Bucket List Update

Bucket List {Updated}
Originally posted September 2010

Get married
Become a mama
Get my MBA
Purchase a house
Travel to New York [& see all the touristy stuff]
Take the kids to see the 7 Wonders of the US
Join a book club
Go to an NFL game
Run a 5K
Make $100k myself
Go sailing
Go to a MLB game
Start a Business
Go to Fiji, Bora Bora, and Turks & Caicos
See the Grand Canyon
Travel to Europe & Australia
See Mt. Rushmore
Have a picnic in Central Park
RV to the Yellowstone
Drive a motorcycle
Paddleboard
Swim with Dolphins
Hop on a plane spontaneously {for fun}
Drive through Vermont in the Fall
Enjoy wine country with Adam
Run a half marathon
Spend a Christmas/New Years at a cabin in Colorado
Parasail
Zip line through the jungle
Shop on Rodeo Drive
Ride at least one day of RAGBRAI
Give a stranger $100
Shoot a gun
Visit Time's Square on NYE
Travel to New Orleans for Mardi Gras
See Las Vegas at night
Go on an African Safari
Take a vacation by myself
Go to the Kentucky Derby
Swim in the Atlantic Ocean
See the Boston Marathon
Eat along the NE coast with Adam
Swim in the Pacific Ocean
Travel to/through all 50 states..
Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey| New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming

Is there anything else I need to add to this list? Something you've done that is a must?

2016 Highlights

Like everyone else, I love taking the time to make a 2016 highlights post.  For myself, if no one else.

2016, wasn't the easiest year, but it was a good year.  We're all healthy {praise be to God!}  Most of all, this year taught me to reprioritize my family.  When work gets demanding, it's easy for me to let it slowly overtake my life.  I've been blessed enough to have a hobby that's turned into a business -- a booming one at that -- but along with that, it's taken more and more time away from my family each year since I've started it.  This year, I finally pulled back from photography business to make my time for my husband and children again.  It's hard to say goodbye to the extra income, but in the end, I know I'll never regret spending the extra time wth my family.  2016 was the year I really started to feel a connection with God, too.  I started going to church because I want to, rather than feeling like I needed to.  I'm praying more and gravitating to those that have a good relationship with God.  I feel more 'centered' than ever.

If I had one goal for 2017 {though I have many} it would be to make more time for my husband.  I've been telling people for years now {honestly since we've had children -- not that I'm blaming this on them} that my poor husband gets the very worst of me.  He get's what's left after the kids, work, photography, the house and everything else.  It's sad, but unfortunately true.  We've been better about sneaking in dates here in there this year, but I want to make it more quality time.  More deep conversations.  More late night chats.  More dreaming big.  More love and less sharing of his {our} less than best side to others.

That got much deeper than I intended, so let's lighten this up a bit...

FAVORITES of 2016...
Movie | The only ones I saw were Sully, Finding Dory, Pete's Dragon, Storks, Zootopia & Bad Moms
Television | This is Us & the Chicago series {PD, Fire, Med}
Music | Chris Stapleton, Brett Eldridge, HOLY, Middle of a Memory, Record Year, House Party
Books | Bread & Wine & The Woman in Cabin 10
Podcasts | The Happy Hour w/ Jamie Ivey & Young House Living Has A Podcast

Okay, the real post...

January
We moved into our new house and took the kids to play at the Science Center, ice skate at Brenton Skating Plaza, skiing at Seven Oaks, and rock climbing at Climb Iowa.  Adam and I went to our first Drake basketball game.  I also shot stills for a video company--being on set was a first for me!

February
We celebrated watched the Super Bowl with friends, Valentine's Day, settled into our house, took the kids to the Iowa City Children's Museum with friends, and went bowling as a family.  I went to the Realish Housewives of Waukee and Jordyn took at Art Class at the Des Moines Art Center.  We also traded in our minivan for a Jeep.

March
Cullyn's room was completed, we went to SkyZone, Cullyn started Tumbling at Triad, and had built-ins installed in our living room.  Adam and I went and saw our favorite Jazz artist, Hamilton Loomis.

April
We celebrated St. Patrick's Day and Easter, had a picnic in the park, took the kids glow golfing, finished Jordyn's bedroom, went bowling for a birthday party, played with piglets at a farm, celebrated Cullyn's Birthday, went to Turks & Caicos, and cheered for Auntie Ashley as she quit her corporate job and turned her hobby into a full time business.  Jordyn had her 3rd surgery {1st Tympanoplasty}.

May
We delivered May Day goodies, celebrated Mother's Day with my mom & mother in law and Memorial Day weekend at the lake, spent an evening at Jester Park, and went fishing at the lake.  Adam and I went to a Garth Brooks concert, celebrated Cinco de Mayo, and went to a Kentucky Derby with friends. We also watched our 2nd oldest niece graduated from high school.

June
We celebrated Uncle Brad's graduation from Dental School, watched Jordyn's first dance recital at Stephen's Auditorium in Ames, took family photos in Iowa City with my family, spent a Friday morning picking strawberries and a Saturday at the Farmer's Market downtown, and Father's Day weekend at the lake.

July
Was tough, as we said goodbye to Alicia and Brad so they could start their new life in South Carolina.  We spent a quiet, rainy 4th of July at the lake with friends followed another super fun weekend at the lake the following weekend.  We had lots of picnics and a trip to visit my Grandparents and Great Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin.  I took the kids to see Finding Dory at the drive in and Summerfest.  We all danced to Adam's band at the farm. We also hit several Splash Pads and Adam and I went to Guthrie River Ruckus with friends.

August
We watched the iCubs with friends, had lazy family days painting rocks, making snacks & watching movies, and eating donuts in the park in preparation for school starting.  We went to the Iowa State Fair, the Farmer's Market downtown, and Wilson's Apple Orchard in Iowa City.  I celebrated my 30th Birthday in New York City with my mom and sisters. {I need to blog about this!}  I photographed my final wedding for the year and met my first blog friend.

September
School started back for both kids, Dance resumed for Jordyn, and we took the kids to Adventureland for their first time.  We ate at the food trucks, took final bike rides for the year, and spent an evening at the Apple Orchard.  We even stopped to splash in the puddles one afternoon and went to the Lake of the Ozarks for the weekend with friends.

October
The kids tried soccer for the first time, I planned Jordyn's fall party at school, I took the kids to the Luminarium exhibit downtown, Aliya and I took the kids to the Pumpkin Patch, we had a girls' spa night while the guys has a superhero night, Adam and I celebrated 7 years of marriage, and Jordyn turned 5!  We cheered on the Cubs all month long -- until they won the World Series and Adam and I went to an Iowa Football game with friends.  We took a family trip the TN, NC, & SC.  We had our family photos taken at the lake, took the kids trick or treating and trunk or treating for Halloween, bought the kids a trampoline for the backyard, and took at nature walk at Saylorville Lake.

November
November was supposed to be a quiet month for us, but ended up being a brutally exhausting one because Jordyn got head lice that ended up taking so much time & energy.  Work was also extremely demanding for Adam during this time.  We did celebrate a nice Thanksgiving with Adam's family.

December
All of us ended up getting the stomach flu in December, which really limited our Christmas activities, but we still managed to do 12 dates of Christmas -- Christmas tree shopping, the Snowflake Express, Breakfast with Santa, Jolly Holiday Lights, Jordyn's Dance Recital, several Christmas Parties {Adam earned another trip}, amazing Christmas' with family, and a New Year's Eve with friends.  Jordyn also had her 4th surgery {3rd set of tubes, tonsils, & adenoids} and is recovering well.

2014 recap

A New Year & A New Home!

Two months ago today, we became the owners of this house!  It isn't our dream home, but it's making our dreams come true.  We are so blessed!

New Year | 2016 Goals

Last year I had a pretty structured set of goals and I'm happy to report that with the exception not hitting not making my health goals, and not has much travel as I would have preferred, I did everything on that list!  We stayed in more, spent more time with family, I cooked more in 2015 than I did in all 29 years combined before that.

The awesome part is that most of those goals were less of the 'checking off' nature, and more in the realm of making 'better life choices'  Things I hope to continue doing despite the flip in the calendar. 

So after a great 2015, I don't have a ton of things I want to change, but rather a few big ones...

I want to become more healthy in 2016.  Now that we're settled in our house, I'm anxious for Spring so we can be outside more as a family.  Softball in the back yard, family bike rides, more swimming, etc.  Adam and I reactivated out gym membership now that we're in town again, and it's crazy how much it felt like coming back home. We all picked off just were we left off and it's feeling great!  A huge goal of mine would be to run a full marathon this year.


I want to play with my kids more in 2016.  I'll admit, working 4 10 hour days at the hospital, plus running a photography business, plus being a wife, and working out, and be a friend/sister/daughter/etc. leaves me tired and short on time more than I would like to admit.  It seems like no matter how much pre-planning as organizing I do, Monday through Thursday are tough.  After work, picking the kids up from daycare, going to the gym or taking a kid to an activity, dinner, & baths, there isn't a ton of time for playing.  So I'm going to be extra intentional with my time and leave 30 minutes before bedtime each night to actually play or talk with my kids.


I want to travel more in 2016.  We worked hard to save money to pay off Adam's car and be able to get out of our condo last year, so traveling got pushed to the back burner more than I would have preferred. We did get to Kansas City for a long weekend, and I went to Texas with my mom, but other than that, we didn't leave Iowa at all which is a total shame when I think of all the places I want to see.  With the new house, I may be dreaming, but I would love to take a long weekend and go Skiing somewhere in February.  Adam and I will be going to the Turks and Caicos in April and I'm planning to take a girls' trip to New York this August for my 30th birthday.  I'm photographing a wedding in South Carolina in October, so I'm really hoping to take Adam and the kids and make a little vacation out of it.

Other than that, I want to stick with blogging to document our life {it's so awesome to have this to look back on}, and monthly dates with each of the kids' and Adam {I found these to be so valuable, no matter how small the 'date' was}, and giving back to the community in some way each month {I did these with the intent of teaching the kids to give back, but I think it's had as much, if not more, of an impact on me.  It's incredible the feeling you get when you're able to help someone else out.  I also found I valued my life and the people/things/experiences I have it in even more after these events. It's a good reminder of perspective}.  Once we finish decorating the house, I really want to work on saving as much as possible, so that will be a big focus for us in 2016.  This will help us make the upgrades we want.  The only other 'goal' I have is to catch up on the kids' photo albums.  I obviously have plenty of photos, but I need to go through them and choose my favorites, and get them into a Shutterfly book.  I only made it to 18 months with each of them!  So my goal is set aside some time to get them completed.  It's a task I dread so much, until it's over, and then it's the biggest sigh of relief!  Totally worth it!

Oh, and one more thing.  It's not really a goal, but rather a reminder to keep working on myself.  I want to slow down and really soak up life's moments.  I want to treasure every Friday, Saturday, Sunday with my family.  More picnics, Jeep rides around the lake, catching fireflies, camping in the backyard and pushes at the park.  I'll have all kinds of time to sit and read my book when I'm 50 and missing having my kids at home.

2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 resolutions and Bucket List

Bucket List | 2015 Update

It's year end, so I thought it would be an appropriate time to update my bucket list.  This year I was able to give a stranger $100 &ride a day of RAGBRAI.  If 2016 goes as planned, I'll be turning 30 in NYC & spending some time in the Turks & Caicos.
--------------------------------------------------------
Bucket List [Updated]
Originally posted September 2010

Get married
Become a mama
Get my MBA
Purchase a house
Travel to New York [& see all the touristy stuff]
Take the kids to see the 7 Wonders of the US
Join a book club
Go to an NFL game
Run a 5K
Make $100k myself
Go sailing
Go to a MLB game
Start a Business
Go to Fiji, Bora Bora, and Turks & Caicos
Travel to Europe & Australia
See Mt. Rushmore
Have a picnic in Central Park
Drive a motorcycle
Paddleboard
Swim with Dolphins
Hop on a plane spontaneously {for fun}
Drive through Vermont in the Fall
Enjoy wine country with Adam
Run a half marathon
Spend a Christmas/New Years at a cabin in Colorado
Parasail
Zip line through the jungle
Shop on Rodeo Drive
Ride at least one day of RAGBRAI
Give a stranger $100
Shoot a gun
Visit Time's Square on NYE
Travel to New Orleans for Mardi Gras
See Las Vegas at night
Go on an African Safari
Take a vacation by myself
Go to the Kentucky Derby
Swim in the Atlantic Ocean
See the Boston Marathon
Eat along the NE coast with Adam
Swim in the Pacific Ocean
Travel to/through all 50 states..
Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey| New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming

Is there anything else I need to add to this list? Something you've done that is a must?

Afternoon chat...

Jordyn's first homework assignment.  She had to decorate a feather for the turkey & she chose to use watercolors. :)

If we were hanging out at my house catching up while the kids were playing, here's what I would be saying...

It's been unbelievably windy & rainy the past week or so.  Sticks & limbs are all over the yard.  The temperatures have dropped into the 'normal' range again and it's starting to feel a lot more like Winter than Fall.  It's certainly not helping me finish the last of my outdoor shoots for the year!  Rescheduling sessions is so hard!

Due to said weather, and sick kids, we've been staying in as much as possible.  Adam rented a few movies the other night.  My favorite was The Gift.  Very suspenseful!  I rarely find movies that keep my attention, but this one was great.  Speaking of movie rentals, he picked them up at Redbox & when I went to return them, I realized they took the Redbox location out of the hospital that I work at! Boo :( That was so convenient!  And speaking of movies…Adam has been making us homemade popcorn instead of microwavable and it is so much better!  We just heat coconut oil in a pot on the stove over medium/high heat and add popcorn seeds {& lid!} until it's done.  YUM!

Speaking of food, I won a copy of P90X from a personal trainer on Facebook and Adam has been working out & tracking his food consistently all week.  I'm so proud of him.  I have been totally unsupportive, but I'm hoping when things slow down a bit I'll be able to do the workouts with him.  Yay for healthy choices!

So my excuse for not working out right now is because of time.  I want to say I'm super busy, but in reality, I'm way less busy now than I was a month ago.  I shot my last wedding of 2015 last weekend which is bittersweet.  However, I'm sleeping a lot more than I was a month ago, too.  This time change is totally killing me this year.  I don't remember hardly being able to function after 8p last this before, so I'm blaming it on living in the country with no streetlights and huge windows darkening the entire house.  Adam offered me a glass of wine last night and I had to decline because I didn't even have the energy for that!  Clearly I'm beat! The other crappy part about the time change?  I'm unable to get decent iPhone pictures of my kids Monday through Friday because it's always dark!  Which is really affecting my Instagram game!

The thing I go to sleep and wake up thinking about is our 'new' house.  It's so fun dreaming about the kids running around outside & and what I want their bedrooms and play room to look like.  I'm stressing about the 'look' I want for the house and all the other fun stuff that goes into a new home.  It's good stress, for now at least! ;)

Speaking of stress, Adam won't be home until late tonight.  He's been working his butt off trying to wrap things up before year end.  Anyone with a husband in sales knows all about this! ;)  The anxiety is getting to me, and it isn't even my job!  Cross your fingers! ;)

What's going on in your life?

RAGBRAI | 2015

Last Friday, my two sisters and I rode RAGBRAI.  Even though this race started in the 1970's and I'm an Iowa native, this was my first time riding RAGBRAI.  Luckily, both of my sisters have rode the entire week previously, so they prepped me as much as you can.  Alicia completed the full week in 2012 {hottest RAGBRAI on record & 2nd longest route} Ashley completed the full route in 2013 and has rode a few days each year since.  

For those of you unfamiliar with RAGBRAI, it's a {pedal} bike ride across Iowa in one week.  The route changes every year this year happened to be 481.5 miles from start to finish.  Friday, the day we rode, was from Hiawatha to Coralville {65.6 miles with 2955 feet climb} 

Alicia and I had planned to ride Friday for a while {although we didn't commit until the day before} but Ashley didn't decide to ride until 5pm the afternoon before, when I went to her house to grab bike shorts and convinced her to join us {she already rode Monday - Wednesday}.  So, with no notice she dropped everything and we headed to Alicia's house {just over 2 hours away}.  We parked down the street and rode up to her Alicia's back patio to surprise her.  We ended up driving to our friend Hailey's house to spend the night since it would be closer to the start the next morning.

via Instagram

Since I hadn't trained at all {w/ the exception of pulling the kids two miles on two separate occasions!} I was pretty nervous!  We woke at 4:30 to get ready, drive to 'tent city', and start biking by 5:30a.  The first leg was 16.1 miles and went really good.  We watch the beautiful sunrise and before we knew it, we were at Whittier.  At this point, I was only concerned about my butt because OMG it HURT!  Like BAD!  I struggled getting off my bike!  Whittier was a TEENY TINY 'town' that really didn't offer much, but I did split a breakfast sandwich with my sister.  This was a quick stop and we were on our way to Springville.  Springville was just 3.3 miles up the rode and we debated about stopping at all, but this town was happening.  It really put me in the RAGBRAI mood.  Good music {& dancing - before 8a!} and lots of food.  I had a half an order of scrambled eggs with cheese here.  At this point we comment that it's almost a little chilly out, but I refuse to complain because I thought it was going to be 97* and sunny, which would be worse!  We continue 10.7 miles to Mount Vernon and stop again.  This town was hopping!  TONS of fun!  Lots of live music & food.  Ashley and I split an order of mini donuts & cheese balls.  I take a video of a band that is playing tons of songs that Adam's band plays and send it to him.  Ashley decides to call for Hailey to pick her up at the next stop.  On our we out of town we stop at OneMission and I get a cute shirt.  We rode two more miles to Lisbon, and to be honest I don't think we even stopped.  I can't remember this town, I think it was basically just connected to Mt. Vernon.  We did stop at Sutliff Cider 2.4 miles later just long enough to check our phones.  The local news had sent a text about the bad storms headed our way and our dad text giving us a heads up, too.  We knew where we were and where the storm was, so we thought we could out run it if we kept going.  So we got on our bikes and headed out even though we really wanted to stop for a drink and to enjoy the music for a bit.  There were tons of people dancing and having a great time.  Right as we left Sutliff it started raining.  It was pretty light, and didn't feel too bad.  The one difference once we left Sutliff and headed to Solon was that the hills became less 'rolling hills' {which we had experienced most of the morning} and more HILLS.  As we rounded the final corner coming into Solon, the rain let loose and the lightening started cracking.  Luckily, we were just getting ready to stop for lunch anyways.  Alicia grabbed a sandwich and sweet corn and I picked up a piece of pizza and a Mt. Dew and we waited out the storm.  Or attempted to.  About 30 minutes in, after talking to other RAGBRAI-ers, we decided to call it.  The final 20 miles were really hilly, I'm {VERY} inexperienced & there were so many bikes on the road, we just felt it wasn't worth the risk.  So, just 20 miles from the 'finish line', I waived the white flag. 

Of course, just as Ashley came to get us, it started clearing off and Alicia and I both commented that we wanted to keep going.  But since we already had Ashley come down to get us, we didn't want to make her turn around and go back to Iowa City.  At first I was, okay, I still am, pretty bummed to quit.  My only goal was to finish, and I didn't. BUT I will say that it was so much fun to experience that I will definitely be doing a day or two again.  It was cool to learn the lingo, and see riders of all ages and types, but the comradery of the entire group was the best thing of all.  I can't tell you how many times my eyes filled with tears over the sweetness of all of these people.  They're constantly looking out for their 'teammates'.  Blown tires, wrecks, hills ahead... they're right by your side helping and encouraging, whether they had been riding together for years or just a few minutes.  

Personal stats - Year 1

45 miles rode

30 mph - fastest speed

0 wrecks/blown tires from me

I learned the lingo & how to shift gears

I also learned the importance of bike shorts!!! :)

Jasper Winery | Live Music

A few weeks ago, we text some friends last minute and decided to go to Jasper Windery's Summer Concert Series to listen to the Nadas play.  It was very impromptu, but the weather was absolutely perfect.  It ended up being such an awesome night, and just what we needed after a long week!

He's always such a stinker! :)

Hotdog/hamburger dinner for all...

We were all exhausted from a long week! :)

My kids couldn't get enough of Baby Hadley!

Jordyn's Tank | Cullyn's Tank

A [Fri]day In The Life

of us!

I love doing a DITL posts because they're so fun to look back on.  Pre children my Fridays were spent cleaning the entire condo {including bedding}, running errands, & prepping for the week.  Once I had Jordyn they changed, including more kid friendly activities, now that I have to kids, we're in full 'kid mode' over here.  Of course they were different when I was on maternity leave versus working, just as summer Fridays differ from winter Fridays.  

So, here's a typical Friday for us {January 2014}.  Jordyn 39mo. | Cullyn 21mo. | Murdock 6 1/2yr. 

7a | Breakfast. While I used to get up and go to the gym {sometimes even grab groceries} before the kids get up on Fridays, I just can't do it anymore!  It started this fall when I was slammed with photo sessions and my body just needed a few more hours to rest and continued now that so freaking cold in Iowa!

Our current routine is for Jordy to hop into bed with us when she wakes.  Then when Cully gets up {about 6:45a} we bring him in and call Murdock up, and we all snuggle for about 15 minutes.  Then Adam gets up to shower & get ready for work, and I get the kids breakfast and get them together for the day.  Lately it's been homemade, frozen pancakes & a banana.  Two scoops of dogfood for Murd! :)  I also start laundry & dishes at this time.

8:30a | Preschool drop off. Yep, Adam gets himself, the kids, & the dog ready in under 45 minutes Monday through Thursday, but it takes me every second of that 90 minutes to get us out the door.  Something I never want to forget, every week when we drop Jordyn off, Cully says 'Sissy?' on repeat for the first 5 minutes.  He loves her so much!

8:45a | Gym. I love that this 90 minute preschool window isn't good for much else.  It makes me go to the gym.  I've had a serious lack of motivation lately, so this is good for me! [I forgot to take a photo!]

10:00a | Preschool pick up. One of the highlights of my Fridays!  I love having her run to me and tell me all about her morning!  She is so excited and that makes my heart explode! :)  I also love that the second we pull into the drive, Cully starts asking for 'sissy' melt my heart!

10:15a | Morning snack & Play. Since it's been so cold this past week, I've been trying to run an errand each night, before I pick the kids up from daycare so we're able to spend our Friday mornings all warm & cuddly inside.  The kids have been on a fruit kick lately, so They had banana & apple slices with peanut butter for a snack.

Technically Cully's Christmas gift, but Jordyn plays with it as much as he does. :)

One of her favorite toys from Christmas.  Photobomb::Murdock's Tail :)

Her reaction to Cullyn climbing on the table to 'pay wif her' :)  Yes, he's destructive!

Noon | Lunch & Chores. I make the kids lunch.  Usually something really fancy like grilled ham & cheese sandwich, macaroni & cheese, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, or hot dogs.  Sadly, that's about the limit on my cooking skills. :( But!  I do pair it with fruits, veggies, & yogurt since those are my kids favorites {they aren't much of main course eaters!}

Once they're eating, I flip laundry, unload & reload the dishwasher, & set their clothes out for the next week. Also, if we're going to the lake, I start packing {the kids' stuff} at this time.

1p | Naptime & Catch Up Time. I lay the kids down.  Usually Cullyn in his crib & Jordyn {& Murdock} in my bed.  Unless I still need to pack myself for the the lake, then I have J sleep in her own bed, but she really thinks it's a treat, so I usually let her sleep on mine.  It's truly the little things! :)

Once they're down {which isn't ever an issue} I flip laundry again {does it ever end?!}, make myself a sandwich, edit photos, catch up {listen} to anything I have recorded {usually Parenthood} or a book, & tackle mail/bills.  Oh, and shower if I haven't yet!  Your welcome for no photo of that!!!

2p | Cully's Up! Cullyn sleeps 60 minutes {and rarely more than that for an afternoon nap}.  Once he's up a give him a small snack & cuddle for about 30 minutes {he is my cuddler!}  Then I encourage him to play quietly in the playroom until Jordyn get's up.

3p | Jurdyn's Up! Jordyn takes longer to wind down and fall asleep, so she usually sleeps until 3.  She gets a small snack & they usually play in the living room {or family room as Jordyn calls it}

4p | Play! About this time they start asking for Daddy and getting a little antsy, so I really focus them.  We get out 'special toys' {that need more adult supervision} or build forts.  Sometimes we read books in the teepee. Our newest thing {since Christmas}...Jordyn loves to give Cullyn and me makeovers. :)

6p | Daddy's Home! Adam gets about 3 minutes to change clothes and then it's time to snuggle with the kids.  After that, things get significantly louder!

Adam makes dinner {although it's one of my 2015 goals to make dinner one night a week, so Friday is the most likely day for that} and the kids play more.  Catch.  Vacuuming.  Band.  Dress Up.  Books.  You name it!  Then we eat dinner, give baths, and start the bedtime routine.  Unless we're headed to the lake of course. Then it's a bit of a free for all!  :)

His 'catch' stance! :)

Always 'textin' on her play {fake} phone!  :)

July 2013 | March 2014