Its a Hero

updates

the weekend + our first day of school.

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Guys. GUYS. I have a preschooler. My heart hurts and is, simultaneously, so overjoyed. What are these feelings!? Ugh!

OK, so this weekend was, simply, lovely.

Saturday Miss Bea woke up early (of course), and we ended up taking a nap by 8am. We woke up just in time to get ready to go to the Akron Zoo as they opened. Surprisingly, the zoo wasn’t busy at all. The weather was absolutely gorgeous! Zero humidity. No warmer than like 80 degrees. Just absolutely amazing.

We met up with some friends and their two kids. Ari gets so excited whenever there are “friends” for him to play with. The girls, just a tad bit older than him, quickly took him under their wing and helped to escort him from exhibit to exhibit. I wore Remy in the ErgoBaby and she was content.

It was great catching up with friends we haven’t seen in nearly ages (it’s Chad’s best friend from high school — we’ve seen him since high school lol. But it’s been about a year).

We all went to bed at 7:15pm Saturday night and it was glorious!

Sunday was completely low-key. I mean, like, everyone took naps, and I went on a trip to Target. That’s it.

But Monday we woke up and went to the apple orchard. Honestly, I keep remembering “our last family outings” and they were basically a year ago. Sure, we’ve done things here and there over the last year; but since I was pregnant and Remy was born we’ve kinda been in hibernation mode (thanks to sickness and then a super awful baby). So it feels like we were *just* at the apple orchard when, in reality, it was a year ago…

We walked through the orchard, tasted peaches and apples, and eyed up the pies. We ended up getting home before it got too hot and spending the rest of the day napping and prepping for our first day of school!

That’s right. Tuesday was not only my first day of teaching gymnastics to the preschoolers at the Y for the Fall, but it was Ari’s very first day of preschool! He’s going to preschool at the Y two days a week. And each day during his class he gets swim lessons built in! Bonus!!

Dude had no reservations whatsoever. And was totally in teenager mode when it came to me asking for a picture. Insert toddler eyeroll and refusal to smile!

I didn’t cry nearly as much as I expected to as I dropped him off. Then again, I didn’t really have an opportunity to. I was so busy getting the gym ready for classes myself! When I picked Ari up after preschool he had, like, zero to report. Seriously? Such a threenager!! “How was school?” “Good.” “Anything exciting happen??” “No.”

It turns out, he did go swimming (and he liked it!) and he sang a new (to him) song! So see? Exciting things did happen in preschool. He just failed to report them — initially!

Aaaand now this blog post is coming during yet another weekend. Ugh. I just cannot be caught up on life. Or sleep. Or my DVR. 🙂 But for serious, friends… have a good weekend!

Life Lately // June 2016

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This post originally started as a “weekend wrap up” … OVER A MONTH AGO! Like, I’m talking APRIL. But life just got extra busy and the sleep started to get even harder to come by. So I was failing at putting words into sentences. Heck, most of the time I’m still struggling to put logical sentences together!

I swear, in between the Remy Bea drama (yes, I’m calling her newborn nonsense “drama”), we have had a bunch of fun(ish) things going on, too!

I have, like, 300 things on my to-do list. At least half of which are action-items for this here blog. But last weekend I ditched my to-do list — and my email, twitter feed, and online presence — and I lived in the moment!

Our First Baby-Free Date //

My mom has been up to visit several times over the last month. And one of the days she was visiting, Chad and I took full advantage of “Mimi!” We went on our first date without the kiddos! Yes, I realize that it should be obvious that a date doesn’t include kids; but that’s rarely the case. Seriously.

On our “Big Date Adventure” we went to Choolaah Indian Barbeque in Beachwood. Choolaah is a Chipotle-ish, fast-casual, Indian restaurant. We’ve been meaning to try it for a while, but kids. Always those darn kiddos! Ha!

 

We swore that since we were childless for a meal we would slow down and actually enjoy our food; but of course we inhaled it, as per usual. But we absolutely freaking LOVED our lunch! We both left satisfied and eager to come back to try it again! Next time we’ll even bring the kiddos!

Post-lunch we headed over to Trader Joe’s for some serious shopping. We had just gotten our chest freezer the previous week and we were aching to fill it up with some frozen goodies! We’ve been avoiding the TJ’s frozen section for a couple of years now since we’ve been without a chest freezer (’cause we will seriously buy all of the things!).

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We seriously ended up with a giant cart full of goodies… but somehow we made it out of the store in what seemed like record time. … But that’s what happens when you are shopping with kids! It’s too easy! Ha! When all was said and done, our date ‘day’ ended up being a date ‘three hours.’ And that includes about 60 minutes of drive time. Ha! Pathetic! 🙂

But, ohhh, what a lovely three hours it was! ♄

Playdates in the Park  //

We are so lucky to have a park right behind our house (literally. right behind our house. we frequently find children wandering onto our deck because they want to play with ari’s toys and can see them from the park.). It has a full playground and a wading pool for small kids!

And every single day, Ari asks “Mommy, can we go to the park behind our house?” And it’s hard to say no when he can look out the window and say “I see my friends in the park!”

So we go. Even if it’s just for ten minutes. We go.

Columbus Weekend Trip  //

While I wish my mom and my sister lived closer, it’s nice being able to take a whole weekend away to go to Columbus and visit. My mom will drive up from Kentucky to Columbus (about a 2.5 hour drive), and I’ll drive from Akron to Columbus (about a 2 hour drive), and we’ll all spend the weekend together.

Well recently my brother-in-law had to go out of town for the whole weekend so my mom and I drove to see my sister and have a girls (plus kids) weekend!

 

We enjoyed many a-fun-things while in Columbus! We ate lots of yummy food, went to dinner at the Rusty Bucket, played board games, sipped CBC Bodhi, and helped my sissy register for her must-have baby items!

Also? Donuts from the Lil’ Donut Factory! I saw them years ago on the Food Network and ever since, I make it a point to get a donut on every Columbus trip!

It was a fantastic weekend! It was a fairly ‘normal’ weekend; but it was awesome because I spent it with my family!

LEGO Americana Exhibit  //

The LEGO Americana exhibit toured our area mall recently and I was so eager to take Ari to see it! First of all, historical sites for the win! But also? Legos. All. the LEGOS. Ari freakin’ loves Legos. In a big way.

We walked around Beachwood Place for over TWO HOURS. Ari held his “treasure map” and kept saying “Mommy – let’s go see more legos!”

Be still my Mommy heart! ♄ ♄ But seriously. It was totally, totally, awesome.

Workshops Galore!  //

Home Depot, Art Museum, Legos, and Lowes — OH MY! I absolutely LOVE the kids workshops that are available to us. And I’m surprised how many families don’t even know about them. FRIENDS. If you have kids, register them for as many of these workshops as possible. They are FREE!

Making all the things  //

I’ve been trying my hand at a few recipes. (Related: I hate those “tasty” videos you see on Facebook). They are YUM!

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So yeah. We’ve been busy. A good busy!

PS. Other things have suffered. Mostly cleaning, laundry, etc. But these are the moments, people!! These are THE moments!

 

Remy Bea // 4 Months

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Let’s call it a constant state of delirium. Yep. Let’s call it that. Because I can’t for the life of me find another explanation as to why I took Remy Bea’s 4 month pictures with “three month” blocks. And I’m way too tired to retake the photos. So, here they are.

Let’s call it a constant state of delirium. Yep. Let’s call it that. Because I can’t for the life of me find another explanation as to why I took Remy Bea’s 4 month pictures with “three month” blocks. And I’m way too tired to retake the photos. So, here they are.

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And here’s a Four Month Update:

  • She is rolling to her sides, but she hasn’t quite yet made it all the way over to her belly.
  • Still no teeth. Blah!
  • But still lots of drooling.
  • And she LOVES her hands! Last month she had started to bring her hands to her mouth and chew on them; but now she’s officially reaching for things and bringing them to her mouth! Her binky, her teething rings, my hand, and her blankets. It’s crazy to me how awesome her hand-eye coordination is!

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  • OMG she laughs! Well, she giggles. And it’s a belly giggle. The cutest belly giggle you ever did see!
  • And she still loves to follow her brother and daddy around with her big eyes.
  • I can’t tell what color her eye are just yet. They look like they are turning to a dark blue/gray.
  • She’s got a teeny dimple on her right cheek! I’ve been waiting for a dimpled child!! ♄ My husband has giant dimples, but Ari didn’t inherit them. So I’m happy Miss Bea may have received the dimple gene!

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  • She weighs 11lbs 6oz — which is keeping her steady on the 5th percentile for weight! Ha! My teeny peanut! She has been consistently gaining weight and is still on the curve for her weight.
  • She is 23 and 3/4 inches tall, which is the 25th percentile. Again, right about where she was before.
  • Head circumference? A completely laughable 15inches! Girlfriend isn’t even on the percentile curve for head size! However, she is on a curve for her!
  • I saved the worst of the news for last. We are awaiting blood test and urine test results. Baby Bea will not stop screaming. And before you get all “Oh yeah, our baby had colic, too,” it’s not that. It’s a painful scream. Like, a something is wrong, scream. A scream that cannot be comforted in any way, shape, or form. She will scream for hours and hours and hours on end. And nothing will comfort her. It’s heartbreaking.

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So yeah. This last month was rough. But they all have been, honestly. And I’m at my wits end. My PPD has been in full swing. I’m exhausted. I’m anxious. And I’m just ready for Baby Bea to be happy. I mean, aren’t babies supposed to be happy?? Sigh. But I’m lucky to have an amazing support system (thank you, friends!!). And also? The doctors took me seriously. THE DOCTORS TOOK ME SERIOUSLY!! I was terrified that they would write me off as ‘crazy mom’. But they didn’t. Score for Mama Bear!

More updates to come! Thanks for all the love and support friends! xo

a new chapter //

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A week before Christmas, my life turned around completely. I lost my job of 10 years at 36 weeks pregnant. It felt like an absolutely horrific life event. But? Life really and truly does have a way of working itself out.

I never could have imagined that just a couple weeks later I would be coaching preschool gymnastics for the local YMCA, my huge preg-belly and all! But I did. I was super nervous. I mean, who starts a new job at 38 weeks pregnant!? And gymnastics!? I haven’t done gymnastics in YEARS!

But fate is just funny like that.

I’m not going to lie, my first couple of weeks teaching preschool gymnastics were rough. The kids have been great, but finding my ‘balance’ was tough. But by the grace of my village, I made it through!

And my village has gotten bigger in the process! Not only has the staff been incredibly welcoming to both me and the kids, but getting to work with amazing preschoolers has been awesome!

These kids? They are so fun. And SO funny!! I, naively, had no idea how rewarding a job could be. Even when I’m not teaching their classes, the kids will see me in the hallway and yell “Hi, Miss Rachel!” … And my heart melts into a million pieces! ♄

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And today they graduated from preschool. And my heart is so happy for them and so sad, selfishly, for me! Because somewhere over the last few months, I’ve grown quite attached to them! 🙂

I can already tell that this new path in my life was put here for a reason. And I will forever be grateful! ♄

Remy Bea // 3 Months

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I’m quite possibly the worst mom ever. OK, OK. That’s quite dramatic. But I may be the worst bloggy mom ever. Because not only am I horrible at updating my blog, but I’m completely awful at taking pictures of Miss Remy Bea.

I swear I took a picture of Ari every single day as a baby. But this child? Ha! I was 5 days late with taking her 3 month photos. Oops!

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Here’s how our 3rd month went:

  • Her teeth haven’t broken through quite yet — and her teething seems to have subsided in the meantime. Thank goodness! I can still seem them under her gums — and she’s still drooling nonstop and chewing on nearly everything — but the pain has subsided momentarily.
  • She brings her own hands to her mouth… if only to chew on them! 😛
  • Miss Bea started to coo and smile and it is everything that makes my heart happy! It’s so incredible. She’s like a real human baby! Ha!
  • Speaking of human babies… She’s no longer a newborn. Sometime over the last month she turned from a newborn to a baby!
  • She loves to lie on her back and watch her brother and her daddy play. I will set her in the middle of the floor and she will just follow them around the room with her eyes. I can already tell she is completely smitten with her brother! ♄ And I know she will adore him for all of her life!
  • She’ll let me pull her to a sitting position — and she loves sitting in the Bumbo! To be honest, I wouldn’t have even attempted the Bumbo, but the sitters at the YMCA say she loves it! And it turns out, she does!
  • Since we’ve attempted the Bumbo with success, you should know she has excellent head and neck control. She has pretty much from day 1. Weird little infant.
  • As a surprise to me, this little baby can roll from her back to her side with no problem. Thank goodness I discovered this when she was on the floor! Oops! She can also kick her legs like crazy AND hold on to my fingers while she pulls herself up into a sitting position!
  • Her hair is freaking beautiful. It’s dark (super dark!) and flowy and sometimes it sticks straight up. But I just love it.
  • She sleeps for a few hours here and there throughout the night. Believe it or not, that’s amazing! Also, thanks in large part to the girls who watch her at the YMCA, she has learned to nap! She now naps for 2-3 hours in the afternoon! ♄
  • She loves to be held. By me, by Chad, by pretty much everyone. Girlfriend loves loves loves to be held.

See these truly awful pictures!?!?

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THESE are the result of: 1. Having a toddler in the room to also take care of; 2. A very mobile 3 month old who had absolutely zero interest in staying even remotely still for a single picture; and 3. Exhaustion. I just wanted to get the pictures over with. She wasn’t cooperating. And they are done.

So yeah. It’s been a fun month. OK, well not all of it has been fun. But the one thing that is HUGELY different between Remy and Ari is that I see a light at the end of each tunnel (aka – a light at the end of each ‘pbase’.). I can recognize that not everything is for always. However, this time around I will totally let housework go to the wayside so that I can nap instead. See? There’s something to be said about experience and second children!

To be updated soon, friends!

xo

life update

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Since Remy Bea was born (you know… TWO months ago), life has been a roller coaster, which I’ve talked about. Extensively. Like, extensively. And this here blog has suffered the wrath of long days and nights… By the time I have a few moments to myself to sit down at my computer, I just stare at a blank screen —  sometimes for an hour or more — just trying to put words into sentences. But I promise — we have actually had a life over these last 8 weeks — we have actually had fun!

 

Lavish Salon + Cleats  //  Fundraisers For My Cousin

My cousin’s 9-year old daughter has been hospitalized for over 7 months now, awaiting surgery to have her pancreas completely removed. Friends of hers arranged two benefit fundraisers for the family and their expenses.

The first fundraiser was at Lavish Color Salon on Valentine’s Day. 100% of the proceeds + tips went directly to my cousin and her family. Haircuts, makeup, nail polish changes, basket raffles, and pictures with Elsa + Olaf were aplenty!

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Ari l-o-v-e-d Elsa! At first he was a bit standoffish; but after he warmed up to her, he literally chased her around the salon.

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The second fundraiser was at Cleats Restaurant in Chardon. They shut down the restaurant because the turnout was so huge! It was packed! It was wonderful to see such a great turnout for such a wonderful cause! And it happened to be such an amazingly beautiful day.

NOTE: Just before I went to post this I noticed that Gia was featured in a video from The Today Show!

 

Therapy dogs bring joy, happiness back to kids at children’s h…“Gia had been so sick every single minute of the day. Months and months went by with us not seeing a smile on her face or joy in her eyes, and the first experience of seeing our little Gia back was when she and Drummer got together.”

Posted by Today Show on Wednesday, March 23, 2016

{if you feel so inclined to donate, or just to read the story of Gia, please go here.}

The Akron Art Museum  //  Tots Create

It’s no secret that I freaking love the Akron Art Museum. It’s a wonderful asset to our community (no, I’m not [yet] a member and have literally zero skin in this game). Their Free Thursdays are the bomb dot com. But they also host amazeballs events, including Creative play dates for tots!

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This is me: “You mean my kid can make a mess at YOUR place and I don’t have to freak?? DEAL.”

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In the last month we’ve gone to two Tots Create events with Ari’s friend Veronique (and her mom, BetĂŒl). He has had so much fun — and released so much creative energy!

The Library  //  Story Time + Cooking Demos

Sigh – the library! Such a hidden gem! Our childrens section of our library here in Cuyahoga Falls has just gone through a major renovation. It is amazing! Ari loves the ‘puters [aka computers], which are kid-friendly in their bright colors and fun mouse! I’m impressed at how easily Ari has caught on to using a computer!

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In addition to the computers, he has absolutely loved story time. Story time, at this age, consists of a ‘warm up’ song to get them singing and moving, before settling in for a series of short stories. It’s wonderful and engaging!

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Another local library does other events like cooking demonstrations! Chad has taken Ari to a couple of these demos and events! I’m not certain if Ari has taken much away from it (I’ve not gone with them — Mama needs a break once in awhile!), but it’s awesome that these are offered, nonetheless!

The Parks  //  SOAR + More

I’m not certain if I’ve mentioned this before [though I’m certain I have at one point in my blogs life…], but we have a park in our backyard. Literally. Behind our property line is a park, complete with a toddler wading pool + playground! Unfortunately the playground is a bit out of Ari’s league at this point. It’s a ‘bigger kids’ type of playground.

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But about 10 minutes from where we live is SOAR — an amazing wheelchair accessible playground, which happens to also be equally accessible to kids of all ages! Ari loves it — and I love it! Win-win!

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We’re so grateful to have had a few really nice days to get outta the house and enjoy some sunshine!

 

Arts + Crafts  //  Creativity at Home

Not only have we had several playdates with friends + their kids over the last 6 weeks, but we’ve also managed to get in our share of crafts at home! Much in part to some help from Mimi, Ari has gotten all kindsa crafty!

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I, on the other hand, prefer (at this point, at least) to use the Target easy-‘assembly’ craft-type things. Easier. Less-messy. More mom-of-a-newborn friendly. 😛

SO MUCH MORE  //  

We’ve been hitting up places like Cafe O’Play, The Lego Store, and local coffee shops with friends to pass the time. As hard as the days are, it oftentimes helps to have a ‘change of scenery’ — for all of us!

Mama’s Night Out  //  Paint Nite + CIFF Preview Party

I’ve had one semi-successful “night out” without Remy Bea. I went to a Paint Nite event with a dear friend. It’s, like, my 10th paint + wine night in the last 3 years. The one I recently went to was…. disappointing, to say the least. But I did get out for a night and get creative!

 

 

My first painting for Miss Remy Bea. ?? #latergram #paintnite #akron #RemyBea

A photo posted by Rachel (@itsahero) on

 

I also had the chance to attend the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) preview party at the Akron Civic Theatre!

 

I will never get tired of this view. @akroncivic #ciff40 #akroncivic #wksu #ciff

A photo posted by Rachel (@itsahero) on

I actually brought Remy Bea with me to this event. Not only did I see previews for a ton of movies I want to see, but Remy Bea was a huge hit with the crowd!

 

So yeah… life has been every emotion under the sun: Fun. Exhausting. Creative. Hilarious. So exciting. Miserable. And mostly just oh so full of life! ♄ I may be exhausted, friends; but my heart is happy.