One Fine Day: LIFE'S LITTLE DETAILS

"THE DETAILS ARE NOT THE DETAILS. THEY MAKE THE DESIGN." — CHARLES EAMES

Happy Wednesday, m' dears! Let's jump straight to the details...

You know you've reached peak parenthood when your kid's behavior has been downright awful lately, but you'd still go ahead and say this past weekend was one for the books anyway. Ha! Where to begin?

Routine be damned, we ditched our usual Friday night frozen pizza and gin for a little road trip to Glen Mills, PA so I could see THE Grace Bonney bid her blog, Design Sponge, adieu. While I felt fancy sipping on cocktails and mingling with other devout fans and readers, the boys were really great sports and dined at the Terrain Cafe. I feel incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to attend her farewell. The event made my heart oh-so-happy! Would you believe me if I told you that I worked up the courage to approach Grace and thank her for the past 15 years? This is typically the sort of thing I wouldn't do and then I'd have major regrets afterward, so I was proud of myself for going through with it. But in true Ashley fashion, I made a total boob out of myself when I got choked up right in front of the beloved blogger and proceeded to shed a tear or twenty. Can you say awkward? Thankfully, Bonney lives up to her first name and was more than gracious. She puts the "OG" in blogging, always choosing people over products.

On Saturday morning Flyboy took Max to a kids workshop at Home Depot to make a rocketship pencil box. We've wanted to attend one of these classes for a while, and I think it's safe to say the two of them had a blast. Afterward, we spent some time doing yard work as a family, which resulted in Max finding a three-legged toad in addition to an injured Two-Tailed Swallowtail he named Ginger. Whenever there are behavior issues and power struggles, I like to spend as much time outdoors as possible. Nature is more often than not the perfect salve for Max. It doesn't fix everything, but it brings a little calm to the chaos.

Because we've had a few rough patches with our "fournado," Flyboy and I were on the fence as to whether or not we should reward the bad behavior with a trip to the Please Touch Museum on Sunday, but we decided to go through with it anyway. We honestly did it more for our own benefit than the kid's and I think it turned out for the best. A change of scenery is always nice, but this children's facility in downtown Philadelphia was magical for both kids and adults alike. As we made our way around the beautiful old building checking out one miniature exhibit after another, there was no shortage of color, whimsy, or smiles. Don't get me wrong, there were still meltdowns in every corner (because kids...) including a few courtesy of Maxwell, but when you're surrounded by hundreds of parents, no one cares. It's solidarity.

Max finally came to terms with the fact that Ginger is in fact dead. Upon the realization Monday morning, he went on to say: "Ginger's probably really happy he died with me around." Since parting is such sweet sorrow and I wasn't about to engage in another battle, I suggested we get out some art supplies and glue the dead Swallowtail to some construction paper in the name of closure. Thanks for the save, Gorilla Glue! Now a framed dead butterfly sits on the bookshelf in Maxwell's bedroom positioned at an angle so he can see it when he goes to bed. I wonder how long we'll have to hold on to this one??? Jesus take the wheel.

Wow, I was a bit long-winded this week. How the heck are YOU?