Life Lately

 I figured it's time for a little check-in on the blog since it's been a while. 

On Sunday night, Brian took Cam to see a movie and I decided to take Sasha on a walk around our block after Brooke was in bed. It was truly the perfect evening. The weather was warm, the sun was going down, the aroma of our neighbor cooking on a charcoal grill filled the air. One neighbor was hosting a gathering of teenagers - cars lined the curb and I listened to their laughter, their driveway basketball game, and their voices chatting on the deck as I walked by. It felt like the postcard of an American summer night and I felt so incredibly happy and blessed as I soaked it all in.

And then on Monday morning the temperature dropped to 30 degrees and I couldn't pull myself out of bed to go to the gym. :)  

Well, Articles Club "Camp Clerb" weekend was a success! Our 4th annual girls' trip was one for the books. Leading up to the weekend, I painted a custom paint-by-number that I ordered from Amazon. I enjoyed working on it in the evenings in February, and I was thrilled with how it turned out. 

This was from a picture of us at the lake last year right before six of us jumped in the water for our polar plunge. So fun! We do a Favorite Things gift exchange each year, so I brought it as my favorite things gift this year.

If you want to read more about the weekend, two of the girls wrote fabulous recaps linked here:

Are We Grateful?

In Good Company

Last week I took PTO on Thursday and Friday. My sister and I took my mom to the Fearrington on Thursday for their afternoon tea, and it really exceeded our expectations! It was a lovely afternoon spent together. 

On Friday, Cam had a teacher workday.  We decided to take our bikes out for a ride and my neighbor suggested the Neuse River Trail. He told me where to park and what route to take - he was spot on with his pick! It ended up being such an amazing ride!! The weather was awesome, and the trail winded alongside the Neuse River through peaceful woods and then alongside large pastures. We loved it and biked 20 miles! Cam was begging to go back the next day, so I definitely feel encouraged to do this more often, especially with the spring weather ahead.

Lastly, Brooke is potty trained (yay!), which was one of my big goals for this year. I wasn't sure what I had in mind for potty training. I took a much less structured approach than I did with Cam when he was two years old and I did the "3-day potty training bootcamp." Brooke has been able to (inconsistently) use the potty since she was 23 months old. Well, they finally moved her up to an older classroom this month at day care and the teacher in her new classroom encouraged me to pull the trigger and put her in underwear and see what happens.

Happy to report it's going well (or about as well as I should expect)! 

I've been reminded that this parenting stage is particularly challenging. Frequently taking a toddler into a public restroom is the worst, especially when it's interrupting dinner at a restaurant, a car ride, or basically everything.

The last place I want to be is in a tiny bathroom stall squatting on the floor with a toddler touching ALL THE THINGS and losing my patience, but alas, here we are. 

As my parents always like to remind me: this is the life I chose. :)