Around Here

Just a little blog silence around here lately, no? Ah, Summer. You rock my world year after year. A few things going on in our world lately:

• I'm wearing a fleece on July 25th. We've had a few days of absolutely gorgeous windows open sleeping weather this week. I love it. It just makes getting up at 4am with a certain littler dude a little on the chilly side. This weekend the highs are only expected to be in the 60s. My fall loving spirit is overjoyed. Not trying to rush through the seasons, as I know fall leads to a few too many months of winter for my liking, but man is it nice to get a little taste of autumn. 
• There's a very big and very heavy pile of boxes in the corner of my living room. Yesterday Karl and I drove up to Green Bay to pick up our new hardwood floor! Said floor won't be installed until the first weekend of August, as that's the next time I'm off of work and can whisk the kiddos away on a little staycation while Karl does the install. I cannot even tell you how excited I am to say goodbye to dirty old builder grade carpet in our living space. 
• I'm experiencing a little bit of anxiety about my mom returning to Florida after spending the last few weeks with us. Life is just so much easier with an extra set of hands. I've gotten used to having help with silly things like loading and unloading the kiddos for all of our summer activities. I've enjoyed having someone to help me prep meals and try new recipes. And man has it been nice to do things like take a shower in the middle of the day without worrying that one or both boys is doing something that could land us in the ER. I'm so thankful for the time we've had with her, but I am definitely not looking forward to the difficult transition we'll have as the boys get used to having to share just one set of hands. 
• We are reminded how great our neighbors are. Last night I took the boys for "a walk around the block" that turned into a 2 hour playdate in the neighbor's yard. While the boys took turns driving a power wheels escalade into nearby trees, decks, and random other stationary objects, us moms spent time discussing the crazy work.life.parenting balance that nobody ever feels like they are successfully balancing. Is it normal to want to lock yourself in the bathroom? How come the second kids seem to grow up so much faster? Wasn't it nice when at least one of the kids was content to hang in a stroller or carrier? Why is it so hard to schedule a moms night out? 
• AJ's full of questions these days, and sometimes those questions make me wish the ground would swallow me up. Case in point: yesterday as we were leaving the locker room at the Y, AJ noticed an older woman waiting on the elevator. AJ has a slight obsession with elevators and I've been working on explaining to him the benefits of taking the stairs since we have "strong legs that work well" So OF COURSE AJ just had to approach the older woman and ask in an accusatory sort of way that 4 year olds do so well, "Why loo take the elevator? Are loo legs broken?" Awesome. Even better that he continued to question me about the elevator riding lady all the way up the echoey staircase. "How about we focus on your strong legs little boy and get a move on?" 

And on that note, both boys are awake and demanding breakfast. Happy Thursday friends! 

Ventage Tuesday: Love/Hate

This week's theme was inspired by an email chain started by Angie, who was trying to shake off a case of the Mondays. I'm a list girl by nature, so I jumped right on the chance to make another list of things I'm loving (and a few I'm hating) these days.

Love

backyard fires
farmers market flowers
instagram selfies
snarky hashtags
summer thunderstorms
watermelon
gin and ginger ale
inside jokes
months that start on Mondays
getting rid of stuff we don't need

Hate

summer frizz (every summer I consider shaving my head )
the glorification of busy (if it's important to you, you'll find the time)
4AM wake ups (I'm looking at you Littlest Homburg!)
east facing bedroom windows (see above. the child is light activated.) 
our trash and recycling schedule (two weeks of recycling does NOT fit in our bin!) 
long distance family and friends (why can't all of my people live HERE?!?)
shameless self promoters (look at me!!! look at me!!!!)
carpet (or shall I say carpet that has been used and abused by my dirty little boys)
potty training (but not as much as I hate having 2 in diapers STILL!)
going to the dentist (guess who needs to make an appointment)


For more fun love and hate lists, visit Angie, Barb, Em, and Katrina.