!

Dressing up like Doc Mcstuffins and Lambie to give Baron a check-up. 

 

What do you do when it is hot, but Mom doesn't have the energy to take 2 kids to the pool?

Sponges + Buckets of Water = Fun

 

I also made targets with chalk on the driveway and Megan asked me to ask her math problems that would equal the number in the target. What can I say, she likes math!

 

 

I don't think this was the "first bike ride" this year, but this ride just seemed carefree. because we had nothing but time :)

We are lucky that our neighborhood is perfect for Megan to ride up and down the street without many interruptions. Yes, I am in the road when she is. Yes, she stops and moves to the side of the road the second she sees a car!

2+ hours swimming, over naptime...I knew he needed a real diaper on for the car ride because he was going to be asleep before we left the parking lot. He totally walked through the whole Country Club like this!

 A day at the pool, plus shifting bedtimes, my kids we just "tired" so we just needed a day at home. It was still hot out, so bins of water, buckets, spoons and sponges, kept the kiddos busy all day.

Oh, and we also had a pedicure station set up!

So we are 2 weeks into Summer...I think the days are going by quite nicely!

No, you don't need a coat.

The other day we had a good old fashioned rain shower. No thunder, no lightning, just rain! Almost as if she knew instantly it was safe, Megan came running in from the playroom asking, "Can I go run in the rain?" Of course I said, ""Yes!....I'll go get some towels!" Then Megan went to get...her raincoat!?! Huh, what??? "Megan, you don't need a rain coat. You're going to get wet, it's okay, go play!"

 

I had to tell her 3 times that she didn't need a rain coat. When she finally went outside, she looked back at me with a questioning look, almost as if she still didn't think it was okay to be in the rain. When Joey came running outside still in pj's, Megan finally relaxed enough to enjoy the moment.

Love this picture!

 (Is that mean of me to like a picture where Joey is clearly getting splashed in the face with water!?!)

 

I missed the big giggles because I was taking pictures, but to me, this is what Summer is about...seizing the moment and dancing in the rain. Finding puddles to splash in not having a care in the world. The simple things never get old. 

 

 

I think they had fun...no one can resist jumping in a puddle!

 

This video is more for the sound :)

I hope my kids never forget that sometimes you just have to be silly!

It is time for me...a better version of me!

***This post is more therapeutic for me, not sharing a funny story. I just need to clear my own head...read on if you wish.

 





Pretty cute kids, huh? Let me tell you what I see in this picture...I see me holding Megan in front of my belly, because if you can't see it, it doesn't exist right!?! I see a bright scarf, placed there to bring out the colors of my eyes and to hide my squishy cheeks. I see long sleeves covering my arms, because they are pale and flabby. Am I being hard on myself...maybe. But another thing I see in this picture...this picture is one of the very few pictures I have WITH my kids. On my phone, I have 700+ pictures, I am in about 5 of them, if that! I am done...DONE hiding from the camera.

For years, I have been working on trying to "not be squishy" and for years, I have failed. I know all the things I should do and I know all of the things I shouldn't do. But nothing has clicked. Am I lazy...no, hell no! Do I eat and eat and eat...no. Do I avoid vegetables...no. Did I gain a ton of weight when I was growing 2 new humans...yes! Let me be clear, I do not blame my squishiness on having kids. But I do know, that I did not follow the "standard" postpartum magic that everyone claims happens after having kids. I nursed 2 kids, for over a year and guess how many pounds I lost...NONE! Again, not blaming my kids, I am proud of what my body did, twice, but I am ready to not feel the way I do anymore.

I am ready to have my outside match how I feel inside. I am ready to be the athlete I once was. I was captain of my high school softball team (first base) I didn't get that title by being lazy. I LOVED softball! I spent the off season, running, lifting weights etc. just to be stronger for softball! I loved working out, I still do. I love working hard and sweating my butt off, but being a stay at home mom, my needs are on the bottom of the list. My JOB is to take care of my kids, to take care of the house and to get things done so my hubby doesn't have to stress about "home" stuff. ***That is the wrong way to look at it. My job is take care of my kids and my home, but my JOB is to take care of me! Because if I have "me time" I will have more energy, more patience and overall more happiness, which will make life stress free.

***I should mention that Mark is absolutely wonderful, he has never made me feel like I can't take time for me, I just haven't made "me time" a priority...until now.  

The way I feel wasn't brought on because someone said something to me or about me. It is just one of those things that I think all women/moms feel. We have all heard or even made comments about what other people look like, or what they should or should not be wearing. I have made comments or had thoughts about why bigger people wear certain things, but then I ALWAYS wonder...do people think this about me!?! Trust me I have no desire to wear short things or tight things, but I do want to feel confident, I do want to wear clothes and not hide behind them.

So what is my plan, my plan is to start with realistic goals and to end with realistic goals. Do I want to weigh what I did in high school...no. But do I want to weigh less than I do now...yes. My goals, from small to big, I want to stop my late night, the kids are sleeping, I can eat in peace "binge" I want to eat breakfast everyday, not just drink coffee and wait until lunch to eat. (Because when that happens, that is when I eat late at night because I get to eat 3 meals a day, right!?!) The big goal, I want to focus on being with my family, taking pictures of the memory and NOT worrying about if my squishiness will be forever captured in a horrendous picture.

Today, I signed up for an online fitness course. Have I done them before...yes. I did well, but it never stuck. You name the excuse, I used it. The course I am taking is run by a super busy, super supportive, down to Earth, Mom...of 7! So she has even more excuses than me, and yet, she has made herself a priority. I will learn from her and along with the other women of the group, I will get my confidence back. I have been following her ups and downs through her blog not-your-average-mom.com She is real, she is funny and she tells it how it is.  Have I met her in real life...no, but I feel like I have known her for years (weird, I know)

Now, have I shared too much and set myself up for huge failure...no. But what I did do, was take away any and all shame that I have ever felt about how I look.  So if you see me punching things into my phone, I will be logging what I eat. If you see me climbing steps at the ice arena, it is because I will be squeezing in a workout. And if you see me at the pool, I will be having fun with my kids. I have no shame, it took me years to get squishy, it will take time to get un-squishy. But I will get there...I will!

Summer Solstice = Party Weekend

After a Long, COLD, Historic Winter, we are so happy that Summer is finally here! To me, nothing says "Summer" more than family BBQ's! This weekend we had multiple parties to attend and had to miss one in order to keep my sanity (I mean, keeping track of a 2 year old, while trying to visit, is kind of exhausting. Plus 1 family was hosting 2 parties on 2 different days, which kind of worked out quite nicely.) 

 

 First up, A Summer Solstice BBQ, at Jesper and Lisa's house (Lisa is Mark's sister) I refer to this party as, "If you can kill it and grill it, it will be served BBQ" Over the years, Jesper has become a master at smoking meats, his BBQ is something we won't miss, it is so good and so laid back, it is a perfect way to spend an afternoon!

 Steps away from Jesper and Lisa's front door is a beautiful walking trail that leads to a beautiful arboretum So after stuffing our bellies, we set off for a walk. The last time we were here was at Easter, it was neat seeing how much it has changed since everything is growing now.

Those specks are the kids enjoying the trail. It is such a fun place for the kids to be kids.

 



So I tried...and failed, to get a picture of Megan and Joey.  I liked how the sun was shining and thought this picture in black and white would look neat....if only I had a little boy that would smile nicely...oh well. These pictures tell a story too.

 

By the time we got back from our walk, all of the kids were fed, and they were ready to play! There were about 30 kids at the party and all of them played very nicely together, it was awesome to see.

The trees were used for climbing, hiding and for kids to plan what game to play next. If you couldn't find your kid...look in the trees!



 Joey found a bow his cousin made during a previous visit. (The "cousins" have an ongoing Hunger Games game so there are bows hidden all over. Along with random Easter Eggs that take months to find.)

 

 No, no, no...it did not turn into a take your clothes off kind of party...Joey spilled lemonade all over shirt #1, so I took his shirt off to eat a popsicle. There was dripping ice cream inside...I needed a wipe able surface!

The next day, we were off to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Mark's Aunt & Uncle 

 I am pretty sure Joey was inside for about 5 minutes before he charmed Grandma into getting him a plate of fruit. Umm, how cute is his little outfit!?!

 Cornhole anyone!?!

 

 The party was at a house that backed up to a golf course, so the view was beautiful! Leave it to my kiddos to trample through the landscaping :)

 

 Recall earlier, when I said keeping an eye on a 2 year old, while trying to visit was exhausting...yep, find Joey in this picture...

 

 ...there he is, 2 doors down...on an active golf course.

 

The kids at Sunday's party played perfectly together, no matter their age.  I didn't get any pictures of the hide and seek game they all played, but it was fun to watch! They are all distantly related, but they hardly ever see each other, but they played together as if they see each other once a week. That is why I love Summer, family filled parties! Kids play, parents catch up and everything is good simple fun!



My kids are growing up...not sure if I am okay with that.

Tuesday was Megan's last day of 1st grade and honestly, I am okay with it, but I can't help myself from flashing back in time remembering when she started having milestones. 

Start of 1st Grade

End of 1st Grade

Wow! What a year this has been! First grade was the year that Megan started to connect all of the concepts she started learning in Kindergarten. This was the year where she connected math, science, reading, writing to the world around her. But the thing I will AWAYS remember, is that in 1st grade, she learned to read and because of this, her world became limitless! Reading small words turned into reading large words...full sentences...full paragraphs...full books. She can read recipes, instructions, directions...her world has no limits. If she wants to learn more about something, she can find the information herself and not rely on someone else to give it to her.

Sorry if I am a little passionate about her learning to read, but if you saw her struggle in Kindergarten and start 1st grade off barely knowing sight words, then you would know that she made HUGE strides with reading this year! She went from having to go to a special reading group in Sept/Oct/Nov to reading chapter books almost over night. It is hard to describe the issues she struggled with, but I cried when the letter came home explaining that she was reading at grade level. (I'm tearing up right now thinking about it.)

Megan in the 1st grade music show. She was dealing with allergies and tummy issues so she wasn't really too energetic during the show :(

 

Muffins with Mom! Or a donut is Megan's case.

 

1st grade picnic. As you can see, there were lots of fun events at the end of the school year. It was a fun year, Alexander is a fun school, can't wait to see what new adventures await for her in 2nd grade.

 

Welcome to the Family, Robot Boy

 



A school year ends for Megan and Joey also reached his own end...the end of nuks (pacifiers) Now, before you judge me in the pacifier world, I know the recommendations, I know that Megan was pacifiers by 18 months, but Joey...he was different. He only used them to settle down for sleeping and then he spit them out, 1 in his mouth + 1 in his hand.

Wondering why we didn't break him of his pacifier habit sooner...simple...I needed sleep! Obviously, the 1st year Joey didn't sleep much because he needed food. But then his my sleepless night continued. Without spending an hour giving Joey's sleep history, I will just fast forward to our conclusion of his sleep issues. Joey is a sleepwalker! So night after night he would walk out of his room, come find me and then I would go lay down in his bed (twin size) and he would go back to bed. Those pacifiers were essential for him to fall back asleep! Then his sleep walking morphed into night terrors Let me tell you, those are some freaky moments when you have no clue what is going on with your kid. Now that we know about them, they aren't so scary, but again, the pacifiers were essential for him to fall back asleep. But now...now it was time for them to go.

We needed something to replace his pacifiers as a sleeping buddy, so the search was on for a new friend for Joey to snuggle with. Robots are his thing right now, so amazon was my friend and Mr. Robot dude was on his way! Today, he magically showed up at our house :)

I think Robot Dude is a hit.

First nap time...

...worked like a charm!

 

After his nap, Joey decided on Mr. Robot Dude's name...Robot Boy! So welcome Robot Boy, please keep my baby safe during the night. Because should a night terror happen again, I might need I cuddle from you too!



Why I do, what I do.

One more than one occasion, I have had people ask me, "why?" or "how do you have time to...?" referring to volunteering on PTO, planning parties, DIY projects, baking desserts for hockey etc. I never really stop to think about, all I know is that I have always enjoyed helping people, so I do.

 

When it comes to Megan's school, PTO or any other help Alexander needs, I enjoy volunteering there. I think back to my childhood and I remember how much fun I had a Fun Nights, read-a-thons, Field Days etc. I want my kids, their friends and all of the kids at Alexander to have those same fun memories of school. I love hearing the giggles, I love walking down the hall having kids say, "Hi, Megan's mom!" I love it. Is it a lot of work...yes! Do we have an awesome (yet small) PTO...yes! Will I be volunteering at Alexander for awhile...yes! But it is worth it!

 

Last Friday, was Field Day and all us on PTO thought is went off perfectly! The kids were all giggles, the events were all fun and we had a great group of parent volunteers helping us.

 

Megan finishing up her 3 legged race...love the smile! (I didn't get too many good pictures, because I was because I was busy making sure all of the events/volunteers had what they needed.)

 

Here is a video of why all of the time we spent planning this was worth it. You can hear kids giggling, you can hear them cheering each other on, you can see that they had a great time.

 

Alexander's super cool principal and 1/2 grade teacher waiting for the teacher competition to start! (Those are pretzel rods)

 

Pass the bagel from one teacher to the next...the kids loved watching their teachers race each other!

 

Balloon toss anyone!?!

 

 

Umm, yeah, the teachers at Alexander are kind of awesome...and maybe a bit competitive!

 

The kids LOVED this!!!

3rd and 4th grader rocking the afternoon events!

 

Water + Sponge + Bucket = Fun...on a hot day at the end of a very, very long school year!

 

Field Day was planned by a handful of parents and it was enjoyed by over 400+ kids and the parent volunteers that got to see all of the excitement the kids had. Can't wait until next year! That being said, does the PTO need help...yes! And not just the PTO at Alexander, I am willing to bet that most PTO groups need help. So if you have time...volunteer...even if it is for 1 afternoon...it is worth it!

 

Some of you that are reading this might be thinking, "Well of course she can volunteer, she is a stay at home mom." True, I am a SAHM, but I lost count of how many late nights I had just focusing on treasurer stuff, or how many times I asked my mom to watch Joey so I could be at school helping. I don't know what it is like to be a mom that has a 9-5 job, but I do know that I am busy, I know that my "to-do" list NEVER gets done (see the photo below of my basement. My poor basement...the dumping ground, that some day I will get to.) I know that once the kids go to bed, I am ready for bed too...but volunteering at my kids school is very, very important to me, so I find the time to help.