domesticity

weekend wrap up //

May 6, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

After last weeks drama that nearly put Moosh into the hospital for an overnight stay, we welcomed the weekend with open arms — and hesitation. Cause who knew WHEN this kid would have another episode, right?

Well he definitely wasn’t feeling himself Friday. In fact, after a quick trip to Café O’Play where we pretty much just stood in the dance room, we picked up a pizza and headed home. It was definitely needed after our week. Chad went to an NFL Draft party with some of the dudes in my family and I stayed at home with my snuggle bug watching movies.

Scratch that: we watched movies together for a while; then this mama scrubbed the house from top to bottom before Mimi showed up for a weekend visit!

But let’s talk about how seriously not himself this kid looks. It definitely was NOT cold; but Moosh kept saying “Mommy, I cold! Blankie Tom, peas!” And then he wanted my Lululemon Vinyasa scarf to wrap around his head (he’s been a bit attached to it since I wrapped him in it in the hospital last week).

We ate “peetzy” and salad and watched Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo on repeat until Mimi arrived.

And then? Mass chaos! Ha!

Yep. That’s my kid running around in his underwear. Moosh finally fell asleep way way later than he should have. With promises of lots of fun on Saturday and goodnight kisses from Mimi, that seemed to do the trick.

My mom and I had planned to wake up early to get a long run in Saturday morning. But we stayed up WAY too late. And then Moosh woke up earlier than anticipated. So we improvised. We brought him with us. I despise running with the jogging stroller, but Mimi decided that we could switch off pushing him, so I agreed. Hesitantly. Ha! We got a couple miles in before having to head home. But every step counts, right?!

Mimi agreed to babysit Moosh while Chad and I went on a day-date to see the Avengers: Age of Ultron. The movie was amazing! Yes, yes… I’m a total dude-movie nerd. I love all of those nerdy comic book movies. But it really was good. And funny. Also? Robert Downey Jr?? LOVE that guy.

While we were at the movies, Mimi took Moosh (or is it the other way around — Moosh took Mimi?) to Café O’Play in an attempt to wear him out and get him to nap. Well, he was worn out. But he refused to nap. Which was extremely inconvenient because we had suite tickets for the Indians versus the Blue Jays that afternoon. So a nap of some sort was nearly required to prevent crazy-baby meltdown. But the little dude did extremely well. We even got to meet the hot dogs! Moosh loved Mustard, could care less about Ketchup (weird considering he eats ketchup as a main course these days), and was downright terrified of Onion! Ha!

Mimi and Chad had fun watching the game. Moosh and I mostly just played. Cause for me, a ballgame is more about the experience of the ballpark than paying attention to the game. SPORTS! Ha!

I’m super bummed that I didn’t get any photos of our food. We visited the new Right Field District and I was in awe of the food and drink selections! My mom ordered a sandwich from Melt, Ari got ice cream from Sweet Moses, and Chad and I split nachos and a taco from Barrio. And GLBC on tap for the win!

On the way home we indulged a little more with some Rita’s Ice. Moosh wanted “Boo ice!” which means blue ice, if you haven’t figured that out. 🙂

Moosh obviously didn’t fall asleep on the way home. And he went to bed really late. Like 10:30.

And Sunday morning he was up at an ungodly hour. 6:00 am. This kid sleeps til 9:30 on the reg, and decides after a day of no napping and staying up late to wake up at 6am!? Sigh, kid, sigh.

Mimi and I took him to Café O’Play for an hour or so before calling it quits! Kids had fun but was nutso! So we grabbed lunch from Planet Sub and headed home.

PS. I’m not certain how I feel about Ari’s most-recent obsession with Monsters Inc. and Monsters University. So he just does this “Roar!” face all of the time. Sigh. It’s cute; but not when he’s meeting new people. KID you do NOT greet people with a roar! Ugh!

We totally bailed on a family party (sorry fam!) so that our teeny family could rest. We were all exhausted and Mimi wanted to get home to Poppy before it was too late. Honestly, we needed it. We slept and slept and slept! It was perfection. The night ended with a clean house and happy hearts.

The perfect ending to a perfect weekend. 🙂

better late than never // our weekend wrap up

April 29, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

Friday //

My BFF from high school, Carli, moved down to Akron over a year ago. As mucha s we SAY we’re going to get together now that we’re living down the street from each other, we just haven’t been able to as much as we’d like. ‘Cause life happens, y’all. But Friday night we had a date! We planned on hitting up The Office Bistro for a glass of wine and dinner, but the hostess was incredibly rude so we just left. (Note: this is not my typical experience at this restaurant; but her attitude completely justifies us leaving without a second glance).

I told Carli that I had had great experiences with Craft Beer Bar, right next door. Sure there was beer (hey, Bodhi!); but there was also an incredible spread of food.

I will say, Shawn and Dustin did not disappoint! Dustin was insistent that we try some of their new menu items and pretty much force-fed us. Ha! The potato pancakes (in the upper left hand corner) are not yet on the menu, so we were lucky to get a “sneak peak.” And they were delicious! As soon as we were completely full, thanks to the Bacon Queso (upper right), Poutine (lower right), and the Mac and Cheese (lower left), Dustin came out with yet another surprise — an orange creamsicle ice cream sandwich. I honestly don’t know the menu name for this dessert yet because I was in a serious food coma by the time it came out.

While we were out I got a call from my husband that he had a work emergency, so I quickly rolled home — ha! — so that he could run out to Cleveland for a night of work. Unfortunately, he was out ALL night and didn’t get home until 6am. I swear if we didn’t have events scheduled for Saturday, my poor husband wouldn’t have gotten out of bed. And I don’t blame him one bit.

Saturday //

We had a bit of a lazy morning. Between Chad working all night and Moosh sleeping in bed with me, we were all kind of exhausted. We did manage to make it to Crafty Mart, a local artisan and maker show located in downtown Akron, in time for Chad to go to a kombucha-making workshop with the Bearded Buch!

We’ve been fans of the Bearded Buch for a while now; and Chad has been itching to make his own Kombucha at home; so a workshop with the ‘buch guru himself?! Hecks yes!

While Chad was in his workshop, Moosh and I walked around Crafty Mart where the first stop was the Akron Art Museum! The art museum is one of my favorite places in Akron, so the fact that they open their doors for these local vendors to showcase their craft just is that much more awesome.

But it was definitely one of the most popular Crafty Mart locations. And my dearest, dearest, Crafty Mart — as a patron, the one piece of advice I would give you is that as this event grows (which it has!), please locate this event in one single location! 🙂

But one of Mooshie’s fave places is the Akron Art Museum. He ADORES this place. We bought a few things and headed over to Musica, a local music venue. Musica. Oh dear Musica. You are a beautiful location. I would love to see a show at this venue. Scratch that. My early 20-something-year-old self would love to go to a Taking Back Sunday show at your venue. Cause this gal finds herself in PJs by 6pm these days, let’s be real.

I didn’t get any pictures at Musica because it was way too crowded. Way too many vendors in such a tiny space. I think this does the vendors a disservice because people, such as myself, aren’t lingering nearly as long because they are getting quite claustrophobic. After one purchase, we popped out into the alley for some air.

Post-Musica, we ended up at Summit Artspace. It’s a little “off-the-beaten-path,” that’s for sure. It’s a spot I’d heard of in passing, but I didn’t really KNOW what it was.

Apparently this spot is one of Akron’s best kept art secrets. I’ve likely heard of it in passing, but I had no idea that it was a space where local artists have their own little ‘shops’ inside to showcase their art. It’s fantastic to have this, but sad that I had no idea it existed up until this point.

But back to the art and the vendors… I was majorly impressed with the fact that this space was a bit more open. Plus, they borrowed an idea from the way the Cleveland Flea is set up and had vendors on one floor and food and drinks on another (just like the last holiday flea). A HUGE thank you to Nuevo (remember that amazing mod mex restaurant we went to for our anniversary??) for providing tacos á la carte (along with amazeballs guacamole and homemade chips!), Thirsty Dog for the beer, and Stray Dog Cart for the ‘dogs and the (free for kids!) cannolis!

This is exactly what we needed to ‘rest’ until we were ready to do more shopping. I hope next time there are even more food/beverages available.

After Chad was done with his Kombucha workshop I took a terrarium workshop with Land Of Plenty. It turned out beautifully and wasn’t nearly as difficult as I imagined it would be!

Sunday //

I was supposed to go to an event in the early afternoon, but after such a busy busy Saturday and severe lack of sleep, I decided to stay at home with my boys and get things done instead. It was just what we needed. <3 Sometimes you’ve just gotta listen to your body/family. 🙂

It was a wonderful weekend, but unfortunately our week has begun with a sick Moosh, hence the not getting this post up until mid-week! Sigh. Blog fail; parenting win.

The next weekend is just around the corner…

weekend wrap up //

April 14, 2015 by Rachel 2 Comments

Friday //

After a long day at work and a long day at the sitter for Moosh, we wound up at our favorite local indoor play place, Café O’Play, to try and burn off whatever energy he had left.

He had fun, but that quickly turned into a meltdown. So we headed home thinking the dude was just exhausted. And he was. So we put him to bed and Chad and I settled into bed to watch Going Clear on HBO. If you haven’t seen this documentary, go right now and watch it. Totally messed up!

Well Moosh never fell asleep. Like, he really wouldn’t. Three-plus hours of him talking in his crib. Finally at 11 PM, still wide awake and screaming “MOMMY!” from his crib, I ended up bringing that booger into bed with us. He finally fell asleep; we didn’t. That always makes for a fun night.

Saturday //

We slept in for as long as we could. But we had places to be! A couple of months ago I registered us for a visit and tour at the NASA Glenn Research Center. Moosh was ornery, considering he was running on a few hours of sleep. But he was a champ. He sat through a 35-minute “safety” discussion (which was mostly a discussion and powerpoint presentation on the history of aviation).

When we visited the Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory — also known as the “Dome of Silence;” where they test noise-reduction methods for aviation. Chad was intrigued, Moosh was bored. Luckily the giant dome was sound resistant so everytime he yelled “MY CHOCOLATE MILK!,” which is his go-to crazy-pants, I’m-so-tired, phrase, very few people were interrupted from the tour.

It was definitely a really cool facility. But nearing the two-hour mark really put Moosh at his limit. We planned on grabbing a real sit-down lunch afterward, but we decided to just hit up Earth Fare. We needed to grocery shop anyway so we grabbed lunch first to calm the beast (aka – Moosh), and then did all of our shopping!

I seriously LOVE family grocery shopping. I love that time we spend time together planning meals and planning for our week. By the time we came home, we were well past a time to actually get Moosh to nap; so we all just relaxed for most of the afternoon. But I had a massage scheduled for 8PM. At first I thought “WHY in the WORLD did I schedule this for a time that is way beyond PJs-o’clock?!” but it really was exactly what I needed.

Sunday //

We slept in, thanks in large part for forgetting to bring the baby monitor to our room! Ha! Woopsie! It was a beautiful morning so we headed out to the Towpath Trail to get in a run/family walk! I ran for a few miles and caught back up with Chad and Moosh in the stroller. And I’d like to say that I made the most of the beautiful day, but in truth I cleaned the whole house and napped in bed for about 2 hours while Chad watched baseball. Perfection!

While Chad and Ari went back outside to play, I finished up the dinner that Chad started — taco salad bowls with Chad’s homemade cilantro slaw and avocado! Delicious!

You would think after a long weekend, short on sleep, Ari would be ready for bed at an early hour. But nope! He wanted to take a late-night trip with me to Target for a few odds and ends. Anyone out there deal with a 2-to-3 year sleep regression?? I’ve read a little about it, but I cannot figure out if that’s what this is!

It really was another fabulous weekend. And I couldn’t be happier. <3

life with a toddler // upgrading to a big boy room!

April 12, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

When we were prepping for Ari’s arrival some 3 years ago, we decided to turn our upstairs spare bedroom — the room right across the hall from us — into his nursery.

We painted, we prepped, we crafted, and we put all of the furniture together. Well, the best laid plans, friends. Cause we used the nursery for all of about 2 months (and those weren’t even the first months of his life) before we decided that his room really should be in the downstairs bedroom. It mostly had to do with it being a room with more airflow — cooler in the summer and easier to keep warm in the winter.

All of the decor and effort I put into his nursery? Well it’s all still in that room. Nothing other than furniture was moved down to his new room. And none of the things I crafted match the new room at all. Not even in the slightest.

So I’ve been slowly but surely making his new(ish) room his own. Ari is actually still sleeping in his crib (cause he hasn’t figured out he can climb out yet!), so the day he realizes he can get out of his crib is the day we officially ‘transition’ his baby room to a big boy room!

I’ve slowly been creating a more toddler themed room. And although I’ve jumped back and forth between Ari’s two favorite themes — choo choo trains and pirates — we’ve decided to stick to what he loves most: trains and transportation! Ha! Well, specifically trains. But this kid loves all forms of transportation. Seriously.

And what better time to make a change to his bedding than when we’re transitioning him to a big boy toddler bed??!! I know I won’t be able to avoid Thomas 100%, but having some train-neutral sheets and blankets would be awesome!

For me the one thing that really makes a room special are all of the little things, those special touches, that bring a room together. First up, I looked at some personalized gifts from Minted.com! Their line of art prints, many of which are customizable, are adorable.

What better way to go with the train & transportation theme than a personalized door sign!

It’s going to be difficult to pick just one or two as a central piece of art for his new room! In addition to the personalized art, Minted.com has adorable home decor prints. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t start planning other projects for around the house just so I can incorporate more art!

Adding other “pieces” in to round out the theme will be fun. I’m hoping to be able to locate some old street signs from one of the unique little shops we have around here!

The key to doing all of this is doing with an element of “surprise” for Ari. I just need ONE weekend away (hint, hint, Mimi and Poppy!) and I’m certain I’ll be able to get it all done!

Thank you to Minted.com for sponsoring todays post.

the art of juggling // TFAWM an update of sorts

April 9, 2015 by Rachel 1 Comment

Guys. Let’s just cut to the chase: It sucks. Working and being the mom of a toddler sucks the big one. It’s exhausting. And I constantly feel pulled in a thousand different directions. And it is the fault of no one. It just is the life of a mom. Because moms put that kind of pressure on themselves completely on their own. I try to do it all well; but something always suffers. The thing I’ve learned in the last couple of years? The thing that suffers will NOT be my family.

Still, there are people — WOMEN MOSTLY — who say “When you’re at work, 100% focus on work; when you’re at home, 100% focus on home.” Newsflash: It isn’t that easy. For one, being a mom isn’t something you can ‘shut off.’ There’s always a parent-related to-do list that’s ongoing (ie. “Target trip: Pick up diapers after work; Must leave at exactly 5PM to make sure I pick him up from the sitter on time.”). My mind is always juggling these things. And we’re pretty much always on call for an emergency. Sure, when you’re at home with your kids, those things happen. But imagine getting that dreaded call or text from the sitter while you’re in the middle of something important at work… your mind instantly wanders because HOLY CRAP MY KID HAS AN EGG ALLERGY AND NEEDS TO BE RUSHED TO THE HOSPITAL. (Yes, this actually happened).

And when I pick him up from the sitter my thought process is as follows: “OK, I need to get him exhausted. I’ll take him to the play place for an hour. Then home to eat a super quick dinner. And then maybe a bath? Wait, who am I kidding. We won’t have time for that. It’s straight to bed. Then I have to clean, do laundry and the dishes. Maybe I’ll get to sit down for an hour before bed? Probably not.”

Really the juggling consists of dropping the ball — A LOT. I just pick up the balls and start juggling again. You kind of just have to roll with the punches and imperfections that come along with doing it all.

And for every mom who I hear say “Well I did it with TWO kids.” or “So-and-so is doing it without a problem,” I. Don’t. CARE. They are not me. And I am not them. We are all different. The one thing that binds all of us is motherhood. And that is what should unite us. Whether you are a working mom, a SAHM, a WAHM, a part-time working mom, whatever — we are all juggling.

Some have found their niche. For some that means juggling a mega career. For others that means spending all day everyday at home with little ones. And there is no judgment in which of those paths you choose to take and make your own.

Wherever each of us is on the spectrum, we’re all just doing the best that we can with our personal circumstances. For me? I thought I wanted to be a working mom. Now? Now it’s becoming clear that this path I chose may not be the best for me. Or for our family. Especially if we ever want to expand it further.

And that’s OK. I’m evolving. Perhaps I’m not evolving to everyone standards…. but I don’t need to. I’m evolving based on mine and my families needs. And I’m tired of feeling sorry about it; I’m tired of feeling guilt about not wanting my career to be my main goal; and I’m tired of explaining and/or defending myself. So I’m no longer going to. That’s all.

Sidenote: I recognize that I’m completely lucky to have a partner who is completely supportive. This mommy thing would be a lot harder on my own. But from all of the two-parent mamas I’ve spoken with, the consensus seems to be that moms take the day-to-day child-rearing burden — but fret not dads — we choose that on our own!! And if you tried to steal those things (like making doctors appointments, scheduling swim lessons, etc), we simply WOULD NOT LET YOU. No offense. Moms are just weird like this. 🙂

Additional sidenote: I don’t have ANY idea where this post is/was headed; but I just needed to put it out there. So here you go, universe. Until next time.

weekend wrap up // Easter edition

April 7, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

After last weekend and this past week, we really needed a truly happy and fun weekend. So when Friday arrived we jumped into our weekend with both feet! Ari was hanging with his friend Kayden all day on Friday and when I went to pick him up, I hung out for a while with K’s mom just catching up and chatting. It was SO nice and exactly what I needed to start off the weekend.

By the time Ari and I got home, he was exhausted (life is rough for a toddler); but my little trooper stayed awake until Mimi and Poppy showed up from Kentucky! We visited for a little bit before all heading off to sleep.

Saturday //

We woke up and snuggled with Moosh on the couch before getting started on our busy, busy, day! THIS is exactly what I adore about now having Saturdays off — early morning snuggle sessions! It may have been short-lived but that’s OK. It was great while it lasted.

Aaaand then we were off….

Mimi and Poppy were in town for a wedding; so we were lucky enough to spend an hour or so with some distant relatives that I haven’t seen in a few years. It was a nice visit and Moosh did really well while the adults chatted. He was shy and cute, of course. And then warmed up to everyone and started showing them his trains.

Then the real fun began — we went to meet the Easter Bunny and “hunt” for eggs at the park!

I thought this dude was going to be terrified of the Easter Bunny, but he wasn’t. He was smitten. He had this cheesy grin on his face the whole time. So proud of my little guy for being so brave and just walking up to the bunny!

I would be lying if I didn’t say I was a bit overwhelmed by the whole egg hunt experience. The youngest section was for 3-4 year olds; so we joined these kids who were like a whole foot taller than Moosh to race for eggs.

Everyone gathered in a huge circle on a soccer field and when they said “GO!” kids just went nuts going for the eggs.

Usually Moosh is too timid to race other kids for things, but with a little help from Chad, he successfully snagged about 8 or 9 eggs and a handful of candy (which was MORE than enough!).

After our egg hunt fun, we went back home to squeeze in a suuuuuper short nap (think like 20 minutes) before we headed to Ewan’s 2nd birthday party. My dear friend Gretchen had Ewan just six months after Ari was born; and they’ve been buds ever since!

We laughed, chatted, played, and had a blast celebrating with Ewan and the gang. When we left it was already after 6pm and our normal 2 1/2 hour napper had napped exactly 20 minutes. We were playing with fire when we decided to stop by Earth Fare to pick up some crab legs and other groceries for dinner.

Luckily Moosh was still in a ‘buzzed’ state of deliriousness. I decided to baby-wear him so that he didn’t go nutso in the store… which made for a lot of fun for both of us! Chad was busy shopping and Moosh and I were busy snapping selfies in the produce section! Ha!

By the time we made it home Ari was more than ready for bed. He fought it though. No, we are not blessed with one of those kids who will sleep in the car or just fall asleep on the floor from pure exhaustion. That is not our kid at all. Buuuut we do have a kid who will sleep a solid 12+ hours in his own bed at night. So no complaints.

Once he was in bed we settled in for a ‘date night,’ which consisted of fresh steamed crag legs and a movie. I am completely spoiled by having a husband that loves to cook amazing meals. And this did not disappoint!

Sunday //

I was so excited for Easter. There’s so much less pressure than at Christmas; but still lots of fun involved! I hid eggs filled with M&Ms and pennies throughout the house. However, I did not anticipate that my child would open up the first egg, notice the M&Ms and stop to eat ALL OF THEM before moving on to find more… Sigh. Mom fail.

Sure, he was excited about his Easter basket; but he was most excited about the candy. Until recently he hadn’t had any candy. Now? Now he knows what it is and we are in trouble!

Mimi and Poppy didn’t help. They brought even more candy over with their basket for him. We were lucky to get him to eat anything other than smarties and M&Ms that day. Ha!

After an earlier-than-usual nap (for all of us), Moosh and Chad went to play in the park while this mama cleaned the whole house (I LOVE cleaning when no one is around!!)… before we messed it all up again! Ha!

And then we did something that we never do together — we cooked dinner TOGETHER! We weren’t rushed or hurried, like during the week. And we used our first Blue Apron meal plan to cook up a fantastic Beef Stir Fry!

It should be noted that Chad does not need recipes; I, on the other hand, do NOT feel comfortable in the kitchen. So having this pre-planned/pre-measured mel was awesome for me! Bonus? It was delicious! And the two-person meal plan had generous portions — PLUS we had leftovers to eat for the next night! Even our picky-“I-only-want-candy”-toddler liked it. Hooray for a successful meal!

Honestly, this weekend was the best weekend we have had in a long time. We didn’t do anything extraordinary, but it was filled with family, friends, and lots and lots of love. My heart feels so happy and so full. I’m so lucky to be surrounded with these amazing people — Chad, Ari, my parents, family and our friends.

And I cannot wait to see what this weekend has in store! <3