10 THINGS Vol. 6

It’s time for another “ten things” post. I stole this idea from my friend Kelly– but it’s basically just an old school blog post where I share the first ten things that come to mind… Ready, set, go!

KINDLE // I started my last “10 Things” post inquiring about the Kindle and I’ve since purchased it and become obsessed with it. I did a more in-depth review about it, but I just want to reiterate just how much I love it!! I am reading so much more… or at least as much I can. I’ve been so tired; I usually read until I can’t keep my eyes open, which isn’t that long. But I’m in a reading groove. Thank you THANK YOU to everyone who convinced me to get it! We are heading to Mike’s family’s lake house at the end of the week and I am crossing my fingers I can peel away and get some extra reading time in with so much family around to play with Jack 😉

PLAYPEN // Speaking of Amazon buys…. I bought a playpen situation for Mr. Jack. Kid is on the move and our house isn’t really able to be baby proofed in a traditional sense. The closest thing I’ve been able to do is just close the door to his nursery. Originally I bought the playpen to put in our basement… and now we’re on the fence (no pun intended) about maybe setting it up in our living room instead. I don’t really mind the look of this playpen but I don’t really want his toys out in the open all the time. It would be nice to have a dedicated space in the basement and it would be nice to have a safe place for him to play on the first floor, too. What to do, what to do.

BASEMENT CLEAN OUT // Speaking of our basement, I did a DEEP clean out of our basement. Holy. It was in need. Let’s just say, cleaning it out has been on my list of things to do since I was pregnant. And it’s just gotten worse and worse. I’ve done a little sprucing every few months, but this summer things took a turn. I wasn’t even planning on doing it, and then all of a sudden one area turned into two and then I couldn’t stop until it was done. So many items to donate. A few things to sell. A BUNCH of trash. So many cardboard boxes (which I can’t figure out how/when they ended up there to begin with.) It is a glorious sight now!!! I’ve been sitting on the basement stairs just to admire my work in peace– yesterday I had my afternoon coffee on the steps.

FIRST BIRTHDAY PRESENT??? // Jack’s birthday is coming up (!!!) and I am trying to figure out what to get him. I have three options in my head. I’ve always thought I’d get him a little wagon for his first birthday, but I’m totally overwhelmed by the options. Do I go for the classic like the Red Flyer? Something more rugged? But then I got it in my head that maybe I should do the Doona Trike…. And then I saw this indoor jungle gym and thought it could be a lifesaver during cold winters and would be perfect for our basement (and solve our basement play conundrum). I want to get him something big that will be a staple for years to come, you know.

INTERIOR DESIGN PROJECT // This is really exciting! I hired an interior designer and I’m so excited. We’ve been working together for a few months and, oh, it’s going to be good. I met Jennifer when I went to a conference in Nashville in 2019 and I love her work. (Funny enough, Mike and I fell in love with a house this spring and ended up losing the bidding war, but I kept saying how I buy it furnished… then we found out it was her house!) Anyway, the plan right now is to do our living room, dining room, Jack’s bathroom, and our primary room.

NEEDLEPOINT // I’ve been back on my needlepoint game. I have very little to show for it right now, because I’ve been slowly (verrrrrry slowly) doing the white stitches for the background of a stocking. It’s very boring, but in a good way. Right now it feels methodical and I think I need that. I do feel a little FOMO when I scroll through my Stitch account‘s IG feed because I just don’t have the time– or energy– to stitch a ton of fun projects. Maybe choosing a stocking was a bad decision– I probably should have chosen a few small projects to work on this year. Solely for the more instant satisfaction.

SUMMER DAYS // Wow. I always love summer and I always think summer flies by. This year though? I love it even more and it’s flying by even faster. I’m trying so hard to stay in the moment, but I have to admit that I’m getting a little sad already knowing summer won’t last forever. Jack is a summer baby through and through and we are just having a blast. Between playing in our backyard, going to our pond club, strolling around our neighborhood. I told Mike the other day that it was so hard to conceptualize having a 10/11 month old/one year old this summer when I was pregnant and now that it’s here, it’s been even more magical than I ever could have imagined.

FACEBOOK GROUP // My blog’s Facebook group has always been one of my favorites. I’m biased, but I think you guys are the best. (Truly I feel like most groups end up spinning off into drama city, and ours is just so positive and supportive!) I wanted to share it here again because I figured out how to create “channels” within the group. I set up a parenting channel and one for books, you can join both or neither, but it’s just a cool way to keep the conversation and advice going!

ICED COFFEE // When we were on Nantucket, I started craving iced coffee. I drink iced espresso drinks and I’ve recently gotten into iced matcha lattes, but I haven’t had iced coffee in years! And then all of a sudden, it’s all I wanted every afternoon. I was getting one for our afternoon beach trip and now that we’re back home, I’m still craving it. I need to figure out how to brew it home so I have it on hand, but I’m also worried about having too much of it here and not being able to stop!

MOTHERING // I was listening to a podcast recently and one of the guests was talking about how we should “mother” ourselves. It kind of blew my mind when I heard that. I’ve been trying to keep this in mind throughout the day and I swear it’s working? It’s a little ~woo woo~ and I have absolutely nothing concrete to share besides the actual word as a verb. That is, I have no idea if it’s a real thing, I have no idea if there’s a “right” way to do it, but I’m just carving out extra space to really take care of myself in a mothering kind of way. The first day I made myself two luxuriously buttered pieces of toast. I took extra care to launder our sheets with the good detergent and made the bed extra tight. I forced myself to make a healthy lunch at home instead of eating a bag of chips (my normal go to 🤪). I don’t know if this will resonate with anyone else– thought I’d share just in case it could help!