It’s been forever since I’ve shared what we’ve been up to and these are my favorite posts to look back on.. I love seeing what we were doing a few years ago and even just a few months ago (assuming I’d been up to date on posts.. Ha!) so I figured why not bring those back?!

We had a busy weekend of travel- and on Friday after daycare and work, we headed to my Dad and Stepmom’s house about two hours away from us. Aye aye aye, its usually always worth the headache of the travel (and it was in this case!) but man, the crying of not just one but TWO babies gets to be a little rough! I think Annabelle cried for the last hour in the car.. and not just cried but SCREAMED and was gurgling because homegirl just does not breathe when she’s that upset. Made for a fun car ride….

Thankfully, once we got to my Dad’s, the girls could all stretch and get out! They live near a lake so we headed down to their access so Magnolia could do a little fishing. The twins LOVED the wagon ride (Magnolia got the golf cart ride) and Clementine couldn’t stop waving at anyone she saw outside with saing “Hello!”. It was pretty cute.

Magnolia refused to touch the fish after she caught them but Clementine really enjoyed touching them and putting her little finger in its mouth after seeing Grandpa do it..

Saturday, we just hung out for the day and headed back down to the lake for more fishing and sand time for the twins! It rained off and on so we stayed close by and the guys got out golfing.

Annabelle loved the sand and Clementine loved trying to walk out on the pier. No joke, she seems to be our adventurous one as of now.. They kept running around the grassy area with snacks and just were giggling as they ran!

Meanwhile… Big sis (as the twins call Magnolia) was doing this with her big cousin.

Then Magnolia took a break from fishing and her and Clementined enjoyed the golf cart 🙂

And then also enjoyed being out on the pier and in the water with Nean!

While Annabelle enjoyed alllll the snacks!

We ended our weekend with a trip to the Milwaukee Zoo to meet up wtih my inlaws for a food truck type event.

The twins loved seeing the elephants and giraffes – let’s be real, any animal they could actually see – ha! It’s hard when you have to try and find the animals in their areas or when you’re in the stroller where the railings are the exact height…………..

Magnolia loved the music (of course the animals), the face painting and the carousel.

Annabelle, on the other hand, hated it. I wish I had a picture from the first time she went on it – it was the saddest thing as she held onto it crying (with her head on the bar where her hands were). She was riding with Logan’s cousin, Jenna and she had to just grab her off while it was still going! They thought maybe it was the motion going up and down that she didn’t like so they gave it another shot but turns out she just isn’t a fan!

Did I mention she loved the face painting? Aye aye aye – what happened to just getting a small little animal on your cheek or something?

Magnolia got to ride on a pony too – her first time and she loved that too! She kept saying “Mommuy, I got this! I don’t need you to hold me” as I walked next to it trying to avoid all the poop that happened to be alllll over.

Clementine was really hoping she was big enough to go on but she’ll have to go next year!

I didn’t take my phone out for any pictures (I think I got like 2 total) so thankful for others having theirs out to grab some pics! We headed home and enjoyed a peaceful 2 hour drive…………. Did I say peaceful? I meant this time, Clementine screamed and cried the last hour instead of Annabelle. Gosh, so fun!!

It was a full weekend and honestly, I’ve traveled the last 3 weeks in a row so I’m beyond exhausted! Such a fun weekend though and I’m reminded that our summer days will be coming to an end too soon so we need to soak it all in!

Hope you had a fabulous weekend as well – and looking forward to a busy week!

I mentioned last week on Instagram, that I’ve been having a hard time since having the twins and moving here last year.. Things have somewhat quieted down with the twins and our craziness (who am I kidding, it’s still a shit show for anyone watching!) and it’s given me a chance to say “who am I? what are we doing?”.

Last week, I traveled away from the girls for the first time for work. My inlaws have only taken all 3 girls at once one time so I’m just used to being with the girls! So when the thought of having to leave the girls for multiple nights (and be in another state), I kind of lost it. I was nervous – and honestly, i’m not sure what for after it’s all said and done. BUT before that, I was anxious. I wanted to go since it was back “home” to Minneapolis but I also wanted them to be there too. (it was also very weird to not go to our old home after work meetings/dinner vs the hotel down the road) Momming is a funny thing, isnt it? I’ve been dying for some alone time and when the opportunity comes, I’m nervous and going the opposite way!

Rewind to a few nights before leaving to Minneapolis and it hit me… the person I was when we lived there doesn’t feel like the person I am now. I feel like i’m just lost – like what do I enjoy doing outside of the kids? I used to love fashion, blogging and the occasional photoshoot prep for Magnolia. I feel like for so many years, it was getting the girls here; infertility, miscarriages, failed IUIs, multiple rounds of IVF, difficult deliveries and then you know, being a Mom to Magnolia and Twins.. that it’s hard to imagine my world involving anything but them. And when you’re busy with the kids before work, then work all day and then it’s nonstop after work, it’s hard to have time for yourself anyway.

Before we moved here, I had friends. This sounds funny, but honestly, I didn’t see those friends often. A few of them, I did a little more, but others I saw only when we had annual parties. There were basically groups of friends and we weren’t good enough friends with any of them to be included in their normal every day things they did together but yet after being here, I was yearning for those friendships.

Since we moved here, I’ve met a few different people but I find that I’m making more effort and not much being reciprocated that it makes me question myself as well. It’s difficult when the girls aren’t involved in a ton of activities for me to meet other parents at and I don’t see any of the parents at daycare pick up to start conversations with – it left me wondering where do you meet people when you’re older? I work from home so there’s another avenue for meeting people that I don’t quite have. Then the question was, what do you even talk about these days with said “friends” you’re trying to make? Ha!

Logan and I are so different in that he knows what he enjoys; golf and he’s more than happy going by himself and being paired up with whomever. So this doesnt bother him as much – but he knew this was a bigger deal for me.

Honestly, this is how I felt before my trip last week. I can tell you though, my thoughts changed after my work trip. It felt so good to be back where we’ve lived the last 11 years; where i’ve worked the last almost 10 years. It felt good to see people in person (not enough to not want to work from home!) and to just make me feel more confident with all the work I do. I have a good job but sometimes when you’re working from home, it doesn’t feel as “professional” aka KRISTI GET READY EVERY MORNING!!! Ha! Need to work on that still versus mid day before I grab the girls!

I saw a couple of my girlfriends briefly for a happy hour and a dinner and I can’t even tell you how amazing that was. Not worrying about their thoughts of me, not worrying about who I am with them but just being me and being able to talk about everything and anything. It just felt good to be me. I came back feeling more refreshed and remembering who I am a little more.

I’m ready to see them all again (and more!) next month for a wedding we’ll be attending in our old neck of the woods! I know Logan’s excited as well. It’ll be our first “getaway” and I wish it was for longer because it’ll go real fast for basically a night in the cities but it’ll be nice to be us again too!

I’m stll thinking of ways to meet people more and to find people I “click” with more but until then, I’ll survive! All that to say, if you’re in the same boat of “who am I? They say it takes a village … do they just show up??” then you’re not alone! We’ll all get there and if you have any tips or suggestions, let me know that too!

As I lay with Magnolia one more time tonight, (that girl can extend bedtime for almost an hour – I swear!) I’m reminded of how fortunate I truly am for the life I have and my family. I am beyond blessed with my three girls and I thank God every day for them. There was a time when I didn’t think I’d be a Mama so when I’m down on myself, I’m reminded when I look at them of how lucky I am that I might not have time for all the other stuff.

We have had a few busy weekends and y’all… i’m here for it! Yes, it’s WAY more stressful and a lot more work with the kids but it’s just so nice to have plans versus sit at home every weekend! We did that for way too long the last few years so it feels good to finally do things. I told my Stepmom, the other week that even if it’s hard, I want to start doing more with the girls (meaning the twins) like going out and about or visiting people. I feel like for so long, we were being cautious with Covid and then it’s just A LOT of work getting 2 babies out the door along with a toddler but it’s been nice to have plans for once!

On that note… we kicked off the weekend with a sleepover for Magnolia at Mimi and Papa’s house (my inlaws). She hasn’t done many sleepovers and honestly, nights have been REALLY hard with her so we weren’t sure how she’d do (aka if she’d sleep or make someone lay by her all night) but she did pretty good and thankfully, I think she’ll be welcomed back again for a sleepover 🙂 We got to spend some much needed 1:1 time with the twins that night and the next morning and it’s crazy how easy it seems with 2 babies (without a toddler). It was a win for everyone though because Magnolia got some time by herself with my inlaws and we got time with just the littles.

I met them down at my in-laws house on Saturday and we headed out to the zoo for an Easter Egg Hunt. It was a little blistery so we all bundled up (aside from Magnolia who insisted on not wearing a winter jacket) and headed out!

She enjoyed the games they had the most but did love seeing the animals too – usually she’s craaaaazy about Easter Egg hunts but it wasn’t too hard when they had hundreds of eggs laying all over the ground!

We headed back to my in-laws (how many times can I say that in a blog post?!) for a little bit since the twins fell asleep on the ride back! I got home in time for dinner and then bath time for the babies – played with Magnolia and then headed out with a few neighbor gals for some drinks!

Sunday, we headed to tennis (for Magnolia!) and she shockingly hit the ball this time. She’s not very interested in the sport (to Logan’s dismay) so she isn’t usually doing much during the lesson- but this time she did great!

I should say, she’s usually the only kid in the lesson too which doesn’t help!

After tennis, we headed on down to my in-laws again for some Easter Cookie decorating and a meet and greet with the good ol’ Easter Bunny.

I thought for sure Clementine would scream immediately once placed in his arms (her stranger danger is off the charts) but she actually really liked him and sat super chill.

Annabelle enjoyed touching his face – ha! And Magnolia was so happy to see him until it was time to get close to him for a pic (so lucky Mama had to get in the picture)…

We headed back home later that afternoon and had a really wonderful poop in the bath tub incident with Clementine – so that was fun! Thankfully, Logan came home from tennis just in time and was able to help with the clean up.

That about sums up our weekend! Easter filled activities and now we’ll be dying some Easter eggs (with whipped cream! I can’t ever do the vinegar smell!) this week to get ready for the bunny to come visit!

Weekends like this remind me of why we moved here – thankful for all the extra hands!

Hope you all had a fun weekend!

My goodness, it’s been a week (and weekend!). Annabelle’s been sick – apparently just a cold based on all the tests and assessments from the doctor which is great but my goodness, she’s fussy!! She’s been home Thursday and Friday and then this weekend obviously and I’m ready for an actual FULL week with my kids all in daycare! It’s literally been since beginning of November…

Anyway – I’d love to say we had grand plans this past weekend but we live where it’s cold 6-8ish months out of the year (I’m talking realllll cold) and we have twin infants SO you do the math on that…

We did manage to sneak away for a quick dinner on Friday which was great! It was our first since we moved here and we didn’t plan ahead so by the time I called for a reservation, they only had 5:00 so we were home by 6:50 (and that included a quick pick up trip to Target).

It was so nice to have an adult conversation without the kids crying since I feel like they’re so fussy lately! Saturday, I ran a few errands with Magnolia and that was basically it! We got some Valentine balloons for a fun picture and decided that we’d rather jump on the bed and have a dance party 🙂

Annabelle also started to crawl on Saturday! She’s been rocking on her knees for about a month but just never moved and would cry so hard but she finally figured it out!

And we were all SO proud especially Magnolia 🙂

Clementine isn’t so interested but maybe once she sees Annabelle moving around, she’ll start more!

Sunday was another casual day with tennis practice in the mix for Magnolia. The girls were a bit fussy so we spent lots of time cuddling…

Magnolia baked some cookies.

And we attempted our Valentine craft. I made one when Magnolia was a baby and love putting it out on the counter every year so I wanted to do another one with all the girls.

I underestimated how big Clementine’s feet are so I doubt i’ll be able to really do my original thought.. so it’ll be letting Magnolia paint and decorate around their little feet and her hands instead. As long as it’s red and pink, it’ll ring Valentine’s Day 🙂

The rest of the day was play time mixed with some nail painting to match Mommy’s for Magnolia.

And that’s a wrap. I’m ready for our weekends to get more entertaining but also need our weather to warm up so we actually feel OK getting out and about – even for a walk with all three girls! If it’s warm where you live, count your blessings!

Have a great Monday!

I honestly love the new year; new goals, new ambitions and new memories to be made. 2021 was rough for us – I mean we had twin baby girls (so thankful they’re healthy!), sold our house, bought a house sight unseen and what feels like started a new life!

We had happy moments too but through in Covid and needing to be extra cautious for my pregnancy and then the twins, and it felt like we did absolutely nothing “fun” last year! So I’m ready for a fresh year!

I’m ready to do all the things while still being cautious and safe for the babies. I’m ready to take trips (even when it’s going to be realllly hard and a lot of work – I mean it’s basically just taking care of our kids in a different place vs an actual vacation), I’m ready to go places with all the kids – the zoo? Yep. The farmers market? Yep. Having picnics? Yes please! I mean, obviously this means we need some actual warm weather so I’ll have a few months to prep for it all 🤣

I’m never one for resolutions but I do love to write down some goals for the new year and tryyyy to hold myself accountable.. so here I go!

– start being healthier – workout 3x a week (I have two girlfriends who will hold me accountable for this!) and eat veggies once a day.. I’m horrible with this so I’ll start small!

– plan vacations – one with no kids and one with the family! We haven’t vacationed since Sept 2019 and Magnolia clearly doesn’t remember being on an airplane and she’s dyyyyying to get on one!

– Read before bed versus scrolling! I’m constantly scrolling social media before bed since I don’t have time throughout the day to look at it and it’s mindless. But I want to actually start reading more again!

– Finish our parenting classes – Big Little Feelings and finish reading the toddler books! I’m not one to be “by the book” but I’ll take any tips I can to navigate parenting the best I can!

– Get back to blogging! Gah, I started this space 5 years ago when we had just gotten married and shared so much fashion/life/infertility and it transformed into sharing our lives and favorite things and then it stopped. I miss this and want to set a goal to be more consistent on this space!

– Plan date nights! We moved here to be closer to family and want to take advantage of anyone offering to help out! So 2 nights a month? I’d love to have a short date with my husband!

– Keep up with daily devotionals. I really enjoy when I can get up in the AM and read through one before starting my day. It’s been hit or miss since having the twins and I’m hoping with them hopefully getting more sleep (eventually, right?!) that I can start this back up!

– Basically, just live life! We are so blessed with our health and there’s others I love dearly, who aren’t as fortunate right now and others I’ve lost who would love more time!

Just a few goals, huh?!

I’m excited to see what’s in store for us for 2022. I know people say “don’t jinx it” with saying that but honestly I do believe we make our own happiness and I need to choose that more often. So I’ll be here to share the good, bad and ugly a few times a week – I’m not perfect and trust me, most days it’s a total sh*t show but it’s nice to see that you’re not the only one experiencing that when you see so much “perfect” on social media!

Oh yeah.. and I can’t forget to share the Lilly Pulitzer After Party sale is officially on Monday so set your calendars!

I can’t believe Valentine’s Day is tomorrow and then before we know it, (let’s hope!!!) it will be Easter! I’m beyond ready for some WARM weather since today’s high is literally 1 degree. Can’t wait to be able to go outside with Magnolia to play and for walks.

Since we can’t do that for the next 4 months (yep, most likely 4 more months of this glorious weather….), I thought I’d share a little of what we’ve been up to lately!

We did venture outside one day for a little sledding in our driveway action. Not to be redneck or anything but it was a whole lot easier than trudging through the feet of snow in the backyard without snow pants!

Just as we figured… she LOVED it and didn’t mind the cold. She kept saying “more” and after about 5 times in a circle around the driveway (got my cardio in, that’s for sure!), we decided we’d be done!

We’ve been playing a lot in the basement since we finished her little play area (for the most part) with the insane amount of toys she got with having her birthday and Christmas about the same time!

She’s a lover of all things cheerio 🙂

I feel the same way about pretzels, girl.

In case you were wondering, this blog has completely turned into Magnolia’s world and I’m just living in it! I remember the days I used to post about cute fashion and now i’m a total “Mom” in every sense of the word and wear all the leggings and top knots that I can!

I did wear a super cute and comfy top for coffee with a girlfriend the other week. I’m also trying the Isle of Paradise drops in my moisturizer so that helps me with a little glow!

And then we attended Magnolia’s first friend birthday party! She sure wasn’t shy at all…

Crazy for balloons!

These girls are technically only a little over a month apart and I hope they grow up being best friends!

We’ve also been celebrating Valentine’s Day all month long!

We started by making a plate with her feet on it so we have it to pull out every year for decorations (and I can look back and remember those little things!).

We decorated for the holiday and added some of these gel window clings!

Magnolia made Valentine’s for our families to send!

We also made Valentine heart-shaped brownies and Magnolia is a HUGE fan of these!

My helper being silly!

Magnolia hasn’t been feeling well (thankfully this week she’s doing great – but it’s a day by day thing with daycare these days!) and had Influenza A last week.

Grabbed her purse so she could go shopping 🙂

While she was CRAZY fussy – I don’t blame her at all but man it was rough with Logan traveling for work – she had moments of her silly self come out too 🙂

I shared this picture on Instastories and a good friend said “Wow, she is your daughter!” and no truer words have been spoken! HA!

I’m alllllll about the pretzels (I could live off them, no joke!) and sunglasses!

I absolutely love watching their relationship! She is just wild about her daddy and it’s the sweetest thing to see!

I had a much needed brunch with girlfriends this past weekend to celebrate a big birthday (not mine!) and we ALWAYS say it’s going to happen more often but I feel like I need to make a standing date because life just gets too busy for all of us!

We also had an almost 40 degree day one Sunday so we went outside for a little sledding in the backyard again (AKA workout of pulling a 20 lb baby on a sled through thick snow!).  Good thing her smile is so sweet.

In case you’re also wondering about makeup… Magnolia is still obsessed with her Mama’s makeup and this will keep her busy for quite some time! She loves trying the brushes on her face and looking at every piece of makeup! You can also notice her little snaggletooth on the top 🙂 Of course our sweet little one wouldn’t get in any front teeth first!

Magnolia’s worn something Valentinesque every day this week and today is no different 🙂 How cute was she yesterday for school?!

That’s life lately around here! Thankfully it’s been pretty relaxing, just like we like it!

Come back tomorrow for some Friday Favorites and let me know… Do you guys do anything fun for Valentine’s Day? Date night or with kids?!

Kristi