These Girls

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Megan

Last fall Lucy joined the third soccer team of her short soccer career, one that is mostly full of girls from her elementary school. She has actually played for a few years, once on a random team of girls we didn’t know when she was in the pee-wee league, and two seasons on a team with her preschool friends, but this is the first time we’ve really felt at home. On our first team, Lu was by far the smallest and all the other girls were looking to be the next Mia Hamm. The second team was full of awesome girls, but it was far from our home, so getting to practices and games was a pain, especially as I was working full time.

But this team seems to be the perfect fit! Lucy is having a ton of fun hanging out with her friends from school at practices and games, and the team is very focused on skills and teamwork instead of just winning games. Which was a good thing this season, because for whatever reason, the league decided to make our tiny team of first graders play up a grade. We had several girls who had never played soccer before, playing against 8 and 9 year old girls who had been playing for years. These girls had such a hard season, and yet they kept smiling until the end. I am so proud of each and every one of them for working so hard, even when certainly wasn’t very fun. Our coaches were endlessly patient, and I feel pretty lucky they focused on the growth of our girls this year instead of on winning or losing. I’m actually sort of proud of our group of parents too. It’s the worst watching your kids get beaten in every game, especially when it’s so obviously unfair, but we tried to stay positive too. I think the great attitudes of our girls reflected what awesome parents they have.

Hopefully next year our league will be a bit more evenly matched, but until then, I’m going to focus on how proud I am of this team!

Happy Weekend : The Last Before Summer

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Megan

Today was a little funny around the Crazybananas house, it’s the last Friday before summer break. In less than a week, school will be out and our first summer with me at home (more) will commence. I am so very excited. In the past, summer’s have been sort of hard for me and the kids. With my old work schedule, and Lucy’s school schedule, all “summer” meant was scrambling even more to get childcare. It certainly never felt slower than the school year, in fact, it was probably more chaotic. Two summers ago we had a nanny full time, which was WONDERFUL, but so expensive. Last year Lucy went to daycare back at the place where she went to preschool, and where Tate goes, but it was still hard. She wanted to sleep in and hang at the pool, but our schedule just didn’t allow for that. I hated her missing out, and dreamed of late wake-up calls and lazy days in the summer sun.

This year is so completely different from where we were before. I will still be working two days a week in the office, and our fabulous former nanny Amanda will be with us on those days. But three days a week plus weekends it will just be me and the kids! I know it won’t be easy, and there will be days when I wish I could escape to an office, but hopefully those days will be few and far between.

The one thing I will miss are my mornings alone with Mr. Tate. For the past two years he’s been tagging along as we’ve run Lulu to this or that activity, with little regard to his wants or schedule. But while she was in school this semester and I was home, we finally got some time to hang out alone. Today we had our last lazy Friday, laying around in our PJs and playing trains, taking breaks only to watch some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It was lovely.

Next week it will all change. Again. That seems to be a theme in this here life of mine. So far, change is good. Let’s hope we keep the streak going!

A Belated Mother’s Day 2013 Wrap Up

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Megan

I know it’s a bit late, but I wanted to share a little from our fun Mother’s Day. Truth be told, we didn’t really do too much this year, which was pretty fantastic. Last year was lovely, with brunch and a day at the park (read all about it by clicking here), but this year all I wanted was a few hours alone to run errands. I know, super glamorous, huh? But as many of you moms out there know, a day of running errands without kids in tow is like a trip to the Bahamas!

Before my luxerious Target run, I was served a lovely breakfast in bed, with leftovers from our date night evening before, and received some amazing gifts, including the clay frog you see below. I mean, seriously?! Best gift ever! We capped the day with an evening soccer game for Miss Lulu’s team. All the soccer moms were joking about spending our Mother’s Day out at the field, but we all knew there was no where else we’d rather be than cheering on our little girls. Every year that passes I feel luckier and luckier to be the mom of my two little rascals, and I’m sure most moms feel the same. This mothering business can be thankless and downright crappy some days, but then there are days like yesterday, when it all feels pretty perfect. Yay for the moms!

P.S. Love this cute video one of my friends made with Blue Bunny Ice Cream for Mother’s Day. Mothering really is a lot like eating ice cream without spoons, wouldn’t you say?

P.P.S. To see what we sent our moms/grandmas for Mother’s Day this year, click here.

Happy Weekend : Family Movie Night

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Megan

We have a standing tradition in our house that weekends are for movie nights! Lulu is a huge fan of this idea, and honestly, would have movie night every night if she could. It has become something that Lu and I can do together, that doesn’t cause too much stress and isn’t hard to pull off. We usually wait until Tate has gone to bed, because two-year-olds are kind of a bummer when it comes to watching a good movie in peace, but I’m sure one day he will become a part of this tradition as well. Until then, it’s girls only movie night at my house!

We have a steady stream of Disney flicks on rotation, but lately I’ve been looking for movies that both Lu and I will enjoy. Here’s a list of our top five mother-daughter movie faves (of the moment, of course, we are very fickle):

1. The Sound of Music – I love this original trailer from 1965!

2. Lemonade Mouth – OK, yes, so technically a Disney movie, but I’m a nerd and I sort of love this one…(plus I have a secret wish that Lu is in a band someday…I might be living my dreams through my kid.)

3. The Wizard of Oz – A classic, and as a kid from Kansas, she’s gonna need to know why everyone keeps asking her about Oz (Flashback: Remember our Wizard of Oz photoshoot with a three year old Lu as Dorothy? Adorable.)

4. We Bought a Zoo – This one is probably the only one that you’d have to worry about language or adult themes, and it’s pretty mild and adds to the story (the older son goes through a phase where he yells curse words at his dad…). Lucy adores this film and both of us bawl our eyes out every time we watch it. So good.

5. Bride & Prejudice – Jane Austen + Bollywood, need I say more! No lie, this is Lucy’s favorite movie right now. And for good reason!

Have a great weekend and hopefully a movie night or two!

P.S. Check out these amazing ideas for a backyard movie night. I think we may have to plan one for this summer….

Hitting Refresh

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Megan

Oh, hey there, Internet! It’s been a while, huh?

Last week, as things went from bad to worse in the national news, I found myself, for the first time in ages, unable to post here. I’m going through some personal things as well, and along with my uncle’s funeral and the anniversary of my dear friend Frank’s death, I just couldn’t find the stamina to write. And for the first time in YEARS, I allowed myself that time. Time to work on healing and resting, instead of plowing right through everything like an angry bulldozer. There is something to be said for my new, somewhat forced outlook on life, which allows for such things instead of my trademark “Everything is fine, just leave me alone because I can do this!” Truth is, I probably could’ve gotten a post or two up last week, I just didn’t feel like it. I wanted to snuggle with my kids and go on date night with my husband and work in my yard and visit friends. I wanted to have an evening out shopping and an evening in with a fantastically horrible/wonderful Hallmark movie. I wanted to be outside, watching my daughter conquer whatever has been holding her back in soccer and scream like a madwoman when she played the best game of her life and won MVP for her team. I needed to concentrate on how fast she’s growing, her opinions becoming more pronounced and her teeth falling out of her mouth, completely changing her appearance. Basically, I needed to be elsewhere last week. And so, I was.

So, that’s what I’ve been up to. How about you, Internet? Did you take some time to breath this weekend? What’s keeping you sane these days? If you need a Hallmark movie of the week to watch, I have one to recommend!

(Photos from top: My nametag from a fun blogger meetup/shopping excursion at Madewell in KC, Lu playing the best soccer game of her life (2), Tate and his friend playing peewee soccer while their older sisters practice, Lu decided that tooth needed to come out so she pulled it, twirling on a rare spring-like day, goofing in the mirror after bathtime, some pretty tulips from Trader Joe’s warming up my living room, a fun night out with Miss Lane at the Madewell event | All photos excepting the two soccer game images were taken with the iPhone. The soccer images were taken with the Canon 60D.)