Valentine's Day Prep

Candle, Valentine's Day Card, King of Hearts Shirt, The Day it Rained Hearts, Dress

Well, it's day three of Liam's fever and the doctor confirmed it is RSV.  Wah.  Poor little guy has been sleeping for three days straight and has barely eaten.  We're snuggled up in bed right now while he watches Ice Age on the IPad and I "window shop" for Valentine's Day items.  

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays.  First of all, there are the cutest books that go along with Valentine's day.  The Day it Rained Hearts would be a great one to read before making your own Valentine's Day cards with your kids.  Such a cute story!  I'm not going to lie, looking at all the Pinterest homemade Valentine cards to get ideas for Liam's classmates gives me a certain level of anxiety.  A robot made out of a fruit cup and juice box...seriously?  I do not have the time nor the skills.  I lied.  I have the time, but I'd rather be watching Making a Murderer.  The skills part is true, though.

Greg and I don't typically do anything romantic, but I'm swooning over that card pictured above.  I'm pretty sure I have to get that.  We will most likely make some sort of dessert with the kids and make heart shaped pancakes for breakfast (or a heart shaped pizza for dinner...just know that some heart shaped food will be happening this day).  

The Never Ending Saga

I hope everyone had a healthy start to the new year, because we certainly have not.  For the past two months one of us has been sick with something, with maybe a gift of a day of two in between of everyone being healthy.  We had a streak of about five days where we were all good and I thought the germs were all behind us, until Friday night, when Liam woke up with a fever around midnight.  Now it's Sunday night and he's worse than he was Friday night. I hate seeing him this ill.  He's a kid who can be sick, but will still run around and play, but this round, he's pretty much couch bound and cries every time he coughs.  We took him to urgent care, but they said it's viral and we'd have to wait it out.  So, here I am, waiting it out with him, at 7:00pm in my bed (yup, writing from my bed).  I'm just hoping the rest of our family doesn't catch anything.  Being a stay-at-home mom is always in the back of my mind, but these times especially are the times I wish I could just devote 100% of my time to caring for my family.  

In happier news, Eva Las Vegas is a whole 6 months old!  I can hardly believe it.  I felt with Liam time passed so slow that first year as we were anxious for him to meet his first milestones.  I feel with Eva, if we blink, we'll miss everything and she'll be talking and walking before we know it.  She continues to be fairly easy going.  She loves hearing herself  "talk," rolling on her belly (and sleeping on her belly), watching Liam, looking in the mirror, and has recently discovered pulling the kitty's hair.  It's so fun to see how much more Liam attends to her now that she is getting her own personality and can respond with giggles and smiles to him.  She is working on sitting up by herself and can hold it together for about 10 seconds before she topples over (which Liam loves).

In unrelated news, after eating three meals of pizza this weekend, Greg and I decided we really need to eat healthier and actually took some action and wrote down some meal ideas, which is about one step further than we usually take when we mention we need to eat healthier.  I even prepped some over night oats for tomorrow.  Props to me.  Hopefully we can keep this health kick going...although I will admit, the idea of giving up pasta gives me a slight panic attack.  I think I'll compromise with that one by just adding spinach to the lasagna.  It's all about balance, right?

2016

I almost didn't want to write a "New Year, New Me" post, but after giving it a days thought, and with some inspiration from Instagram (seriously, have you followed natgeo or intherivervalley...if not, you need to!) , I have thought of one change I want to make for the new year: adventure.

I'll just start out by admitting I am not a risk taker.  I am happiest when I am safe, at home, and with the people I love.  However, for my kids' sake, I want to add a little adventure in our lives.  Specifically, adventure through nature.  I'd say as parents, we do a good job of exposing our kids to different activities and keeping them away from TV, but when I told Liam we were going to Target and his response was an overzealous, "Yay!," I knew it was time to add a little more excitement into our lives (although the mention of going to Target makes my heart beat a little faster, too).  Liam loves being outside and that's something I want to continue to foster within him.  Even when we're tired, busy, or unmotivated, I want to try to get the kids in nature as often as we can.  Here's to a more adventurous 2016!

A Merry Merry Christmas!

Christmas has come and gone...with the exception of one more Christmas celebration to go through on my side of the family.  I always thought Christmas as a kid was the absolute best, but I was wrong.  Christmas as a parent is about a million times better.  We've had two Christmas' prior to celebrate as parents, but this was the first year that Liam really understood what was going on and was visibly excited about it.  The morning started out with him waking up and asking, "is Santa coming," and the night ended by him saying, "Mommy, I love Christmas."  Cue heart melting.  We did the Elf on the Shelf, the Santa Clause visits, and the Christmas light looking, but also tried to reinforce the real reason for the season with bible stories and reminding him who it is we were celebrating.  We went to a Christmas eve service and to Liam's delight, they had a live nativity scene, camel and all!  I just want to point out that I told Greg there would be a real live camel, to which he said: "No, it's probably two people dressed up in a camel suit."  Owned. 

As sad as it was to pack away the Christmas decorations, it is nice to get the house back in order.  I think at age 29, I can say I officially feel like an adult.  Greg and I bought ourselves a bedroom set and are extremely pumped about it (along with the garage storage we got for Christmas).  We have lived together (including before we were married) for almost ten years and our bedroom has always consisted of a bed frame.  Just a bed frame.  Nothing to add here.  No big deal that Eva and Liam's rooms are fully decked out while we have pretty much been sleeping on a 20 year old hand-me-down mattress on a questionably sturdy frame, while our socks and undergarments are shoved into make-shift containers.  Parenthood.  But, in about 6 short weeks, our furniture will be here and we will have officially made it as adults.  I decided owning bedroom furniture is a qualifying component to adulthood.

With Christmas almost behind us, I have already moved onto the next three holidays.  Before you think I'm crazy, I have two weeks off for winter break and then it's back to work, where my attention will be once again divided and things will slip through the cracks, so my solution is to take care of Liam's birthday, Valentine's Day, and Easter preparation all within the next week.  We already bought Liam's birthday gift (keeping it a secret for now, but he is going to FLIP!), so from here it's pretty much ordering Liam's classroom valentines, scheduling a date for Greg and I, and ordering Easter baskets.

If you're wondering if I'm prepping for New Year's, be curious no longer.  I'll be in bed by 9pm, so my prep is pajamas and, if I'm feeling really feisty, downing a glass of wine.

Eva's Gift to Us

Look at the face.  Instead of us getting a gift for Eva for her five month birthday, she decided to bestow upon us a gift of her own, the flu.

I got a call from daycare Friday around noon that Eva just didn't seem like herself, so I picked up the kids and headed home for the weekend.  She was not running a temperature, but slept almost all day.  The next morning she woke up happy, hungry, and ready to play, so I did not think much of it.  Flash forward to five o'clock that night, the nausea and hot flashes struck me like a ton of bricks, all while we were at a retirement party.  Without going into details, it was not pretty and my little adventure turned into an emergency room event by the time ten o'clock came.  I actually attributed it to food poisoning, until Liam and Greg got struck with the same thing, luckily not as severe, the next morning. 

I'll just tell you now that having a family of four experience the stomach flu in a span of forty-eight hours falls just slightly below sky diving without a parachute on list of things I love to do.   Needless to say, we had some sacrifices during this ordeal, including some pillows and Eva's play-mat.

However, keeping things in perspective, we're lucky it was just the flu, as I know people experience much worse and ongoing struggles in their lives.  And thank goodness we live just minutes from the hospital...

Shop Small Saturday

Can you spot the hidden potty?  Toilet training: It's a work in progress.

I completely skipped Black Friday and am going straight to Shop Small Saturday and Cyber Monday.  I almost have my Christmas shopping done and have done almost all of it online.  With a new baby and a preschooler who is starting to become a little more rambunctious when we're out and about, I decided not to tackle the crowds and just stick to shopping in my pajamas with a cup of  hot chocolate in my hands.

I love my Gap, Banana Republic, and Sephora, but there is something about shopping at smaller shops that is special, not to mention, presents from smaller shops always seem more meaningful to me.  Keep reading, and find out about some of my favorite small shops!

For anyone who is a "planner girl," my favorite spots to buy planner stickers are MilaPrintShop and FrankHeartsYou.  Side bar:  I discovered "pimping your planner" about a month ago and thought it was the lamest hobby I've ever seen.  Flash forward a month later and I'm knee deep into this.  It's good for someone like me, who can not sustain attention or skill on a long term project.  It's like scrap booking with training wheels.

I've also been eyeballing a couple goodies from TinyHouseBigFarm.  Who doesn't want soap that smells and looks like pumpkin cheesecake or a snowman bath bomb? 

We got our Christmas stockings (seen in the picture) from GoodWishesQuilts and are loving them.  They also have some really cute advent calendars if you're in the market.

This year, I got Liam and Eva a nativity scene from Peg and Plum and am absolutely loving it.  Liam is obsessed with setting it up just right.  Peg dolls make such great stocking stuffers as well!

Eva is subscribed to Little Poppy Co., where she gets three new bows every month.  The bows are extremely cute and what's even better is the bows they send go with the season.  They are the only bows she does not cry when I put them on or try to rip off.  Score.

EllandEmm has some awesome jewelry.  I have two bracelets from them, one with Liam's birthstone and one with Eva's.  I wear them almost every day.

Candelles makes candles that are pretty much tied for first place with my bath and body works candles.  I got the Pumpkin Walnut Biscotti candle in the fall and am tempted to buy some more holiday ones.

I don't even know what to say about Childhoods Clothing.  Babies in sweat pants and hoodie sweatshirts?  You can't really get much cuter than that.  Not to mention Liam lives in his "cozies" all fall and winter long.  And they came out with an adult line and I'm wearing my beach hoodie.  Right.  Now.

Turkey Day

I love me some holiday.  Thanksgiving is the day I consider to "kick off" the holiday season for me and my local radio station just started playing Christmas music 24/7, so I am roaring and ready to go!

While Friday is reserved for Christmas decorating, I am trying to spend the first part of the week focused on Thanksgiving.

I'm home this week from work to take my "fall break" and am soaking in every single cuddle, kiss, and runny nose.  I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to take the time to cook with my kids, prepare decent meals, and actually have some quality time with my family, without the hassle and worry (or rush) of work. 

Without rushing (too much) into Christmas, we are starting to prep for Thanksgiving.

Mama has taken a little time for herself and is prepping her skin with Eminence Yam and Pumpkin Enzyme Peel and Eminence Pumpkin Latte Hydration Masque.  Anytime I have "me" time I usually do one of two things, which are journaling/planning or skin care routines (paired with a bath of course).  So, while the kids are napping, I'm getting some skincare in and love that I can coordinate my skincare treatment with the holidays with these "festive" products (and oh-ma-ga, the smell...).

This year, we are jumping around a lot on Thanksgiving day.  We're starting out the day visiting my mom at the care center (she unfortunately broke her wrist and knee cap, so is in the care center to be able to receive daily physical therapy), then onto my Grandma Helen's, and last onto Greg's grandparents.  We may try to sneak in a visit to my other Grandma as well.  Since we are hopping around a lot, I am still debating what type of food to bring.  Knowing it will need to hold up without a freezer and not need to stay heated, I am leaning towards cookies and thought these sugar cookies looked super cute.  Given my patience with decorating, I may be leaning more towards a traditional pumpkin-chocolate chip cookie...or store bought fudge.

The rest of the week has been play dates in the playroom with Liam and sneaking tummy time in between naps with Eva.  Our family does not have a lot of Thanksgiving traditions, other than eating, so I am bursting to start our Christmas traditions with the kids. So, bring on Christmas...but first, Thanksgiving.