Let The School Year Begin

Our last summer weekend is over and all I can remember about it is that it went way too quick.  Saturday we spent some time at the house with grandma and grandpa.  While Noah took a nap, we snuck out of the house for a quick run to the farmers market and the best donuts shaped "peases", as Noah calls them. Peaches, in case you wondered.  We got some green beans for dinner and a delicious apple strudel for snacking when we got home.  The day went fast, and then it was Sunday and Noah was so miserable.  I blame it on teething and maybe also getting a little sick.  Poor kiddo has the worst cough and then his throat hurts and then all he wants to do is snuggle with mama.  So all day Sunday we sat either on the couch or the bed and watched "Ma-Mouse" Mickey Mouse, and Doc and snuggled after every cough until Molly came home at night and we left for our last date of the summer.

This morning we started back to our regular school schedule.  Busy days and not enough time together.  Maybe that's why Noah woke up at 5:30, or maybe because he's still miserable.   At least his fever is down and the coughing was better.  Jeff was already out of the house by 5:30 and after about  two hours of trying to get Noah back to sleep, I gave up and we got ready for school and work.  We're officially is the swing of things now.

Friday Favorites - Lounge at Home

You know, Jeff and I looked at Noah a couple of days ago and thought, "this kid looks bigger".  We took out the tape measure, and sure enough, he's grown and inch a a half in the last two months since his check up, and hasn't gained any weight, which I suppose is good since the doctor thought he was slightly overweight. *cough* I think he's wrong, but we'll agree to disagree.  I'm loving all the new fall stuff coming out already but Noah growing so much makes me wonder if I should wait to buy anything!  Either way, I can't help myself but to at least look and maybe get a couple things for myself while I wait.

I'm a sucker for pj's and comfy clothes, and I would live in them constantly if it was socially acceptable to walk out of the house like that.  Especially for work. I found these super soft modal pj's that will be great for the transition weather at the end of the summer and perfect for cuddling Noah in the morning.  Did I mention he actually wants to cuddle now?  It's the best.  And I can't start the end of summer without stocking up on some new lounge pants and I found my first pair.  I'm loving the space dye color. Grey forever.

I've been in need to switch out my beauty products for a while so I've been trying some new ones out.  My favorites so far are this Garnier Scrub which I use in the shower every day.  I used to use the Apricot Scrub which although I still love, is a little rough when my skin is feeling sensitive so the Garnier one is nice on those more gentle days.  Plus it leaves my skin feeling minty tingly.  When I have a little extra time I like to do something special so I use this clay mask and makes my skin feel really clean, plus Noah loves to join in with me. And on the weekend when I don't really care too much but still want to look somewhat put together, I use Garniers' BB cream which has been super great for the summer with spf added.  I add a little bronzer and some mascara and I'm good to go.

Of course I can't not look for Noah.  I'm already looking at buying 3T pjs for the fall and winter season and Halloween stuff is already coming out so even more choices. These spider ones are really cute and Gap ones are always so soft.   Plus he can still wear them after Halloween without looking like he's still celebrating.  And I couldn't help myself but to look at the girls section because hopefully someday I'll get to shop there and really that's who wins the most when it comes to clothes because the girls section is the cutest every single season. 

Looking at all these comfy warm clothes really makes me excited for fall.  I mean, fall really is the best season, right?  So bring on the crisp weather so Noah and I can cuddle in bed, watching some Doc and sipping on some warm tea.... in just a couple more months.

Dinner Date on the River

It's Restaurant Week in Grand Rapids and it's one of my most favorite weeks of the year.  We're already planning a date at the end of the week to try out some new yummy food at our favorite restaurants.  For people in the area we always recommend six.one.six and Cygnus.  Both really great.  We had plans to take Noah on a family date to a new restaurant, but after a long week at work and not wanting to make any effort to dress up, we decided instead to bring some pizza and eat by the river.  We have a favorite spot tucked in under the trees and we eat on the back of the car and enjoy the water and some peace and quiet.  It was just what we needed. 

After dinner we stopped by the walking trails and took a little "burn your energy off before bed" walk.  Noah is just so funny, and I'm sure every mom thinks their kid is hilarious but I just crack up all the time at how goofy he is.  Currently he's been working on jumping like a bunny and telling mommy and daddy he loves them.  He melts my heart.

The rest of the weekend was spent on the beach, playing in the water with the dump trucks while I cooled off and got some sun.  The weather here has been super hot and this weekend we had 95% humidity so that didn't help.  It was nice to have the water around for a fun weekend activity.  It almost makes up for the lack of grass we've had this summer.  We have one week and one weekend left before life as we know it is over and college students move back in, which means Jeff and I are super busy working stupid long hours. (Mostly Jeff though)  So, we're gonna enjoy our time together this weekend with grandma and grandpa and head out to the farmers market for some juicy peaches and hopefully some fresh doughnuts before the fall is officially here.

Phase 1 of Landscaping

I have big plans for our landscaping at the new house.  I want big trees and lots of flowers.  A path leading down to the beach.  A rose garden and lots of fruit trees.  A nice garden and a huge raspberry bush.  I seriously want it all done and grown and big and pretty like in a weekend.  Obviously I know that's impossible and although it's so frustrating knowing I have to wait, we've started on a little of our plan.  I'll have to work on my patience.  After our house was done being built we were left with such a giant pile of dirt as our yard.  It was really hard to imagine it would be anything other. See pictures full of dirt below.

I spent hours looking through Pinterest and then drawing plans out of paper to show Jeff what I wanted.  A couple of weeks ago we got some of the easy front planters planted and have been not at all patiently waiting for the grass to come up before we do anything else. But at last, the grass is starting to look much better and even a little thick beside the house.  The front and back still have some work to do and Jeff says we'll have to re-seed in the fall but I'm happy to say that at least for now we have part of the plan in motion.

Hopefully in the fall we can get some more landscaping done beside the house.  I'm looking at a nice big tree on the left of the house and some flowers around. We need to plant the rest of the regular and fruit trees too.  Next year once things are more settled I hope to get the garden back again.  I miss the lettuce and Jeff could use some tomatoes and arugula for salads. The beach area could use some help too but I'm not really sure where to start there so for now we'll be enjoying our little flowers and especially that nice green grass that's finally making it's way up.

Nebraska Wedding Weekend

I feel like I've been slacking updating the blog but I feel like we've just been so busy!  Last weekend we drove for what seems like forever to Nebraska to Jeff's cousins wedding. Over the course of the vacation we were in the car for almost twenty four hours and drove around 1,400 miles.  Thankfully we rented a car that made the trip more comfortable and Noah was pretty well behaved throughout the trip so it went as well as it could have.  We had the occasional whining and asking to get out of the seat repeatedly after only being in for ten minutes but we did well timing his night sleep and naps with the driving so most of the time he was pretty happy.   I hopped in the back seat only once to keep him company and read him some books but for the most part we ate losts of snacks and sang and talked and he was content.

I had high hopes for the sleeping part but it just didn't quite work out.  We had asked for a crib, and instead received a pack and play which is so not the same.  (If you're a hotel, please specify.  I'm sure other parents would appreciate that as well!) I was really bummed knowing he would not sleep in the pack and play due to the small size and of course ended up sleeping between Jeff and I most nights. It wasn't all bad though.  He's really moving so much less now in bed and the snuggles are really nice.  I got decent sleep and a good amount too since I would go to sleep with him and he slept like a rock for the most part which is more than I can say when he sleeps in his own bed at home.

For the wedding we got a last minute babysitter; a friend of a cousin, and she worked out much better than expected.  She sat in bed with him until he fell asleep and then hung out in the room while he was sleeping and we were enjoying a couple of hours of fun time at the wedding. When we got back he was still sleeping and never made a noise until the morning.  Couldn't have worked out better.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was when we visited the Sunken Gardens in Lincoln, NE.  They were only a couple of minutes from our hotel and during down time we decided to walk around and let Noah burn off some energy.  I don't think they boys cared much one way or another but I loved seeing all the flowers.  Makes me wish our house looked more like that and then I remember how little time I even have to catch up on The Real Housewives.   I could never have a garden like this.  Maybe when our kids get older, right?

So we're finally home and settled back into normal routine.  I took the day of work on Monday and did a million loads of laundry and cleaned the whole house while Noah and Jeff blew bubbles and worked on counting. It doesn't hurt that Noah took a three hour nap.  He must have needed rest from the trip too.

Millenium Park Triathlon

For the last couple of years Jeffs family has taken part in a triathlon all together.  Last year they even all got matching tee-shirts. We all spend quality time either doing the race of cheering them on.  I remember how miserable I was the first year they did it and Noah was only a couple months old.  It was the first time I left the house with pumped milk.  I couldn't imagine how I would breastfeed in such hot weather with so many people around and so many pictures to take.  It ended up working great and I barely went back to breastfeeding at all.

What a difference a couple of years makes!  I let Noah just run around pretty much where ever he wanted to go, barely watching him at all as I ran around the course taking pictures of the family.  Once in a while I popped him into the stroller and we ran around together looking for daddy, uncle "a-drew", or aunt "olly".  Spectating can be a sport all in itself!

Photo Credit @moleystoley

Noah started getting into cheering a little more this race.  Maybe seeing all the family doing it got him excited.  He was so much fun.