Blake and I are finally (mostly) over our colds! Thank goodness it wasn't too long lasting. I was starting to go a little crazy from lack of sleep. As usual, my kiddos don't seem to sleep as well when they're sick, and I need more sleep when I'm sick. We are always total opposites on the sleep spectrum. Figures.
I have been totally obsessed with etsy lately. I know it's been around awhile, and I've always loved checking out the homemade goodies, but lately I've been favoriting tons of art prints for my walls. I just bought a letterpress print of a quote by Helen Keller: Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. And I just discovered a super cute bird's nest necklace representing a bird mama and her bird babies! Especially perfect because Logan loves birds. Maybe it will just have to be my Mother's day gift to myself :)
Since I posted a few of Logan's favorite things yesterday, I'm gonna take up a little blog space for myself. :)
A few of MY favorite things these days:
1. etsy (duh!)
2. chevron stripes
3. essie nail polish
4. Starbucks Via iced coffee
5. strawberries & cool whip
6. Paper Coterie photo books (I can't stop making them!)
7. getting rid of everything unnecessary in my house
8. finding new places to explore
9. new books to read (I keep hearing that 50 Shades of Grey is worth reading...)
10. red wine (ok, who am I kidding, this has ALWAYS been a favorite!!)
11. crafty blogs (eighteen25.blogspot.com has been a fun one lately)
12. Instagram
Speaking of good ol' #7, I have been on a serious purge kick. Does that even make sense? Well, I have been unpacking box after box only to toss over half of the contents into yet another box labeled "Goodwill". I can't help it. I keep finding all of this junk that I haven't even used in the last year (or more!) and I feel compelled to send it to a new home, hopefully one other than my guest room closet. One of my new goals is to be less materialistic (and by that I mean less hoarder-ish, haha!). Wish me luck. My current etsy obsession is not helping.
30 April 2012
28 April 2012
Logan's favorites & Blake's milestones
I absolutely love hearing Logan say new words each day. Yesterday he was busy telling me all about the "arge" (barge) we saw in the "war" (water) while walking the lake trail in Palm Beach. He also loves to talk to "Ray" (Remy) and point out that he's "arking itside" (barking outside). This morning he told us with a stern voice, "Baby bumbo." If he had it his way, Blake would sit all day in that bumbo seat while we paid attention to Logan! hah! But it really is the cutest thing when he gives Blake a hug while he's sitting in the bumbo and says "Hi baby! Hi! Hiiiii!" and asks him "o-tay? o-tay?" when Blake cries.
His current obsessions at 28 months:
stickers
Barney (ugh, but at least it's educational)
Blue's Clues "cues"
monster trucks
helicopters "eh-co's"
cars (of course)
the letter A
the numbers 2 and 8
the color blue
the star shape
Remy
He also refers to himself as "me." We can't get him to say his own name, but whenever anyone asks what his name is, he's quick to reply "Me!". Too cute. Yesterday he walked around the park holding hands with another little boy named Logan (age 3), telling the dolphin statues "Bye-bye dolphin!". I thought for sure I could trick him into saying Logan by asking what his friend's name was, but in his usual stubborn manner, he refused. Darn!
And in other BIG NEWS:
haha. Not really big news to anyone but us, but I can't not mention it :)
Blake rolled over today!!! Hurray hurray!
His current obsessions at 28 months:
stickers
Barney (ugh, but at least it's educational)
Blue's Clues "cues"
monster trucks
helicopters "eh-co's"
cars (of course)
the letter A
the numbers 2 and 8
the color blue
the star shape
Remy
He also refers to himself as "me." We can't get him to say his own name, but whenever anyone asks what his name is, he's quick to reply "Me!". Too cute. Yesterday he walked around the park holding hands with another little boy named Logan (age 3), telling the dolphin statues "Bye-bye dolphin!". I thought for sure I could trick him into saying Logan by asking what his friend's name was, but in his usual stubborn manner, he refused. Darn!
And in other BIG NEWS:
haha. Not really big news to anyone but us, but I can't not mention it :)
Blake rolled over today!!! Hurray hurray!
26 April 2012
So so very tired
I should be sleeping because I am oh so exhausted...yet I'm still a little hopped up on caffeine from all of the coffee I've drank today. The woes of a stay at home mama with an early riser. Up at 5:15 am today! Yikes.
Blake has his first occupational therapy appointment on Monday. I'm sooo not looking forward to that. I'm getting kinda tired of having something new pop up each time we visit the doctor. This time it was a diagnosis of torticollis...fortunately just a mild case, but still requiring OT. Apparently torticollis (which is basically the shortening of the neck muscles, causing the head to tilt to one side) is common among children who have hip dysplasia (although I still don't really understand how those two can even be related! Hips & neck??).
I am in love with Wellington's obsession with splash pads. They are literally all over the place! We've been to two different ones in the past month, and there are two more close by that I haven't checked out yet. They're especially perfect since I still haven't quite mastered the swimming pool with two kids yet!
In the spirit of new things, I've been trying out a lot of recipes I've found on Pinterest. I started out small - used plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream in a ranch chip dip, then ventured on to try dropping tiny spoonfuls of blueberry flavored Greek yogurt onto a cookie tray and freezing it overnight. Verdict? The Greek yogurt had a very slight texture difference but still equally yummy (for a fraction of the calories!) and the yogurt bites were a huge hit with Logan. That is totally awesome news for me since he refuses to eat regular Greek yogurt! While Monica was here I tried out the Parmesan chicken recipe, which incidentally also called for Greek yogurt (spotting a trend here yet? I guess I'm just obsessed with Greek yogurt at the moment). It turned out pretty good too! And although it wasn't a Pinterest recipe, I made my very first "homemade" biscuits tonight (i.e. they did not come out of a Pillsbury can, hehe). I made the cheesy garlic biscuit recipe from the side of the Bisquick box, and they turned out amazing! And so easy! Sometimes I love cooking. :D
Blake has his first occupational therapy appointment on Monday. I'm sooo not looking forward to that. I'm getting kinda tired of having something new pop up each time we visit the doctor. This time it was a diagnosis of torticollis...fortunately just a mild case, but still requiring OT. Apparently torticollis (which is basically the shortening of the neck muscles, causing the head to tilt to one side) is common among children who have hip dysplasia (although I still don't really understand how those two can even be related! Hips & neck??).
I am in love with Wellington's obsession with splash pads. They are literally all over the place! We've been to two different ones in the past month, and there are two more close by that I haven't checked out yet. They're especially perfect since I still haven't quite mastered the swimming pool with two kids yet!
In the spirit of new things, I've been trying out a lot of recipes I've found on Pinterest. I started out small - used plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream in a ranch chip dip, then ventured on to try dropping tiny spoonfuls of blueberry flavored Greek yogurt onto a cookie tray and freezing it overnight. Verdict? The Greek yogurt had a very slight texture difference but still equally yummy (for a fraction of the calories!) and the yogurt bites were a huge hit with Logan. That is totally awesome news for me since he refuses to eat regular Greek yogurt! While Monica was here I tried out the Parmesan chicken recipe, which incidentally also called for Greek yogurt (spotting a trend here yet? I guess I'm just obsessed with Greek yogurt at the moment). It turned out pretty good too! And although it wasn't a Pinterest recipe, I made my very first "homemade" biscuits tonight (i.e. they did not come out of a Pillsbury can, hehe). I made the cheesy garlic biscuit recipe from the side of the Bisquick box, and they turned out amazing! And so easy! Sometimes I love cooking. :D
19 April 2012
New stuff
So I've made two new big adjustments in the world of Blake...
1) cloth diapers! woohoo!
2) no more pumping! made the full switch to formula.
I've had these cloth diapers since wayyy before he was born. With all the complications from the hip dysplasia, our orthopedic doctor recommended just using regular disposables due to the complicated harness and bulky brace. Now that Blake is down to only wearing the brace for 12 hours at night, I decided to give the Bumgenius 4.0 pocket diapers a go for the daytime hours. So far, it's a breeze! It really isn't much harder than disposables - all the time I would have spent going to store to buy disposables, collecting the coupons for them, or ordering off Amazon (for a pretty penny, no less!), I spend just tossing them in the washing machine every other day. I've got a wet bag that stores them when he's done with each one, and then I throw them in the washer. After they're clean I toss the inserts in the dryer and drape the diapers over plastic hangers in the garage (where our washer & dryer are). Super easy.
I felt so guilty for so long about putting Blake on formula, but once I did it I felt so relieved. I know breast is best, but to be honest - it was slowly killing me. The pumping itself wasn't really so bad...I could handle the 10-15 minutes here and there to pump. The problem was that if I wasn't able to get it done EXACTLY when it needed to be done (every 4 to 5 hours), I would develop a clogged duct which then threatened to turn into mastitis. This happened approximately every two weeks regardless of how diligently I watched the time. Ugh. It was nearly impossible to take care of the kiddos when I was on the verge of mastitis - the fever and aches nearly took me down each time. So after a lot of contemplation, I decided that being able to happily take care of my kids was more important than the few benefits that Blake was receiving from the pumped milk. Besides, I still have quite a bit stored up from my overproduction. I really wish breastfeeding would work for me, but I've resigned myself to being incapable of it. :(
I've started a little bit of drawing/watercolors again. I'd really like to get in to it again, I've really missed art. We'll see how it goes considering I constantly feel like I have zero time!!
1) cloth diapers! woohoo!
2) no more pumping! made the full switch to formula.
I've had these cloth diapers since wayyy before he was born. With all the complications from the hip dysplasia, our orthopedic doctor recommended just using regular disposables due to the complicated harness and bulky brace. Now that Blake is down to only wearing the brace for 12 hours at night, I decided to give the Bumgenius 4.0 pocket diapers a go for the daytime hours. So far, it's a breeze! It really isn't much harder than disposables - all the time I would have spent going to store to buy disposables, collecting the coupons for them, or ordering off Amazon (for a pretty penny, no less!), I spend just tossing them in the washing machine every other day. I've got a wet bag that stores them when he's done with each one, and then I throw them in the washer. After they're clean I toss the inserts in the dryer and drape the diapers over plastic hangers in the garage (where our washer & dryer are). Super easy.
I felt so guilty for so long about putting Blake on formula, but once I did it I felt so relieved. I know breast is best, but to be honest - it was slowly killing me. The pumping itself wasn't really so bad...I could handle the 10-15 minutes here and there to pump. The problem was that if I wasn't able to get it done EXACTLY when it needed to be done (every 4 to 5 hours), I would develop a clogged duct which then threatened to turn into mastitis. This happened approximately every two weeks regardless of how diligently I watched the time. Ugh. It was nearly impossible to take care of the kiddos when I was on the verge of mastitis - the fever and aches nearly took me down each time. So after a lot of contemplation, I decided that being able to happily take care of my kids was more important than the few benefits that Blake was receiving from the pumped milk. Besides, I still have quite a bit stored up from my overproduction. I really wish breastfeeding would work for me, but I've resigned myself to being incapable of it. :(
I've started a little bit of drawing/watercolors again. I'd really like to get in to it again, I've really missed art. We'll see how it goes considering I constantly feel like I have zero time!!
16 April 2012
Toddler dreams
Story of the day #1:
Logan woke up freaking out in his crib this morning, so unusual for him. I went in to get him, and instead of his usual "all done!" that I get in the morning, he was crying and pointing to the guest room saying "bag! Bag! Baaaaaaag!". I'm like what the heck, but I sat him down and let him run across the hall into the guest room to see what he wanted so badly. He knelt down in front of an old gift bag that had some random stuff in it, mostly old Valentine's cards and diaper coupons. He pulled out a tiny pack of conversation hearts (while still crying, mind you) and starts whining. "eat! Eat! Eaaaaaat!!". Yeah, all that and it's not even 7:15 in the morning. Sheesh. He would not let up either, it was a gigantic battle over breakfast before candy (which I finally won, hurrah!) and really put me in a bad mood before the day even started. Ugh. But really, how in the world did he A) remember that candy was in the bag (??), and B) want it RIGHT then and there at 7 am?! It baffles me. Maybe he had a dream about those darn conversation hearts?!
I've been in a funk for the past two days. I know it's stupid and I keep reminding myself that I chose this, to be a stay at home mom, and that the kids are only tiny for just a little while and then they go to school and won't need me as much...but sometimes it's frustrating to have so little personal time. It's funny how you don't appreciate it until its gone.
Story of the day #2:
While feeding Blake this afternoon, I put on an episode of Monster Trucks for Logan to keep him occupied. Today was one of those antsy days for Logan though, the ones where he can't sit still and has to touch everything (we get about one or two of those kind of days a week). Anyways, he grabbed my Strong Willed Child book off the coffee table and started rifling through the pages and bending the cover. Ohh no, that does not fly with me! I told him to put the book back on the table because it was my book and not a toy.
....yeah. My strong willed child ripped the title page out of the book, just like that. I really can't help but laugh!
Logan woke up freaking out in his crib this morning, so unusual for him. I went in to get him, and instead of his usual "all done!" that I get in the morning, he was crying and pointing to the guest room saying "bag! Bag! Baaaaaaag!". I'm like what the heck, but I sat him down and let him run across the hall into the guest room to see what he wanted so badly. He knelt down in front of an old gift bag that had some random stuff in it, mostly old Valentine's cards and diaper coupons. He pulled out a tiny pack of conversation hearts (while still crying, mind you) and starts whining. "eat! Eat! Eaaaaaat!!". Yeah, all that and it's not even 7:15 in the morning. Sheesh. He would not let up either, it was a gigantic battle over breakfast before candy (which I finally won, hurrah!) and really put me in a bad mood before the day even started. Ugh. But really, how in the world did he A) remember that candy was in the bag (??), and B) want it RIGHT then and there at 7 am?! It baffles me. Maybe he had a dream about those darn conversation hearts?!
I've been in a funk for the past two days. I know it's stupid and I keep reminding myself that I chose this, to be a stay at home mom, and that the kids are only tiny for just a little while and then they go to school and won't need me as much...but sometimes it's frustrating to have so little personal time. It's funny how you don't appreciate it until its gone.
Story of the day #2:
While feeding Blake this afternoon, I put on an episode of Monster Trucks for Logan to keep him occupied. Today was one of those antsy days for Logan though, the ones where he can't sit still and has to touch everything (we get about one or two of those kind of days a week). Anyways, he grabbed my Strong Willed Child book off the coffee table and started rifling through the pages and bending the cover. Ohh no, that does not fly with me! I told him to put the book back on the table because it was my book and not a toy.
....yeah. My strong willed child ripped the title page out of the book, just like that. I really can't help but laugh!
12 April 2012
Always take the weather with you
When we moved down here I swore up and down that I would never like south FL! And for the most part that's true. I'm still not a fan of the excessive traffic and crazy hot heat...but the rest of it has really grown on me! I am LOVING not having to drive at least 20 minutes to get anywhere fun, and I constantly feel like I'm on vacation anytime we visit Palm Beach. So fun!!
Last weekend Daniel's parents came up for Easter. Although we didn't do anything out of the ordinary, we did eat at a really awesome Cuban place. I had Ropa Vieja and it was the best cuban meal I've ever had. Shayna and Spence came over after church on Sunday too! :) I also got to catch up with Kristyn over wine, soup, and appetizers on Monday night. So glad she lives near us now.
Spent all day (literally!) in Palm Beach with my parents on Tuesday and had the best day. We walked the Lake Trail along the Intercoastal Waterway, a picnic lunch in the garden at the Society of the 4 Arts, toured the Breakers hotel, and walked around a historic church. I love feeling like a tourist and only having to drive 30 minutes to do it.
Random Logan funny: I made enchiladas for dinner and accidentally used the medium enchilada sauce instead of our normal mild. Logan took a bite and said "spicy!" It's so awesome to hear a word you've never heard them say before. He also started saying "see ya!" after his normal "bye bye". Love it!
Last weekend Daniel's parents came up for Easter. Although we didn't do anything out of the ordinary, we did eat at a really awesome Cuban place. I had Ropa Vieja and it was the best cuban meal I've ever had. Shayna and Spence came over after church on Sunday too! :) I also got to catch up with Kristyn over wine, soup, and appetizers on Monday night. So glad she lives near us now.
Spent all day (literally!) in Palm Beach with my parents on Tuesday and had the best day. We walked the Lake Trail along the Intercoastal Waterway, a picnic lunch in the garden at the Society of the 4 Arts, toured the Breakers hotel, and walked around a historic church. I love feeling like a tourist and only having to drive 30 minutes to do it.
Random Logan funny: I made enchiladas for dinner and accidentally used the medium enchilada sauce instead of our normal mild. Logan took a bite and said "spicy!" It's so awesome to hear a word you've never heard them say before. He also started saying "see ya!" after his normal "bye bye". Love it!
07 April 2012
April showers
Just as I have a day that is so frustrating that it makes me want to throw in the towel and plan an immediate vacation to the tropics (a good margarita can solve a lot of problems! lol), I have an awesome day. Logan was so good and fun today that it totally made up for yesterday. Hurray! That must be the routine around here, one good day/one bad day...
We were supposed to go to another Easter party with the moms group this morning but it started thunderstorming around 8:30 this morning. Logan is apparently terrified of thunder and would come over to sit in my lap every time! Since the party got moved to late this afternoon, we hung around the house this morning. We finally made it out of the house around 1pm for a quick trip to Target. I love when I have easy shopping days and Logan is cooperative so I can get everything on my list :) Bought two new lamp shades for our master bedroom - I'm still in the process of making over our room! If only I had unlimited funds to buy everything I want from Joss and Main, my newest online shopping addiction.
The rest of the afternoon was spent watching Cars 2 (a reward since we had a completely tantrum-free day!!!) and dyeing Easter eggs. I kind of did the eggs as an afterthought. After our debacle yesterday with the Easter egg hunt, I had pretty much given up on the idea of celebrating Easter activities and almost didn't even bother getting out the dye and eggs. But once again this little guy surprised me by loving it! He got so into stirring the dye (kool aid and vinegar, lol) and dipping his 4 eggs. After they dried he went to town putting stickers all over them. Who knew?!
This past week/weekend we spent a day and a half in Jacksonville and the rest in Titusville. Thursday was spent with the Moore clan - park and Chipotle with Melissa and the girls and then dinner at Chili's with Daniel and Greg. We had so much fun catching up with them (we have missed you guys!!).
Friday morning bright and early was Blake's orthopedic appointment. Good news from the doctor - we are weaning off the brace!! Now he only has to wear it for 12 hours a day (overnight) instead of the suffocating 22 hours a day!! So incredibly happy to have a "normal" infant life back. He now can wear cute clothes and ride comfortably in the car seat and Beco...and best of all, he doesn't stick to everything with that annoying Velcro on the brace!!! Hahahah. He also got weighed during his check up. My little Buddha baby is a whopping 15.2 pounds (91st percentile!) and in the 44th percentile for height.
Friday night we celebrated Daniel's 28th birthday at El Leoncito's with some friends. Had a blast!! Each time our server would come out to bring more drinks, another person would have showed up. We ended up with 10 of us circled around a tiny table out on the patio by the river. It was great catching up with everyone. I love that Blake is such a reliable sleeper and we can leave both boys with my parents without worrying that we're interrupting their sleep.
We attempted another Sea World trip on Saturday. And it rained, seriously. But not just rained, it mega downpoured. And just like last time, it was hilariously ridiculous. I only wish I could have been a fly on the wall to watch us gather our stuff, put blankets over the boys, and hightail it through the rain to our car. Gotta say, that double stroller can definitely be used as a running stroller! ;) despite the shortened trip due to the monsoon, we still had a great day. Stephen & Gretchen tagged along, although they wised up fast and did their own thing after we entered the park. We warned them that theme-parking with two kids is quite different from what they're used to! :) Logan persisted with his no-napping on the way home as well - we all passed out in the car for the 45 minute drive home except for him. He stayed strong, atta boy! ;)
Sunday was spent celebrating Daniel's birthday for a second time! We met up with his family at Fox Lake park for some pizza and cake. All of the kids did so good! It's so nice that they're now all at the age where they can play together. I'm so excited for the years to come - holidays will be so crazy with 5 boys :D
Ok, record length post for me. I better get back to bed, it's 3:45 am and I'm done pumping...must get some sleep before it's my turn to take over the Blake shift! :)
We were supposed to go to another Easter party with the moms group this morning but it started thunderstorming around 8:30 this morning. Logan is apparently terrified of thunder and would come over to sit in my lap every time! Since the party got moved to late this afternoon, we hung around the house this morning. We finally made it out of the house around 1pm for a quick trip to Target. I love when I have easy shopping days and Logan is cooperative so I can get everything on my list :) Bought two new lamp shades for our master bedroom - I'm still in the process of making over our room! If only I had unlimited funds to buy everything I want from Joss and Main, my newest online shopping addiction.
The rest of the afternoon was spent watching Cars 2 (a reward since we had a completely tantrum-free day!!!) and dyeing Easter eggs. I kind of did the eggs as an afterthought. After our debacle yesterday with the Easter egg hunt, I had pretty much given up on the idea of celebrating Easter activities and almost didn't even bother getting out the dye and eggs. But once again this little guy surprised me by loving it! He got so into stirring the dye (kool aid and vinegar, lol) and dipping his 4 eggs. After they dried he went to town putting stickers all over them. Who knew?!
This past week/weekend we spent a day and a half in Jacksonville and the rest in Titusville. Thursday was spent with the Moore clan - park and Chipotle with Melissa and the girls and then dinner at Chili's with Daniel and Greg. We had so much fun catching up with them (we have missed you guys!!).
Friday morning bright and early was Blake's orthopedic appointment. Good news from the doctor - we are weaning off the brace!! Now he only has to wear it for 12 hours a day (overnight) instead of the suffocating 22 hours a day!! So incredibly happy to have a "normal" infant life back. He now can wear cute clothes and ride comfortably in the car seat and Beco...and best of all, he doesn't stick to everything with that annoying Velcro on the brace!!! Hahahah. He also got weighed during his check up. My little Buddha baby is a whopping 15.2 pounds (91st percentile!) and in the 44th percentile for height.
Friday night we celebrated Daniel's 28th birthday at El Leoncito's with some friends. Had a blast!! Each time our server would come out to bring more drinks, another person would have showed up. We ended up with 10 of us circled around a tiny table out on the patio by the river. It was great catching up with everyone. I love that Blake is such a reliable sleeper and we can leave both boys with my parents without worrying that we're interrupting their sleep.
We attempted another Sea World trip on Saturday. And it rained, seriously. But not just rained, it mega downpoured. And just like last time, it was hilariously ridiculous. I only wish I could have been a fly on the wall to watch us gather our stuff, put blankets over the boys, and hightail it through the rain to our car. Gotta say, that double stroller can definitely be used as a running stroller! ;) despite the shortened trip due to the monsoon, we still had a great day. Stephen & Gretchen tagged along, although they wised up fast and did their own thing after we entered the park. We warned them that theme-parking with two kids is quite different from what they're used to! :) Logan persisted with his no-napping on the way home as well - we all passed out in the car for the 45 minute drive home except for him. He stayed strong, atta boy! ;)
Sunday was spent celebrating Daniel's birthday for a second time! We met up with his family at Fox Lake park for some pizza and cake. All of the kids did so good! It's so nice that they're now all at the age where they can play together. I'm so excited for the years to come - holidays will be so crazy with 5 boys :D
Ok, record length post for me. I better get back to bed, it's 3:45 am and I'm done pumping...must get some sleep before it's my turn to take over the Blake shift! :)
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