Last year I shot myself in the foot trying to make meals from scratch for dinners before after school activities and I tried to control all food aspects and seriously make sure everything was low-sugar and all whole foods.
I realized I just stressed myself out way too much so...this year my mantra has basically become "fuck this shit, just let it go."
However, I also have a husband that doesn't do some things unless I ask him. For example, last night there were dishes in the sink, the wagon needed to be dragged inside, the laundry needed to be swapped, the dog needed to go out, and the kids needed to get their shit together to go to bed. He did the least amount of everything to get to the end of the night. I hate being a nag about shit, but if something needs to be done, I'm going to have to be up his freaking ass about it so that I'm not stressed out. I feel like I need some emojis to explain myself but frankly, I'm a stay-at-home-mom and I do 90% of everything around here. Bimmer Man just mowed the lawn for the first time THIS YEAR last weekend. I can't do everything AND keep my shit together. For the most part, none of this bothers me, but there's times where I think to myself, "OH MY GOD. HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE???" And that's when I realize I'm too stressed to really do anything at all and I need to be more vocal about what needs to be done and that the crumbs on the floor are driving me batshit crazy.
So this year I'm going to eat out more, make more processed food, and basically go back to being lazy so that I'm not so stressed out.
Eh, fuck it. We only live once and I'd rather enjoy my time on earth. For now. But I'm sure I'll get sick of processed food in a month and then I'll be back to home cooking everything. I'm throwing in the towel. Make it easy.
9.18.2019
9.10.2019
9.06.2019
Fun Friday Finds...Whistle & Flute
Oh, man. I wish I would have known about Whistle & Flute long ago! Their clothes are so awesome. And before The Monkey had opinions I totally would have dressed her in any of these (ok, maybe not all but definitely lots!).
And unfortunately the shirt that I want to buy Baby Chewie is all sold out in his size!
And unfortunately the shirt that I want to buy Baby Chewie is all sold out in his size!
We've had a few Twin Six shirts in this house (headquarters are here in the Twin Cities, actually in St Louis Park!) and I'm always looking for more bike stuff to add to both kids' dressers. Girl bike themed clothes are always a little more difficult to find too.
I also noticed that I'm not always a huge fan of the mall brands - it seems like all the kids have Target, H & M, Gap, Old Navy, etc... and I like to get my kids stuff that not only fits their personality but also comes from European and small shops. Once kids start having opinions then it makes it so hard to buy clothes.
I happened across Whistle & Flute items in a resale group on Facebook and thought I'd check it out. Here's a few goodies that I thought I'd share! There's even adult items too which is fantastic because sometimes there's days where I do want to wear a taco shirt.
Enjoy shopping for your little ones or for the little ones you know. Or yourself!! Happy Friday!
9.05.2019
Black Booties
I want these.
These are the black Cleo boots from Toms.
Oh, man. They are so darn cute! And stylish! And they look like they'd get me to and from school really well. And comfy. Do you think they're comfy? I'm old now and have old feet so I can't do stylish and not comfortable. I HAVE TO HAVE COMFORTABLE. I feel like you get to a certain age and suddenly you're consumed with finding shoes good for high arches, and super comfy for walking kids to and from school. I'm going to order these in hope that I have enough time to break them in before we go to Amsterdam so I can be somewhat in fashion (however, I will absolutely bring my flannel plaid shirts because those are also comfy and I have no idea what the weather will be).
Signing off to find a coupon code...
Good Grief
It's been over a MONTH since I've posted. WTF is wrong with me?>?>?>?
Meh, not much. We went to Colorado. The MOnkey started 2nd grade (and yet this is her second day home sick with a cold. Insert eye roll here). Baby Chewie starts Preschool next Tuesday.
Oh, and we get a puppy on Sunday.
Meet Phil! He's coming home on SUNDAY. That's two days away! Isn't he ADORABLE??? We haven't made it Facebook official yet (because does it count if it's not on Facebook still? Or now is Instagram the place to make things official? I'm not sure) because he's getting neutered on Saturday and that's his last vet visit. He's also doing a puppy kissing booth tonight. He's adorbs.
I renegged my deal - to a certain extent. I don't have too much time to myself (surprise!) but I think we can squeeze in a puppy right now - it's going to be difficult to find a puppy training and obedience class because Bimmer Man still works crazy hours. Basically he's gone from 7am - 6:30/7:30pm. Yep. That's 12 hours. On the regular. When you're with someone that works a ridiculous amount of hours you have to realize that they're just not going to help or do anything until they're home. And even then they might not want to but they have to because that's how households run. So he's going to have to wake up and let the dog out. And then he's going to have to let the dog out before bed.
The kids are going to feed the dog. I decided not to feed raw. I absolutely cannot do this alone and if we feed raw it would be on me to do everything. I'd rather have dog food delivered. Or buy it at Costco. And the kids can take turns feeding the dog. Baby Chewie gets the morning, The Monkey gets the evening.
The Monkey even said she would pick up poop.I'm not sure how long that will last but my plan is to hire a poop scooping business when I don't have time to do it weekly or daily or whatever. I'm at the point where I need to make life easier because I hate when it's so chaotic. I get frustrated easily, irritated, and I have to learn how to delegate tasks better. Something I've learned as I've aged.
Ok, friends. I will update more when I can. EEP!!! I'm so excited!
Meh, not much. We went to Colorado. The MOnkey started 2nd grade (and yet this is her second day home sick with a cold. Insert eye roll here). Baby Chewie starts Preschool next Tuesday.
Oh, and we get a puppy on Sunday.
Meet Phil! He's coming home on SUNDAY. That's two days away! Isn't he ADORABLE??? We haven't made it Facebook official yet (because does it count if it's not on Facebook still? Or now is Instagram the place to make things official? I'm not sure) because he's getting neutered on Saturday and that's his last vet visit. He's also doing a puppy kissing booth tonight. He's adorbs.
I renegged my deal - to a certain extent. I don't have too much time to myself (surprise!) but I think we can squeeze in a puppy right now - it's going to be difficult to find a puppy training and obedience class because Bimmer Man still works crazy hours. Basically he's gone from 7am - 6:30/7:30pm. Yep. That's 12 hours. On the regular. When you're with someone that works a ridiculous amount of hours you have to realize that they're just not going to help or do anything until they're home. And even then they might not want to but they have to because that's how households run. So he's going to have to wake up and let the dog out. And then he's going to have to let the dog out before bed.
The kids are going to feed the dog. I decided not to feed raw. I absolutely cannot do this alone and if we feed raw it would be on me to do everything. I'd rather have dog food delivered. Or buy it at Costco. And the kids can take turns feeding the dog. Baby Chewie gets the morning, The Monkey gets the evening.
The Monkey even said she would pick up poop.I'm not sure how long that will last but my plan is to hire a poop scooping business when I don't have time to do it weekly or daily or whatever. I'm at the point where I need to make life easier because I hate when it's so chaotic. I get frustrated easily, irritated, and I have to learn how to delegate tasks better. Something I've learned as I've aged.
Ok, friends. I will update more when I can. EEP!!! I'm so excited!
7.24.2019
Lavender Bee Balm
It's my favorite! My fuschia bee balm is starting to die out - it's spread so much that I don't have a large patch of it anymore. It's dispersed itself throughout my boulevard and I don't think it looks as nice as if it were in a large patch. I think I'm going to dig up the little plants that haven't bloomed yet and put them all into a patch in our boulevard that needs to be filled in (and cross my fingers it doesn't die and comes back next year!).
Last night The Monkey had mountain biking camp at Lake Marion in Lakeville, which is about 45 minutes from us in traffic (30 without traffic!). The trails curve around soccer fields and then go back into a small woodsy area that's next to a lake (Lake Marion). I had Baby Chewie with me on the Mac Ride so I was a little slower with an added 30 pounds which gives me a chance to look at all the flowers without slowing down the whole family when we all ride together. I really am THAT person that stops to look at flowers and foliage. HA! In any case, there's a small prairie area and within all the grasses there's lavender bee balm mixed throughout - there's not patches of it, instead it's dispersed through the whole prairie area and the little pops of lavender during sunset are absolutely beautiful! I didn't think to take pictures last night because I was too busy riding and I haven't been on a trail in awhile because of the heavy rains. I will stop to take a photo next week as long as it hasn't rained and the trails aren't closed.
7.22.2019
Hibiscus!
With Captain America in the background! HA!
This is my first year attempting to grow a Hibiscus and it's been great - I bought two and one has not exactly thrived, but when Baby Chewie picked it out, it looked a little limp and sad with some dead edges on leaves. I didn't have high hopes for it - but it's come back strong and there's lots of buds on it. I think it'll be even more awesome by the end of August when the temperatures are even more tropical than now.
Now I'm curious to see what happens over winter - I think I can bring them inside so maybe I'll do that and see if I can keep them alive. I've over wintered my mint plant for 3 years now and it's looking super lush and beautiful. I've also over wintered sage and oregano - all the herbs have come back more lush than the year before. I'll give it a try!
6.24.2019
Packing for Mountain Bike Trip
Hello, difficult. I'm a semi-organized person. Packing for a family trip when it comes to bicycles is a bit crazy. This year there's more gear, more stuff, more food, and more people. Because we're going with another family that has 3 children (one baby included). We're bringing food so that means 3 other kids that we need to satisfy when it comes to breakfast/lunch/dinner.
Oy. I'm going to need a padded room after this. Or maybe a pool day.
And bug spray. We're going to need lots and lots of bug spray!
After this trip I know that we can do anything together as a family.
Planning for biking with children can be a huge chore - you have no idea how they're going to react if you go for a long ride. Meltdowns are infinitely worse because somehow someone forgot a beloved toy in the car that they wanted to hold on to (but as a parent you don't want that thing to be lost forever!!). You can run out of snacks, wipes, diapers, water, etc... So basically, whenever you go somewhere with children, you need to be prepared for an apocalypse.
We're staying in a house. Thank goodness. It has a yard for kids to run around in. We're going to bring outdoor toys (like a soccer ball!). I suppose I should dig out some type of lawn game for the adults too.
Our family is bringing 5 bikes - 3 mountain bikes, a youth fat tire, and the Strider for Baby Chewie. We need to get Chewie on a pedal bike but I'm not sure that's going to happen before this weekend. He isn't exactly interested in the pedal bike right now without training wheels, he's much like me where he doesn't want to do something unless he CAN do it. The other family is bringing bikes too.
Everyone needs mountain bike clothes. Water bottles. Camelbaks. Helmets. The Monkey is going to need some padded bike shorts (welcome to the club, child). She has a jersey.
This summer is going to be so much fun!!
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