Weekend Rewind

I will say this weekend was the first weekend to make me think fall is actually coming. We have been in a heat wave lately, so it was a nice break, but still nice weather to enjoy. Well, Saturday was less desirable with the threat of rain, but it held off!

Friday night I decided getting the kids to bed was more important that seeing one of M's last ball games. I knew Noah had a big day on Saturday, so we opted to stay home, well I opted, the kids had no clue it was an option. I did let Noah watch Finding Nemo after bath time until it was bedtime, which he was super excited about - he LOVES that movie! 

Noah went to bed great (as usual), but Miss Emilya gave me a run for my money and screamed for pretty much 2 hours of my attempting. In my frustration I just laid her on my bed to take a breather and she fell asleep instantly. I had to turn on a light and make sure of this, I couldn't believe it! Apparently she just didn't want to be held anymore or was just to tired to fight any longer. So I put her in her bed and relaxed for the first time for the day before heading to bed myself! 

Emilya slept all night and we all woke up at 7:15 AM. Saturday morning I feel like I was just running around non-stop after my shower. I managed to go through all but one drawer in Noah's room and pull out the clothes that are too small. I folded laundry, put away laundry, got Noah's clothes ready for gymnastics and tidied up.

M got his meat ready for the party, went and picked up buns and propane. It was time to leave for gymnastics before we knew it. 

Noah was pretty excited and just loved the first class. His favorite part was the rings, but they did do soo much more than that. He followed instruction pretty well for it being his first structured class. I'm not sure who was more tired by the end of it. M or Noah? I'm glad I was watching with Emilya! She loved watching them, so it was a win win for us both! 

We picked up lunch on the way home and M got dressed and left for the last game of ball. I will say that I am soo happy ball is done for the year. It just seems like it is one less thing on our plate right now. I feel like once September is over, we will maybe wonder what t do with our time! We started a lot of projects that I want finished before Emilya's baptism, like the porch and pool liner, plus getting her room ready. However, finding time to do these things has been the trick! 

While M was at the ball game, I got the kids both down for a nap and cleaned the main floor, so it was ready for company. We were hosting the end of the year ball game for the team, and luckily the rain held off! The kids all played well together and it was nice to be able to just sit down for a bit after a busy first half of the day! Emilya was entertained by watching everyone around her outside in her jumper!

It was a late night for the kiddos, but we had them in bed by 9 PM and then we hit up the hot tub before going to bed! 

Sunday we had big plans with the pool and then things didn't go as planned. We got the remaining foot of water drained out if the pool. Despite the fact that we were pretty miserable that we had to replace the liner, I decided to find joy in the process and let Noah go jump in the big puddles the hose was making and he loved it! 

 

Just as we worried, the one wall of the pool caved in once the pool was empty and the liner was out, so M had to dig that and fix it. We got styrofoam and started putting it down for under the liner, just to help protect it from getting another hole. 

 

The day quickly disappeared and we didn't get as far as we wanted, but it will happen... Eventually! 

 

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

Friday's Five

And just like that, the first week of August is gone!

Oh and just like that, my baby is 4 months old!!! What??!! M and I can hardly believe it!!

We had a super fun week! 

Monday we were at the zoo, as I mentioned in the weekend recap.

Tuesday we did Storybook Gardens with all the cousins. It was a lot different than I remember as a young child, but very nostalgic. I bet my Grandma was watching down from heaven with a smile on her face watching us all with our kiddos, just like she used to take us! 

It was also my first bigger outing with the kids on my own, well without M, I was soo happy to have the help of my cousins. Noah was really good until it became time to leave and he had exhausted his patience waiting for everyone else. He was also asleep by the time I made it to the main road. I will let the pics do some talking!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After naptime, we decided to go visit Daddy at work since they were close to home! 

 

 

As you can see, she was quite interested!! 

 

My crew of hot messes... 

 

 

Wednesday we had a much needed quiet day at home!! 

 

With a short trip to the park:

 

 

 

I was also happy to find my new work out program arrived!! I will be starting Country Heat soon!! 

 

We ended up keeping the kids up late after we took them out to the flying club with a trailer full of our donations of furniture and stuff for their yard sale! We didn't come home empty handed though! We bought an outside garbage can, a window fan (brand new), a little people house, and some storage organization drawers that fit in my cubbys in my sewing area! 

Thursday morning we had a songs and dance program to attend at the library! Both kids had a blast!! This little lady made her way all the way to the dog bed while I was putting Noah down! She can inch her way around the whole room and she's quite proud!! 

 

We also did some swimming! 

 

 

This weekend we don't have much planned!! Hope everyone has a great weekend!! 

High Five Friday

Phew, we survived the week!!  And by we, I mean I kept my toddler alive and most of my sanity, but not much of it!!

Not sure what got into him this week, but he has been a challenge.

Emilya also went for her first swim this week and loved it!! 

Speaking of crazy toddler... Funny story - sort of. 

I finally heard from the specialist for Emilya this week and while oh the phone booking the appointment,  Noah was found in the bathroom when I got off of the 3 minute phone call "cleaning". He meant well at least, however cleaning with febreeze doesn't quite cut it! But my bath mat smells good! So note to self, bring toddler out of the bathroom during important phone calls and what used to be safe on the counter from reaching is no longer safe! 

My cousin from out west is down with her daughter for a week and they came by Wednesday. It was soo much fun seeing Noah and Briar play together now. The 6 month age gap isn't as obvious and now they are just chatting like crazy and finding all sorts of fun and trouble to get into! 

Can someone please tell me how such a small child needs such big stuff?? I know they don't NEED it, but it sure makes life easier. We put away the bouncer, since Em can catapult herself out of it, and have the bumbo, which she can also plank out of. So I also brought out the highchair. Luckily ours reclines a bit, so she can sit comfortably at least. She seems to really like it!! 

Let's talk work out, I ordered Country Heat yesterday by Beachbody and can't wait for it to come in!! I have 7 stubborn pounds of baby weight to lose and I'm hoping this is a program I can do with the kids, since Emilya likes watching us dance and Noah loves country music and dancing! Not mention there are no weights to get thrown around! 

This weekend is going to be soo much fun!! We are hosting a family BBQ on Saturday! My Dad and Cindy come down tomorrow until Sunday! We were talking about canning some pickles, but that won't be happening this weekend. We will hopefully go through the storage stuff and get rid of stuff to a big yard sale. 

NINE

Wow, soo crazy to think it has been 9 years today that M and I said "I Do".

Nine whole years. It seems like it was just a few years ago that we were landscaping the farm for our outdoor wedding and picking colors, our wedding party, etc. And heck we were engaged for 2 years before we got married! 

What I will say is that in these last 9 years, we have had some of the best days of our lives and some of the worst. But together, hand in hand we have accomplished soo much and we couldn't be at a happier state in our lives. Life these days literally feels like our dreams coming true. Having not just one
child now, but two is such a blessing. I know, I say it a lot, but sometimes I wonder when I will wake up from this dream, especially having gone through soo much to get to this point in our lives.

I couldn't be a prouder wife than I am these days. To have such a supportive and helpful husband seems to be a rare thing these days. Mike puts in 150% into our family and it shows. I secretly love watching him with the kids and seeing them enjoy him just as much as I do!

In 9 years, I have watched my husband become such a amazing and stronger man and maybe I don't tell him enough how much I appreciate all that he does for us. Life is beautifully chaotic around these parts these days and in a blink of an eye the day is done and I find myself wondering "did I tell him I love him", "did I hug him today", "does he know how much I love and respect him" or "how lucky I feel to have him as my husband"?

I think that is one of the keys to our successful marriage is respecting each other, knowing each other's limits and stepping up when each other needs that break. We work well as a team and have the same goals. I'm not saying he doesn't drive me crazy some days, because we of course drive each other crazy, but at the end of the day it is a good kind of crazy.

It's crazy to look back and see how far we have come. To see how we have faced our hardships and came out on top. 

These are the best days of our lives and they just keep on getting better! 

Happy Anniversary to my love, my partner in crime, my best friend. I know that I will never be able to put into words just how my heart feels, because everyday it is growing fonder and deeper. I am so lucky to have you, our children - yes, OUR children are lucky to have you and I just hope you know how loved and appreciated you really are to me and I am going to work harder at making sure you know that. Here is to several more years together!! 

I love you like crazy - promise promise.

Ashley

Survival

Is it bad that I am literally counting down the days until the spring rush for the family buisness is over??? I feel like I'm literally hanging by one thread over here. My patience is getting shorter, my house is an unorganized mess, my toddler is... Well - being a toddler and my newborn is being a newborn! The days are long, soo very long for our family at this time.

I can't keep my schedule straight, to the fact that if its not on my calander, then I'm going to forget it. M keeps trying to have me make upcoming plans and make decisions, and they all bang around in my head like rocks at this point! 

I can't blame it on sleep deprivation, because that is one thing that is going really well, we are getting lots of sleep considering. But in all other departments in my life, I'm exhausted and you could say somewhat overwhelmed with the messes. When I get a minute to myself, I split it between down time (because that's the one thread everything's hanging on) and cleaning up the messes. 

Next week... Next week our life will become less stressful! Maybe not right away, because we have a lot of catching up to do, but the rush will be over! I will have my husband back and he might just find
his wife in all this chaos?? 

The good thing is the kids are healthy and happy and we are still making memories! The to-do list has been pushed aside for the last 2 months to ensure this. We got done what NEEDED to be done and not much more, because family time comes first around here. Clearly, the mess waits and the magic little cleaning fairies don't actually exist! 

Note to self for next spring: 

- Don't have a newborn during spring rush

- Don't let your basement flood during spring rush 

ALL AT THE SAME TIME. 

Yes, both things entirely out of our control and I know what your thinking, we could have planned the newborn situation better... But let's face it, when my body lets me get pregnant - a semi-surprise pregnancy at that... We take it and call it a miracle! 

So that is why things are falling behind on this blog of mine, but know that it is temporary and I have some really great reviews coming up, some fresh content, etc. So please continue to bear with me!!