A juggling act

Well, we survived.  Our weekend was jam packed.  Like, barely enough time to eat a meal, let alone do any housework or laundry.  And now, the schedule is looking wide open.  For a few weeks at least.  Halfway through one of the boys swim lessons Saturday morning, it dawned on me.  This is only the beginning.  Pretty soon, if not now, our weekends will be totally dictated by our kids' sports and activities schedules.  A pretty scary thought...

I absolutely love Friday evening soccer class.  And finally, so does Sean.

New Friday evening traditions are starting.  Snacks and water on the way home from soccer with Scooby Doo playing on the DVD player in the mini-van.  And the excitement that we still have our entire weekend ahead of us, while still having spent the evening together as a family.

Saturday mornings are now a later start, thanks to the boys advancing to the next classes.  Evan is in advanced toddler/parent and Sean is officially in the water by himself in the preschool swim class.

Three and a half years of getting in the water with Sean and it's bittersweet to now sit on the sidelines.  I think I was more nervous than he was about getting in the water by himself.  But, man, I'm such a proud mama!  He rocked his swim class.

It's amazing how trustworthy kids are at this age.  Sure, I'll jump into your arms even though I met you 20 minutes ago.

It must mean we built the trust in them when they jumped into our arms 50 million times over the past few years.

And as exciting as their swim classes were, we kissed the boys goodbye soon after to go to a family wedding on Scott's side in Bloomfield Hills.  It was a beautiful wedding and the first time the entire Ferstle family has been together since Scott and I got married 5.5 years ago!

I think I burned the calories off from my steak dinner by tearing up the dance floor until they shut the place down.  It was so much fun!

It was a toss-up to whether the food and dancing were the highlights of the evening or if getting to sleep in until 8:45am was!  Either way, it felt amazing to wake up when my body told me it was time to get up.  No alarm clock, no little boys shouting, "mommy"!  Bliss.

I spent the rest of Sunday playing with the boys at my in-law's house, shopping at Somerset (finally!), and reading my Kindle in silence at my parent's house.  The cap to my weekend was meeting up with some of my girlfriends from my study abroad trip to Spain back in 2005.  We've had the opportunity to meet up a few times over the years for weddings, showers, birthday, bachelorette parties, and concerts!  So, it seemed good timing that Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull were in town.

Margaritas and dinner at On the Border and a night of dancing on our feet, it was the perfect end to a great weekend!  However, getting home at 12:30am and needing to wake up at 5:45am for work wasn't the easiest.  I find myself dragging today and my feet are still sore from all the dancing in heels, but it was well worth it for the memories made this weekend with family and friends!

Now I can daydream about a lazy weekend that we have in store.  Farmers market after swim?  Apple picking at a u-pick orchard?  Renting movies?  Football?  It's so nice to have all the possibilities.

Oh, back to school...

Another school year is in full swing and I'm looking at the calendar in complete disbelief that there's only one full week in September left.  Didn't September just start?  Didn't we just go back to school?

As always, time is flying by and I'm making a conscious effort to enjoy every bit of the weather change and the start of fall.  It's my absolute, favorite time of year for too many reasons to share.  And it seems to go by so quickly, as I find myself anxious for the next thing and the next thing.

This September seems to be crazier than ever.  Between going back to work full time and the boys transitioning to the school-year routine to celebrating Evan's birthday and throwing a joint Bubble Guppies themed party, we are cruising 60 mph through September.  The same weekend as their party, we managed to escape the house and clean-up to get to the Plymouth Fall Festival.  It just wouldn't be fall without attending.  Evan was too short for the rides this year, but Sean and Scott enjoyed themselves!

Last weekend we kept busy with two birthday parties.  One was at a cider mill on a damp, chilly day, but the place was awesome!  They had so much to do for the kids and the boys loved the train ride through the you-pick apple orchard!  If only the weather was on our side and we might have been able to avoid Sean's whining and tantrums.

Evan couldn't resist eating a few apples off the trees and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the fresh cider and doughnuts.  Yum!

The other birthday party was a lumberjack themed first birthday party complete with cake that looked like a stack of pancakes, plaid, a delicious brunch.  The boys got their first shot at breaking open a piñata.  Let's just say Sean wasn't as interested in breaking it open, as he was stuffing as much candy and treats as he could into his bag.  The kid made out like a bandit.

To add a whole new element to our busy weekends, we signed the boys up for soccer classes through the Lil' Kicker program out in Canton.  We chose Friday evening and Sean's cousin, Adelaide, is taking the class with him.  I'm happy to report that they are both doing well in their classes and we haven't had any soccer meltdowns or night before vomiting episodes.

This upcoming weekend the boys will both resume their swim classes through Plymouth-Canton.  Sean will be in his first class without me or Scott!  It will be so strange to see him swimming without us, but I'm so ready for this step.

This is our last full weekend for a while.  Soccer on Friday evening, swimming Saturday morning, and then we're off to a family wedding in Troy (the boys will be at my parents' house for an overnight).  I cannot wait to wear this new dress that's been hanging in my closet since May.  Finally!  A chance to get dolled up, go out with my hubby, and have a great meal with an open bar.  Not to mention dancing.  I'm stoked!  Sunday, I'm meeting up with the girls from my study abroad trip in college for a Mexican dinner and the Enrique Iglesias/Pitbull concert at the Palace!

Monday's looking rough...

What time is it?

It's time for Bubble Guppies!

We celebrated Evan's 2nd birthday and Sean's 4th birthday with our close friends and family this past weekend!  With a Bubble Guppies themed party, it was the only thing they both liked enough for a joint party.  It was pretty easy for decorating too since Walmart had an awesome selection of already-made party supplies like a Happy Birthday Banner, garland with the characters, paper plates, napkins, and plastic cups (that we gave in the goody bag)!

We really lucked out with weather.  Severe storms came through Friday evening and knocked a lot of people in the area out of power.  Somehow, we did not.  The storms brought in cooler weather and less humidity, so we enjoyed a partly cloudy day with temps in the low 70's.  It doesn't get much better than that for an outdoor party!

The kids enjoyed bouncing in the bounce house, playing on the swings, digging in the sand, playing with the toy lawn mower and t-ball set.  They even managed to catch a toad and put him in Sean's bug catcher box.  The girls were fascinated with giving the toad water and sand to make him a little home.

I decided to keep things simple with dinner.  Considering we went back to work last week and the boys had soccer practice Friday evening, I knew I wouldn't want to spend all Saturday stressing over cooking a meal.  So, we had veggies, fruit, goldfish, salad, and pizza.  It was delicious!  My usual cake lady over at Monicakes did an awesome job on the Bubble Guppies marble cake with buttercream frosting.  She never disappoints!

I'm happy to report that Sean did not cry while we sang Happy Birthday this year.  In fact, he was nothing but smiles!  The boys each blew out their candles and scarfed down the ice cream first!  As our guests left for the evening, the boys took a bath and were excited to open their gifts.

I think it's safe to say the boys had an absolute blast at their party and it seemed to go off without a hitch all day!  I couldn't be happier with how it turned out and how much fun it was for all the kids to get together!

A very special happy birthday to my boys!!