Does I really have to send the kids to school tomorrow and start another week? Sometimes weekends just feel too nice to end and this was definitely one of them.
Friday night Gracie and I had Girl Time. We try to do this at least once a month and it never disappoints. Gracie always gets to call the shots as to what we do, but luckily for me, she is pretty easy to please. She requested a salad for dinner, shopping for the brown boots she wants to spend the last of her birthday money on, and a trip to the craft store. As always, I had such a great time with my favorite girlie.
Ben and I have been noticing that Gracie is trying out some new things lately- namely a little attitude. We are not fans. She just seems to be unable to control her temper with Luke and there has been so much arguing in our house it is making me crazy! An evening away from her brother was evidently just what she needed. She was in a wonderful mood all night- laughing and holding my hand and talking my ear off. We had lots to talk about at dinner as I heard even more about the kids in her class and about her new teacher. As we got home at the end of the night, she wrapped her arms around me for a big hug and then didn't let go for a while. This spontaneous and very genuine show of affection made my entire week.
On Saturday mornings we usually run a few errands together as a family and then go out to lunch somewhere. It's a fun routine- always laid back and full of diversions. This weekend we started with some pretty normal errands, but found a couple of antique stores to visit while we were out and about. Ben and the kids went in with me to a couple and stayed in the van playing together while I made solo visits to the other two.
One of the perks of moving to a new area is the adventure of finding new "favorites". We've been here for five months, and the hunt continues to be so much fun! Saturday I lucked into a really great little antique store, one that reminded me a bit of The White Rabbit in St. Louis (one of my all-time favorite places to shop!) I only browsed for a bit, but found two cute plates for my plate collection, an iron star, some vintage paper dolls I intend to turn into magnets for Gracie, and a beautiful vintage handkerchief- all for $16! I am hooked and will definitely visit again when I can stay a bit longer.
For lunch, Ben wanted to take us to Litton's, a restaurant in Fountain City. He had been there once with a coworker and couldn't wait to take us back to get one of their famous cheeseburgers. He thought we would love it and he was completely right. From the second we walked in, I was hooked on this place! The restaurant is just charming and full of quirky little touches and great architectural details. The waitress was so friendly and the food was so good. I could not get enough of the french fries and actually ate all of mine and then the ones that Luke couldn't finish. I wouldn't recommend this place if you are on a diet! We left full and happy and with another new Knoxville favorite.
After lunch, we headed across the street to Fountain City Lake to feed the ducks. I will admit that this wasn't nearly as fun as I thought it would be. Those were some pretty hungry and aggressive ducks! It was a short stop.
We spent the rest of the day enjoying ourselves around the house. Drew cooked us a feast in the little kitchen set, Gracie and Luke played camping (complete with sleeping bags and a campfire made out of Tinkertoys), Ben built a bookcase for the boy's room, and I sewed a dress for Gracie. Once the kids went to sleep, Ben and I drank Bahama Mamas (an ode to our Alabama vacation) and watched a movie. All in all, it was a pretty perfect Saturday for me really.
Today was more of the same laid-back family time. Nothing too exciting- church, grocery shopping, playtime with the GeoTracks, homemade mini pizzas for dinner, shopping for Luke's soccer supplies, getting Luke's backpack packed for his first day tomorrow.......... a normal, ordinary, wonderful weekend day as well.
So now everyone is asleep and the house is so very quiet. Part of me wants to stay up just so the weekend can continue. Luke has his first day of kindergarten tomorrow and we're both a little nervous. Please send some good thoughts our way tomorrow morning at about 7:30 as I have a feeling we may be needing them.
I hope your weekend was filled with wonderful, ordinary family moments as well!
Friday night Gracie and I had Girl Time. We try to do this at least once a month and it never disappoints. Gracie always gets to call the shots as to what we do, but luckily for me, she is pretty easy to please. She requested a salad for dinner, shopping for the brown boots she wants to spend the last of her birthday money on, and a trip to the craft store. As always, I had such a great time with my favorite girlie.
Ben and I have been noticing that Gracie is trying out some new things lately- namely a little attitude. We are not fans. She just seems to be unable to control her temper with Luke and there has been so much arguing in our house it is making me crazy! An evening away from her brother was evidently just what she needed. She was in a wonderful mood all night- laughing and holding my hand and talking my ear off. We had lots to talk about at dinner as I heard even more about the kids in her class and about her new teacher. As we got home at the end of the night, she wrapped her arms around me for a big hug and then didn't let go for a while. This spontaneous and very genuine show of affection made my entire week.
On Saturday mornings we usually run a few errands together as a family and then go out to lunch somewhere. It's a fun routine- always laid back and full of diversions. This weekend we started with some pretty normal errands, but found a couple of antique stores to visit while we were out and about. Ben and the kids went in with me to a couple and stayed in the van playing together while I made solo visits to the other two.
One of the perks of moving to a new area is the adventure of finding new "favorites". We've been here for five months, and the hunt continues to be so much fun! Saturday I lucked into a really great little antique store, one that reminded me a bit of The White Rabbit in St. Louis (one of my all-time favorite places to shop!) I only browsed for a bit, but found two cute plates for my plate collection, an iron star, some vintage paper dolls I intend to turn into magnets for Gracie, and a beautiful vintage handkerchief- all for $16! I am hooked and will definitely visit again when I can stay a bit longer.
For lunch, Ben wanted to take us to Litton's, a restaurant in Fountain City. He had been there once with a coworker and couldn't wait to take us back to get one of their famous cheeseburgers. He thought we would love it and he was completely right. From the second we walked in, I was hooked on this place! The restaurant is just charming and full of quirky little touches and great architectural details. The waitress was so friendly and the food was so good. I could not get enough of the french fries and actually ate all of mine and then the ones that Luke couldn't finish. I wouldn't recommend this place if you are on a diet! We left full and happy and with another new Knoxville favorite.
We spent the rest of the day enjoying ourselves around the house. Drew cooked us a feast in the little kitchen set, Gracie and Luke played camping (complete with sleeping bags and a campfire made out of Tinkertoys), Ben built a bookcase for the boy's room, and I sewed a dress for Gracie. Once the kids went to sleep, Ben and I drank Bahama Mamas (an ode to our Alabama vacation) and watched a movie. All in all, it was a pretty perfect Saturday for me really.
Today was more of the same laid-back family time. Nothing too exciting- church, grocery shopping, playtime with the GeoTracks, homemade mini pizzas for dinner, shopping for Luke's soccer supplies, getting Luke's backpack packed for his first day tomorrow.......... a normal, ordinary, wonderful weekend day as well.
So now everyone is asleep and the house is so very quiet. Part of me wants to stay up just so the weekend can continue. Luke has his first day of kindergarten tomorrow and we're both a little nervous. Please send some good thoughts our way tomorrow morning at about 7:30 as I have a feeling we may be needing them.
I hope your weekend was filled with wonderful, ordinary family moments as well!
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