We have a giant hole in our yard! This is a good thing, though. It means we are making progress on installing our new hot tub.

The plan is to fill the hole in with crushed limestone and then add pavers on top so the hot tub has a level spot to rest on in the yard. The bonus is that it will extend our patio a bit!

Niva is in heaven with the hole and extra dirt in the yard. I am in overdrive cleaning mode. 😉

The weekly menu for my little business includes two cupcakes: lemon with blueberry buttercream and vanilla almond with raspberry filling and vanilla buttercream. It has been fun baking fruity cupcakes during the summer months!

We did something we haven’t done in a while: we filmed a vlog. It was Friday and my mom came over for the day.

We went out and about, I drove Jimmy’s new truck, and I even worked a bit on a mosaic project… which brings me to being okay with failing at things.

I’ve been wanting to learn how to do mosaics and I decided to just dive in and try it. Well, my first project was a fail and I ended up having to throw it away because the grout situation was not working haha.

But that’s okay! There’s so much joy in the process of creating. Sure, I would have loved to finish the project, but I’ll try a new one based off of what I learned 😊

Making time for little hobbies is so refreshing for me as a parent. I can feel used up and burnt out if I don’t do “Allie things” like random art projects, reading, journaling, and baking.

Case in point: the above picture was taken at like 9:00 am on Saturday morning. Jimmy left for work at 6:30 am and I was a little weary from parenting from all week. It’s hard work being “on” all the time, you know?

Sometimes Jimmy has to work on Saturdays and that’s just how it goes. I tried to do something fun for the kids and myself: we went to the park and I brought along this guided journal that I have been loving.

Once the kids went to bed that night, I read a bit of this book. Just finding small ways to sneak in enjoyable things makes all the difference when parenting can feel equal parts rewarding and monotonous.

I can’t believe Mordecai is going to be eight months old in a few days! The past eight months have absolutely flown by. I can’t imagine life without him.

Sadie is somehow going to be five in September! And yes, she went hiking in a Christmas dress on an 80 degree day in July.

I found the dress at a thrift store for under $3 and figured it would be perfect for Christmas. She spotted it and decided she needed to wear it regardless of the current season. That’s Sadie for ya!

How do you feel about failing at things?

What are your top three favorite hobbies?