domesticity

farewell to three.

January 12, 2016 by Rachel Leave a Comment

I’ve been clinging to some Moosh time as of late. Big time. I know our time is coming to a close as a family of three. And it’s making me super emotional. Super emotional for my first baby. And for what bringing a second baby into the family means.

It means less one-on-one time with Moosh.

It means less undivided Moosh attention.

It means I can no longer drop everything and just stare at Moosh.

OK, you get it. It means less ‘just Moosh.’ And it’s heartbreaking for me. Absolutely heartbreaking.

YES, I’m excited for Baby Girl to make her arrival. But I’m also sad that I no longer have just my baby boy to wrap his arms around me. And even as I type this out, I keep having conflicting feelings, which consist mostly of “OK, I don’t want this one-on-one time to end,” to “GET this CHILD out of me NOW so I can meet her!”

The pregnancy struggle (and hormones) are super real, y’all. Real real.

So, for now, I’ll soak up the extra snuggles and all the extra kisses he’s willing to give me; I’ll soak up the nap times where he spoons me (yes, HE spoons ME); I’ll soak up the early bedtimes and the indulgences of sleeping in ‘mommies bed;’ and I’ll give him all the extra attention he so wants and deserves! ♥

‘Cause nothing lasts forever.

PS. My bags are packed. my house is clean. the nesting is complete. let’s do this, little lady. ♥

the power of “NO.”

December 18, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

It’s taken me a long time, and a lot of years, to realize that I had the power to say “no.” A few years ago I had a goal of saying “yes” to everything I was asked to participate in for two weeks or something like that. But that was pre-kids, pre-marriage, etc. Life was much more… flexible. I felt an urge to get out and get involved. And to, well, people please, to put it frankly.

So what’s changed, besides the obvious? Well, having a family means we are pretty much ‘automatically’ signed up for a bunch of things. Sure, we want to do these things; but it also leaves me craving time where I’m not doing a darn thing! We are just plain ol’ burned out from life.

Enter: the great NO challenge.

It’s not that I’m giving myself a timeframe to say no to everything I’m asked to socially commit to; but I’m giving myself permission to say “no” as needed — without an excuse.

“No” really shouldn’t need an excuse. Sometimes, just, no.

I love all of my friends, I truly do. I love seeing them and hanging out. But when life is super busy, sometimes the healthiest thing you can do for yourself is to schedule time to be “busy doing nothing” in your planner. I’ve done this before and it’s helped tremendously. I’ll black out a weekend on the calendar and tell Chad that we’re “busy doing nothing” all weekend so we can’t make plans.

Do you feel like you could say “no” if you truly just don’t want to engage in something? I suggest looking at it differently: Know your priorities and the value of your time. When a friend or relative asks something of us, we have to decide where our time is best suited.

It’s taken me a while to know where my time is valuable. For me, it’s with my husband and son. Or heck, even by myself! It’s hard to juggle time with young kids in the home; but knowing when you need a few minutes to yourself can be life-saving to you and your relationships.

For example, this co-sleeping thing has had me at my wits end at times. I feel like Moosh is constantly attached to me. One night, after 3.5 hours trying to get him to sleep, he just wouldn’t. I was tied to him. The next day I had one request: I asked Chad if he would handle bedtime solo so I could have a few minutes alone, even if it was just to check my email/blog/twitter and watch one episode of trashy TV from the DVR. I’m so grateful that I asked him for help. I like to pretend I’m super mom and can do it all, but sometimes we need to just step back and ask. And because of this two hours I had, I ended up feeling refreshed and rejuvenated!

Seriously. Because sometimes the act of saying “no” is truly empowering you to say “yes” in other aspects of your life.

So by all means, this holiday season or this New Year, feel empowered to say NO when you need it — sans guilt!

holiday wreath making workshop //

December 8, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

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.

I had signed up a few weeks ago, not knowing how I would be feeling, but knowing that I would desperately need to get out of the house. Turns out, I was right. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten outta the house solo, so I knew Chad & Ari could do without me for just a few hours. Ha!

I arrived early to give myself time to settle in, and I’m so glad I did! I was able to meet with Kelli from the Agrarian Collective (again) and snap some photos of the spread. — And let me tell you, it was an awesome spread!

Kelly and her crew did an amazing job at setting up this workshop. Everything looked Pinteresty-perfect! Which, admittedly, helped me tap into my creative side pretty quickly.

She gave us a quick run-down of what do to. I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing, but I felt empowered!

The result? Magical! It’s amazing what a little empowerment and creativity will spark! I got to business and finished my wreath very quickly!

Seriously. I went from nervous about HOW to create something to just getting it done in a snap! Great leadership from the AC crew! My new, beautiful, simplistic, wreath is now hanging on our door, helping to usher in the holidays!

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!

lies i { regularly } tell my toddler.

November 24, 2015 by Rachel 2 Comments

Let’s face it: as parents, we will totally take advantage of our small children. I mean, heck!, they owe us. They put us through the ringer with their “demands” and nonsense. It’s no wonder we (occasionally) tell them things that they do not know are false. Like, completely false.

My mother decided to point out to me how often I ‘lie’ to Moosh. So I compiled a list of my go-to ‘lies.’

“They’re closed, baby!” I say this regularly for any place Moosh wants to go that we either: 1. do not have on the agenda; 2. do not have time for; or 3. do not have the patience for. This includes: Cafe O’Play (we pass it every day on our way home from the sitter). The Chick-fil-a play area (as we are sitting down eating and he’s watching other kids play). The movie theater. You get the picture. Pretty much every place he thinks is fun.

“It’s all gone!” Yep. No shame in my food-game! If I don’t want Moosh to have something, I just tell him it’s gone. But I fear he’s catching on to me… He recently started asking “Let me see the ____.” Like, for proof.

“It’s not working. / It needs batteries.” Toy? Needs batteries. Movie he wants to watch for the 800th time? Not working. I’m. Not. Sorry!

“This isn’t candy; it’s medicine.” It’s especially convincing since I’ve been so sick during this pregnancy.

“We’ll go tomorrow.” Biggest. liar. EVER. I most recently used this lie when I was trying to get Ari home from the sitter and he wanted to stop at the library. No, we didn’t go the next day. But I told him we would. Toddlers either remember things for months or forget them within seconds. So I was pretty much playing russian roulette. [PS. I won.]

How can I lie to this adorable face from these pictures?!? Easy. It’s lying for survival. And I’m not ashamed to say I’ll continue to do it until he catches on. I know I’m not alone, friends! Tell me, what are your favorite lies you tell your children?!

it was a good day.

October 7, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

Thank you everyone for all of the birthday wishes Monday. I ended up being rather sick and only sleeping for 2 hours the night before, but I made the most of it. Lack of sleep and getting sick all night sure made for an interesting morning… Buuuut I got my butt outta bed and got a couple of things done before being swept away for a morning breakfast sandwich with a dear friend.

Post-breakfast, Chad + I took Moosh to the pumpkin patch to let him explore and get out some of that toddler energy. Maize Valley Farm + Winery in Hartville was just the place!

The place was empty, with the exception of a few other moms & tots. Moosh definitely needed someone who could keep up with him. And I definitely was not that person. So Chad chased the little stinker here, there, and everywhere.

First, he played on the playground, the hay bales, and the tractors.

He was so adventurous. It was amazing to witness this little boy explore, bravely stepping out a few feet further than normal from mommy & daddy. So much different to where we were just a short year ago.

After watching the boys run around (I did zero running. Ha. I just waddled and snapped some pictures), we caught the wagon for the hayride! Moosh loved it!

There were a couple of stops on our hayride tour of Maize Valley, the first being to pick our own pumpkins. Last year Moosh managed to pick a rotting pumpkin and the farm refused to even sell it; they just gave it to us – ha! This year my only rule for Moosh was to pick a pumpkin that wasn’t on it’s way to rotten already.

He wandered and wandered until the found the perfect [tiny] pumpkin! Sigh. There’s something adorable about watching your kid find the ‘perfect’ [for him] pumpkin!

And then it was off to watch the pumpkin chucker! Yep – a compressed-air pumpkin cannon. Chad was in heaven! Moosh was at first… but he grew tired of the chuckin’ pretty quickly! One day, kid, you’ll be super excited to see this.

Ya know what did hold his interest? Racing pigs. Yep. Racing. Pigs.

Sigh. Such a boy! After watching pigs run in a big circle, Moosh insisted on riding in the barrel cars with daddy… Thank goodness he didn’t ask me to go with him, because I wouldn’t have been able to get out! Ha!

By the end of our trip, we were all ready for a nap. Moosh actually said “I need a nap,” when we got home. And everyone napped… except me… the pregnant girl who only got 2 hours of sleep the night before. Ugh.

But I woke everyone up early because I really wanted to eat dinner. I decided I wanted Mexican food, so we checked out a (new to us) restaurant. The food was just okay. And Moosh was totally, totally, cray the whole time we were there. NEVER have I wished for a margarita so badly in my life. Ha! I’m glad Chad was able to enjoy one in my place. 🙂

Our last stop was a quick ice cream cone at Handels. I couldn’t even finish mine because I started to feel sick again. But Moosh had no probably double-fisting my cone with his.

We then put Moosh to bed and watched a movie… which is when I proceeded to get incredibly ill yet again. Regardless, I wouldn’t have changed the day. At all. It certainly wasn’t glamorous. But it was perfect in every way I needed it to be.

I am so grateful for my husband — for his love and his understanding of what exactly makes a perfect birthday when you’re wife is pregnant and sick and (mostly) miserable. ♥

a few of our favorite things // toddler books

May 28, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

I was honestly beginning to wonder if it would ever happen, his love for books and reading. He spent so much time loving ‘boy’ things like Thomas the Tank and Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and I wasn’t sure he would ever slow down enough to sit down with a book.

But something happened just after Christmas last year. All of a sudden he was hooked. However, just like his favorite shows and movies, he gravitates towards the same three books. Always. I have to say the kid has awesome taste. I happened to spend a bit of time in Barnes and Noble one day, just reading through the children’s books. I was incredibly impressed with the creativity!

Especially of these three books:

1. Dragons Love Tacos // Moosh thinks this book is hilarious. It’s a story about how Dragons love eating tacos, but they hate hot salsa. It’s adorable. And it combines three of Ari’s favorite things: food, dragons, and complete silliness. Now if he sees a taco he proclaims, “MMM! Dragons like tacos! I like tacos!” It’s the cutest thing ever.

2. Peanut Butter & Cupcake // This is my personal favorite, so I’m glad Moosh loves it too. While the author is not a children’s book author by trade, he is a photographer that has a series called “Bent Objects,” where he takes food items and turns them into people. So naturally, this makes a great children’s book.

The main ‘character’ is a piece of peanut butter toast. He just moved to town and he’s trying to find someone to play soccer with him. Everytime he meets someone he says “Hi. I’m new here and I’d like to play. Maybe now, maybe later, or even all day! I’ll make you chuckle deep down in your belly, and we’ll go together like Peanut Butter and… (insert name of whatever he’s introducing himself to). It’s freaking adorable. And yes, I recited that little poem from memory. I just love it so much. Moosh likes to go to the last page of the book and name all of the ‘people’ playing together. 🙂

3. Please, Mr. Panda // This book is short and sweet. Mr. Panda goes around asking all the animals if they want a donut. Most say yes… quite aggressively. So he in some way or another tells them that he has changed his mind and they are not allowed to have a donut. Finally he asks the question and one of them and the animal says “Oh please may I have one Mr. Panda?” and Mr. Panda says, “Yes, you can have them all. I do not like donuts anyways.” Ha. So cute. And Moosh doesn’t even know he’s getting a message in manners!

So yeah. Or go-to-books are adorable. However, we’re always looking to add to our collection. Any suggestions? What are your kids’ favorites?