A Day in the Life ~ 2/5/19

Hi friends! I realize I haven't done one of these day in the life posts for a looooong time, and they're my favorite! I know the details fade and I'm so glad to have them written down to look back on again. Hope you enjoy reading about my exciting life, ha ha. :)

Normally I'm up and at 'em just after 4, but I hardly slept the night before so it was a little after 5 when I started picking up, finishing lunches, and going through photos....because I am currently obsessed with organizing files and such. It will be feel so good when it's done BUT. Ugh. ha ha

I've been eating these pan cooked apples and dates several mornings a week for a while now. So easy and delicious!

Doing a little "reading" while I move in the kitchen...

Making pancakes for the kiddos...

He refused to eat most meals yesterday so he was especially lovely this morning. Good thing he's cute. ;)

Morning sky at drop off. The temps reached 60 degrees yesterday!!!!

A happier backseat driver :)

Lots of mornings he still wants to be in his crib and read. So I used it like baby jail and grabbed a shower. I feel it should be noted that Caleb and I went to the gym Monday evening- I showered quickly but my hair was gross, ha! Speaking of hair, I may have given myself a hair cut because I am miserable with this stupid new cut from two weeks ago. She gave me the WEIRDEST layers and it was not working. At all.

Moving on...to laundry folding!

And then the grocery store... he wanted my chapstick so he was puckering up! :)

Silly boy!

First daffodils of the season!!!

For me? Levi was chatting with ALL the people around us. Counting, singing, jabbering, you name it. He was feeling much more outgoing than normal.

I never mind grocery shopping...until it's time to put it all away. Check out that awful sand and grit all over. You just can't escape it until June around here, no matter how many times you sweep and vacuum!

I kept running back outside to watch him play

Lots of puddles- he got soaked, ha! And he loves chalk but didn't like drawing on wet pavement. Can't blame him there.

My Mom and Dad stopped in and had lunch, but Levi wouldn't eat a thing and was crabby. And naughty, so he got put to bed for a nap without any stories. That has happened only once before! He LOVES reading books! It was so sunny and warm, I opened up the door in our bedroom. Everybody was enjoying the fresh air. :)

Hi!

Pretty view!

For some strange reason, I decided (on a whim) to organize some fabric while he slept. WHY??!! This was the worst of it, but Levi was having the best time playing out back on the deck. It's been over four months since we could do that.

Making tacos and quesadillas for dinner, and then driving Isabelle and a friend to basketball practice. The sky over this field is so pretty at sunset.

Someone discovered the art of "Timmmmmmber" and was having a blast.

Daddy told Levi that he'd give him a massage after his bath. What a good Daddy. :)

After reading and getting Levi settled, which took FOREVER last night!, I got the coffee ready for morning for Donut Wednesday and cleaned up a bit. I had just gone to bed when Levi screamed his head off so I ran in there to see what was the matter. He was out of it and hysterical, and I could tell right away that he'd pooped. That hasn't happened at night for a long time, so I took care of that but he still had a hard time settling back down. Shortly after, Jonah got home- his job scheduled a late night, which did not make me happy in the least- so I went down and chatted with him. Little did I know that I'd be sleeping on the couch within the hour because someone was unable to stop snoring- poor guy hasn't been feeling well and I didn't want to keep bothering him, so I went downstairs.

And that was my day!

Friday Favorites - Hello 2019!!

Hey friends! Just popping in to share some highlights from our week...or rather, the first week+ of the new year because they've all sort of jumbled together and we don't have our regular rhythm going yet. It's been a hard week (+, ha) but also good. Ah life, why you gotta be so complicated??

Every year, I treat myself to a new flowering plant to celebrate a brand new year, AND to have some color and life around me. This is a hard time of year in New England when we're often simply stuck indoors and everything seems so lifeless and dull. I've been doing this for over a decade now, so you might think I've got quite the assortment of flowering plants. Not so. My green thumb does not extend to indoor plants for some reason, ha!

Also, Levi wanted to read with me, so we were both doing some devotional studies. :)

And Story Time is back in session at the library...yay!

Big changes are on the horizon for this little guy. He's ready (I think), but I'm not! But I am. I don't know. This big age gap and having one in college, some in high school, and a middle schooler and toddler is a blessing beyond measure, it truly is BUT it often leaves me curled up in the fetal position with emotion overload. I don't think I can even accurately describe the mess that's inside my head most days lately. Anyhoo, I moved some furniture around to make room for a big boy bed and I LOVE the difference it makes. I'll share more pics soon!

Meal prep is ON, and my kitchen only sees the sun in the early afternoon, and it's been really dreary and dark lately, so this was a wonderful sight! Dinner cooking and sun pouring in. (I'm interested in the instant-pot but we've committed to a no-spend January and one didn't come for Christmas, so... good ol' crock-pot it is!)

Sweetest little smile and some fresh air! Hooray!

Lastly, at least it looks pretty, right?

Just don't look down at my floors because all that lovely out there becomes a never-ending mess in here.

Okay, it's Friday! I mean, it's Fri-yayyyyyy!!! Let's make it a good one, and have a super weekend!



Linking up for Friday Favorites today!

Catching Up!

Well it's been a minute since I've posted...I can't help it! There is just no extra time in the mornings or during the day to sit at a computer, and really, that's not how I want to spend our summer together anyway. I should also mention that this title is probably misleading, as I suppose I'm not really catching up on anything since I can now hear Levi hollering for me upstairs. Oh boy.

So I'm alive, we're alive, just over two weeks left of summer break. Some days I feel like sprinting for that end date, and others, I find myself dragging my heels to keep it at bay. We'll see how today pans out, ha ha.

Happy Monday! I'll be back with something more substantial soon! Maybe... ;)

Friday Favorites...School's (Finally) Out!

Hooray for Friday! AND it's the first official day of summer break for us, so we are packing up and heading to the beach today! I had not anticipated a wake up call of 4:58, and then NOT going back to sleep, ugh, but what can you do? Clearly, baby cakes did not get the memo that Mama gets to have a fun/non-traumatizing first morning of summer break, too.

It has been so hard to keep up with everything lately, especially the blog! Just life with five kids, I guess. :)

This is our third summer here, and I am seriously giddy-excited over the flowers in bloom right now. We worked really hard and the pay off is nothing short of glorious. I've run out of vases and jelly jars with all the bouquets we keep picking, and we looove giving some to friends and neighbors.

The veggies are doing great! I'm so excited!

Like I mentioned above, Levi has had some major sleep issues lately, everything from protesting naps- umm, nope- to taking over an hour to settle down at night to waking up with the birds. Literally. This view is a favorite for sure and I savor it, not knowing when it will happen next! Whyyyyyyy?

He adores his lovey over his face, but I always go in and move it to the side. They look like such angels when they're asleep, don't they?

We'll be doing much more of this in the coming days! He looked so intent, like he was in charge of getting things done, ha! And he still lines things up along the edge just so...maybe he'll be an engineer or architect?? Or an artist! :)

We've also been spending lots of time out here - this was the very first time Levi let us put him in his "boat" and bring him out deep. I think he'll be a fish just like the rest of them in no time.

Lastly, one of our very favorite traditions is ice cream sundaes for dinner on the last day of school! I have to say, it was strange not having Ethan be a part of it for the very first time, but he was off doing college-y /adult things. Jonah is too cool to be photographed with his sundae. ;)

Okay, so LAST last. Two things about this: I'm having an internal dilemma/debate over whether to embrace the grays that are coming in. I'm thinking, no, not yet, but I am not a high maintenance kind of girl- I'm 43 (and a half!!) and I rarely wear more make-up than mascara and lip balm, so... I'm thinking that just isn't going to change any time soon. Plus, my emotions have been alllll over the place with the changes going on here, and I'm just not feeling my best and not making good food choices- yes, a salad would be lovely but it takes so long to make, and this box of Oreos is RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW. Ugh. It's bad. So I'm recommitting to...something anyway, and hoping to feel- and look!- better. Levi and I went on a nice long walk yesterday- lots of hills! Here I am with no make up and all sweaty- I felt out of shape and pitiful, but happy to be moving in the right direction.

Okay, I had better go get things ready for our little adventure today! Have a super day and a wonderful weekend!

It's much easier for me to keep up with IG, so my personal account is @bethanylivs_life and my shop account is @roseandruffle ...having a great sale over there till the end of the month! :)

I'm joining in with Andrea, Narci and Erika today - you should too! Such a fun way to find new blogs and such...thanks, ladies!

What's Up Wednesday :: May 2018

Hi friends! I haven't joined in a What's Up Wednesday with Shay , Mel and Sheaffer for a long time, so here ya go. Can't wait to read what's been up with YOU. :)

Even though we've got three full weeks left of school, summer snacks are on repeat over here!

Recipe 

The three below are in this post: Favorite Summer Snacks

This time of year always makes me a bit nostalgic, too. It makes me think about when the kids were little, and all the fun things we did. I really miss those carefree days!

Here is a post with a big round up of ideas and links to have fun this summer with little kids AND bigger kids:

Banish Boredom this Summer

We've had recitals and concerts and meetings and lots of this and that lately. Isabelle did a great job in chorus and playing the piano! I've been taking lots of long walks with Levi and meeting friends at the park to play. Then it was Senior Prom and gearing up for all the end of year festivities. I'm overwhelmed but excited.

Try keeping this one entertained throughout a very loooong recital! Whew!

 Here's the full post if you want to see more pictures- her gown is GORGEOUS!!

I'm loving all the time we get to spend outside now. It was such a long winter that it still feels SO good to just be outside again and see color. And I love how our landscaping is coming together! Every time I walk out and see how our plants and shrubs are growing, I just smile. It's been a lot of hard work, and we still don't have much actual grass- that's the last thing we'll be working on, but at least weeds are green, right?- but it looks so pretty and I just love it. 

The Columbine here just got added- aren't they the neatest flowers?! I'm going to do a full landscaping post soon, so check back!

And Isabelle discovered these babies by the pool! We have another family near our garage.

This corner is by our garage...it's really shaping up this year!

I'm dreading bills. Life with five kids is not for the faint of heart, ha. #truth #reallife

We've been working on being more intentional in our marriage this month, making time for one another in special ways, and having FUN. Marriage is hard, life is hard, raising teenagers and tweens and toddlers is HARD, and it's so easy to get swept up in all that hard stuff and before you know it, you kind of forget how to relax, laugh and just have some fun. And take-out. You can never go wrong with take-out and a movie.

For Rose and Ruffle, I've been a busy bee working on summer things. You can visit the shop using the link on the side bar or click here. I LOVE making sets for sisters, so if you see something you like, let me know!

Until last weekend, I'd felt like pretty much the ONLY person in the world who hadn't seen The Greatest Showman. And then to top it off, I didn't like it. I know, I know. So anyway, I watched it with Isabelle over the holiday weekend and liked it much better. Go figure...

I've been reading some YA novels for fun, okay, so it was one, and the rest are parenting books, Christian living books, and devotionals. I try to read more for fun but I always end up going back to my practical, driven ways. Ugh. ha ha

Still listening to that soundtrack, along with the rest of the world. And ColdPlay- I've been on a huge ColdPlay kick these days. When I get moody thinking ahead to how our life is going to change when Ethan leaves for college in the fall, that music is a good fit, ha.

Soon enough it will be swimsuits and cover ups all day long, but for now I've been living in dresses or denim shorts with cute tops. Our mornings are still quite chilly, so I start the day with a light sweater or cardi.

And for the record, no, I am not expecting another baby- I don't know why that dress is looking like that! Oops!

Oh yeah, and outfits like these. :)

Hopefully this weekend will be full of swimming and BBQing, but it's most likely going to become party prep for me- so many details!!!

And then the first week of June will be Ethan's last week ever of high school. It feels so surreal. I mean, wasn't I just graduating from high school like a couple years ago? There are awards ceremonies for him and Jonah, other special events, Bill's birthday, and then graduation. Jam-packed for sure!

Favorite summer salad?

Easy!

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Homemade Vinaigrette

And fruit salad of course! I can never get enough fresh fruit in the summertime. 

Thanks for reading! Hope you found some inspiration...have a super rest of the week. :)