Is it Wednesday already!? Thursday by the time you all read this. What a week! I keep thinking I’m going to have a slower week where I can “catch up” but I’m finally learning that no such week exists! At least in the stage of life I’m currently in with my kids. I was remembering today (while I was in my car for almost 6 hours straight driving kids to their various acivities) back when I was home with one baby searching for things to fill our days. That was a hard stage for me, but right about now I wouldn’t mind re-visiting one of those weeks. ;) Here are a few random phone pics of what we’ve been up to! Kids are finally feeling better and back at school. Having sick kids for over a week definitely makes you appreciate life when everyone is healthy and doing well!
Regular rough housing with dad.
Why are my kids so fascinated with snakes!? Did I ever tell you all we had a snake living in our garage last summer!? {GASP!} El’s 5th grade teacher sent out an e-mail last June asking if anyone wanted to volunteer to keep the class pet snake over the summer. My husband called me..
“Did you get the e-mail from El’s teacher today?”
Me: “The one about taking the class pet snake over the summer? Yes. I deleted it immediately.”
Him: “We should do it.”
Me: “Absolutely not. You’re crazy.”
Him: “C’mon.. the kids will love it.”
Me: “Absolutely not. You’re crazy.”
Him: “You won’t even know it’s there.. I’ll do everything. Feed it, take care of it, kids can only touch it when I’m around.”
Me: “Absolutely not. You’re crazy.”
Him: “Don’t hate me.. I’m doing it.”
Me: “You’re dead to me.”
That evening he brought it home. Complete with dead mice to feed it! {SECOND EVEN BIGGER GASP!} I spent a whole summer trying to ignore the fact that we had a snake in our garage! The kids loved it. I almost cried I was so happy when that thing went back to school in August.
Sorry.. got a little sidetracked with that picture. But I’m remembering my husband still owes me big time for that one.
Running errands.
Picking lemons from our tree. We got a good batch this time! So happy to see my new fruit trees thriving. 
Except this poor little tree didn’t make it.
I finally took all of the red out of the mudroom. Just a tad slow taking down the Valentine decor! 
I put out my navy striped rug and my fun summer pillows. Bring on the new season! I might switch these pillows out at some point. I was in Pottery Barn two weeks ago and they are getting so many fun things in! I haven’t had much time to add touches of Spring to my home lately but I am more than ready. {Mudroom basket source}
Remember this long, tall cabinet in my kids’ upstairs laundry room? 
It was a mess. 
So I took 15 minutes and cleaned it up. Kind of random. The top shelf holds the girls’ theatre binders. The next two shelves hold favorite church books (love having them all in one spot now!). The bottom shelf holds family home evening activity kits I put together years ago when I was home with one baby searching for things to fill our days. Ha! What I didn’t know then was that when my kids were old enough to actually do these activities, we wouldn’t have time for them. ;)
My little boyfriend turns 6 at the end of this month! Just sent out his birthday party invites. I can’t believe it. He has been obsessed with Dr. Seuss books since Dr. Seuss day at school. His favorite is Wacky Wednesday. We read it over and over and then over again. He is having such a great year in Kindergarten. He has made so many friends and several “girlfriends who he plans to marry.” Addison came home from school the other day and said “mom! I saw Kole at recess today and he was surrounded by girls! They love him mom. Kole is the jam.” The jam? I laughed for 15 minutes. Then I talked to this little ladies man of mine and made sure I was still his number one. I am. Phew. ;)
Aside from charming the ladies, my son has decided lately he doesn’t like his bed. He’d much rather sleep.. anywhere else. Some nights he gets into bed with us. A lot of nights he heads to this couch in our formal living room. 
For whatever reason it’s his favorite place to crash and I just shake my head every time I come around the corner and find him here. I shared this room on Instagram once and somebody left a not so nice comment about how I was able to have furniture like this because I obviously don’t have kids. I kinda wish I could send her this picture and tell her that not only do I have kids, but they sleep and drool on this couch on a regular basis. ;) This sofa is the Chesterfield sofa from PB and we put a performance fabric on it that is amazing. Everything wipes right off. Trust me on that one! Definitely kids around here. :)
All dressed up and headed somewhere special!
Love this girl’s smile. Braces come off at the end of this summer! She is ready to eat popcorn again. And bubble gum. I try to not eat popcorn around her (we both love it). Sometimes I pop it at night after I think she’s in bed and she’ll yell downstairs “I smell that mom!”
Oops..
El’s life revolves around dance these days. Dance dance and more dance. With maybe a gymnastic class or two in-between. Which means my life revolves around dance dance and and more dance. With maybe a gymnastic class or two in-between. I love it though. Dance was my thing too and I absolutely love that she is thriving in this area and enjoying it so much. I’m proud of how hard she works and it’s fun sharing this passion with her. She even loves watching my old dance DVD’s. Despite the 90’s hair and costumes. GOOD times. :)
Aside from dance El specializes in all things cell phone. I have to say that I’m actually loving this stage with her. Pre-teen isn’t so bad! I know.. it’s coming..
What have I been up to? Cut my hair last week. Here is a before. 
And an after. I don’t look especially happy in this picture. Ha! It was a pic I snapped quick to show my mom and sister what my hair looked like. It was a good cut, but I can’t say I’m loving the new length. And straight hair in the humid climate I live in is always hard for me. I haven’t tried curling it with the new cut yet but will soon. Still getting used to it!
Somewhere in the middle of all of this it was my birthday and I turned 39. To be totally honest, I woke up on my birthday feeling kinda bummed. I had a lot going on with the kids so it was kind of a regular mom day. I was stressed about a few different things going on right now. I’ve gained a little weight (two vacations in a row has its drawbacks!). My jeans felt too tight and my hair felt too short and I just wasn’t in the mood to be 39 (seriously how and when did that happen!?). I immediately felt guilty for feeling like that. After the scare I went through, I want to love and appreciate life and every birthday I’m lucky enough to experience. But then I thought .. wait a minute .. it’s my birthday. I can feel however I want to feel on my birthday. ;) So I felt sad and had a good cry (probably more from not enough sleep than anything else) and then I moved on. The rest of the day was so much better. My cute friends, husband and kids spoiled me and it was a good birthday. Not my favorite birthday, but a good one. Some birthdays (and regular days) are like that. And I think it’s ok to feel negative sometimes. As long as you don’t dwell on it and let it consume you. Get it out of your system and move on. Sunny days are always ahead. :)
My sister and her family came to town for a quick weekend. We went to SeaWorld with the kids. I didn’t get a picture of all of us together. Just one of the flamingoes. Ha! Laughing at that now.
I did get this picture of me and Kole on one of the rides together. Wearing my favorite sweater of course. :) So grateful for this kid. And his sisters. And their dad.
Being 29 isn’t so bad after all. ;)
I love the haircut Erin!
You don’t look a day over 25!
Enjoy your day. 😀
Oh you are the BEST Jenny! What a sweet thing to say. :) Thanks cutie! xo
Such a beautiful family u have! You are an amazing mom:) your kids are very lucky :) I so enjoy your posts. Thanks for sharing your time and pics with all of us ! God bless..
Thank you so much Eva! What a kind comment. Made my morning. :) xo
Happy Belated Birthday, Erin! Wow, you packed a lot into this post and I, for one, enjoyed every minute of reading it. Thank you so much for sharing. You have a beautiful family and a wonderful outlook on life. You all do seem to be thriving in your life including weathering the hiccups along the way. I appreciate your sharing a bit of the struggles, too and your way of handling the negative feelings that naturally creep up. How can you appreciate all that is good if you don’t have a few challenges along the way? I do like your haircut, but if you don’t…hair always grows, so you just let it grow out! I suspect it wouldn’t take too terribly long. But really, I think it looks lovely. I couldn’t believe the shot of your daughter’s “pose.” Wow!!! I hope Kole enjoys his bed again soon. Giggled at his being such a charmer. You will always be his first and best girlfriend, don’t you worry!! Hugs!!
Thanks so much Jeanne! I know.. I had a lot to catch up on! :) You are so right.. life is good – hiccups and all! :) Enjoy your day sweet friend! You always help me enjoy mine. xo
Hi Erin! Just loved this post you did! So great to hear the real stuff going on in your household these days! And I LOVE your new haircut!!! Super cute :) Thanks for the fun post!
Thank you Lisa! So sweet of you! I’m happy you liked the post. I always feel a little nervous putting “real” stuff like that out there but it makes my day you enjoyed it. :) xo
Happy Birthday and I like your hair!
Thank you sweet Kathy! xo
Love how your new haircut looks in that last pic with Kole!
Thank you so much Kim! It always takes me a while after a new haircut to figure out how to do it. :) xo
Such a fun post, Erin! Loved Kole on the couch :) Addison looked so cute all dressed up, and you always look gorgeous – with whatever hair! But the snake-living-in-the-garage story freaked me out, haha!
Ha! That seriously freaked me out too Alis! LONGEST summer ever knowing that thing was living in our garage! Thank you for your sweet words! :) xo
I LOVE the new hair cut. It’s fresh and modern! And I’m so envious of your mud room. I can’t imagine not having to trip over the shoes when I walk in or out of our door!
Thank you so much Jess! Unfortunately we still trip over shoes from time to time! I’m constantly reminding my kids to put them away. But yes! So nice to have a place to put them. :) xo
Happy Birthday Erin!!! I like posts like this, I soo laughed at your convo with Kenny about the pet snake!!! lol too funny!!! And I think it’s cute that Kole just finds a spot and spreads out :-)
and you don’t look a day over 29!!! be blessed!!!
oh and p.s… when I opened my email this morning I was thinking “I better see a blog post from Erin” and voila there you were! lol I think I got spoiled the other week with the multiple posts :-)
Oh you made my day Aria! Thank you! Yeah.. Kole cracks me up too with this whole wandering sleep thing. :) I always shoot for multiple posts each week but sometimes the week just gets away from me! Hopefully I’ll have more time for blogging next week. Makes me happy you look forward to my posts. :) xo
You always seem so upbeat and like you have it all together – and while I’m sure you do most of the time it is nice to read you are human :) (that was meant to be nice…)
I really enjoy your blog and love that you shared your off-day on your birthday. We all have those days and I’m glad to read you owned your feelings and lived in the moment. It’s much harder for some than it appears.
Glad everyone’s feeling better! Happy St Patrick’s Day!
Totally nice Stacey. :) You are such a sweetheart! I agree.. we all have those days for sure. Thanks for reminding me my kids need to wear green! ;) xo
Busy life but good life! So sorry to hear about what happened in 2010! God is so good though and I’m so thankful he spared you! Definitely puts life into perspective! Love the new haircut too, btw! Love seeing daily life in your home too!
xoxo
Thanks cute Shauna! Puts life in perspective for sure! xo
Hi Erin,
I recently turned 39 and I am having a hard time with it too! You look great, by the way! I do have a question. Where did you get your old light in your office and your mudroom light? They are exactly what I have been looking for and I am having a hard time finding anything close to it. Love this post about your family life! Take care.
Thank you so much Lisa! I haven’t answered this yet because I’ve been looking for info on that light! I’m so sorry.. I can’t find it. I think the old one from my office was a light from Jeremiah (Craft Made) but I don’t have the info. on my mudroom light. So sorry I’m not more help! If I come across that info. I’ll answer it here! xo
Erin, I would have never guessed that you are 39! I seriously think you’ve found the fountain of youth. Your babes are beautiful! We’re actually taking my kids to Sea World this weekend. How has the weather been down there?
Oh what a sweet thing to say Danielle! That just made my day! Maybe my month! Ha! ;) Weather has been good! High 60’s. It’s cloudy and cool in the mornings and then warm and sunny in the afternoons. We took jackets, but by noon had them off in our backpack. :) Have fun at Sea World! xo
I am relatively new here, but I have been reading for a few weeks after I found you through A Bowl Full of Lemon’s book. I love seeing you enjoy your kids. Also, Happy belated birthday. Isn’t 40 the new 20 anyway? My 16 year old is all about dance too…pointe, jazz, ballet, tap, on and on and on…since she was 6! I love it, but spring is competition season, so we are chasing our tail. My son is in college, so please enjoy these busy days with your kids as they go so fast. I went back and read your link, and you, dear lady, have a wonderful testimony of family and God’s love and grace.
Oh my word Lori.. thank you so much for your kind comment! Such a sweet thing to say. I’m so happy you found me! El wants to sign up for the competitive team next summer so I think I’ll be in your same boat running around like crazy! I have a new respect for all of the dance competitions my parent sat through. :) I know that my kids will be in college too before I turn around so I am trying to enjoy the madness! I’m sure I will miss it terribly when it’s gone. Thanks again for your uplifting words. They made my day! xo
Hi Erin! First of all, I wish you Happy birthday! Yes a Woman can have a grumpy-sad day. Sometimes it can be on her B-day. So what? :-)
Your new haircut is gorgeous! It’s good to make some change from time to time. It gives us a new energy, in a kind of way.
Your kids are so lovely! Glad to hear that nobody’s sick anymore!
I wish you a wonderful day.
Xoxo
Claire
So sweet of you Claire! Thank you! Enjoy your weekend cutie. :) xo
I grew up in Southern California, the Carlsbad area and miss seeing palm trees and those clear blue skies. We make it back once a year and every time I tell my husband we are never going back home (to Wisconsin). I love that cabinet color in your upstairs laundry room, gorgeous! I have a similar color in my kitchen and was so nervous to do it, I am so happy I took that chance! Happy belated birthday! Life seems to be at fast forward around here too, it is hard to enjoy the days when they are so hectic.
Thank you Emily! So fun you grew up here! Love Carlsbad. :) I agree.. life is on fast forward for sure. I have to remind myself to enjoy it all! I know I’ll miss it when my kids have moved out, but right now I just want to sleep.. ha! Enjoy your weekend! xo
I saw that comment on Instagram and was so impressed by how kindly you handled it! (I cried SO much the first time someone left me a nasty comment about how I was obviously a terrible parent because my son was constantly sick…he had a chronic airway disease that required daily nebulizer treatments for a solid year when he was an infant). Kudos to you for being classy AND emphasizing that we can still have beautiful homes with small children!
Oh my word Rachael! I can’t believe someone told you that you were a terrible parent for that! Are you kidding me!? That’s just ridiculous. Don’t ever listen to people who leave nasty comments. They are obviously in a bad place themselves if they have a desire to be mean. I feel awful you cried. I remember being so hurt by a mean comment I got on my blog once when we were building our house. I just couldn’t get it out of my head. I think years of blogging has made me more tough because now it doesn’t bother me that much. It’s unfortunately something you have to deal with when you put yourself out there. I’m sure you are an AMAZING mom. Wish I could give you a hug! Thank you for such a sweet comment! It meant a lot to me. xo
I love these every day life posts !!
When I turned 40 I had a meltdown.. how did I turn 40… I felt so lost.. like do I dress too young for my age, do my kids think I’m old,do I need botox lol.. then I turned 41 a few months ago and I’m finally getting used to it lol
Ha ha! Heidi that made me laugh! We are all feeling like that. What is this new age!? 40 always seemed like the age of my parents and it still does! My parents are 40 something.. I can’t be! Oh my word. We’ll have to get botox together. ;) xo
Sounds good lol
Your hair looks awesome. And teenagers are so much fun! Don’t believe what everyone says.
Thank you Leslie! :) xo
I agree! I have three and it’s the best time I’ve had as a parent!
Hi Erin, first of all, I love your hair. I loved it long and I love the new cut. I need mine done but I have this thing about getting a cut with really good scissors. The girl who does my hair is crazy busy right now. She has really good scissors 😊 I just think it makes the cut. Yours came out so good. El is amazing at dance. Both the girls are getting so big and so is Kole. They are so cute. I am laughing still at the convo with Kenny about the snake. I would have felt the same way. But… ” “You’re dead to me!” I can’t stop laughing. Glad to hear that everyone is healthy
Have a fun weekend
Xo
Ha! I still can’t believe he brought that snake home for the summer Cathy! It freaked me out every time I was in the garage! Crossing my fingers he doesn’t volunteer to do it again this summer. He really will be dead to me! :) So happy you like my hair! Thanks cutie. I’m liking it a little better now. Took me a while to figure out how to do it! And yes! Sharp scissors are a must! :) Enjoy your weekend! xo
Hi!
I LOVE your haircut!! So cute!
My little boy has always wanted to sleep anywhere but his bed- even when his bed was the playroom couch! He’ll be ten next month and has recently decided he wants to sleep downstairs on the living room couch or the floor. He finally has his own bedroom now too since his big brother is at college. Silly kids! So I guess what I’m saying is that Kole might not outgrow it anytime soon. :)
Have a great weekend in sunny San Diego!
Oh that is too funny Sheila! I have a feeling that will be Kole too. Just rotating around the house to whatever spot feels comfy at the moment.. ha! Our boys crack me up. :) Thanks for your sweet words about my hair! I’m liking it better than I first did. Minor adjustment! Enjoy your weekend too cutie! xo
I very much enjoyed reading your post. I love your new hair cut, love your lemon tree, and love the fact that you let your kids and their dad live with snake pet. Writing about random stuff makes a great post.
Thank you Shmyla! So sweet of you. Your comment made me smile. :) Enjoy your weekend! xo
Thanks for sharing the ups and downs Erin! Your little man is adorable sleeping on the couch! My daughter had braces just last year and now has a retainer. We both love popcorn too, so I would eat the kernel part and give her just the puff part (lol) , it was a lot of work, but we laughed and enjoyed! Hey 29 isnt bad!!! I mean 39! Lol! I turn 46… I mean 35 today!!! lol Have a great weekend! :-)
Love it Stacie! So cute that you shared your popcorn! We’ll have to try your method. :) Happy Birthday cutie! Cheers to us in our 30’s! ;) xo
Hi Erin! My kids are 9, 6, and 3, two girls and then a boy….sound familiar…lol! I was wondering if you would share your experience with the kids and technology. My oldest daughter who is almost 10, has started texting friends, making silly videos on the iPad. It is a learning curve what we will and not allow. We don’t want to be too strict (and have her rebell) but we want her to be safe online and I also worry about hurt feelings, feeling left out and all that pressure on young girls. I love that you are a few years ahead of me with the kids and share your experiences so far! Thanks! Jen from R.I.
Hi Jen! Oh my word.. we have identical families! Love it. :) Man.. this is such a tough one. We are navigating it all for the first time and I feel the same way you do.. not wanting to be too strict, but also limiting the phone time. El likes to make videos (musically or something it’s called?) and I let her do it, but her account is private. She doesn’t want it to be.. all her friends accounts are public but I’m not comfortable with that. I let her have some phone time after school every day (around 20 minutes) and then we put it away. If she doesn’t have dance/activities I’ll tell her she can play, draw, etc. but no more phone time. I just don’t like it becoming an addiction. I’ve had to really slow down my time on Instagram because of it! Ha! But I can’t tell her to get off the phone and then be on mine all day. Trying to keep it all in balance. So far just monitoring how much time she spends on it. Not as much time as she’d like that’s for sure! :) xo
You look adorable, Erin, in your new haircut! But, you would look cute no matter what!
I would have been totally on your side regarding the snake. I grew up in Louisiana where you absolutely had to have a healthy respect for snakes, and now I live in rattlesnake territory….I DO NOT LIKE SNAKES! I know there are good ones (REALLY?), but I choose not to spend the last few seconds of my life trying to determine the good from the bad….nope, running & screaming!
Happy Happy Birthday to you! I can remember (way way back) 39 was actually harder than 40. So, there you go, HOPE for the next one! At 67 and after this past year, I am grateful for each and every birthday!
Your kiddos are so cute, and their sweet personalities are so evident on their faces. Happiness is so very evident.
Happy “Spring” Weekend!
Carol
Carol! Ha ha.. I am laughing! I don’t want to spend much time determining good from bad snakes either! :) SO funny. I can only imagine how you feel about birthdays! You are such an amazing example of strength and courage and how to appreciate every single day. I”m so happy last year is behind you. Happy “Spring” weekend to you my beautiful friend! xo