Home sweet home

On Monday morning, I kissed my loves goodbye, went to the office for a while, then hopped on a plane to Boston for two full days of meetings.




I got home late last night, after the kids were all in bed, so that was three full nights away from them. It was tough. Thank goodness for facetime to make me feel a little closer, but I missed them so much. And they missed me.



Knowing that Lorelai woke up in the middle of the night (and at daycare nap time) crying for me, and I couldn't be there to comfort her, was enough to put my mommy guilt into overdrive. And I didn't even have my husband, exotic locations, or the ability to relax and sleep in to distract me from the guilt. It was no vacation, for sure.

Add to that the information overload, two really bad nights' sleep in an unfamilar/uncomfortable hotel bed, the rainy not-warm weather, and the fact that Adam was gone from Friday to Sunday on his annual Sand Soccer trip...I was SO ready to be home with my family.



I used to travel fairly frequently back in the day (pre-kids) for my previous job and it was no big deal. It was exciting, actually. Visiting new places, eating out, staying in fancy hotels. But these days, I honestly don't know how Adam does it all the time. (Okay fine, Legal Seafood on the company's dime wasn't so bad, ha!)

When I went into Lorelai's room this morning, she pushed her hair out of her eyes, looked up at me and said "My mommy? Are you really here?" And then wouldn't let go.

Home is where the heart is, and I have so many more hearts at home now that I need, and need me. Home sweet home.

Summer 2013 Bucket List

Since our summer break has officially begun, the kids and I put together our 2013 summer bucket list this weekend.



There are several repeats from last year because there are just things we do that are a given (the beach, duh) and ones we really liked last year (playing in the rain), so the boys wanted them on the list. But we did come up with a couple of new ones, and I hope to get creative with at least one new one each year.

Like last year, it's not long and crazy because we only have 5 weeks and most of these will have to happen on the weekend, but it's a good way to focus on enjoying the summer and not treat it just like any other weekday/weekend. Since let's face it--it's really not that different from school weeks or trackouts minus the homework, of course.

But we're ready for some fun in the sun. Summer 2013, bring it on!

School's out! Finally!

Friday was the last day of school, woohoo!

I can't tell you how excited I am that this school year is finally over. Not gonna lie, it's been stressful. More than double the homework between the two boys (Aidan just had SO much), plus projects, Aidan's first year taking EOGs...it's seemed like one LONG year.


Are you serious? Are we really done?!


But both Aidan and Logan were champs and made it through with flying colors. And good grades. :)


The fine print: technically these last day photos were taken on 6/6, thanks to Tropical Storm Andrea raining out any potential photos on their actual last day. Score one for mom for thinking ahead though!

Another dramatic transformation for Aidan. Maybe it's just the hair. :)


I can't believe the progress Logan made this year. Sometimes I forget he was only in Kindergarten, and didn't even know how to read or spell at the beginning of the year. I did have high hopes for him since he's one of the older Kindergartners (missed the cutoff by 1 week) and he proved me right. His reading level (mClass level I) is on level for end of 1st grade, he's good at and enjoys math, he's done some impressive creative writing, and his teacher said he was the only one in his class to get all 12 questions correct on test of analogies for AIG screening. That was only one part of the AIG screening so we won't know until after more testing next year whether he qualifies, but we'll see! Regardless, we're just so proud of how far he came. The transformation is nothing short of impressive.




And Aidan. Oh, Aidan. Despite the, um, issues I had with his teacher...he did great, as always. A Honor Roll in the first and last quarters, and A/B Honor Roll in the middle two quarters. He studied hard all year, and hopefully rocked his first-ever EOGs. (Grades don't come back until October because it's a new set of tests so they have to analyze the results.)



Gotta be honest, my frustrations with his teacher have been a huge part of what's made this year more stressful for me. Thankfully, Aidan was mostly insulated from that. He never saw me get stabby over the numerous overly!!!! exuberant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! emails with bad grammar (exhibit A, exhibit B). He genuinely liked his teacher. For that, I'm so grateful, because having that connection with her helped motivate him to work hard and succeed. Despite any of her other faults, I give her the utmost credit for her enthusiasm for teaching and affection for her students.

The unfortunate complication is that we were offered the "exciting opportunity" to loop with her since she's being moved up to 4th grade (can you believe it?!?). He really wants her again, but Adam and I just can't do it. My sanity can't handle reading another dreadful email, and I don't want any more project grades to suffer based on her lack of expertise (or basic logic) when it comes to rubric grading. I feel bad that we're denying Aidan this opportunity, but I'm looking forward to starting fresh. As far as he knows, we're parting on good terms, and that's all that matters.

Now that Kindergarten and 3rd grade are behind us, we can all focus on a glorious (but waaaaay too short) 5 weeks of break enjoying our summer. Summer bucket list-making is in progress and I can't wait!

3-day work weeks should totally be a thing.

I'm in a total funk today after two awesome weekends and a tiny little 3-day work week sandwiched in between. After being off last Monday for Memorial Day, and then taking off on Friday to chaperone Logan's class field trip/field day/picnic, I'm seriously dreading having to sit in an office for 5 whole days this week. Woe is me.

I've still got a ton of pictures to sort through from the past week, but for now, I'm just dreaming about how awesome it would be if I didn't have to sit in an office and work all the live long day.

I'd go to the pool and play outside with the kids...


After much begging, we finally made it to the pool for the first time this season. And Lorelai totally got the hang of the neighbor's scooter.


I'd have tea parties on the deck...




I'd chaperone more field trips...


Logan's field day was a blast and he was so glad to have both me and Adam there. It was a field trip to a park for field day activities and a picnic.


I'd volunteer in the classroom more...


Logan's two end-of-the-year awards: Good Sportsmanship and Perfect Attendance. So proud of our Kindergarten graduate!


I'd spend more time just chillin' with family (and holding sweet babies)...


We celebrated my niece Piper's baptism this weekend with family from out of town. Always good times.


But now it's back to reality. 40 hours at a desk, workin' for the weekend. And savoring each weekend moment that I have. Sigh.

33.

Today I turned 33. Another year older, maybe a little wiser, but most of all grateful for another year spent with my amazing family. That perspective kind of takes the sting out of the whole "older" thing. :)

Adult birthdays are kind of weird. Once you hit a certain age, when you no longer have parties or even look forward to getting another year older OMG, it becomes kind of awkward to go around talking about or telling people it's your birthday (or is that just me?). Like you're trying to solicit compliments or something. I don't know. I mean, I really appreciate it when people want to celebrate my birthday and I want to be celebrated, but don't want it to seem like I'm asking people to do it. (That's why Facebook is so great...so much unprompted birthday love!)

Anyway, we did celebrate my birthday, but in a very nice low-key way that's suitable for a non-milestone adult birthday. :) I only asked to do 2 things on my birthday: sleep in, and get frozen yogurt with my family. Mission accomplished!

Lorelai slept until after 8, at which point she came in and sang(ish) Happy Birthday to me. And then this happened:

Mommy: How old am I?
Lorelai: 3? No, not 3. Ummm?
Mommy: Keep going...
Lorelai: 4?
Mommy: No, keep going...
Lorelai: Ummmm, old?

Wow, kiddo, harsh! But way to start my day with a smile. :)

Then we just lounged around the house, enjoyed some crazy beautiful weather (70* and sunny, what??! That's not late May weather in NC!) and went out for some frozen yogurt before dropping the kids off at my mom's house for a sleepover.



Adam and I did some birthday shopping at the mall and I enjoyed Chipotle for the first time (I know, shocking).



It's been a really great day. Even though as I'm writing this, Adam is picking Lorelai up from my mom's because she refuses to spend the night. Eh, more birthday snuggles is never a bad thing.

(#momfail: no good pictures of me and the boys. I will rectify that tomorrow at my birthday cookout. Swear.)

Making me happy

I'm just a mess of jumbled thoughts lately. I've got like 3 unfinished blog posts just hanging out because my brain is just too mushy to make them coherent and meaningful. Work is crazy, life is crazy, what's new?

So I figured I'd take a cue from Ariel and just list some things that are making me happy right now.

*Tiny painted toes.



I've done Lorelai's fingernails once before, but this is her first pedicure. We're toe twinsies! (I also love my new lavendar Zoya nail polish from my May Ipsy glam bag.) Can't wait to do more toe painting in the future with my sweet girl.

*Green smoothies.


smoothie mustache!

And more specifically, I love the fact that my kids BEG me for them. So healthy and so easy to make. Win win! I've always done spinach before, but recently tried kale. I have to say that I do prefer spinach, but no preference from the kids so far. As far as a recipe, I just kind of wing it on amounts, but basically it's just a few handfulls of the green stuff (spinach/kale) blended together really well with a cup of water. Then add 2 cups of bagged frozen tropical fruit mix (peaches, banana, pineapple, mango) and a couple tsp of honey, and voila! I like to use the orange/yellow fruits so the "soobie" as Lorelai calls it stays a pretty green color.

*My new Pacifica Island Vanilla roll on perfume courtesy of my May Ipsy glam bag.

via

I usually steer way clear of vanilla scents, but there's something about this one. It smells yummy and lasts a long time. Also, I think this has been my favorite Ipsy glam bag so far since I started in January! And if you want to sign up, they now have referral links. Here's mine.


*Raspberry pink peony hand soap from Bath and Body works.

via

This is my new favorite soap scent. I've actually got a ton of favorites but this is now at the top of my list. Every time we switch hand soap scents, I get so excited. I actually walked around the other day wondering what smelled so good until I realized it was my hands. And then I weirdly sniffed them. Something about scents with me, huh? But there is a whole thing about scents and memory/moods, so maybe it's not so weird that hand soap makes me happy...

*My new shoes.



And Lorelai's a fan, too. She so graciously pulled them off of my feet to model. Speaking of modeling, do I have a future fashion blogger in the making? She sure has that model pose down! :)

*Evenings (and weekends) spent watching the kids playing outside with the neighbors.



Last but not least, I love that my kids have struck up a friendship with the brother (also named Aidan who's a little younger than Logan) and sister (who's about a year younger than Lorelai) next door. They have such fun playing together and it's safe to say that Lorelai is obsessed with her new friend. :) That was my dream for a neighborhood like this when we had kids, but since we're such hermits, we don't really get out to meet people much (at all) or take the kids on play dates. So it was really nice when the kids got together all on their own. It's easy for us parents to just hang around and let them play without ever having to leave the yard.


Brain dump complete. Who knows if this will help straighten out the jumbled thoughts in my head, but at least it was good for my mental state to concentrate on a bunch of things that are making me happy, right?

Not getting any younger

Hello captain obvious, I know. But I'm turning 33 in a week so I'm getting the OhmygoshI'mgettingOLD panicky feeling. Especially since 3 kids + 11 years of marriage doesn't exactly scream 'spring chicken' if you know what I mean...

Anyway, I mentioned here that I'm a slave to proactive, but I think I'm at a point where I can/should try to wean myself off. So I've been thinking a lot about my skin and needing an appropriate skin care regimen for my age (oh my, that was painful to type). My dark circles are fairly noticeable but not terrible, but it's the wrinkles that are freaking me out.

I might be almost 33, but I don't want my skin to look it, right?!

So I've got my eye on some new (to me) products I've seen floating around in blog land and the (online) pages of Allure.




1. Rodan + Fields Multi-Function Eye Cream. Since it's from the makers of Proactiv, it seems like a natural next step or add-on to my current routine. But it's pricey at $59...
2. Neutrogena Ageless Intensives Deep Wrinkle Eye Cream. Much (much!) more in line with what I'd normally be willing to pay, and it's recommended by Allure. But does it really work? I guess for $12 it's worth a shot! I'll probably start here.
3. Josie Maran Argan Day + Night Eye Cream. This one looks really interesting to me. Not only is it dual purpose, but I got a sample of Josie Maran Argan Oil in my first ipsy glam bag (ipsy rocks, btw!) and I've actually been using a dab of that with some regular concealer to go under my eyes during the day which has been working nicely for a while. I wonder if that's basically the same thing as the day cream, or if this pricey ($68!) combo is worth the money.
4. Clarisonic Mia Skin Cleansing System. I've been curious about this one since I saw a review on The Small Things blog. And lately I'm convinced it's something I need (Ariel's post sealed the deal), because I keep getting these weird dry flaky patches of skin on my forehead/temple area. A baking soda scrub has only done so much. Ugh. But I haven't pulled the trigger yet, because it's also pricey--$95 is the cheapest I've seen it.

I'm seriously wondering if skin care products are a 'you get what you pay for' type of thing, or if the less expensive drug store brands work well enough. Because dude. $68 for teeny tiny thing of eye cream seems like a rip. But one I might be willing to splurge on if it really does the job. I'd need someone to really sell me on it though.

What do you guys think? Has anyone used any of the products I mentioned or have any others you swear by? I'm open to suggestions!

Side note: I've seen some people getting a StriVectin eye cream in their birchboxes recently. As much as I've been loving ipsy, that would have been perfect for me! Hmmm, is two beauty subscriptions overkill? ;)