Tag Archives: summertime

Everyday Exiles, faith, mommyhood

Nervous About Summer

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This piece originally appeared on Everyday Exiles.

I don’t know about y’all, but I went through a few weeks where I was a little nervous about summer.

You know what I mean, right? No schedule, no plans, wide open space… sometimes that’s a little scary for a mom with three younguns, who also tends to get frustrated sometimes (on my best days) or get full-on angry (on my worst days) about stupid little stuff. I don’t like getting angry or being frustrated with my children, and so having all that unstructured time with any number of options as how to fill it? Lord Jesus come quickly.

So I signed them up for some camps, went ahead and put our VBS on the schedule, and looked at a good time to go visit my parents in Georgia. We’ve recently renewed our children’s museum membership and our pool membership, so things are already looking a little bit less boring. You know what else I did? I came totally clean about my fear and anxiety about the summer with a friend. I asked her to pray for me and with me about multiplying my patience and dividing my frustration. I shared with her something I’d heard recently about how we pray so often for God to GIVE us things… stuff, people, jobs, circumstances… and how it might be that sometimes, we need to pray for God to take some things away.

So this summer, I’m asking God to take some things away – right here on the internet so y’all can see and keep me accountable if you notice I’m trying to hang on to them.

God, please take away my anxiety about unstructured time. Take away the fear that it won’t be “fun” or “easy” without a few hours of school each day. Take away the anxiety about sibling fights or complaints or whines that get under my skin quickly. Take away my concern for filling every moment of time with fun or learning, and allow me to just go with the flow.

God, please take away my need for control. I don’t need to micromanage as many things as I think I do. So take away my desire to control every variable of every situation. Take away my tendency towards being in charge of my children, instead of letting them tell me what they need and want, or DON’T need or want.

God, please take away my short temper. Take it right away, because this mama ain’t got time to get mad about stupid little stuff, or to just to conclusions that make me angry, when I haven’t checked out the situation fully. Take away my frustration and anger that creep out, even when I don’t want them to.

Lastly, please take away any expectations I have about how the summer will go. Anytime I have a perfect vision in my head, it doesn’t come to pass quite like I think it will. That isn’t always a bad thing, but there is disappointment even if it still goes well. So take away any ideas I have of perfect park picnics or easy trips to the pool. My children are small and unpredictable, and I want to enjoy them in this way instead of expecting them to ask like they’re older.

Sometimes, all it takes to dispel your fears is a little vulnerability, coupled with prayer. In Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book Life Together, he says much about how praying for each other is an essential part of living in community. Take your anxieties and fears to a friend or mentor, and ask them to pray with you. That first step might be the hardest, but it’s also the most effective.

mommyhood, siblings, things toddlers say

Things Toddlers Say

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Happy Tuesday, folks! Here are a few summer funnies for you – enjoy!img_1147

EK, doing a “medical procedure”: What’s your name?
J: Um, *says my dad’s full name*
Me: *laughs and also wonders why he knows my dad’s full name*

Summertime potty training:
Me: Do you need to use the potty?
D: No, I need to use da treeeeeee!
Me: *face palm*

A redundant argument between J and EK, where they both just shout: STOP COPYUING (no typo, lol) ME!

Me after J had gotten hurt: You’re a trooper, babe.
J: I’m a storm trooper!

J, above, looking through the “scopa-tella” (telescope)

D’s name-calling trump card: Toolet face!

Me: If we do some chores and clean our rooms, maybe then we can head to the pool!
EK: Well let’s get this party started!

Brother stuff:
D: You wanna pee on the tree?!
J: Sure, sure, sure! That sounds amazing!

J’s new song: My God made the bushes, and I love God and I love trees and bushes!

What are your kids saying these days? How are they making you laugh?

faith, mommyhood, random thoughts, travel

Summer Can Be Scary (And I’m Not Sorry)

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I’ve spent the last few weeks praying about our summer.

I’m so nervous that my kids will think it’s boring, or lame, or both, or whatever. What do kids even think these days? I don’t mind my kids being bored, really. I think it builds character and creativity for them to just figure something out to entertain themselves. I also LOVE to make them get outside. Go ride a bike, pull some weeds in the garden, blow bubbles, or draw with chalk. I don’t care, but don’t tell me you don’t feel like doing it.

There’s a lot of Pinterest and Instagram pressure to make summer an “epic” experience for your kids. But what I really want to do is lowball it as hard as I can, and make them make their own plans. Sure, they’re 2, 4, and 6, but they can tell me what they want to do! We’ve got chore charts intact, complete with a reward system. I have a ready answer to “I’m bored.”

Otherwise, to tell the truth, I enjoy having fun, too! I WANT to go to the pool, and to the park, and the mountains, which blessedly aren’t that far away. I WANT to see our friends and live music and whatever other events are going on. But we just can’t do everything, and I need to take the pressure off of myself NOW or else I’ll drown in it. The pressure is stifling to those of us who just don’t “do” what everyone else seems to do. I’m spontaneous, which is sometimes a great thing with kids, and sometimes not so much. We never sit around the house for too many hours in a row, but there are times that I get an idea in my head, and it’s just too late to make it work.

The other thing that may save my life is the YMCA. We (re)joined a month ago, and so far, beginning my mornings there with my kids in a safe and fun childcare (with lots of their friends!) has been a big stress reliever. Now, my workout doesn’t depend on the weather or on whether the baby takes a nap at the time he’s supposed to. I can get up, make everyone a nice breakfast, and head to the gym to get the endorphins blasting, and then I feel GREAT about whatever else we get – or don’t get – accomplished.

What is saving you this summer? Letting go of your expectations? Making a weekly plan? Lots of vacation or none at all? Tell me all the things that you do to survive and thrive in summer!

home, mommyhood, random thoughts

Currently (Out of My Routine)

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Y’all, I know I said this with the last currently, but I wasn’t kidding: I’m a summer slacker! It’s glorious. I just spent a couple of days at the lake with Hubby’s family and I am refreshed. I will be at the lake again this weekend for our cousin’s bachelorette. I am looking (far) forward to a September week at the beach. I am hoping for at least two weeks’ worth of pool days before it closes for the summer. Our kitchen is full of ripe, vine-fresh tomatoes and huge okra, yellow squash and colorful peppers. I am summer happy.

So now, I’ll give you a real update on a few more things that I’m Currently up to…

Exploring || how to entertain three kids for the last few weeks of summer. I mentioned the pool; it’s hard to be there when all three kids are awake. We either miss D’s morning nap, or we have to wait till everyone’s afternoon naps are finished. Or else I’m only taking one or two kids.

Hearting || our local children’s museum. We’ve had a membership there since EK was my only babe, but we’ve loved it every time we’ve walked in the door.

Watching || still Gilmore Girls. I know y’all think I’m going really slowly, but we just haven’t watched much tv this summer. I’ve been reading LOTR and now the new Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (fangirling!) so I haven’t been spending my nights watching tv. But anyway, I’m committed to finishing the old GG before the new season comes on Netflix in November!

Eating || popcorn! Skinny Pop, Boom Chicka Pop, and some sort of Himalayan Pink Salt flavor from our local grocer, but I’m addicted to the salty popcorn! I ate some Trader Joe’s kettle corn, and it was good – but I think it’s the salty that I love.

What are you up to currently?!

food, home, mommyhood, pregnancy, random thoughts

Currently

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Happy Monday, everyone! I won’t lie… I was hoping to be in the hospital with a baby or something right now, but since I’m not, I’ll tell you what I’m up to instead! I’m linking up as usual with Becky at Choose Happy, and some other wonderful bloggers to bring you this week’s edition of Currently…

Picking || tomatoes and more tomatoes! And also some peppers. And cucumbers and zucchinis. And even a couple of eggplants and one squash (finally). I know I keep talking about it, and I guess I should dedicate a whole post to it, but I LOVE our garden this year. Every year I’ve gotten a little more involved with it, and this year I feel like I’ve been growing those vegetables right alongside growing my baby, and it’s been so fun! It’s therapeutic, it’s a great way to get outside, and it’s fun to teach the kids about it, too. If you’ve thought about doing a garden, but haven’t done it yet, I encourage you to do it! It’s so rewarding!!

  
Finishing || the nursery. I think I might’ve said it was finished before, but I must’ve lied. It’s actually done now. We rearranged furniture, cleaned the rug, hung the drapes with dark backing, put sheets in the crib (ahhh!) and books on the bookshelves. Y’all, we are ready for this baby. 

   
We also did some finishing up in our closet/office. One of the upstairs bedrooms in our house is dedicated to the rest of our clothes (the master closet is dreadfully small) and a desk to work at (you know, if I ever want to blog from NOT the couch). It only needs curtains, and it’ll be all ready to use. Right now it’s the cleanest it’s ever been, but being on the west side of the house, the afternoons are awfully hot in there, so we don’t spend any time in there yet. Curtains and then finished! 

 Cooking || a big pot of spaghetti sauce! We had so many tomatoes that needed to be eaten, and I had gotten a text from a friend who said she was using the tomatoes we’d given her to make a pot of sauce… so I decided to do the same! We used about ten tomatoes (all different varieties and sizes) to start a huge pot of sauce. We aren’t actually eating any of it tonight (we’re also making French onion soup right now – Hubby’s craving!) but I’m going to freeze it to have it ready to go when I need a quick meal that will make my whole family happy.

Enjoying || time with my babes. I’m trying to have time with them together and one-on-one so that I can truly savor them before the baby gets here. I don’t want them to feel they’ve been neglected or abandoned (I know, worst case scenario, probably, but still) when I am gone for two whole days, and come back with a new baby! I want them to have their love tank all filled so they know how much they are treasured and loved. It’ll be a transition for everyone, and I want to start it off on the right foot if I possibly can.

Well, there’s what’s happening with me currently! Don’t worry – I’ll keep you posted when the big day arrives!

food, home, mommyhood, pregnancy, random thoughts, siblings

Currently 

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Happy Monday! I hope y’all had a wonderful weekend! I’m joining Becky at Choose Happy again this week for her currently link up. Lots of pictures in store for you today – I hope you enjoy it! Leave a comment or join the link up and let me know what’s going on with you!

Loving || Our finished shower! We chose a dark grout (it matches the wall color we chose almost perfectly!) to offset the white subway tile, and I really like the effect. We don’t have a door quite yet, because our old one is now too big, so we aren’t able to use it till we get one. Otherwise, I’m really happy with it! We need a little paint touching up in a few places, but it looks awesome.

Still undecided on the mirrors… there are two of those and they’ll be almost touching. What do you think?



Eating || at the Honey Pot! It’s a local restaurant here, and the chef is actually a friend of Hubby’s from high school. It is AMAZING. The food is fresh, mostly local, and really creative. Most of all, it’s plated beautifully and it’s outstandingly delicious! (If you’re local, check out their website here.) I wish I had taken a picture of every dish, but it was too good to not just eat it immediately. However, this dessert – a Georgia peach tart, with basil crema, accented with tiger lilies (who knew you could eat them?!) – was so beautiful I had to take a picture. And folks, it was as good as it looks. Really.

Growing || tomatoes and peppers! I mean, we are growing other stuff too, but those are our most fruitful plants at the moment. We’ve had one eggplant and some cucumbers and an ENORMOUS zucchini (I talked about that here) as well. Here are a few pictures I snapped last night as I was harvesting…



  


 

Planning || A baby shower! My sweet friend from college Melissa is expecting her first baby (a little girl!) in a couple of months, and my friend Lauren and I are throwing her a shower. We had a planning session this afternoon, and I can’t wait to post with a bunch of pictures after we shower her with love on Saturday!

Enjoying || this little series of photos. The first picture is the night before I had J… EK sprawled across my belly, the tiny little thing that she was, in her mismatched Christmas jammies. I’ve always loved that photo, and so now while I’m not so far away from having baby D, I thought it would be fun to try to recreate the moment with my two older sweeties sitting on top of their little brother!


 

Well, that’s about it in my world. Just waiting on baby D to get here! I have a post coming soon about how I packed my hospital bag – look for it this week!

What’s going on in your life currently?

 

 

mommyhood, pregnancy, random thoughts

Summer Goals: Tired Kids

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This week’s mission: wear out the kids. 

 EK has been attending camp at our church every day from 9:30-12:30, and it’s like they put her in a hamster wheel and make her run for three hours. She comes home so excited but so exhausted that she can barely make it to 1:30 before she’s begging for a nap.

While EK is at camp, I’ve taken two days to take J to the pool with some friends of ours, and let him swim for two hours in between drop off and pick up. He’s so worn out that he almost falls asleep in the car on the way home. But it’s a great way to get a nice, long, early nap out of them, and still have plenty of playing and hanging time at the end of the day.

We’ve been so busy with something every day for a while now that I am excited this is a week with routine. Yes, it’s still busy, but it’s a similar thing every day. I crave routine, and I think the kids do, too. EK needed a week of socialization. J needed a week of less sibling time. This mama needed a week of having only one kid for half the day before I added a third one into the mix. It’s been SO FUN to have uninterrupted time with J where he isn’t vying for my attention. I often get to do things with EK because she’s easier to take around with me and easier to entertain in most situations. We get a little more girl time in one-on-one.

An extra perk to mom and the kids being out of the house in the mornings: Hubby’s getting a LOT done. Between deep cleaning and painting our bathroom, he’s been a rockstar on the home front while I’ve been keeping the kids out of the way. We knew we were up to our eyeballs in home projects (but really, though) so having time that the kids aren’t “trying to help” is crucial.

 Hubby took the kids after camp today to lunch and to the local produce store. They had a great time, and were ready to go straight to sleep when they got home. These early naps have been lovely. 

Now the question remains: How do I, as an exhausted mama, keep up the routine of a busy morning with them both, while it’s super hot outside, without boring myself? I can’t do the children’s museum every day. The park is so hot the kids won’t get on the slides. They love the grocery store, but how many times this week can I actually justify going there? Give me all your ideas!

home, mommyhood

Currently – Late but Great!

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Prepare for a picture overload, because I’ve got some to show off today! For this week’s Currently, I’ve got lots of updates for ya. We had a busy week with visitors, Hubby working overtime, and new things going on! I’m linking up as usual with Becky at Choose Happy! Join us!!

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Doing || a surprise bathroom renovation! This was a little dismaying, because we hadn’t planned on doing anything to our upstairs since we just redid the basement, but when the shower in the master bathroom started leaking (onto the new ceiling and flooring downstairs!) we knew we had to take care of it. Because the shower was tile, we had to completely tear it out and start over. We’d already had a patch job, and that was what leaked this time around. So we’ve picked out new tile, and are redoing the floors and repainting the walls while we’re at it. No better time than when you’re already gutting it, right? Here’s the shower all taken out… you can plainly see the water damage we’re dealing with.

Damaged wood (some of it had already been ripped out) and straight up drywall from the ceiling downstairs just exposed underneath our tile. Clearly whoever redid the shower before we bought the house didn’t do a great job.

 

This is what we’ve picked out for the floors and shower… White subway for most of the shower, mosaic for floor tile and accent strip, and that big tile on the right will be the bathroom floor – it was freeeeeeeee!
Current situation in the nursery… sorry Baby D… the drawers from our vanity, as well as everything else stored in the bathroom has made it into your room.
Current situation in my bedroom… the actual vanity, and yes, the toilet, are at the foot of my bed. I keep them there as a reminder that my middle of the night pee must take place in the hallway bathroom. HA!

Growing || Tomatoes and peppers and squash, oh my! Those three things are the most common item in our garden, but we’ve also got some eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, and several herbs as well. We finished up our third bed yesterday, so the new wave of tomatoes should hit after our other one is almost done. We tried to time it right!

Tiny cucumbers!

 

EK trying out the first fruits.
Gardeners in training. You can tell this was before we finished the third bed on the left.
Driving around with the truck full of dirt. I was stopped at a red light, FYI 🙂

Enjoying || the fact that my mom was able to come for a nice, long visit this past week or so! She came up to keep the kids since Hubby and I had a wedding on Saturday, but we ended up getting a lot of work done while she was here, and also an extra date or two, since our anniversary was Saturday!

Celebrating || Speaking of our anniversary, we celebrated 6 years together this weekend! 6 years, 2 homes, almost 3 kids, 1 home renovation (unless you count the bathroom as the second!), and a thousand happy memories already. I love that guy! He surprised me with some gorgeous earrings that go with my necklace and ring that he’d gotten me over the past 3 years. He’s so thoughtful! And GREAT at getting gifts 🙂

The fabled chef’s hat. Adorable, am I right?

Going to || Summer camp! EK’s first week of summer camp is this week (she’s got one more week the wee of my due date) and she’s loving it! The theme is cooking, so naturally she is enjoying herself immensely. She also comes home SUPER tired (or at least she did yesterday and today) and takes a long nap, so that’s a second reason we love it! She misses school I think, and we all need a little break from the norm (and our brothers!) sometimes, especially when summertime means we are all together all the time. She got in the car today with a giant grin on her face, and a toddler-made chef’s hat on her head. It was basically hilarious! Final perk to summer camp? It’s happening at our church, which is where she’ll go to preschool next year (different than this past year), so she’s spending time with some of the teachers and kids she will be with next year. Yay for helping with transitions!

The fabled chef's hat. It's adorable, am I right?!
The fabled chef’s hat. It’s adorable, am I right?!

Well folks, that’s about it in our life. Hope you enjoyed the long, photo-logged update! I want to hear what’s going on in your lives… anyone redoing a bathroom? Growing tomatoes? Celebrating an anniversary?! Tell me about it!

random thoughts

5 Reasons How I Met Your Mother Is Your New Netflix Go-To

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Well folks, television has wrapped up for the summer, and Hubby and I have gone into mourning. We’re always looking for new-to-us shows to watch over the summer, when the binging is prime. Especially this summer when we’ll likely be home a little more than usual, and awake at stranger hours. Plus, the best thing about watching a show that every episode is available is the fact you’re not necessarily committing to a certain amount of time. After my kids are in bed and I want to veg in front of the TV, I’m not going to start Braveheart and get tired 30 minutes in, but I have more than just one new Modern Family episode and then nothing else to see.

That being said, if you’re looking for a new-to-you Netflix binge, and haven’t tried How I Met Your Mother, you should try it next. I first started watching HIMYM in the 8th season or so. I knew I was way behind, but Hubby and I spent a few weeks crushing the first 7 1/2 seasons to catch up, and then watched the last season and a half as they came out. I’m not gonna lie, at first I thought Ted was annoying but grew to love him, just like everyone else in the show. And the only highlight I needed to commit me to the show forever was Neil Patrick Harris. He’s pretty much awesome.

himym

Here are a few reasons I think you’ll agree that HIMYM is a great binge-watching experience:

1. It’s a great mix of funny and heart-warming. I think there’s a balance in each episode (and the overall show) of something hilarious and something with the “awww” factor. I’m usually laughing at something Barney says, or something ridiculous Marshall does. But I also just really want Ted to end up with a good girl.

2. It’s easy to watch. I feel like I can pop in on pretty much any episode and enjoy it. I’ve only watched the seasons in order all the way through once, and it was fairly quickly, so I feel like I’ve forgotten a fair number of details. But that doesn’t make me enjoy the HIMYM experience any less. I’m not totally lost as to what’s happening, or missing out on a thousand inside jokes; the few that there are often show up with a flashback of how they started.

3. Relationships. There are so many relationship dynamics that you get to experience when watching through the entire show, romantic and otherwise. It’s like some other shows (I’m looking at you, Friends.) in that by the end, it feels like everyone has slept with everyone else, and there’s nothing left sacred. But Lily and Marshall are untouched, and the ridiculous rivalry between Marshall and Barney over which of them is Ted’s best friend (spoiler: it’s clearly Marshall) never fails to add a little hilarity to an episode.

4. Surprises! Everyone likes a good surprise on a TV show, whether it’s a crazy new storyline introduced in a season finale, or a disappointing lack of culmination of something you thought was being built up (be honest: even the disappointing surprises pull you in deeper). HIMYM is full of surprises… mostly relationship surprises… but a few other good ones as well! I like how unpredictable it is at times.

5. Great supporting characters. Even the side characters on this show are well thought out and add a lot to an episode. Whether it’s bartender Carl, Robin’s womanizing boss Sandy, or Ted’s aptly-named high school friend Punchy, the characters who are woven throughout our favorite five’s lives add some depth and even more humor to the show. We get to love them almost as much as we love the fab five!

So there are your reasons to watch it if you haven’t. Or even if you have! I’ve heard some criticism from sometimes-viewers that Ted is annoying, or that the show moves slowly, but I think if you watch it start to finish, you’ll love it!

food, home, mommyhood, random thoughts

Currently

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I’m a little late on my Currently this week, but here it is! I’m linking up as usual with Becky over at Choose Happy! Join us and let us know what you’re up to currently!

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Enjoying || a day at the lake! Hubby’s parents have a place on Lake Norman, which is about an hour from us. So last Thursday, we packed up and went down for the day to enjoy the sunshine! We are super excited to be going back this Thursday, also! 

          Writing || about pregnancy, delivery, and newborns. Some of these posts have already gone up (like this one on delivery), and some are coming soon! It’s been on my mind a lot, for obvious reasons, and writing about it for y’all helps me prepare myself, too! Since it’s my third time doing this, I’m not terrified or anything, but the more comfortable I am with the process of having, bringing home, and nurturing a newborn, the easier it will be in addition to keeping my older kiddos happy. It’s going to be a huge life shift (as it always is) to add another person to our family, so I’m preparing myself mentally and emotionally to make it happen!

Eating || the three meals from our free week of Blue Apron! My friend Lauren and her husband have been subscribing to the service for a few weeks, and had a free week to give away, so Hubby and I just finished our first round! For $59, you are sent every single thing you need to prepare three separate meals for two people each (or two meals for four people) and directions, etc to make it happen. They’re fairly quick (20-40 minutes prep and cooking time) and all three have been totally delicious! Our favorite thing about them was that we’d never have fixed those dishes or used some of those ingredients (I’m looking at you, ramps. What even are you, anyway?) except that they were given to us. We totally recommend it! 

    Thankful for || beautiful weather and kids who love to play outside! J runs toward the door every time it opens, hoping to catch a few minutes in the grass. When we pull in the driveway, he doesn’t want to go in the house… he just wants to stay outside! It’s great because they usually wear themselves out and nap really well – and who doesn’t love that?! 

      Well, that’s what we’re doing Currently in our family! What have you been up to?