Summer Fun

I don't know if there's a region in the US that enjoys summer as much as the midwest. I love living in an area that has four distinct seasons...even though at times I wish winter wasn't quite so distinct. 

Now that Memorial weekend has passed and summer is upon us, I've been enjoying the 80 degree weather, pool time (kiddie pool time, that is), sandals, pedicures, shorts and just general fun in the sun. With the sun shining bright and the kids happy to be running around outside or splashing at their water table (sand box with water instead of sand), this momma is content and happy to be a Minnesotan and a stay-at-home-mom. 

And my view isn't so bad either. No, it's not a beach with endless sand and ocean in front of me, and probably not really instagram-worthy...but it makes me happy. 

www.writingwithbangles.com

www.writingwithbangles.com

And then there's this. Pure happiness, pure childhood. Love this moment.

www.writingwithbangles.com

Happy summer!

xo Sara

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E's Birthday Survey

Now this was fun. E answers her birthday survey. These are her words.

{Side note--B had "Cars" as his answer to several questions in his birthday survey and E has "Frozen." Disney is alive and well in our house.}

• Age: 4
• Favorite Color: "Purple, light purple."
• Best Friend: "Daddy." {What's up with both my kids saying that?!}
• Favorite Snack/Treat: "Cookies!"
• What do you want to be when you grow up: "A doctor!"
• Favorite Song(s): "Let me think...'For the First Time' in Frozen!"
• Favorite TV Show: "Frozen...I like Frozen more than Mickey."
• Favorite thing to do with family: "I like to read books with mommy and daddy and Brandon."
• Favorite Book: "I like Clifford books!"
• What do you like for breakfast: "Cereal."
• Most important thing learned so far: "Sing songs."
• Favorite Toy: "My princess and the castle."
• Are you afraid of anything: "I'm not afraid of nothing...I'm brave."
• Mom's favorite thing to do with you: Singing songs and playing "Go Fish" or doing puzzles.
• Dad's favorite thing to do with you: Dancing {After she heard this she walked over to him and took his hand to lead him to dance and said, "We can always dance, Prince Daddy."}
• Favorite thing for dinner: "Pizza!"
• Favorite thing to do outside: "Cook in the {play} kitchen."
• Favorite place to visit: "To the theater and see Frozen!"
• What is one thing you want for your birthday: "Cake and the birthday song!"
• How are you celebrating your birthday this year: "Sing Happy Birthday and go on rides."

E has spent her year of three keeping me on my toes. She has made me laugh, cry (remember the hole in the sock?), tear out my hair in frustration (threeanger--a 3-year-old with the disposition of a teenager) and then laugh some more.

The girl that made me a mom. And she continues to give me titles...

• While introducing me to a friend she says, "Z, this is mommy. She's a princess."

• While playing Cinderella she kept assigning me the role of mean girls or mean mommy. When I said I could be the Fairy Godmother (you know, instead of her stuffed Clifford holding that role) she lit up and said, "You can ALWAYS be my Fairy Godmother, mommy!"

• One morning while getting her dressed she said, "You're the good dresser. You dress me in my nice clothes. You dress me in pants and shirts and dresses." When I replied that yes I do and so does daddy her reply was, "No, daddy dresses me in pajamas and comfy clothes. You dress me in nice clothes." {M--you got busted.}

And my (most recent) favorite is what she added on to the end of our good-night ritual.

E: I love you.
Me: I love you more.
E: I love you most.
Me: I love you mostest.
E: No, I love you mostest!"
Me: Okay, you win.
E: Okay, you win, too.
And then she added:
E: We make a great team.

We do. Can't imagine anyone better to have initiated me into "the club."

Happy birthday sweet, sassy, specific, sensitive, smart little girl. We make the best team.

xo Sara

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Stop and Smell the Weeds...I Mean, Flowers

Dandelions are nothing more than an annoying weed in our yard.

Well, that's what I thought as of a week ago.

Now they are the most beautiful and bright flower, available almost everywhere.

E loves them and anytime we are outside (which over the weekend was a lot--thank you Spring for finally showing up in Minnesota!) she collects a bouquet and gives them either to me or her daddy.

And as I held those beautiful bouquets of wild flowers, I had a memory. From a long time ago. A memory of liking dandelions. Of thinking of them as more than just a weed. When I would pick bouquets for my mom and grandma.

Having kids is a funny thing. Sometimes they make you feel old and tired and grumpy. But other times they make you feel like a kid again.

So take a moment and maybe stop and smell some flowers. Or even weeds.

xo Sara

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Mommy Time-Out

For Mother's Day this year I've decided all I want is a time-out.

A time-out is:

• Being sent to my room.
• Reading something in more than sentence intervals before someone needs something.
• Reading something that doesn't involve talking animals, anything Disney, or Dora.
• Eating. All of my food. Without sharing.
• Not having to break up any fights or talk about sharing. 
• Watch what I want to watch on TV.
• Uninterrupted sleep.

Oh, and one other thing--something the kids make me that I don't help with.

So really it's three things: a little time to read, eat and sleep. Best of all? It's all free! Second best of all? I'll return the "gift" on Father's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there--and moms-to-be and anyone who's been "like a mom" to someone.

Don't forget to "Thank a Mom" on Sunday. 

This has been a public service announcement.

xo Sara

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Sock it to Me

Yesterday a hole in a sock made me cry.

Well, not cry like I was a sobbing mess, but I teared up. 

It really wasn't the hole in the sock that made me cry (is it ever?). It was all the things that led up to the discovery of the hole in the sock.

Last week was my son's birthday. For his birthday he got a toddler bed. So we spent Sunday reorganizing his room, taking down the crib, and setting up his new "big boy" bed.

This started me down the path of tears.

No more crib means no more babies. And no more babies is hard to imagine. Having two babies so close together made me feel like the baby stage would never be over.

But then, over the span of just a couple of hours, it was.

So, that was Sunday.

A couple of days later I was doing laundry. And I found it. The hole in my daughter's sock.

It wasn't the first hole, and won't be the last, but it hit me harder than the previous holes. It was another sign. My babies are growing up. 

I spent the first years of their lives just waiting for the next phase. Waiting for things to calm down a little, waiting for the chaos to lessen. First it was waiting for them to sleep better. Then it was waiting for them to be done with the bottle. Waiting for them be out of diapers. Waiting for them to get along and play together better (that I am still waiting for). Just waiting and always wanting the next phase, because it must be better.

Well,  another "new" phase is here. And suddenly I'm yearning for the bottle-feeding, diaper-wearing, little nuggets that I could hold whenever I wanted. 

So, today I will try to appreciate the phase we are in...the phase with two 3-year-olds.

Lord, help me.

xo Sara

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B's Birthday Survey

There are so many great ideas out there for ways to commemorate birthdays and one that's really stuck with me is a "Birthday Survey." It's a survey with 20 questions that you ask your kids every year. My plan is to compile E and B's answers over the years and put them into a book to give them when they turn 18. It'll be fun for them to see how they've changed over the years and maybe help them remember some things from their childhood better. This article (that includes printables!) from Twin Cities Moms Blog was the main influence for the questions I chose--I changed up a few, to better suit B and our family. 

Age three might be a little young to try this survey for my boy, but we gave it a whirl. It was about 1/2 his answers, 1/4 influenced by his sister, and the rest was my input. But it's ok, I do know him pretty well.

• Age: 3
• Favorite Color: Cars {Mom input: not quite understanding colors but I'm not stressing about it, remember? We'll go with "Lightning McQueen" red.}
• Best Friend: Daddy (in background, E asks, "B, isn't your best friend your sister?")
• Favorite Snack/Treat: Cookies
• What do you want to be when you grow up: {Mom answer: something that involves screaming.}
• Favorite Song(s): Beauty & the Beast Song "Belle" {Mom input: he loves the "Bonjour!" part} or Cars Song "Life is a Highway" {More Mom input: If this question had been asked between the months of October through February the answer would have been "Froppy de Snowman." He sang it all. the. time.}
• Favorite TV Show: Super Why
• Favorite thing to do with family: Run outside
• Favorite Book: Cars
• What do you like for breakfast: Cereal (once again, in the background, E pipes up: "good answer, B!")
• Most important thing learned so far: {Mom Answer: Saying Please, Thank-You, Excuse Me, & Bless You; Counting and ABC song}
• Favorite Toy: Brandon proceeds to go and pick out a baby rattle. He has never played with it.
• Are you afraid of anything: {Mom answer: Goldy Gopher terrifies him.}
• Mom's favorite thing to do with you: Cuddling and looking at pictures/books.
• Dad's favorite thing to do with you: Running outside--B chasing Daddy!
• Favorite thing for dinner: Pizza (E: "I like all foods that start with a 'p'--pizza, pasta, pancakes!")
• Favorite thing to do outside: Play with balls
• Favorite place to visit: Elena's School or Milwaukee ("B watch Cars and E watch Rapunzel in car!")
• What is one thing you want for your birthday: Cake (after E screamed, "we get caaaaaaake!")
• How are you celebrating your birthday this year: {Mom answer: MOA--dinner and fun!}

{My absolute, hands-down, favorite picture of B in the past 12 months.}

So, my baby boy, this has been a crazy year. 

You went from barely talking to talking nonstop.

You went from inhaling your food and being a constant choking hazard to still doing that but somehow becoming an incredibly picky eater. (Who doesn't like bacon???)

You went from being pretty easy-going to having very strong opinions about things (typically expressed through screams and throwing your body around on the ground).

You went from being constantly under siege by your older sister to taking her down any time you have a chance.

You went from being somewhat interested in your sister to needing to be by her at all times. You want anything she has. You want to do anything she is doing. You imitate everything she does. You love Disney princesses as much as she does. You sing "Let it Go" together and ask her to sing "The Snowman Song." You adore your sister. I hope that never changes. (We just need to work on the constant wrestling.)

But one thing that hasn't changed, you will always be my baby. Happy birthday.

{This is what I wrote last year for B's birthday.}

xo Sara

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