What 36 Looks Like For Me

We celebrated my #36 at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Jack wanted them smear whip cream on my face. 🎉🎂#birthdaydinner #mohaus2016

A video posted by Cheree Moore (@mo_haus) on Nov 4, 2016 at 3:31pm PDT

My brother texted me this morning and asked how I felt. Is thirty-six supposed to feel different? "Have I achieved old lady status?" I taunted back.

At 36, here are some things that are true for me right now.

There's a good chance this will all be different five years from now.

1) I don't feel old. I don't feel young either. My back aches when I get up in the mornings, and some weeks I feel like a new ache or pain has come to haunt me (hello back pain after camping for two nights!).

2) I have good friends that span the years ahead of and behind me. I look to the ones slightly ahead for cues on what is coming, and hopefully I encourage those behind. Really, we are all just cheering each other on... hanging on through the difficult times and celebrating the good.

3) I think the biggest thing that has changed since my 20s (besides becoming a mother) is my need for community. What that looks like continues to surprise me.

At some point I had a preconceived notion that I would find my little tribe where we worshiped, or among the other moms at preschool drop-off, or even with people in my neighborhood. And while I have developed good relationships in all of these places, I really found my people at the YMCA. 

It was not a place that I set out to find friends, but it has been the place where my strongest friendships have formed – sweating together in boot camps, and then sharing our struggles and victories on the playground afterward. Who knew that would be a thing in my life?

4) With each passing year, life continues to simultaneously speed up and slow down. 

5) The hard things have become harder, and the good things have become sweeter. 

6) Some aspects of life I feel like I have figured out, while other aspects I thought I had figured out turned out to be completely wrong, and still other things I find myself completely clueless about. I'll know everything by 40, right? 

7) I still think cooking with olive oil and garlic makes any dish better...

8) and Daniel still jokes that if you like a dish I make, you better savor it because it is unlikely that you will see it on the menu again..

9) Coffee still makes my mornings go round – though instead of needing it to get my brain flowing to crank out work at a desk, it is my kids who know that it takes one cup before I will be functional.

10) In terms of personal goals, I was able to check off "complete a triathlon" from my bucket list before I turned 36, but in reality, I have relaxed on trying to actually complete my whole bucket list agenda.

11) The things that make me happiest continue to be experiences I have outdoors with the people I love the most. The photos in this post are my highlight reel for the past year.

I can't wait to see what the coming year has to offer!

Lists From Previous Years: 
27 Random Things (2007) // 25 Things (2009) // 100 Things I would Like to Do In My Lifetime (2010) // Things I am Looking Forward To (2011) // 32 Things (2012) // Thursday Things (2013) // 12 Things (2014) // Thirty-Five (2015)

Outside 365 | October 2016

The month of October was unseasonably warm with record-breaking temperatures for this area of the country. It felt more like September than it did the crisp, cool fall we were hoping for. But in terms of spending days outside, it made it easy to meet my goal of spending time outside on a daily basis. 

At the beginning of the month, the kids and I were in another area of town when we stopped at a park we had never visited. At this particular park I stumbled across a sign that forbid kids from climbing in trees – evidently a city rule. Rules like this really bum me out. 

We allow our kids climb in trees and explore to their heart's content. They probably do activities that others might deem too dangerous, but we are believers in allowing our kids to immerse themselves in outdoor play, while also discovering their own limitations. 

At this age they still have some degree of supervision from us, but as they develop more skills we step further into the background.

Our neighborhood park happens to have an old-school merry-go-round. These things are hard to come by and a lot of parents feel like they are death traps (like the see-saw that is long gone from most parks). 

I recently had a discussion with another parent who was concerned about kids breaking bones from such contraptions. While I agree that all equipment has an inherent degree of danger, Daniel and I lean toward letting our children test their abilities in a somewhat controlled environment. 

Out of curiosity I did a little research and discovered that, according to the CDC, playground accidents are most likely to happen on swings (40%) and climbing equipment (23%). Only 5% of playground accidents occur on merry-go-rounds (though to be fair, this is probably because they have been mostly eliminated from the landscape). 

One article I read said that since playgrounds have been dulled down, children find other ways to push their limits, which in turn can cause accidents.

"Although there are potential dangers lurking in the playground, the benefits of play far outweigh the risks. Statistically it will probably happen: 75 percent of boys will break at least one bone, 50 percent two and 25 percent three. Girls have about a 50 percent chance of breaking at least one bone before they reach adulthood. So be aware and watchful, but if it happens remember accidents do happen and it probably was nobody’s fault – which is sometimes hard for parents to keep in mind when their child is hurt. Remember that kids are able to heal in ways that make the long-term consequences of broken bones much less concerning than in adults". – JEREMIAH CLINTON, MD

With two boys in our family, the likelihood of broken bones is high. We are not turning a blind eye to the risks but instead choosing to allow our boys to discover their own limits and listen to their own bodies.

 ------------------------------------------------

This month our kids climbed trees, swam in rivers, and wandered in forests. 
Jack learned some new bike skills that will be useful to him as soon as he grows big enough for a bike with gears and we can take him out on the trails. 

Meanwhile, Isaac taught himself how to dribble a soccer ball (probably better than Jack does), and he has been desperate for a bike of his own.

As a family, this month we went to an outdoor music festival, explored the gorge at the Ocoee Whitewater Center, visited a farm, went on two hayrides, and took advantage of pony rides – a first for Isaac.
  

We camped and hiked with my family where Jack and his cousins had the freedom to explore trails and a little ravine by our campsite, meanwhile Isaac did his best to keep up with the bigger kids. 

And because it was so warm, we even took the kayak out for a spin.

On any given day, you can find our kids at our neighborhood playground after supper (and many afternoons as well). They will be the ones climbing trees, jumping out of swings, hopping curbs with their bikes, and riding the merry-go-round...

October has been a great month to be outside. Our kids continue to get stronger while allowing their imaginations to run as wild as the woods.  

A Look Back at Project Outside 365: January 2016 ⎮ February 2016 ⎮ March 2016 ⎮ April 2016 ⎮ May 2016 ⎮ June 2016 ⎮ July 2016 ⎮ August 2016 ⎮ September 2016