Slice of Life – January 30th, 2017

Hey hey! I hope this short and sweet “Slice of Life” finds you well this morning. I have my iPhone glued to my hand today as I shoot our semi-annual “Day in the Life” post, so I’m excited to see how the day takes shape and to share our little slice of daily craze with you on Wednesday.

Here’s a glance into our last week or so. We either haven’t done much or I haven’t taken many pictures. Either way, I hope you enjoy my most brief “Slice of Life” post ever. 🙂

We’ve known for a while that Jamie will be in and out the next few months, which is why we hunkered down at home over Christmas break and soaked up as much family time as we could. I snapped this picture last week during the one morning we had with Jamie as he said his goodbyes for the next few weeks.

The sting of these goodbyes for Jamie has intensified as Hadley has gotten older. He got home at 9 p.m. the other night (now the third day in a row he hadn’t seen the girls awake), gave me a kiss, and then I walked to the sink to put something in it. When I turned around, he was gone. I went down the hall looking for him, and I found him in Hadley’s dark room kneeling by her bed stroking her hair as she slept. For some reason the site of him in his boots and uniform in her dark room watching her sleep made my heart really ache for him. The time apart is hard but I truly do believe that it makes our everyday moments that we have as a family so much sweeter. (Doesn’t quite make up for the missed time, but it is an undeniable positive.)

One of Hadley’s favorite things to do right now is play with Sadie and/or me in her teepee.  This picture really captures what life has looked like the last few days. I’ve tried to be much more intentional about being on the floor with the girls playing whatever they want me to play with them.

You may have seen this on Instagram, but last week I quickly scribbled this note to put in Hadley’s lunchbox (she goes to preschool two days a week). I’d never done this before since she can’t read, and I’d just never really thought about it. This time I wondered if her teacher would read it to her as she helped the kids unpack their lunches. When I picked her up later, I asked if there was a note in her lunchbox. She said “Yea! You love ME!” with the biggest smile on her face. She talked about it all day and couldn’t wait to tell her daddy on the phone later. Two days later Jamie wrote her a note, and when I asked her later what it said, she told me exactly. I guess I’ll be quickly ripping off a piece of paper towel and grabbing a marker every time I pack her lunch. I’m just constantly caught off guard by how fast she’s growing up!

We had a couple warmer days last week, so Meg and I whipped by the big kids’ favorite park for a little while to let them get out some energy after their naps at school. Meg snapped this picture of them, and I think it’s one of my favorite ever. They just look so big and beautiful! Watching them grow from new one-year-olds to the little preschoolers they are has been fun. I can’t believe Jack is going to be four in June!

On Saturday, we made plans with my sweet friend Kelsey to head to our nearest Cracker Barrel. We planned it  beautifully (ha! yeah right!) where we’d go right after Sadie’s morning nap so that she’d be her happy self and we could have an enjoyable lunch.

Well, chaos ensued (poor Kels.) Our waitress dumped her entire tray of water all over Sadie and me (but mostly me), but I tried to play it off like it was no big deal because I knew she felt horrible. I still sat there soaking wet though, so that was fun.

Five minutes later Sadie reached for a small plate and impressively chucked up like a frisbee a few feet away. Kelsey and I watched as it flew in slow motion, and we braced for impact. It shattered way louder than expected and silenced the entire restaurant. I figured somebody would laugh with me, but instead everyone just stared. Sadie then continued to lose her marbles and tried to eat the entire table (including the actual table) thanks to a sixth tooth that I can feel is about to break through her gums. We tried to hurry breakfast along and then went out to the gift shop area to pay. As I’m getting out my wallet, Kelsey tells me to look down. My right boot is covered in eggs. We just died.

You can still see a speck of egg on my right boot. Also, Sadie hates socks and shoes and kicks them off every. single. time.

Both girls then whined the whole way home and fell asleep approximately five minutes before we pulled into the driveway. Hadley decided that a five minute nap was plenty for the afternoon, so you can image the rest of the day was just a freaking ball. Thank goodness for my neighbor who invited us to come plop on her floor and let my kids play with her kids so that we could get through the last 90 minutes until bath time. My kids don’t do great at restaurants because we honestly go out to eat only once a month. We only go out to eat once a month because it’s usually no fun and a waste of money since my girls are so “spirited”. This season of life with tiny kids is something else.

I quickly took this picture of beautiful Kelsey holding my girls while I tried to pack up all of our stuff. She always knows how to help out without being asked. Also… does anybody remember the story from this time last year when Hadley flicked a small piece of food at the table next to ours, and the guy was super rude about it? Yep… that was with Kelsey too. I don’t know why she still goes out to eat with. The DeSpains are a hot mess 99% of the time. 🙂

Let’s chat!

Does your spouse travel frequently? How do your children handle it?

Do you also have kids who love notes in their lunch boxes?