Summer Bucket List 2018 and First Wedding of the Year!

Last week on the podcast, Caroline and I discussed "summer bucket lists"- why we make them, and a few things on our list for this year. My two main reasons for making a bucket list are:

1. So I will actually do fun stuff

2. So I will not ask the question every day, "what should we do today?" 

I am not the type of person who has to cross everything off, it's more like a list of things that would be fun to do and hopefully I'll get to ask many as possible.

So here it is!

Summer Bucket List 2018

Go to a Red Sox Game

Read "Make Way for Ducklings," then go see the ducklings and ride the swan boats

Davis Farmland

Strawberry Picking

Enjoy a CSA- already signed up!

Swim- in the ocean, in Walden Pond, in a lake

Go to a concert- not sure if this will be an outdoor concert with kids, or a nighttime one

Stay at a hotel

Run before the kids wake up

Visit Barnstable Brewing Company

Read a book that takes place at the beach

Visit Titcomb Books on 6A

Roast marshmallows with Max

Visit a splash park

Go on an all-outdoor date

Eat at Riverview Cafe in Sandwich (visit Jam Kitchen, fish hatchery or Heritage Gardens at the same time)

Walk out to the beach at Brewster Natural History Museum

Ice Cube Painting Outside
See an author speak

I'll also try to avoid an epic August breakdown, but that's probably not likely since I usually have one after just a few months off!

Technically it's a few more days until Memorial Day but this past weekend felt summer-esque, beginning with a fun day trip on Thursday to see my friends Alli and Chris and their super cute baby Aaron.

We met up in Newburyport, which is a super cute North Shore town. I've spent some time in Newburyport on Plum Island but I didn't even realize I don't think I had ever been to the downtown area. I will definitely be back with Eric and both kids!

Friday was my cousin's wedding. They had a BEAUTIFUL night, and gorgeous sunset. It was also fun to see the whole family and do some dancing. But I am definitely old because after a few beers and staying up waayyy past my bedtime on Saturday I was feeling blah, ha ha. Luckily kids make you move anyway, so we went over to Eric's parents to pick up the boys and go out to a hibachi restaurant. The food was just okay but the entertainment for both boys was definitely worth it, ha ha.

Sunday was spent playing with our new water table and having neighborhood friends over for dinner. All in all a good weekend.

I'm in a good workout grove right now, so I'd like to keep that up this week. I also have to keep up my reading because I have several books from the library right now. I noticed I haven't been reading to the boys as much because we've been outside a lot (they always get books at bedtime so it's not that it's none, just less). I'm going to try to fit in a couple of extra books a day with Jack- it only takes about 1 minute to read him a book, so it's still doable even with a lot of outside time. I also want to plan a few fun things to do on the upcoming long weekend- it looks like we are going to get a lot of rain so I don't want to sit around and sulk, ha ha.

How was your weekend? 

Happy Mother's Day 2018

Sunday was Mother's Day :) We had a good day and I was reminded, as I often am, how much happier Sundays are when they are busy and filled with plans instead of another day of getting things done and worrying about the week ahead. Yes, I still have the Sunday blues even though I "stay home" these days. In the morning we visited Eric's mom and his Nana. His Nana cracks me up- when we came in she's like "its not my birthday for another month! Oh yea, Mother's Day!" She's almost 93 and she really loves birthdays! (Maybe others more than her own)

In the afternoon we had lunch-dinner with my family and then went over to my parents after lunch for some photos and hanging out. Caroline got a lot of good ones!

This is my new favorite picture of me and Max. I can't believe that soon he will be too big for me to pick up! I actually really love his age now- though I've been known to say that a lot about different ages with him, so hopefully even more fun is yet to come!

I showed you guys on Friday the cards we (and I really mean WE) made for Eric's grandmothers. I also did little books (I think they were $15 each) for Eric's mom and my mom from Max and Jack. The books are from Pinhole Press and have space for 10 photos. Then, inside there are lots of prompts. Max is at a perfect age for this activity because a lot of his answers are funny, or just will be fun to look back on in a few years. I think this is something I'll probably do for the next few years- and soon Jack will be able to answer himself, this year I just made up his answers ;)

This week ends with my cousins wedding on Friday, but in the meantime I have a lot of little "to dos." I want to continue my 4 weekly workouts (two walk/runs and two lifting sessions) and this week I need to read A LOT. I'm finally into my book and I have about 4 that came to my Kindle from the library, so I need to prioritize reading for a few weeks. I'm also hoping to finalize my summer bucket list and post about it as well. If you missed it, Caroline and I discussed bucket lists on our podcast last week.

What have you got on the agenda this week?

Small Moments, Week of May 11th

Thanks to everyone who told me my photos weren't working in the last couple of posts. It's because I was trying to take the easy way and cut and paste from Google Photos. Sadly, that was showing up for me but no one else. Hopefully they are working now that I'm downloading them first. Let me know if that's not the case! 

It was a pretty good week- BEAUTIFUL weather. I was able to get in my workouts. I have not yet completed my summer bucket list but I'm hoping that will be done by the end of the weekend. For some weird reason I felt like I was playing catch up all this week, but maybe that's just the state of mind I'm destined to live in right now ha ha. 

A few fun small moments this week: 

*After dinner on Thursday nights, Eric's mom likes to take the boys to a ramp and stairs they love to play on. They delight in running up and down it and sometimes when Eric and his brother join, being thrown up and down as well. 

*When I was a kid my Dad traveled a lot for work and he always used to send us postcards from wherever he was. I loved to collect those postcards and credit them (and my Dad in general) for getting me interested in geography and traveling. This Spring my parents have been traveling a lot and now Max is getting the postcards from my Dad. He loves to get mail and hear what they say, and we decided it would be fun to put them up on his wall.

*Our Wednesday adventure this week was the Stoneham Zoo. Both boys enjoyed looking at the animals. Anytime we couldn't see an animal, Max would declare, "that's because it's camouflaged mommy!" Thank you Usborne Secrets of Animal Camouflage Book ;) 

*Multiple trips to the park this week- once to our neighborhood park with friends and also to another local park with friends. It was the perfect weather for playing outside and both boys are at good ages for independent (ish- in Jack's case) play at the park. It's hard to imagine back in the fall when we were visiting parks that Jack couldn't walk yet so it was hard for him to do really anything without me. They have also been loving our swing set in the backyard, which has been so nice to have for shorter outside play times or just meeting up with the neighbors in the after school hours. 

*Mother's Day is on Sunday and I always try to do a card from the boys to their great-grandmothers (Eric's grandmothers), usually I aim to be very low key since they are happy with anything but this year I stupidly decided to consult Pinterest. In my kindergarten class I have firm rules that the kids have to do more work than me when it comes to art projects and this was definitely not the case here. Both boys enjoyed painting with Duplos, but after that I had to do all the printing, cutting, gluing etc. Oh well, at least they turned out cute!

We didn't something small for the grandmothers too, but I'll share that after Mother's Day. We usually see them on Mother's Day so I don't always do something but I found something too cute to pass up this year. Especially because Max is becoming old enough that the things he says are funny :)

How was your week? Any happy moments to share? 

Weekend and Week Ahead, May 7 2018

The weather is PERFECTION right now. It doesn't happen often so I have to document it.

If you were on the edge of your seat wondering how work went last week- the answer is good. The logistics were a little crazy, as I find is the case for any "working parents" (or maybe that's just me). But, it was a lot of fun to do something different with my day and get to see all my work friends. It gave me a pretty accurate picture of what the adjustment is going to look like in September, and I'd say it's going to be big but I will get used to it... probably by October ha ha. 

Also, I had that lovely feeling by the weekend that I was excited for it to come and really deserved to relax, which was a nice feeling! We had a great weekend. Friday, we celebrated my sister in law becoming a citizen :) Saturday, a quick walk/run in the morning, a party at Max's school, some relaxing during nap time and then a trip into Boston to ride the merry go round and eat in the North End at Pellinos. We stumbled upon this restaurant last time we were there and they were SO nice in there. Plus the food is good. 

Sunday, we mostly just got house stuff done and then we got to go on a date at Gustazos, a Cuban restaurant. I have no idea if it's authentic Cuban food, but if it is- I need to go to Cuba because it is SO good. 

Last week my goals were to do 3 workouts (I did 4, woo), read more (check- I read the book The Dry by Jane Harper, perfect for reminding me to read because it's hard to put down) and to eat less chips (I did eat less chips but I ate more desserts so...)

Early last week I also listened to the audiobook I Know How She Does It by Laura Vanderkam. She talks a lot about planning for the things you want to do first, making sure those things happen and then filling in the chores etc during the extra time left, instead of the other way around. I did that last week and I hope to continue that going forward. Also being interested in a book helps me be on Facebook less, which is important. 

This week I'm aiming for 4 workouts (2 strength, 2 walks or walk/runs), continue reading a lot and make a list of things I want to do this spring/summer and also a shorter list of activities to do with the boys on Wednesdays when I have them both home but no regular activities scheduled. I'll share those lists later this week. I'd also love if Jack would sleep a little better this week but I suppose I can't control that...

What do you have on tap for this week? Are you having beautiful weather where you are? 

Small Moments, Week of May 4th

It was a lovely and balanced week. Three days spent mostly with the boys. Two days at work meeting next year's kindergarten kids. Some really cute ones! Hopefully they will help me get back into the grove in a few months. Not the best week of sleep, but we are focusing on the positive here ;)

A few lovely moments I want to remember from this week:

*watching Max grab Jack's hand to go down the double slide together at the park

*the boys riding the seesaw together at the park near Caroline's house


*Max: I drew a picture of all of us at school. You were really grumpy.
Me: Why was I grumpy?
Max: Because Jack and Dada and I were upside down

*discovering that going for ice cream would be a lot more fun and less messy if I just get both boys a chocolate shake ha ha


*the number of times that Max said he "miss-ed" Jack on Thursday night while Jack was having a sleepover



*getting to see all my work friends Thursday and Friday, and basically hang out with them all day Thursday and Friday- hanging out with fun adults is really the best

*seeing old students smiling faces in the hallways

*spending time with family to celebrate my sister in law becoming a citizen! (see also: 4th of July pics done, ha ha)




What were some of your best moments of the week?

On My Mind, May 2018

^Another birthday party this weekend!

My mind feels really busy these days. It seems like every minute of every day (and sometimes night) someone needs me, mostly Max and Jack, of course. When there is a quiet minute, I'm either too drained to enjoy it or I need to bust out one million logistics. People tell me when I go back to work I'll naturally have less time to worry about the logistics. I wish I could worry about them less now, to be honest.


^Jack wants to be just like his big brother.

This weekend was good. I did some consignment sale shopping with my friend on Saturday. It was a bit crazy (think: lining up for 30 minutes before, practically running in and then waiting at least an hour in line to check out) but I did better than usual in what I left with, so that's good. Saturday night we had an impromptu neighbor date- ordered some food, ate in the driveway while we watched the kids play. Add this to the list of reasons I like having open space on my schedule. Sunday I organized kids clothes (why is this a NEVER ENDING job?!) and then we had another birthday party (see photo above).

This past week I tried to focus on:

Getting in my work outs. I aimed for 2 longer walks, 1 upper body and 1 lower body lift. I completed all 4. I even ran a bit during one of my walks. I'd like to build up to running 2 miles or so for the summer months so I can squeeze in a quick work out before the kids wake up (maybe). 

Less than 30 minutes per day of Facebook. Not quite, but I was under 40 minutes. I hate to say I still think this is big progress. Sad, really. 

Less chips. I had far less. No zero but far less. I call this a win. Trader Joes Sweet Potato chips- seriously, don't buy them. PSA to help your clothes fit this summer. 

This week I have to work two days. Hi, it's my first time working for more than 2 hours since November 2016. CRAZY. It will be good though. I'm looking forward to seeing my friends and seeing if teaching is like riding a bike? I think it is. But I have no way of knowing because before this the longest break I ever took was 12 week maternity leave with Max. Anyway, I'm going to make my goals realistic next week because the two days I'm working are the 2 days I usually accomplish the most because I only have Jack home. 

This week I'll aim for 3 solid work outs: upper body, lower body, and 1 longer walk/run. I'll continue to eat less chips. I'm not going to set any particular Facebook goal but I am going to aim to read more, which usually cuts down on my Facebook time by default. I need a good, can't put it down book. I just finished An American Marriage which was good, but didn't fully suck me in. I started a new book that was a Kindle First deal- and I think I'm going to stop reading it because I really need something that reallllly pulls me in so I get off my dang phone. I do have an audio book going- I Know How She Does It by Laura Vanderkam. Really, really good so far.

Hope everyone has a good week! What's on your mind these days?


^Max reading to his stuffed animals (Snuggles and big Snuggles). Brothers often are not a good influence on each other, but in this case Jack's recent interest in stuffed animals has rubbed off on his big brother.