holidays

give thanks + be grateful //

November 27, 2014 by Rachel Leave a Comment

It’s easy to forget how much we have that we take for granted. We joke and say “first world problems,” but it’s totally, absolutely, 100% true (most of the time). This Thanksgiving Day is nothing like I planned on it being (I know, I know… I’m vague-blogging. Sorry.). We planned on travelling and spending the day surrounded by extended family; but due to other circumstances, we decided to stay home.

As much as I love keeping busy, I also need these couple of days to decompress and just BE. To be home, to have no plans, and to just be grateful for everything that I DO have. So I hope during the hustle and bustle of the start of this holiday season, you take a few moments to just be present with your life. You don’t have to necessarily be grateful (cause let’s face it — we all have s*** going on, right?) for everything; but truly feel the moment that you’re in.

OK, OK. I’ll get off my yoga mat now. 😉

weekend wrap up // Holiday Flea 2014

November 26, 2014 by Rachel Leave a Comment

This past week has been one of the most challenging weeks of my life (for reasons I’d prefer to not get in to). But this weekend something magical happened. I SURVIVED. Okay. So that may seem dramatic; but it’s true.

Friday Moosh and I had a playdate; but before we made it to our playdate we had errands to run and running to, well, run. So off to the gym we went! I better get used to that indoor track, because I have a LOT of miles to put in for training on that track.

Our playdate was fantastic. Moosh got to catch up with an “old friend,” while I caught up with her mommy, Emily! (We were in Bradley Method classes together and she happens to live just down the street). The rest of the day was spent in survival mode.

And playing with trains. Obviously. Because that’s what having a toddler boy entails. Oh, and putting your cereal/snack in the trains and “driving” them all over the house. Real life, folks.

Saturday was business as usual. Which literally means business. Playing for Moosh. And more survival mode for me.

But Sunday was an entirely different story. Even though Moosh went to bed SUPER late Saturday night, he still ended up waking up at 6 AM Sunday (totally unlike him) screaming “MOMMY!!” at the top of his lungs. Totally, totally bizarre. So I brought him into bed with me for some extra snuggle (and hopefully sleep?) time. Which was totally cute. He lied down on my pillow and made me snuggle him close; he grabbed my face so it was against his; and it melted my heart.

… until he decided to leap off of the bed. Seriously. We have co-slept before and NEVER has he fallen off the bed. He was OK, just a bit shaken up. He told me he was scared (how freaking adorable).

So yeah. I ended up missing my group run(s). But it was worth it because it meant snuggle time with Moosh. And any day without an alarm is a good day. Even if that means being awoken by a screaming toddler.

Post-snuggling/falling off the bed, Moosh and I headed to the Cleveland Flea Holiday Market. I know I’ve talked about #TheFlea before, but this is NOT your moms flea market. No, no, no. It’s serious hipster business. And Moosh fits in like a boss. I’m fairly certain he was the only 2 year old in a baby-carrier (cause he still fits) wearing a fox hat.

(Clockwise from upper left:
Me + Moosh before entering the flea [camera angle = looks like I have no hair];
ReTread Akron booth;
Bottle House Brewery pour station;
wreath made of pages from books)

Moosh-wearing was fine by me because: 1.) It means serious snuggle time with him; 2.) It means I don’t have to chase him around a crowded market.

(Clockwise from upper left:
Moosh picking out his favorite hand-knit scarf;
the cutest vintage Christmas PJs;
calendars + notebooks from Letterpress Jess;
Paper Cutz booth;
CLE Bunting; Brewnuts;
vintage ornaments [of which Moosh thought he had to have all of];
and the agrarian collective booth.) (Clockwise from upper left:
DJ Genna P at the entrance of the Flea;
vintage Christmas knick knacks;
pastel trees;
Masons Creamery + Philomena Bake Shop;
1960s creepy faced ornaments;
the agrarian collective mistletoe;
book page cards + Christmas tree;
felt flower bouquets)It was the perfect afternoon of fun. We walked away with full bellies, full hearts, lots of hugs with vendor friends, and a few Christmas presents! Success!

When we (finally) made it home, Moosh went down for a nap-ish… That really means he talked to his toys in his crib. Ha. I happened to sneak in an unexpected run. I wasn’t going to go for a run, but decided at the last minute. It must have been perfect timing because as soon as I started I, quite literally, RAN into my friend Emily (THE Emily of Friday’s play date)! I so needed to run into her because she motivated me on a rather lackluster afternoon. I finished out her run with her and kept on going. Exactly what I needed at exactly the right time!

weekend wrap up // 4th of July edition !

July 15, 2014 by Rachel Leave a Comment

I swear we are still recovering from our Fourth of July weekend. I know, I know… it was over a week ago. But we packed a LOT into a little bit of time.

Thursday night, after work, Moosh & I went on a mini-date… just the two of us! We went to the Akron Art Museum’s Downtown at Dusk. Downtown at Dusk features live music and entertainment every Thursday evening in the summer. Bonus? The museum & exhibits are free on Thursdays, too! So Moosh & I walked around the exhibits (we do this on the regular, actually), then sat at a table inside and watched the band play (a table was the only place I could keep him semi-contained).

[baby-wearing selfie in front of a giant exhibit]

[snacking on a Q-cookie (which is the shape of the exhibit in the selfie above)]

On Friday the 4th, this mama woke up early prepping for a day of fun. ….But Moosh slept in (of course). We had to wake him to get him ready for his first parade! I’ve been meaning to make it to a parade. I feel like it’s a parents’ duty to take their kid to see scary clowns and big trucks driving down a closed street. And it WAS fun. But the waiting for it to start? That was a little less fun.

[thankful Annie’s Organics makes these handy gluten-free snacks in handy to-go bags!]

He was anxious. Super anxious. And running around like you would expect from a toddler with tons of energy.

And thankfully when he saw the big trucks and fire engines honking and their sirens blaring, he was entranced. And we got to take a ‘family photo’ (which these days really means sneaking a family selfie).

We were lucky enough to get him to go down for a short nap before my sister-in-law and her family came over. They were in visiting from Denver and it was Ari’s first time meeting his cousins! Such an exciting day for us!

They played and swam and we all went to the Rib White & Blue Festival in Akron for some eats! Ari was entranced by his older cousins! 🙂

Saturday Moosh & daddy had some downtime while Mama went to work. But by Sunday we were back at it again! My sister-in-law and I actually grew up together and graduated high school together. So we have the same BFF’s from high school (we are SO lucky!). All of us girls got together with the signifcant others & kiddos for a fun cookout and playdate.

Ari got himself drenched pretty early on from the water table. I had just grabbed his swimsuit when he got soaked… and at that point we thought – screw it! – he’s staying in his diaper! Ha! (Parents of the year!)

[he loves corn. and cars. and his cousin!]

[Moosh + Grandpa Mike]The gals were all able to get together for a few pictures before we started to all go our separate ways.

It was a completely wonderful weekend. And this picture of Moosh on the way home really sums up how we’ve all been feeling since. Exhausted from too much fun! 🙂

Valentine’s Day Puppy Chow //

February 14, 2014 by Rachel 8 Comments

Last year I was all “Yay Valentine’s Day!” and this year I’m all “Yay – but OMG – I don’t have any TIME to make crafty cards!”

So this morning I thought I’d share my go-to easy (and YUMMY!) Valentine’s Day Strawberries + Cream Puppy Chow recipe. It’s EASY! So quit looking at Pinterest for the cutest and most clever things you can do. Stick with easy. Real moms only have time for easy, anyways. 😉

You’re welcome. 😉

[gmc_recipe 5824]

Disclaimer: By no means is this a “clean” recipe. However — it’s not for YOU to eat… it’s for you to giveaway for other people to enjoy (if you’re concerned)! Ha!

the forgotten weekend //

December 30, 2013 by Rachel Leave a Comment

No, this past weekend was not our forgotten weekend. Our forgotten weekend happened just two short weeks ago. And somehow I managed not to write about it!

Those two short weeks ago, Mimi + Papi (my mom & dad), came up to visit from Kentucky. We spent that Saturday running to and from practically everywhere. It was our last day of Ari’s Autumn Wee Tumblers class at the Y. And Mimi asked to go in with him, so this mama was able to watch from up top! They both loved every single second of it!

After Wee Tumblers, I stopped by our favorite teeny consignment shop, Lil’ Frog Fashions. I had been trying to find a pair of bib overall snow pants for Ari for a while. And if I thought finding snow boots was tough, finding snow pants in his size was even more difficult! I refused to pay $75 for a coat/pants from Carters. Well I stopped by Lil Frog and found a pair of snow pants for like $4…. in size 3-6 months. And they fit. My 14 month old! Ha! Craziness but kind of awesome.

The rest of our day was spent making Chad’s awesome Guacamole and heading over to my familys big Christmas party! We ate, we laughed, we caught up… and there was even a visit from the big guy himself!

Last year when Ari met Santa at only 2 months old, he screamed. Then again, that may not have had anything to do with Santa, and more to do with the colicky baby we had on our hands.

But this year, he was intrigued, to say the least! The jingle bells rang, the big guy came walking in, and Ari just… stared in awe!

It was adorable! He watched as Santa took presents for each kid out of his bag and called their name.
It’s too bad silly santa couldn’t pronounce Ari’s name…
But we figured it out.

He sat on Santa’s lap, we snapped a few pictures,
Ari held on to his candy cane, and soaked it all up.
Santa didn’t ask him what he wanted, but Santa knew he wanted a wagon.

Then Santa gave him an early Christmas gift — an old school Fisher Price rotary dial phone!
He liked it, but not as much as that darn candy cane! 🙂

About half of the kids were excited to see Santa. The rest? Terrified. They were like “Give me my present,” and then left.

We didn’t get home until after 11, and Ari had been awake since 5:15, so it was a LONG night for him! I didn’t want to fight to put him down, because I was already exhausted myself. So I decided to just bring him into bed with me. I figured that he’s been waking up around 3am anyways. What would’ve been the point of putting him in bed for a couple of hours so that we could be awake for most of the night??

And he slept in our bed until 8:30am. AMAZE-BALLS! I can’t believe I forgot about this weekend. Or at least forgot to write about it. It was incredible. Family, food, and fun. Everything great weekends are made of!

christmas wrap up //

December 27, 2013 by Rachel 2 Comments

Exhausted. That should be the end of this blog post.

I’m half joking. But only half.

Our Christmas festivities started at the Christmas Eve celebration with Chad’s family. Ari was a champ. He seemed hesitant for half a second before I set him down. Aaaaand then he was off! He tore through the house like he owned the place, ate lots of food, and giggled up a storm. It was adorable, if I do say so myself! 🙂

We spent our evening, surrounded by family, laughing, sipping wine and eating delicious snacks! Ari tore apart his presents, which was incredibly awesome. I had spent weeks saying “No, Ari. Don’t touch!” about the gifts under our tree, so I was worried when I finally gave him the go-ahead that he would be like, “uhhh??” But that wasn’t the case. Tore.Them. UP!

We didn’t end up getting home until 12:30am Christmas morning. And we hadn’t even put together 2 of Ari’s Little Tikes gifts. (if you follow me on Instagram then you can see how our first attempt at putting together a wagon went… or as we now refer to it, the sled with wheels…).

So off to bed Ari went, and up ’til 2am we were! Ha! Lucky for us, this go around with Little Tikes went surprisingly better — and faster! And Ari slept until just before 9 that morning. — Yet another Christmas miracle.

He was a bit overwhelmed by the scene in our living room — in fact, we all were. It was a mess of toys and boxes. He was quite hesitant but finally started playing with his kitchen set, but quickly got distracted by real food (kid loves to eat). We had to take a nap before starting to open presents again.

Sidenote: I checked our camera yesterday and found that every single picture we took with our DSLR was corrupt. Not sure what’s wrong with it (probably our SD card), but I’m completely sad that I didn’t get any good pictures — all we have are phone pictures! Oh well – just another reminder that it really is about the moments; not about the pictures as proof.

This is as much of the wagon that we could get together.
We have a replacement coming, but Ari didn’t seem to mind.
This is literally ALL that would fit.

By the time he woke up from his nap Auntie Shauna & Uncle Jimmy (my sister & future BIL) were here to see him! We opened more gifts and we stopped moving slowly with Ari’s gifts. Ha. Short-lived. Instead Shauna & I just started tearing through the gifts for him. It worked out much better that way. 🙂 And then we finally got to exchange gifts amongst each other! Here are my awesome gifts from my sister & BIL:

All local Columbus products, from top to bottom: Stinky Bomb Soap Ohio shaped soap; The Candle Lab, Hops Scented Soy Candle; and Columbus Barrel Co coaster/candle holder! She knows me so well. 😉

And here are a few of the gifts from my awesome husband! He knows me equally as well! 🙂

Yep, that is the (not-so-secret) nerd in me! The Walking Dead board game + Star Trek Blu Ray. And of course, a new pair of Mizuno Wave Riders!

As fun as exchanging gifts was, it felt good to be done and to settle in to some serious family time. #BabyAri played with his new toys until he couldn’t take it anymore (ok, let’s face it — until mom & dad couldn’t face it anymore!).

I’m happy that my awesome husband took the next two days off to recuperate. 🙂 Which made it easier for me to go back to work (and do practically nothing because no one else was working). And now this weekend, mama recuperates 😉