Denim Daisies

 I’m going to take some time off from the blog. I’ll explain when I come back but I need some time for a week or several. 💛Jessie

 Hello, This week was a tougher one for my declutter goal and I wanted to go through some more sentimental items. Every officer and NCO in the Army training ends up with a lot of memorabilia at the end of their career. Sulev and I both having served and him currently serving means that we have more than the average family.  My goal was to sort out the items that were truly meaningful and those that had already served their purpose. The ones that were meaningful I wanted to find a place to display where Sulev’s home office will end up along with our little home gym. So in the end I decluttered multiple photos including those that are poster size or bigger, I didn’t get rid of any of the plaques that we currently have as those still felt meaningful and each had a place. I also decluttered three clothing items that I’ve tried to wear multiple times this summer but always end up taking off immediately due to comfort or style.  It makes me feel good to know that we are activel...

 Hello, I love flowers and I especially love when they’re a bit wild. When I saw this bouquet at a farm stand that we were getting some vegetables from, it screamed my name and Sulev promptly got it for me. 🥰 That’s all for today, have a wonderful Monday! 💛Jessie

 Hello, I am so grateful for where we live. Cincinnati is the perfect foodie spot, so many public parks that include all the fun and useful amenities while also having spots of wild and nature focus, and all the activities that a young family could ever dream of. It’s also wonderful to have neighbors who all know and want to know each other, schools that we absolutely love, and an environment that is so welcoming. I am very grateful for our home. Have a wonderful day! 💛Jessie

 Hello! It was such a fun week in our normal summer schedule and it was so pleasant to reset and take some time to relax as well after a busy start to the summer. Thank you to Andrea from  Momfessionals  and Erika from  A Little Bit of Everything  for hosting this sweet link party! 💛 I love linking up for this online event and it’s a good motivator for me to keep up with my gratitude journey and documenting so many favorite things throughout the year! The boys took advantage of some old boxes and made a space suit and rocket ship. It made me so happy to see them so creative and collaborative. Cinnamon croissant bread from Kroger as toast. It is so amazing and I cannot complement this enough!!! Arnis is being my healthy guy with his egg whites and avocado toast for his preferred lunches. 😂 I was so overwhelmed by how sweet he is with his cuddlies. Kenai the bear needed his own den with a catering service for food and Arnis provided. Despite a few attempted wres...

 Hello, The boys and I went to Hyde Park Elementary for some playground fun yesterday but unfortunately had to call it a little early due to the heat. So… what better to do than to walk over to our favorite donut shop as a consolation prize? 😉 Peace Love and Little Donuts is a staple in this neighborhood of Cincinnati and we love swinging by when we’re in the area. The donuts are fun and creative and made to order which is fun for the kids to watch. They’re also the perfect size for a morning snack and made these two very happy yesterday! I hope that you have a wonderful day!!! 💛Jessie

 Hello, I was actually pretty good at taking everyday photos yesterday so I wanted to record this as I love looking back on how life was and getting reminders of sweet ideas that I had and challenges that I’m grateful are in the past! 🙂 I started off the morning around 0530 with my quiet time. I do my lesson from The Bible Recap, read a couple of blogs I enjoy, and check the weather and calendar to make sure that our schedule for the day makes sense. Then I listen to the TBR lesson while putting away dishes so that my hands are busy and my mind can stay focused. Next up is a 30 min workout. More upper body focused on this day with higher reps and lower weights.  Then we have yard patrol… I love our large dog but this is not exactly my favorite part of the day. Luckily he takes care of business on his walks so we bag it instantly and this is usually a short check. Next up is taking care of my plant babies. I’m so happy that these tomatoes are taking off after I had to restart ...

 Hello, So I’ve rearranged our cleaning schedule to include one day of declutter and that lucky day is Monday! Nothing like starting the week off with something that always seems to make me feel more at peace and gives me the rest of the week for trips to the recycle center, donation, or even Once Upon A Child for kids stuff. This week I knocked out a miscellaneous storage shelf in the basement. I went through all the bags/boxes and rearranged a few Army items to be more accessible to Sulev when he heads out for his next training event. I also decided to declutter the following: - hot water boiler - we use these in the field but not at home, with me having fully left field work in the past we really only need one so this will go to the recycle center and they can donate through there is appropriate. - old projector- same reasoning  - old hangers - we have plenty after slowly decluttering our clothing - car vacuum - this will go to my parents house as it’s theirs and somehow en...

 Hello, One of my favorite snacks has quickly become a cup of blueberry tea and cinnamon brioche toast with butter. This snack is something that just feels good to eat and settles my stomach as I have a terrible habit of forgetting to eat lunch until it’s hours after I meant to and I’m feeling a little hangry or just off.  I’m great about getting the kids their meals and having them sit down to eat, but then I get distracted with cleaning up the kitchen or a dust ball in a corner and don’t model taking proper breaks and eating lunch.  This snack has become something that’s easy for me to prep quickly and hopefully will be something that I get into the habit of eating with them for the rest of this summer during lunch. That’s all for today, I hope that you have a wonderful Monday! 💛Jessie

 Hello, This Sunday I am happy to be home with all my family in their beds and a dog snoring under me and a cat shouting her anger at her food bowl being only half full.  It was a wonderful vacation to be up at the lake for two weeks, but I was very much ready to be home and the boys seem to be in a similar mental space. Just happy to be home, back in our routine and ready to take on the rest of the summer! 🥰 💛Jessie

 Hello, I’m linking up again this month to join  Shay from  Mix and Match Mama  and Erika from  A Little Bit of Everything ’s link party for “Let’s Look”. I love that these topics are so fun and just make me happy to brainstorm on each month! 🥰 Here are some things that I've changed my mind about... 1. The Baby Race As a new mom I fell into that trap of worrying about milestones, starting team sports at the first opportunity, potty training as early as I possibly could, etc. This was not only a bad mentality for us as a family, but also drove me to frustration so many times. There is no race in life, every person will do things differently and, while I am still a huge believer in early intervention for developmental and physical milestones, it's no longer something that I allow myself to stay awake at night over.  2. Avocado I despised avocado for so long. I didn't like the texture. I didn't like the bland taste. I didn't like it at all!!! Wow, was I wrong...

 Hello! This is a fairly short post today of some of the wonderful treats from our summer vacation. 😋  5. Fudge from Harborside Market - I’m partial to the salted caramel 4. Creemees - this is a New England staple, especially in Vermont, that should not be missed 3. Fresh picked berries - whether going to a strawberry patch or foraging for black raspberries, these are so delicious 2. Cheese - umm… when in Vermont… dairy will be part of life, especially a true Vermont cheddar 1. S’more’s - marshmallows roasted by the campfire are the perfect summer break treat  Honorable mention - Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, we just haven’t made it to a scoop shop this trip  Have a wonderful day! 💛Jessie

 Hello, I’ve done a lot of work over the past year decluttering and simplifying our home. It had wonderful effects on our quality of life and so I decided to test the theory when it came to packing as well.  Granted this visit was to my parents home in New England and so I knew that I’d have access to a washer/ dryer and that my mother and I use the same skincare products and sunscreen so I’d be able to use some of hers while we were here. Originally the plan was to drive up and fly back with the kids as Sulev would have to drive home earlier for work, but things changed and it made more sense to drive back so avoiding packing any large liquid/cream containers ended up being unnecessary.  Where we are here the main activities are water sports and hiking so I focused our outfits on those adventures. Packing List: 1 x pair of sweat pants (I use these often for pajamas as well because it gets pretty cold up here at night) - also great for travel days 1 x pair hiking pants 1 ...

 Hello and Happy Monday! I took some time off while there was more family in town and it was the right call. It was absolutely fantastic getting to spend time with family and watching my guys play with their cousins. There was much BBQ consumed, many conversations sitting on the dock, questionably large amount of water shot in the air with the water blasters, and so many giggles filling the air. It was a wonderful holiday and I’m very grateful for my parents and my sister and her family for so many memories. That’s all for today! 💛Jessie