Catching Up

How this is the last week of summer is TOTALLY beyond me - but a tiny little part of me is ready for the fall and the routine that it brings.

These last few weeks, we've packed in A TON. I'm going to bounce around from good, bad, interesting, and boring, but when Leo starts back at school, I am really hoping to get into a more routine posting mode. I've said this at least 18 times in the last year, so who knows if it'll stick, but that's the goal.

To pick up from the last catch up sesh here:

::: We decided to scrap potty training for a bit. It was not progressing, I don't feel like Leo was emotionally ready, and I put way too much pressure on him to have it "mastered" before school, and that was just silly on my part. We will try and again when HE is ready. 

::: Speaking of back to school, last week the elementary schools in our neighborhood started back up. For the last 12 years, our neighborhood has hosted a driveway breakfast party for all of the kids in the hood. Tons of moms and kids showed up, had breakfast, took pictures, and then all took the bus together. It was nearly the cutest thing I've ever seen. 

 

::: We also celebrated Joel's 31st birthday! On the day of his actual birthday, we hit up the last beach concert of the season and had tons of snacks, cookie cakes, beer and just enjoyed the perfect evening. 

 

 

 

 

::: We leave for Steamboat tomorrow and I wanted some kind of sneaker-y shoe that I could wear with jeans. I found these Dr Scholls shoes at Tj.maxx and they were exactly what I was envisioning for about half the price. They're crazy comfortable and I think I will get a ton of use out of them this fall.

 ::: My good friend Sara came to CL for the day with her little baby Emma. She is on maternity leave for the next few months so we had a fun day just hanging together - we literally folded my laundry while working our way through a bottle of champagne ;) 

 

20 minutes after this picture was taken, Emma started to cry. Sara thought that she must have dropped her pacifier on the ground during our walk.....but no - sweet and silent Drew had ripped it from her hands and was happily sucking on it! It was too funny. 

 

:::  I inherited some of my Grandma's furniture - and this table is the most recent addition. The top needs to be refinished, and I need to find a bench for it - but I love having it at home with me now. 

 

 ::: We had a back-to-school BBQ at our friends house which was so much fun. All of our kids are the same age, and just watching them play together is beyond heartwarming. 

 

All of August, a few of us have been having happy hour play dates on Thursday which has been really, really fun for everyone. 

::: At least once a week, a group of friends and our kids have been walking around Crystal Lake. I think it's about 4 miles....so it takes us about 90 minutes to do it - but it has been SO fun. People think we're hilarious, literally beep and wave at us, but it's literally the only way us mom's get to talk because the kids are all strapped in! 

After a walk last week, we went to our friends mom's house and Leo got to catch his first ever fish!! 

 

and he was scared out of his mind when it came flapping out! hahaha

 

::: My mom helped to host a baby shower for a family friend over this past weekend - which kept me out of the house all day on Saturday. The shower was beautiful, the mom-to-be looked spectacular, and it was really relaxing to just sit with friends outside enjoying the day. 

 

 

Weekend Recap

Chicago has skipped right over Spring, and decided to just go right into Summer. 

 

With that being said, I feel like it's been a mad dash to get Spring cleaning and everyone's yards and flowers are no where near ready. 

On friday, Joel and his dad mulched about half of our yard, and while Leo tried to help, Drew and I kept an eye on the patio.

 

We had turkey burgers and salad with Joel's parent, watched the Cubs game, and called it a night.

Saturday morning after breakfast and coffee in bed (my ALL TIME favorite weekend treat), Joel and I went for a 3.5 mile run with the kids in the double bob stroller. 

We got home and I quickly showered and got ready for my cousins baby sprinkle in Park Ridge.

After her adorable sprinkle, my sister Hannah and cousin Amanda and her husband Andrew came into Crystal Lake to celebrate my birthday with me.

We had happy hour outside, then got the kids ready, and escaped for an amazing dinner in downtown CL.

  

After dinner we had am Uber driver pick us up and we paid him $30 bucks to take us to The Freeze - the best ice cream shop that just recently opened up for the season - for an after dinner treat. 

We came home and watched Sebastian Maniscalo the comedian on Netlix and then crawled into bed right before midnight. 

Sunday morning we took a quick walk over to my parents before Amanda and I went into Naperville for our girlfriend Sara's baby shower.

 

We had a great afternoon celebrating her and her soon-to-arrive daughter, and then once I got home, Joel and I took the kids over to my parents for Sunday night dinner. 

We had an awesome dinner, great bottle of wine, and banana cake and presents to celebrate my 30th birthday that lands on this Tuesday! 

It was a slammed and fun weekend - a precursor for a slammed and super fun week ahead - so here goes nuthin! 

Weekend Recap

We had the perfect balance of busy and chill this weekend - and it leaves me feeling refreshed this Monday morning, which is a nice place to be.

On Friday morning, Leo had his "Meet the Teacher" day at his new pre-school! 

He is going to be going to school one morning a week, and it's only for 90 minutes, but I think it will be a great thing for him. In the state of Illinois you need to be 5 by September 1st in order to go to Kindergarten. With Leo being about 3 weeks shy (or he will be in three years), that means he's going to be an older kid in school, and I'm going to have him in preschool for an extra year. I think he'll end up repeating the 3 or 4 year old program, but I'm thankful that his new school accepted him this year without being officially two by 9/1. 

We celebrated that night with dinner at The Cottage with our neighbors/friends and then went to their house after dinner for a night cap which made for a perfect Friday night. 

Saturday morning I was up and at um' to get all of the finishing touches ready for a wedding shower I was hosting that day for one of my best friends. Jenna is getting married in Mexico (Punta Mita actually!!), but unfortantley, due to Zika and being pretty close to my third trimester for her wedding, we aren't able to make it. I wanted to make sure I was able to do something special for her, and so, throwing a Mexican themed shower fit the bill perfectly! 

I don't have any of the pictures we took on a good camera, but here are a few from my phone that I captured before things got too crazy. I kept it pretty simple but the Mexican flags really made it feel like a party, and the taco bar was a huge hit. 

 

I was kind of a genius and decided to cash in on a massage I've been waiting on for that afternoon. As soon as I had the house perfectly cleaned up and wanted to basically collapse, the masseuse rang the door bell. The timing couldn't have been more perfect.

And let me tell you, it was the best massage ever. I played spa music, the boys were out of the house, and my body was so in need I almost cried during it like three times because it felt so good! 

We had leftovers that night and I think I climbed into bed before 8pm! 

Sunday was a gloomy, lazy at home day and I loved every second. I lit my pumpkin candles, had coffee while I meal planned, Joel made chili....it was perfect. 

Fall is coming!!

LA Baby Shower

On Saturday, one of my best friends Shelby and my cousin Erin hosted a baby shower for us at Shelby's house here in LA. The moment I told Shelby I was pregnant, she told me she wanted to have our group of girls and host a baby shower for me and she threw such a beautiful and fun afternoon.

 

My sister-in-law Corie and I headed to Shelby's a few minutes before the shower started to get a look at all of their hard work and we were just blown away.  

Corie played photographer, which I was so appreciative of, but that meant that she is MIA in literally every picture! I'm so mad I didn't realize that at the shower!!

 

Shelby and Erin spoiled us with the most perfect afternoon....it was a day I'll never forget and I know they both put a ton of work and effort in, and it showed - the whole day was just awesome. 

When guests walked in, they were quick to serve up their signature cocktail - a grapefruit concoction that I will be having as soon as this baby is born - because everyone raved about it! 

Most of the girls got to Shelby's around 1 and we spent the first hour catching up. We've all had such a busy summer, it was so nice to to have our LA group in one room for a few hours! 

Once everyone had arrived, we took our seats at the gorgeous table and then devoured all of the goodies they had brought in.

Having the whole group around the table was the best part of the day. We all went around telling hilarious stories, or swapping times where moms have been reprimanded by strangers and what to do about it....it was a ball.

 

After lunch, we moved into the living room to play a few baby shower games and then opened presents.

 My girlfriend Beth is due a month before me, 9/14, and it's been so fun to have her along this wild ride....and will probably be even more fun to have some of our maternity leave overlap! She doesn't know what she is having, so we've got a running list with all of our guesses!

We were showered with lots of the essentials which was amazing, and a lot of navy blue, striped, and nautical outfits. This baby is going to be incredibly well dressed and I will probably never have to shop for him for his entire first year!

It was an amazing day and I can't begin to tell you how lucky I feel to have a group of girlfriends like these here in California.