Our Five Ring Circus: Warp Speed Ahead

Monday, August 8, 2016

Warp Speed Ahead

Happy Monday, my friends! 

It was a not so relaxing weekend around here and nothing is going to change in the near future. We have something planned every single day until my kids head back to school on the 31st. The last few weeks of Summer seem to be moving at warp speed! Thankfully there's a beach vacation in the middle of all that chaos!


This week Dylan, Lexie and my niece, Aubrey, have science camp for 4 days. Liam has 2 therapy sessions, Dylan has 2 playdates and I have 1-3 extra kids with me each day, I have to start and finish back to school shopping for all 4 kids, have a photoshoot and attend Liam's IEP meeting. On top of all that, there are at least a dozen errands on my list. I also have to fit in shopping and preparing for Lily and Liam's combined birthday party on Saturday. I may as well just move into my car! Is there any way to duplicate myself this week?!?

Next week is Liam's final week of Early Intervention so he will be having sessions with each of his 3 amazing therapists who have been with us since he was a baby. His OT has been with us since he was 2 months old. I can't even think about it without crying!  I'm taking the kids somewhere that Monday, I have to pack for the beach all week and Liam will celebrate his 3rd Birthday on Thursday. Then we are beach-bound!

That relaxing week at the beach is going to be AMAZING!

I missed my past two Friday Favorites posts, so I'm going to share a bit of life lately today. We have been busy!

I got a new SUV! 

The lease on my Chevy Traverse was up so it was time to get a new familymobile! AKA my Mom Taxi. I loved it so much that I just opted for another one in a different color. We also decided to add a roof rack option to make heading to the beach a bit more comfortable for the kid in the back seat!

When I picked it up, it just felt like I was climbing into a newer (much cleaner) version of my last SUV. There are a few new features, but everything else is the same, including the interior. I love it, though. I don't have a single complaint from the 3 years I had my last one!

Grant's family owns a dealership, which is incredibly helpful. All I have to do is tell them what I'm looking for, show up and sign!

Chevy Traverse

I'm officially a dance mom!

I registered Lexie and Lily for dance tonight. Lexie will be taking a hip hop class and Lily will be taking ballet/tap/jazz/tumbling. They are both so excited! Just for the record, my Thursday nights are over. I'll be logging in 3 hours each week at the dance studio!

I'm excited to announce that I'm now a Nuby Parent Blogger!

We're big fans of Nuby products so we're thrilled to join the team!

Nuby Parent Blogger

Reunited.

We went to my family reunion on Saturday. It's always wonderful to see my extended family. They really are a great group of people! I always hear horror stories about how families refuse to accept children who have Down syndrome but my dad's side of the family is the complete opposite and I'm so thankful! I only took a few pictures, but everybody had a great time!

Family Reunion
The Lucky Few
Frogs
 The Princess and the Frog

We're gearing up for the first day of school!

I'm not ready to say goodbye to Summer Break but the first day of school is rapidly approaching. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm going to be a mess on Lily's first day of Kindergarten and especially on the morning I drop Liam off for preschool. August 31st is the big day for Dylan, Lexie and Lily!

We're not certain yet if Liam has a spot in preschool, how often he will go or when he will start. I hate not knowing, but we'll finally have our answers on Thursday morning. My 3 older kids will know who their teachers are by next week and building visitation day is coming up. We will be missing Lily's Kindergarten Orientation due to being on vacation, but she's going to be perfectly fine on the first day. Me on the other hand...

Back to School
{Backpack from Pottery Barn Kids}

My social butterflies!

The Mom Taxi is working overtime this Summer! Lexie's best friend (her cousin, Aubrey) is with us all Summer, so she gets to spend each weekday with her BFF.  It's going to be tough for both of them when school is back in session!

Dylan is now a tween and just wants to hang out with his friends all the time. I feel like I'm constantly dropping him off and picking him up from hanging out with his friends, but he's having a good Summer.

Lily was invited to a string of birthday parties lately. She had one last weekend, had one on Friday, has one this Sunday and another next week. It's girly party overload around here! Dylan is going to one next Sunday, too. I'm going to have to get a part time job just to pay for all the gifts soon!

Tinkerbell Birthday Party

I got to try out The U.S.H!

The U.S.H was originally developed to hold all those unmatched socks until the match was found but it has so many other uses. It can hang vertically and horizontally so the possibilities are endless. I got to try it out before it went public and I love this thing! It's definitely getting packed in my suitcase for vacation to hold all those wet towels and suits. You can find out more HERE


The U.S.H
The U.S.H
The U.S.H
The U.S.H

We had a Word Party!

I absolutely love being a part of the Netflix StreamTeam! One of the perks is the super awesome packages that arrive in the mail to promote shows on Netflix. Recently a new show called Word Party premiered on Netflix and Lily loves it! It is such a fun educational show for kids and theme song is quite catchy!

Netflix sent over a box of items including handmade Word Party character masks, magnetic letters and a felt shape matching set. It was perfect timing because we're currently brushing up on Lily's skills for Kindergarten.

Word Party

Stay tuned for Beat Bugs...

Weekends at the stable. 

We have been leaving Suburbia and heading a few miles into the country each week to visit our horse.  Each time we go it makes me long to buy a house with a few acres so we can have our own mini-farm!

Lily is a natural on horseback and I'm going to start giving her lessons soon!

Leopard Appaloosa
Horse
Appaloosa


World Breastfeeding Week.

I need to write another in post about our experience, but I shared a brief version of my breastfeeding story on Instagram yesterday. I successfully breastfed both of my girls, but it didn't come as easily with Liam. Despite being told repeatedly by many medical professionals that he simply couldn't breastfeed based on his diagnosis alone, I was determined to make it work. We proved those medical professionals wrong. Liam breastfed until his 2nd birthday and it was, without a doubt, the most important battle I ever fought for my son!

Breastfeeding a child with Down syndrome


VACATION!

We are less than two weeks away from heading to the beach and I am so excited. There's a million things to accomplish before we leave, but that week of relaxation at my most favorite place will be worth it!

Virginia Beach

I have 3 guest posts lined up for the week I'm gone, but if you're interested in being a guest poster, I would love to feature you! Email lexieloolilyboodylantoo@yahoo.com. Also, if you're interested in joining an Instagram Engagement Group, send me an email!

There's no doubt about it: The last few weeks of Summer are going to fly by!


Is it already Back to School time for your family or do you have a few days of Summer left? 



Let's Be Friends!

11 comments:

  1. Girl I am exhausted jut reading about your life. Ha ha!! But it sounds like so much fun too. So exciting about the new SUV! There's something about a clean vehicle. Ha ha! I hear ya there. Can't wait to hear about your vacation.

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  2. Wow you are one busy Mama but at least it all sounds fun :) We have a Traverse too, and while I love it, I totally regret not getting a mini van...not having to open doors would be really nice, ha ha!

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  3. Wow a lot going on! I'm looking for a new mom mobile right now, too. What a fun few weeks you've had!

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  4. We have a Traverse, too, and despite having some problems with it lately (it's currently in the shop) I still love it! It's comfortable and easy to drive. And best of all...it's paid off!! :)

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  5. Oh my word lady! You are seriously one of the busiest mama's I know. Love the new wheels and dance class is going to be so stinking cute, can't wait for all that comes with that. You are SO close to vacation too. I am slightly jealous but mostly super excited for you.

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  6. Girl, DO YOU EVER REST?! You are a complete and total ROCK STAR and I seriously look up to you!! Congratulations on your new SUV and congrats on joining the Nuby team!!

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  7. Yay for a new car! I can't wait to hear how your girls like dance. I've been trying to decide if we should sign Mila up or not. And, wow, lady have you been busy! You so deserve a relaxing vacation. Enjoy it!!

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  8. You have been busy! love all the stuff that your doing. You are strong and keeping it all together. Yay for defeating the odds on breastfeeding Liam. Hope you enjoy your beach vacation!

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  9. Congrats on the new ride. Hope you have a wonderful vacation.

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