Moments in time...

We had a spectacular weekend.  Grandma & Grandpa P came to visit.  Mr. M was still on vacation.  J was on a high from getting lots of daddy & son time. 

Mr. M kept J home on Thursday, then picked him up at noon on Friday.  He had pretty much picked J up early all week.  J was in his glory.

The unusualness of having Matt home on Saturday, left Sunday to feel like a found day.  Could also be the result of my coming off a 6 day work week.  Either way, it.was.awesome. 

We did some sorting & reorganizing of J's clothes.  Realized his underwear was nearing its last bit of material to fit comfortably, giving mommy a perfect excuse to hit Target.  I then was able to share the laugh with the family over the amount of money I spent on underwear, none of which was for me.  In reality, not all of it was underwear, but it made for good commentary.  :)

We are starting to transition J over to shorter nap time, in favor of earlier bed time to help him come fall.  I'm still in shock over there not being nap time in Junior Kindergarten.  Excited for all the time it opens up on Saturday for us to do things, instead of planning around nap time.  Sad for the *must have* early bed time to make this work.  I'm starting to move J to be in bed for book by 8pm now, with the goal of 7:30 asleep by fall as it gets dark earlier.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Here's to a great start of the week! 

Tubing

Since this was J's first tubing excursion, we decided he needed an adult.  Of course, J was not going without his favorite older cousin Cam's.  So the three of us piled into the tube, and off we went with Grandpa having a blast pulling us.

Mallory was quite happy to stay on the boat with Daddy, which gave J the feeling of being a *big* boy.

He even felt bigger when, after we stopped for a swim in the lake, J & Cam's got to ride together in the tube without an adult.  :)

Happy Days... Happy kiddos!!!

Family Fun!

I'm knee deep in quarter close, but since J cannot stop asking when he gets to see his cousin's again, I thought I'd stop to share these quick with more to come when I get a chance to breathe...

On Friday, Miss Cheryl kindly brought J to my office.  This save me an hour & half on my trip to Michigan Friday night.  Granted, I lost 45 mins of that savings in a traffic jam just West of Battle Creek.  Regardless, J LOVED, LOVED, LOVED coming to my office.  He loved my candy (sugar free of course) dish. 

J was so excited to see his artwork hung on my wall.

And he may have pocketed a piece or two of the Dove SF chocolates.  I love that he will eat these treats as the real thing, and not suffer the sugar crashes.

J was so excited on Friday, because he got to see his cousins!

Love Family Time. 

Love these moments & treasure them during this super busy time at work...

Artwork for My Office

J came home from school one day last week, so sad.  He'd made me a present, but had forgotten it at school.  I explained he should not worry, and it would be totally fine.

When I picked him up the next day, it was safely tucked away in his backpack, but he proudly announced I could open it on my next birthday.

Seeing as I just had my birthday, I explained that was a long time away & couldn't mommy open just this one gift early?

J thought and thought about it, finally relenting. 

I kept the card (heart) from the font, as it made me so proud.  He must have really worked to write all those letters at once. 

He is working so hard on learning words lately, I've actually started letting him text from my phone to family.  He pretty much says the same thing over and over again, but I know the repetition of having me spell those words for him, having him sound them out, over and over again will cause him one day to say "I know Mommy, you don't have to help me anymore".

It will be bittersweet...

Happy 4th of July!!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful & safe 4th of July.

Enjoy family time.
Enjoy laughter.
Enjoy fun.

And please take a moment to pray for those who are struggling in the aftermath of storms, fires, and most meaningfully - for the men & women who fight daily for our continued freedoms and safety.  Pray for those Soldiers and our local Police and Fire Fighters as they deal with the aftermath of their service.

Hugs & love to all!

Doing the Tourist Thing - NAVY PIER

Between my work schedule, commitments to visit family & friends now that it is summer, and Mr. M's work schedule, we have not seen a lot of each other lately. 

Like most couples, we realized we needed to spend some time on just us - away from the house to ensure quality time... I'm not sure about you, but I find if I am home, I cannot just have quality time because I am always thinking about what needs to be done.

• at the pool, I'm looking at our deck in need of washing & another coat of stain
• Payton is in major shedding mode right now.  I think I could sweep 10x's a day and there still be hair wherever she walked.  Sigh
• Laundry, the never ending gift
• Packing for next weekend's quick visit to see family
• Grocery shopping
• etc...

The list never ends and for the most part, are not one and done type items.  So my brain never just turns them off. 

But this past Sunday, we turned them off and went to Navy Pier.  We all got up early, arriving just before they opened the rides.  Since it was another 80 before 8 day, it was good to not have to wait in the long lines that were forming as we decided to tour the strip and grab lunch at Riva. 

J on the Lighthouse ride.

 Merry-go-round...

By 1pm, we were fed and tired.  J was asleep before we even got on the expressway and slept all the way home, then due to the rain storm we had, slept another 2 hours in bed.

We had a wonderful family dinner time and all crashed out early.  What a great way to start the week!

Summer Fun...

Someone is having a blast this summer with his confidence in the pool...

He would seriously live in the pool if we'd let him.  <3

J is now swimming to the bottom on his own.  He spends hours throwing things just so he can go get them.  His smile of pride and joy is priceless.