catch the moment 365: week twenty-four

Posted on June 19, 2014August 1, 2014 by mommyinthemidwest

I’m sharing yet another week of photos and linking up with Mindi from Simply Stavish, Stephanie from Behind the Camera and Dreaming, and Sarah from Nurse Loves Farmer for Catch the Moment 365. I feel like a broken record saying “I can’t believe we are {insert any number between 3 and 24} weeks into the project” and / or “we had such a great week.” And while life ISN’T all roses all the time, this project is great for making me realize how good I’ve got it. Whether it’s the big things or the little things, every day we’re making memories and enjoying the ride down this crazy road we’re on.

Speaking of moving on…

162/365: June 11th. We traded babysitting nights with friends in order to squeeze in a much-needed, mid-week speed date. We were able to grab a quick dinner at a Mexican restaurant near the movie theater. We’d been dying to see Maleficent for almost two weeks. Spoiler alert: It was so good! (So was that salsa and queso).

163/365: June 12th. A little water play between dinner and bedtime, which for Dexter equates to taking a bath. Soaked from shoulders to knees!

164/365: June 13th. I had to document a rare occurrence… I painted my nails. It lasted less than 24 hours, but it was fun anyway.

165/365: June 14th. I blogged all about our refreshing weekend visiting friends a couple hours away HERE.

166/365: June 15th. Father’s Day. I typed out the interviews I did with the boys about their daddy HERE.

167/365: June 16th. Sun shining through the clouds over a cornfield on my way to work.

168/365: June 17th. Not the best day ever but we managed to enjoy parts of it. I had my car scheduled for a 45 minute service that ended up taking 2 hours and 10 minutes. Which overlapped with the boys’ soccer clinic. Which was a nightmare because neither of them *really* wanted to play. Meaning Theo was lying on the ground refusing to participate. And while Dexter gave it a decent effort, he saw how Theo was acting and wanted to quit too. I was able to keep him somewhat engaged but Theo was a lost cause. After we got home, ate dinner, and gave them a shower…THEN we had some nice, not-so-stressful moments picking stickers out of Dexter’s Batman Lego sticker book. Then bedtime was kind of a disaster. But that’s enough about that.

Which is your favorite picture this week? Mine is that Father’s Day (day 166) picture of Theo hugging Ryan with the “love” art piece in the background. Love, indeed. Followed closely by day 165 – our day at the lake.

xo,

~C~

the weekend was just what we needed

Posted on June 17, 2014August 1, 2014 by mommyinthemidwest

Life with a 3 and 4 year old, not to mention a house that needs (and is semi-in-the-process-of) remodeling inside and out is busy and hectic to say the least. I feel like we are going, going, going nonstop but not with anything particularly substantial. Ryan is working on the house and I’m trying to keep the boys busy and entertained. That’s the story of our life lately. It was really. REALLY. fun (and needed) to connect with each other as a family of four, all while reconnecting with some friends we hadn’t seen for far too long to live only 2 hours away.

We spent the weekend with Ryan’s friend from school and his family. They live in beautiful town with lakes all over the place. We’d only visited in the winter before and didn’t fully realize how lovely the surroundings were at the time. I think we’re both looking forward to the (warm) day when we can visit again.

Saturday morning started off with a walk to the playground and throwing rocks into a retention pond across from it. That’s just about all that kids need to be content.

Such a sweet family.

Look at these two cuties (4 & 2) and their beautiful eyes!

Taking a cruise around the lake on the pontoon boat.

Little mister was thisclose to falling asleep while mom drove us around.

A milestone! Theo and Dexter got their first rides on a jet ski. And they LOVED it. I love that they are afraid of almost nothing.

Sole bit of photographic evidence that I was actually present.

A long day winding down. Rides on the gator.

As we were loading up to head back to our friends’ house, I had to get back out of the car to snap this quick photo. Oh, to drive up to that view whenever we wanted…so gorgeous, peaceful, and relaxing there.

So when we planned this weekend with our friends, I don’t think any of us realized it was also Father’s Day weekend. In fact, I didn’t realize it until last Monday. That’s okay – I had time to throw together a book for Ryan with the boys help. Read their answers to my Father’s Day Q&A here. The book had the interviews, some recent photos, some artwork, and tickets to an upcoming pro soccer game. He was surprised, and I think pretty pleased!

Sleepy boy on the stairs.

After enjoying a Father’s Day Feast (I feel like we ate so much delicious food all weekend — like literally nonstop “all weekend”), we went to a nearby park and then a cute ice cream shop. The town has these lifelike bronze statues all around right now to promote a local community summer event, First Fridays. I wish I’d taken the time to walk around and photograph more of them.

Some great guys – and a great girl.

There was a little festival going on around the ice cream shop we visited so of course the kids had to play on the bounce houses for a few minutes before Ryan, me, and the boys headed back home.

It was such a great weekend…returning home to all the chores that failed to get done was a bit of a disappointment after feeling like we’d been catered to by the best hosts all weekend long. I think we might see how much rent they’d charge to let us just take over their basement…

xo,

~C~

father’s day q&a

Posted on June 16, 2014August 1, 2014 by mommyinthemidwest

This year, as part of Ryan’s Father’s Day gift from the boys, I decided to interview them. I simply googled “father’s day questionnaire” and printed off the sheets before asking the boys what ended up feeling like a million questions. I did it while they were strapped in their carseats so they couldn’t run off or get too distracted. It took quite a while to get all the answers, but it turned out cute..

Dexter’s answers:

My Dad’s name is: Ryan Dan.
He is 6 years old, 4 tall, and 5 pounds.
His hair is black and his eyes are blue.
He is smart because he knows how to play.
At his job, my Dad fixes my house.
My Dad is really good at playing games.
My favorite memory with my Dad is the playground playhouse with tables.
His favorite food is broccoli.
My favorite thing to do with Dad is playing toy Batman.
It makes Dad happy when I sing songs to him.
Dad always tells me to go to time out.
If he could go on a trip anywhere in the world, he would go to Target.
And he would take me.
I’m just like my Dad because I like to play Batman.
I really love it when my Dad comes back from work.
If I could give my Dad anything for Father’s Day, it would be a toy guy birthday party.
What I love most about my Dad is his blue shirt.

Theo’s answers:

My Dad’s name is: Daddy.
He is 5 years old, 13 tall, and 8 pounds.
His hair is brown and his eyes are brown.
He is smart because he knows everything.
At his job, my Dad makes money.
My Dad is really good at coloring and chopping boards.
My favorite memory with my Dad is the splash pad.
His favorite food is soup.
My favorite thing to do with Dad is playing Legos.
It makes Dad happy when I play with him.
Dad always tells me to do stuff.
If he could go on a trip anywhere in the world, he would go to outerspace.
And he would take ME! and Dexter.
I’m just like my Dad because I have brown eyes.
I really love it when my Dad plays with me.
If I could give my Dad anything for Father’s Day, it would be a kiss.
What I love most about my Dad is his iPad.

Pretty priceless! I hope the dads in your life had a special day!

xo,

~C~