A Day Out.

Sunday was an exciting day. I don't know what you did but we headed out for a ride on Thomas the Tank Engine! I know, we could hardly contain ourselves. The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad is just 40 minutes away and well worth the drive. The rolling hills are so scenic and a good distraction from the two 2 years olds in the back seat. 

 

We told them where we were headed but when O actually saw Thomas he squealed with delight! It was so so cute to hear that little scream and see his face light up! We boarded the train and the conductor was kind enough to stop and pose with any child that wanted to snap a picture. Serious business like boarding Thomas requires a serious face.

We had a bit of a wait once we were on but the boys happily jumped on seats and discussed "Tommy" amongst themselves all while being very cute and appreciative. Thanks for the kiss!

The only other activity that we did was watch the model trains that circled round and round in the tent next to the boarding station. We could have stayed there for hours they were so mesmerized! But with minimal tears we were able to leave and wave goodbye to our cheeky friend Thomas, and thankfully avoid all the merchandise in the gift shop! Thanks for the memories!

The Motherload.

Last week I talked a little bit about how awesome it is to share this motherhood adventure with my best friends. It is indeed a gift but none of this would be possible without the main Mamas, and I was lucky spend the weekend with two pretty fabulous ladies. This photo has become a tradition on Mother's Day and I hope to keep it rolling, third year in front of the JOY mural.

Thanks Mom for everything that you do for us. It's remarkable to me that in all those years before I was a mother myself that I was so oblivious to what it all means. You have instilled in me some pretty important life lessons and I wanted to thank you for that. On the top of that list is the importance of car dancing, take heed my friends, it is important. Make the sure the other cars see you and sing loudly. It makes the days better, trust me. I love you Mom and I love you Joan. 

In The House: The Boy's Room.

When we were preparing to move we asked the child what color he wanted his new room to be, "YELLOW!!" he exclaimed, so we set forth with that as the plan. After some extensive online searching and one color swatch later we decided that yellow just wasn't going to work. It was too babyish for him and we just didn't love it. So here's what we did instead.

These are the before shots. The top is from when the house was listed and what it looked like when we first saw it. The minty green wasn't that objectionable but it was old and needed some freshening up, not to mention I immediately slapped up these test swatches so something had to be done.

We went with Mindful Gray. We both agreed that it was a nice cool neutral and I thought that the name was nice too. I had high aspirations of getting a mural wall done too but at this point I need to move on. There just isn't enough time in the day!

One of my favorite things about his room is the art collection. I know I talked of it before but we've added a few new things that I think are so perfect! Plus most of them are local artists, The alphabet by Oddball Press, Numbers by Little Monster Shop, Knitting Bear from Made in the 216 by Kiddo, Isaac & Oliver Go for a Ride (the man on the bike) by Grey Cardigan, The Oldest Olive Tree by Four Fish Ink.

The star pendant light is pretty fun but we've had issues with how it functions. This bulb doesn't send off the prisms that the previous one did but it works all the time. Fair trade off. And what little boys doesn't need a Cerberus toy?! Our guy acts like it's totally normal thanks to his Uncle.

And just in case you were wondering what was happening during this photo shoot... O created a pillow party with the pillows from our room. It was perfect as the runway for his brand new airplane and served a a softer cushion for his jumping practice. Hope you like and hope you have a very Happy Friday!

Derby Day.

How was your weekend? Ours was filled with fun and sun! And a little bit of Derby, and not to brag but my horse won!! My guys donned two of my favorite new bow ties for spring! O is wearing the seersucker, JJ is wearing the chambray and they both looked oh so handsome! We decided last minute to have a few folks over to enjoy the new house and to watch the race. 

These days it seems that the children outnumber the adults and they do their best to rule the roost. The fun part of having kids with your best friends is that even if you aren't in the room you know they are being looked after. They will get that extra serving of food if you didn't hear the request, and they will be told no when it's appropriate. I have no concerns that my friends will pick the correct option. They lighten the mood when things get tense and share silly stories about the hilarious life of a toddler. There is nothing more affirming than hearing that someone else's child did the same (totally frustrating) thing just the other day. But when you look at these ice cream covered youngsters there is nothing but joy to share. Have a good Tuesday!

Three Things.

This three things post is dedicated to yesterday. We had such an awesome day enjoying friends, the weather and new things! I am lucky to say that so many of my friends are close and in town and the best part is the O loves their kids! We checked out the new Acacia Park in Beachwood/Lyndhurst and it's just awesome that the Metro Parks bought that space and kept it green for all of us to enjoy. 

I know I've talked before about the wonderful brightness of yellow (now currently O's favorite color) but the dandelions in our new back yard are so cheerful and I love it. We played with a new yellow bubble wand too. Then our bike trailer arrived so we got to take an inaugural ride (after at least an hour of shared frustration...). Happy warm weather!