I usually try not to buy into the hype surrounding all these mandatory kid celebrations and my expectations were way low for today's ceremony. However, Chase's 4K Graduation was about the cutest thing ever. Chase nailed the song and was just so proud of himself.
Yay for the official beginning of summer!
Chase was really proud of his new recipe today. Hummus + cheese sandwiches are a pretty common lunch option for them, but today things got crazy. Chase added pretzels (you know, the flat ones?) to it.
I was skeptical, to say the least, but I have to admit that I tried it and then added pretzels to the rest of my sandwich, too. They really add a crunch + texture that's missing from an otherwise mushy sandwich.
He's a culinary genius!
Check out this group of good looking folks who got together to have breakfast before we headed back to EC.
A fairly quick car ride and a nice nap was just the right equation for some productive home time, too. A pretty good ending to a really nice weekend.
So this happened today. Chase gave riding his cousin's two-wheeler a try. He needs to build up some confidence, but I think it's a reasonable goal for the summer.
Also, for the record, Chase's real motivation for a two-wheeler? Having a bike with a kick stand, of course.
How do you celebrate a beautiful [albeit very mosquito-y] day in Stevens Point? A trip for ice cream, of course!
To kill time while waiting in line, we had an impromptu family photo shoot. Cousins are the best.
Our little Robbe is a champion. He's rocking this whole speech therapy thing. The amount of determination, focus, and discipline during every session is nothing short of crazy-inspiring. So far he's been working on his "sh" and "g" sounds and I think it's an honest assessment to say that he never made either sound before Ms. Anna (who is beyond incredible, by the way) taught him how. And now? He can say "go" along with the best of them! It's only been four weeks and he's already making a good bit of progress (both with the sounds he's focused on and other sounds that seem easier to pick up now).
We're really proud of this little sweet pea. And even better...it's apparent that he's really [really] proud of himself.
This post might border on TMI. You've been warned.
Every time we're in the Target toy section my boys need to go to the bathroom. I'm not kidding. Every time. They're fine throughout the aisles and aisles of health + beauty aids and cleaning supplies but about two minutes into our time in the Lego aisle, it's all over. That's weird, right? It's been a running joke with the boys and me for months now. Now you can laugh along with us.
It's spirit week at school so Chase has been having fun being creative with his ensembles. Today's theme? Costume day!
He opted for a "Super Monkey" costume. If you can believe it, he was the only one!
You'll be glad to hear we found a new trampolining home in Eau Claire. Action City just started a Toddler Time jump session and we've been twice so far. The boys are really digging it (turns out 3 and 5 are the perfect ages for this type of activity).
Interested in a blast from the past? Here are a few past trampoline-related posts. Those sweet little jumping beans.
Today marks our first (but hopefully not last) Family Challenge Day. What was the challenge, you might ask? Today each one of us was challenged to do something that pushed us outside of our comfort zone. Here's the breakdown:
ROBBE: He's been a little bit shy about practicing his new letter sounds (from his speech therapy sessions) around other people. Today, he put himself out there by say "Go" to the teacher at the Tot Spot!
CHASE: The underlying reason for the challenge...he's been feeling blue lately because he hasn't had the chance to turn off the lights in his classroom on the way to snack time. We've been encouraging him to talk to his teacher about it. Today, because of the challenge, he actually did it! And, drumroll please, he got to turn off the lights today (she just hadn't noticed he hadn't been selected)!
SARA: I put myself out there and interviewed for a blogger position today. It's super part time (obviously) and would be a good way to get out in the community and make a name for myself. I haven't decided yet, but you'll be the first to know.
CHRIS: Details are a little foggy on this one (and he's a little selfie-adverse as you can tell by the photo above), but his challenge was to push himself outside of his comfort zone at work. He told us he did, so we'll just believe him.
We enjoyed a lovely morning celebrating our sweet Ann's confirmation today. She's a gift to this world and I'm so glad we got a bit of time this morning to celebrate just her.
Beautiful both inside and out, we've enjoyed every second of living close to this gem. We love you and are so proud of you, Ann!
Check out Chase's sweet technique during a spoon + egg relay at a classmate's birthday party. Hand in pocket and all...that's confidence.
Remember all that rain I mentioned earlier this week? Take a look at its aftermath.
If you're not familiar with the area, none of this area is usually under water. None of it.
Remember when you thought the baby robin was the cutest thing on the blog?
Today might be another contender. These are the baby chicks at Chase's school. The kids have been keeping an eye on the eggs for 21 days and three have hatched so far. It's been such an entertaining and educational process for the kids...and a little bit for me, too.
To commemorate the occasion, Robbe let me paint a chick on his cheek. We're all pretty excited about our new fluffy friends.
After a glorious stretch of sunshine and warm temps, we've been dealing with storms and rain for the last three days. Lots of rain.
The weather hasn't done the flowering trees any favors, but man is our yard looking green and beautiful. Maybe the sun will return at some point and we can actually enjoy it again.
Look at this sweet sign of spring. One little guy already begging for attention and one more just starting to peek his beak out of the shell.
Shout out to Grandpa for noticing the action in the nest!
This weekend was really really wonderful. I won't bore you with all the details of what a perfect weekend looks like to me, but here are a few of the highlights:
My heart is happy.
Motherhood. Wow. You would think ten months of carrying a tiny human in your body would give you *just a little* of the time + space necessary to process some of the new realities that will occur when that baby is born. Nope.
Motherhood is a wild ride, to say the least. I have said this over and over again throughout the past five years (in my mind as well as to others) and it still rings true:
Motherhood is the highest of the highs and lowest of the lows - often occurring within minutes of each other. Your best hope is that, on any given day, the high moments overshadow the low ones. That's a good day.
I'm feeling reflective today as I type. I've been thinking about my life just over five years ago. Past Sara definitely wouldn't recognize the person I've become. And that's ok. Current Sara really loves my life and all the ups and downs that come along with it (but I'll still shoot for a day with no downs, thank you very much).
If you're a mom, thank you for all you do. Your job is hard and often under-appreciated.
If you're my mom, thank you for making me into the woman + mom I am. I love you more than words can say.
If you're my husband's mom, thank you for raising the most supportive and empathetic man I could ever have asked for in my soulmate.
And for anyone struggling with becoming a mom or someone who is bearing the heavy burden of loss this year, my heart hurts for you and I'm sending healing thoughts.
I hope you all are enjoying the sunshine and warm temps as much as we are this weekend. It's maybe the best gift of all.
The windows are open, there's a lovely breeze in the air, and our family has been outside all day long. The kids are filthy, and sweaty, and tired. Just what a low-key Saturday should be.
I may have buried the lead...we also managed to craft this amazing garden box. It may have taken a good chuck of the day (and we're still not done with the project), but we have a new garden box for our backyard. The boys and I are crazy excited about all the yummy vegetables we're going to grow in this (and the twin version that will be finished tomorrow when we procure more wood).
I'll be sure to post a photo of the finished project when we get to that point, but for now just make sure you fully appreciate these photos of Chris with his saw and me with a drill. This scene doesn't occur very often.
This beautiful crab tree was planted almost 11 years ago as a gift to my parents for our wedding. Look how our love has grown! And we were actually local to see the blooming tree this year. Yay!
small city | BIG DAYS
home | about | meet the team | work with me | contact
