If You Want A Magical Morning

If you want a magical morning, go for a walk in the woods. Seriously.
Last September, Beckett and I started Tot Schooling together. Tot School is whatever a momma wants it to be, but basically is themed "units" that help us to focus on unique vocabulary and skills that we may not get to in our regular day to day. Basically, it's an excuse to peruse Pinterest for new cute activities and to buy new books that fit our topic. :) It's also an opportunity for my teacher self to share new ideas and products over on my #TeacherMom blog and Facebook page. 
This week we're talking about bugs, so this morning we decided to trek through our favorite path at Panther Creek State Park. This path was a favorite pastime when Brian and I were dating, but has been severely neglected since we've had kiddos.

We took our bug equipment so we could search out some critters. Both kids had a total blast exploring their surroundings. I think Beckett could have stayed in there all day. He was all boy! Climbing rocks and jumping off and over things. I LOVED watching him! I probably would have been able to stay longer than the hour we did if I weren't carrying a hefty baby!

Here's the situation though. We went looking for bugs and BOY DID WE FIND SOME. I thought I was more prepared for this. Guys. Bugs are gross and I'm not afraid to admit it. I thought I would be able to suck it up and show Beckett how to make use of that critter thingy, but alas. I failed miserably.

If those little stinkers would have just jumped into the critter case when we asked them to, we would have brought home this bad boy. Maybe when Dad is back in town, we can try again.

The ants were much better behaved. Beckett just sat his bowl down (because we take snacks everywhere, obviously) and they just helped themselves right in! Perfect opportunity to make use of our cool new magnifying glass. 

I loved this morning. And the kids and I desperately needed a magical adventure like this after a very exhausting week. 

We'll definitely continue heading out to our new favorite adventure spot. Lucky for us, we have a couple more months of summer weather and then a beautiful Tennessee fall to look forward to!

So we live in Tennessee.

Have you been keeping up with the whirlwind that is our life? If you have any clue what is happening right now, please fill me in as soon as possible, because I'm lost. 
Just kidding. (Kinda).

Brian and I were talking today about the fact that we really aren't good at keeping up with this blog. The problem with that is the blog is more for our own sake than yours. I don't keep memory books or journals (though I did both before I had kids) so if I don't start writing things down, Facebook will be our only true record of things. UNACCEPTABLE.

So here I am trying to figure out how in the world to organize my thoughts and prioritize what should and shouldn't be said in an effort to keep our memories logged in one place..

Quick recap on what's happening right now: Three years ago (fall 2013) we moved to STL with the intention of launching a second branch of the company Brian worked for (LEP). Instead, we arrived and got an email that they changed their mind about that situation and instead we'd be jobless. And also 7 months pregnant with a brand new mortgage on a completely gutted house. Fast forward to the spring of 2015: We receive word that things at LEP are not looking good (there's been an arrest, rumors of embezzlement, and impeding bankruptcy). A few months later, Charlie is 2 weeks old and we sign the purchase papers for the company, pack a few things and movecation to East TN. The plan was to stay for 6 months. We're going on 10 months and don't have plans to leave any time soon. (More on that soon).

So we've been business owners for about 10 months and WE LOVE IT. Brian spends a LOT of time at work, and there are still a lot of frustrating issues we are working through (including lawsuits), but overall things are going really well. We are blessed with an incredible team of 19 employees who are loyal and hard working. We sincerely enjoy working with them. 

While my main job is stay at home mom, back in the fall we decided I was losing my ever loving mind and needed a bit of a change. So now I get to go into the office part time to help with various projects and initiatives. It's the most ideal situation a Business owner/SAHM could imagine. I have nearly 100% flexibility (with the exception of the small issue of child care!) on the amount of time I spend in the office vs. at home. I've even been able to attend some conferences! I love being part of the team and helping Brian figure out what in the world we're doing (cuz, you know, neither of us have owned a business before). And the rest of the time I get to play mommy!
Out of the office, we are staying VERY BUSY with travel. We've traveled almost every week since mid-may and have a combined ELEVEN trips planned between now and November. It's no wonder we can NEVER keep up with the laundry!
The kids are doing really well, all things considered. Beckett is still not potty trained and Charlie is still not sleeping through the night, but we're working on both! Beckett is suddenly talking much more which has been a TON of fun! He loves to learn and he loves his baby sister. Charlie is A SASSY PANTS. Guys, I can't even say that enough. But she's smart and sweet and I look forward to watching her grow up!
So the big looming question is WHAT IS OUR PLAN?! We really don't have a solid one. We have talked A LOT recently about the game plan, but haven't made a solid decision. How long do we stay? Do we rent our house or sell it? Do we finish the renovations from afar? Do we stay in this little temporary townhouse or rent something bigger? Do we buy a second home in Tennessee? 
 I can tell you that right now we are taking things one day at a time. Long term, the goal is to put management in place here in Morristown and move our family back to St. Charles. First though, we will commit as much time as necessary to living and working in Tennessee. We feel pretty good about that. We love our people here, the culture, the weather, the views. We are happy here, but don't worry friends! It's just temporary! (We think.)
We'll keep you updated.

Beckett's THINGS THAT GO Second Birthday!

[Disclaimer: This is copied & pasted from a Facebook Post because I never blogged about it!]

This is really late. Just pretend I'm on top of things.

Almost two weeks ago, this favorite little man TURNED TWO YEARS OLD!! I had every intention of updating our friends and family with a sweet blog post on this kiddo but alas, it has not happened and it's time we just admit that ship has sailed. ;)

So #ThisIsTwo!

Beckett is SINCERELY one of the sweetest little men I've ever known. We are so blessed to call him ours!! He loves food, Leap Frog, "things that go," wrestling with his daddy, books, and learning! He has a ton of patience and really great focus. [Brag Alert!] He knows all of his letters and letter sounds, can identify numbers and count to ten, a ton of colors, shapes, animals and sounds, etc. He's still a sleep NINJA (as in - he can fight it... the kid stayed awake until 4AM on our drive to Chicago this week!).

For his birthday, we decided to have a small family affair. We surprised him when he woke up from nap with decorations, a pile of presents from the fam, & his favorite foods! Then we just played and enjoyed our evening! Happy {Belated} Birthday, Stinky Face!

Beckett's birthday in photos:

During nap, we decorated the house with balloons and a pile of gifts. Out of town family had sent gifts, too, so there was no lack of presents for opening! When he woke up, he was completely surprised with the transformation!

We invited Beckett's Uncle Russ, cousin Nate, and Aunt Lea to join us for family dinner made of all of Beckett's favorite foods! Instead of a traditional cake, Beckett had strawberry short cake, because he's a fruit fanatic! He was so thrilled to hear everyone sing him "Happy Birthday." Sweet.

Then we opened his MOUND of gifts, and spent the rest of the evening playing with new toys! Because he's so into "things that go," most of his gifts fit that theme, and he was in Toddler Heaven!

The next morning, we got up and played with our new toys some more! His "big gift" from mom and dad was his new drone! Recently he was enthralled by a drone at a local park, so we decided it would be a fun activity for Dad & Beckett to enjoy together. Boy were we right! He loved it SO MUCH -- except when Dad hit him in the head with a drone. Yeah, that happened.

It was also FINALLY time for Beckett's first hair cut!! We've been putting it off because his hair is SO. THIN. but it was definitely time. He did great!  And now look how stinkin cute my little two year old is!

Hill, Party of Four! Plus One Bit of News.

Remember that time that we got pregnant (twice), lost a baby, sold a house, bought a house, moved across the country, started major renovations, left two jobs, had a baby, and started a new job all in one year?
Well, it's been a while since our lives have erupted into mass chaos, so we've decided it's about time for another adventure... in addition, of course, to having a newborn! Curious? You should be.
But first, let's talk about this lovely lady!

We got to welcome this sweet girl into the world on August 24, which is her Uncle Devin's birthday too! She was born at 10:34am, at 8lbs 12.5oz and 20.5 inches long. She was the same height and only 3 oz less than her brother!
Of course, we're enjoying our new bundle. She's a sassy pants. She's not quite as chill as her brother, but doesn't have any major issues, colic, etc. She sleeps and eats like a champ, which is awesome! She really likes to be held, and wants to be SUPER warm all of the time. 

Charlie Grace is a month old today!! We just got home from the doc and she is now 11lbs 12.6oz. (91%ile)  and 22.25 inches tall (96%ile). She's a chunker & we love it! I thought it would be sweet to try and take some Pinterest worthy photos for her 1-month mark, but we all know how that goes.

You're welcome for that. :)
Regarding the adjustment: it's been an adventure, to say the least.
The first few days that Charlie was home were pretty rough for Beckett, and for the adults by extension. He had some nasty tantrums & aggressive behavior, he stopped sleeping, and he wants to be held significantly more than before. Luckily, the horrible behavior resolved after about 4 (very challenging and emotional) days. He finally started sleeping again after 2 weeks. He still wants to be held and snuggled but that's a change I'm happy to deal with! 
He hasn't shown huge interest in Charlie yet but it is improving. Thank goodness, he has never been aggressive to her. He has always been very gentle and has occasionally requested to hold her. He likes to help calm her down, pat her, and bounce her bouncy chair when she's crying, so that's sweet and encouraging! Of course, he's also realized that he can get away with more when Mom is nursing, so that's an adventure! 

Luckily, I've had Nana around for the first MONTH! She stayed here with us for two weeks, then LAST MINUTE we found out that Brian had to go to Tennessee for THREE WEEKS (more on that in a minute) so I headed to Mom's in Chicago so that I would still have help as I continued to recover from surgery & adjust to life with 2.

I came home last week, but Brian is still in Tennessee until next Wednesday. So now about that. 
SURPRISE! We're movecationing BACK to East Tennessee! MoveCationing, you ask? It's a word. I made it up. It means longer than a vacation but not a permanent move.
It's a really long story with a lot of details that we'll save for another time, but I'll give you the quick rundown: Remember that time that we moved to St. Charles with the intention of launching a branch of Brian's former company, LEP? And then it fell through AFTER we got here so Brian was stuck finding a new job? Well, back in May, Brian launched his own company. Shortly after, we learned that LEP needing new ownership. The board called Brian, he accepted, we acquired/bought a flippin company [because apparently we're grown ups now], and we're movecationing to East Tennessee for approximately 6 months while we get organized.
Deep Breaths.
Why yes, this DID happen the same week Charlie was born, and therefore has been an additional little bit of "holy cow, this is happening" for us to adjust to. So! We're praying a lot and trying to just take things one day at a time. We make the official movecation on October 7.
We are VERY excited about this leg of the journey, and VERY, VERY excited to spend FALL (the most glorious of seasons) in the most beautiful state ever! We expect we'll have quite the entertaining story over the next couple of months, so keep us in your prayers and in return, we'll keep you updated!