Browsing Category

Motherhood

Back to School 2017

Posted on August 30, 2017

This week has been one for the books! Our two littlest sisters went to preschool!! They go to our church so it is super sweet programs for two & three year olds, we have been doing this since Harper was a 18 months. It really is such an awesome growing experience for them and all mamas deserve a minute of free time. Who’s with me?! 🙂 Getting them out the door each day has been a struggle but they enjoy it so much once they are in their classes & their teachers text me lots of happy photos! Eloise is so excited to get to cut & glue, and also have her best buds from last year in her class “booty & pelvis” (brody & hollis, and I will be so sad when she can pronounce their names right!!!). Claire is mostly excited about getting to wear a backpack.

Stage five clingers on their first day of preschool. ^

Last year we had to fill out some things for the girls’ classes answering a few questions & I have loved looking back on them so much that I decided to do it again with the girls this year. I will cherish their answers forever!!

How old are you?
Harper: Five
Eloise: Free
Claire: Claire

What is your favorite color?
Harper: Pink
Eloise: Blue
Claire: Pink! (although she calls every color pink, so maybe too early to tell)

What is your favorite food?
Harper: Pancakes
Eloise: Sandwiches and grapes
Claire: Gum

What is your favorite movie?
Harper: Tangled
Eloise: Elf
Claire: Trolls

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Harper: A ballerina, a doctor and an artist.
Eloise: Mommy
Claire: umm. Trolls.

What is your favorite thing to play with?
Harper: Beads to make jewelry
Eloise: Babies
Claire: Coffee

What do you love most?
Harper: My family and God and going to pancake house.
Eloise: Babies and mommy and daddy and harpie. And claire. And baby pictures.
Claire: Snackies.

Hope you have all had more happy than sad moments as all the little ones head back to school, we are so looking forward to getting into routines & all of the fun that is to come this FALL! 🙂 xo

361

Life Lately

Posted on August 21, 2017

Things have sure been slow over here on the blog, in six years, I think this is the least I have posted in a single month. There are a lot of reasons behind that so I thought it would be a good time to do a little life lately post & share a bit about what we are up to. Harper has been in school for a little over two weeks, which also means our babysitters are back to school and I have the little ones (who are lost without their big sis!) most days by myself. I have never been a good multi-tasker, so I am usually focused on the kids or focused on work, and this month, it has been the kids. It has been dentist appointments, well visits, orientations and open houses, registration for dance and gymnastics, and going to the pool almost every night after dinner while we still can.

Although we have been busy, it’s’ been a really sweet season for us over here. Quiet mornings with Harper having breakfast & getting her ready for school have really made me reflect on the fact that I have a big kid & time is just passing by so quickly. I know this is such a crucial transition for her & I feel so grateful that I am able to make lots of extra time for her. In the early afternoons when Claire is napping, I get lots of one on one time with Eloise, which is so rare since she is the middle child and almost always has a sister around, we love this time together! We definitely took for granted the laziness of summer & how sweet it is to all be together, being back on a schedule and only having all three girls home together in the evenings is definitely a huge change of pace for us. The little ones start two & three year old preschool in just a few days, which means a few hours home with no kids for the first time ever (whaaaat!) and more time for the blog!

I am ready for cool weather, ready for the girls to get to be outside in the afternoons again & for our morning walks to the coffee shop. I miss having dinner & breakfast on the back deck and can’t wait to have our windows open all day long. We have so much exciting stuff in store for this Fall (Summer always leaves me feeling uninspired, another reason for the lack of posts) and I just can’t wait for this season more than ever!

As always, thanks so much for reading, I am so thankful for all of you!! Wishing you all a happy week ahead!! XO

 

320

One Week of School Lunch Box Ideas

Posted on August 15, 2017

We are two weeks in to kindergarten, Harper is absolutely loving it & pops out of bed every day excited to go. The transition has been pretty good, her little sisters miss her more than anything, but they will be starting preschool next week and I think everything will start to fall into place as we get a good routine going. One of the things that I thought was most overwhelming last year (and was not excited to start doing again this year) is packing lunches. Especially since we have three kids bringing lunch this year, and one of them for the full five days of the week. Our schools are nut-free, but the girls don’t love the sun butter or other alternatives, so I felt like I was packing deli turkey almost every day last year. I think pinterest just overwhelmed me more with 100 different options for lunches (most of which my kids probably wouldn’t even eat) when in reality, I think the girls just need five different combinations that we can rotate throughout the week. So I am sharing the five bento box lunches that will be on rotation for the next few weeks, I hope they give you some ideas & inspiration for fun ways to pack your kids’ lunches while still keeping it super easy!

Main Dish // Turkey or Ham with Avocado on Croissant, Turkey or Ham Roll Up, Chicken or Tuna Salad on Croissant or Toast, Turkey or Ham with Cheese & Crackers, Jelly (with Sun Butter if your kids like it) on Toast

Sides // Blueberries, Strawberries, Sliced Grapes, Sliced Apples (with lemon juice so they don’t brown), Halos or Orange Slices, Banana (cut in half for easy peeling & to fit in box), Crackers or Pretzels, Carrots, Sliced Bell Peppers, and/or Cucumbers with Hummus, Greek Yogurt with Granola, Applesauce Pouch

Dessert // I always love to add something sweet, mini chocolate chips, chocolate & pretzel goldfish or yogurt covered raisins 🙂

I vividly remember one Friday at the end of last school year when we were out of groceries for the week and I was running late packing lunches, I think Harper & Ellie each took a yogurt packet, half a banana and a bag of pirates booty. It’s possible lunches will look like that again by the end of the year but two weeks in? We are going strong. 😉 What are your go-to lunch box meals, do your kids have certain things they could eat every day or do you switch it up?  Would love to hear your faves! XO

PS. This is the lunchbox we are using, I love it so far! I wanted a bento style box that wasn’t $30+ but also not with five different containers to wash each day. We put it inside the Moana zipper lunchbox Harper picked out with an ice pack or two! 🙂

412