Its a Hero

ari davis

Celebrating SIX at CLE Social

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I can hardly believe it, y’all. But my first baby — my little #BabyAri — my little “Moosh!” — is six years old tomorrow. SIX!

I’m in disbelief that six years have flown by this quickly. Our little man has kept us on our toes from the moment he was born. And yet, somehow, he’s always been incredibly level-headed.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that my baby boy has blossomed into a pretty cool little dude. He loves pretty much everything — school, his friends, his family, video games, YouTube, LEGOs, blind bags, and being wild and crazy.

But when Chad took Ari to CLE Social, a local old-school arcade in Hudson, he had an absolute blast. And I just knew that this was the spot that we would have his 6th birthday party. I mean, it’s seriously 1000% ARI.

CLE Social is an arcade that features 30 classic arcade games, like Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, and two pinball machines. The coolest part of the arcade is that the only two games that accept quarters are the pinball machines. The rest? Free with the cost of admission.

They regularly host private birthday parties and private group parties, so they were totally able to accommodate my request for a small gathering of Ari’s friends and family.

We supplied the pizza, beverages, cake (Minecraft, of course), and decorations, and CLE Social provided the fun! But the kids weren’t the only ones who had fun. In fact, I think the adults had more fun than the kids!

Ari was honestly so excited and happy that friends and family came out to celebrate HIM. He is still grateful (and has thanked me daily) for a great party. And that’s just it — this kid has so much love and charm. He truly is a grateful child. He feels love by telling people how much he appreciates them.

So on this eve of his 6th birthday, I am grateful for him. I’m grateful for his kind heart. I’m grateful for his silly soul. And I’m grateful that he was the one to make me Mama. I will always love you, my little Baby Ari. ♥

 

 

 

Disclosure: Our party was complimentary from CLE Social, but all opinions herein are my own.

STEM Education Through a Snapology Franchise

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I can’t believe we’re a mere two weeks away from the start of the school year here in Ohio! And with my first born headed off to kindergarten, it’s been making me think a lot about education and supplementing his learning with STEM activities.

STEM education (or science, technology, engineering, and math) helps to prepare our children of all ages to make a real difference in this world by helping them to learn the skills that may be missed in our traditional education system.

That’s why Snapology franchises — like the one opening in Westerville — are so important to me.

For those not familiar with Snapology, it’s a nationwide company based in play through learning with LEGO and robotics. They offer after-school workshops, Summer camps, and even birthday parties for kids of all ages.

So you can understand my excitement to know that there is a location nearby for my little guy. He has thousands and thousands of LEGOs already and I watch his imagination run wild with creativity all day every day. I just want to encourage his enthusiasm for STEM learning even further.

Science is more than a school subject, or the periodic table, or the properties of waves. It is an approach to the world, a critical way to understand and explore + engage with the world, + then have the capacity to change that… Click To Tweet

I often wonder how different my adult life would be if I was encouraged to pursue science and mathematics as a young adult. In fact, as soon as I graduated from college I regretted not getting my degree in accounting. I have such a love of numbers and mathematics, but it was overlooked in high school and thus even I missed my I think may have been my calling.

I’m happy to know that my children’s’ curiosity for STEM will be nurtured, with both the help of me and the amazing programs in our area. And so I guess I can go into this (very first!) school year with a bit less anxiety. I mean, for now! 🙂

 

What are some of the ways
in which you are encouraging
STEM learning for your children?

 

Motherhood is hard — Find the joy.

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I’d be lying if I said I’ve been my best self lately. So much of my time has been spent correcting my children and then losing it by screaming and then feeling incredibly guilty. I realize this is a season we’re in — I have a very defiant (strong willed?) two year old and a 5 year old with a serious listening problem.

Add in a 31 week pregnant (aka exhausted) mama, and there’s pure chaos and rage.

So yeah. I haven’t been my best self. But I’m trying. I acknowledge those moments, sometimes apologize to my kids, and we all move on. There’s a learning curve for sure.

But as I scroll through my photos on my phone, I also see something that I often overlook — JOY.

My kids are happy. And, most of the time, I am too.

Here’s what our life looks like in pictures as of late (in completely candid / unfiltered photos):

 

Looking at these moments brings me so much joy. Knowing that THESE are the moments in which my children will have memories — not the ugly times we’re all throwing fits. So snap those pictures and remember those happy moments, friends. xo

Happy Birthday Baby Ari //

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It’s hard to believe that this day has arrived — my first baby, Ari, is no longer a baby in any sense of the term.

Today he turns 5.

I’m so sad and so happy. He’s turning into such a wonderful little boy. But it’s certainly bittersweet to say goodbye to the baby years of Ari…

He’s always been a great kid; but watching him learn and grow over the last couple of years (especially) has been incredible.

He’s sensitive. He’s happy. He’s so very silly, but also so very caring. He’s a loving brother.

And he’s the world’s best snuggler.

It’s crazy to think we’ve officially outgrown the official age of ‘preschooler,’ even though he’ll remain in preschool for the remainder of this school year.

So, my sweet boy, I will spend the rest of today re-reading your birth story, looking at photos from the hospital, and basking in your overall grown-up-ness.


Happy birthday #BabyAri.

xo

PS. For those of you that LOVE birth stories (like me!) you can catch Ari’s birth story here and here!

 

Thanks to Justine Johnson Photography for these amazing photos.

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

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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.

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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

Back to PRESCHOOL Must-Haves!

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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!

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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!