Life has been pretty hectic around the Vail household. Between 1st grade, pre-k, and preschool (2 school locations, 2 drop off times, 3 pick up times), sports/activities (soccer, tennis, gymnastics, Cub Scouts), settling into a new house after moving this summer, trying to run a business from home, solo-parenting a good bit due to Tom’s travel schedule…I feel like I’m often running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I haven’t had the time to just sit down and write random blog posts like I used to, and I’ve missed it!
The fall is the season of birthdays for us, and Caroline turned 5 in September, Jack turned 7 in November, I had my birthday right before Thanksgiving, and Tate will turn 3 in less than 2 weeks. It’s a fun time of year but phew, I’m exhausted. We stayed put for Thanksgiving and went for a family run (Jack biked and the girls were in the stroller), then we went out to eat for Thanksgiving dinner at Army Navy Country Club. I love to cook and host Thanksgiving, but with 3 picky little kids it’s just not worth it at this point. Maybe in a few years I’ll try my hand at it again. When we were at our meal Tate licked a roll, sampled a few cookies, and ate a plate of whipped cream. Caroline ate macaroni and cheese and cookies. Jack ate turkey and pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Not the most well rounded meals but at least I wasn’t frustrated when they turned their noses up at the food because I hadn’t spent the time preparing the meal. Meanwhile, I got to have every side imaginable because Thanksgiving food is my FAVORITE. The only downside is that I don’t get leftovers to eat for a week, which is one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving. Nice to not have to handle clean up though!
The Army Navy football game is coming up this weekend, and last year Tom, Jack, and I attended the game as well as the events hosted by Legacies Alive- a wonderful non-profit that puts on events for the families of fallen service members. This year I plan to attend again and will bring Caroline with me. Tom will stay back with Jack and Tate. Last year it was in NYC and this year it will be in Philadelphia. It’s such a fun weekend catching up with many of my West Point classmates and it’s a meaningful weekend as well, because I’m able to remember my late husband Dimitri through the Legacies Alive events. I can’t believe he was killed in Afghanistan over 11 years ago. I went on a run the other day and listened to an old playlist that I’d made when I was training for a marathon after his death and some really powerful memories and emotions came up unexpectedly. I finished the run crying. Life is so hectic with 3 little kids and I love the beautiful life Tom and I have built together, but gosh I sure do miss Dimitri. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine my life any other way than it is now, but I do still mourn for him and the life he and I missed out on.
We’re mostly settled into the new house, although the garage is a total disaster. I have some wall and ceiling mounted shelves that I need to hang (or outsource through task rabbit) but I haven’t gotten around to that yet. I need to just do it so we can get the garage organized! Tackling the closets in our house was my biggest priority once we moved in. We need smart storage and the way the closets were set up when we moved in (just one rack/shelf at the top) just was not smart. Built-ins are such an expense but they sure do make a difference. We’ve done all of our closets, as well as the laundry room, the niches that flank our fireplace, and the mudroom/locker type built-ins in our entryway. It is so nice having places to put things now!
Wallpapering a few rooms will be the next thing I focus on. We’ll be doing (well, hiring someone to do because I’m intimidated by wallpaper) the dining room, the powder room, our bathroom, Jack’s bathroom, and our guest bedroom. Can’t wait to share those projects as we tackle them. (Update- wallpaper is going into the powder room as I type this. Eeek!)
Peaches and Granddad (what the kids call my parents) will be visiting for Tate’s birthday, and I can’t wait to see them. We haven’t seen them since summer! We won’t spend Christmas together but at least we’ll have a week here together before Christmas! We typically go to Fripp Island for Christmas but we’ve decided that we want to stay put this year and start making memories in our home. I’m excited for starting some new traditions in our own home! It’s been really fun decorating the house and seeing how I can use the things we’ve owned forever in this space. I did buy new garland because we have so many banisters now, but for the most part we haven’t added much new. I’ll try to work on a blog post with all of our Christmas decorations! Try is the key word 🙂
Tom and I have been trying to go on more dates, because it’s just hard to get quality time together as a couple with 3 little kids at home. Most have been evening dates but this past weekend we had our sweet babysitter come during the day for 3 and a half hours and we went for a run together in DC, returned a few online purchases that didn’t work out in Georgetown (Tuckernuck and J.McLaughlin) and then had lobster rolls for lunch. Day dates are the best!
Well that’s all for my random musings today. As always, thanks for being here and for reading. I appreciate you all more than you know.
Loved this so much! Where are your kids’ stockings from? I’m looking to get my family a similar kind!
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Here is the link! We love them! https://bit.ly/3FJ1MAJ