Gymnastics...Isn't Always Fantastic!

I wasn't one of those kids growing up that was extremely passionate about one sport.  I tried a lot of different sports...I played tennis, did swim team, ran track, and played years and years of soccer.  I never once had a desire to be a gymnast.  Right after Lauren turned three, several of us signed our kids up for gymnastics to help get us through the winter months.  Lauren loved it!

She loved going every week and this summer was asked to join the gym's pre-team.  I struggled with what to do because after the move the gym would be a forty-five minute drive from our new house.  I weighed the pros and cons and even looked into a new gym.  The biggest driver for joining the team was that Lauren wanted to do ballet and being on the team meant learning a floor routine...my thought, killing two birds with one stone.

 She had her first meet a few weeks ago, it was very fun to watch these little girls.  Some of them have amazing talent.  I only got pictures of her on the beam...horrible light and no flash allowed.  This was the best I could do.

 This picture cracks me up because she paused while doing her routine to look for us and her coach is trying not to laugh because she knows what Lauren is doing.  She seems to like the vault the best and even got a first place!

I really didn't think we were even going to get there.  Right after Christmas, Lauren wanted to quit because the drive was "so far."  The commute was getting to me too, mainly because it was such a struggle each time.  Why am I doing this when my child clearly doesn't want to go?  But, we would arrive and she would be so happy to be there.  So, we took a few weeks off and last week she didn't give me any trouble about going.  I hate to quit because we made a commitment, but I also don't want to force a five year old...maybe a little break was all she needed.  Taking each week as it comes.

 

With a pose like this, wouldn't you think she'd be Olympic bound?

 Lauren and her two coaches!

XOXO
Aubrey

William's Room: Before, Progress, Plan

I haven't done a house progress post in forever, but aside from hanging any art or pictures, we've stalled in that department.  We've got a 2014 plan for projects, so I should have lots to share.

William's room looks a lot like it did in the old house.  I even went with the same paint color, though it looks so much grayer in this picture.  Here is the post with all his bedroom details from our last house.

This is actually a picture from Lauren's room because I never snapped a before of his room, but it looked very similar to this.  The curtains covered up so much natural light with the added touch of beige carpet and beige walls.  

His room is so bright and filled with lots of natural light.  We did leave the shades to use at night, but I think blinds or a decorative roman shade would look better.

We switched up the gallery wall a little too, we added a framed picture of the kids, a print we found in New Mexico and removed the shell art.

 

 Billy spotted this in a shop during our visit to Madrid.  That day was very memorable, so I'm glad we this little piece to remember it.

 Taking pictures of a room in your house is a great way to see what you need or maybe what you need to take out.  His room feels a little stark without curtains and there is a wall I didn't even show you that is completely bare.  William has also outgrown the toddler bed, so he'll be getting a new bed really soon too!

The Plan

• Window treatments - blinds or decorative roman shades.  Something like this would be functional and add some color/pattern to the room
• Big boy bed - I would love to add two twin beds, but short term he may just get Lauren's twin bed.  And I want to have a lot of color on his bed, like this.
• Book storage or shelves - not sure what, but something

Thankfully the list is short and the bed is a top priority.  I have even thought we could leave the crib in his room to act like a little reading nook.  Well, who am I kidding, it would most likely would be used as some sort of fort or ship.

XOXO

Aubrey

Are You Still There?

Weeks ago I had such high hopes of getting back into blogging.  Admittedly, I haven't even tried.  My own mother even asked if the blog is now "non-existent"...thanks, mom.  I've been busy.  This past fall I took I took on a volunteer position with Lauren's school to co-chair their annual auction.  Most of my extra time during January went into planning that night, I felt like I had a job. And when I wasn't doing that, I was trying to keep the clan sane.

January was a long month with our freezing cold temps, school snow days and auction planning.  I'm so happy the auction is over, but wishing the weather would turn.  I feel like we will be in spring jackets when we finally get back to the thirty degree mark.    At the end of the day, I just wanted to curl up the couch with the kids or even just alone. Hibernating.  I have missed my little blog, but I'm patting myself on the back for recognizing that it's ok to step away.  This week will mark my third year anniversary of the blog and becoming a stay at home mom.  Hopefully I can dust off the camera and work on a little post like I did here and here.

In case you are wondering what I've been doing to keep us from going crazy...here goes!

School of Mom

I've been trying to work with Lauren a few days a week just to reinforce what she is learning at school.  Nothing crazy...just some numbers, a little addition, and reading.  Teachers have such patience.

Making Time

William is so much different then Lauren when it comes to independent play.  He is happy to have you set up legos or his train and he'll just play by himself.  It's great when I  bathrooms to clean and laundry to fold, but I could be doing some sort of cleaning or organizing EVERYDAY.  I've been trying to make an effort to take time with just him, to get down on the floor with him.

He also found a new favorite activity...dishwasher.  I was prepping dinner and he was next to me "washing" dishes.  As soon as I trust his skills, I'll be putting him to work.  My chapped hands will thank me.

Bringing the Outside In

A facebook friend posted that her kids were entertained for hours when she brought the snow inside and since we couldn't go outside, why not?  Lauren loved playing in the snow with her Anna doll from "Frozen."

William would play, then eat.  Play, then eat.  Hopefully there wasn't any yellow snow.

This wasn't a homerun in the entertainment area for my kids.  Sorry kids, I know there is a mountain of snow in the backyard, but enjoy this pyrex instead.  

XOXO

Aubrey