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Five Tips on How to Enjoy Hiking with Toddlers
2020 is the year of our family’s new hobby–hiking! I am not much of a “nature” girl, but I love this new hobby of ours. My husband, an Eagle Scout, loves nature and exploring the outdoors (candidly, I am still petrified of snakes and get nervous every time we go on a hike). The boys have become quite the mini-explorers and love going for rides on our backs while exploring the outdoors. We live in suburban Atlanta and I never would have imagined how many trails we have within a 10 minute drive of our house–it is truly amazing! When we have zero plans for the weekend, which happens more…
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Simple Semi-Homemade Halloween Costumes For Families with Boy Toddlers
Halloween is such a magical time for children. Growing up, my mom was a Pinterest mom before Pinterest was a thing. She literally sewed and made all of our Halloween costumes, and I will add she did some quality work as they are still in good condition to this day! While my mom is a creative genius, I am more of a semi-homemade type gal. So for Halloween, I purchase the cheap costumes and then add some homemade touches like ironed on shirts and painting on cardboard. Unwrapping candy every year, Reid tells us exactly what he wants to be the following year and much to my surprise he sticks…
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Going to Pre-K during Coronavirus: Thoughts on Letting Go
Reid has been out of school for almost 6 months. In that time, we have navigated, learned and grown so much as parents and a family. It has been a taxing, fun, stressful, different, playful time that brought our little family closer together. The boys have become best friends and their little friendship has blossomed immensely. I know that I will look back on these days and remember the precious moments we got to spend as a family unit (as well as the stressful, uncertain times). As I write this, we are a week out before Reid starts pre-K and gets back into the swing of somewhat “normal” life again.…
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Honest Motherhood: Digging Yourself Out of Frustration with Toddlers
I laughed to myself as I unpackaged my new “ciao” shirt–as I thought “ciao little family, see ya later!”. Obviously, that isn’t what I really want, but today was a tough one and gosh what I would have done for a little mid-morning break! Motherhood has taught me many lessons and one that I implemented today was digging myself out of being frustrated and into a better mood. Y’all it is tough when you are on the verge of screaming at the top of your lungs—to get out of your head and calm the f*** down. But it is possible. This morning was Reid’s final swim lesson of the summer.…
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Edisto Island, South Carolina Family Vacation 2020
We just got back from our family beach vacation to Edisto Beach, South Carolina. We had a fun filled trip to our happy place and given the pandemic, I am super happy we were able to make our annual trip happen! And please let it be known that I am totally procrastinating unpacking and starting laundry in writing this post 🙂 Drew’s family had a house on the beach for over 50 years, last year their family sold the house and thankfully we wanted to keep the tradition alive despite being in a different house. We rented a house called “Doc House” that is right next to the marina and…
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Shrimp Pesto Pizza Recipe and Weekend Recap: Pool, Lake and Family Time
Does it feel like Groundhog Day every day?! My little boys are growing up so fast and I know in a few years I will look back on the year 2020 and think wow I am glad I had so much extra time with them (gratitude is getting me through this week friends!). Every Friday night this summer, we make our favorite pizza–Shrimp Pesto Pizza (yes, it deserves all caps!). It was a creation we made about 5 years ago when we had a freezer full of shrimp and a basil plant that was going crazy. Originally, we made a shrimp pesto pasta, but in our family we love pizza…
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Navigating Motherhood and Burn Out During Covid-19
Let me start this by saying this comes from the heart. As I write this I in no way want to offend anyone or seem to be ungrateful. I just feel the need to speak from my heart and the place that I am currently at. My purpose behind this post is that maybe people can relate and feel a sense of relief that they are not alone in their feelings. Lets talk about being the best mom you can be. Lately, I have felt burnt out. It is not fair to my children, my husband or myself. It pains me to feel that I haven’t been giving the absolute…
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Anniversary Trip to the Inn at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina
We just got back from an amazing night stay at the Inn at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. We were very hesitant of staying in a hotel given the state of things right now, but decided since we haven’t had a night away in 8 months it was worth the risk. I will say that I was beyond comfortable at the Inn, they are taking precautions and everyone is very respectful in keeping distance and wearing masks. I highly recommend traveling to Asheville or anywhere in Buncombe county right now as the people and visitors are being very diligent. We got to the Inn around 6 on Thursday…
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Whether or Not to Send Kids to Preschool During Covid-19
Parenting is a challenging season, and parenting during a pandemic is even more challenging. I have learned more about myself and how I parent in the past 4 months than ever before. I have learned to give myself grace when things don’t go exactly as planned. I have embraced the occasional TV time when I am nearing my breaking point. And I have dug deep to find fun activities that bond us closer together. We have become such a tight little family and for that I am grateful for this quarantine. That being said, one of the parenting challenges that came up recently is sending the boys to preschool. Both…
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Father’s Day Weekend Recap: First Visit to See Family in Waynesville, North Carolina
Seeing family is so good for the soul! It has been since February since we have seen Drew’s family and since December since we have seen mine. While we FaceTime often with family, nothing replaces visiting in person. This past weekend, we had our first trip to see my in-laws for Father’s Day weekend. Both of Drew’s step-siblings and sister along with their significant others were there which made the trip that much more special. My in-laws were very kind to keep the boys for an evening on Thursday night while Drew and I ventured to the Inn at Biltmore for a much needed child-free evening (separate post on our…
