Going the Distance

Weekly Wins: Hey There Spring!

Happy happy Friday!!! I don't even care that it's Friday the 13th because this week has felt reeeeeally draggy and long. At the end of the day on Monday it felt like I'd been at work for at least 2 days already, so that's kind of where I've been at.

Added to that, MG has been gone for a work conference since Wednesday afternoon which means that I've been solo mom'ing for the first time, the last two nights! Needless to say, Friday is a most welcome friend today!

Even though the week was busy, we had some wins!

~I survived my first time doing solo mom duty and MG comes home this afternoon!

~We had fun visitors Wednesday after work when my friend Bree and her son came by to pick something up, and stayed for a bit!

Usually she has pants on, but this was after dinner time which was a mess

~MG and I have a date night tomorrow night to celebrate our anniversary since we weren't together for it yesterday! #4years

Our first photo together, 7 years ago

~Ella took her first steps between EJ and I last Thursday, and then Wednesday evening she took her first solo steps towards me, letting go of her Pottery Barn chair! Bonus--my MIL saw it since we were on FaceTime! My little bear is growing up!!

~I somehow made it through 5 parent meetings this week, unscathed!

~We have a 2 hour early release today to prepare for the end of the quarter which means I don't have to go to my hoarding coworker's school today!

~I got the cutest new cordless mouse for work, because my other one got lost when I was at the hoarder's office (it has not been found in 3 weeks....is anyone shocked?). Yes, it's a sad state of affairs when you realize that you're an adult because you're excited about your cute new mini mouse haha. I'm ok with it though!

~Near the top of all of the wins (aside from MG coming home) is that it FINALLY feels like Spring!!! Yesterday temps were in the high 70's, and today and tomorrow will be in the 80s! Lots of outdoors time is in my future this weekend!
Also, how cute is this picture from daycare of Ella and her guys having a little outdoor picnic yesterday? Don't mind her outfit--her shirt earlier in the day was a casualty of ketchup apparently

I sent this to family and captioned it "Ella's first 2-on-1 picnic date...who will get the rose?" #bachelorhumor

What are some of your wins this week??

4 Years

4 Years....

....and we're now parents to the most incredible little girl

.....and we've taken on parenthood and the ups and downs that come with it--the stresses it puts on us and the happiness it brings--and we're better for it

....and I revel every day at the dad you are, and love seeing your love and pride for our sweet girl

.....and I appreciate all of the little things you do to make my life easier, and to support me. Waking up with me for every middle of the night feeding with Ella, taking on cooking on the nights when I just don't have the time or energy to do it, doing the every day tasks that are tedious and annoying without a request...on and on, and I can't express just how much I appreciate you.

....and you impress me daily with your knowledge of the world, and how intelligent you are.

....on the opposite end of the spectrum, you make me laugh with your incredibly goofy sayings, silly songs about Ella and Cooper, and ability to look on the bright side of things.

....and I still look forward to coming home to you every night, and always look forward to your return from work trips

....and your hugs heal some of my toughest days

....and you remind me of what's important when I get stressed out, or in my head about something/someone.

....and you don't give me too much slack when another bag or box gets delivered to the house hahah

....and you're still my favorite person to travel with

....and you're still my favorite date

....and I'd choose you over and over and over again, still.

This year has been filled with lots of joy, some challenges, but so many memories. I can't wait to see what year 4 has in store for us, but I know that whatever it is, it'll be an adventure with my favorite person.

I love you!!

{WHW}: Oops!

I had a post scheduled for today, but it's not happening, so I'm sorry for the bust of a day, and for my absence lately. Things have been busy at work, busy at home, and busy busy busy! This little space of mine is definitely being neglected right now, but I promise I'll be back soon!

In the meantime, link up with Jessi and I to share what's hap-"pinning" with you!

Weekly Wins

Sorry for my absence much of this week--as I said on Wednesday, it has just been a super busy week coming off of Spring Break with meetings, and catching up, etc etc.

It's also been a bit more difficult since Ella has decided that she likes waking up around 6am this week which makes it incredibly difficult for me to get ready in the mornings because #shesnonstop.

I think she's teething which is part of the problem. Lots of drool, crankiness, and early wake ups.

In addition to that, we had to cancel our anniversary trip to NYC for this weekend because it's supposed to be in the 30s and 40s and was supposed to snow (that has since changed it seems). MG planned and booked this trip, and we definitely didn't anticipate this happening in April, so it's a bummer. Plus, we were going to get a night on our own with my SIL watching Ella. But, now with cold weather and maybe snow there, and a small potential of snow here, it's a bust. I'm disappointed, but we'll make the most of it, and hopefully find another weekend to get away.

Even with those set backs, there are still some wins this week:

~two parent meetings that went exceedingly well--one of which I anticipated being painful (and I lost sleep over) was actually painless and couldn't have gone better! HUGE win!

~a scheduled date night next weekend, babysitter already locked down (thankful to work with people who have HS kids willing to babysit), to temporarily make up for missed anniversary weekend

~Two 60-70 degree days this week! (The fact that we are still talking about snow in APRIL is NOT a win, though)

~pics of Ella at daycare, being a trouble maker with her partner in crime

~having a husband who takes care of the oil changes and other vehicle maintenance things so that I don't have to worry about it #actsofservice #itsthelittlethings

~I had a breakthrough with one of the students I work with who has autism! It's so exciting to see a kid learn and do something they haven't done before and have that light bulb click on!

~On a smaller note, Southern Charm is back! Yessssssss!!! #guiltypleasure

It was a busy work week, and a pretty quiet one overall, but there were still some wins this week on my end, and I hope there were for you, too!
Happy Friday!

{WHW}: I've Got Nothing

It's the middle of the workweek post Spring Break and I'm drowning in stuff at work.

So today for WHW, I have nothing. I'm just downright busy.

I'll be back when things slow down, but for now, share what's hap-"pinning" with you!

Weekending (Late): Easter Edition

I'm recapping our weekend a day late, which is pretty much my norm lately anyway, but I had my TBB Asks post yesterday. If you missed it, check it out!

This weekend was a lot of fun and seriously flew by!

The highlights included:

~My one SIL, youngest niece and MIL getting into town late Thursday night, and staying up much later than we should have!

~A low key, fun morning all together, then meeting MG for lunch since he'd taken a half day. Followed that up with a trip to Mount Vernon since my SIL and niece had never been. The weather started off suuuuper warm and nice and then clouds and wind rolled in, so this smart girl with her short sleeves was a liiiiiiittle chilly.

Ella giving Martha Washington the side eye--especially when she told us that 18 month olds used to be put into corsets!

~MG and Ella left after about an hour and a half since it was chilly, starting to rain, and Ella needed to get down for a nap, while the rest of us stayed and toured George Washington's house, and the museum afterwards before heading home.

~Went out to dinner at Clyde's that night and Ella was a riot! She ate probably a grown man's portion of food (I don't know how!) and was begging for french fries (squealing with her little fists all tight). It was hilarious! The whole meal was delicious and we had so many laughs that by the end of it, we were all saying how our faces hurt!

~Put little miss to bed once we got home, and then rented Jumanji which all of us had already seen with the exception of MG. It was still hilarious the second time around!

~Saturday morning Ella slept in a little bit and apparently all of that extra energy encouraged her to start dancing anytime she hears music. If you saw my instastory, you saw our girl getting down with her bad self. Now, she wiggles to any music that she hears which is freaking adorable.

~Everyone left mid morning to head back home and MG and I ran some errands with Ella and then went for a family walk since the weather was nice. A low key pizza night in for dinner was perfection to wrap up the day.

~MG and I binged some more on Poldark (Obsessed!!)

~Sunday morning was Ella's first Easter. She had her first little Easter basket of things, and enjoyed pulling everything out of the basket haha.

~Ella happily represented some Easter bunny ears (for the photos before pulling them off), and there are about 6 different photos that were all too adorable for words:

this one ranks up there with the reindeer antlers from Christmas--I can't help but smile when I look at it :)

~That afternoon my mom came and our neighborhood had a little Easter egg hunt for the kids, that we went to. Ella found her two eggs and was happily content to sit and put them in her mouth while the other kids ran around collecting the rest.

~MG made Creamy Shells and Beef in the InstantPot for dinner, which was delicious.

~Ella spent some more time with my mom before bedtime and then my mom headed home too.

~More Poldark was watched and then we wound down for the evening before gearing up to head back to work this week.

I have to say, the past week, especially this weekend, Ella's little personality has just been coming out more and more and it's so fun to see. She's so interactive with other people, and the dancing is just the cutest thing ever. As busy as she was last week, and it was tiring, I miss being at home with her and seeing that personality blossom every day!

Hoping your weekend and Easter, if you celebrate, was awesome too!

TBB Asks: {All Things Spring}

1. What 3 colors remind you most of Spring? yellow, green, pink

{via}

2. What is the first thing you’d add to your wardrobe in Spring? capri pants and/or short sleeve shirts
3. What is the first wardrobe item you ditch in Spring? Boots or heavy sweaters

4. Who mows the grass where you live? We have a company who comes and mows the grass in our development, but MG will mow the small patch of lawn in the front of our house if they don't do it.

5. What’s Spring Like where you live? Usually 60-70's, rainy/sunny and LOTS of pollen

6. What’s Your favorite thing about Spring? The warmer temperatures and being able to drive with my sunroof and windows open