At the end of August, Mike and I were thinking we were crazy. Life in NoVA was so simple. Predictable. We knew all the parks, playgrounds, restaurants, and neighbors. We loved our life–truly. The only thing missing was close family. We said “are we sure we really should do this??” a thousand times. Each time, we’d come back around to yes, yes, and yes. Now is the time, or it will never happen. Time is something you can’t make more…
We started out August back in Virginia, settling back into our life there except now trying to pack up our entire house and put in place lots of other details that arise when you’ve decided to move your entire family 900 miles. Good thing I was still on maternity leave because otherwise, this would have been impossible. While this was a hectic time, it was still really sweet, and in many ways, felt like the final chapter in our ‘Life…
Still committed to making lemonade out of COVID by deciding to uproot and move to Florida, we continued from June into July at the Betancourt Resort. Among all of the adults, we planned out for the month who did Kiddie Dinner Prep, Adult Dinner Prep, Kiddie Bedtime Detail, Dish Duty (always Pa) and Happy Hour/Bar Service, hoping to spread out the responsibilities so everyone got a turn doing something delightful and dreadful. Matt was almost always on Drink Duty but…
Well. This summer was one FOR THE BOOKS. Neither Mike nor I would have ever guessed in one million years the crazy twisty turning road this year has been. I know the entire globe is feeling that way. What I can also say is that the Spead family decided to ‘lean into’ the crazy and do what Mike says best: made COVID lemonade. We saw a window of opportunity and pushed ourselves through it. After losing Mike’s mom this year,…
I took zero pictures over Mother’s Day weekend this year. It was a beautiful weekend and we all really enjoyed it–we were too busy enjoying it to take pictures! Anyway, here’s a quick recap, since I will want to remember this time pre-baby… Friday Night: Mike and I cut out of work around 5 pm and I came downstairs to Mike making homemade meatball subs. Talk about starting the weekend off right! This is one of my favorites. They were…
This is such a bizarre and scary time now for the world. Everywhere you turn, there is bad news and startling information emerging, and more uncertainty than anything else. We are 8 weeks in to this ‘new normal’ of being socially distant/quarantined and it still feels surreal. Add in the rough times we’ve had, losing Mike’s mom, trying to support his dad from afar, and preparing for Baby #3, and it could be just too stressful all around and not…
“We’re going on a bear hunt! We’re going on a bear hunt! I’m not afraid! I’m not afraid! We’re coming to a wheat field…can’t go over it, can’t go under it, got to go around it! Uh-oh…I see two little eyes and a big furry body…let’s take a picture…it’s a BEAR!” So I have no idea if these are the actual words to the Bear Hunt book/song, but that is the version Caroline (who learned it in preschool) shouts for our…
Caroline turned THREE on Saturday, March 14th…right in the middle of the world around us changing so rapidly due to COVID-19. Little did we know that her last day of preschool (for the year) would be the week before her birthday, or that Mike and I would start teleworking then, too–without an end date in sight. We’d canceled my parents’ visit the Tuesday prior and her birthday party less than 24 hours before it was supposed to happen. Basically, her…
Lead up to Caroline’s Birthday Caroline’s third birthday happened to fall on a Saturday: March 14, 2020. We planned a fun birthday party with all of our favorite people. We sent the invites in early February and had been collecting birthday party supplies each weekend since then. We wanted “Yee Haw and Yippee, Caroline’s Turning Three!” to be a fantastic time. Kay Kay and Pa booked their flights. Mike and I made stick ponies and a tissue paper campfire. We…
This Valentine’s Day was truly wonderful. I was so touched by the sweet and thoughtful plans that Suelen and Mike pulled off–I felt very loved! And surprised and honored. Valentine’s Day was on a Friday so it was a “normal” work day…at least until Suelen and Mike showed up at my office mid-afternoon…with my babies! Who were wearing matching outfits that Suelen selected just for them! Be still my heart. Suelen also wrote out sweet notes for my coworkers and…