And that includes breakfast.
Sure, it doesn’t always work out the way I want it to; but I stick to a ‘semi’ plan — which is helpful. I’m not going to lie — a lot of our breakfasts have included Organic Pop Tarts (yep – we’re totes real AND crunchy granola like that). But about every other week I make this AhhhMAZING banana bread and we can’t help but eat it morning, afternoon, and night. Seriously.
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!
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!
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!
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.
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!
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!
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.
This weekend I had the pleasure of attending The Agrarian Collectives’ wreath making workshop at the Sunnybrook Preserve in Chesterland. Sure, Chesterland is a bit far from where we live (now), but Chad + I both grew up just minutes from this town, so we know the area very well.
Bonus — I, unknowingly, scratched #7 off of my 31 for 31 list by taking a “makers” workshop!
Please checkout the other events that they have going on, including the longest night, a winter solstice gathering, on Tuesday December 22nd! Tickets are $75 per person and can be purchased online here! From what I understand this event is nearly sold out!
I swear even when we have “nothing going on,” we have nonstop stuff to do! Does anyone else feel that way!? Well, it’s clear we’ve definitely been plenty busy with doctor appointments and hospital visits, etc. Blah! We’ve had our fill of all of that.
But besides that, we have had a little bit of other stuff going on, too!
Playing outside. We’ve had an unusually warm November. Sure, we’ve had spurts of ‘normal,’ cold weather; but we’ve also had several 70+ degree days… in a row… in November… in OHIO. Amazing! So we’ve been hitting up the local parks and playgrounds. And Ari has been begging to ride his new bicycle! So we’ve done plenty of that, too! [I was totally afraid that he wouldn’t be able to use it until next Spring!]
Watching lots of movies in “mommies bed.” It’s seriously the only place that Ari wants to watch movies. And, honestly? It’s totally fine with me. It’s much more comfortable for me to lie in bed and watch a movie than to sit on the couch. And Ari can be such a snuggle-bunny, so it’s super nice to get this time in with him.
The LEGO store. Want to keep a kid entertained by simply going to the mall? Visit the LEGO Store. It will be impossible to get your kid to leave. Luckily, we’ve had a couple of gift cards to use [from Ari’s birthday], so we’ve actually left with items, too! Ha! But mostly he just likes to play with all of the cool LEGO stuff he doesn’t have at home! Why is it that toys, even toys that are much like the ones you have at home, at the store, are WAY more fun!? But seriously. The Lego store is awesome.
Lots “Spring Cleaning” and organizing. I wouldn’t call it ‘nesting,’ because, truly, I am not at all energized. But I have been knocking some semi-major things off my house/chores to-do list. Like washing the carpets. Or moving things around.
Sure, things aren’t exactly ‘glamorous,’ but it’s real life! 🙂 And I wouldn’t change it for the world!
Well, it’s only been TWO WEEKS since Ari’s birthday. To say I’m slacking would be an understatement. Although can you really blame me? I’ve been bouncing from doctor appointment to doctor appointment, dragging a toddler along, and throwing up along the way (sometimes quite literally). So yeah. There have been “delays,” one would say. But better late than never, right? Right. (Just roll with me, friends.)
Friday the 16th // The Actual Birthday
His actual birthday was on Friday and I wanted to make it kind of special. Well we got a tad bit of a late start (thanks to both myself and Ari sleeping in way later than we should’ve — hooray!). But we ended up at Café O’Play… eventually. It was CRAZYTOWN in there. Turns out Ari’s birthday is also a teacher administration day or something, so all of the local schools were closed for the day. And, hence, the Café was insane busy.
After a little while of playing, we decided to head to out to finish a couple of party errands. While Moosh took a short nap, I decorated a teeny bit for our little family birthday celebration. I had leftover decorations from last year so I just decided to throw those up and wing it! I was tired of looking at Minion party stuff for his big she-bang anywho! 🙂
When Chad got home from work, I quickly snuck out to go get Moosh a cupcake (neither Chad nor myself are big cake people, so I just didn’t see the point in getting or making an actual cake).
Ari’s one birthday request for dinner was Chick-Fil-A (or, as he pronounces it, “Chick-Fay!”). So we headed to Chick-Fay for a quick dinner. And, quick it was! One thing I never realized before having a child, is how quickly a person can consume an entire meal. Seriously. It’s a bit scary.
Saturday the 17th //
Mimi and Poppy (my mom and dad) drove up from Kentucky to spend the weekend with us for Ari’s party. After they arrived, we decided to grab some lunch (aka – satisfy my craving for soup) before going Trunk or Treating at the YMCA!
Sunday the 18th //
The big day had arrived! Luckily, I had planned ahead enough to not be stressed for the day of the party. My mom and I ran out Sunday morning, sans Ari, to get a couple of last-minute items (like to pick up his balloons) and all of us were ready to leave the house an hour before the party was set to start (!!!!!). Guys. This is a miracle in itself.
We had planned the party to be a — big surprise — Minions/Gymnastics Party at the YMCA. Yep. This kid LOVES taking his gymnastics classes. And what better way to get a bunch of kids to have fun, right!?
Yeah, yeah. The weekend (and his birthday shenanigans) were technically over. But that Monday he had his 3 year well-baby checkup. As expected, he barely gained any weight and height. Ha. At his 2 year visit I’m pretty sure he weighed in at 25 pounds. At this 3 year visit?? Twenty-six pounds. 2-6. Yep. Well, he’s still in the second percentile for weight. Ha! Oh, and he’s 35″. Which is a miracle (and probably gained 2-inches from his shoes).
Aaaand then we all crashed from exhaustion and I got sick for days… 🙂
I know that after Ari’s very Yo Gabba Gabba first birthday bash I promised I wouldn’t do another over-the-top birthday; but something about having a last hurrah for our ‘only child’ was appealing to me. I’m sure next year I’ll be back to business-as-usual throwing things together haphazardly. 🙂
Just because Summer is coming to an end in Northeast Ohio, it doesn’t mean that the social calendar slows down! In fact, there are plenty of fun things happening THIS WEEK!
Aviation Heritage Fair // Kent State Airfield // Saturday, September 19th, 7am – 5pm // FREE
Crafty Mart // Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. // Saturday, September 19th, 11am – 5pm // FREE
Maize Valley Fall Family Outing // Maize Valley Winery, Hartville, OH // Open Daily, Hours Vary // $10 age 2+
Sunday Market in Hingetown // Ohio City, Cleveland // Sunday, September 20th, 10am – 4pm // FREE
What fun things are you planning on doing this Fall!?