Birthday Weekend Joy
I Love
I love the sound of uncontrollable giggles when I blow raspberries on Callahan’s feet after bathtime. And the way he sticks his feet in the air for me to do it again.
I love sitting outside on a cool Fourth of July weekend night with friends gathered around talking.
I love getting lost in a good book. Audio, ebook, physical copy. I love them all.
I love when my peonies finally bloom and I get to share them with my people.
I love taking photos of my normal/everyday/boring life to keep me grounded and present.
I love when my dogs greet me after a particularly long day.
I love calling my mom.
I love library books and my consistent over-ambition when I’m in the stacks. I love contemplating which one comes first as we drive home.
I love baby shark, but only for the way that encourages my son to use his hands to chomp for each family member in the backseat of the car.
I love curating series and collections and finding trends amongst things that matter.
I love going for walks. I love naps. I love driving with the windows down.
I love the feeling of crisp and clean sheets on wash day.
I love organizing and planning and feeling in control.
I love the thrill of a plane touching down in a new destination, ready for adventure.
I love inside jokes with my brother about lunchmeat and moscata. And I love how the “inside” has expanded to include our spouses.
I love the way that people react to kids. People my grandparents age lighting up when Callahan waves at them, remembering their own “good ole days”. The way that he dries the tears of a neighbor. The way that we all watch a video of him giggling on repeat.
I love the smell of coffee and how it always reminds me of airports, the only place I consistently smelled it as a kid.
I love dreaming and planning and talking with Kevin about the craziness of life…way past bedtime.
I love the people who make you feel known and understood.
I love the comfort of well worn clothes that are just the perfect fit.
I love a fluffy journal full of life, and goodness, and hard stuff. And of course lots of pictures.
I love gatherings of likeminded people. Open conversations. Growth.
Prompt inspired by Create Anyway by Ashlee Gadd. One of my favorite five star reads from 2023.
Weekend Wrap Up – Easter Edition
We had the sweetest Easter, the first one where Callahan was walking and understood that he was looking for Easter eggs. Daycare was closed on Good Friday, so Callahan and I went into STL so that my parents could watch him while I worked remotely. They planned a really sweet day of dying eggs (with cool whip, no less), playing outside, and going to a family fish fry. We took advantage of the absolutely beautiful weather with a few walks and lots of bubbles. I had purchased a kindle a few weeks prior and it finally came in the mail on Easter Day (why?!) but I was excited to open it up and start downloading books from the library and Kindle Unlimited. Holidays and weekends in general are just our favorite around here. So thankful for a little extra time with family and spring weather.
Pieces of Life with Ali Edwards
Ali Edwards is the queen of storytelling and prompts and projects. When I saw this shared on her social media a few weeks ago, I knew that I had to play along. In general, wouldn’t consider myself a playful person. I definitely lean toward the “taking life too seriously” side and really want to incorporate play more often in my life. Especially as a mom. Here was my week of thinking about play and how it currently fits in with my life.
Monday: Right Now I Play
It’s really hard to think of play outside of activities and fun with Callahan. I have a lot of hobbies but sometimes I treat them as means to an end as opposed to actually slowing down and enjoying the process. After Callahan goes to bed, I try to take a little time to do something that brings me joy and fills my cup. Lately it’s been doing project life, reading good books, journaling, and moving my body. That’s about as playful as we’re getting around here.
Tuesday: What I Loved to Play as a Kid
I was HUGE into sports as a kid – tried pretty much all of them except for basketball. Here I am at 4ish for my t-ball pictures. I got really into soccer as an elementary-aged kid and then started playing hockey after that until I graduated high school.
Wednesday: Play Sounds Like
Play currently sounds like musical toys (the shape sorter is also a drum LOL) as well as reading books, pull back cars, and the Bluey theme song.
Thursday: A Playful Memory
Callahan, my Mom, and I recently went to Tiny Town Play Cafe (a little place space that resembles a town – a grocery store, office, house, vet clinic, etc – for kids to play in) and it was such a fun experience. Callahan loved it and it was fun to see him interact with new toys, people, and surroundings.
Friday: Something I’ve Learned from Play
Hobbies don’t need to be a side hustle to be worthwhile. Photography is 100% a hobby I tried to make money from and I realized that it took all of the joy out of it for me. I’d rather just play with my camera get a few good shots (of my son, of nature, whatever), edit one or two, and then ditch the rest. I love the idea that it’s all practice.
Saturday: Play Date
Mom and I made shirts for the Super Bowl that say, “I’m just here for the snacks”. It was a fun way to play around with my cricut, spend time with my Momma and get matching shirts out of the deal.
Sunday: Why I Play
I want to be caught playing, having hobbies, and reading. It’s such a wonderful way to care for myself and to fill up my bucket so I can pour into the other people in my life. I want Callahan to see that I do things for me and that I want to grow as a person. I want him to learn to independent play alongside me just as much as I want him to see me loving people and serving our community. He is looking at us as his example and I want to take that seriously.
There you have it – a week of PLAY! Glad for these pictures and words as a reminder of the importance of play in our lives.
Glimpses of Winter
The end of winter is a good time all around. Spring is my favorite season and that is 50% because winter is over and 50% because it means nicer weather and flowers in bloom. We had a very mild winter this year, and I’m thankful for that. Even still, I’m already trying to figure out how we can do future winters in Florida or somewhere a bit warmer. We did get to have some afternoons at the park and we got to experience some beautiful sunsets.
Cheers to SPRING!!
Valentine’s Day
Happy Valentine’s Day! Celebrating special days just feels so much more fun with our boy. He delights in alllll the little things, which is such a good reminder that all the hoopla and big things aren’t necessary.
His Mr Steal Your Heart sweatshirt, his pose, his smile – ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I justified it (like two months in advance) by telling myself it was true all year round, so he’d get plenty of wear out of it. It’s also the comfiest material of all time. (Do they sell adult sizes?)
Kevin and I aren’t gift exchangers or really big V-Day celebrators (other than the excuse to go out to eat) so we still kept it really simple, despite my wanting to buy all the things in an attempt to make it feel that much more special. We got Callahan some balloons – he points them out anytime we’re at a store – which he was obsessed with and perfect for our minimalist home since they won’t last forever. I always love the excited stomping and surprised open mouth face he makes when the balloons react in a way he doesn’t expect.
For his classmates at daycare, we did bubble wands with an Etsy note that I fell in love with. They were super easy to customize and I just used my photo printer to print four to a page. Callahan has loved bubbles since he was real little, so it just felt right.
He brought home lots of cutie Valentines from his friends, but the Bluey one takes the cake. Big fan (me and him).
We decided to eat at home and do a meal I recently stumbled across on Pinterest – Turkey Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes – which was a hit! Such a sweet Valentine’s Day for the three of us. ❤️