One thing you won’t hear me talk much about on my blog is my job, but the truth is it dominated* my month of May. Everything you see and read in this post should be seen and read through the lens of a mom and wife working 12-18 hour days, getting minimal sleep, cobwebs in her running shoes, and finally, FINALLY! finishing a major work project that’s been more than two years in the making.
I hated May.
And I kind of loved it, too.
Work hard, play hard – am I right?
May 4: Kate gets her very first big dollhouse! I’ve been researching dollhouses for her for quite some time and finally decided on Fisher Price’s Loving Family dollhouse. Kate adores miniature things and doll babies, so this gift was a huge hit!
May 5: Even though Kate is starting to get into things like dolls and dollhouses, she still loves her trains, cars, and trucks which is why we were thrilled to come across the Big Rig Gig! Held at a park near us, the Big Rig Gig is an event showcasing our city’s public service vehicles, including police cars, snow plows, garbage trucks, firetrucks, construction vehicles, and more – all parked in a huge parking lot and ready to explore! Kids (parents, too) get to climb in, up, and around all the vehicles, and the best part is it’s free! The picture above is of Kate sitting in the “scooper-upper” (that’s a technical term right there; feel free to quote me) of a back hoe, but I also have pictures of her in the driver’s seat of a garbage truck, operating the gears of a massive lawn mower, ringing the bell on a fire truck, and (proud mama moment) in the back of a police car.
May 6: Ever since KPR started swim lessons, the pressure’s been on me to find her a dance class.
That was our deal.
We’d been holding off on getting her involved in “things” but ever since our mini-vacay at a waterpark and Kate declaring, “I want to swim like Marit” for weeks, G and I realized it was time to join the legions of parents giving up their Saturday mornings and weekday nights to shuffle their kids around town for the sake of extra-curriculars. In addition to swimming, Kate’s also recently become addicted to dancing, so our deal was this: G researches swim lessons, I find a dance class. Five minutes later (maybe it was ten) G had Kate booked for swim lessons on Saturday mornings.
I wasn’t quite as diligent.
(Go back and re-read my intro to this post before you nail me to the Mommy Wall of Shame.)
A few weeks later, after extensive research, internet reviews, Google Analytics, emails with my husband, and Dancing with the Stars votes, I decided we’d try a class at The Little Gym held on Mondays (my weekday that I stay home with Kate). It was an hour-long class featuring 15 minutes of tap, 15 minutes of ballet, and 30 minutes of tumbling and gymnastics. I didn’t think she’d care for the gymnastics part, but we got one free trial class, so I figured we may as well see. Turns out Kate loved the gymnastics part, and really couldn’t have cared less about the dancing part. Thank goodness for the free trial!
May 8: In the spirit of a stressed-out, over-worked, and none-of-my-clothes-fit-because-I’ve-hardly-ran-in-weeks crazy person, I decide to hit the hair salon and drop dollars to feel better about myself. My under-eye bags and love handles decide to go with an ombré look.
May 10: My under-eye bags nearly disappear over my wide-eyed astonishment of seeing – in real-life, holding it in my hands print! – my kitchen featured in nation-wide magazine ads for The Tile Shop!
May 11: I knock Aliana Lohan off the podium and become the the “World’s Proudest Sister” after cheering my little sister Brittny on to her first half marathon finish!
May 12: Mother’s Day. My only real requirement to mark the occasion is a picture with the little human who made me mom. Such a blessing!
May 13: Since Kate seemed to enjoy the gymnastics portion of our free trial class at The Little Gym so much more than she liked the dance portion, we signed her up for gymnastics class. This day was her first full day of gymnastics and she loved it! (She also insists on referring to it as “dance class” no matter how many times I correct her.)
May 18: Kate and I hit up the Farmer’s Market in downtown Madison to watch my sister and her Army National Guard band “Country Enough” (along with a few other National Guard bands) perform. You may have seen us there – we were the crazy mother/daughter combo front and center on an empty stage dancing like maniacs. (Kate insisted.)
May 19: G and I took Kate to Fitchburg Days – a local community festival. Usually G buys one or two tickets at a time for things like rides or arcade games, and in the end we end up spending so much more money than if he would’ve just gotten the package deal from the start. It drives me nuts! This time, however, we arrived at the carnival and G actually did buy a package deal ($15 worth of ride tickets), at absolutely zero prompting from me – I couldn’t believe it! Kate picked out her first ride – some flying bumblebee thing. G gave the man the required number of tickets. Kate rode the ride for maybe all of 60 seconds, and then as soon as it stopped – before Kate had even been unharnessed from the thing! – the skies went from clear blue to black, winds became out of control, it started pouring down rain, and they shut down the carnival. Kate, G and I raced to our car for shelter, and got out of there as fast as we could…with a pack of unused carni tickets sitting in the cup holder.
And that, my friends, is the story of Kate’s $15 bumblebee ride.
May 20: My little sister Brittny turned 30! We kicked off her big day with Kate and I serving her breakfast in bed at our house, followed by a huge tailgate at Miller Park in Milwaukee for the Brewer Game!
May 23: G&D date night! We went to see the traveling Broadway production of Wicked and had a wicked-great time!
May 25: A Memorial Day Weekend cook-out and bonfire with our friends The Lange’s and The Manske’s and their children led to not only a wonderfully fun day, but also Kate’s first bonfire, first s’more, and first time staying up so far past her bedtime without a cross-continental flight being involved – all of which she loved!
May 27: We had a full, family, and fun-filled Memorial Day, starting with an impromptu trip to a local indoor waterpark, followed by furniture shopping, and last but not least, Kate and I planting some patriotic plants in honor of the occassion!
May 31: At approximately 10pm the night before, I finally finished the final report for the work project I’ve been losing sleep over all month, and celebrated with a day off and a trip to IKEA. I picked up a new vanity and sink for our upcoming bathroom remodel and some of this gorgeous new fabric for Kate’s room. I can’t wait to get started with it all!
What were some of your highlights in May?
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*An understatement akin to saying “Kim Kardashian’s feet wouldn’t mind being in flats for five minutes.”
It’s great to have you back! Congratulations on finishing your big work project!
Thank you so much, Jessica!
A great May (minus the work)!
Agreed! Thank you Ashley!
Love the red to blonde ombre!
Thank you Kelly!