i live for summer

catch the moment: wk 30

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

What a week of mixed emotions! The weekend was great but these week days have been a different story this past 7 days. We are definitely in a time of transition as a family. Theo starts Kindergarten this year and Dexter will have a new teacher and be brotherless at Montessori School. It’s been an extremely busy week between trying to get things ready but we managed to squeeze in a lot of fun Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Linking up with Mindi,Stephanie, and Carrie for week 30 of Catch the Moment 365.

204/365: Thursday July 23rd. This day marked 8 years since my father passed away due to pancreatic cancer. Ryan knows this day is hard for me. I met a friend for dinner and meanwhile, my 3 special guys picked up a couple of pick-me-ups. Oh, I wish my dad was around to know my kids.07-23-2015

205/365: Friday, July 24th. At work, we had a team-building activity. I had never done one of these canvas class thingies but it was really fun. Another highlight of the day was finally meeting up with the boys’ best friends -another pair of brothers – from Montessori school at the park in the evening. Theo and Dexter had been missing their little buddies and they were so happy to get together after 2+ months apart. 07-24-2015

206/365: Saturday, July 25th. Luke Bryan concert with friends!! An annual tradition. So much fun. 07-25-2015

207/365: Sunday July 26th. Another summer lake day at my in-laws’ house – these are too few and far between. We are trying to squeeze every drop out of summer! I am in love with my mother-in-law’s blue hydrangeas. 07-26-2015

208/365: Monday July 27th. Monday was a Monday in every sense of the word. Little things…big things. It just seemed like everything was going wrong. I overslept. Broke my only ponytail holder with hair that looked like I’d overslept. Spilled coffee all over my white shirt. Found out Dexter’s Montessori teacher is not coming back this year. Got a call from summer camp because Dex had a fever. Took Dex to the doctor to find out he had swimmer’s ear. And on and on and on. Forgot to take a picture until about 1158pm…this was all I could manage. My pathetic countertop.07-27-2015

209/365: Tuesday, July 28th. On Tuesday, we found out that Theo’s Kindergarten teacher had quit and would only be in the classroom the first 2 days of the school year. Of course this didn’t sit well with me. Tuesday was a very emotional and stressful day. Theo was quiet and shy at back to school night, not interested in saying hi to anyone and almost hiding behind me. I know he isn’t like that in my absence. I felt bad, seeing him acting nervous about Kindergarten for the first time. Afterwards, I laid in bed with him for awhile and asked him how he felt in his heart. He said “half red, half blue.” I’m not 100% sure what he meant but I said, “me too.” And I meant it. I know it’s normal…most kids go to Kindergarten. It’s not like we’ve never been apart before. But this feels different than any other change. It’s so big. No one knows him and he knows no one. Who is going to take care of him? Theo is far more confident than I am. I get teary-eyed every time I think of it. I just want it to be a couple months from now when we are in an established routine. We know teachers and expectations and the car pick up and drop off line. I dunno…it’s just hard knowing he is having emotions that he can’t express and there’s not a thing I can do to make this easier for him. He has to figure it out. He has to struggle with uncomfortable feelings. Experiences like this will contribute to the person he becomes. 07-28-2015

210/365: Wednesday, July 29th. Theo woke up with a fresh attitude. He even said “I wish today was my first day of Kindergarten instead of my last day of camp.” That made me feel so much better. Tonight at bedtime we were reading The Night Before Kindergarten and there’s a line that says the kids were excited and scared. I asked him if he felt excited and scared, he said yes. When I asked why scared, he said because he won’t know “one single person.” How does that feel when you’re 5? As an introvert, that feels TERRIBLE at 35. I’m glad he adapts more easily than I do. 07-29-2015Time for bed….I’ve got a Kindergartner to wake up in the morning.

xo,

~C~

 

Catch the Moment:wk 25

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

Summer is in full swing and I’m loving it! I love the heat, the long nights, being outside, and grilling everything. At the same time though, knowing how quick we got here from last Christmas makes me gag. I don’t want it to be winter again in the same tiny blink of an eye. We had so many goals for this year and here we are, with only 26 weekends to catch up on those home renovations and de-cluttering/organization projects. Aaah! It’s just so hard to say “no” to fun when you just don’t get that many days off work to relax and enjoy. But let me NOT moan and groan summer away, because it’s here now and it’s happening all around me and we are making the most of it by staying busy with tons of fun.

I’m linking up with Mindi,Stephanie, and Carrie for week 24 of Catch the Moment.

169/365: Thursday, June 18th. I hadn’t seen this little lady in over a week and I couldn’t take it anymore so the boys and I stopped by to see Kennedy on our way home from camp Thursday night. Still as precious as ever! Gah, I just LOVE her.06-18-2015

170/365: Friday, June 19th. I tried a new Pinterest recipe: Stuffed French Bread. Theo came down with a fever at camp around 11am Friday so I knew we’d be staying in for the night. I wanted something comforting and quick and this hit on all points. Before we’d finished eating, my wheels were spinning with ideas for similar sandwiches…taco theme, pizza theme, chicken cordon bleu…on and on and on. So yummy and versatile, yet simple. It was awesome with ground beef, cream of mushroom soup, celery, cheddar cheese, and a few spices for max flavor. 06-19-2015

171/365: Saturday, June 20th. YAY, Theo woke up feeling fantastic so we were able to proceed with our fun summer plan for the day. I dedicated an entire post to this awesome inflatable water slide, which we broke out for the first time this weekend. The boys had a wonderful time climbing and sliding down countless times for about 3 hours nonstop. 06-20-2015

172/365: Sunday, June 21st: Father’s Day. I didn’t take any pictures until evening, but Ryan had a great day. We saw Inside Out and went to lunch. Did some yardwork and played around the house. I had plans for a big dinner but we were too full from the restaurant so we had grilled cheese and soup. Ryan cut down some overgrown bushes that completely blocked the view of our porch from the street. I ran outside before it got dark to get a better view of the new look. Now to work on our weeds and landscaping…baby steps. 06-21-2015

173/365: Monday, June 22nd. They DO love each other. They don’t always show it but it’s true. They are the very best of friends.06-22-2015

174/365: Tuesday, June 23rd. Ryan is doing a Tough Mudder on Saturday so he’s been growing out his beard for about a week. All the guys on the team will have a fu manchu. I can’t wait for him to go back to his normal 5 o’clock shadow stubble-face!06-23-2015

175/365: Wednesday, June 24th. It was a perfect night for a picnic and playing at the park, so that’s just what we did. PB&Js and smiles all the way around!06-24-2015I hope you’re enjoying your summer – we sure are!

xo,

~C~

 

slip, slide, splash – father’s day weekend fun!

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

After much sale-watching, review-reading, and over-analyzing, I broke down and said “yes” to an inflatable water slide for the boys. Ryan and I had been talking about it for more than a month. I anxiously watched the price yo-yo on Kohls.com while waiting for a big discount code. Last week, a huge, heavy box finally arrived on our front porch and the weekend couldn’t get here fast enough. But then Theo developed a fever and was vomiting on Friday. The forecast said 40% chance of rain for the next million years.

But THEN, by some miracle, Theo woke up feeling fine on Saturday and the radar was perfectly clear. Ryan had a million other things to do, gave me the “REALLY?” face, and seemed annoyed with me for inviting a friend over to play with the boys and their new toy.  I assured Ryan he could continue doing his yard work while I watched the boys and chatted with our company. No problem. This was right around the time our neighbor walked by with his push mower, pointed and laughed, and said “suckers!”

The dang thing took an hour to set up and longer (much, much) to fully take down. But he did it, and he rolled his eyes a lot but he didn’t complain (much) and I knew it would be that way and THAT’S just one reason why I love him so much. Because he puts up with me, even when I create a bunch of extra work for him. That’s one of the many reasons we celebrate him on Father’s Day.

The boys had so much fun (after we explained to them that this was a special thing, and not an every day or even every weekend thing). Theo woke up today saying “today’s a special day because it’s Father’s Day, and yesterday was a special day because we got our slide out!” I can’t wait to set it up and let them play again. Or to let Ryan set it up again. IMG_3810 IMG_3830 IMG_3840 IMG_3844 IMG_3847 IMG_3857 IMG_3858 IMG_3868 IMG_3875 IMG_3876 IMG_3891 IMG_3897 IMG_3903Their little faces are so worth it. I’m almost sure of it.

xo,

~C~