Ali Edwards is the queen of storytelling and prompts and projects. When I saw this shared on her social media a few weeks ago, I knew that I had to play along. In general, wouldn’t consider myself a playful person. I definitely lean toward the “taking life too seriously” side and really want to incorporate play more often in my life. Especially as a mom. Here was my week of thinking about play and how it currently fits in with my life.
Monday: Right Now I Play
It’s really hard to think of play outside of activities and fun with Callahan. I have a lot of hobbies but sometimes I treat them as means to an end as opposed to actually slowing down and enjoying the process. After Callahan goes to bed, I try to take a little time to do something that brings me joy and fills my cup. Lately it’s been doing project life, reading good books, journaling, and moving my body. That’s about as playful as we’re getting around here.
Tuesday: What I Lovedto Play as a Kid
I was HUGE into sports as a kid – tried pretty much all of them except for basketball. Here I am at 4ish for my t-ball pictures. I got really into soccer as an elementary-aged kid and then started playing hockey after that until I graduated high school.
Wednesday:Play Sounds Like
Play currently sounds like musical toys (the shape sorter is also a drum LOL) as well as reading books, pull back cars, and the Bluey theme song.
Thursday: A Playful Memory
Callahan, my Mom, and I recently went to Tiny Town Play Cafe (a little place space that resembles a town – a grocery store, office, house, vet clinic, etc – for kids to play in) and it was such a fun experience. Callahan loved it and it was fun to see him interact with new toys, people, and surroundings.
Friday: Something I’ve Learned from Play
Hobbies don’t need to be a side hustle to be worthwhile. Photography is 100% a hobby I tried to make money from and I realized that it took all of the joy out of it for me. I’d rather just play with my camera get a few good shots (of my son, of nature, whatever), edit one or two, and then ditch the rest. I love the idea that it’s all practice.
Saturday: Play Date
Mom and I made shirts for the Super Bowl that say, “I’m just here for the snacks”. It was a fun way to play around with my cricut, spend time with my Momma and get matching shirts out of the deal.
Sunday: Why I Play
I want to be caught playing, having hobbies, and reading. It’s such a wonderful way to care for myself and to fill up my bucket so I can pour into the other people in my life. I want Callahan to see that I do things for me and that I want to grow as a person. I want him to learn to independent play alongside me just as much as I want him to see me loving people and serving our community. He is looking at us as his example and I want to take that seriously.
There you have it – a week of PLAY! Glad for these pictures and words as a reminder of the importance of play in our lives.
The end of winter is a good time all around. Spring is my favorite season and that is 50% because winter is over and 50% because it means nicer weather and flowers in bloom. We had a very mild winter this year, and I’m thankful for that. Even still, I’m already trying to figure out how we can do future winters in Florida or somewhere a bit warmer. We did get to have some afternoons at the park and we got to experience some beautiful sunsets.
Happy Valentine’s Day! Celebrating special days just feels so much more fun with our boy. He delights in alllll the little things, which is such a good reminder that all the hoopla and big things aren’t necessary.
His Mr Steal Your Heart sweatshirt, his pose, his smile – ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I justified it (like two months in advance) by telling myself it was true all year round, so he’d get plenty of wear out of it. It’s also the comfiest material of all time. (Do they sell adult sizes?)
Kevin and I aren’t gift exchangers or really big V-Day celebrators (other than the excuse to go out to eat) so we still kept it really simple, despite my wanting to buy all the things in an attempt to make it feel that much more special. We got Callahan some balloons – he points them out anytime we’re at a store – which he was obsessed with and perfect for our minimalist home since they won’t last forever. I always love the excited stomping and surprised open mouth face he makes when the balloons react in a way he doesn’t expect.
For his classmates at daycare, we did bubble wands with an Etsy note that I fell in love with. They were super easy to customize and I just used my photo printer to print four to a page. Callahan has loved bubbles since he was real little, so it just felt right.
He brought home lots of cutie Valentines from his friends, but the Bluey one takes the cake. Big fan (me and him).
We decided to eat at home and do a meal I recently stumbled across on Pinterest – Turkey Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes – which was a hit! Such a sweet Valentine’s Day for the three of us. ❤️
I always enjoy following along with current trendy things on social media. Even though I don’t post there super regularly, it’s still fun to think about what I would post if I was following along with the viral TikTok challenges (minus dances because, well, just no). Most of the ones I’m excited about lately are Pinterest related – so enjoy these few fun things and maybe I’ll share some again in the future when new ones pop up.
Jacqueline-Core
This one was made by searching my name and “core” on Pinterest.
I’m a huge fan of the French vibes that my name always brings about. Plus books and a solid quote. I’m sold.
Jacqueline Aesthetic
Searched “Jacqueline Aesthetic” on Pinterest. Mind readers. Censor for tiny eyes.
Doesn’t the second to last photo remind you of a Taylor Swift album? Just me, ok cool. PS. Writing a post about all my thoughts on Taylor Swifts new album with a whole list of my favorite songs.
If My Pinterest Board Was My __________
Curated Pinterest boards showcasing all my favorites.
Simultaneously my favorite to make and the longest to put together. I did have some of these things already pinned, but it was fun to categorize them in this way. Attitude and aesthetic are spot on. I normally say “neutral” is my favorite color, but I had to do something a little more visually interesting for this!
If I were a __________ (according to Kevin)
I asked Kevin, “If I were a __________ (color, season, fruit, etc.) what would I be? These were his answers.
Color: coral
Season: fall
Fruit: blueberries
Time of day: nap time
Flower: mums
Thing: magic 8 ball
Holiday: Christmas
Weather: 73 degrees and partly sunny
Food: nachos
Ok, this was fun. I’m here for all of the things that are supposed to describe me. Obviously, if I didn’t agree it wouldn’t be here. They are all curated and lovely and I just want to keep them here as a reminder of silly things we do like I wish I still had my last MySpace Top 8, Favorite Xanga Quotes and Tumblr reposts. RIP to all those websites, ok bye for now.
I almost didn’t even bother posting this, but instead I’m just going to keep it real. Callahan being under the weather and sleeping poorly meant that I wasn’t as focused taking photos for the day. We stayed at home and tried to relax a bit – something we are both learning how to do.
As we wrap up the week of photos and words, I would just encourage you to take photos of the day-to-day, the things that feel mundane, and the routines. It truly is so worthwhile when you look back through photos a few years from now. If you want to look back through other Week in the Life installments I’ve posted, you can do that here.
8:58 AM // Another morning, another breakfast shot. There are so many things I love about this house. The lighting and floors are *chef’s kiss*.
9:56 PM // More Bluey and trying to help him relax. You’d have no idea he is sick!
4:40 PM // The sun is setting and we had beautiful light pouring into our house. Kev was out running errands and grabbing food for the week. Super thankful to be tag-teaming all the things.
9:59 PM // Stayed up late Marco Poloing with Taylor and Sarah. I had this ceramic tree (that brings back lots of memories from childhood Christmases) all lit up. Even though I said we’re not putting up Christmas for a few weeks, it’s still sweet to have a little hint at the excitement of the holiday season. I just know it’s going to be so fun watching Callahan experience all the joy.
