Weekend Recap

It was one of those rare weekends around here where we didn't actually have any set plans.  And, as I started looking over the next few weeks and into April, we really don't have a free weekend for awhile. 

{F R I D A Y}

On Friday, it was a little chilly and windy so, to beat the weather, we had my friend and her daughter come over to play after lunch. My boys. Oh, my sweet boys. I know they are young and maybe it was because there was only one friend and maybe it is the difference between boys and girls but goodness, my kids need a lesson on play dates! Not really, but that afternoon Hudson and Beau sure were tired and seemed a little over-emotional. Definitely had a good little talk about how we host our friends and let them choose what to play. Ha!

Friday night we ate in. I made some delicious lasagna.  Confession: I have NEVER made homemade lasagna. I know! Crazy! I made lasagna roll-ups (once) and it was SUCH. A. PROCESS!! But this recipe was so simple. Like 20 minutes to prep and then throw it all in the oven. I added egg, Italian seasoning, salt, and some parmesan cheese to the ricotta cheese mix. And to the pasta meat sauce, I added minced garlic and chopped onions and peppers. And, we served it with some garlic bread from the best little pasta place in town. My whole family ate it up!!

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We played with the boys and introduced them to some Planet Earth which they DUG! Then after we put the boys to bed, Andrew and I indulged in a little Parenthood. I'm a bit obsessed and only slightly want to change my last name to Braverman. ;) 

{S A T U R D A Y}

Saturday we ALL slept in. It was so so nice!! I made the boys cinnamon rolls and myself a little shake before getting in a quick workout while Andrew went on a run. 

Did a total body circuit and Insanity Max 10 Minute Abs.

Since it was chilly again, I didn't want to spend all day at the house with not much to do. We decided to take a little day trip to Springfield to do a little shopping and grab lunch. I needed to run to Kohls. We went to some stores and looked at flooring. (I am so ready to start the remodel process!!) Then we grabbed lunch. 

This cutie cat napped on the way. Those hands behind his head?!!! Swoon!

With the boys being over-emotional Friday, I have to brag about how great they were at lunch. At lunch, we were seated and placed our order quickly. Forty minutes later, our waitress came to tell us the kitchen had lost our ticket so they were making our food. The boys waited a little over an hour and sat so good, never really complaining. 

After lunch we made one last stop. Hudson is all signed up for t-ball so we needed to get him a bag and glove. And of course, we needed to check all the hunting, fishing, camping, outdoorsy stuff before leaving! ;) 

The boys were wiped from the day. We had a late dinner and after baths, the boys went to bed. 

{S U N D A Y}

We woke up to SNOW this morning! I could not believe it! Only in the Midwest can it be snowing on the first day of spring! By the time we left for church, the sun was shining and it was already starting to melt. PTL!!! Bring on spring! 

The littles at church today got to come in and lead us all in a song for Palm Sunday. I started working in the preschool area recently and have loved seeing how the truths of God's word and his love are being taught each week to our kids. 

I stayed to help during second service while Andrew and the boys went to his parents to play. After lunch and playing the boys went down for a late nap. 

This weekend was simple, fun and flew by! This week will be packed full as we head into the Easter weekend: play dates, Easter toes, preschool party and a date night. 

Hope you all had a great weekend! 

Parenthood.

Parenthood is so hard. No one really prepares you for it. Probably because that is an impossible task.  How could anyone prepare you for a job that has so many roles wrapped up into it?

Andrew has been traveling a lot. Like 2-3 overnights a week on average. It can be tough. The joy of working from home is that I don't have to miss a moment. The tough part of working from home is that I don't miss a moment. The good and bad, the ugly, the tantrums, the whining, the fights and fits-I'm there for it all. And it is exhausting.

There are days where I feel like I aced the test of the day. The day to day items were taken care of but the whole day seemed to be sprinkled with fun, laughter, joy. Then there are days when I crawl into my bed and swallow giant sobs because I feel like I failed so miserably.

Talk about peaks and valleys.

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Andrew and I got Netflix right around Christmastime (Get with the times, I know!!) and just a week or so ago got around to starting a new (to us) series, Parenthood. (Again, we are beyond behind. We know. Be kind.)

The very first episode I was hooked. Any show that can have me laughing out loud one minute and tearing up the next has me. Throw in the chaos of real life, family issues, and the raw honesty that can have you hating a sibling and then backing them up--you've got yourself a fan!!!

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I was thinking how true to life that show is. No nice, neat bow to wrap up every episode. Some real messes. Some real trials. Some situations that not all families walk through together and come out on the other side in tact.

I think what draws me in to the show, besides the hilarity and emotion of it all, is that the show is one giant mess wrapped in love and grace.

Isn't it? And isn't that what we all want? To know that in this life, with this family we are given, that no matter the circumstance we will come out the other side in tact because at the end of the day, love and grace abounds,

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I think of my boys. So close in age that it is beautiful and exhausting. Their personalities are developing so rapidly that it often causes clashes of their wills. But in the next minute, I see Beau comforting Gabe, Hudson giving up a toy, or body-shaking laughter among the three of them to some joke I am not privy to.

This parenting thing, being their mom, is hard.  I know it is only for a season. But I know every new season brings a new kind of hard. I can only pray that love and grace abounds from our home. That in all we do, it is the guiding force of our parenting, of our choices, of our words.