Moosh

Back to PRESCHOOL Must-Haves!

September 14, 2017 by Rachel 7 Comments

We JUST started back-to-school last week! I was READY! I know, I know.. preschool is just a few days a week, for just a few hours a day. But being on this schedule saves our family, ya’ll!

Ari is currently enrolled at the YMCA (where I work) for preschool. He attended two-day preschool last year, so this year I bumped him to 3-days. And, even though it’s *just* preschool, it’s important to make sure we’re all prepared for a change.

A backpack. Ari needs to take his swim trunks and a towel to school with him, but even if he didn’t, he would take a backpack. Preschoolers are always coming home with art projects and letters from teachers explaining what they did that day. It’s just the easiest way to keep all of that in one place until preschool pickup.

PS. Ari picked out his own backpack — this Skip Hop unicorn backpack. One of the many reasons I love this kid so damn much!

Reusable snack bags. No, Ari doesn’t get ‘snack time’ during school; but as soon as school is over, that kid is hungry! I mean, aren’t you after you spend a morning learning your face off?? Haha! 🙂 So these snack packs come in handy!

A Water Bottle. Honestly, what is it about preschool that makes kids so dang thirsty!? If I forget Ari’s water bottle, he will chug all of the water from mine. So I always have his water bottle full for him so he can drink up as soon as I pick him up.

We happen to love this Contigo Autoseal kids water bottle! It works perfectly and is the absolute perfect size for my little guy.

Dry erase lapboard. This lapboard is key, y’all! One thing that amazed me from Ari’s first year of preschool was how quickly he learned his letters and how to write his name. Like, for months the only thing he would say when someone asked him how to spell his name was “A – R – I… Ari!” 🙂 But that is because we practiced — a lot!

Age appropriate flash cards. Knowing that preschoolers learn by playing, Ari and I make games out of flash cards. He already knows his colors, shapes, and numbers; but this year we’re working on sight words so he’s ready for the next step (ahhhh!! kindergarten!!).

New shoes! I’m not team #AlwaysNeedsNewClothes. In fact, we buy so many of our children’s clothes gently-used from a local consignment shop. I always find Gap jeans and Gymboree clothes (with tags on!) for, like, three bucks! Heck yes! But one thing I never skimp on is shoes. Our children stand, play, jump, and run, nonstop. It’s so important that they have support. So I have actually purchased several sizes in these Stride Rite shoes so that I can just have them on hand for when he grows!

So if you’re a mom of a preschooler, what would you recommend to have for preschool-readiness?? Did I miss something?

If you’re not yet to the preschool years, Pin this post for later!

That time I decided not to post about Remy Bea turning 11 months.

January 10, 2017 by Rachel 15 Comments

Guys, I’ve had a draft for Remy Bea’s 11 month update in process for, like, weeks. And… well, I just can’t. Because other than her being a lot more mobile as of late, not much has changed.

Actually, here’s what has changed since her 10 month update:

She is eating even more than before, which I didn’t think was humanly possible. I’m surprised this kid isn’t a tank, seriously.
But she hasn’t gained any more weight than her 10 month update (which makes her — still — very small).
And she’s almost walking. I say almost because this chick is way too lazy to walk. She can walk along furniture and her walker, but she knows that when she needs to get from Point A to Point B, it’s much faster to crawl and hustle.
Oh, and she’s still not sleeping. Like, at all. And it sucks.

It really, really, sucks.

I can’t even put it more eloquently than that. My mind is fried from 11 months of not sleeping. Words… sentences… metaphors… they all escape me. The only word that makes sense is ‘sucks.’ And it, well, sucks.

But I’d be lying if I said that there’s something that I have learned over the last 11 months. And that is that those fleeting good moments? They are really, really, good.

For instance, last night I had a ‘sleepover’ with Ari. This amazing little four year old man (yes, man, because he is such an old soul), restored my energy. No, not because he slept particularly well; but because sometimes you need to snuggle a four-year old all night. And sometimes you need to hear “Mommy? I just really, really, love you.”

Besides telling me he loves me a whole lot, he also told me that he’s going to marry me tomorrow (and followed it up with a kiss on the nose and the forehead — melt my damn heart!). ❤️

Babies are cute, y’all. But that’s pretty much as good as it gets until they can speak. Until then it seems like an endless cycle of: cry, look cute, cry, smile to restore your faith, cry again, poop all over you, cry, and giggle. And then cry again.

Perhaps we have the perfect combination of a ridiculously miserable baby and a ridiculously sweet toddler. Maybe that’s why a little time with Ari can feel so restorative. He’s the yin to her yang; He’s the calm to her crazy.

Don’t get me wrong: this child can still drive me bonkers, too. But it’s the kind of bonkers I can handle (aka – the toddler variety). And I’m sure we’ll get to that point soon enough (probably as soon as I hit “publish” on this post); but for now I’m basking in the awesomeness that is a night filled with toddler smooches, movie night snuggles, and an occasional foot in the face.

Happy Tuesday, friends! I hope someone looks at you today the way that Ari looks at me as he kisses me on the nose. ??

Halloween Wrap Up // 2016

November 16, 2016 by Rachel 2 Comments

Hey! Remember Halloween?? You know, that pseudo-Holiday two-ish weeks ago? Well, as per the norm, life went off the rails. And I forgot to ever post any pictures of our Halloween shenanigans. But if there are no pictures, did it really happen?? Haaaa! Of course, I kid!

But for real.

We had family in town for the weekend of Halloween, so Chad and I both took that Friday off from work. So after we picked up my sister-in-law from the airport, we headed back to our hometown to see the family (for those new around here, Chad and I both grew up in a teeny tiny town, and both went to the same teeny tiny high school, but just a few years apart).

The whole crew — all seven adults and 8 children — went out to lunch. Surprisingly? It went totally fine. No joke. The kids were good, the adults were happy, and all was well.

Post-lunch we headed to Patterson’s Fruit Farm. No joke, we had the most beautiful weather. Warm and sunny for the last weekend of October!

It’s been years (decades, even) since I’ve been to Patterson’s. I had no idea what kind of spread to expect, but this place was gorgeous! Pumpkins galore, playgrounds, and so much amazing food!

Ari (quickly) became obsessed with the wagons and the pumpkins. Between chasing after him and trying to get THE perfect picture of Remy (spoiler — it didn’t happen), I was exhausted just from these shenanigans!

Still, I was in pumpkin heaven! And the apple fritters! Ohhhh, the apple fritters! I wish I had snapped a picture before I ate this amazing — and huge — apple fritter! But guys – I was hungry!

Post-pumpkin patch fun, we headed to Chad’s cousins house for a bit of a family party. It’s quite unusual to have this many of Chad’s siblings at home at one time. So we (naturally) used it as an excuse to snack, sip, and laugh!

The next day was, well, exhausting! However, I did take the kiddos to our dear friends house for some pumpkin-carving fun! Ari requested a Batman pumpkin. Although I have some artistic abilities, freehand drawing on pumpkins are not in my scope of creativity!

Lucky for us, one of the other adults was able to oblige! After our pumpkins were carved, we headed to my mother-in-laws hours for trick-or-treating! For this first time ever, Ari was completely and totally down for some trick-or-treating!

It was wonderful to have the cousins there with us! And Remy was a total gem throughout this whole process! Also? Cutest. monkey. EVER. Am I right!?

I’m honestly surprised we made it an hour of trick-or-treating. It’s longer than we ever have. And, although I had plans to take Ari to the neighbors for trick-or-treating when we got home, it just didn’t happen. We were all exhausted and ended up in bed at 7:30PM. No joke. All of us.

Thankfully, these fun and exhausting weekends come but once in a blue moon! I mean, it was SO exhausting that I wasn’t able to even recount it for TWO WEEKS! Ha!

So Happy Halloween? JK Merry Christmas at this point…

Fall Weekends, Travels, + Birthdays //

October 26, 2016 by Rachel Leave a Comment

We took a little trip to Columbus to see my sister over last weekend (like, a week ago…). Chad had not yet our new nephew, Brennen, and my sister had some stuff coming up which made me want to visit her even more! So Saturday morning we packed up the car (way more than we needed for a two-day trip!) and started our 2.5 hour trip!

I’m SO happy that my children decided to rest on the trip down so that by the time we arrived we were rested up and ready to play! In fact, our first order of business was to head to a local trampoline park to celebrate Ari’s birthday!

It was my sister, Shauna’s, idea. I was like “ehh, he may not like it.”

Guys. I was wrong. So, so, wrong.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyiyZEx6lXc]

Dude took off like a bat outta hell! I couldn’t believe that my kid was being ballsy! Whaaaat?! Where was my shy boy!? Apparently when you turn four, you aren’t afraid of anything anymore.

Happy fourth birthday to the one who made me “mommy!” You are perfect in every way?

A photo posted by Rachel (@itsahero) on Oct 16, 2016 at 3:21pm PDT

At the jump park he was convinced — absolutely convinced! — that he wanted to go into the “hurricane machine”. We let him watch another kid in the machine, and, even then, he still wanted a shot at it. I was wearing Remy, so I sent Chad in with him. And it was hilarious.

And, of course, he hated every second of it. He tried. Ohhhh, gosh, did he try to like it!

Post-jumping, we headed to lunch at Hale’s Ales + Kitchen for some gastropub fare and beers! Oh, and then to The Daily Growler for some CBC Bodhi! When we got home we all relaxed and played and fed the babes before doing a little (extra!) celebrating of Ari’s birthday, with the help of cupcakes and presents!

He was so excited about the sprinkle cupcake — as well as the gifts, which consisted of a Star Wars Playdoh playset and the board game, Sneaky Snacky Squirrel. We ate cake, the adults sipped on tasty craft beers, and we played toddler board games (which, of course, he insisted on winning…), before all going to bed ridiculously early.

We spent Sunday morning lounging around, feeding, eating, and just general relaxing before Shauna and I headed out on a big Costco trip! Haaaa! How basic (and mom!) do we sound!?

Eventually, we had to head home to Akron. It was such a nice visit, but — gosh — I was totally looking forward to sleeping in my own bed! Granted, Remy slept okay-ish during our trip, which was a first! Yay for small victories!

I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to spend time with my sister (and her new family) and my little family! It was perfectly relaxing (even if it took me a week plus to blog about it!). ♥

Dear Ari // Happy Birthday

October 16, 2016 by Rachel 19 Comments

Dear Ari,

I’m not going to say something cliché about the years flying by; because, honestly, as quickly as they do, the days sure are long, dude.

I have to say this though — Going from being a self-proclaimed “never-going-to-have-kids” chick, to finding out I was pregnant with you? That rocked my world. Your daddy and I were lucky enough to have had a lot of really fun times travelling the globe before you came along.

Speaking of me and your daddy, do you know just how much it makes me smile to hear you call me a princess when you look at pictures from our wedding? That doesn’t get old. Keep saying it.

I feel like you’ve grown up so much over the last year. Heck, maybe it’s because now I’m with you 24/7 that I feel that way! I knew being a mom was going to be hard, but I didn’t know just how hard. And then I knew being a working mom would be hard, but I didn’t anticipate just how hard. And even then, I completely, totally, underestimated just how hard it would be to be at home with you (and at work with you) 24/7.

But you never cease to amaze me.

Your heart is huge. Bigger than anyone else, I think it’s safe to say.

And you’re sensitive, which makes me happy and also breaks my heart (because I know that it means you will feel so much more deeply).

You’re also totally a boy. The guns, the Legos, the superheroes… all of it. It’s utter boy nonsense and I love it.

And who knew you would be such a great big brother?! I mean, as much of a big brother as you can be to an infant. You have been so gentle and understanding of this new little human in our lives. But, most recently, you’ve also begun to show a great deal of interest in her. You celebrate her milestones like a mini adult — right beside us!

“Look at her, Mommy! Her did it!”

Those (grammatically incorrect) words are some of which I will never tire.

I love and adore that you sing your ABCs wrong. I, too, think the alphabet should be “A B C G E F G. H I J J L N N O P. Q R X. T U V. W X. Y AND Z.” Because, YES.

I want to ask you to please, always stay little. But instead, I will ask you this…

Please always stay kind. Please always be polite. Please always treat people with respect. Please continue to be you. There is truly no one else in the world like you.

You are the Peanut Butter to my Cupcake.

Happy birthday, Ari Davis. Thank you for making me a mommy 4 years ago. ♥ ♥

Ari’s Birthday Parties // a look back

October 11, 2016 by Rachel 5 Comments

I try not to be one of these “pinterest moms;” I try not to perpetuate the idea that everything must be ‘worthy’ of sharing. I mean, I think I do a pretty good job of keeping the balance and showing people that I’m real, but sometimes I like to pinterest the crap outta things! Ha!

But I have to admit… I ahhhhdore throwing theme birthday parties!! Now, mind you, I did not throw myself a wedding and reception; nor did I have a bachelorette party; nor have I ever had a big blowout of a(n adult) birthday party. So yeah. I’ve been known to go a tad bit overboard with Ari’s birthday parties — and I can guarantee I will do so with Remy, too.

#SorryNotSorry

And all this “My baby will be 4!” talk has sent me down Memory Lane in a big, big, way!

I may not make supper every night (or even twice a week!), but, damn!, I can throw a birthday party.

I may leave my clean laundry piled up in the living room for a week, but, damn!, I can throw a birthday party.

I may cry in the middle of the day, and sometimes beg my husband to bring me home wine, but, damn!, I can throw a birthday party!

Okay, okay… you get the idea.

Ari’s first birthday was THE bomb dot com. He was in love with Yo Gabba Gabba, so a YGG birthday party it was!

My little man!

To be honest, that first birthday was more about us surviving Ari’s first year — and keeping him alive — than anything else.

I was still so overwhelmed by the first years’ festivities that I didn’t do jack squat for his second birthday. Well, I did. But it was a mish-mash of nonsense!

So we just ordered a birthday cake from West Side Bakery and chowed down. No big thang.

But his third birthday? I was back at it! My excuse was that it was my ‘last’ birthday with just one kid! Ha! The excuses we find…

And Minions was his drug of choice. And, ohhhh, were there options!

And this year will be no different. I’m still in the planning phase (even though I’m less than two weeks from party day!), but we ha have a theme and we have invites — Pokémon Go! No, we’ve never played PG. But Ari hears about it on Kids YouTube. So here we are…

🙂

Oh! And it’s a gymnastics party (again)! All the kiddos LOVED it last year.