triumphs and tragedies

Triumphs:
Spring is here! We're loving all the time spent outside. Rhett is finally mastering the monkey bars and I am slowly conquering the jungle of weeds and bushes growing in our backyard.

Andre starts a new job next week! Today is the last day of his old job, which means we get four days of fun before it's back to work. It's a company he's really excited to work for and a great career move. Fingers crossed it's as good in real life as it is on paper!

We celebrated Andre's birthday with movies, restaurants, and all the treats. Turns out that when you go to a movie in the middle of the day on a Thursday, you might just be the only people in the theater!

I got everything I wanted for Mother's Day: good food I didn't have to make, a nap, and snuggles with my kids and husband. And I didn't change a diaper all day!

Rhett finishes pre-k this week! He has seriously learned so much this year and is ready to rock kindergarten. Plus we finally made a 95% decision about his school for next year, so that's progress.

Our summer house projects are coming together! We're expanding our deck and painting the outside of the house and I am sooo excited!

The cutest kids after a long Mother's Day

Tragedies:
Poor Tessa is sick (again), which means she is congested and can't breathe, which means she is up literally all night. It's like the newborn phase again--but worse!

This week is the last week of preschool. This is actually good news because summer will be super fun, but RIP quiet work time in the morning.

We're running the Bolder Boulder in less than two weeks and things are not going well. Between allergies, sick kids, and just a general lack of motivation, I am nowhere near where I would like to be. So we're going slow and having fun--at least we'll still get the freebies at the end!

I ordered a bike online for my triathalon (that's another story), but of course it came with a broken piece. So now it's sitting in my garage as I try to decode the assembly instructions and put it together.

triumphs and tragedies

Triumphs:
My birthday was great! I got all the freebies, plus so much love and texts and happiness. It was low-key and great.

The Olympics! We love them. So much. Rhett is also turning into a big fan (perhaps too big a fan--he throws a tantrum when we have to turn it off). And he's learning the difference between the U.S. flag and the American flag. (As I type this, I hear a cry of "Curling? Again?" from the family room. haha)

Tessa loves food. For as much as she eats, you would think she would be bigger, but she's still rocking the 3rd percentile. She goes crazy whenever she hears us say "dinner" or sees the baby food come out.

Rhett is a reader! He's been ready for a while, but he finally got the bug and really wants to learn. He is crushing his easy readers and has started memorizing more advanced books I read him and claims he is "reading" them.

Tragedies:
Taxes, man. Working from home with no boss is a pretty sweet gig until tax time comes around. Sure, Uncle Sam, take all my money. I didn't want to do any house projects anyway.

Germs are everywhere! We've been knocked down with the flu/cold/grossness twice this year, and it is rough. Luckily, I've made it through relatively unscathed, but poor Rhett has gotten the brunt of it. January and February so far has been just a mass of tissues and snot.

Not quite a tragedy, but we fell in love with a charter school for Rhett and now we're just waiting to see if he makes it in the lottery. The nerves! The anticipation! Fingers crossed!

The snow is not coordinating with our sickness this year. It will be a beautiful weekend when we're sick and have to stay inside and a snowy weekend when we're healthy and want to go outside.

Me, blearily looking into the last year of my 20s.

triumphs and tragedies

Triumphs
Tessa is 1 month old! She is a total sweetheart and a bundle of cuddles. I want her to stay this little forever but also can't wait for her to grow so we can play and see her personality come out.

We celebrated our 6-year anniversary! I feel like moving past 5 years puts us in a new category. We've accomplished some good things in our most recent year of marriage, individually and together, and I'm proud of our marriage and the things we've worked for.

We bit the bullet and hired people to paint our entire main level. Repose Gray, so trendy and apparently Joanna Gaines favorite color? It looks so so good and we are so glad we did it. Give me all the gray and blue!

I finally jumped on the ebook bandwagon. Turns out when you feed and rock a newborn you have lots of time to read and I've been flying through books lately. It feels so good to finally make a dent in my "to read" list.

Rhett caught the podcast bug and I love it. Like parents, like child. We started with Wow in the World because I'm a sucker for NPR podcasts but have expanded to Story Nory and are looking for more.

Summer= ice cream sandwiches. Yes please.

Our grass in the backyard is finally growing! It's a landscaping miracle.

As of this week, I'm back at full force freelancing after my "maternity leave". The break was just what I needed to be refreshed about my writing, and I'm feeling great!

Tragedies

Give me the Pinterest house on the Ross budget.

Three-turning-four year olds really are mini teenagers. Sometimes Rhett gives us a total run for our money, sometimes he's the sweetest--it's a toss up what you'll get.

In craving a good workout but still have two weeks left until I get cleared by my doctor. I'm terrified of ruining my body so I'll wait reluctantly. Maybe I'll try to become a runner again?

Real life--celebrating our anniversary by eating Chipolte in the Hobby Lobby parking lot because we had two sleeping kids in the back. But my eyebrows look good? We'll go on a real date next week and we had a great time as a family, so we definitely had to remember this moment. 

just triumphs

Good things are happening, folks! We're focusing on the positive to get us through the winter doldrums (I'm officially tired of the season and it's only mid-January. Send help).

Potty training is basically done. Rhett can go by himself if he's feeling it, but he's still in night diapers because I'm not ready for that and I like my sleep, ok? But we'll call this a win.

We paid of Andre's student loans! This is huge, people. We're officially officially not students anymore and it feels so good! Now it's time to save those pennies for a house!

Sunbeams! Rhett is obsessed with primary. I so badly want to be a fly on the wall in there, but I've heard from multiple sources that he's killing it in there and even making comments? He's the only sunbeam in our ward, but he's loving his one-on-one lessons and came home on Sunday and told us the complete story of Samuel the Lamanite. That's a win for sure. 

We survived a Saturday Costco trip last weekend. That's most definitely a triumph. That place is complete crazy-town.

Other triumphs: freelance bylines! We're refreshing our exercise routines! Andre's office is finally being built! Rhett thinks President Obama and President Uchtdorf are the same person!

Snow angel action shot. We spent longer bundling up than we did playing in the snow, but Rhett loved it, so I guess it was a good day?

triumphs and tragedies

Triumphs:
I survived earnings season! It's always an accomplishment to make it through weeks of seemingly non-stop editing, but this time seemed to kick my butt more than before. It's nice to have my evenings back to focus on other freelance work.

The primary program went off without a hitch. People laughed, they cried, they cried because they were laughing. The kids were adorable and the spirit was strong. Definitely a win.

Rhett is teaching himself to Irish step dance, thanks to something he saw on Sesame Street. He's actually pretty good at it, but you don't want to be in close range when he does the kick.

Andre registered for his LAST SEMESTER of law school. The end is in sight, people!

We scored free tickets to the CU football game on Friday, and I experienced the wonder of seeing Ralphie the buffalo run in person. It was magical.

Sko Buffs, as they say

Someone puts a giant Christmas star on the mountains around Boulder and it's been one of my favorite Colorado Christmas things the last two years. It just went up for this year and we can see it from our house and I love it so so much.

Tragedies:
Our electronics are dying at the same time--our TV and my car fob are super finicky, and my laptop has turned into a desktop because the screen glitches whenever I move it. Come quick, payday and Black Friday!

I'm surrounded by slightly sickies over here. Bring on the Airborne!

Our Christmas shopping is almost done (I realize this really should be a triumph, but I really love Christmas shopping and finding great things for great deals, so it's sad when there's nothing left to buy. #firstworldproblems, I know).

This is nap time at our house. I just found this picture from when I accidentally left my phone in Rhett's room and he did his ritual climbing out of bed instead of napping, and apparently had a photoshoot of his feet. There's also riveting video, but I'll spare you.