ICE CREAM MAKES YOU HAPPY + 5 THINGS

These pics have zero to do with the context of this post but they do remind me that warmer, sun kissed, ice cream eating days are ahead. Not that we’re ever not eating ice cream but you get the idea.

In the meantime I’m going to try and be better about living in the in-between, i.e. the moments and seasons that are a not as easily enjoyed. I’ve had so many of them over the years  (like, every winter) and when the season passes I’m always wishing I would have squeezed a little more goodness out of it.

In an effort to live more in the in-between, here are a few things that I’ve loved this week!

1. Tilly (8) shared, after 20 or so minutes of playing family (aka house) with her two younger siblings yesterday that, “Being a mom feels riiiily good.” (Girlfriend you have no idea the richness you kids bring to my life!) Then she continued, “But I still want to adopt!” She is terrified of pregnancy and childbirth and doesn’t even know all the details yet, ha! So curious to see what she ends up doing and being when she’s grown up! Side note, if you have a wide age range of kids I highly recommend encouraging playing house. Tilly ended up giving Poppy and Griffin their baths last night while playing the mom. I still had to check her work and wipe all the water off our bathroom floor, but checking tubbies off the bedtime to-do list at 5 o’clock felt oh so good.
2. Poppy pronounces waffles, awwwwfuls and it’s about the cutest thing. It’s also been her reply for the last week when I ask her what she wants for breakkie.
3. Johan and Espen had their first little league baseball practice last night. Seems a little premature seeing as how it snowed here yesterday but who am I to get in the way of boys and their baseball? Also makes me feel like we are one step closer to Spring!
4. Johan and I have started doing garage workouts more regularly (at 5am — gah!) and I’m kinda proud of us for making the effort. It’s mostly circuit training using movements and simple equipment like burpees, mountain climbers, kettle bells, box jumps and a jumprope. I’d be happy to share a few of my favorite combos if anyone is interested?
5. We are doing this study with a group of friends and so far it’s been life changing. Last week we discussed the things a soul needs to be healthy: rest, restriction, responsibility/work, and relationship. For anyone with kids I would add date night and wine (ha!), but that’s just me. What do you think of the list? Would you add or take anything away?

  

Big brothers that pinch you with their toes (3 pics up), pretend to eat your birthday cake (2 pics up), and then assume you’ll be okay about picking you up (1 pic up). I remember being so annoyed with Oz for pestering the little kids during the shoot, but am ironically so happy to have these real life kind of pictures in a staged setting.

Even after all that teasing Poppy still asks for her biggest brother about 5 times per day… “Where’s my Ozzie brover?”

    

Also completely unrelated to the pics above, the last few items for the dinning room came in the mail this week so I’m hoping to finish things up over the weekend for a reveal on Monday!!! A finished project is good for the soul too!

What are you up to this weekend?

xo, Rae

(Photos by Stacy Jacobsen to document Poppy’s 2nd Birthday last summer)