Farewell Summer

Here we are, start of the school year.  Today our 4.5 year old starts Pre-K.  She's attending the same school she went to last year, just an extra day and a little longer.  Mama wasn't ready to send her off every day quite yet.

She is so full of promise, hope, innocence and love.  She has little fear when it comes to climbing rocks, trees, and other high places.  (She gets that from her Daddy!)

The sky is the limit my sweet girl, and I cannot wait to see you grow, blossom and flourish this year.

This one still gets mama time 24/7, although we have joined the Y and he loves the play area.  He's not quite as adventurous as big sis, but he's getting there.  He's still little.

I am pretty sure he'll miss her a little more than she'll miss him, for a few reasons.  One, she's all he's ever known.  She had 2 years on this earth without a buddy, and he has had her since day one.  Two, she'll be off and learning new things and he'll (sort of) be doing the same daily routine, now adding in the gym time.

Sure they bicker, but the love on one another even more.  Hug Time.

Pre-K Ice cream social....yes, our daughter is the one with a scarf tied around her back.  She is not Brooke when she is wearing it, please call her Meadow.

Cheesy grin.  "Where Brookie go?" was heard quite a bit this night.

August felt a lot like September...lots of pants and fleeces.  We still got outside as much as possible, unless it was storming.

My little buddies helping out as we work. (Again, look at the jackets! Craziness)

They like to pretend they're sleeping in the most random spots.  This is what happens when you turn off TVs and don't let them play on the iPad, phones or computers much.  C-R-E-A-T-I-V-T-Y #balance

His goofy personality is really starting to shine through.

She has begged me to let her drive the tiny carts for a very long time.  They keep them by the checkout area, so this time she remembered to ask as soon as we pulled in and my type A personality took a backseat and I let them be little.

They actually did quite well! I didn't need much, so I didn't grab a large cart, so we filled up theirs.  They made sure to evenly split everything so they both had the same amounts in their carts.

We squeezed in one more family fun day, and hit up Sea Breeze.

The airplane that goes, "up and down and round and round."

Daddy pulled out all the stops from pizza to Dip and Dots and even some fried dough.

I think it's safe to say they had a ball.

I had to distract him so Joe & Brooke could go on the bumper cars (he's not quite tall enough yet) so slushies it was.

I see a future man in these photos and it's crazy.  I just love him at this age!

Summer 2017 was a mix of lots of work and play.   I've mentioned before how I'll always miss the baby stages, but these ages 2-4 are priceless.  Not quite big enough to do everything, but big enough to do and understand most! 

As always the Summer slipped by in a blink of an eye and there will always be more on my bucket list.  It was a cooler and rainy Summer than most, and it makes me think that this Winter will be one for the books.  

Fall is around the corner and back to school is here, another season fleeting by.  My hope is to continue to stop and enjoy these small moments and breathe in all of their goodness.  

Simple Style

Cheers to the weekend!

I'd be lying if I said that I didn't miss this little old blog.  I have a few unpublished posts sitting here in my design section and even though it's a little late to the party, I figured better late than never.

Today has been glorious.  I have been just relaxing (gasp!) and enjoying the day.  Brooke went to the fantasy football draft with Joe, and Bradley hung out with me.  He was pretty cranky and went down for a super early nap, which in turn allowed me to shower and take a little snooze myself!

Now he's still sleeping--whoa--so I figured I'd see how much I could pull together with my blog.

One of our many date nights this past summer included one where we met up with our friends to talk real estate over dinner.  Joe and I stopped for a drink at our favorite place, The Revelry.

I rocked a simple arm party (Stella & Dot of course!) and this stunning cream Waverly clutch from our Covet collection.

Cava was my drink of choice.

One of my favorite necklaces is this gorgeous Terney layered piece.  You can wear it all together or take it apart and wear pieces individually.  I adored it over a red caftan dress from Express.

My favorite eye shadows are from Younique! My girl Elizabeth keeps me in style makeup wise.

I never got a full shot 'after' hair and makeup & clothes were assembled, but such is #momlife when you are scrambling to get out the door and to a destination on paid time!

I am so grateful for such amazing babysitters.  Without these caring women in our lives, I am quite certain we would be lost.

I also love that I can text photos like this to my best girlfriend and she can give me glam advice. If you need any, don't be shy, she'd love to assist you too! #girlsrule

What Matters Most

...are the little giggles I hear from up above, although it's past their bedtime.

...the way he asks to kiss us, and says 'ewwww slimy kisses"...

...how she teared up when I read to her from my pregnancy journal.

...the messy curly blonde hair hanging from the back of her Frozen bike helmet.

...the way the house feels when all four of us are home.

...the warmth of their little bodies pressed against mine.

...the way they beg to "cuddle me Mommy."

...the cheesy grins when they devour their popsicles dripping down their chins.

...the way they hold hands and help each other out, even at such a young age.

...the way they sleep so peacefully all tucked into their beds.

...the genuine feel of love from their eyes, hearts & souls.

...how she truly understands love and what it means to feel it.

...the way he yells, "Mommmmaaaayyyy!" from his crib each morning.

...their sweet singing voices of 'You are my Sunshine'

...the way she wears her scarf as a skunk tail and pretends to be 'Meadow the Stunk'

...the way he carries his Whinnie the Pooh blankey around and tells me, "I love it so much"

...the way he runs around with his arms straight back, saying I'm BATMAN, sometimes with said blankey tied around his neck as a cape.

...how she calls it the, "bashroom."

...our bedtime ritual of brushing teeth, reading books, and singing two songs.

...his morning ritual of wanting juice & a cereal bar while watching Clifford Big Red Dog.

...their obsession with Sid the Science kid.

...their excitement for the upcoming holidays.

...their memories of Lake George and Sea Breeze, talked about almost daily.

...how she wants to marry daddy and cries because mommy already did.

...their complete innocence, so pure and true.

...the proud faces of them putting on their shoes on their correct feet.

...the small practices of breathing in, and out, when we get angry, frustrated and mad.

...the look of triumph as she learns to write her name.

...the sheer look of joy as he draws circles.

...that I am here, with them, lucky enough to be their momma, walking the earth by their sides daily.

  I could not ask for more.  

I am at peace. 

I am in love.

I am loved.  

I am so blessed to be with these little souls, 

and knowing that their daddy feels the same exact way. 

Summer Lovin' {Kids Edition}

I tried not to schedule too many activities for the kids, but I did put them in a few camps in July.  One was a two day mini dance/magic camp.  She loved creating a wand to cast spells and wearing this silly mask.  She kept trying to turn Bradley into different animals.

Our babysitter cancelled one Friday so we had to break off into teams. Brooke went with Joe to go to one of the houses. Bradley accompanied me to a few appointments. 

Baby girl wasn't feeling too hot, and she wanted a nice warm drink to sip on.

She did get well enough to attend her last day at Fairy Camp--they marched in a little parade around the school in their wings, crown & with a wand.

I felt bad her wings didn't have any glitter because she missed 2 days when she was sick. :(  Brother wanted to be a part of the parade too!

We were able to sped a Sunday at Grandma's. The kids just loved feeding the chickens.

Mr. Bradley had a 3 day mini camp as well!  He was so excited to put on a little backpack and "go to school."

Brooke was an excellent big sister and told him how much fun he'd have.

He did pretty well!! The teacher said Monday he got a little teary halfway through asking for "Brookie" and that he missed her.   Wednesday was water day and he didn't want to play in the water, but he loved being outside.

Friday came and he cried when I dropped him off, but the teachers said he was totally fine 5 minutes later and had a ball playing with other kids.  He made 3 pieces of art work and still shows them off to me, as they hang on our fridge.

Brooke went to Nana & Papa's so I had the boys all to myself one evening!

We stopped for burgers and fries down in Sea Breeze.

Joe took us to this adorable little beach.

Bradley just loved throwing stones & sand.

It's nice to not have a baby eating sand at a beach, I must say! I miss the squish of a baby, but having little kids is really fun.

And of course laying in it and rolling around.

Summer is slipping away and I feel Autumn trying to sneak up on us.  We've been able to do a few more fun activities, so I'll be sharing those as well.

The Kitchen {Date Night}

Summers are for date nights, little dresses, strappy heels, beach waves & fancy cars.  

Dress: Express
Shoes: Aldo
Jewels: Stella & Dot

PS I now snap a selfie of my makeup thanks to my glam artist Elizabeth.  I basically look to her as my makeup artist and blow her phone up.  Granted we talk about everything under the sun, but as for makeup help? She is the guru.

I went for a Party Pink lip, (thanks to my girl Ann & Lipsense) my Wesley Sunnies and Gita tassels.

It was a super rainy week last week so we were extra happy to have a nice evening out.

We had dinner at The Kitchen for the chef's tasting menu.   We visited awhile back and were floored at how amazing dinner was.  {You can see my post here}  This time there was MUCH more food. 

I was stuffed!

They sat us near the door and poured some Cava for a toast.  Joe wanted to be closer to the chef so we ended up moving.  We decided to simply enjoy the foods this time and not take photos of every little thing.  I did the wine pairing again and enjoyed that except for the last wine, which was a Port. Not a fan.  Not that I had room to drink it anyway, it was beyond filling!

We don't typically go out this often, but when the weather is nice and sitters are abundant, we have been!  I seriously loved this giant mirror in the bathroom.  I need it for the next house for sure. Also? I love that my shoe game is on point, thanks to my husband finding these at Aldo for me!