Showing posts with label Weekend Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weekend Life. Show all posts
Monday, April 30, 2018
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Weekend Happenings
As the weekend comes to a close, I find myself wishing we had one more day off! Can we just make three days weekends a regular thing?!? We had a busy weekend, but it didn't exactly turn out as expected.
This weekend was supposed to be full of Halloween activities, on top of all the events that were already scheduled. A family emergency on Saturday changed everything. Now we're just exhausted mentally AND physically, and we were unable to check some things off of our Halloween list. But none of that matters. All that matters is the fact that everything is okay now.
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Our Busy & Fun Memorial Day Weekend
Happy Tuesday, my friends! It's the last Tuesday of the school year, and my family is counting down the days until school's out for the Summer. (Only 4 days to go!) After our fun Memorial Day weekend that gave us a taste of the Summer fun to come, we are definitely ready for Summer Break!
The end of the school year is always bittersweet. I'm torn between wanting the days to rush by so I can enjoy a Summer at home with my kids and wanting to pause time because they are growing up far too quickly. It's hard to say goodbye to amazing teachers that made the year so great, and know that when the next school year begins, it's just one step closer to my kids graduating and leaving home for college. (HOLD ME.)
Now that I've thoroughly depressed myself, it's time to move on to happier things! Like this weekend. Long weekends are always awesome, and we crammed a lot of activities into this Memorial Day weekend, along with a much needed day of rest!
On Friday, we kicked off the long weekend with a shopping trip with my mom. We picked up Lily from Kindergarten and set out to find the perfect bridal shower gift for my niece. We ended up stopping at two extra stores along the way!
We DID find the perfect gift(s), but a mermaid tail blanket, an insulated picnic basket, Converse high tops and an outfit for Liam, snorkeling gear for Lily and new silverware somehow came home with us, too. Oops.
The rest of the day was spent eating dinner with my parents, playing cards with my mom, playing basketball with Dylan, doing laundry, and snuggling my sweet boy.
When we left my parent's house that evening, Dylan stayed there because he had plans to spend the entire weekend with my dad. The rest of us quickly fell into an exhausted sleep!
On Saturday morning, the girls and I woke up early to get ready for my niece's bridal shower. Next month, she will be marrying the man she has been with since high school. They stayed together all these years despite the hardships of raising a child together while going to college, starting careers and buying their first house. I am SO proud of them for sticking together!
Lexie and Lily were so excited to get dressed up and attend Michelle's bridal shower! The shower was beautiful and it was so much fun to spend the afternoon with family. The day was even more special because it was also Michelle's daughter Aubrey's 11th birthday!
Those of you who read my blog regularly will probably recognize Aubrey from my pictures. We love Aubrey dearly! I became a great aunt to Aubrey when Dylan was just a baby. I was there when she was born, and I had the pleasure of watching her while my niece and her fiance went to school and worked. Lexie and Aubrey are best friends, and Aubrey will always hold an honorary spot in my little family! She is such a sweet girl!
We had such a special day celebrating two girls we love VERY much! We can't wait for Michelle and Ryan's wedding in Michigan next month!
After the shower, I dropped my mom off at her house, then headed home to a house full of people. Grant was home watching Liam and a crowd gathered while we were gone. My friend was there with her two month old great niece, so I got a much needed baby fix while we visited. My girls and Liam were in love with her! Fifth child, Grant?!? (HA!)
Unfortunately, I had been fighting off a nasty headache since just before the shower ended, and it ended up turning into a full blown migraine. Visiting was cut short, and I headed to bed after a quick game of cards with my friends.
On Sunday, most of our plans ended up getting changed. I was still battling a migraine, but managed to go outside for a few hours with the kids once it eased.
I put Liam down for a nap, then Lily and I ran to the grocery store to get our weekly grocery shopping done. Shortly after we returned home, Dylan arrived home from a weekend of visiting my brother and his kids in Erie.
Dylan had pictures of my brother's new puppies and we are seriously considering taking one when they are ready. There are four really cute females and they all look different, so it's going to be a tough choice! We've been without a dog for 2+ years and we can't decide which breed we want to get. I prefer giant breeds, but my husband isn't a fan of the short lifespan, so we've been at a standstill. Prior to our last Great Dane passing away, I had never been without a dog in my entire life, and I'm really missing having one in my home. So, this might be a crazy move, but perhaps an adorable, free mutt is the way to go!
Lexie went home with my dad for a sleepover, and the rest of us had dinner and spent the night watching TV. It was nice to kick back and relax for once, instead of worrying about entertaining guests or rushing to get things done for the next day!
On Monday, for the first time ever, we had our own little Memorial Day celebration at home. We didn't go anywhere ( the first time we hadn't left the house in weeks) and we didn't invite anyone over. We just spent the day together at home. It was a much needed relaxing family day!
We started our day by doing some yard work together. Grant and Dylan mowed, Lexie and I cleaned up the toys in the yard and Lily and Liam picked up the clumps of grass.
After the yard work was done, it was time to play! It was such a beautiful day, so we spent most of it outdoors.
We broke out the new slip and slide for a few hours.
Dylan taught Liam how to slide on his belly, and Liam thought it was hilarious!
Lily did some "snorfeling" with her snorkeling set.
Lexie and Liam played on the trampoline.
And our sweet Lily shucked all the corn!
The only time we went inside all day was to eat our picnic dinner. The kids played the day away, and everyone was relaxed and content! It just felt like Summer already.
If this weekend was any indication of the what's ahead of us this Summer, it's going to be a great one!
TUESDAY TALK
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Sunday, May 21, 2017
Weekend Life is the Best Life {Even If It's Busy}
Happy Monday, friends! Why is it that the countdown to the weekend takes forever, then the weekend flies by ridiculously fast? I wish weekends would last longer. Who's with me?!?
We are officially in our extra busy season, thanks to the end of the school year. Add in dance recital madness (all of you dance moms know exactly what I'm talking about), wedding festivities for a close family member and end of the year events for 4 kids, and I feel like I'm barely staying afloat. I thought an end was in sight, but a few weeks ago, I sat down with my planner and realized we don't have a single free weekend until sometime in September. Say WHAT?!?
BUT...it's the last Monday of the school year. Liam's last day of preschool is on Thursday. (Although, if you aren't familiar for preschools for kids with IEPs, they still go over the Summer. It's just 3 days each month in June, July and August.) The rest of my crew is done on June 2nd. It's SO close and we are really excited about Summer Break!
So even if they are busy, I live for the weekend. I get a little (and much needed) break from the madness and I usually get some sleep! This weekend was a really busy one, but it was all good things!
On Friday, the kids and I visited my parents and had our usual Friday night dinner with them. It was a beautiful day, so we spent a lot of time on the deck. When I arrived home, a few friends were there, so I ended up playing cards with them for while before I collapsed into bed and slept for 7 glorious, uninterrupted hours! (Surprisingly, I didn't take a single picture!)
Saturday was my overly busy day. As soon as I woke up, I started running. I drove Dylan to his friend's house then I volunteered for several hours at Bloom, which was a Pittsburgh Moms Blog event. It was a fun afternoon with some good PMB friends!
I drove home, completely forgetting the fact that I had to pick up Dylan, so I relieved my husband of his toddler tornado duties, and took Liam with me to pick up his brother. Finally, we made it home around 6:30. Instead of rushing into making dinner, we all went outside to enjoy the beautiful weather and unwind!
Unwind isn't really a fair term. Getting some exercise while running after Liam is a more accurate description of our time outside!
Dylan's friend came over, and they convinced me to take them to a local basketball court. At first I said no, because I still had to cook dinner and go grocery shopping, and it was already 8 pm, but I felt bad for saying no to a kid who just wants to practice and stay active. So I loaded all the kids into the family mobile, and we headed to the court!
We went home and finally ate dinner! What can I say? Everybody in our house is completely ready for Summer!
Now here's where things get real! A few months ago, I discovered the joy of shopping at our local grocery store late at night on a Saturday. It doesn't work out often, due to other plans, but when I'm home by that time, I jump at the chance!
I usually take Dylan or Lexie with me to help, since they are older and can handle staying up later on the weekend. This time, I had a few helpers. The kids took really long naps while Grant was home with them all day while I volunteered, so my crew was WIDE awake! When they heard I was leaving (again) Lily and Liam got upset, so off we went to the grocery store at 10:15 PM!
It is completely worth it! We were in and out of there well before 11 pm. Any other time, it takes me over an hour. But at that time on a Saturday night, nobody is grocery shopping, the shelves are fully stocked, and there is no wait in the checkout line. Plus, the overnight employees are really friendly and talkative!
As I expected, Lily didn't last 5 minutes in the store, but Lexie and Liam were ready to party! (And yes, we have two full carts. That's what it's like to shop for a family of 6 each week! I should mention the 20 boxes of fruit and applesauce pouches that I bought because the store was discontinuing them, and they were really cheap!)
So there you have it. My best kept mom life secret! And the fact that I'm a real mom who goes with the flow and takes her children grocery shopping at 10:15 PM. (Just for the record, my kids still sleep. No matter what time they go to bed, they always sleep for 8-12 hours!) When you have a chaotic schedule, you have to do what you have to do!
My husband's work friends were at our house that evening, so after the kids were tucked into bed and the groceries were put away, I joined them for a few games of darts before heading to bed to watch some Netflix and fall into a deep sleep!
Which leads me to Sunday...my kids DID sleep, which meant that I got to sleep in! I had big plans to write all my blog posts for the week (HA!) and take senior pictures, but instead I finished reading THIS book (definitely a must read), and had to reschedule senior pictures for next weekend, due to the rain.
Although I didn't accomplish my blogging goal, I did manage to get a bunch of Summer clothes put away in my kids' closets, then spend quality time with my husband and kids! It was a more relaxing end to a busy, but fun weekend!
What did you do this weekend?
*Linking up for Hello Monday and Weekending.
