Life With the Ladniers

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Feeling Summery

I found the exact stove for which I was hoping to buy for our new kitchen on a local Facebook garage sale page. It retails for over $1400 and today I snagged it for $300! It is like new condition and less than three years old. The boys and I went to look at it this morning and wrote the check. We'll go pick it up this weekend. The seller also had the matching refrigerator and dishwasher but they were already gone. Guess that's what happens when you price items to sell! I'm still really stoked about my new range though! I can already picture myself making dinner for our family with it...

We stopped by my parents' house on our way home and ended up coming home with a blast from my past.

My old Tinker Toys!

It was pretty hot today so we pulled out some Summer fun after nap time.

And we went over to the build site after dinner.

My new rule is that we have to be IN the car headed home by 7:00. We spent about an hour there and it was just enough. The boys were both asleep by 8 and I got to get outside and enjoy the peacefulness of the beautiful evening. My spirits are up for sure and it feels really good!

~Sarah

Flashback! Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Making Room For Baby!"
Two years ago today: "Wishy Washy"
And three years ago today: "Confessions"

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Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Sunshine and Dancing

I took some extra time to soak this good stuff in this morning.

Our third and final play date of the week was so fun! We have moved into "hot" this week so the kids got very sweaty, and therefore dirty, at the park.

It was dance teaching night. When we got home, David was working on my car (I had borrowed my mom's for the day) so Ayden jumped to help.

I am tired after a long day of sunshine and teaching dance. I am really looking forward to going to bed early tonight!

~Sarah

Flashback! Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Happy Thursday!"

Two years ago today: "May Goals"

And three years ago today: "Daddy, The Baby Whisperer"

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Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Recharged

This still blows my mind.

How is Logan getting so big so fast?

Ayden has captured our children's librarian's heart.
Their relationship is so sweet!

Our boy play date at the park was a success!
Their mom invited me on a second date. Haha.

Making his own homemade play-doh.
we used the first recipe from this blog post.

I know I am biased but I think he is a super talented sculptor for a 3 year old!

This man is amazing.

He has been noticing how run down I have been. He sat me down the other night and said we needed to tweak a few things. One of the changes is that he will be taking every Tuesday evening off from building at the house. Right after dinner he will play with the boys while I do whatever I want and then we'll get the boys to bed on time (which has us child free by 8pm). Predictable and consistent me time and one predetermined night a week when the boys go to bed "early". No matter what happens on all the other days of the week I'll be able to count on Tuesday nights. We can stay at our farm later if the weather is nice, I can get behind on a few things without feeling like I'll never catch up, I can actually do something with all of the materials I have purchased for projects but never found time to work on.

I knew I needed this but wasn't able to make it happen for myself. I am just so grateful for an observant husband who knew exactly how to fix what was weighing me down. I feel so recharged and my tanks are full. We've tweaked a few other things too (us both helping each other get to bed earlier for example) and I think that after a week or so we should have a pretty good idea if it's all working out for us and whether or not I am feeling better. We have SO much going on and it is such a delicate balancing act. It is also a great adventure and while it has been difficult at times, we are excited and still feel like it is the right direction for our family.

We are looking forward to another park play date tomorrow! I'm also hoping to knock out a few errands while we are in the area.

~Sarah

Flashback! Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Maverick's Toad"

Two years ago today: " My Top 12 Favorite Blogs {and why}"

And three years ago today: "Derby Day!"

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Monday, May 4, 2015

Play Date Week

We were the only friends who were able to make it to play group this week. Having everyone together is wonderful but one on one is fun too (for kids and moms alike). We have another play date set up with some brothers we met at storytime. Ayden loves playing with his play group girls but David and I have been wanting a boy for him to play with too. In this case he'll have two, one younger and one older. It is definitely an added bonus that their family has chickens and horses and actually used to board said horses on the very property we are renting. We live in a smallish town but the world got a little smaller once we started talking for sure! As if two play dates isn't enough for one week, we have ANOTHER set up for Wednesday.The weather will be BEAUTIFUL and I need to run an errand nearby the park at which we are meeting so that will be super convenient. We ended our evening with a birthday eve celebration for my father-in-law.

Happy Monday, folks!

~Sarah

Flashback! Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Alone Time"

Two years ago today: "Renewed Perspective"

And three years ago today: "The Ugliest Veg In Town"

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Sunday, May 3, 2015

Big Back Yard

David got his big birthday gift today! He works with the cousin of a farm manager at an old Shaker community. She gave me his info and I set up an opportunity for David to go work with him for a day.

We went along too and enjoyed a beautiful day on the beautiful grounds.

Ayden made a rocket ship out of a pine cone and some leaves all on his own.

I thought it was pretty clever!

David is in the center of this photo.

This one too...

It was a long day but it was a lot of fun! After dinner we went to scope out some kitchen cabinets we found in Craigslist. Since we will be moving in before the house is done, we need something temporary set up so we can have a fully functioning kitchen from day one. I liked these but they are for a different kitchen layout. We could probably modify them and make them work but then it felt like we could spend just as much on raw materials to build something custom. I suppose it comes down to buying used cabinets that will already fit (slim chance) so David has one less thing to build or just take the time to build some shelving that will work until we can purchase cabinetry. Decisions decisions and more treasure hunting.

~Sarah

Flashback! Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Derby Bees"

Two years ago today: "A Day Off"

And three years ago today: "In Charge"

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Saturday, May 2, 2015

At It Again

We had a gloriously "normal" day today! It was technically "Derby Day" but we kind of skipped it this year. If we have a chance for normal these days, we take it! Our good friends were in from out of town and paid us a visit this morning.

Enjoying post nap snuggles from the snuggle bug.

First time in the sandbox! He loved it!!

David came with me and the boys to the farmer's market, we stopped by The Home Depot, David mowed our yard over on our farm while the boys napped, we grilled out for dinner and dined al fresco. Maverick was hanging out outside with us and the weather was ideal. It was a nice little "pause" and it was refreshing. There are sayings that sum up the way I feel about today. Things like be thankful for the hard times because they make the easy times that much more enjoyable. We are juggling so much in a daily basis at the moment that when we have an opportunity for things to be slower-paced we enjoy it that much more!

"Buzz Lightyear"
I think he nailed it!

Is this really already happening??

Mommy's "helper" is at it again!

David gets to have his "big" birthday experience tomorrow and I am so excited for him. The boys and I plan to tag along so hopefully I'll get some pictures to share!

And I almost forgot to add something huge! The chicks are officially integrated into our existing flock! I'll have to write a post dedicated to how we did it because it was a bit of a process. Yay for one less thing to do during my morning and evening routines!