Luke is 8 today. And with that sentence comes all the feels. If you've been hanging around here for any amount of time, you know that he's our miracle preemie, with a serious backstory. He's getting older, though. His story is becoming less mine, and more his. That's another blog post for another day. Today? Well, we celebrate all the awesome that is Luke. This year's birthday letter, comin' at ya. Dear Luke, You are one cool kid. Not cute, as you remind me daily, but cool. You started second grade this fall and you're *pretty* excited to have your own desk, enjoy art as one of your specials and spike up your hair every morning. I'm seeing a budding comedian in you. Perhaps it's … [Read more...]
4 Way to Help Our Kids Navigate Social Media
Gone are the days at the pool, mornings filled with singing Vacation Bible School songs and evenings eating ice cream and chilling with neighbors. Summer is over and no one is sadder about that than me. It’s like a vacation from my real life. Time to buckle down, though. School is in full swing and my planner tells me I’ve got lots of places to be. It’s so easy to get lost in the never-ending to-do lists I make for myself. Please tell me I’m not alone. As your children are learning new mathematic equations, diving into literature and testing the limits of the periodic table, it’s time for you to go back to school, too. You heard me. God and the internet are calling and it’s time … [Read more...]
Before & After: The Boys’ Bathroom
I had dreams, big dreams, of beginning renovations on our master bathroom. Enter: toilet paper and a fiesty 7yo. Spoiler alert. That never ends well. To make a really, really long story short, Master Luke thought it would be fun to shove toilet paper down the bathroom sink. Not only did it clog the sink, but it backed up the A/C unit that drains through that same pipe, and then proceeded to flood the bathroom cabinets and leak into the kitchen ceiling, just below the bathroom. Fun. Times. Fortunately, we caught it all before it got crazy town, but not before it destroyed all things in its path. Most of our dollars went to restoring and fixing non-fun, but essential, things … [Read more...]
The 10 Commandments of Family Roadtrips
We've been taking car trips with our kids since birth. Mostly, that makes people question our sanity. Trust me, when we were in hour 36 of last summer's vacation from Texas to California and back, I thought the same thing. Sometimes we have banner days and sometimes we swear off ever doing another road trip again. All those hours on the highway have taught us a few life lessons, though. Our pain. Your gain. Here's your road warrior 10 commandments, y'all. 1. Lower your expectations. I'm serious. When you travel with kids, it's a trip. When you travel as a couple, it's a vacation. You have to know that traveling as a family is a teeny bit more like National Lampoons than some … [Read more...]
The 10-Year-Old Trip to Disney: Part Three
When our children turn ten, we treat them to a 10-year-old trip. To catch up on the full story with Clare, check out part one, part two, part three, part four and part five. And, if you want to follow our escapade on Instagram, just search the hashtag #clarecelebrates10atdisney The last time we came, this was one of the surprise parks of the trip. We absolutely fell in love with it. This was one of two parks within walking distance of our hotel. Early on Wednesday morning, we strapped on our backpacks and enjoyed the leisurely, quiet, semi-cool walk in the shade, to Hollywood Studios. Perfect start to our day. Of course we ramped it RIGHT up with Aerosmith's Rock 'n Roller … [Read more...]
