Hi Friends! I just wanted to give you a down and dirty roundup of all the things on my brain lately. I mean…this is like a little sneak peek in some ways because tons of things are going on and it’s actually really hard to keep track of what I have shared and what I haven’t and what’s in the books and what we are hoping to do in the next year. We have some big surprises this year (no mom I am not pregnant!) and some projects that we are simply BURSTING to tell you about but all in due time…right?!
SO for now, these are things on the front burners…the current stuff that we are investing so much time and energy into thinking about and planning for and posting about!
First – before we get started with all the other frivolous stuff, we wanted to send our love out to Emily and her family at The Freckled Fox. Emily is a hair and fashion and fitness blogger and mom of FIVE little ones. I started silently stalking her on Instagram a little over a year ago and her situation with so many littles resonated so strongly with me. Shortly thereafter, they found out her husband Martin was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. I mean…words can not even explain. Martin passed away this week and my heart is barely holding it together for her and her kids. I can’t imagine doing this thing called life without Jeremy. Can’t even think about it. We are praying for her and I hope that you can lift up a prayer for her as well. (here is a fundraiser page set up for expenses if you would like to donate or just read a little more of her story).
Our deck – it is such a crazy year and we literally have gotten zero rain. I mean…it reminds me of the first year we lived in this house and I called it the Shadow of the Rain because we saw rain clouds but it never actually rained here. It is HOT and DRY and our grass is dying. Also, I put the plants in our tall $20 planters and I thought they would do great…but now I am thinking that the only thing that would do well is cactuses. Cactus. Cacti. Whatever.
That’s just totally normal.
The Monroe House – we have actually made some serious headway! We thought last year would be the year to get this thing going but then we had our surprises pop up (hello friends moving in, hello Baby Maxi!) and this puppy got pushed to the back burner. Well…the biggest single expense…the roof…is finally complete and I can’t wait to share with you the details. We hired this thing out and it was the best decision ever as now Jeremy isn’t lodged somewhere between rafters.
The next giant project we are tackling is the one for a family named the Pedrazas. These are some of the sweetest friends you could ever meet and they have such an amazing story and I can’t wait to share with you the details! This renovation needs no explanation after seeing that photo above…I think we all agree that that space REALLY needs a makeover. They were saving up for a kitchen remodel when they felt compelled to start the adoption process and that’s where we wanted to help. We aren’t fund-raisers by any means…but we know how to update a space so THIS WEEK we are starting with this makeover and we can’t wait to share it with you! What do you guys think is the best way to follow along? I’m loving watching other people do it on Snapchat but doesn’t that disappear? let’s discuss…
Oh Weston. My sweet little Munchie is full gung-ho about costumes right now and I never know if Spiderman or Hulk or Darth Vader is coming downstairs to greet us (or chop off our arms). This dude is really starting to bloom and I think that this week we are going on our first mommy-son movie date (I personally CAN NOT WAIT). Will is gonna cry. I just know it. And then we will have to have an hour long discussion about how we choose to be happy for others because we want them to be happy for us. Brothering is hard people 🙂 Any movie recommendations out there for 3 year olds that love slapstick and monster trucks?
A big fat happy birthday week to my sweet Maxi Knight. We had a birthday party on the books but then he took a tumble and busted his mouth and basically didn’t eat for three days….so we pushed it back a bit. It looks like he is doing much better and yesterday he let me check his teeth (that’s been a first for over a week!) so I can’t wait to see what he does with a smash cake 🙂 I owe you guys his birth story…so I guess that this coming weekend I will edit those photos since the story is already written! Can’t wait to share with you guys that one…it was my first without an epidural. yikes.
Speaking of adventures that we need to share with you….we have our yurt weekend (we rented a yurt at a local state park for two nights) to show you and it is so fun. Seriously – you will want to break out the s’mores and the hiking shoes and get into the great outdoors! Get ready for that in the coming days.
And if you guys are bloggers and you are going to Haven….big news! Both Jeremy and I will be there…childless…the entire time! And we aren’t even crashing it this year! Ha! We are legit attenders, mentors and we are gonna be creating Rust-Oleum’s booth for them. Isn’t that so fun?! It’s gonna be a beautiful photo op area for you guys (I pushed hard for a good photo area because mama needs her selfie!) and I want to remind you guys to look for me that weekend! This will be the first time we don’t have kiddos with us and so we are literally treating this like a vacay. YOLO!
Happy Humpday y’all!
I like these random update. 🙂
Your boys are all so gorgeous and they seem to each have a unique personality. Weston looks very snazzy in his costume! And Maxi…has anyone ever had such gorgeous brown eyes?
Will has brown eyes too but his eye shape is ever-so-slightly different so I think Maxi’s show up more 🙂
xo – kb
Good stuff! Dear lord please don’t make me get snapchat just to watch progress! Or listen to a podcast like *some* other bloggers have started. Mama ain’t got time for that! I need to be able to read at 3am, while nursing a baby. You know, my “me” time.
Finding Dory is in theaters now. I haven’t seen it yet, but my kids can’t wait to go.
For a movie I’d recommend Finding Dory. We took our 3 year old son today and it was his first movie going experience and I prepared with snacks and bought the popcorn tray but he behaved beautifully and it held his attention. Whatever you choose, I’m sure Weston will enjoy it.
Can’t wait to see Monroe house updates.
I took my kiddos (ages 2 and 4) to see the angry bird movie and they loved it- me too as I actually got to watch it vs trying to quietly entertaine one of them! Highly recommend!
Love the updates. Hate to be asking for more, but I would also love to hear about your Disney trip.
That photo of Max pressing his face against the glass just cracks me up! Thanks for the pick me up and I look forward to all these new posts! Sounds exciting.
Move-wise I’ve had my eye on Finding Dory – the reviews are stellar. Maybe Weston AND you would both enjoy it? Excited to read Mr. Maxi’s birth story! Also I like Instagram updates as I don’t have Snapchat so I’d love if you would ‘gram your renovation for the Pedrazas.
Thanks for the update on the Meyers. I’ve been loosely following along and hadn’t heard that Martin passed away. I will be praying for their sweet family.
Yes. I want to do that too!
xo – kb
haha! I have me time too…while sitting on the potty 🙂
xo – kb
Thanks for all those updates! I just love you guys! Your love for family, your heart for Jesus and your heart for others that are in difficult situations truly touches me. You deserve blessing in my opinion because you are doing something right in this thing called life…… Your garage/multi-purpose room is ultra cool. Love the blue!! It will be fun following the Monroe reno. I’m not a snapchat girl so I hope you blog about it in detail. Keep doing what you’re doing!! And that’s all I’ve got to say about that!!!
Katie, I just read this blog post and thought of you – I hope you enjoy!
https://mollydefrank.com/2016/06/14/what-its-like-to-have-four-kids/
KB! I can’t wait to hear about the yurt camping, disney (as mentioned above), the little boys room (not mentioned) and the two houses you are working on!! I love reading these updates!! Yay for random. Also – i agree with the wise woman above – no snap chat – mama can’t handle a new app! XO
I’m excited for the new posts! I agree, I don’t have snap chat. I love reading your blog everyday. It’s my little break from work. Instagram is sufficient for me. 🙂
I wonder if I ever had the kind of energy you must have. :o)) Always enjoy your projects and love the baby strapped to you. Soooo cute! My daughter’s 10 month old spends a lot of time strapped to her. Happy rest of the week!
The little boys room is going to be revealed next! Right after the garage that will be our next topic! 🙂
xo – kb
Yes! This! I seriously have a million ‘tabs’ open at all times….complete with screaming kid video tabs 🙂
xo – kb
Re plants…also living somewhere hot I can thoroughly recommend going ‘cacti’. Once they reach a certain size they look very impressive – I’ve only grown them in the soil and they do just take care of themselves but in planters with the occasional watering I’m sure they’ll do just as well. Also as your planters are off the ground there’s less danger that the kiddos will hurt themselves on the spikey bits.
Can I also second please no snapchat. instagram and the www is about all I have time for/attention span! I love your blog and enjoy the reading break in the day, keep doing what you do!
Please no Snapchat! Or podcasts. Good old blogging or Instagram please!!!
So sorry to hear about Martin. He left behind a gorgeous family and I truly feel for them. I lost my brother to cancer but he didn’t have any kids. The sadness we’ve all felt and the problems of losing someone so near and dear can do enough, I couldn’t imagine the added pain of dealing with 5 small children who can’t quite grasp the large loss.
Love your shoes in the last pic! Can you please tell me where you bought them. I need a new pair of casual sneakers and those are so cute.
SO EXCITED! Love your blog! What is your snap chat name? I would love to follow along! Its so fun to see daily snaps of bloggers. Could I also make a request post? Summer activities for kids while working from home? I am sure you have a great supply!
I’m a second for no snapchat. I downloaded that app and it lived on my phone for all of 30 seconds before I uninstalled it and realized I’m 37 and don’t have time I want to be wasting with nonsense. Reading blogs…I can pass that as legit for education and personal growth. 🙂
Love the updates! I wouldn’t use snapchat to follow the project, it does disappear after 24 hours! Have you thought of either facebook live to update or maybe the app periscope (this article could help- http://smallbiztrends.com/2015/08/what-is-periscope-how-do-i-use-it.html). I personally love seeing your use instagram as its a good tease to go to your blog to check for updates. Love that you use multiple platforms. Snapchat might be fun just in general but not for keeping logs of projects.
As far as movie– I think if your going to do Finding Dory all the bigger kids should go. I hear its amazing!
A big fat NO to snapchat for me. I cannot handle one more social media platform. Pretty please?
WOW, you have so much going on. I personally love SnapChat, because it takes so little time to view (I wasted countless hours on FB so I deactivated my account and am not looking back!). I was just wondering, have you thought of doing some quick posts with just a few pics and a couple paragraphs to update readers? It would give you more posts (not that more posts is the goal), but would keep you from having to edit so many pics all the time for really detailed content. I’d be happy with a five minute read and a handful of pics to tide me over until the next super detailed post.
I have thought of that…but the thing is…it takes time either way. Uploading, editing, resizing, uploading to the blog, writing, linking and all that blogging IS, it all takes time. Like sometimes a big chunk of time. Sometimes it is helpful to do smaller posts (like this one) but other times, it can come across as filler. I’m thinking Instagram might be the most helpful right now to use…although I hate junking up my pretty kid pictures with ones of the gross parts of kitchen makeovers 🙂 ha! I will have to see.
xo – kb
I always love your random updates and stories but I have never commented before. I am a lover of DIY projects but I rarely every execute them. Your blog littered with cutie boy pictures makes me feel like I can actually accomplish some of my DIY dreams. Ha. My little one is in a contest and I would love it if you would take a second and vote for her – http://woobox.com/hpzocp/gallery/eX-1fe5QRhg
What is the baby carrier you are using in your camping trip picture? It looks comfortable!
It’s called a Moby soft structured carrier. I think it’s called the Moby Go. And it is amazing for babies that are bigger…like 18 months and up 🙂
xo – kb
Love the updates and I have been following the Meyers heartbreak as well. Please don’t move details to snapchat or Periscope. I appreciate a blog which I can refer back to and love taking time to sit and read updates from my favorite bloggers. There is only so much time in life to learn a new technology and keep up with updates on every one of them. I stick to one or two basic ones.
Super cute pic of you & Maxi !