Things Just Got Real.

School started Monday and now our lazy summer days seem like years ago. N has wanted to walk to and from school. My legs ache (we raced yesterday, it's a mile there and a mile back, up hill both ways of course). With my mom here, she walked him today and I'm staying home drinking coffee and uploading pictures. 

(our last week of summer)

Last night we had baseball practice. T talked me into letting him go, which I was convinced I would leave early with him and KC to put him to bed. It was all perfectly going to plan until I realized the car seat for Chris' car is in the garage and not in Chris' car. Everyone went to bed later than usual.

Which makes me extra glad I'm drinking coffee right now and T is watching Curious George.

(first day of school)

Thoughts for Thursday: Back to School

This is our last week of summer and we are trying to fit in last minute fun. 

Tonight we will meet N's 1st grade teacher and if I cry I'm going to blame it on postpartum hormones. This time of year I always pull out our back to school book collection. Here are some of our favorites in it:

I also like to have lots of information on the teacher for gifts and surprises during the year. I'll usually email a few questions like this:

I'm really nervous about beginning the back to school routine again. I asked my mom to come down for the first day or so to help with pick up and drop off. And in two weeks, T will head back to school as well. In addition to that we will start up baseball, soccer, art and continue piano. I'm already missing our summer days. 

Any tips for making the transition as easy as possible would be greatly appreciated. Currently no one in this house is truly excited about summer ending.

Linking up with Annie and Natalie for Thoughts for Thursday.

The End of Summer

Oh summer where are you going!! N starts school next Monday and he will be in 1st grade. I think this breaks my heart even more than when he started kindergarten. I taught 1st grade so I feel like I should understand he is still a sweet baby, but he just seems so old. 

Last week, Chris was technically off, but honestly it ended up just being a total of one day with all the calls and meetings. That did not exactly make me a happy camper. We did try to make the best of the time we had (after I stopped yelling about how little time we actually had). Here are some photos from our week and weekend:

T loves cars, planes and animals. He set up this set of jungle animals, farm animals and dinosaurs. Then I had to laugh when our furry animal walked through and knocked them all down!

 The boys always want to hold KC and she always screams when they do. They are constantly in her face, giving her all the attention any baby could want.

 Fro-yo was a common occurrence (and TCBY has almond milk vanilla!)

 Little miss and I went to a hair appointment together. She was upset the minute we got there so she nursed under the cape and fell asleep (her hair still looked fabulous though ;) ).

 I love these big bright eyes and all they take in these days.

 The baby toes are kind of adorable too!

 We made it to the park! This is something I haven't done for the boys in a loooong time. 

 Baseball starts this Friday so he hit up the field to practice.

 Smocked dress - check, 

big bow - check, 

monogrammed diaper cover - check

Ready for church!

 After our first adventure back to church since she was born, we decided to walk our favorite neighborhood to the coffee shop and then the playground. 

 Little miss decided she needed to eat at the playground and had her first real tears! 

This is our last week of freedom. The last week to sleep in (I thought I'd try to get on our school schedule today but honestly it was the Lilly sale that got me out of bed). I'm trying to plan fun things for the boys as well as get the essentials out of the way (hair cuts for sure)! 
And if you scored 12-18 month Little Lilly's before me - not cool! Just kidding, great scores, I ended up with just a swim suit for KC for next year!

Weekend Review: Greensboro

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. We started off Friday with a playdate and then check ups. While N barely makes it on the charts (except for height), this little lady is hitting the high curves. 

 We drove up to Greensboro on Saturday morning to meet family for lunch. The poor kids sat for two hours in the car and then another three through lunch. We had traveled up for some pool days, but the weather rained all weekend (with temps in the low 70s - that is way too cold for me).

Sunday we still ventured outside and this sweet guy was looking out for our sweet dog.

 N has begged to visit the Greensboro Children's Museum every time we visit and the rainy day was perfect for a trip there. We ate at Natty Greene's downtown which the boys love because of the train tracks nearby.

 We spent the rest of the afternoon at the museum. 

 While the boys had very little interest in the edible schoolyard and chickens, Chris and I walked KC around quite a bit looking over all the fruits and veggies! 

 My mom was with us so she was watching the boys while we ventured around the garden.

 We started our drive home after dinner and made it a whole 7 miles before having to stop the first time. Then another 9 before stopping again. This time was a charm and KC slept the rest of the way (and the boys did too).

Chris is supposed to be off this week (one reason I agreed to such late traveling last night) but had to head to work this Monday. He has promised he will be off the rest of the week. I hope everyone is looking forward to a good week!

Thoughts for Thursday: Random

Hello Thursday! Time for some random thoughts:

 N has his 7 year check up and KC has her 2 month check up tomorrow. It is crazy to have such a huge gap but it has worked out so well. N dotes on her and he is crazy helpful (I can even lay in bed in the mornings while he gets breakfast for him and T - such a blessing for those nights that don't go so smoothly). I hope having a gap between kids (T and KC are 4 years apart) will somewhat limit the competition they might feel between themselves (for toys now and achievements later) but only time will tell. I have a friend who is closest with her sister that is 12 years older, so there is hope. 

We are huge fans of So You Think You Can Dance (N was almost named Neil after my favorite dancer). Usually I show the boys a few of the dances the next day. N asked me this week when KC was going to start ballet, which made me laugh. I took N to The Nutcracker last Christmas, which he loved and we've been listening to the music in the car recently so I think that is where he got the idea. 

And side note - who are your So You Think You Can Dance favorites? The guys are so good this year - I like Casey, Zack and Ricky. For the girls I love Valeria and Tanisha. 

I've almost finished the Divergent series. I honestly think I should stop reading these dystopian series (although I LOVE and will always LOVE The Hunger Games series). If I think about them too much it freaks me out about having kids grow up and what happens generations down the line. And the Divergent series isn't really that great (I actually liked the movie better than the book). I'm ready to move onto Me Before You.

Chris is off next week. I've made about a million doctor's appointments we've been putting off. We haven't had a physical in over ten years, annual eye exams, skin checks (skin cancer was just addressed by the Surgeon General and tanning is a cause - not just burning so slather on that sun screen), and dentist appointments. I couldn't fit everything in next week, but at least they are all made!

I'm also getting a haircut for the first time since November next week. I'm thinking of a trim without layers but part of me wants to do something totally awesome. Chris has requested side swept bangs, which I think I can handle - like this pic: 

Any other suggestions? I've pretty much had every hairstyle out there.

I'm linking up with Annie and Natalie for Thoughts for Thursday! I hope everyone is having a great week and is looking forward to a great weekend! 

Mini Boden for Fall

As much as I despise fall, there are certain brands I always seem to rediscover when the weather turns chilly - mini boden is one of them. After noticing that Hanna Andersson's jeans and pants were on sale, I decided to look for some cute tops. Crewcuts is a go to, but Mini Boden usually has some cute options as well. Here's some past loves:

(I really should take more pictures there are a few shirts that were loved that I don't have pictures of, think dog on skateboard or sports shirts)

Here are some current loves I'm seeing at Mini Boden. Right now they are offering 15% off and free shipping over $50.

 I can't believe it's time for fall shopping! Luckily it will be warm here until October (and maybe even later). We have a few more pool days to get in before it turns chilly!

Weekend Review

Ah Monday, here again so soon! The weekends fly by (but honestly I don't mind the quiet a Monday brings, this will all change once school starts again). Our weekend was full of friends and family. Friday my dad stopped by with my grandfather and took us all to lunch and the dollar store where he gave the boys $5 each. They were so surprised they could each pick out 5 things - 5 things. It's hilarious what means so much to them. We spent the rest of the afternoon riding bikes and playing basketball outside. It was drizzly and this boy has the best rainy day hair (sorry it's an instagram repeat).

Saturday we had a birthday party down the street. Our friends had a huge bounce house and the boys counted down the minutes until they could attend. It was rainy but cool and the rest of the afternoon we spent at home. This girl is growing and smiles almost constantly (almost).

 Sunday my parents offered to drive down and take us to lunch. I laughed when I received a text at 9:10am that they were 20 minutes away. My mom hadn't seen the kids in two weeks so I know she was anxious to visit. We spent the afternoon at our little park with a remote controlled boat Grandpa and brought down.

 Later there was rock climbing and the most intense game of hide in seek I've witnessed. As N said, "I took hide and seek to the next level." Everyone left sweaty and happy.

We had an early dinner and said goodbye. It took forever to get KC to sleep (over two hours) but then she woke up smiling so all was forgiven.

I hope everyone had a great Monday! I look forward to catching up!