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Nashville Wife

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Early Childhood Sports

September 30, 2023 Leave a Comment

One of my readers asked if we plan to involve our children in sports. The short answer is yes, but I’ll go ahead and share a longer explanation.

Mr. Handsome and I both played sports as kids. I did a couple seasons of soccer, of which I don’t remember much–other than that my team names were the Purple Dragons and the Bumblebees. Soccer wasn’t for me, so I began what ended up being many years of group tennis lessons, eventually leading to tournaments and team experience. I also took five years of karate, most of that being two nights a week. My dad took my brother and I downhill skiing many times per winter from the time I was little until I started college. And I had a couple years in high school of intensive badminton competition.

Mr. Handsome played soccer, baseball, and basketball at various points in childhood, as well as two years of high school football and four years of high school basketball. He also took tennis lessons, which worked out great because the two of us are well matched. Both his parents and my parents did a great job at easing us into sports and helping us be well-rounded.

Little Buddy, who will be five in a few months, is currently in the middle of his first season of sports. We chose soccer, and he loves it. We have thoroughly enjoyed watching him interact with his teammates and seeing how proud he is when he scores goals.

That being said, Mr. Handsome and I have decided that we want to be purposeful in what extracurricular activities we sign our young children up for. We want to make sure we don’t fill their schedules too full and prevent them from having time to “just be kids.” Little Buddy already gets a lot of regular social interaction with friends his age, so we aren’t worried about that.

From social media and talking to other moms, I’ve learned that a lot of parents feel pressured into involving their kids as young as age four in multiple sports per season, which means two nights a week of practices and a full day of games on Saturdays. For most young children, I think that kind of schedule has the potential of being stressful and overwhelming and could eventually result in burnout.

I continuously remind myself that Little Buddy will only be “little” for so long and that there will be plenty of years for him to be involved in sports. That being said, we also see the value in giving him some exposure to team sports at this age, as long as he is having fun and we aren’t filling his schedule too full. Aside from organized soccer, we have both enjoyed introducing him to other sports and outdoor activities. As I write this post, he is outside with one of his grandmas throwing a frisbee.

What are your thoughts on early childhood sports? There are now wrong answers because every kid is different.

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Family of Five?

September 21, 2023 55 Comments

I hope you have been enjoying the last official days of summer. I apologize for the length of time it’s been since my last post. Now that the weather is cooler, we’ve been busy with our annual outdoor home maintenance and yard work duties. On the docket for this year have been deck painting and pressure washing. Lots of fun!

I have also been battling sickness because…we are expecting our third child in 2024! We are thrilled and are looking forward to sharing the gender with you later this fall. Sickness has been intense, and people have asked me how I have handled having two active little boys in the midst of it. They have been very much a welcome distraction. Having other kids to take care helps me stay active and gives me a reason to spend time outside and get things accomplished.

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Boodadas and Strawdeedas

September 9, 2023 24 Comments

Littlest Buddy, who is approaching two years old, is doing great at learning to talk. He can string together phrases of two or three words and is constantly trying to repeat what we say. It’s always funny to hear what he comes up with when he attempts to pronounce words, especially difficult ones. Two of…

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Feeding Turtles

September 4, 2023 3 Comments

Kids always seem to enjoy the things you would least expect, and this post is proof of that. We take an annual spring trip to the Florida Panhandle and have blogged about one of our favorite restaurants, Stinky’s. Mr. Handsome and I adore the crayfish pie, catfish, grits, and Jambalaya, and both our boys will…

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Q&A Part 4

August 24, 2023 26 Comments

We are having a very hot day here in Nashville, so we’ve been spending time inside. Below is my fourth and final list of responses to the questions that you posted. Feel free to submit more. And be sure to share your answers to these questions. How old are you? How did you meet your…

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Little Buddy Goes to the ER

August 12, 2023 43 Comments

Well, our family has officially experienced a broken bone. Two weeks ago, Little Buddy decided to attempt to jump down from a height of one-and-a-half feet. He is usually very sure-footed, but this time, his feet didn’t catch him. He fell right on his arm. His initial crying stopped fairly quickly, and he said it…

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Riding the Incline Railway

August 4, 2023 2 Comments

The Incline Railway is a popular Chattanooga tourist destination. We rode for the first time this spring and really enjoyed the unique experience. Guests board a slanted train car at the bottom of iconic Lookout Mountain and take a 10-minute ride to the top. The track reaches a 72.7% grade, making it one of the…

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The Beach With Two Kids Means Everyone is Covered in Sand

July 27, 2023 6 Comments

From Mr. Handsome: Both our boys love their little sandbox at home. When we went on our annual beach vacation this spring and they realized that the beach was one giant sandbox, they thought they were in heaven. Who knew you could dig in the sand, roll in the sand, bury feet in the sand, pour…

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Summer 2023 Life Update

July 25, 2023 11 Comments

I had a few minutes of free time, which is a rarity for me, so I filmed a quick update video. After you watch it, let me know how your summer has been going. Please follow and like us:

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No More Training Wheels for Little Buddy

July 17, 2023 11 Comments

Two months ago, Little Buddy–who is four-and-a-half–surprised us by reaching a big milestone much earlier than we had expected. While we were at someone’s house, he walked over to a two-wheeler bike, sat on it, and rode it. Just like that. No running behind him holding the seat. No coaxing him to keep trying. He…

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In Case You Missed It…

On Top of the World

Cadillac Mountain at Sunset

Birth Story, Part 3

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Meet Ellie

Mr. Handsome and I married six years ago and moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Between recipes, photos from our travels, money saving tips, DIY suggestions, post about our daily life with our son, and more, our lifestyle blog features a little bit of everything. Read More…

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