• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact + Collaborate
  • Privacy Policy
  • Nav Connect

    Subscribe Via Email 

    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Snapchat
    • Twitter

Whimsical September

A Family + Lifestyle Blog

Main navigation

  • Favorite Things
  • Motherhood
    • Pregnancy
    • Registry
    • Slice of Life
    • Potty Training
    • A Day in the Life
    • All The Feels
    • Activities/Crafts
    • Hadley’s B-days
    • Sadie’s B-Days
  • Military Life
    • PCSing
    • Home Ownership
    • Deployment 2011-2012 (Afghanistan)
    • Deployment 2013 (Afghanistan)
    • Deployment 2015-2016 (Kuwait)
    • West Point Days
    • Friendships
    • Other
  • Travel
    • With Little Ones
    • Beaches/Tropical
    • Disney World
    • Europe
    • More Fun Places
  • Home + DIY
    • Before and After Home Tour
    • Bathrooms
    • DIY Projects
    • Painting Projects
    • Bedrooms
    • Kitchen
    • Playroom
  • Style + Beauty
    • Stitch Fix Reviews
    • Fashion
    • Make Up + Skin Care
  • Recipes
    • Meats
    • Side Items
    • Desserts
    • Comfort Food
    • Pasta
    • Healthy Choices
    • Christmas
  • Blogging
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact + Collaborate
  • Privacy Policy
  • Nav Connect

    Subscribe Via Email 

    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Snapchat
    • Twitter

Motherhood 9 Comments

Slice of Life: July 13th, 2018

This summer has been equal parts really stinkin’ fun and really (really) long, and despite all of the good times we’ve had as a family, everybody is going to be jumping for joy when preschool starts in a month!

We intentionally didn’t put any family travel plans on the calendar this summer so that Jamie could build his time off at work and we could let the dust settle after a wild few months of transitioning out of the Army. The kids have been out of school since the end of February though, meaning the three of us girls have been hanging out all day every day for almost five months, and well, we all need a break from each other. 😉

Everybody who knows me knows I love being a SAHM, but I’m only human… and my kids make me nuts sometimes. 😉

But really, we are having such a fun summer! I’m looking forward to documenting a “Day in the Life” next week and recording what our manageable daily routine has looked like.

Most days we get out of the house and go somewhere, but some days we just get out of the house and only make it to the driveway. Neighbor hangs are some of my favorite hangs! Moms pull out lawn chairs, kids eat popsicles and play, and it’s just a simple win/win for everyone.

{By the time all of the houses around us close, there will be seven four year olds just on our street. Ahhh, the bus stop is going to be fun in a couple years!}

Despite my parents being five miles down the road, we hadn’t gone on a date night in three months (since we celebrated the closing of our Kansas home). We have no good excuse except that we are evening homebodies and are often content to be in our home with friends and family.

Hadley’s new favorite thing = jumping on the trampoline at our local indoor mall. She is an adrenaline junky sometimes like her mom and dad. 🙂

We finally filled up our dining room space with our former DIY farmhouse kitchen table Jamie and my BIL Josh built is 2014. We bought a new kitchen table set spontaneously after stumbling upon a killer deal, so this one is going to camp in our dining room until we find the right set for in here as well.

I’d ideally love an 8-10 top with a big rug, but it’s pretty darn far down our priority list. We’ll see! For now, this totally works!

PS: That china cabinet off to the left is 100 years old. It was my great-grandmothers, and I’ve been in love with it since I was a teenager. I asked my parents for it years ago, and I’m just enamored with it.

We have a few beautiful walking/biking trails nearby (but sadly none that are within walking distance), so we’ve been throwing the girls’ bikes and/or strollers in the truck/jeep and heading to get some exercise. My best friend just had a baby last month, so this has been our spot to get some exercise during these insane newborn days for her. My girls love her oldest son, Carter!

Hadley has had so many different bikes that she’s strongly disliked (including a $200 Strider bike…), but this inexpensive one is the absolute love of her life. She has completely mastered it and rode for two miles during her first ride. It could not be more girly, and even includes a princess carriage for my grandkid, Sophia the stuffed cat (as pictured buckled up below).

My grandmother has had a slew of health issues lately, but these girls have brought a healthy dose of sunshine to her life, especially when she’s not feeling well. They love her so much, and she adores them.

Jamie’s co-worker has talked a lot about Point Mallard, a water park in nearby Decatur, so we headed there last Friday for a day of fun (he can take every other Friday off as long as he’s put in his hours). Our neighbors joined us, and we had a total blast! It’s pretty much the exact same as it was when I was growing up, but our girls thought it was the best day ever. I envision this will be a place we’ll come once per summer, put our check mark in the box, and move on. 😉

Also, check out this big girl jumping off a legit diving board! I wasn’t allowed in the pool to catch her, so I stood on the edge and held my breath as she jumped. I knew she’d go down further in the water since the board was higher, but she came right to the surface and swam to the side. FREAKING PROUD MAMA RIGHT THERE. Sheesh. So awesome. And you better believe Jamie and I had a ball doing that big water slide in the background. We switched off with our neighbors watching each others’ kids so we could go down it with our spouse. 🙂

After we rested up from the water park, we rode bikes to a local dog park and then ate outside at Sonic before bedtime. At 30 years old, this is my idea of a perfect day. Fun with friends and family + exercise for the whole family (including Teddy) + casual dinner out = MY JAM.

Around lunchtime Saturday, we boogied down to Birmingham to celebrate a couple of birthdays! My brother turned 27, so we brought him a homemade cake (Hadley keeps track of whose birthday is next and would have been so confused if we didn’t celebrate), and then went over to the McWane Center (free for Army Reserves members and their families!)

We spent two hours playing hard at the McWane Center before hugging Uncle David goodbye and driving over to Cantina Laredo to attend a surprise party/dinner for Jamie’s best friend from high school.

Not only did we get to see Jamie’s best friend Chris, but the girls got to meet their second cousin, Gloria! Chris is married to Jamie’s cousin Madeline (they met at our wedding!), and then had a baby girl a few months ago. Getting to all be together and catch up was wonderful. We made the 100ish minute drive home after dinner with two sleeping peanuts in the backseat.

Hadley attended a preschool art class recently that I bought on Groupon for less than $1. She had fun. 🙂

Meanwhile, Sadie has been rockin’ and rollin’ with her weekly gymnastics class. She loves it so much, I can’t even tell you.

But every once in a blue moon, we stay home in comfy clothes, put on too much TV, and rest our bodies. Full days at home make me feel a little loony by the end of them, but they’re so, so necessary sometimes to simply catch up and rest. We stay busy around here, so I’m trying to listen to my body when it says “NO MORE.”

Enjoy your Friday the 13th! We have a super low-key weekend coming up which has me giddy as could be. See ya Monday!

Erica

Hi! I’m Erica, and I absolutely adore sharing my life on this website with you! I come here almost daily to blab about all of the things related to being a regular wife and mother in today’s ever-evolving society. I share about our new home, what’s on our kitchen table, what we’re hanging in our closets, where we’re traveling to next, my crazy 5 a.m. work outs, how I make time for girlfriends, our faith, and much more. We always have a lot of balls in the air and somewhat thrive on the chaos. I believe in the power of story-telling as a form of inspiration and entertainment, so I’m here to do both! I was born and raised in north Alabama and recently re-planted roots here again after my husband transitioned out of the Army (he is now in the Reserve and it’s going so well!) I’m a super proud mom to two little girls (ages 5 and 2) who seem to be the stars of the show around here (for good reason – they’re pretty great!) I’m so glad you found me and are here reading! I hope we can get to know each other here on the blog as well as Facebook and/or Instagram. xoxo

  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Email
  • More
  • Reddit

Related

July 13, 2018

« Stitch Fix Kids Review: Hadley and Sadie’s First Boxes
The Give Back Giveaway Series: For Literature Lovers »

Primary Sidebar

Meet Erica

Hi! I’m Erica, and I absolutely adore sharing my life on this website with you!

I come here almost daily to blab about all of the things related to being a regular wife and mother in today’s ever-evolving society. I share about our new home, what’s on our kitchen table, what we’re hanging in our closets, where we’re traveling to next, my crazy 5 a.m. work outs, how I make time for girlfriends, our faith, and much more. We always have a lot of balls in the air and somewhat thrive on the chaos.

I believe in the power of story-telling as a form of inspiration and entertainment, so I’m here to do both! I was born and raised in north Alabama and recently re-planted roots here again after my husband transitioned out of the Army (he is now in the Reserve and it’s going so well!) I’m a super proud mom to two little girls (ages 5 and 2) who seem to be the stars of the show around here (for good reason – they’re pretty great!)

I’m so glad you found me and are here reading! I hope we can get to know each other here on the blog as well as Facebook and/or Instagram. xoxo

Like on Facebook

Like on Facebook

Today’s Top Posts

  • Why You Should Shed Self-Imposed Expectations of What Christmastime Should Look Like
    Why You Should Shed Self-Imposed Expectations of What Christmastime Should Look Like
  • How to Paint Trim White
    How to Paint Trim White
  • Pepper Jelly Cream Cheese Dip: A 30 Second Appetizer
    Pepper Jelly Cream Cheese Dip: A 30 Second Appetizer
  • Air Fryer Sausage Balls
    Air Fryer Sausage Balls
  • Orangetheory Price and Other Info to Know Before Signing Up
    Orangetheory Price and Other Info to Know Before Signing Up
Everywhere

Footer

Instagram has returned invalid data.

Follow On Instagram

Whimsical September © 2019 · Blog Design by Freeborboleta · Built On The Genesis Framework

SUBSCRIBE

Keep up with Erica & Whimsical September by receiving new post notifications in your inbox. This is the easiest way to never miss a new post! What they're eating, what they're doing, where they're going... she shares it all!

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.