Wednesday Style

I've had so many people ask me how my Wednesdays off work are going, I thought I'd take a couple minutes to fill you all in on how we spend our mid-week break  First of all, I have to say that it's been absolutely amazing having a day off in the middle of the week to spend time with the kids.  Not only does it make the work week fly by, but it takes a lot of pressure off of trying to cram all my quality time in with the kids on the weekends.  

Weekends (especially summer weekends) are full of so many fun family activities, BBQs, weddings, birthday parties, etc. that I don't feel like I ever get enough quality individual downtime with the kids.  So, I've tried to make Wednesday all about reconnecting with them and making sure that we get to spend time together, whether out and about or just hanging around our neighborhood. We've been to the Zoo, the Magic House, the Botanical Gardens. And some Wednesdays we've stayed home in our jammies all day and painted, or gone for a walk or watched movies together.  Sometimes we bake, sometimes we craft, sometimes we play trains all the live long day.  

I try to snap pictures here and there, but for the most part I try to put my phone down and stay off the computer as much as I can (and honestly, sometimes that's really hard).  But, I want to make our Wednesdays a special occasion for us.  I want Wednesday to be a day that we really connect and listen to each other, instead of just trying to survive and make it to bedtime.  I try to say "yes" when Mac asks me to chase him around the basement AGAIN even though I don't want to and try to be cognizant of how many times I've scolded him about being quiet while Mim's napping.  I try to make sure that I hold Mim as much as possible (knowing that she's getting so much less focused attention than Mac got at that age) and stare at her for great lengths of time just trying to memorize her tiny features into my mind.  

I'm cherishing every single second of my Wednesdays with them because they're just growing up too damn fast.  Mac is potty-training and riding a big boy bike with training wheels!  Mim is cruising everywhere, can crawl faster than you could imagine and will be walking and talking in a matter of minutes.  I'm planning her first birthday party and mourning the loss of that "new baby" smell and all her peach fuzz.  My babies aren't going to be babies for very much longer.  This is it!!!  These are the hardest years of our lives, but they're also the best years.  This is the time I'm going to look back on 30 years from now and want to relive.  I need to make sure I'm living it right now.  

Mainly, I just want our Wednesdays to be for us.  I want them to be comfortable and fun.  I want the kids to look forward to them as much as I do.  I want to be able to go to bed that night smiling about all the silly stuff Mac said and how many times Mim open-mouth kissed me. I want to dream about his squeaky voice and her crinkle-nosed smile.  I want to fall into a deep sleep thinking about how lucky I am to be a mom...to be their mom.  This is my dream come true.

Nike // Polo

Special thanks to one of our favorite local St. Louis businesses, Famous Footwear (part of the Brown Shoe Company), for providing us with some stylish new kicks for summer. I chose an awesome pair of Nike running shoes, which are light, comfortable and help me keep up with my wild child.  Said wild child picked a pair or adorable little Ralph Lauren Polo sneakers that are perfect for toddlers (easy to put on and no shoelaces to get caught in bike pedals).  Check out the #ohsofamous Style Gallery for beautiful photos of how other bloggers and moms are styling their footwear this summer (you just might recognize a familiar face/foot or two in there).  

*I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.