Tag: mindful mama

Tahoe 25′

Last week we drove up to Tahoe for our yearly trip to the snow. This is always a top request from William, he is my snow lover and could play outside in it all day. We had the best time sledding, having snowball fights, soaking in the hot tub, playing uno & scrabble, drinking hot chocolate and watching Toby experience snow for the first time too. We also stayed super close to the lake so we were able to catch a gorgeous sunset before a dinner in town. This kicks off our 2025 travel and this might be one of my favorite snow trips to date. Long before Chris and I had kids and even before we were married we went on a trip to Tahoe with a bunch of friends and going back up there in the winter with snow all around always makes me nostalgic for that first trip we went on allll the way back in 2012!

Sunday Somethings No. 11

This past week feels like a blur. On Tuesday night at Will’s soccer practice Johnathan fell and broke his arm 😦 It was such an innocuous fall but he landed just right on an outstretched arm that he found himself with a radial head fracture. Of course these things happen the only night of the week Chris is at a dinner in SF. So I loaded the boys up and off to the ER we went. We ended up home and splinted by 10:30 pm. And then of course the next day was just adjusting to our new normal and getting squeezed into an orthopedist appointment and having a real fiberglass cast placed. So needless to say it’s hard to remember much more about the week than that glaring milestone.

But yet again kids really just remind us how resilient and how joyful they are. Johnathan isn’t wallowing in what he can’t do (like I know a lot of adults would). Instead he’s figuring out how to go about his days. He’s always been my little anchor when it comes to putting things into perspective.

This week I finished reading A Flicker in the Dark which I give 3.5 / 5 stars. The last 25% of the book was page turning for sure. I just found myself not really believing choices the main character would make at different parts. But overall it was an easy suspense read.

Last week I mentioned how I was starting and committing to another workout program and how it had been so long. Well, I went 4/5 days last week, which I am really freaking proud of. I was telling Chris how if I hadn’t committed there is no way I would have worked out that much or pushed myself that hard this week just given everything with Johnathan. So i’m very happy to be back doing what has worked for me for so long.

I took the one cool day of the week to make soup – I made our go to zuppa toscana. This is one of our favorites. I’ll share the recipe here. I usually skip the bacon and add mushrooms to it.

On Friday I hosted a play date for some of Will’s friends and it was so cute to have a house full of boys. I also made a fall / halloween themed snack board which they loved. And then Saturday I went to a “cook book club” where we all made variations of bruschetta. It was so fun!

I feel like this Sunday Something is a total brain dump and not very helpful with sharing links. But that was just the kind of week it has been.

Onward and upward lol.

Sunday Somethings No. 7

Little Somethings:

  • I finished The Silent Patient last week and it was 5 stars! Such a good read! It’s been my favorite book so far this year. Now I’m reading The Seven Year Slip which isn’t at all what i was expecting & I started The Island of Sea Women.
  • I celebrated my birthday, I went to lunch with my friend, then swam at the gym we joined and then was home for tacos and cupcakes and snuggled my guys, it was a great way to start 34!
  • I’m really excited to start swimming for exercise again. On my birthday I swam 30 laps and had completely forgotten just how difficult sustained swimming is, I’m pumped to add it into my workout routine this spring.
  • We built a leap year time capsule. We measured the boys, did their hand prints, printed out pictures of the kids and the animals. I asked the boys what some of their favorites were. I also included letters I wrote the boys to open in 4 years. I had the intention of this little time capsule being something fun to do with the boys, but I feel like it put me in such a weird headspace just thinking about how when we open it next leap year Will will be almost 10. His hand won’t be so little anymore. When you have littles 4 years is honestly SO long and SO much changes and I feel like the boys are just at the best ages right now and I want to remember how much fun they are and all their little quirky things they do and say. Anyway if you want to be emo, make a leap year time capsule with your kids. lol.
  • We started our spring garden which is something I’m so excited for! The boys were such a big help clearing out the garden beds. Last summer I grew a bunch of zinnias with my veggies and it was the best. This year I got so many flowers to plant!
  • The boys had their baseball opening day parade – the games got cancelled because of the rain, but they still did the parade and it was so sweet. The boys LOVE their uniforms. I can’t handle how cute they are. J had his first game and organized chaos is the only way to describe 3 years olds playing baseball.
  • Something I’ve been hyperfixated on making for breakfast everyday this week has been avocado toast. I just put avocado, red onion, red pepper flakes, salt flakes and a drizzle of honey and it is THE best.
  • Toby leaves this Sunday (the day I post this) for his boot camp. I’m already so sad but I know it’ll be worth it & he’ll come back a little gentleman! The boys and I are making a paper chain to count the days till he gets back.
  • Last month I tried out Nuuly which is a clothing rental service. I was feeling so bleh about all my clothes which made me feel so bleh in general. For me I had some clothes from before I had kids, some from each postpartum period and very little of it did I truly love or feel my best in. Last month I mostly ordered comfy sweaters and outwear since it was still so cold and rainy. But I’m excited to build my box for March / April & get some more spring outfits!
  • Something else new – I committed to an 84 day Ab-Rehab program. I have never really given my core the TLC it desperately needed after two babies. To be honest that kind of rebuilding work is, yawn, so boring. And doesn’t feel as satisfying as lifting weights or doing cardio. The reality is every workout is a core workout & I’ve hit a plateau when it comes to seeing the results I want & I’m hopeful this program will help me accelerate further! When I write this I’m only on day 3. But so far I’m very impressed with the program!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Sunday something no.5

Something I read: the good ones. I gave this 4/5 stars. I wanted a little more suspense and I didn’t love the ending, I thought it fell a little flat. But overall good for picking it up randomly at the library.

Somethings I’ve bought recently that I’ve been impressed with: This pack of dog / puppy toys off Amazon I am blown away by the quality. We’ve had these for 3-4 weeks now and only one has gotten a little rip. Which in dog toy life is pretty astounding. I also got this cleaning scrubber tool & I’ve already found so many uses for it. But i’m most stoked because it cleans my dining bench seats and all the hard to reach behind the sink nooks!

Something I want to remember: This year I did the door hearts for the boys and Will made Chris and I little surprise for our door and each morning he’d put a smiley face on our door and it was so sweet. I also loved reading what the hearts said to the boys!

We signed Toby up for his puppy bootcamp which I’m both excited for but also sad to send him away for a few weeks. I know it’ll ultimately be the best because he’ll come back with a great foundation of manners and habits but we’re already so attached to the little guy.

This past week was a whirlwind of me working long hours at the hospital. so this Sunday Something is a little short.

Sunday Somethings No. 4

  • Our biggest Something has to be adding a new puppy to our family!! Chris and I have been looking forward to for so long but between babies, our older developing a serious anemia that took nearly 2 years to recover from, Chris starting a company adding another dog just felt like too much at the time. Last week we picked up Toby & we are so in love. He’s already brought so much joy! And it’s seriously the best watching Juno & Toby play.
  • Something I read this past week was Mad Honey I gave it a 3.5 / 5 star review. I thought the suspense kind of fizzled out and it dragged a little in the middle. I think it could have easily been about 100 pages shorter.
  • I hurt my back at the beginning of the year and haven’t been able to fully workout like I normally do, so something I’ve been enjoying lately is Pilates. I’ve found doing these you tube pilates have been a great way to work on strengthening my core which ultimately will help my back situation! Even the 20 minute workouts are tough!!
  • Something delicious I made that I plan on remaking again this week are these gluten free samoa bars. I made them years ago and had kind of forgotten about them. But they are so delicious and comparatively healthy.

Somethings I’ll remember from this week:

  • The massive storm hitting us and causing us to lose power for nearly 24 hours. I cooked & we ate dinner by candlelight, adjusted to a brand new puppy and the boys thought it was so fun…
  • Chris got the boys a practice tee for at home & we had our first backyard baseball game as a family and it was one of the best parts of the weekend. I think it could be really easy to sit back and say I’m just gonna let Chris have baseball because I never played, I don’t have any experience etc. But leaning in to what interests the boys I think is so powerful. We ended up playing for over an hour and like I said it was a total highlight. So if you’re a boy mom seeking connection with your kids lean into the things that you might enjoy as well. For me, building legos, and playing sports are two ways I can lean into their interests and I’ll also enjoy myself.