Home Sweet (New) Home + Weekend Happenings

Hey friends! Happy Monday to you! Did you have a good weekend? It was a chilly one over here and pretty low key which was really, really nice after the holidays. We stayed close to home and kept our agenda clear and just enjoyed time together as a family.

Despite the fact that our weekend wasn’t the most eventful, I still have something exciting to share with you guys today! It’s actually some news we’ve been keeping under wraps for quite a while and I’m looking forward to finally filling you guys in.

Saturday

We kicked off our Saturday morning with lots of fort making followed by a drive over to the biggest fort our family is currently building…

A new house!

This has been in the works for well over a year and we are beyond grateful and excited to be building a home we hope will be our “forever home.” Through the building process we learned that maaany people say they’re building their “forever home” and it rarely works out that way but we put so much thought and planning into this home to make it a place we think will grow with us through various stages of life. I know life is crazy unpredictable but we love North Carolina, our friends, our community, our jobs and the boys’ schools so we’re going all in on this one.

There is so much I could say about the house and the whole building process but since I’m not sure how interested you guys are in home content, I’ll just leave it at that unless you have questions and would like me to share more about how everything is going. We’ve poured countless hours into building this home and attended a million house-related meetings over the past year so there is a lot to say. I know that while I devour home content and love interior design blogs, it’s not for everyone, so just let me know!

(Selecting our countertops back in July!)

Having never built a home before, it’s been one giant learning curve but we love our builder and Ryan and I feel very fortunate to be able to do this together. Right now we are hoping to be able to move in this summer but we know we shouldn’t hold our breath on a set timeline since things are so fluid. This home has been a huge part of our life and involved a lot of appointments and meetings and I’m glad it’s all out there now! If you have any questions about the house, I can always put together a Q&A post about everything, so just let me know. I just didn’t want to overshare if there’s little interest.

After a quick drive by the house to check on everything, we drove into the city for another morning at Discovery Place Science.

(On me: Jeans: Old Navy / Sweater: Old Navy / Teddy Jacket: Angashion via Amazon / Combat Boots: Sam Edelman / Beanie: American Eagle // On Rhett: Outfit: Little Bipsy <– my affiliate link will give both of us $10 off our next $35 order! / Shoes: New Balance — gifted)

Can you tell this is a go-to activity for us on cold winter days? The boys love it so much and they’re all at such great ages for exploring the various areas. Plus, the fact that the uptown location has a mini aquarium inside is a big-time hit with our crew.

The boys had a ball running all over the place until Rhett’s nap time creeped up on us and we headed home for lunch and sleep for Rhetty Roo. We got Ryder settled in his room for quiet time as well and then Ryan took Chase fishing while I ordered samples of paint colors for the cabinetry in our house and browsed Pinterest for inspiration for tile for the bathrooms and laundry room since we have a tile selection meeting coming up soon. Just another one of the billions of decisions it feels like we are making for this home! Also, to anyone who has done home renovations, built a home or updated the design of a room, can we all agree that searching the internet for home inspiration photos is where time goes to die? I can find myself in the depths of Pinterest searching for that perfect bathroom vanity paint color inspiration for waaay too long.

The rest of our afternoon passed by in a blur of kid activities, picking up food for dinner and curling up to stream Encanto for movie night. Have you guys seen this movie yet? Though we’ve been listening to the soundtrack for a while, this was our first time watching the movie and I thought it was so cute! It was definitely the best animated movie I’ve seen in recent years. The music is incredibly catchy and the big kids seemed to enjoy the family’s special powers. It was definitely more in Chase’s wheelhouse than Ryder’s at this age but both boys seemed to like it. And Rhett thoroughly enjoyed playing with all of the big kids’ toys while they were distracted with the movie. Ha!

Sunday

Sunday morning began with a family park playdate!

We took the boys up to Hope Park in Mooresville and it’s one of our favorite spots because it has great play areas for toddlers and big kids. Chase is still one hundred percent obsessed with running and there is an outline of a little track around the playground so we raced around it a million times. For any mamas out there feeling bummed about not being able to stick to the fitness routines we used to be able to do pre-kids, just remember we do stuff like this allllll day long. Phew!

We had to call our park playtime short because I had to get home for a virtual baby shower for my friend Carrie, one of my best friends since elementary school. Carrie is being induced at the end of the month and my friends Leah, Michaela and I tried to make her feel a little special from afar by sending her flowers, brunch and a baby shower banner and planning a virtual shower for her so she could feel a little bit of the love that’s coming her way for her and her growing family. The three of us are also flying to Idaho to meet her baby girl in March and I cannot wait!!!

The shower was only an hour but Carrie, Michaela, Leah and I stayed on the video chat for nearly two hours after just catching up. It was so great to all be able to connect at the same time and was definitely a highlight of my weekend! By the time I emerged from our bedroom, Rhett was just waking up from his nap, Ryder was still sleeping and Ryan, Chase and my father-in-law were out fishing. They arrived home about 20 minutes after I got Rhett up and we all dug into the homemade chicken noodle soup Ryan began prepping earlier in the day. It was perfect for a cold and dreary day and we ate it along with the Biscoff blondies I made for our crew.

Since the rain derailed any afternoon plans, we did early baths for the boys which worked perfectly because Chase was anxious to test out the buoyancy of the submarine we put together as part of his latest Science Junior delivery, a past birthday gift he received from my parents.

And YES, that would be TWO front teeth you see missing from Chase’s smile! He lost his first upper middle tooth on New Year’s Eve and the next one fell out a few days later. I can’t handle it.

After baths, we ate dinner and did the usual bed time routine before I went into my office to work on blog stuff for a bit before joining Ryan in bed. I read a little bit before my eyes would no longer stay open and called it a night.

Plans for today include some solo work time since Annemarie is coming this morning to watch Rhett for a couple of hours while the big kids are at school and then later this evening I have a preschool board meeting for Ryder’s school. (I became a board member over the summer.) I am especially looking forward to the coffee date and work time and hope to make a little more headway on the blog post I have coming you way soon that touches on life with three kids now that we’re 16 months in. Stay tuned!

Have a great week, my friends!