Hanging in There - Keeping Distracted!

Not going to lie, Dave and I are at a very stressful point right now! His work is virtually nonexistent all of a sudden. It's not just him, it's everyone in his industry it seems. There are definitely pros to this (time off in the summer, spending time as a family, extra help, getting projects done, etc.), but there are also some very real cons! The stress has kind of been an elephant in the room that we haven't talked about for a couple weeks. We both knew exactly what the other is thinking, but we hadn't actually faced it. 
Yesterday I was not in a great place and was having a hard time putting on a brave face. Finally while the kids were napping we both acknowledged our feelings and are starting to feel a bit better. We know it will all work out, we'll never be starving or homeless. We're trying to make the most of his time off now, but every day it gets a little more nerve-wracking. I am SO SO SO grateful money is not one of the things we fight about; this could be a major stressor on many marriages.

Anyway, now that you're up to date on my mental health I can share the ways we've been distracting ourselves from that side of life lately! Trying to enjoy time with Daddy home. I know one day when he's really busy or our lives speed up we will look back so fondly on these slow days. Weeks. Months.

Watching the garbage truck

Lots of playing with water on these warmer days!

This is what's sent to me while I take the dog out to chase the ball. That is actually Emilia's face a large amount of the time. She's crazy.

A trip to the mall where Dom had to, "watch the alligator" haha!

We went to the Honeybee Festival on Saturday. They had lots to do for the kids, but our time was limited. Here is a spotted owl.

Dom's speed! A large, quiet room with various activities. Dave and Dom are playing lego.

They went back to see the owl so Em and I watched the bee beard!! If only wasps could be as gentle as honeybees. I hate wasps. What are they good for anyway? (Actually asking, because I don't know)

Dom insisted on walking back instead of being in the stroller. He stopped like 1/4 of the way up this hill and just sat to, "watch the cars." I ended up having to hike the very steep path with a 36lb toddler in my hands. Way too muggy for that!

A trip to Talize to try find wedding clothes for Emilia and Dom. Got Emilia the dress in the middle here. It's champagney with gold lace pattern details on the top. Also got her a pair of cute gold moccasins. 

We foolishly went out after nap time and forgot to pack snacks. This led to two very hangry toddlers while we were out shopping. Quick stop to Montanas while we agonize about the fact that we're dropping $50 on dinner while Dave isn't working haha! (First world problem)

We also realized this is the first time we've ever gone out to dinner with just us and the kids. Even when it was just Dom. We normally like to reserve our "special outings" for dates because they're so limited. 

The service at Montanas was amaaazing! They were so quick, one step ahead of us the whole time. They also invited Dom to honk the horn on the red truck (you can very faintly see the truck in the background of this photo up in the rafters).

We ordered these hexagon shelves from a local lady who makes them and are so happy with them! I stained them myself because she didn't have the exact color I wanted, and we're excitedly decorating them with things we find around the house. 

We decided we needed to hang something above the Mykonos canvas, so I made this sign (again, stained the same color). It says "always", which is both cute, and a Harry Potter reference! I have to do one more coat on the white before we can actually hang it, and then maybe Dave can take a real picture of our living room haha! It is nice to be able to get our house put together after all the painting I did though.

Speaking of painting, this morning Dom and I were sitting on the couch talking about how I painted that sign. Then he goes, "Ya! And Mommy painted my house and the walls!" I said, "I sure did!" and he goes, "Thank you Mommy, for painting my house." It was such a sincere thank you. Adorable and nice to feel appreciated, even though he's 2.5 and has no idea what he's actually saying haha. 

I made this yesterday during the kids' nap time after Dave and I talked a bit. Lettering and doing crafty things helps me channel my mental energy towards something positive and productive which helps me a lot! I now have this hanging on my fridge and it's been a great reminder.

I hope this didn't sound too complainy, it's just the reality right now! Most of the time we're great! The stress is just an underlying tone right now :)