Mother's Day Weekend

This Mother's day weekend we took it easy. Between a birthday party on Saturday morning and a walk in the park on Sunday, we spent the rest of the weekend at home. I'm still recovering from a week of bad seasonal allergies that knocked my breath out. This is the first year I'm having allergy issues and if you could see the white pollen flying in the air like snowflakes, you would instantly understand. So trying to find the right allergy medicine is taking time but slowly I feel like my normal self again. Unfortunately, that also meant I wasn't able to go running for the past 2 weeks. But life goes on and there was no time to hold back. The kids enjoyed celebrating their friend's 5th birthday: 

We are also in the process of repainting our deck and finishing up other projects around the house. So Saturday afternoon the adults painted while the kids' played in the backyard. But today for Mother's Day we are taking a day off from doing chores and enjoy spending time with each other and resting. 

Early this morning, my two little ones surprised me with their lovely handmade gifts from school: 

I am beyond thankful to be their mom. Life is not always easy and I'm far from being a perfect mom but their love for me and my love for them is endless. And every day is a fresh start to get it right. Often I feel these two teach me more in a day than I can teach them in a month. I love you, Amelia and Elliot, to the moon and back!

We went for a walk in the park before it got too hot and discovered a great spot at the small river to hang out at. 

The one who is by my side at all times and helps me navigate life with these two crazy kids. He also surprised me with a beautiful wristband for Mother's Day.

Back home we put up my gift, a bird feeder, in the yard while the children cooled off under the sprinkler. We are hoping that some birds will visit us soon.

Water babies:

While we may not dressed up today and skipped church, we all enjoyed spending some extra time together. Sometimes I'm too busy to just sit and listen to them and often we don't make the time to watch one whole movie together but today we did. And it was wonderful and much needed. Maybe one day we will actually go to a Mother's Day brunch but until then, I enjoy our messy and happy life and love on those people who love me the most. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Field Day at Elementary School

The elementary school my daughter attends held their annual Filed Day on Friday. The First graders were excited and ready to get wet. The day was a huge success and tons of "wet" fun, which was perfect for this hot day. Part of the local high school band and their mascot stopped by to start off the games and show their support for the little ones. 

Before dropping Elliot off at preschool, we stayed to watch them at their first game. Love how the older sister is taking her little brother under her "wing". 

Assembly time and the national anthem: 

And then it was time for the first game: Buckethead, which left half of the class soaking wet at 7:45am. 

There were 12 games in total but I was only able to cheer on Amelia and her classmate early in the morning and then 3 hours later after work. I do love that I can work and still be this involved in my children's activities and school functions. And I know my children love having me there too and that's what is important. 

 Here are some outtakes from the other games:

 

And a video compilation: 

While there were some games where the students could win a ribbon (mostly the tall students in class won), it was all about having fun and that they did!

May Happenings

Can you believe it is already May? I feel like it was just the middle of winter and now we are almost at the end of the school year. And temperature-wise, well we went from winter directly to summer with only a handful of beautiful spring days in between. But we tried to make the most of those days...

Hanging out with friends at the park after school and exploring the creek is always a favorite around here. The boys even built a clubhouse in the bushes:

We all got our haircuts the first week in May and now feel much lighter. This was Amelia's first time getting her hair cut at a salon. Usually I just trimmed the ends but it was time to chop it off. I really love the shorter hair on her and it is much more manageable as well. 

The local Fire department stopped by one morning at Elliot's preschool to teach the children about fire safety and show them their gear and truck. The children loved pretending to be a firefighter while spraying the lawn with the big hose. 

This week was also Teacher Appreciation week and to show our gratitude to their teachers, the kids' brought in a treat for each them. Amelia and I got crafty last Friday afternoon to surprise her teacher with a special message on the classroom door.  

I saw that hanging on the wall while I was at her school and needed to take a picture. Most children wrote about the pros of doing chores, Amelia wrote about the cons. In reality she does quite a few chores around the house and doesn't mind. 

While Derrick was out of town on a business trip, the whole family dynamic was off. So we try our best and do fun things, even though we miss him. Elliot just wasn't feeling it on Tuesday morning:

Another afternoon, another park: 

We have a couple of bar stools by the kitchen counter and every morning, the children sit there to drink their milk and chat with me while I prepare their lunch boxes. And Elliot often sits there when I prepare dinner to show me his creations and chat with me. This is for sure one of their favorite spots in the house and I truly savor that we can be together and can talk about anything or use the counter as a Lego table. My little guy is  constantly working on his engineering skills and proudly shows off his creations (I'm very impressed with the Lego stuff he comes up all by himself):

Watching "Lassie" with my two cuddle bunnies before bedtime: 

On Wednesday afternoon, we spontaneously went to play date at a friend's house. Both husband's were out of town and the Mom's needed some companionship. Friends, sunshine, Popsicles (a wine cooler for the adults) and a sprinkler = happiness. It felt like a summer day and was so much fun. 

Both children had their semi-annual dental check-up this week and did awesome: no cavities. 

And today, Derrick came back and all was good. This little boy just wants to be like him: 

Birthday Celebration and Field Day

On Tuesday, we celebrated Derrick's birthday.  We are so lucky to call him ours as he is the most amazing husband and father. May this year be one of the best yet to come! 52 looks good on him!

The day before, Amelia helped bake this delicious lemon cake for her daddy:

Since it was a weekday morning, we started the celebrations early. We woke Derrick up with a song and a cupcake. It doesn't get any sweeter than that:

 Big bite of cupcake:

 The birthday boy and his two little munchkins:

And yes, I had a cupcake at work too:

In the afternoon, we continued the celebration by having more cake and unwrapping some gifts. The children were really excited about the clothes he got for his birthday (Derrick has asked for a couple of shirts and new head phones). 

Happiest Birthday to you my Love! 

Since we went out for dinner already on the weekend, we wrapped up the day by enjoying a family meal at home and hanging out together. These are truly the best years and we try to make the most of it by spending lots of time together. 

But this busy week was not over yet as Elliot had his Field Day on Friday at preschool. My little guy and his classmates were so excited about playing some fun games. They are ready to Go for the Gold!

Silly Faces while waiting for the next game:

I came to cheer on my boy and his classmates:

They played lots of fun games. Luckily, it was bright and sunny and the children dried off quickly after the water games.

But the concession break was surely the best part of the morning. I even enjoyed a cotton candy, which I have not eaten in years.

Here is a little video of the fun they had as well as the prayer, which Elliot wanted to say, before lunch:

Before I had to go back to work, I ate lunch with these monsters. Elliot had asked me for a while when I come and eat lunch with him and I'm glad, I finally was able to.  

While these two hours were noisy and quite draining (repeating the same thing over and over and trying to corral 9 excited 4 year olds), I'm fortunate that I work so close to home and the schools that I can join them on special days and not miss work too often. 

On the weekends, we try to sleep in. Or at least keep quiet so that the adults can sleep a bit longer. This is how I found the kids on Saturday morning after I got up:

After breakfast, we headed to East Nashville (as the rest of town was full of marathon runners) and visited a marina and then explored a Greenway trail. We are enjoying this beautiful Spring weather as much as we can as I'm sure it won't last too long. Summer will be here sooner than later. 

 

Have a blessed Sunday!