photoblog

catch the moment: wk 36

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

It was refreshing to have a 3 day weekend. We soaked it up with a good mix of housework and fun. Our weekend quickly filled up with plans and like always, the time just flew by. There are 2 weeks until the first day of Fall and I’m hanging on to every last second of summer for dear life. Pumpkin spice everything is all around me as well as Halloween decorations. It does make me want to get a Fall mantle going and I’m itching to continue moving forward with our home remodeling projects. It wouldn’t be a project around here without some large stumbling blocks slowing us down, but I’m still hopeful to get a good amount of work done by Christmas when we host my family from Tennessee for a few days.

246/365: Thursday, September 3rd. A quick pitstop on my way to work to capture the wildflowers in front of a barn out in the country (a barn that has appeared in a handful of my catch the moment posts over the past year and a half). 09-03-2015

247/365: Friday, September 4th. Our wonderful friends invited us over for dinner and a bonfire. The boys enjoyed roasting marshmallows – maybe more than they enjoyed actually eating them – while I stared at and held sweet 3 month old baby Kennedy as much as humanly possible. 09-04-2015 248/365: Saturday, September 5th. Theo has a new friend at school. New friend had a birthday party and invited Theo. It put me in an awkward position. Do I ask to bring my other kid? Do I stay home with my uninvited kid? Do we skip it altogether? This was our first party invitation where the birthday child didn’t know / invite both kids. Dexter was really sad at first but I think he enjoyed the extra time with me. Theo asked Ryan to take him to the party and while I felt I was missing out on being nosy, it was nice to focus on just one kid for a couple of hours. We cleaned the library (then played school). We went out for a donut. We took a trip to Target that resulted in a new Imaginext Batman toy. I’d say all in all, he came out ahead.09-05-2015

249/365: Sunday, September 6th. We worked around the house most of the day then my friend and I took our kids together to see Disney Presents Frozen on Ice. It was really fun. I would have gone with or without kids. The boys’ favorite parts were seeing Olaf and the Ice Monster. I have to admit-I loved Elsa’s on-ice rendition of Let it Go. 09-06-2015

250/365: Monday, September 7th. Labor Day. All play and no work on Monday. We went to the lake for one last hurrah. Our last swim of 2015. Sad day. A good day, but a sad one no less.09-07-2015

251/365: Tuesday, September 8th. Since the cotton candy with an Olaf hat was $15 and the one with the tiara or crown or whatever it is was *ONLY* $12, I opted for the sparkly jeweled crown. Why can’t you just buy cotton candy for like $2.50? Anyway…Tuesday after school Dexter decided to decorate it with little jewel stickers that came with it.09-08-2015

252/365: Wednesday, September 9th. Picture Day at Montessori School. What happened to my little babies?09-09-2015Why’d they have to go and get big on me? Favorite picture this week? Favorite moment this week? I dunno-I kind of liked them all. Life’s good.

xo,

~C~

catch the moment: wk 35

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

I feel like a broken record – it’s been another busy week. I can’t believe it’s almost fall. I can’t believe I have a kid in Kindergarten. I don’t want winter to come. I can’t believe how fast time goes by. I wish I had time to do it all. Every week I find myself making plans to do better at fitting it all in next week. I felt like I was at the gym too much during the week so I’ve been spending more time at home. Now I feel gross and tired and out of shape, but I’m enjoying more time with the boys. Where’s the balance? Can I just request 4 more waking hours in every day? We have some big fun plans coming up in the next couple of months so plenty to look forward despite dreaded fall and winter lurking around the corner.

The boys and I snuck off to Tennessee for the weekend to visit my family while Ryan did some demo work at home. I relished the family time and tried to soak up every minute with my nieces and nephew, my mom, my sister, and my brother-in-law. Seeing them just makes me that much more homesick, wishing we had more time to spend together. I had a big WHOA mommy moment while on the trip. My kids are getting older and more mature. I was worried about managing the 5.5 hr drive alone, but they were perfect angels. They were wonderful at my mom’s. It was more than doable, it was completely 100% absolutely enjoyable. A new phase of motherhood- fantastic! A feeling of increased freedom and confidence. At the same time, I can’t help but still have that WHOA feeling…it’s clear that they really are growing up.

239/365: Thursday, August 27th. Sometimes the best you can do is a POV picture while watching your guilty pleasure trashy TV late at night. 08-27-2015

240/365: Friday, August 28th. Dexter was eating within 5 minutes of arriving at my mom’s. Three words for this boy. Human Garbage Disposal. 08-28-2015

241/365: Saturday, August 29th. My 10 year old nephew, Mal. Seriously one of the kindest, gentlest, and coolest people I know. 08-29-2015

242/365: Sunday, August 30th. Our trip was a whirlwind – we were barely gone for 48 hours. Sunday we said goodbye to my family before niece Penelope jetted off from my mom’s – don’t get your knickers in a bunch, it’s only 100 feet to their house. 08-30-2015

243/365: Monday, August 31st. While we were gone, Ryan tore up the carpet – yes I said carpet- in our kitchen. Decisions, decisions! We finally narrowed it down and selected tile for the kitchen and powder room. 08-31-2015

244/365: Tuesday, September 1st. Speaking of that powder room, here’s what’s left of it. I can’t wait to replace those 1983 touches with modern ones. Goodbye disgusting bathroom!09-01-2015

245/365: Wednesday, September 2nd. What would I do without these two? 09-02-2015All in all a great week! I have been hoarding my PTO at work all summer so that I can take off when the boys have school breaks, so I’m really excited to have a long weekend to celebrate Labor Day and hang out -mostly at home- with my guys.

xo,

~C~

catch the moment: wk 34

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

Another week down the drain! Last Wednesday I woke up with some kind of stomach bug and this Wednesday I woke up with a head cold. I wake up sick on Wednesdays now I guess. After referencing the date all day at work, I realized that it was more than just a day towards the end of August – it’s the day that Ryan and I started dating way back in 1999. Since I realized the significance of today’s date, I’ve been feeling a little sentimental and in awe of how far we’ve come during these years. From 19 and 21 year old kids to official adults with every grown up responsibility that those young kids fantasized and romanticized about. It’s not always as fun as we dreamed it would be but we’re still kids at heart deep down and that keeps us young. That and chasing after the two crazy little kids that we’ve created and fallen madly in love with along this journey. Like I said…feeling sentimental. Grateful. Humble. Just lucky to have what we have in this crazy world. Speaking of this crazy world, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the crazy on-air shooting of the two WDBJ news reporters in Virginia this morning. Some things make you second guess bringing people into the madness. On to the photos…

232/365: Thursday, August 20th. Some big hugs for Curious George before school. They match. This George is actually mine – I don’t remember when I got it but probably when I was a teenager. Dexter has completely stolen him and loves him.08-20-2015

233/365: Friday, August 21st. Brandy and I before the Jason Aldean concert.08-21-2015

234/365: Saturday, August 22nd. Theo invited himself over to our friend’s house and she (thankfully) obliged. We had a great day swimming and playing. 08-22-2015

235/365: Sunday, August 23rd. Enjoying one of the many beautiful local parks in our town. 08-23-2015

236/365: Monday, August 24th. I stopped at the drugstore after going for a run with Brandy and there were zillions of birds on every wire and swirling about in flocks overhead. Creepy.08-24-2015

237/365: Tuesday, August 26th. Oddly, whenever we announce that it’s time to brush teeth and go to the bathroom before bed, their legs stop working and they’re SOOOO tired that they can no longer walk.08-25-2015

238/365: Wednesday, August 26th. Today – 16 years of dating that guy reading If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. How did I get so lucky to live every day with these 3 dudes in my life? 08-26-2015xo,

~C~