Hello everyone. Can’t believe that it’s that time again and that another whole week has gone by. I’m enjoying these Weekly Wrap Ups because it’s so nice to reflect back on some of the nicer moments of our week as a family. It’s also fun to be able to link this to a GIVEAWAY for my awesome readers and to see all of your great comments!

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Here are some of our moments from the week, plus what I’m thinking about and concentrating on!

First up, Annaliese (6). Annaliese goes to school across the city. She normally takes the bus, which luckily stops right outside our house, but we had no bus service this week so I got to take her a few days. I’m learning more and more to grab what time I can with each kid alone. Even though this time might only be 10 minutes, it gives us a moment to connect. Annaliese has been giggling and laughing a lot lately so starting off the day with her on the bus got me in a good mood. Can’t believe her first year of Kindergarten is almost to an end…

Now to my oldest, Hedley — almost 11. Hedley is craving independence. He wants an iPhone (that will be a blog soon) and wants to walk to school alone. However, Mom is not there yet. He’s such an independent soul that his original name suits him. How funny it was to walk to get him at school the other day and to see this van parked right outside his school! Eerie!

We’ve started a 1 on 1 dinner tradition in our house but for practical reasons, both Hedley and Lachlan gave gone whereas Beckett hadn’t yet had a turn. On Tuesday we went (spur of the moment) to a Japanese place around the corner and Beckett loved watching the men make the sushi. Our house is so full of clamor and activity that it actually feels weird for me to sit down calmly and talk to one child at a time. We had a lovely hour during which Beckett told me about what he’s doing in art class. Then, back to the craziness.

Here’s my littlest who’s been dressing herself lately and coming up with some pretty interesting combinations. I cherish my walks with her to school and I love her questions, many of which I can’t answer. “If God’s house is in the sky, why doesn’t it fall down,?” she asked the other day. Or for another good one “But how to babies get IN the tummy?” For the moment, I am dodging the answers, copping out. Won’t be for long.

On Thursday the four oldest kids got to play hooky for a day and attend Take Your Child To Work Day with their Dad. Their day included a movie and popcorn, and make your own sundaes, not exactly a typical work day for my sweetie. The big bonus was that they each obtained their own ID card with a picture. The kids are definitely too busy so it’s nice that they can just have fun for a day too without worrying about rushing to and fro.

Are you like me: do you ever get angry when your child tells you their shoes are too small? Again? Already? How is this possible? I ask things like that. I feel like I am always buying pants and buying shoes. So after trying to squeeze Beckett into hand me down size 3 cleats (too small), or size 4 (too big), I finally caved and bought him his own pair of size 3.5. Yup. That’s parenting right: not exactly what you want it to be, but a blessing that your child is growing and wants to do things like play soccer outside.

In terms of CloudMom, I’ve been getting ready for our big MOTHERS’ DAY GIVEAWAY which will include (hint hint) some very special jewelry from a very personal company. I’ve been on the hunt for fun and personal gift ideas for Mom for a while, so when this company approached me, I was thrilled. I can’t what for May and the different giveaways that I am going to be able to offer to my awesome followers!



And I’ll finish up with some simple beauty. I love fresh flowers. The smell, the uniqueness, how they brighten our apartment. But I only allow myself to buy them a few times a year really, for a special occasion. Since tomorrow is Beckett’s First Communion, today I, well, splurged and bought enough for several large bouquets and some small ones in the bathrooms. I’ve been concentrating lately on things to be thankful for and this week, these flowers are definitely one of them. The whole house smells sweet and I can’t wait until Beckett comes home and sees them. I love having the opportunity to make one kid feel very special.

Hope all of you had a great week and don’t forget to enter our giveaway below to win a $50 Amazon gift card! Crossing my fingers for each of you and hoping you win!!

Have you guys been setting personal goals? Here are mine!

Goals for the week:

Get enough done that I can calm down and sleep more soundly. I’ve been awake a lot at night with my mind running with all I need to do in May and to get ready for summer. Knowing myself just a little bit, I know that if I can cross off the major items (hence, this list!), I will feel more relaxed and better able to sleep!

Sign the boys up for soccer camp

Figure out what to do for Hedley’s 11th birthday and Lachie’s 10th — that’s 21 combined years, wowsa.

Correct my headstand. I realized this week that the reason my neck is hurting is that I am not standing correctly on my head, so I have to go back to square one and learn how to do this from the beginning.

Do cardio 2x a week. I do yoga, but sometimes I really worry about my heart and lack of cardio. It’s one of those things that gnaws at me and wrecks my peace of mind. So rather than fret and worry, I am going to try to JUST DO IT. Went today. Fingers crossed for next week.

Figure out the 50th anniversary cake for my parents. My parents party is May 30 and I need to find a fabulous cake to celebrate their lives… something really personal. Baking such a wonder is beyond me, so I’m on the hunt for a baker!

Do my lavender facial treatment each day.

And for this week’s little home remedy: rather than deodorant, try a lemon slice! Use liberally and wipe off the pulp, and see how you do. I have a friend who swears by this. Says she has no odor nor staining of her clothes. I worry about all the chemicals in our products, yet most of the organic deodorants I’ve tried just don’t work. This is going to require placing a slice of lemon in my bathroom before I take a shower, since doing it over the kitchen sink is a bit, shall we say, weird. Gonna give it a try!

Have a great week and thanks so much for reading. OH, and don’t forget to enter our GIVEAWAY below!

New posts this week:

Love, Melissa xo

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