Our trip to the Windy City and The Importance of Getting Away

This past Memorial Day weekend, Mister and I got away to Chicago.

We spent Sunday through Tuesday in the Windy City and let me tell you..... it was amazing.

Like whenwasthelasttimeishoweredforanhourjustbecauseicould amazing.

My hour long longer than average shower was only one of things I did to "indulge" on our vacation.

I spent over an hour getting ready- like actually did my hair, makeup, shaved, put lotion on.

Went through outfit after outfit, adding accessories that I normally wouldn't wear since my child would

break poop on lick ruin them.

And perhaps my favorite thing I did was rest here. 

The hotel lobby- which was stocked with a free coffee bar, an oversized chair, and a beautiful view of the city. Yup, basically heaven. I got up early (I'm programmed to getting up with baby girl) and went down here for some quiet time while hubby slept. To say I enjoyed it is an understatement.

We did many fun touristy things....

Checked another Hard Rock off my list (I'm a hardcore Hard Rock pin collector... more on that another day!)

Ate one (or two) Chicago style hot dogs

Saw Wrigley Field

Sat by the water at Navy Pier

And chatted with this handsome fella while we enjoyed the view.

Indulged in some Gino's deep dish pizza

Looked down on the city from the John Hancock observatory

Roamed Millenium Park

Took some corny pictures at "The Bean"

Yes, obligatory "Bean" pictures were a must.

Noshed on some focaccia at the wonderful Eataly (DISCLAIMER: if you are going to NYC or Chicago any time soon you MUST visit Eataly... it is divine!)

Kicked our feet up at the Pier once more

Snuggled up on a boat ride on Lake Michigan

And sat back and enjoyed this insanely gorgeous view.

While sightseeing, eating, and shopping were wonderful,

the thing I enjoyed most was just spending time with my Mister.

We talked, we laughed, we cuddled, we strolled hand in hand,

and we didn't have to worry about bottles strollers blowouts kid stuff for a few days.

Of course, we missed our little E girl terribly.

But we tried to make the most of our alone time together and I can honestly say that

EVERYONE.... (yes, that includes you)

needs to take some time away from their kids.

You heard me.

Leave the kids, pray about it, get up, and go.

I know to some that seems like a crazy idea.

But it is SO valuable to your marriage.

We felt like a dating couple again getting to just go out and enjoy things we don't get to do much anymore and that was so refreshing.

I know the anxieties are intense, believe me.

I worried about little E not sleeping,

not eating,

choking,

missing a bottle,

falling and getting hurt and getting rushed to the ER,

but did that happen?

No.

And even if it had, things would have been OK.

It's so easy to get worked up over the small stuff and to let fear keep you from doing things.

Ultimately, this battle is about trusting God.

We pray over our little girl every night and know that even when we aren't there to protect her,

God is.

And He is bigger and more powerful and has all the control over her life.

He is watching her in the wee hours of the morning,

and He is even watching over her while we are away.

If leaving your kids is something you struggle with,

I encourage you to pray about it.

Ask God for the strength to do something for yourself, 

and leave your kids (and your fears) in His hands.

Now trust me, I KNOW this is not easy. I struggle with this constantly. However....

I believe that God wants us to have the strongest, healthiest marriage we can have.

And ultimately, sometimes we need to make sacrifices and get away from the day-to-day routine to strengthen our marriages and give our husbands some quality time

without dashing off for the next diaper change.

Mommas,

I encourage you to rest in Him.

Grab ahold of the peace He provides and those little fears will disappear.

Take a step in faith and go on a little adventure with your hubby,

even if that means going out for an hour-long date night.

I promise you He will watch over your precious babes while you are away.

And you might even enjoy yourself too. ;)

Hitting the Motherload

This past weekend, we celebrated my first Mother's Day.

What an honor it was!

We also had Emersyn's dedication at church on the same day.

Doubly honored.

This weekend was special but boy was it crazy.

We kicked it off with this....

Behind that lovely bandage are six stitches.

Cup exploding incident. Yeah, don't ask. ;)

After one frantic call to my hubby, a bloodstained kitchen, and one crazy trip to the ER, 

I was on the mend!

Happy Mothers Day to me!

We spent Saturday celebrating my Mothers Day at the Mall of America!

After a great morning walk in the sunshine, it was fun to shop & go out to eat.

I love that my hubby captured this sweet moment...

Sunday it was Mothers Day and Emme's big dedication day.

We woke up and had no idea our day would get so interesting.

Before I go into details, take a look at my pretty baby in her dedication dress.

I mean chambray and pink... can you really go wrong?

Well apparently... you can.

Because this was the only picture I got of E in that dress before I threw it in the trash.

This girl had a MASSIVE blowout on our way to the church.

I'm talking all over her dad, the carseat, in her finger crevices, ashamed to carry your baby in naked to church blowout.

As Ethan scrubbed his shirt in the church bathroom and doused the car seat with water,

I tried to sponge baby-wipe bathe our child in an attempt to save any part of her outfit.

Well, I got the jean jacket out of the deal.

And thank the sweet Lord above, otherwise my child would have gone 

on stage in a grubby white tee shirt and much too big pink leggings.

See below.

Well hey, she still looks cute.

A story to tell her forever I guess!

We came home,

celebrated with family,

ate some cake,

and rejoiced over dedicating our daughter to the Lord.

I pray that Emersyn does big things for Jesus.

Scratch that.

I pray that she does BIG bold brave things for Jesus.

I pray that He uses her to bring light to this world- which I know He already does.

And most of all,

I pray that she always knows His great and immeasurable love for her

and the unending grace that only He can give.

Happy dedication weekend, little love.

Mama couldn't have spent her Mothers Day weekend a better way.

Xoxo

Get Your Crafty On

My mister was away this weekend doing his Army thing. Boo.

Hate when that happens! 

Makes for one sad & lonely mama.

I decided I needed to be productive in order to forget about his absence, so....

I got my crafty on!

I must say I am proud that this is my first successful DIY project.

I've tried my hand at Pinterest many a' times and lets just say that failure is an understatement.

 No really, UNDERstatement.

Here's how to make an easy breezy front door wreath that looks cute & won't break your bank!

DIY Front Door Wreath

You will need:

1 wreath 

3-5 fake flowers (I got each of them for 50% at Joann's!)

Wooden letter

Burlap ribbon

Twine 

Glue gun

I started out by taking my flowers and cutting them down so they had about 6 inches of the stem left. Then, I weaved the stem through the twigs in the wreath so that they were hidden. I used hot glue to hold them in place. I like the look of having them all bunched up, but you can of course glue the flowers all over the wreath if you want! I did have some bunched together on the opposite side of the wreath too but I didn't get a picture of that so.... #excuseme #newblogger :)

Next, I took twine and glued it to the back of my wooden letter. I left the twine really long so that I could wrap it around the top of the wreath in order to suspend the letter. I tied it and hot glued it in place.

Lastly, I took my entire roll of burlap ribbon and made a giant bow. I glued it right on top of where the twine was tied so that you couldn't the knots I had made.

Here's the finished product!

So easy and so fun to do! The whole thing only took me like thirty minutes to make. I love this project because it's cheap enough that you could make one for each of the seasons without going way over your budget! 

Well, its off to church for the Kleiner family!

Be blessed & enjoy your Sunday!