Thank you for accepting me

I feel like a lot of us (especially woman), are never happy with ourselves right now. Then we look back on a certain time in our life maybe while looking at an old photo or video and think “How did I think I was fat back then?” Or “And I hated my long, flowing, beautiful hair back then because?!?!” 

I think we all wish we could be happy with the now and not the past but it’s definitely way easier said than done. This is why I am taking the time to say thank you to those people who accepted me in the now, even when I only thought I was good enough in the past. Some things may seem silly to others while others may be more relatable. Either way, these things made an impact on me. Enough impact that I still remember them and want people to know I appreciated them. 

To the teachers that voted my piece of artwork to be one of only 3 chosen from our grade to hang on the walls of the middle school, thank you. (I wonder if it’s still there or if it got pitched?!)

To every coach I had, whether I liked you or not, (Don’t worry Dad, I liked you. Except when you made me do bleachers) that pushed me, thank you. 

To my high school friend for being the ONLY guy to ever ask me to a dance, thank you. 

To my brothers friend that I obsessed over my whole childhood who was always so nice to me, thank you. 

To Dennis Caspary for believing in me and choosing me to be one of 5 girls to start the opening number at nationals my senior year (one of the few times I got to partner and man did it feel amazing!), thank you. 

To Marty for making it a point to come up to me after the opening number and tell me how proud he was of me, thank you. 

To my brothers friends for letting me be the little sister who came to all of their parties, thank you. 

To my brothers friends, again, for taking care of me at said parties when my brother wasn’t there to do so, thank you. 

To the NJ/NY road trip crew for the best and worst road trip of all time, thank you. (I wonder when the bird buckle will be back in style?!)

To all of the family I lived with in my NY/CT journeys, thank you. 

To the Chameleon crew for taking a newbie from the Midwest under your wing, thank you. 

To Martha for not being a creepy Craiglist person and dealing with me for the time I lived with you, thank you. 

To Jake for letting some random girl that your roommate just met 5 months prior, move in with you guys, thank you. 

To Mike’s CT friends for treating me like I was a part of the crew from the get-go, thank you. 

To the enormous amount of people that came to our going away party in CT, thank you. 

To my Groom girls for taking in a stylist who thought she knew how to cut men’s hair but didn’t really know how to cut men’s hair, thank you. (I really just wanted to work with Pjoe anyways…)

To Theri and Erica for taking care of me even to this day although I’m not technically employed with you, thank you. 

To my fellow SAHM’s, Katie, Missy and Kim for all of the reassuring texts about motherhood, thank you. 

To my endless amount of aunts, uncles and cousins for being the greatest group of people (both Miller and Walters sides) a girl could ask for, thank you. 

To the Gardner family for welcoming me into the family with open arms and eating a salad to humor me every once in a while, thank you. 

Of course, to Michael who loves me unconditionally and gave me the most perfect boys in the world. To the husband who tells his wife every single day how beautiful she is. To the one who sees me for me even when I don’t. To the guy who is there for me at the drop of a hat. To the only person who can irritate me one day and then have me laughing the next. To the one who understands me more than I do. To the guy I fell in love with at first sight almost 9 years ago, thank you. 

There is a very different reason for thanking each and every one of the people I thanked. There is one thing they all have in common. They all accepted me for who I was in that moment. They did something I wasn’t even doing for myself. I never accepted myself in the now. It was always something I had looked back on and then accepted myself for who I was. 

Of course there are people missing from this list of thank you’s. Some of the most important people in my life. I’m not saying that everyone listed above didn’t play an important role in shaping me into who I am today. I am saying that these people have been there for me through every single one of these ‘thank you’ moments. Through every moment that I didn’t think I was good enough.

To my bridesmaids:

Each of you have played such a big role in my life. I knew from a young age that the 6 of you would be my bridesmaids, even if I became a crazy cat lady and had a fake wedding with a gay guy so, thank you. 

From helping me with homework (Thanks Jess, I owe you. No wait, you owe me from that $10 tip…) to inviting me to your sleepovers with your school friends (Thanks Erin! It made me feel cool since you were popular in school and I wasn’t…). 

Then there were the many times I forced my poor little cousin to be my dance student and make up dances with me (Sorry April! You were the little sister I never had. Jeffrey wouldn’t do it so someone had to!). Speaking of making up dances, I remember one specific one we did to Mariah Carey in the stairwell at your parents house Dana and Erin! (Don’t worry Erin, the video of the other dances are safely tucked away!) Stefanie and Colleen, I couldn’t even begin to pick a favorite memory. TT4L. Ok, that covers most of them! 

There are so many amazing memories I have with each of you. You all accepted me even when I was a pain in the behind. And just like looking back and seeing the good, I also look back and see things that I maybe didn’t think were so bad back then. So to all 6 of you, sorry for the annoying and/or thoughtless things I may have said or done to you in the past!

To my Grandparents:

I was lucky enough to grow up with and remember 3 of my grandparents but all 4 of them were more than amazing. Grampa Walters was at as many sporting events as he could be at even with a million grandchildren! Living with Gramma and Grampa Miller is probably one of my favorite childhood memories. My brother and I were so lucky to have them right through a door at all times. The memories I have with them are something I will cherish forever. To still have my Gramma around makes me the happiest person! Not many people can say their Gramma gets down to Lil’ John! So, thank you to each of you!

To my brother:
How can I put into words how amazing this guy is?? You didn’t push me away when I was a freshman and you were a senior. Instead, you included me and took care of me. You drove me home mid-party while I was balling my eyes out because I was so uncomfortable. (This is when I learned college party life probably wasn’t for me). You also bought me my first drink and took care of me that night when I couldn’t hold my head up in the car. You gave me the most amazing sister-in-law I could have imagined and you asked me to bring UHF home so we can watch it together! For all of this and so much more, thank you. 

To my Mom and Dad:

I don’t need to say much besides the fact that I’m not sure how you didn’t “accidentally” leave me in Canada on one of our family vacations. The things I put your through, and continue to put you through at 32 years old, are definitely the reason for your grey hairs. (Oh wait, you don’t have any grey hairs…) You always accepted me and loved me no matter what decisions I made I life. I didn’t make life easy for you but you always made life easy for me. You are the perfect role models for me and my boys so, thank you. 

After writing this, I realize that I feel like I’ve been so many different people over the years…

The bratty, whiney child. The girl that dances her life away. The girl that doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life so she goes to hairdressing school.  The innocent Midwest girl on the east coast who decides to make up for all of the drinking she didn’t do in the previous years. The girl who met a guy and moved back to the Midwest to marry him. The girl that nobody has seen drunk. The girl with an amazing husband and 2 perfect boys. 

No matter what girl I was when I met you, I will always be me. Saree. Sasha. Sister Sarah. Sarahbear. Surr. Saaaaarah. Sarahahaha. Or just Sarah. 

I will promise to try to love the ‘now me’ and not wait to love the ‘past me’. I hope you do too❤️

The year of the 2 year old

Every year, on December 31st, my husband and I decide what the following year will be named. For instance, the year after our wedding was “The year of recovery”. Meaning, we need to recover financially and mentally! Another year was “The year of health”. We don’t set New Years resolutions because it’s rare that people stick to them. We find that naming the year has a bigger impact on us and makes more sense for us.

Since we had a crazy New Years Eve this year, it was hard finding time to sit down and talk about 2016’s name. Just kidding. We actually had all the time in the world. We stayed home with our boys and celebrated the new year with the east coast then went to bed. We did wake up at midnight (CST) because our neighbors set off some fireworks (we totally would have stayed up to watch them if we had known they were going to set them off!) so that counts right?!

So we put together the things we want to do this coming year but didn’t have a name for 2016. Then, after a good nights rest, I got to thinking… Everything we talked about (for the most part) is something Big Bro can relate to. He’s 2 years old so let’s name it “The year of the 2 year old”, so we can cover everything in one title!

What was on our list? Here’s a few…

1. Lying. Plain and simple. Don’t do it. It doesn’t pertain to Michael and I lying to each other. We have nothing to lie about when it comes to each other. We just want the truth from everyone. So many times,someone tells you something and you both know it’s a lie but you both go along with it and it happens over and over again. Just be truthful!

2 year olds… don’t quite know how to lie yet. It’s great! I can ask Big Bro why Little Bro is crying and he will tell me he hit him. Easy. Done. No lying needed!

2. Be more active. Not just with working out but with the boys. This one pertains more to me because I am with the boys most of the day. I find myself in ruts sometimes because I do the same thing over and over and over. A simple thing like going grocery shopping to break up my day works wonders on my mental state! Big Bro will be getting more involved in things this spring so that should help too.

2 year olds… never. stop. moving. I’m not saying I want to be moving constantly but if I could steal some of his energy and use it to have a second dance party at the end of our day, I’d be happy!

3. Be more unpredictable. This sort of goes along with being more active. Do spur of the moment day trips. Do things we wouldn’t normally do. You never know where life will take you…

2 year olds… the definition of unpredictable!

4. Hang out with friends more. We realized that we don’t really try hard enough (or at all) to see our friends. Our kids keep us busy but most of our friends have kids so why are birthday parties the only time we see them?! So if you’re one of our friends here in WI, expect a text or call from one of us! My husband is off to a great start with this one as he is out with friends right now, hence the free time to blog!

2 year olds… LOVE hanging out with their friends. Big Bro likes us to tell him stories before bed but the catch is he tells us who’s in the story. Normally goes like this… “Santa (I’m sure Santa will phase out), Logan, Mommy, Daddy, Anderson, Gracey, Sammy, Nolan, Auntie Katie, Uncle Tommy, GG, Papa, Malachi, Walker, Finn, his Mommy (sorry Kim!) and ALLLLLL my cousins and friends and all the cars…” The excitement on his face whenever I tell him that someone is coming over to play is beyond amazing!

If you try to put yourself in a 2 year olds shoes, they live a pretty amazing life! Before 2 years old, you have the frustrations of not being able to communicate that well. After 2, you start school and it goes downhill from there. No. Not really. But life truly begins and you start to have real life problems. Even if your problem is as small as the boy in your class told you that he didn’t like the color of your pencil.

So here’s to being a 2 year old in 2016!

And I’ll leave you with some holiday photos…

He was so excited about riding the tractor. Grampa that is…  These are the boys’ “Find Me Santa” snowflakes so Santa can find them even if they’re in Ohio!

    Took a dance class from my bestie (Little Bro’s Godmommy) while we were both in Ohio visiting for Christmas. Felt so good to dance again! My other bestie snapped this photo of me while we were warming up. Not going to lie, I’m proud that I still have my splits!
 

Moments like these, I cherish! My arms were really sore from the dance class I took and Little Bro finds comfort in holding someone’s hand while in the car. Big Bro stepped up and helped me out by holding his hand ❤️❤️

  Big Bro went from a crib mattress to a full…
 Can’t even believe it. Growing way too fast for my liking!

And our last family photo of 2015…

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to each and every one of you!!

Never too late

Last week, I received a message on Facebook from one of my best and oldest friends. Her message read:

“I am thrilled to announce that I will finally be recording my first professionally-produced CD! I want to share my love and passion for music with everyone but I need your help to make it a reality. I have started a Kick Starter campaign to help with funding for the CD. If you are able to donate, different levels have different incentives attached to them. For example: for as little as $10 you, as a backer, will get exclusive behind the scene pictures of the recording process. If you click on the link below, you can pledge and also see the other reward tiers. I am so looking forward to this and hope you are, too!”

I, of course, clicked the link right away and pledged my money because I, along with a lot of other people who know Colleen, have wanted her to do his for years! She sent me a text right away to thank me then said “Don’t know if it’s too late in my life but am trying to make some kind of career with singing”. I’ve always been envious of her voice and how she can perform with such ease on stage! I’m also envious that this amazing talent that she has been given is something she will always be able to do, no matter how old she is! 

Let me take you back a bit to how Colleen and I met…

We were young. We danced at the same dance studio. She always remembered the dances. I didn’t. I hated her. We became best friends. Stood up as each other’s Maid/Matron of Honor. Still remain best friends despite the hatred I had for her and her memory! 

We also performed together in many shows with an amazing local production company in Youngstown, Ohio called Easy Street Productions. She started when she was really young in their Christmas show (Miracle on Easy Street, which will be held December 18-20 this year! This is a spectacular show and if you’re in the Youngstown areas, you need to go see it!) as a Little Rascal. Then she came back as a young adult and performed as an Easy street dancer. Now as an adult, you can catch her as one of the lead singers in the show!  Easy Street has been a huge part in both of our lives but even more so for Colleen. They have given her many opportunities to get in front of people and share her incredible voice! This is why I am so thrilled that she is finally taking it to the next step! She has done so much in the local Youngstown area but it is time to spread your wings and fly my precious butterfly! 

I’ve already told her I’m going to be her roadie so you can expect more blogs from me once this all happens because I’ll have some time on my hands traveling the world for her tour!

If you’ve never heard her sing, here’s a link to check her out. 

Once you’ve checked her out, please consider backing her on the Kickstarter page that she created!

 
I’ll leave you with a word from Colleen and some pictures of her and I from be past!

“It’s always been my dream to be able to share my passion and love for music with people. Creating this CD allows me to do just that! 

I’ve had setbacks. I’ve been told several times that my appearance overshadows my vocal ability. I want the opportunity to make my critics think again. By making a professionally-produced CD, I hope to be able to highlight my vocal abilities instead of the “flash” that critics seem to want.” 

Any small amount will help! She only has until January 7, 2016 to reach her goal of $5,000 so get to pledging people!

 Colleen’s wedding with 2 of our other friends Ann and Stefanie.  
My wedding with Paul who is Colleen’s younger brother who is like my little brother!

  After Big Bro was born❤️  
  We use to take dance pictures together like we were siblings!  
Took it way back wth this one!!

    
One of our favorite Easy Streeters, Jimmy! 

 Happy Monday everyone!

The Mysterious Snowman

Little Bro has been waking up in the middle of the night (yay teething!) 3-4 times a week and last night was one of those nights. 

He woke up around 2:00am and I made him a bottle (the only way he will go back to sleep). I then gazed out the window to see how much snow we had and saw something in the yard. I walked into the playroom window to get a better look.  

 …a snowman?!

I literally stared at it for a good minute trying to decide if it was really a snowman in our front yard. Then I figured I better go tend to my screaming baby. Once in his room, I gave him his bottle then looked out of his window to see if I could see, what I thought was a snowman, better. I still wasn’t positive. I finished giving Little Bro his bottle then headed back downstairs. 

I couldn’t tell if it was really a snowman because it was laying down. I was confused because it didn’t start snowing until 9:00pm so there wouldn’t have been enough snow to make this snowman until at least midnight. Who was in our yard making a snowman in the middle of the night?!

First, I thought it was our friend Jake (the one who is staying with us) because he had planned to leave around midnight to drive up north for hunting. Maybe he did it before he left? I knew he would still be driving since it’s about a 4 hour drive, so I sent him a text at 2:45am to ask if it was him. His response was “Nope. I was wondering who made that.” Now I am completely at a loss….

…unless he was lying. 

That was possible. Big Bro loves Uncle Jake so it wouldn’t have surprised me if he wanted to surprise him with a snowman on the first big snow of the season. But if he was telling the truth, who was the snowman’s maker?!

Then finally, a little before 10:00am, I got a text from our neighbor Dawn…

“So Bradley (her son) works 4-midnight and when he got home he made your son a snowman in your front yard. He is sooo mad it fell over:((“

MYSTERY SOLVED!!

This melted my heart immediately! The fact that he just put in an 8 hour shift (which finished at midnight), came home then stayed up to do this for my son meant so much to me! It made my day and I know it made Big Bro’s!  

 
Big Bro and I suited up and made our way outside to see the snowman up close and to put him back together!  
  Here’s the “sleeping” snowman… 
Bradley even gave the snowman buttons, stick arms, eyes and a nose! I accidentally messed up the face so we found some mulch for the eyes and gave him a carrot nose!  
 I love our neighborhood and am so grateful that Bradley took the time to do this for us!!

I’ll leave you with a few more pictures from our first snow of the season… 

     

A little throwback to the last time he used this sled! Big Bro got jipped on playing in the snow last year because of Little Bro being so tiny all winter. We will make up for it this year!

   

Oh and for the first time since my friend, Marlo, has been staying with us, we got to sit and talk and have a nice dinner in peace! Thanks to naps (Little Bro), the Bumbo (Baby Girl) and an iPad (Big Bro)… 

  Happy weekend everyone!!

 

Friends, Babies and Puppies

2 great friends, 1 absolutely precious baby girl and 2 of Tandem’s best friends have been with us for over a week now and here’s how I’d describe our household right now…

Crazy, hectic, fun and full of love!

“How, oh how, did our Grandparents raise 10+ kids?! And stay married…”

This question has come up a few times this week between the bestie and I. 

When our husbands come home from work, they ask us what we did all day. Our answer? 

“AXEL (our newest addition to our family)!! CASEY (my friends yellow lab) STOP IT!! L (Big Bro), LEAVE THE DOGS ALONE!!!! STOP HITTING CASEY!! DOGS CALM DOWN!! TANDEM (our lab mix), LEAVE LUCY (the smallest dog who gets trampled by everyone) ALONE!! (Insert baby girl screaming because she’s tired) (Then insert Little Bro crying because he’s hungry…again) L, PLEASE DONT HIT THE DOGS! WHAT DID MOMMY SAY?! PLEASE, STOP HITTING THE DOGS!!!!!!!!!! (Insert Big Bro screaming because I put him in time out)…” And this pretty much goes on all day. Aside from doing laundry, cleaning, washing dishes and cooking dinner to name a few things…

Sounds crazy right?! Well, yes, it is.

When I found out our friends were moving back to WI, we obviously told them to stay with us until they found somewhere to live. I knew it would be crazy with 4 dogs and 3 kids but I was ready to take on the challenge if it meant A. I get to hang out with my friend every day and B. I get to talk to another adult during the day!

Every day, we figure out a new strategy for keeping the peace in the house! Yesterday we brought out the Kongs and filled them with peanut butter for the dogs. That kept them busy for a while and we couldn’t figure out why we didn’t do that sooner! Today, I figured out it’s best to put the girls (my friends dogs) in the basement and the boys (our dogs) in our room while Little Bro eats so he doesn’t feel like he’s at a petting zoo and that he’s supposed to feed them! This way, I’m not constantly yelling at the dogs to “GET OUT!” while he’s eating and Little Bro actually eats his own food. Wonder what amazing idea will come to us tomorrow…

It’s so nice to talk with my friend throughout the day and know that we feel the same way about a lot of things. For instance, showers are optional and most of the time, they don’t exist. A big achievement for a SAHM and a big achievement for a marathon runner are two very different things. We feel so accomplished when we get out of our pajamas and put on workout clothes. If we’re lucky, we find some time to hop on the elliptical for 5 minutes. Remember the whole shower thing? Ya. Sometimes we shower in the morning because we actually get a couple minutes to ourselves. How can we work out now?! We are actually clean. Why ruin that? There’s always tomorrow…

Beyond all of the craziness that goes on, there is so much love that occurs throughout the house! When you see Big Bro give Baby Girl a kiss or when Little Bro plays fetch with Casey or when we see our husbands with the kids. All different kinds of love that fill this house with more happiness than I could have imagined!

I will leave you with a few pictures from the past week with our friends… 

The only time they are calm is when you’re in the kitchen and they all think you have something delicious for them. (From left to right: Axel, Casey, Lucy and Tandem)

 
These are the moments that make the craziness all worth it! Can’t wait for these 2 to grow up together and think the other one has cooties!  
We took a trip to the zoo and caught a glimpse of the new baby giraffe!

 
Just love this kid to pieces! 
 
I am getting back to my workout game! Signed up for the Thanksgiving morning Drumstick Dash. Glad my workout bud will be joining me! I won’t call her out but if she slacks I will definitely call her out to get her back on track!

Happy Monday everyone! Enjoy the weekend!!

Walking away

Wow. It’s been a while huh?! I feel like it’s my first day back to school after a fun filled, exhausting summer vacation! So much to tell all of my friends!

So I just finished up with a 5 week course called MKMMA (Master Key Master Mind Alliance). If you’re someone who knows about this course or is enrolled in it, you know it’s much longer than 5 weeks. 6 months total to be exact.

Let me start by saying I absolutely love this course and everything they have to offer. I went into this course not really knowing what I was signing up for. I did know that this course was going to help me find my purpose and that’s all I needed to know. I paid my $1 to send in my application and next thing I knew, I was on a 2 1/2 hour webinar that involved a lot of info for the week to come. The course is based on a PIF (pay it forward) scholarship. So the $1 I paid, got me the first 5 weeks of the course. After that, they start the PIF process. The way it works is, the people taking the course decide what the minimum PIF amount will be. Over the 6 months, you PIF 5 times (at whatever the minimum amount is, or more if you decide) for the next group of MKMMA’ers. I knew this going in so I wasn’t surprised when week 4 came and we had to choose the PIF minimum. I had all intentions of moving forward and paying it forward. As a SAHM, I just wasn’t prepared for the amounts I got to choose from. We had 4 options to choose from then whichever amount had the most votes, that would be the minimum going forward. Even the smallest amount was more than I had really planned for.

I was bummed. I really really enjoyed this course and LOVED my coach, Nancy! I got to know her a bit through email and reading her blog. She helped me refine and define my DMP (Definite Major Purpose – where you see yourself in the future) and made me realize if I keep saying “I’ll do it later” or “I’ll get that done once the kids are in school”, everything I want will always be in the future and never in the present! I am so thankful for all of the work she put into helping me!

I wish I could remember who it was but I was scrolling through Facebook and saw an article or a blog from a famous person and it was titled “The Difference Between Walking Away and Quitting”. I didn’t get to read it because one of the boys either woke up or was whining or Big Bro had to go potty… I saw this the day that I decided not to move forward with the course. It made think about the 2 and which one I felt I was doing.

Walking away.

I wasn’t quitting. If I were quitting, I would forget everything I learned and go back to my “old blueprint”. I would have thought the course was silly and useless. I would have left the course with nothing. I would have felt I wasted my time that I could have spent with my family.

Instead, I walked away with a sense of motivation and relief. Motivation to get my purpose in life started and relief that I figured this out now and not 30 years down the road. Some of the activities they had us do were childish but I was a-ok with that because I relate to children more than adults these days! I got more out of the 5 weeks of childish activities than I did in the year and a half of hairdressing school! I walked away from this course knowing that my purpose is to help others. Whether it’s listening to a friend that recently became a mom and telling her she’s not alone or gathering up a few boxes of necessities for a local family who lost everything in a fire or helping out a fellow high school classmate going through a rough time, my purpose is clear. I love my purpose in life and can’t wait to put it to use in every way!

Again, I want to thank Nancy, Mark, Davene and all of the other MKMMA coaches for everything you do! I WILL be back next year and I will be prepared to do the whole 6 months. Until then, I will take what I learned, apply it to my every day life and know that the MKMMA course was introduced to me (Thanks Lori!) for a reason and that reason is my purpose!

Well now that I made this post way longer than expected, you’ll just have to wait to hear about my summer! It’s past my bedtime…

I will leave you with a photo of Little Bro enjoying his new buddy (Told you I have a lot to tell you…)

Hope you’re all having a wonderful fall!

What a life

3 poopy diapers, 2 wet diapers, dog vomit, Big Bro’s wet sheets, Little Bro’s slobber… 

I’ve cleaned up all of it this morning. 

What a life!

No really, WHAT A LIFE!

There are days that are challenging but those are few and far between. Every job has it’s highs and lows. My job just so happens to have precious little boys that act as my highs. Yes, they may also be the reason I have a hard day but it’s the best, hard day (if there is such a thing!). 

Before I was a SAHM, I’m not going to lie, I thought it was a way for a mom to play and sleep all day. Do we play all day? Of course we play but not all day. Do we sleep all day? The boys sleep. Me? I have taken maybe 3 naps since I have been a SAHM. When the boys sleep, I’m either cleaning, doing laundry, preparing dinner or working out. Being a SAHM is hard. You don’t understand this until you are one. I’m sure you’re making remarks right now if you aren’t a SAHM but that’s ok, like I said, I made those comments too! 

Just think…

• You have a boss. Our kids are our boss and they are the toughest bosses in my opinion. 
• You have assignments/tasks you have to finish before you leave for the day. We have dishes and laundry to finish before we finally crawl in bed at night. 
• You can stay home if you’re sick. We can too. We still have to do our job all day no matter what. 
• You can leave your work at the office. We can too. Oh wait. That’s child neglect!
• If you have a hard week, you can regroup on the weekend. We can too. It normally consists of finishing the laundry you never got to during the week and taking an extra long shower while Daddy watches the kids. I may or may not have taken a super long shower just to have “me” time. (Thanks hunny!)

I’m sure there are a lot more comparisons but these are the ones that came to mind right now! 

Being a SAHM is a job. It’s hard work. It’s tiring. It’s trying. They do say that if you are doing what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. Although I did absolutely love being a female barber at an amazing salon with the best bosses, starting April 2014, I will never work a day in my life again! What a life huh?!

Here are some photos from yesterday and today… 

We went to a new park yesterday with Big Bro’s “fwends”!

 His new favorite thing to do with his “stickers” that no longer stick…   Some of the wildlife that’s been in our yard the past few days. And yes, that’s a coyote that was in our yard for 3 hours yesterday morning…

 Watching the ants this morning…  

   
Happy Thursday everyone!!

Less is more

As parents, we tend to over do things. Birthday parties, toys, dressing them to the nines, extravagant vacations etc. After our short weekend trip to St. Louis, I found that less really is more. 

The car was stuffed. 2 huge suitcases. 2 big bags of food. The double stroller. The emergency medical box. A big bag of toys and books. The diaper bag. The traveling high chair. A cooler filled with food and drinks. Toys for the pool. The iPad. A Pack’n’Play. 

All of this for 36 hours in St. Louis. 

We took the 8-9 (should be about 6) hour trip down to St. Louis for our good friends birthday. The trip down was pretty good. We got stuck in some traffic but all in all, the kids did a great job. My husband and I have our routine down for driving…

• He drives first until he’s tired. But we can’t stop until both boys are awake and cranky (which means they are ready to eat or get out of the car for a bit). 
• I take the next leg of the trip while my husband takes a nap. Or tries to nap in between the boys crying and/or yelling. As long as he gets 20 minutes, he’s refueled. 
• For the next leg of the trip, I ask him if he wants to drive. Normally the answer is yes because by this point, he has no patience to deal with the crying and screaming. The passengers job is to keep the boys happy and occupied. If he tells me to drive, I always make sure to remind him he is in charge of the boys. He almost always changes his mind!

When we got to the hotel, we brought both boys upstairs to the room then my husband went back down to get our stuff out of the car. I didn’t realize how much stuff I packed until he brought it up. Did we need all of it?! Nope. Absolutely not. I never was a great “bring only what you need” packer. Now I have 2 boys to pack for too. It’s even worse now! 

I learned that you don’t need 10 toys for the baby. He will play with the same toy for hours. I also learned that you don’t need 10 outfits each for the boys. It’s only 2 days and they don’t care what you put on them (yet) so one outfit for each day and a back up in case of an accident is sufficient enough! The 15 books I brought, now those were a must. Big Bro went through all of them in the first hour. He loves books and they keep him busy for a short while. Jeans? Not needed when it’s 90°+. All of the snacks in the 2 bags and cooler? It’s a good thought but we all know that we like to buy snacks at every stop we make on a road trip. No? That’s just me? Ok. You’re all weird! We did eat some of the snacks I brought but a small bag would have been more reasonable. 

After we got all settled in our room and changed into our jammies, it was around midnight. I tried to get 2 queen beds so my husband could get some sleep in a bed of his own but all they had was a king. I love to snuggle with Big Bro but the only time he sleeps in bed with us is when he’s sick or when we are in a hotel. There is nothing better than your child laying next to you and asking you “Mama, I hode (hold) you?”  Of course I say yes and then he wraps his tiny little arm around my neck. Although my face is being pushed into the pillow and it’s hard to breath, I wouldn’t have it any other way! 

Saturday morning, we got up and had breakfast at the hotel then headed off to the St. Louis zoo. I do love the Milwaukee zoo but this zoo put ours to shame! It is absolutely beautiful. From the landscaping to the big, steel animal sculptures at the entrance, it is very well taken care of. It was about 10:00am and already 85° when we got to the zoo. I try to be a positive person but in my head I was already hearing the boys whining and crying while me and my husband are getting frustrated with each other as the sun gets hotter and hotter. To my surprise, the boys did fairly well. We were all hot, sticky and sweaty. My husband and I did disagree on which way to go when trying to find the exit (he was right). Big Bro did get cranky when I made him hold my hand. Little Bro did cry because he didn’t want to be in the car seat any more (I don’t blame him. It’s a black seat and he is a chunky guy so it couldn’t be too comfortable!). It could have been a lot worse! We didn’t get to see much because it was just too hot but we had a great time and seeing the smile on Big Bro’s face is always priceless! It was also nice to go to the zoo with my husband since we normally go in the middle of the day while he’s at work. He just loves these boys and I love seeing him make memories with them!  

   
After the zoo, we were off to our friends birthday party at her mom’s house. This was the main reason we made the trip. Her mom’s house is beautiful. It’s in a gated community and she has a backyard oasis with a gorgeous rock waterfall that leads into the pool. I did some coaxing (which didn’t work) then finally picked Big Bro up and took him in the pool. Once he was in there, he loved it!  

 Hanging out with Auntie Mel…  

This was Little Bro’s first time in the water and being that he’s the second child, I forgot to take a picture…

We swam, ate and visited the night away! Such a great day of adventures and friends! 

We left St. Louis around 11am and got back to our house around 7pm. We only had to stop twice on the drive home so that was nice!

So whether it’s one king bed compared to two queens or a short weekend trip with friends compared to a week long Disney vacation, I truly believe that less is more! All 4 of us had an amazing trip and the memories we brought home with us are something I will always cherish! I will leave you with a montage of us trying to get a (nice) family photo… 

 
Hope you are all enjoying your week!

New (ad)ventures

Every spring, I look at our calendar and think “This will be a pretty quiet summer!”. Then it never fails that our calendar fills in. Luckily it fills up with fun things and exciting trips! 

Like I Mentioned in my previous post, my husband was in Europe for work then came home and went to Detroit for volleyball nationals. While he was there, I was in Rochester, NY for my cousins wedding. Two weeks after that, we were in Canada for 5 days. We went to the Carrie Underwood concert at Summerfest in Milwaukee.         (Love her!!)

My parents were here for the holiday weekend and we hosted an engagement party and 4th of July party on Friday and Saturday. We also went to a parade on the fourth…

This coming weekend we are going to St. Louis to celebrate our friend Mel’s (this was who we had the engagement party for!) 30th birthday and then at the end of the month we are headed to Puerto Rico. My husband has some business to do there so I am tagging along! Luckily my mom and Grandma are able to drive up from Ohio to watch the boys while we are there. 
Finding time to post to my blog has been harder and harder because of all of these adventures we have been on recently but now I have some motivation…
I received a text from someone I am really close with that is working on developing a product. She has asked me to be a part of their team as the “blogger/social media guru/out of state representative”. I, of course, said yes!! Then I thought, if I’m looked at as a blogger, I should probably be a little more diligent about writing! So here I am, writing! Nothing child/parent related but I am really excited for this new venture! Once things move along a bit more, I can fill you all in on everything! Until then, I’ll iust have to keep you guessing!   

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July!!  

Memories

Speaking of memories, I have been a long distant memory for you guys. Between my husband going out of the country for work then going to volleyball nationals, me going to an out of state wedding, preparing for my 5k, preparing for and going to Canada on vacation (Yes it took me all week to pack. It’s a camping trip which means you bring everything down to the toilet paper and dish soap!), I guess you can say we’ve been a bit busy this summer!  

 
As I sat there, staring out at Rice Lake, I could almost hear the voices of my cousins (there are lots of us being my dad is one of eleven) and I as children screaming and playing. The sound of the boat starting up as Grampa gets ready to head out for some fishing. Water crashing into the docks on a windy day. The smell of fish and dodging goose droppings in the grass don’t mean much more than “gross” to most people but they are 2 of the many things that bring me back to my childhood summers in Canada. 

Although these are all memories I have, they were all being played out right in front of me decades later. The screaming children? That’s now my little cousins and my son running around playing. The sound of the boat starting up? That’s now my cousin Randy starting up my Grandpa’s boat. (I can’t believe he’s old enough to run around camp by himself let alone drive a boat!) The water crashing into the docks? Still the same sound, just a few less docks and the ones that are still there stand a little more crooked than they use to. Unfortunately, the smell of fish is still in the air and yes, the geese still poop all over the grass! 

I may have only caught one bass over the 4 days we were there but those 2-3 hours that I was out on the boat were filled with both relaxation and laughter between my uncle, my cousin and myself. The sound of casting out my line and the plopping of the lure into the water over and over again somehow never gets old. Although my cousin and uncle were bringing in fish left and right, when I finally did get that bass, my vacation was complete! I set out to get one fish and that’s what I did. I was happy and could go home now!  (Thats my “little” cousin Randy sitting down photobombing me!)

I know this vacation wasn’t really my husband’s cup of tea so he definitely gets the ‘husband of the year’ award for making the 15 hour drive with our 2 boys and a car jam packed with way more than we needed! I could spend every summer in Canada at this camp because of the memories I have from my childhood. For my husband, it’s just a cabin with stinky water, lots of bugs and a big lake in front of it. I get it. I understand that it’s not the same for him so a 15 hour drive is not really justified when you feel dirtier after taking a shower than you did before. I think we have agreed that we will wait a year or two before going back. Although it’s a vacation, when you have a 2 year old, it turns into “Where is he?” “Do you have him?” “Do you mind if I go out on the lake for 3 hours while you run around chasing him?!” “Can you take them for a nap walk?” It becomes an exhausting 4 days. We did have a ton of help from everyone that was there especially my Brother and Sister-in-law. They were amazing with the boys and have already created some great memories for them including Big Bro catching his first fish and going for his first kayak ride with Uncle Jep!  

  To break things up a bit, we drove into Cobourg, which is the closest town with some cute little stores and a beach. It was nice to get out of camp for a few hours and see the town. All of these years I have gone to Canada but never made it into Cobourg! Glad I finally made the trip. And yes it is a trip to get to pretty much anywhere when you are staying at Glengary Cottages!
 “Only an aunt and uncle can give hugs like a mommy and daddy, keep secrets like a sibling and share love like a friend” ❤️High fives for the pirate! 
To say I had a great vacation is truly an understatement! I hope all of us cousins can continue the tradition of bringing our families to camp for summer vacations! I’ll leave you with some pictures from the trip!  

Grampa’s boat still being used years later! 

The stretch of road that my Dad traveled on many a times by foot, car and moped! 

Taking Da for a spin.  

    A few of the many nap walks. Thank goodness we brought the stroller! 

 I think he was sick of us by the end of the trip. He’s asleep under there… 

 He sure does love his Uncle Jep! “Uncle Jep!! Meeeer!” (Uncle Jeff, Come here!) was all we heard all week! 

 ‘Husband of the year’ I tell ya!!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!