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Life Lately // a Mom’s Tale of End of Summer

September 25, 2017 by Rachel 12 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links

I’d be lying if I said things have been easy lately. The adjustment of Ari going back to school and me starting my new Fall schedule at work has definitely been a challenge; but also, life has just been… different. I’ve been quite reserved and close-mouthed. Because, well, I don’t have anything particularly upbeat to say.

And that’s okay.

I recognize that in times of transition I tend to shut down a bit. Maybe it’s just the way I process things, I dunno.

But we’ve still been able to have a bit of fun, even amidst the chaos.

Painting With A Twist. 

A couple of weeks ago I met up with a dear friend to do a fall-themed pallet painting project. I’ve done other wine and painting parties, but this was my first time at PWAT Hudson. The studio was awesome and so accommodating!


And I’m so pumped about the final outcome of my project!

I can’t wait to go back!

Summer Sunset Blast.

Without truly having school-aged children, the end of summer doesn’t really mean much to us, other than going back to preschool and adjusting to a new schedule. But that doesn’t mean we don’t fully take advantage of the end of summer fun!

We said farewell to summer at Silver Springs Park in Stow, with the help of Café O’Play, bounce houses, inflatables, face painting, and a petting zoo!


While Ari hit up the inflatables (OMG – first time he’s really been able to because he’s not my baby anymore!! ??), Remy Bea and I spent some time with the goats.

This girl apparently had a fascination with goats! Which is funny, because so does her daddy! 😛

Trips to the Akron Zoo.

Our zoo membership is nearly expired, and we likely won’t renew it until after Christmas (because, busyness). But we did squeeze in a few more trips to the zoo before Summers end!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a million times again — we are beyond lucky to have this wonderful zoo in our backyard! It takes, at most, 10 minutes to get there; the zoo is so easily accessible, and so easy to navigate — even with two small children.

Lucky for us, on our latest trip, the temperature was super mild and the zoo itself was empty. The best part? All of the animals were front and center!

365 by Whole Foods opened and we may have been there at least 5 times in a week!

I took a media tour of the store before the opening day festivities, and I was beyond impressed. The store is bright, clean, and absolutely gorgeous!

There’s mochi ice cream, a taqueria, coffee from Artisan Coffee, great prices on produce, and a typical prepared food section that is to die for!

I took the kids back for opening day and we were greeted by Zippy, the Akron Zips mascot, and a whole slew of people! No joke, at 8:45 am on a Thursday morning and there were about 200 people waiting to get inside!

I’m serious when I say that it has quickly become our favorite place to grab some food, whether it be groceries or prepared food (helloooooo, chili and cheese lasagna!!!!). I see this as being our go-to store from here on out.

We took a very quick road trip to Columbus.

Besides stopping at IKEA for what seemed like 5 minutes (but was actually 2.5 hours), we wandered and made lists of things we needed to do in our head. But other than one semi-small purchase, we really just were there for the Swedish meatballs!

After our IKEA trip, Chad went with his sister and her family to the Ohio State football game while I took the kids to the local splash pad by my sisters house.

We went to a quick (early) dinner at another local fave — the Starliner Diner (delicious + authentic Cuban food) before heading back to my sister’s house to settle in for the evening.

Before heading home we went to a family cookout with Chad’s sister’s family (she was visiting from Denver just for the weekend). Basically, a whirlwind of a 36-hours.

I’ve been cooking — a lot.

a href=”https://itsahero.com/?attachment_id=11968″ rel=”attachment wp-att-11968″>
This is super weird for me because I hate to cook. But I tried Blue Apron a while back and loved it! The recipes weren’t difficult, per se, but they did reignite a spark I had for trying new recipes.

Playgrounds, playgrounds, playgrounds… and flag football clinics!

We’ve certainly been spending time at our local playgrounds and parks. Remy has taken to ‘playing’ in a major way. In fact, one of her favorite words to say is “Play? Play?” Basically, begging to go outside in play or get into all of her toys.

So it’s been fun. Oh, and Ari started a flag football skills clinic. To my surprise, he’s really fond of it. It’s super fun to watch them both come into their own in different ways.

As I read this post (and as I reread it over and over again…) I keep thinking…. FUNK, BE DAMNED! My life has been crazy and awesome! I’ll get back to my normal life soon. But for now? For now I’m basking in the awesomeness that is random.

Happy Monday, friends! xo

Filed Under: #MomLife, Akron, brews + food, busy mom, cleveland, Columbus Ohio, cooking, crafty, creative, crunchy granola, domesticity, events, explore locally, Explore Ohio, family, Family Travel, food, life, money saving tips, NEO, Ohio, parenthood, road trip, yum Tagged With: #MomLife, akron, ari davis, being a mom, bloggers, busy mom, children, cleveland, crafty, domesticity, explore locally, explore Ohio, family, Family Travel, food, foodie, life, money saving tips, NEO, ohio, parenthood, road trip, yum

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Amanda

    September 25, 2017 at 10:30 am

    What great adventures you have been having!! I love the paint night and I bet your kids loved the splash pad!! Those places are so much fun!

    Reply
  2. Kate @ GreatestEscapist

    September 25, 2017 at 11:53 am

    OMG wherrrre is that Whole Foods?! Must visit! Must get my mom to visit!

    Hope the transition starts to ease for you, friend, & that you get back to feeling like yourself. Fall always seems to do that to me…

    Reply
    • Rachel

      September 25, 2017 at 8:08 pm

      In Wallhaven! Where the old West Point Market used to be!

      And thank you! PS. Sarah W & I want to plan a girls day for coffee or wine or something!! <3

      Reply
  3. Virjinia Harp

    September 25, 2017 at 2:13 pm

    Ikea is so dang awesome! And I think we have the chair your kiddos are sitting in. We love to visit ours and wander sometimes. Plus that Whole Foods sounds pretty neat. Transitions make me feel the same way. There’s nothing wrong with taking time to process and settle in!

    -Virjinia
    With Purpose and Kindness

    Reply
  4. Courtney Byers- Life Of A Med School Wife Blog

    September 25, 2017 at 6:52 pm

    Your summer sounded amazing! I am a huge fan of painting with a twist!!

    Reply
  5. Steph

    September 26, 2017 at 1:49 pm

    So fun! Love the pumpkin painting!

    Reply
  6. Nellwyn

    September 26, 2017 at 9:50 pm

    I also tend to shut down a bit and turn internal during transitional times so I can really relate to that. It sounds like you’ve been filling your days with lots of fun activities though!

    Reply
  7. Kate

    September 26, 2017 at 10:14 pm

    OMG I love that your class painted on planks! All the classes I’ve seen are just on canvases but the planks have such a cute fall feel?

    Reply
  8. Kelsey

    September 27, 2017 at 8:31 am

    Sounds like you’ve been having a blast!! Do

    Reply
  9. Julie Hood

    September 27, 2017 at 11:56 am

    Transitions can be hard, but it looks like you are having a great time doing all the things! 🙂 I love that the painting with a twist was on wood!!

    Reply
  10. The Frenchie Mummy

    September 27, 2017 at 5:14 pm

    You have been up to so many nice things! The Summer fest looks fab and this pink IKEA chair is simply pure love!

    Reply
  11. Lauren

    September 30, 2017 at 6:05 pm

    Girl!! You can just feel the joy from these. We did our best to soak up all the summer fun too!!!!!

    Reply

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