The state of our union

Hello long lost friends. Are any of you still around? I hope so!

I have really missed this outlet, and blogs in general. I am hopeful that I will find a little space/time to  start writing here again, but everything I do these days needs to fit into the nooks & crannies of my day-to-day momhood, which, as we all know, is tricky.

Is it really almost November?? I mean, I don't think the weather has really gotten the memo, as my children are still running around in shorts and most of the leaves we see are still green. I hope this doesn't mean we miss out on fall altogether! It's my fave. 

Life is currently very full. In the small children, daily demands sort of way. Evie started kindergarten (full day!) this year and we are finally into a good groove. Elementary school is no joke. And that car line will make you find Jesus, just in case you hadn't already. The boys & I are home during the day, and trying to find a good balance of morning activities (read: grocery shopping) and playing at home. Our afternoons are still reserved for napping and are my one solid hour or two per day to work or create or rest. 

On a personal note, I have taken a little break from Lilac Row and the events we typically do over the past year. I miss it. But I'm trying to be realistic with this season I am in with my children and what exactly I can and can't accomplish. Honestly, it kind of threw me for a loop this summer. But I have found little ways to still create along the way and even started another business that I am pretty excited about. Totally different but just as fun and much more conducive to this time of life. Have you heard of Beautycounter? I'll share more soon!

So here's to hoping this isn't a one-off blog post... that I can give this little space some love and attention and reconnect with you all. Anyone else still keeping up with their blog? Let me know so I can stop by and catch up!

xo

Updates & Randoms

Hi there! I haven't totally forgotten about my little piece of the blog world! Taking time to sit down at the computer is not high on my priority list right now, but there are times I really do miss blogging. Does anyone else still read blogs?? I still check in with my favorites but have definitely whittled down that list… 

Anyway, life has been both very full and very slow this summer. In case you didn't know, we are expecting our 3rd little nugget this winter!! Insert all the shocked and surprised emojiis in the book. I didn't quite make it to TLC I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant status, but you could have knocked both hubby and I down with a feather for quite a while after discovering this little babe. 

And as crazy as it seems, the first trimester horrors are over and I am 18 weeks along. Eeeek! I haven't been as diligent about taking the weekly belly pics, but we do have some that I'll share in a post soon. And we already know the sex! More details to come. :)

In other news, this summer is quickly drifting by. We didn't plan too much this year, other than swim lessons and visits from the grandparents. There have been days when I wished I had signed Evie up for a camp or two, especially when it's too hot to even consider going outside. Yuck. And I'm definitely not brave enough to take both kiddos to the pool by myself. Beckett is SO busy and would rather wander all over the place, eating snacks, than sit calmly in a baby float in the water. I can't even imagine what next year will be like with three! 

Did you catch the premier of the new Jim Gaffigan show on TV Land? We have always loved his stand-up and the pilot was really, really good. He and his wife have 5 kids and live in a 2 bedroom apartment in NYC, so all the parenting humor is hilarious and really hits home. I highly recommend. 

I recently came across this blog series about Motherhood Around the World on Cup of Jo and read all of them in one sitting. It's fascinating! They interviewed American mothers living in other countries, so you can really see some of the differences in motherhood/parenting in other cultures. 

While I was on her site, I also came across this gem of a video. So funny.

Happy Summer!

welcome september

So I started this post over a week ago. Such is my life lately and the reason I rarely blog anymore! Too many other things to do be doing. And as Evie gets older, I try to spend less and less time in front of a computer screen. But I do miss blogging. Anyway…

I am ready for all things fall. Like REALLY ready. And today is definitely delivering! Windows thrown open, crisp breeze flowing in, candle lit, wearing a long sleeve shirt with coffee in hand. (Ok, coffee is always in hand, but you get the idea). LOVING it!

Evie has been doing so great at her preschool. She is always so excited to go and has a great time. She got into some trouble on the second day (!!), but I think she was just testing her boundaries and figuring it all out. I'm really thankful for her teachers, who didn't let her get away with acting out and give her some clear boundaries. It's exactly what my little independent girlie needs.

Me, on the other hand? I totally spaced what day her school actually started, and didn't realize it until the day before. Cue the scramble to gather all the things, including tracking down a rest mat that I'm quite certain will see minimal use. Oh. And I got in trouble on the first day of school:

Yes, yes I did see the emails. #momfail

Post-partum hair loss is for real. And gross. My only saving grace here is that I have enough hair on my head for 2.5 people. So no one will really notice unless they happen to see 2 or 3 long strands plastered to the back of my arm at Target. Again- gross.

We are heading to the West Coast soon for a wedding and to visit some family. We're planning to hit up Disney Land while we're there and I can't wait to see Evie's reaction. She's gonna flip!

What exactly does one wear to a beach wedding these days?? I seriously have not dressed up in soooo long. I need to update my closet in the worst way, but it's just not easy to do with the little ones. Also? I like to pretend I'm a yogi and wear my sweats most days.

Speaking of stretchy pants, I randomly read an article in InStyle recently about this trend of people wearing work-out type clothing all the time, sans the actual working out. They dubbed it athlesiure wear. I am ALL OVER THAT. I told my hubby that I wanted to just start buying and wearing athleisure type clothing all the time. He was less than thrilled.

The next Vintage Market Days event is coming up in 2 weeks! I am getting so excited, I always love these events. If you're local, I hope you'll stop by our booth, Lilac Row! 

Lilac Row

I made the first batch of pumpkin muffins on Monday, and by Tuesday, they were gone. I would like to blame my sticky-fingered daughter, but I'm pretty sure I ate my weight in them. Thinking today is a good day to make some more!

Have a great weekend!

First Day of Preschool

So this happened yesterday. I still can't really believe it, but as expected, my girl did great. No tears, no fuss, no real apprehension. Just pure excitement. She marched her little self right in there and hardly looked back.

Cue mama's tears.

Really though, I knew she would do great. Evie is so independent and social and loves basically all school has to offer her. :) I'm so so glad. I hope she always loves learning and reading and is excited to go to school. I am very pleased with and thankful for the program she's in and know she'll grow so much this year. But it's always hard to hand over your child to someone else's care. I was very ready to pick her up and hear all about her day!

My baby girl is growing up... I keep telling her not too, but she doesn't seem to be listening!

Life lately.

Hello long lost friends. 

Life has overwhelmed me a bit lately, (and doesn't look like it will be slowing down in this last month before Baby Brother is born!) but here are a few things that we have been up to:

My favorite nephew was born!!! Okay, my one and only niece or nephew, so by default, he is far and away my FAVE! Can't get enough of his sweet little face and hair and those big brown eyes. Seriously considering moving to the west coast so I can hold him whenever I want.

Lilac Row took part in another Vintage Market Days Event, and we had a blast! 

 

The only sad part of the weekend was that my girl got sick and needed a little extra attention. It also resulted in mama sleeping with her for part of a few nights, which basically meant not a lot of sleeping.

I took a little trip to the hospital to have Baby Boy monitored, after an eventful, contraction-filled morning. Not fun. But thankfully all is well and I am drinking even more water than before, which is truly saying something. And resting. Sort of. Trying to rest!

Easter fun!

We celebrated our 6th anniversary last weekend. We had planned to go out of town, but got the kibosh from my doctor. Womp womp. I was actually pretty upset about it, since I didn't really figure it would be a big deal for a few more weeks. 

The perfect garage sale scores for my girl: pint-sized binoculars and a brand new ghost chair!

 

Trying out Baby Brother's bed

Feels like summer!

The Death of the Nap. 

It seems to be coming and I am fighting it tooth and nail, believe me. Like, it makes me want to cry even thinking about it. 

Tiny Dancer. We had pictures and practiced for their big recital, which is coming up in a few weeks! The cuteness was insane.

And now the countdown is on until this baby arrives! 

the sleep factor

Sleep. 

That glorious, necessary, daily coma of goodness. I require a lot of it. Always have. The hubby? Not so much. But my girl seems to have followed in my footsteps of needing a solid amount of good, quality zzz's each day and night to function.

Which is why it feels like our house has been turned upside down for the past month and a half. Sister's sleep has been sorely lacking and we're all feeling the effects. 

About 2 weeks before Christmas, Evie finally decided she could crawl out of her bed. I know- 3 solid years (!) we had in the crib. I was so thankful she lasted that long. But once she figured out how to escape, that was all she wanted to do. Which put us in a bind, because we didn't want to transition her to a big bed just days before going out of town, where she would need to sleep in a pack n play. So we toughed it out through our holiday travels, and let me tell you- it.was.tough. Every night we would think she was asleep and then hours later would hear her thumping around in the playroom upstairs. We  could never hear her actually get out of her crib, so we wouldn't even know she was up until she started making noise! Naps were the same. It was extremely frustrating, especially because she would be so tired and cranky from not getting her typical 14-15 hours of sleep a day. Christmas was a game-changer when I got the most amazing, necessary gift ever: a video monitor. I set it up immediately and that very first nap (on Christmas day), I laid her down very sleepy, shut the door and walked down the stairs. I looked at the monitor in the kitchen to see that monkey halfway out of her bed! I believe I shouted something obscene in hubby's general direction and raced back up there to catch her. She flew back down on that mattress so fast I nearly died laughing. 

Once we were back in town and back to normal (like, the very same night), we moved her to her big girl bed. I feel like it was such a mad, exhausted, flurry of a transition that I didn't even have a moment to get sentimental about it all. I was nervous that she would just get up and be all over the place, but she did so amazingly well. I told her she couldn't get out of bed without mommy or daddy and to call for us. She stayed in there all night! And amazingly, this little transition has also prodded her to stay dry each nap and night, as she wakes up and calls for us when she needs to go potty. I'm loving that little perk, because I hadn't even given much thought to how to night train her. 

So where are we now? Oh, you know, back to needing our sleep. Somewhere along the line, she wasn't feeling good and maybe having a bad dream, and started waking up 2-4 times per night, crying for us. At first, it's no big deal, but it has slowly and surely become a habit for her. If she were still in her crib, I would let her cry it out and go back to sleep, because I know she is fully capable of that. But now, if we don't come up, she'll come out of her room and cry and scream for us at the top of the stairs. On top of this fun development, she skipped 3 or 4 naps last week. And let me tell you- NO ONE around here is ready for the nap to die. I seriously almost had a breakdown thinking about what we would do all day without a solid break from each other, not to mention that's my prime work-from-home time. 

And the beautiful thread that holds this all together?? No nap + waking up all night long = one cranky, sassy three-year-old. SLEEP. We NEED it. It is truly like night and day with my sweet girl when she has gotten all the rest she needs… or not. Being cooped up all winter long is also playing into this, I'm sure. I cannot wait for spring to get here so we can be outside all day!

So that's what we've been up to. I do have some other fun things to blog about, but it's hard to concentrate on anything else sometimes! I know this is just a phase, but it is sooo reminding me of the dark days of colic and her five, 30 minute naps a day. I was obsessed with sleep. Literally. 

So when did your little one give up the nap? Any suggestions on how to wean the night waking?? I need all the help I can get!

A fun family visit

Last week my sister, brother and sister-in-law all traveled back to our home state for a visit. So Evie and I made the trip up to hang out with everyone before Daddy came a few days later. We had such a fun time and I am so, so thankful for my girl's sweet personality at times like this. She remembers everyone, knows their faces and names, asks about them and picks up right where we left off, even when we only get to see some of my family once or twice a year. I know this is special and it could be a really tough transition, trying to make up for lost time and getting reacquainted. It makes my heart so happy to see her run to my brother or yell for one of her (many) grandparents by name and get so excited to see everyone. It makes living far away just a little bit easier.

Now on to some pics. We hit up two zoos while we were in town and had a lot of fun. We miss everyone already!