If you can’t beat them, join them on a Monday

playing in the snow near seattle in snoqualmie pass
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In another life, I must have been a rock and the boys in my family must have been rivers, or waterfalls or oceans.  I know this because as much as they all love to move and adventure, I like to sit still and be at peace.  While my husband and seven-year-olds wouldn’t be able to breathe if they couldn’t ski, hike, throw rocks, bike  and race down sledding hills, I could happily curl up for days with endless cups of coffee, a stack of books and lose myself in a world of words especially on a weary Monday.

I”m not really an adventurer, but I love my adventurers and I don’t want to be left behind.

2nd week of january and a number two coffee cup

So in this 2nd week of 2016, I’m finding a lot of joy in figuring out HOW to hang out with my daring family.  The cabin project has been a huge part of it. Through this attempt at making the outdoors a bigger part of our lives, I wanted to make a safe place for me to join in my guys’ exploration; a place where they can navigate the woods and get out all their energy, but a place where I can find comfort and solace and warmth.

And thought we all love different things about this place, I love how we’ve worked together so far.

Seven-year-olds are far more helpful with furniture shopping than I expected.

what to do with kids in ikea when they outgrow smallland

And we found out that the new candy aisle at Ikea has pretty amazing candies.

ikea seattle candy aisle

(Except this octopus-shaped one reminded us of some salty licorice we tried in Iceland.  We prefer our candy a little more sweet than salty so I dare you to try this octopus-shaped candy if you go there!)

unusual candies at ikea self-serve confection station

I love the Ikea bamboo drawer inserts. (They inspire so much JOY even though I’m not sure storage is a philosophy encouraged by the book I’m reading about cleaning.  I bought this book last year and piled it away in a bunch of stuff and only salvaged it to give to a friend when my husband spotted it and said “YOU BETTER READ THIS” so I had to get her another copy…..it’s not a horrible book if you need to life-change your way to a cleaner place in 2016)  I was thankful that Carmex sent me a whole bunch of lip balms because lips get all dry in the outdoors and so I put some extras in our utility drawer at the cabin just in case guests come and need some too.

utlity drawer for winter cabin with lip balm, multifunction screwdriver and camera cord

The hubby and I have also had so many adventures looking for household goods that we need.  One of our favorite ways we’ve found decorating ideas is from restaurants and date-nights.  We found a sink we wanted for one of the bathrooms from an event we went to at a space called Axis in Pioneer Square and we found this fox tail hook I couldn’t live without when I made him duck into Anthropologie on the way to a restaurant.

anthropologie fox hook

I’m finding our family is having so much fun in the outdoors-even though some of the things they do terrify me and my outdoor doses need to be a little shorter than theirs.

sledding with kids in washingtonwinter sports for families at Summit at Snoqualmie Pass

skiing with kids at Snoqualmie Pass Silver Fir Chair

And I’m trying to incorporate a little more fitness into my 2016 so I can keep up with all the guys.  I have been doing Classpass for the past year and I love that they sent a breakdown of all the minutes I spent in the gym last year.  I love Core Power Yoga and that was my top class.  I would really like to try Fly Wheel this year too.  (If you’re in Seattle, do you do Classpass and have you tried Flywheel?  I’d love to hear if you have a favorite class!)

We’re also buying way more winter and outdoor clothing than we’ve ever bought before.  One surprising find were these base-layer tights from Old Navy. They are better quality than some we’ve bought from actual outdoor stores and I was pretty impressed at the price.

So this Monday, I need to finish my cleaning book, sift my way through a pile of laundry and decide whether or not I’m going to be a Powerball winner in the next couple days.  I hope whatever you’re doing you’re having a lovely Monday too!  (And if you did anything fabulous this past weekend or if you are taking a great Seattle exercise class I’d love to hear too!)

(PS. Carmex sent me a package of lip balms and beauty goods buy I was not required to post and these ideas above are my own.)

(PPS. I usually post about the things I’ve been shopping or trying out on Mondays.)

 

 

 

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