.....18 day hiatus.....

....well I certainly did not mean to be away from this blog for so long, but after two weeks of a full house, we moved right into Stefan's staycation......every night, we would enjoy dinner together if we had not eaten with the kids and would cozy up on the couch for a movie or sit together in our newly furnished three season room and devour our books......other nights we watched the sun set from our cozy backyard and made more plans for future house projects or simply enjoyed easy conversation that comes with almost nine years of marriage......

.....and his beard makes him look so yummy that I have begged him to keep it one more day before shaving and heading back to corporate America on Monday......

......I could not.....did not want to pull myself away from him at night time after the kids were asleep......so, blog, you took a back seat......

.....it has been so good to have him around the house and I fought the urge to give him too many honey dos, but I could not resist completely.......

.....agh....the wallpaper project......

....more on that to come......

.....we took a week at home and then we drove out to Long Island and rented a beach house for the second week.....it was our first family only vacation since Elsie was 9 months old.....our trips during the year are usually full of planes, rental cars and lots of family........and although we missed making trips to our home states this summer, we also learned the value of spending time with our children on our own turf......

.....I also learned that as a momma running the household along with carpooling the kids, making meals, cleaning up the house, folding laundry and all of the other minor tasks that end up to being a full days' work of being a stay at home mom, I needed the off time with my children too......sure there were still diapers to change and messes to wipe up, but we had no schedule......we were all together......and there was a relaxed vibe that isn't present in normal day life........it isn't present during trips to faraway places, either.....it is just the ability to be still, to watch a little more closely, listen a bit more intently......

......we were able to share moments with one another as an intimate little family of five and I truly cherished and savored the time we had to close out our summer......I feel like in between my moments of reading a book, rocking in a hammock or swimming with the kids in the middle of the day; I could really watch and observe them.....meals were easy, bedtimes were not set and we let the day's activities lead us instead of letting a routine take charge......

.......I saw many sweet moments of how they interact with each other and with us.......I took the time to examine every detail about what makes them unique.......I watched them sleep, noticed more of life's moments that make them laugh and stretched out every conversation with each of them......

.....we enjoyed the beauty of our surroundings whether it was the Long Island sound, Yankee stadium, our own backyard, the view from the moon roof on the water ferry or an island we hadn't explored......

....we ate lobster rolls, seafood chowders, crab cakes, scallop salads, steamed mussels, tuna steaks and fish sticks.....and if it hadn't been for me growing a baby, I would have added raw oysters to the list too.....

....we found old friends that retreated to the same place as us to break away from the city's concrete, the craziness of life and to slow down their pace too.....

.....we inhaled our 14 days of togetherness, let it absorb throughout every cell of our body and as we exhale on our last weekend of relaxed unity; we are a refreshed, bonded family ready to capture the excitement that lies ahead this fall......

.....not to cut you short, blog.....but I have one more Saturday night of Stefan's two week staycation and  our sitter arrives at 5pm.....we are capping off our time the way our family began.....just the two of us......

.....we need to get an early start so that tomorrow can focus on our soon to be Kindergartener who starts on Monday......gulp.....cheer......joy.......gulp.......

.....happy Saturday.....

.....more posts to come on all of the fun times we have had with summer visitors and a returning sponsor......

.....hope you find a moment of true peace....

.....full house....

....I have always been a quality time type of girl.....it is certainly a love language for me and Stefan knows that quality time does not mean sitting next to each other on the couch watching a movie......no, not even close.....

.....I thrive on quality time that involves good, deep conversation......laughter, activity and events that etch their memory into my heart, available for me to retrieve on days where my tank needs filling......I am revived after quality time with the ones that I love and it can be a simple trip to the beach with a friend, a walk with my sister in laws, a cup of coffee over a phone call or an afternoon on my cherished red couch reading with one of my babes.....

....this year, we are not making a Texas or a Florida trip......it naturally worked out that with the new house, we found ourselves arranging dates with so many friends and family members that our calendar became full of many, many house guests.......I have always loved a full house and it has been such a blessing to finally have the room to properly host loved ones......having a full house is a big driver in the reason why a fourth child was a necessity for us.....we like the hustle and bustle, the kitchen crowded with people of all ages, the sound of laughter and chit chat in several different rooms within the frame of our home.......we love it when there is excitement in someones life and are privileged to share it with them.......and we welcome the endless friends that come with having a large family......the table always has one or two more guests and we will always make room.....

.....so, between a summer full of friends and family, Elsie beginning Kindergarten this fall (gulp) and the baby arriving early November, we scratched any travel plans at all and decided to spend the year at home......I must admit, this has been a welcomed change.......not that we don't love the trips going back to our respective home states, but there is something nice about having guests come to us and being able to devote all of our attention on them......there is no juggling of the schedule of who-to-see-when like we do when we go back home......a night here, a few nights there is fun; but the time is always cut short and the quality is tougher to muster when the trip becomes chopped up and spread thin......

....so we open our doors and we eagerly anticipate setting the cell phones aside, turning the ringers off, even setting the cameras down (occasionally) to really soak in our loved ones.....and over the last six days, we inhaled one of Stefan's brothers, Mikael, his wife Heather and their boys, Jaxon and Phoenix......the time together was long, engaged, full and quite perfect, honestly......the quality was there the entire visit and memories were etched, branded and soaked to our heart's content......

.....we couldn't get enough of the beach......low tides were a favorite among the group and proved to be the best scoping ground for hermit crabs, snails and crawler crabs......all little critters that our cousins do not find frequently in Texas.....in a matter of a few short weeks, my children have gone from being terrified of them, to the bravest little people I know; scooping their tiny fingers under large rocks, knowing for certain that a family of crabs dwells below the surface of the stone.....so they showed their cousins how it's done.....

.....but the limited time away from the water proved to be just as prosperous.....quiet time for babes to rest, backyard play while the brothers clanked cold beers and discussed the smoker and the meat they were slow smokin', arts and crafts, prepping for s'mores, sparkler safety lessons from uncle Mikael and even a night out for the adults.......the full six days together was truly a vacation for both families.....

.....not to mention, the treat it was for me to spend several hours with Heather as we reconstructed my powder room.....

.....more to come on that in another post when I can reveal the before and after photos, but isn't she adorable?.....talented, creative and adorable.....

.....the year at home will be good for us......nice long visits with the ones we love, more time to grow new roots as we still continue to settle into suburbia, a slower pace that enables us to savor the last few months as a party of five and the harmony of a slower pace......ying and yang, balance, ebb and flow; I seem to always go back to stating that a little of both is best for us.....exciting trips, heading off to tackle adventures and filling our days to the brim with activity.......those experiences are the most meaningful when they are surrounded by time at home......

....especially a full house filled with some of our favorite people.....