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| Fresh Air & Hot Coffee>>> |
While it feels as though my last post was written days ago, somehow the calendar is showing we’ve hit April. Almost 3 months have gone by since my two-in-one month blog revival happened. Every day over the last few weeks “blog post” has been on the to-do list. However, life has been “life-ing” and the days just seem to pass me by. What better way to force myself to slow down and reflect on my end of winter happenings than with a little recap post? As my last entry was written in mid-January, I’ll rewind the clock a bit and start there! After some encouragement from Sam and my therapist (it’s 2024, mental health matters, don’t make it weird), the last weekend of January brought with it a weekend away; wait for it… just for me! I booked the coziest little airbnb a few towns away from home and had a weekend all to myself. I binge-watched some shows, finished a book, shopped around a bit, enjoyed hot coffee and fresh air, and had two nights in which I didn’t have to nurse a babe overnight or have a toddler alarm clock in the morning. In the last 3 years, there’s only been one night in which I’ve been away from both of my babies. I also struggle to “treat myself” as it is, so to book a whole weekend away was a big deal for me. It was restful and refreshing and I pushed all the mom-guilt aside to really just enjoy the time of rest. Oh, and fellow mamas, my therapist told me to tell you to try to do this for yourselves even just for one night, once a year. And no, Sam wasn’t babysitting, he was solo-parenting our children. I’m sadly aware this isn’t the norm in our society and I am grateful for the equal partner he is in raising our children. I am also hopeful that with time, this will be more normalized and encouraged for the support and well-being of family units as a whole.
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| Birthday/Anniversary Date <3 |
February brought with it our first 6th wedding anniversary. Yeah, I know, it’s weird but we eloped and then had a wedding six months later, so we technically have a wedding anniversary every six months. To be honest, we aren’t the type to do anything over the top to celebrate any occasion, but we are big on making family memories. We spent the morning in church and then took advantage of a beautiful afternoon in which many were preparing for Super Bowl parties (we’re not sports people) to take a family bike ride on a nearby trail. Benji brought his Jeep and was thrilled to drive along as we biked. We ended the night playing Ticket to Ride after the kids went to bed and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend the day.
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| Matchy Matchy |
A few days later the kids were delighted to get new matching pink hoodies for Valentine’s Day and even got some valentines in the mail. Three seems to be the age in which Benji is really interested and engaged in celebrations and traditions which has been so fun (another post on family traditions to follow). The day after, Sam’s parents flew in for his birthday and spent a long weekend with us. Even though they live in Florida, we’re spoiled with getting to see them every few months. We had a low-key weekend which included a trip to a new indoor play space for the kids, more games for us grown-ups (Ticket to Ride and Catan are the family favorites), and an afternoon lunch date for Sam and I.  |
| National Aquarium! |
Once March hit, we were really ready for winter to be done and spring to be here, yet it still seemed a little out of reach. A planned zoo trip when my cousin was home on spring break turned into an indoor adventure at the last minute when the late winter weather hit us again. Instead of the zoo, the kids and I drove down to Baltimore to visit the National Aquarium with my aunt and cousins. We had a great visit and spent hours following Benji and Ruth’s lead, taking in the world through toddler eyes. The moving walkways taking us up each level were Benji’s favorite thing of the day, but the jellyfish and tree frogs were close behind. A Chik-Fil-A car picnic before our drive home really sealed the deal on it being a memorable day for a toddler. Living within hours of a number of relatives has allowed for plenty of fun memories to be made, especially as the children grow and become more engaged in activities.
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| Cousin Snuggles <3 |
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| Easter Church Service |
Unfortunately, March also brought with it some ick as we weathered our first family stomach bug. Don’t worry though, Sam was home from Alaska for a whopping three hours before I was taken out. With how sick I was, I don’t know how I would have parented two toddlers had I gotten sick before he got back home. God’s timing on Sam's return was so good as he stepped right in and took over all parenting until I was well enough to step back in.. just in time for him to get hit with it. Thankfully, Benji and Ruth had very minimal sickness and showed us a whole lot of grace and patience as we both needed half a week to get back to functioning at full capacity.
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| Easter Crew 2024 |
Luckily, we were all back to good health in time for the weekend of Easter so we could celebrate with family. On Saturday, we dyed eggs for the first time, much to Benji's amazement. Then, my dad and step-mom came out for a visit and brought with them a fun Easter egg hunt for the kids. After finding the eggs one time, Benji asked them to hide the eggs again and again and again. He had just as much joy finding them on the 15th round as he did on the first. Sunday allowed us to start the day in church, praising God for the gift of Christ’s death and resurrection. The kids also got to open some spring themed Easter baskets much to their delight. We then spent the afternoon surrounded by family at my aunt and uncle’s house in Maryland as we gathered for Easter dinner. With living in different states, illnesses, coordinating shared holidays with in-laws, and fluctuating work schedules, it can be tricky to get family together. Even when we can coordinate, there’s usually someone still missing (this year my step-dad and younger cousin were missed!). This was the first time since a family wedding last June that my mom had all four of her children together in one space! Something about that fact just makes the time together feel so much more of a treasure to me.
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| First water table day of spring! |