summer sunshine, good eats, and sleepiness

I won't bore you with the details of Brett's and my extreme tiredness, but for some reason (the one we like to call the grace of God), we are functioning despite three straight nights of majorly disrupted sleep. Did you know that loss of sleep leads to extreme crabbiness in marriage, not to mention shortness of patience with preschoolers, and stinging eyes accompanied by dark under-eye circles? Yes, I'm sure you do, as most of you have been parents at some point. I hear it "gets better". Ha. We will see.

My mom did watch the girls on Wednesday for a couple hours so I could get some TLC at the nail salon and run some errands. I love the look of polished, well-groomed nails, but I always feel some degree of uneasiness there - did I pick the right color? Will I understand what they're saying to me? Will they do that scrubby thing on my arch that makes me squirm? Is tipping 15% enough? Should I do 20% Are they talking about me? Is Grace napping for my mom? Is Stella being good for my mom while I'm here? Clearly, I have anxiety issues.

The girl doing my nails even told me to relax. HA! And I am so happy with the color I chose. It was OPI, and I wish I would've remembered the color for future visits. 

You can't really see the circles under my eyes because it was bright outside, but believe me, they are there under the globs of concealer.

Thursday night I got to get out and go to a super fun Stella & Dot jewelry party. I wanted pretty much everything I laid my eyes on. Somehow I exercised restraint and bought only a couple pieces, but I am definitely planning on hosting a party at my house this summer for the consultant selling them, so if you want an invitation, please let me know. This stuff is so quality and gorgeous! I am thinking of hosting one in August. More details to come...

And when the babysitter came, I was so tired I didn't know what to do with myself, but it turns out we always need
groceries, so I got those. So glad I made good use of my time.

Friday night we made one of our favorite dinners: crispy southwest chicken wraps. It's one of the popular ones on Pinterest, and I discovered it a couple years ago. We hadn't made it in a long time. Brett is used to my taking pictures of things for the sake of the blog. I love him. haha. I mixed and chopped everything up, and then he assembled them in a nice tight little tortilla envelope - whenever I attempt this, everything falls out. Ha! He has even developed a nice system, and he starts by slathering a some sour cream before sprinkling the shredded cheese. Sooo good. Next time I want to make them with some skirt steak strips.

After another night of nearly no sleep, we were zombies on Saturday. Somehow we had a little energy rush, and Brett mowed the lawn and I played with the girls outside. It was a very pleasant day to ring in the first day of summer.

Practicing on the trike that Susie, Jesse, and my parents got for her for her birthday

If you're looking for children's music that won't make your ears bleed, Elizabeth Mitchell's music is for you, dear parent! Folksy, chill tunes

Bleu cheese burgers (I had assembled them at a Wildtree cooking party a month or so ago, and Brett grilled them up last night) with zucchini on the side

Last night Grace slept better, but Stella randomly decided to keep the night exciting by waking up a few times. She was so tired that she is actually taking a super rare nap. Grace is battling a cold, so she stayed home with Daddy this morning while Stella and I went to church. Since Grace napped the entire morning and seemed more peppy, we took her to the church picnic this afternoon. She had a fun time watching kids playing and observing the colorful bouncy house.

Brett dressed her this morning. Didn't he do a great job? He insists on her wearing headbands even more than I do. Cute Daddy!

Gnawing on Grandma's necklace

Stella took forever to warm up to the idea of going in the bouncy house, but once she decided to like it, she REALLY liked
it!

Stella hadn't seen her friend Naomi in a couple weeks. Naomi turned 3 in January, so they're six months apart. Stella is blessed to have some very good friends from church including Adi, Sam, and James. AND we are fortunate to live close to these friends, too. And I really like their moms, too, so everyone wins! Their reunion at church:

Other pictures from last week:

Working on decorating thank you notes for birthday presents. Thanks for the stamps and stickers, Adi!

Did I post these already? I can't remember. My brain isn't functioning at capacity. 

Aunt Susie came by one evening this week. They kind of love her.

Early morning one-on-one hangout with this chub

Flash brightness. Sorry, baby.

Observing her older sister fingerprinting. Thanks for the gift, Uncle Jared and Aunt Corinne!

Stella kept on piling balls and stuffed animals in her pack and play. This is why I need to keep an eye on these two pretty much all the time.

I bought these for the girls' rooms from PBK. $10 apiece. Brett already hung them on their walls, and it looks so cute.

Brett is the one supplying their music education. He likes to show them guitar stuff on the iPad. 

Watching Brett mow the lawn

Well, since both girls are sleeping right now, I am going to take a nap. Poor Brett, in the meantime, is cleaning out the gutters before it rains again.

Have a wonderful Sunday evening, friends!