The softball season has come to an end, and we like to give all the girls a little something as a thank you for a great season. Each bag has small goodies inside, and a tag made in photoshop.
Inside each goodie bag is big league chew, goldfish, ring pop, and a pop-it bracelet. Super simple ideas, just something small that I know kids will enjoy.
This year, the coaches that helped Kevin out were amazing. There were a few games where Kevin messed up his umpire games, and these guys had to fill in for him. They were a huge help. And, with having Huxley at the games I can’t exactly help get the girls in order when it was their turn to bat, or help them with their helmets, so I give lots of props to the guys. They stepped up and were so great, Kevin appreciated it! So, to say thanks, we got each of the coaches a 12-pack of beer. I figured they’d enjoy beer more than big league chew!
When all the bags are ready to go, we like to deliver them to each of the girls’ homes. Hadley likes to make a map, and we’ll drive around and deliver them all. It takes about an hour or so, depending on where the girls live. Not too bad for 7 or 8 stops! Hadley loves doing it, and she remembers we did the same thing last year.
Last year’s bags were a little more involved, as I had a bit more time on my hands without a baby in the house. If you are interested in seeing last year’s goodie bags, click here.
I hope all the girls enjoyed their goodie bags from Coach Kevin and I, we had fun this season!
When he’s really tired, he’ll rub his hand on his head and face over and over. Eating less frequently. Doesn’t always like going into the car seat but sleeps so good in it. Smiles from ear to ear when getting out of the car seat. Found his thumb, and fingers. On the nights Dad is home, he’ll give him a bottle and put him to bed. Goes through diapers like crazy. We call him “blue” because the diaper almost always has the full blue line. Kid loves a fresh diaper. Hasn’t had a diaper rash yet!
Recapping our week on the blog today! Workouts, swim team practice, meets, belated birthday, the pool, and the zoo.
Monday June 13
Walked around the neighborhood in the morning, Huxley is such a trooper in the car seat lately. Knock on wood that keeps up. Hadley has been eating better with lunches, I think it helps when it’s presented in a fun way some days. We had a very short, but scary storm come through. Heavy winds, and crazy weather, so we headed to the basement for a little while and when we came back upstairs there were branches and leaves all over the yard. We were lucky, but others not so lucky and had huge trees fall. I’ve mastered Kevin’s egg wraps; they are so good! Just your basic tortilla wrap, eggs, with cheese and bacon melted inside. Yum! Huxley has been laying his head on my chest lately, the opposite way of my shoulder, and it’s been so cute.
Tuesday June 14
Swim practice was a little hot this week. I debated on staying in the car with the air on but wasn’t sure how long Huxley would last sitting still in the car. He likes to keep moving. We stayed outside under the red umbrella, that makes him look hot but he was fine. I bought what I thought was a mini watermelon, but apparently it was a yellow crimson, because it was yellow inside! Hadley and I both tried it and thought eww this is weird. Hadley loves to play in any type of water, she played in the sprinkler for a little bit to cool off after dinner.
Wednesday June 15
Huxley fell asleep as soon as it was time to leave to drop Hadley off to summer camp. A few times a week, I love to make smoothies. I like the same ones over and over again, but this one is a chocolate one that I rarely make because it calls for half an avocado and I usually end up wasting the other half of it. Finished up the tags for the softball goodie bags. Shared our front landscaping here, and a week later a mole ate four bushels of flowers! Packed dinner to eat by the pool, while Huxley and Kevin took a good nap! After a few really hot days, the water felt really good. Huxleys first time in the pool, and he was a fan. He was so calm the whole time.
Thursday June 16
Took a good fast walk at the trail, I was sweating bullets but Huxley was ok. Later that night, headed to a swim meet in the middle of a heat wave. I get super nervous going to things like this solo with Huxley, but I have to on the nights Kevin works. As most of the time, everything works out. It surely was a hot one, but we survived. I’ll let an ice cube melt in my hand, and put my wet hand on his head, or wet a paper towel and dab it on his body. Hadley did so good for her second swim meet. Her dad cant wait to finally see her swim this week!
Friday June 17
Both Hadley and Huxley slept for ten hours! All that hotness at the swim meet must’ve worn them out, and they last pretty long too. Cut the grass while Huxley slept the majority of the time. For dinner, we grilled out steak, and had baked potatoes. Celebrated Miss Natalie turning 15 too! After dinner, we headed to the pool for a short swim at night with our cousins. Sometimes we’ll go up there after dinner for an hour or so, just long enough for Hadley to get a dose of pool time in. She would live there if we’d let her, any type of body of water!
Saturday June 18
Huxley is starting to sleep on his side / belly, and it makes me super nervous! I don’t sleep well when he does sleep all night, I’ll wake up and randomly go in and check on him. I know if they can roll over on their own, they are strong enough to lift up their head and breath, but I still get nervous, so I’ll lose some sleep to keep checking on him for this short time! We went to my niece’s high school graduation in the afternoon, and I did not take one single picture! I cannot believe myself; I usually take lots of pictures. Oh well. It was great to celebrate her, she’s going to do good things!
Sunday June 19
Started off our Father’s Day with a trip to the zoo for the first time this year! We have a membership, and it’s 100% worth it. Hadley got her arm painted which I didn’t know you could do now, must be something new, I guess. We didn’t think it was going to be crowded on Father’s Day, but it sure was. I have nothing but great things to say about the zoo, they are so accommodating for anything you might need. They have a nursing den area where you can nurse your baby, it’s private, air-conditioned, quiet, and most importantly pretty clean for a public place! I should’ve taken pictures but will next time. While I fed Huxley, Hadley ate her lunch in the room with us and watched videos on my phone. It was perfect. After the zoo, we went to visit Kevin at the firehouse. Hadley just loves it there; they always give her some kind of dessert usually a popsicle of some kind. Kevin has a picture of all the kiddos in his helmet ♥. Huxley is liking baths more and more now. And for bedtime, Hadley had to sleep with her new giraffe stuffie she conned me into getting her at the zoo.
Here are a few favorites I’m loving from this week! Are you ready for the weather to give us a slight cool down? And then back to the sickening heat next week? I’m not, but thank goodness for the pool!
RASHGUARD SUITS FOR BABIES
For this summer, I purchased three different suits for Huxley. They have all been great so far! The blue and white striped one is from Amazon and it came with a hat. This suit is my favorite, the quality is nice but I don’t want to spend another twenty something bucks on something he’ll outgrow in a second. We will wear this one in between washes. Suit linked here.
The next two are from Walmart, all blue with white stars and red trim, and the blue/light blue strips. These two are great, and it gets the job done for the cost. For the short time he’ll wear these suits, it works perfect. Huxley will be four months next week, and he’s in a size 3-6 months. He could probably go up to 6 months in some things. Blue/red suit linked here, and the blue/light blue strips suit linked here.
WALKS OUTSIDE
If you are local, then you’ll know the weather here in Cincinnati has been super-hot and humid. On the days when it’s not so humid, usually in the mornings, I like to go walking on this trail by our house or on the streets in our neighborhood. The trail is two miles if you do the trail one time. This week, Huxley and I did the two miles at my fast-walking pace. It felt so good to get outside and walk!
STROLLER
Our jogger stroller has been awesome so far, since I use it almost every day! I use it for swim team practice four days a week, I use it for sport events for Hadley, I use it to go to the pool, I use it for walks, I use this stroller a TON! It surely isn’t UPPAbaby potential, but for what I need it to do, for the short amount of time we’ll use it, it’ll do. I cannot justify spending massive money on baby items that I’ll only use for a short time. Baby Trend is cheaper, and it works for us! Stroller linked here.
STROLLER FAN
For using the stroller on a daily basis in the middle of summer, these stroller fans are a must for baby! They are so cool, and you can use them for other places besides the stroller. I’ve set the fan up next to me to cool off, or to set it up next to Huxley if he’s laying down on the patio chair at the pool, things like that. The stroller fan is awesome, and it even has a light you can turn on if need be. Highly recommend for baby or yourself! Fan linked here.
HADLEY MAE
My sweet daughter Hadley. She has been nothing but short of amazing this summer. She helps me out more than I can count, and I am forever grateful for her. Sometimes she gets the short end of the stick right now with her brother being so little and needing so much attention. But she keeps on going and keeps being there for her dad and I as the best big sister. She’ll grab something I forgot to get after I sat down to feed Huxley, she’ll calm Huxley down if he’s fussy so I can finish doing whatever it is I’m in the middle of, she’ll still get out of the pool with a huge smile on her face after I missed her first event last night because of Huxley being fussy in the hot as hell heat for her swim meet. She continues to surprise me the older she gets; just how great she really is. I hope she never changes, and always has this personality that shines so bright it’s contagious.
If you have been around the blog for a while, then you’ll remember how we totally re-did our front yard last year! If you are new here, you can check out the entire process on this post.
We are so happy everything is still alive and kicking a year later! All the perennials we originally planted are doing great a year later. We were a little unsure how it was going to turn out after a year, but glad to say all is good.
The green flowers on the outer edge are hydrangea tiny tuff stuff, they are so green and full right now. Some of them are starting to bloom little pink hydrangeas, but mainly just the green leaves are all that you see right now.
These are a mix of vinca and impatiens this year, because the garden center did not have many vincas this year. I went with impatiens to go with them, which I have to say I’m not a huge fan of, but they’ll work for this year. The vincas are made to be in the sun, which is what this area of the yard gets lots of.
These yellow bushes are called spirea double play candy corn, which I’m still not sure of what they are supposed to look like. Last year, we didn’t have any of the purple/pink blooms so I’m guessing that’s the look? Not sure, but I still like them!
In this area are the mixture of vincas and impatiens, along with the boxwood that we kept from the original owners. The little tree in the back is called styrax snow cone, it has white blooms in the beginning of spring and then it turns to green leaves. The other green bushes are holly bushes, they are the lowest maintenance bushes along with the boxwood. All you have to really do is trim them.
Our big hydrangea bushes! This baby bloomed major last year, and this year nothing. We have one in the front yard by the front door, and another one on the other side of the garage.
The hostas are doing great, they look so fresh and crisp this year!
The front porch isn’t finished just yet, I still want to get a new rug and door mat, but the flowers are done for the most part. I had more last year which made the porch look fuller. It’s okay though, it still looks better than a bare porch in the dead of winter!
These hanging baskets are the death of me, I can never keep them alive all summer! I know they like tons of water, but I always seem to fail at these. So far, this one is doing good. We’ll see by the end of September how she’s doing again haha
The front yard will always be a labor of love for us. Kevin loves to keep the grass looking nice, and I love to keep the flowers looking nice. It’s a win win! So happy with how our front yard turned out!
Second full week of no work, and I’m here to say it’s still glorious! Super busy, but still loving it!
Monday June 6
Morning swim team practice, Hadley used her swim cap for the first time. I was so surprised she liked wearing it! After practice, we headed to summer camp for her first day. She was beyond excited to start going there again. We love this place, it’s more like a daycare but we call it summer camp since we only use it during the summer. The kids go on field trips throughout the summer. Some days they stay at the center and do fun things there, and a few times each week they’ll go out to places fun. Hadley just loves it! After all the drop offs, managed to get a workout in while Huxley slept for a while.
Tuesday June 7
Worked out bright and early this morning before the kids woke up. I need to try and do this more often, no matter how tired I am. There is something about starting off the morning by myself, it gets me to focus and ready for the day! After my workout, I strip off most of my clothes to feed Huxley because I’m always so sweaty after workouts. Plus, it’s a little hot upstairs in his room. Off to swim team practice, and then summer camp. When I picked her up for the day, we decided to go to our favorite Mexican restaurant Cancun for an early dinner! Huxley was so good; towards the end of our early dinner, I took him out of the car seat, and he was sitting on my lap like a big boy. He loved it.
Wednesday June 8
Huxley is such a happy boy, just love him so much! He smiles like this the majority of the time. After the usual daily things, Kevin came home after umpiring some games and he was so exhausted. He crashed on the couch, with his hand on my leg. So cute!
Thursday June 9
Folded laundry on the floor in Huxley’s room, sometimes you have to do things in different places for a chance of pace! Cut the grass by myself, brought out Huxleys swing and after I was just about done with the entire lawn, he fell asleep! So, while he slept, I picked some weeds that I’ve been putting off. Hadley had her very first swim meet! I was a little nervous going by myself with Huxley, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to watch Hadley or be there for her when she needed it. But like always, it worked out fine. Huxley was an angel, and it all worked out! She placed third in both of her individual events, and I think third or fourth for her relay event. It brought back so many memories of swimming in grade school / high school for me.
Friday June 10
Walked at my favorite trail for the first time since Huxleys been born, like really walked fast for exercise. It felt so good! Once this weather cools off and isn’t so humid, I’d love to go more and more like I used to. Huxley is starting to like baths more and more, he hasn’t really hated them just isn’t so sure about them some days. Hadley loves to lay in bed and watch her iPad before bed, we need to get back to reading before bed though! After both kids go to bed, I go downstairs to pump one more time. It’s very time consuming, but worth it.
Saturday June 11
Kevin umpired a softball tournament, and we came to watch! He loves to umpire, and it’s so cool to watch him do it. Baseball / softball is his favorite sport, so he’s in heaven doing this for a short time. I fed Huxley in the car in between games. It wasn’t to too hot, there was a nice breeze. Hadley saw some of her friends from school, who had older siblings playing in the tournament, so she was having a blast.
Sunday June 12
The tournament was delayed a little bit due to the rain the night before, the guys had to tend to the fields for a while to make them playable. Once we got to the fields, it was a lot warmer this day. The last team that played plays music in between innings and announces each girl as they go up to bat. Love that idea!
First full week of no work in an office anymore! Man was it glorious but were we busy!
Wednesday June 1
Started out with Hadley wearing her softball jersey for the day, even though the season is about over. Getting a shower in is not always easy with a baby, so thankful for big sister Hadley most days. We laid Huxley on our bed, and she rubbed his hand and he fell asleep. It was the cutest thing. Swim team practice was in the evening this week, and then started mornings after everyone is out of school. Huxley is the best baby he is so patient and just goes with the flow wherever we are. Hadley was the same way! Bath time while Hadley chilled on her iPad. On the days Kevin is at the firehouse, we all lay together in Hadleys bed until Huxley is ready to go to his bed. And then, when both kids are sleeping some nights, I like to clean up the kitchen. There’s just something about waking up to a clean counter in the mornings!
Thursday June 2
Workouts look a little different some days, like I said before I am so thankful for big sister Hadley. She helps out so so much it’s amazing. She kept him occupied while I did a short workout in the family room. The porch flowers are doing so good, those hanging baskets needs lots of water! The month of June is so busy already, but I’m loving it so far! I keep telling myself to not commit to soo many things I’ll get burnt out. After swim team, Hadley had a birthday party which happened to be a pool party too! She was in heaven going to two different pools in one day. Sometimes if I remember, I try to have someone take my picture with Huxley. When they are this little, you rarely see me in pictures with him because I’m always the one taking the pictures. Let them take pictures of you Mamas!
Friday June 3
Swim team in the morning started this day, and Huxley is all smiles for it! After swim team, we went to Dick’s Sporting Goods to get some good swim team goggles, and a swim cap. Then we went to Kroger to get a new outfit for our school festival. It’s become a tradition, new outfit for the festival now. She remembers I got her a new outfit last year, it’s funny how they remember the small things like that. We all were chilling on the floor waiting for Dad to get home from work, and then headed to the festival! We worked a booth this year, and thankfully it was in the shade! It wasn’t too too hot, but nice to be covered. Hadley won a fish, and when we got home Kevin said to leave it in the bag, he’ll be fine. He wasn’t fine. The fish died.
Saturday June 4
Last softball game of the season! It was a nice morning, not too hot yet but it was going to get hot. The team got Kevin this cute sign and had all the girls sign it. Love stuff like that! Natalie was with us for two days this weekend, so we headed to the pool with her. Hadley had fun in the pool with Natalie, and then she and Huxley both took a nap haha
Sunday June 5
Started out with a walk with Hadley, and then the last half by myself. Just did a mile, but it was nice to walk by myself while Huxley was inside with Kevin and Natalie. Hadley loves to watch her iPad outside, she really just loves to be outside doing anything. Kevin umpired a softball game in the morning, and then we headed to the festival for the last day. It was way too hot! We stayed long enough for Hadley to win another fish! This time, she put “her” in an old aquarium we’ve had from other fish. Maggie the fish survived her first night in the aquarium, thank goodness. After the festival, we went home to feed Huxley and then headed to the pool! We are going to live there this summer. The water is still pretty cold, but it felt so refreshing after being so hot at the festival. Kevin met us there after his last game, and we ate dinner poolside. So nice.
