Our Five Ring Circus: June 2019

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Life Before Baby #5

Baby #5

As a mom, it seems like I measure time in life before baby arrived, and life after. I have been a mom for 14 1/2 years, and I truly can't remember what life was like BEFORE I had kids! Now here I am, trying to play catch up for the last year that flew by while I was pregnant or adjusting to life with five kids!


I was so sick during my pregnancy with Coen, just like I was with every other pregnancy. Every single day I battled morning sickness until the day I delivered him. When you are that sick, it's truly a struggle to make it through the day, let alone blog. BUT...I want to catch up on some of the life posts that slipped by while I was sick since this is partially a journal of our lives.

I did so well documenting weekly life for the first 6 weeks of 2019, and I'm determined to finish it. I'm definitely a visual storyteller (or so Facebook tells me), so I might not remember the exact details of the last two weeks before Coen was born, but with the help of all the pictures I took and my beloved Cozi calendar, I just might be able to do a somewhat decent job. All I know is that I was miserably pregnant for those last two weeks of my pregnancy. I was still sick, I was contracting all the time, and I knew my baby was huge. (Spoiler alert: I was right.) The next document life post I will be sharing is Coen's CRAZY birth story, so stay tuned!

Monday, June 24, 2019

Water Beads & Soap Foam Sensory Bin - A Sensory Play Experience for Kids of All Ages

Water Beads & Soap Foam Sensory Bin

It's the first weekend of Summer, the weather is beautiful, and we're so excited to be outside! The only problem is our hose is temporarily out of commision, so water activities are a no go right now. Cooling down with a Water Beads & Soap Foam Sensory Bin was a fun alternative!


My kids are obsessed with water beads! I don't really blame them. They really are fun to play with. There's a reason they put them in gel masks now! ;) Plus they are super inexpensive, and a little goes a long way!

We are big fans of sensory play, and I'm a proponent of letting kids get messy and learn through play. Play really does matter, and introducing sensory experiences at a young age is really important. Sensory play helps kids learn with all of their senses, AND helps them work on their motor skills! Water Beads are a super cool sensory bin filler, and even babies can play (with supervision). Supercharging it with foam soap makes this bin extra fun!

Friday, June 21, 2019

The Dance Recital

Dance Recital

Well, we did it! We survived - and recovered from - dance recital week. Any parent who has a tiny dancer knows EXACTLY what I'm talking about!


Lily just finished up her third year of dance. This past year, she took jazz, ballet, and acro for the second year in a row, with her BFSB. (Best Friend Since Birth - she came up with that term!) She dances at a local top-ranked dance studio (they just announced they placed in the top 20 dance studios in the nation), and they have an amazing award-winning competitive team, so the recital is always a huge production!

The week leading up to the recital was intense! Lily had her last dance class, then a rehearsal to learn the recital finale, then a full dress rehearsal, then another finale rehearsal...and finally, the recital...PHEW. Plus, I had to cut, tie, and bedazzle two recital shirts for the finale. It took F-O-R-E-V-E-R. Lily was nervous (her former thespian parents told her that was perfectly normal), but had an amazing time!

Friday, June 14, 2019

Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites - Mom Blog / Pittsburgh Blog / Baby Blog / Down syndrome Blog / Big Family Blog

Happy Friday! It has been a long time since I shared a few of my favorite things. Life got in the way of blogging - having a baby and adjusting to having five kids will do that. BUT...I figured it was time to get back into posting my favorites regularly!


Life lately has been very busy. Our Summer Break just started, but it doesn't feel much like a break at all. We're in the midst of dance recital week, and it's all we can think about right now! Next week should be a bit more calm!

I discovered so many new favorites over the past few weeks. Some are for me, some are for my kids. I'm taking advantage of the quiet time in my house (AKA the middle of the night), to list my favorites for all of you!

Thursday, June 13, 2019

School's Out for the Summer - The Last Week of the School Year

School's Out for the Summer!

School's out for the Summer! Dylan, Lexie, Lily, and Liam had their last day of school on Friday. They are now joining me and baby Coen at home until September 9th. The last week of the school year was a busy one, and although the last day of school was bittersweet, my crew is excited about the Summer ahead!

This past week included a fun event in our little town, a school kindness celebration, middle school graduation and a dance, an 8th Grade class trip to Cedar Point, Liam's annual eye exam, an oil change and car shopping, Lily's last dance class, the last day of school, a baseball game, sleepovers, and fireworks. I wish we had a lazy week ahead of us, but Lexie was asked to represent the school's STEAM program during the school board meeting tonight, Lily has a practice for the dance recital finale tomorrow, the dance recital rehearsal is on Thursday, Liam has an early baseball game on Saturday, and Father's Day and the dance recital is on Sunday. Gone are those lazy Summer days!

We are only four days into Summer Break and I can tell it's going to be a busy one! Kids are entering and leaving our house in a continuous loop for sleepovers/playdates. Did I also mention that Coen is rolling over EVERY time I put him down to sleep, then gets angry and starts screaming? Sleep just isn't happening for either of us! So many moms say that Summer is actually busier than the school year, and that seems to be the case this year.

Here's a glimpse at the last week of 8th Grade, 6th Grade, 2nd Grade, and Kindergarten..

Monday, June 10, 2019

How To Have The Best Summer in Pittsburgh with Kids

How To Have The Best Summer in Pittsburgh with Kids

This post is brought to you by Kidsburgh and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.

School’s out for the Summer! Like many parents, I’m wondering what we’re going to do for the next 3 months. Thankfully, we live in the Pittsburgh area, and there is an abundance of family-friendly activities in and around our beautiful city!


Every so often, my husband and I daydream about moving our family to the beach, but the truth is, we won’t be doing that anytime soon. Pittsburgh is actually an incredible place to raise a family! It has everything - the best doctors and hospitals, an abundance of great museums, awesome professional sports teams, a booming arts district, four distinct seasons, fun public transportation, family-friendly events, and even the great outdoors.

You can easily find something to do every single day in Pittsburgh. From touring the beautiful gardens at Phipp’s Conservatory to cooling off at the infamous water steps to cheering on a favorite team to ice skating at the ice rink at PPG place, there is something for everyone. There’s so much to do that you just might miss something if you don’t put it on your schedule. That’s why I love Kidsburgh! Following along keeps me informed on all the exciting happenings for families in Pittsburgh!

Sunday, June 2, 2019

Glow In The Dark Space Sensory Bin

Glow in the Dark SPACE Sensory Bin #sensoryplay #sensorybin #space #kidsactivities

We currently have a tough decision to make. Initially, we signed Liam up for Extended School Year so he doesn't regress between the end of this school year and the start of the next one. Now we're reconsidering, because we have a busy Summer ahead of us, and we think Liam deserves the chance to just be a kid and enjoy Summer Break. I think his once a week speech therapy session, baseball, lots of outdoor play, and sensory bins might be the path we take this Summer!


Our sensory bins, kids activities, and posts about Down syndrome bring this blog the most traffic, but I stopped sharing all of our ideas due to the busyness of life (more coming on life with five kids soon)! I'm getting back into creating weekly themed sensory bins, and pairing them with books, learning activities, crafts, and an occasional outing. This weekend, our town had a huge Mars New Year celebration and NASA attended, so I focused on a space themed sensory bin for the week!

Like the majority of our sensory bins, this space sensory bin is easy to put together. I reuse a lot of our fillers and just mix and match according to the theme, and everything I use is inexpensive! And this sensory bin is extra fun because it glows in the dark!