Bedtime Accessories: Snurk

I am absolutely in love with this bedding from Snurk. Not only do I think it's just the cutest thing ever - I'm thinking Cruz and my future daughter (hear that hubs, give me a daughter!) will be sleeping on both of these some day - but I also love their slogan "for horizontal living." As a marketer, give me a catchy, creative line any day and I'm more than likely to buy your product on the spot.

Just look at this adorable little princess duvet...I mean this whimsical dress and a crown on the pillow? I might melt.

For our little dude, the astronaut is pretty dang cute too. I'm thinking Extreme Makeover: Home Edition would have a heyday putting together a room design around this....

Snurk

The Right Decision

If I've learned anything from being a mama and juggling a career, it's that I can do it all. It may not be perfect. It may not be great all the time. And, it for damn sure isn't pretty. But I basically get done what needs to be done.  Life is hectic. Work is busy. But above all else, we are employed, our family is close, we have amazing friends and we are raising the most amazing little man. And he is so, so good to us.

I do find myself wondering if my work/life balance it right. Are my priorities in line? I hate that at times I need to choose my laptop and work emails over playing with my son. I despise having my phone in my hand (or nearby) at all times...just in case. Fortunately, I have a great career which is really flexible, yet demanding enough in that I need (want) to be proactive and on top of things. I don't want to miss anything. I want to be successful.

But there are times that I would love to stay at home with Cruz. See him grow up every day. Teach him things. I get a tad jealous that J gets to spend so much time with him and take him to such great educational and fun places. But then I think, that wouldn't be me. I wouldn't be myself without my career. I love what I do.

So, when I get tagged by a leader in our company regarding a potential regional position that would require travel for a couple weeks a month, but hopefully not relocating, the go-getter in me says, "it's a great opportunity. It would be great for my career. Bring it on!" However, the mom in me says, "how can I spend quality time with my little guy and see him grow up if I'm traveling up to fifteen days out of thirty?" What kind of life is that?

The position would be great for our family...and for our future. It would be a great career move. I would finally get to learn about other markets in the casino industry. We could finally pay off what's left of our debt. On the flip side, it would be traveling fifteen days out of thirty. I would miss out on half of our little guy's life. I wouldn't be home. I would miss out on the things that are important to me - get-togethers with friends and family, girl's night out, seeing my little guy grow up, spending time with Nick.

Fortunately, we don't have to make a decision just yet. The job isn't necessarily going to be there. But it could...so I need to think about these things. And be prepared. And I'm just not sure what would be the best move for us.

Things The Hubs Says...

We got blasted with snow yesterday and last night...about 5+ inches according to our expert opinion.

All morning we've been going back and forth with J to figure out if she's going to be able to make it and if I can even make it out of our neighborhood to get to work. The plows haven't yet been through the side streets and our drive isn't scooped. We have a service that comes out and does it for us, but they aren't the quickest so I found myself contemplating scooping and just as quickly as it entered my mind, I quickly dismissed it.

Nick bundled up to shovel a quick path for Maya to be able to get down to the yard to do her business...and I asked him why he wouldn't just go out and scoop the drive. He all but laughed in my face.

After he came back in he asks, "do you think I'm less of a man because I don't scoop our drive and hire someone to do it instead?"

Me: "no, not really. I wouldn't want to do it either."

Him: "good, because I went to college so I wouldn't have to scoop sidewalks."

Oh, so that's why you went to college. Thanks for clearing that up.

Little Helper

Cruz continues to play the copycat game and just loves mirroring what his daddy and mama do. Case in point is his obsession with the trash can these days. Everything...I mean everything goes into the trash. Generally, it's the right stuff. Even better when we are feeling lazy and can send HIM to throw away a napkin or water bottle.

What's not cool? Finding toys, hair products, pens, nail polish and more in the trash. Even one of my shoes (this kid obviously doesn't know how mama feels about her shoes).

How can you not love his determination here. He found a piece of dog food in the living room (which he more than likely put there in the first place) and makes a big ordeal until one of us acknowledges his find. Then he commits to the trek to the trash can, but not without a quick glance and goober grin toward the camera when he realizes he's being filmed. Love him.

Now if we could just find the remote.....

If I Had A Day To Myself...

I love having days off to spend with Nick and little man. Originally, I had planned to go into work for a bit yesterday to get caught up on some things, but since we didn't have a "real" day off on Sunday - you know where I can do laundry, get groceries, run errands, clean, organize our life for the week - I decided to get up extra early so I could squeeze in some work before Cruz woke up. The rest of the day was a blur of doing all those things I mentioned, plus playing and cuddling with the little guy.

As I was driving at some point yesterday, I thought about what I would do with a day off to myself. No kiddo to wrangle. No husband to tend to. No work emails to answer. No phone calls to respond to. No dishes to unload. No groceries to buy/put away. I started getting really excited and my list continued to grow...and grow.

Here is my idea of a perfect day...

• Blog, type out the loads of posts I have drafted and read up on some of my fave blogs
• Get my nails did and a nice, relaxing pedicure with an extra long leg massage 
• While I'm at it I just as well throw in a massage (hey, this is my perfect day, remember!)
• Go for a long run and clear my head - mind you the weather would be nice on this make believe day
• Lay in a tanning bed and relax for 15 minutes (don't hate, girlfriend just needs a little color on this pale bod in the winter)
• Restore an old side table that's been sitting in our stoarge for ages with some new paint and knobs
• Update my iPod with new music
• Get hair extensions
• Read a magazine. I'm talking lay on the couch, bed, somewhere and read through an entire magazine and not while I'm blow drying my hair, which is currently the only way I get through a mag and I've got piles and piles of them just waiting to be picked up
• Search for some yum, healthy new recipes and have time to prepare some of these meals
• Find some new accessories and wall art for the living room
• Lunch with my sister or girlfriends...maybe, just maybe, with a couple cocktails
• Time to catch up on some of the DIY projects I've pinned and been dying to try
• Shop...just for me
• Organize our photos into photo albums - I may be the only person who still prints photos, but there is something about going through an actual photo album and remembering the details of certain occasions that I just love
• End the day with a glass of wine and reading in bed

Ahh, a girl can dream, can't she?

You know what? I'm thinking I need to take a day of vacation from work, keep the nanny as scheduled and just knock through some of these things. Seriously, I'm looking at this list and it's not like these are glamorous things here. It's actually quite sad that this list could get me so freakin' excited.

New Purchase

I feel like I just mentioned (here) that I've been watching my online shopping...and that I had a cool new way to shop when I technically shopped, put items into my "cart" and then slept on it....generally getting over my need to purchase or talking myself out of certain buys by morning.

Well, that is all and great...until, I really need something. And by need, I mean really want because it would be more convenient for me, for the hubs and for nanny J.  Right now, Nick and I have two car seats - one for each car - but during the week we let J keep one in her car. We also try to communicate stroller needs, because up until today, we only had one. And by one, I mean, the BEST one (if I haven't convinced you all - consider yourselves convinced...best.stroller.ever)...the Baby Jogger City Select.  I will shout from the rooftops how awesome this stroller is, but we don't need two of these little rock stars, so instead I did some research and found what I thought was a great second stroller. (Please note the store love for my girl S here, Time For Baby also rocks my socks, and this is where I purchased most of my baby gear). 

After the second, er third, time I've forgotten to leave the stroller for her before I've left for work, I jumped on Amazon and clicked the "place your order" button and this bad boy was on the porch when I got home from work last night! And I'm stoked! 

Cruz and I had been checking out second strollers for a couple weeks now - sit him in it, does it recline, does it have storage, is it easy to fold - after our very scientific checks and reading the many positive reviews online, we figured this one fit our needs best. And look at this gorg color? How perfect does it fit with the spring "It" color palate of teals, blues and greens?

Chicco City Select Echo in Topazio

I may have also thrown a couple other things in my cart (see? I have problems!) along with the stroller, before quickly clicking "order." One of those things may have been the pool noodles that I've been searching for EVERYWHERE...and another just may be the 2nd boy prezzie I've picked up for little baby Gardner since finding out last week that they are having a boy!

Cruz's Week In A Nutshell (A Couple Days Late...)

Here is what little man was up to last week (yeah, it's Friday and I'm just posting this)...I'm oh so jealous of the life he lives.

Lauritzen Gardens Lego Display: as soon as the email came through, I knew this exhibit would be perfect for Cruz....and he had a blast with J last week! He made a ton of new friends and discovered a new found love of legos...so much so he almost suckered me into buy a massive pack at Babies R Us the other night, except then I realized we have more toys than we know what to do with and didn't need them. He's pretty smooth and between you and I, I would buy him whatever he wanted. This works now because he loses interest quickly, won't be so good when toy tantrums start happening at the store.

New Toys: we broke out the Radio Flyer 4-in-1 that Gma Di and Papa Ron got him for Christmas. I got this far on putting it together and then got stuck putting the parent handle on the back (where we guide him). I'm generally the one who figures out how to put everything together around our house, but I'm stuck on a handle for a trike? So now the bike and all of the random parts sit scatter in the office, just waiting to be put together.

In the meantime, he LOVES to be pushed around on this thing...it's just that it really hurts mama and dada's backs having to bend over him the entire time.

Haircut: 2nd haircut in the books and to celebrate we took him to Oscar's for grilled cheese and race car games. He obviously wasn't interested in the haircut, but loved the perks afterwards.

FaceTime: finally..my mom got an iPhone this week, which lead to C and my first ever FaceTime sesh...and it was awesome! He kept copying what mom was saying and every time papa Ron came into the shot, he shouted "Papa. Papa." Later on we jumped on a quick chat with Nanu...by this time he was so upset from not getting to see Gma and Papa in person and I think he just wanted some big Nanu squeezes and he was a blubbering mess.  Poor baby...

Mall Play Areas: another fave is the visits he takes to the mall play areas. I have to admit that while I'm not the biggest clean- or germ-freak of the bunch - these places still weird me out, but little man LOVES them! We just make sure to have plenty of sanitizer present when we leave.

Naked Babies: these pics are mainly taken for my benefit. I love naked baby skin and giving him a chance to shed his clothes every now and again when we are just chillin' at the house. The pose below? That is all him. And, of course, why wouldn't we use the new ottomans as play areas...

Have a great weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Heart Day! From the boy who has stolen our hearts over...and over...and over again. xoxo

Here's a quick peek at the card we created and sent to fam & friends using pics from our makeshift photo shoot in his nursery (when you have a toddler, can you still call it a nursery? It almost sounds too juvenile for our guy). And, yes, I know, I can't pull off professional photos...but they turned out okay being that they only cost us about $1.99 for the balloons! I guess when you have a good subject..the rest is easy. Look at this stud muffin...the many faces of Cruz.

       

Remember this gorgeous little babe last year? Oh, how I love this picture!

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all!

Night With The Hubs

I am the worst at making plans for the hubs around holidays. Whether it be gift giving or going out, I procrastinate like crazy.

Valentine's Day was looking to be no different since I had only started thinking about it last week. I wanted to plan a night out with my main man, just the two of us, but these days it's not that easy because we need to plan a sitter for little man and all that jazz. Fortunately, my sister was more than willing to put their plans to the side and take him in on Saturday night. This worked perfectly for what I had in mind - which was a night/day with all of Nick's fave things....well, not all, but a lot. When I let him in on the plans...he actually seemed excited. Score!

I had the hubs meet me at the hotel we were staying at after work on Saturday. First stop was Nosh Wine Bar for some wine and apps before heading over to the Creighton basketball game. We got sidetracked and stopped into DJ's Dugout for some drinks with friends. The game ended up being a bust...Creighton played terribly and lost, but we headed back to DJ's and then to Stadium Club and drank away our sorrows so that made things better.

We got tired of the jam packed bar scene and called a cab back to the hotel, where we walked into a gorgeous suite {man, I love having friends in the hospitality business}. We got up early {habit these days} and ordered room service breakfast - which I think is one of the best ways to eat breakfast - and then headed out for our couple's massage.

Ahhh, 60 relaxing minutes later we were feeling good {and I made a mental note to get a massage more often than every 8 months} and the best part of our day was still ahead -  movie and movie theater popcorn! We checked out Zero Dark Thirty, which was good - a bit slow and long - but overall a great movie. Even if you don't know what the story line is going into it and you get chastised by your husband - "do you live under a rock? Who doesn't know what this movie is about?" Well, me, for one. But I love a feel good about being an American movie like anyone else...and it brought me back to the night we heard Bin Laden was taken down....I was in NYC with my mom and sister and we had the biggest celebration with one of the cities he had impacted the most.

Date night was definitely a success...and I have to say I'm a tad bit impressed with myself for pulling this off. {Visualize me patting myself on the back here.}

15 Months Old!

Happy fifteen months, little monster!

What's New With Cruz:

• Walking: since he started walking last month, he hasn't looked back. This kid is all over the place, which means waaay more boo boos. I swear he falls time no less than 10 times a day. 
• Wedding: C was ringbearer in my brother Josh's wedding on January 19th. It was so great that he could actually walk down the aisle this time...he was so cute! I'm glad we purchased his tux for uncle Mook & auntie Britt's wedding back in September, because he was able to throw it on again for this one!

• Dancing: turn on a jam and little man drops it like it's hot. He bounces, sways, walks in circles....it's unfortunate but he's already a better dancer than his mama.
• Sleeping: we struggled a bit early on this month with sleep - he wasn't on a good nap schedule (until nanny J started) and at night we had some bad habits with him and had to lay with him until he fell asleep. Last week we took back control and started our form of sleep training with him...and it WORKED! Bath, PJs, books, rock for a couple minutes and then lay him down and shut the door. Each day since we started we've shaved time off the amount he cries to where it's mere seconds after we shut the door. It is the BEST thing ever....I can't believe we didn't try this earlier.
• Eating: we cannot eat a bite without Cruz hightailing it over to us and begging for a bite. This boy has an appetite on him and eats so well. This month he's discovered steamed broc, fruit snacks, blueberries, pears and shredded chicken. Yum!

• CopyCat: he has turned into quite the copy cat this past month as well. He copies absolutely everything we say...now we just have to be aware of what comes out of our mouth. No more swearing for this girl. 
• 2nd Haircut: haircut NUMERO TWO is in the books. Not as fun or eventful as the first...actually he seemed downright bored by it, but he looks oh so cute without the hair flapping over his ears.

• New Words: Juice (sounds like jeeew-ce), "baaa" when referencing a sheep, ball...finally!, nanu (nan-eeew), papa, nana for banana and Gma Dianne...and a ton of others.
• Actions: Cruz has taken to copying everything we do - his faves? "I don't know" accompanied with a shrug of the shoulders, hands out to the side. Eskimo kisses - he learned them one night and now they have become his thing. And my favorite, one time I was tapping my lips say "hmmm" while we were looking for some PJs in his closet and he started doing it...and now every time he hears "hmmm" his finger automatically starts tapping his lips. It's super cute.
• Nanny: she has started and she is amazing. As much as we loved Primrose Daycare, we are much more happy with J! She works on his development, takes him to great places to play, schedules playdates with other nannies and their kiddos and so much more. It's easy to see I'm smitten with our new nanny. 

• New Boy Cousin: some of the best news recently? Cruz is going to have a BOY cousin...coming June via uncle Ross & auntie Morgan. We are beyond excited!

Happy 15, little buddy!

And he's over it....

Weekend With Cousins

This weekend, I had planned a little getaway for Nick and I to celebrate Valentine's Day. My sis and her fam took in Cruz so we could have some time to ourselves. We had a great time, but it was easier to do so when we weren't missing what our little man was going through - Tess kept the pictures flowing so we felt like we were hanging with them. And, boy, did he have a great time!

On Saturday, Nick was heading to the Lynch's when we got a message that they were in the hospital. Ace and Dayvie were goofing around at Scheel's and got his fingers caught in the door...the result: two broken fingers.

Playing, movies, bath time fun, more playing, lunch at Joe's Crab Shack and pretend driving uncle Chris' truck...this boy was having the time of his life and was absolutely worn out. We are so lucky to have our family so close and that our little guy gets to grow up so close to all of his cousins.

Channeling The Hulk

Slam Dunk! We may need to invest in a better & higher basketball hoop

Watching movies

Spending time w/ his future babysitter: Dayvaney!

Bathtime fun!
I don't think I've ever captured a smile this big on his face...he is having a blast!

Treating Myself

I talked the hubs into joining little man and I on a trip to the mall earlier this week. Partly to spend some time with him and our little family, but also because I know if he is at a mall with me, I will not spend like crazy.

Except, on the way there I decided I was going to make a bit of a purchase for myself. I have been eyeing this gold Michael Kors chronograph watch for months...I usually don't allow myself to pine over something for months and generally just buy it, but for some reason I never took the plunge...until Monday. I had some money from getting second place in Fantasy Football {ok, let's be honest, it was $40 but I just like mentioning the fact that I won money in Fantasy Football this year!} but I also had some Von Maur gift cards from a family friend from Christmas that I hadn't spent yet. Generally I would spend these GCs on perfume, clothes or shoes, but I had gotten a ton of perfume for Christmas and, let's face it, as far as shoes and clothes go, I will just buy when I want something.

So we beelined for the jewelry section and there was my watch. It was gorgeous. I tried it on and loved it even more. It felt very Carrie Bradshaw buying a pair of Manolos {in her earlier days} when I was passing over my $40 cash, two Von Maur gift cards and then my debit card to cover the rest, but who cares, it all spends the same. The salesperson took a couple links out and then it was mine. Yay!

I think C even loved checking out the gorgeous watches...

Great Finds

As most know, I'm somewhat of an online shopping fanatic...and oftentimes forget what I've purchased until I stumble upon the bags and boxes on the porch when I get home from work at night.

I've been refraining from the "great deals" websites - Totsy, Hautelook, Gilt, Ideeli - because the more I've researched, the more I've realized they aren't that great of deals {some are, don't get me wrong}. More importantly, I've been trying to be somewhat fiscally responsible with our funds and instead, I've started a new way of shopping online - I load a bunch into my virtual shopping cart at night, shut down the computer and return to my "bag" in the morning to see if I really NEED the items I've loaded in there. More often than not, I don't. But I've also kind of gotten the rush of shopping, without spending any money. Weird, I know.

Well, today I had a few spare seconds while I was on a call and I jumped on one of my fave kiddo discount sites - Zulily - where I was so excited to discover a Solid Threads flash sale. As most of you know, I'm a sucker for a shirt with a funny saying....and I just loved these. And had to buy them...on the spot {sorry hubs!}.

Com'on,  Quit Playing With Your Dinghy and That's Bananas?? I'm in love.

And check out the rest of these shirts..some of my faves over the last fourteen months...

• "You stack blocks, I stack chips" - ode to daddy
• "Not only am I perfect. I'm Italian too"
• "Not at the table Carlos"
• "I still live with my parents"
• "Do work" - shout out to daddy when he was on the road for a poker tournament
• "Mommy's little meatball" - one of the first onesies I bought on an NYC trip
• "Ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky? Well, do you punk?" - St. Patty's Day shirt
• Prom tuxedo made by a mommy at daycare for Primrose Prom

And then some of my fave baby helmet shots....at the time it seemed like the worst thing to happen to us...to him. But now, I get just a tad bit emotional looking at how sweet he is and knowing how much that helmet improved our little guy's noggin. (To any parents considering it, it is hard, it sucks really really bad, but it's just a blip in the overall scheme of things. And if you can help prevent future issues from developing, please do it.)

• "Just fixin' my melon" - quite perhaps my most favorite shirt he's ever owned
• "Wish I was drivin' a Deere with my Papa Ron" - shout out to my dad =)
• "You should see the other guy" - message to the haters who used to comment on his helmet "situation"

I just love looking back on some of these fun shirts...and remembering the great times when he wore them. To many more with this sweet, sweet boy.

Learning The Hard Way

I sit here typing this post very quietly. The babe is sleeping. Yay for us.

I don't want to jump the gun here, but the past two (yep, two!) nights we have started our form of sleep training...and so far, SO FAR it seems to be working! I know it's early, but we are feeling great about it. (Thanks to all of your for your responses to our HELP US post last week!)

After what we've been calling Cruz's "case of the Mondays" - which entails spending the entire day with Nick and I and being somewhat of a crabby boy all throughout the day, not napping well and being the biggest bear ever getting to bed...and then as if that isn't bad enough, waking up around 3am for a couple hours...we were ready for some change. And to take back the pants-wearing. No more being dictated by a whiny toddler.

On Tuesday night as we were in the middle of yet another struggle getting C to sleep, we decided we were just going to jump into our own "cry it out" method. After a bath, some book reading and some fussing - we laid little man down in his bed, kissed him good night, patted him on the back and then left the room and shut the door. That was 9:11pm. He cried. And he cried. And he cried some more. We made ourselves stay strong - and after much advice determined we needed to let him cry a little bit. This boy made that H.A.R.D.

He successfully cried, screamed, whined, you name it until 9:36pm and then he fell silent. Phew! Was he sleeping or did he just find something to occupy his time? We had to check - more out of fear that something happened. Quietly we opened the door (dangerous I know!) but saw that he was passed out in his crib. And he slept soundly all night long.

Fast forward to tonight...and we decided to try a similar method. No bath was needed, but after I got home from work, I stole a few minutes to play with him, changed his dipe and put him in PJs and then Nick took him to his rocker and read a couple books to him. I heard him shut the door and immediately the crying started. Not again. I don't know if I can listen to this poor boy each night.  Nick pointed out that it was exactly 9:11pm, which was exactly the same time we put him down last night. We decided that it would be a success if we shaved off five minutes from his prior night's crying episode.

Not only did we improve our time, but he fell asleep within 9 minutes! Major win for the parents here.I'm proud of him...and us for being strong and working toward a better schedule for all of us.

Let's just hope he makes it through the night....

Grammatically Incorrect

This is one of the worst posts I have to write, mainly because I was wrong...and I hate to be wrong.

I'm one of the those word snobs. It bothers me when people don't use the correct form of their/there/they're or to/too. Grammar and spelling have always been my strong point - oh yeah, I'm not good at math or science or that other important stuff, but throw an English lesson my way and I'm all over it. (Unless you've seen an error on a past post..that I blame on fat fingers or uber-quick typing!) Just don't judge my use of ellipsis...(hehe) I love those little dots!

Back to the point of this post. I was extremely upset when I realized, after so many years (& I realize I've been doing this FOR YEARS) that I've been typing out "Superbowl" as though it is one word and it's not. It's really two words, like Super Bowl. This all stemmed from the fact that I was texting a friend about it and the hubs was reading over my shoulder and corrected me. I was confident I was right and he was wrong - like normal - but after much time on Google he proved me wrong. And it sucked.

Ok, seriously I realize I've made this much more dramatic than it should be (& really these are not first world problems here), BUT it still really bothered me. And I obviously hate to be wrong.

What are those words you chronically misuse or spell incorrectly?

On the flip side...how stinkin' cute are my little Super Bowl buddies?

Best of all - C won both the 1st quarter and the 4th quarter score bets. Holla...$125 bones!

Why Didn't I Think Of That

I saw the most amazing thing ever on the news the other day. Get your kiddo to potty train by bribing him {or her} with being able to play games or watch shows on the iPad. Amazing.

And the best part? It's called the iPotty. Love it. I want it just for the cute name. I actually want it for me.

I can't decide if I think this is absolute genius- I mean it's got a splash-proof screen, looks super cute and come on now, it's an iPad mounted on a potty training chair...

But part of me says, come on people, it really takes an iPad to help train our children how to go potty? Really? We've come to this? I know we've been able to train our kids on much, much less in the past.

I'm not sure what I think about this bad boy, but who knows, in a few months when I'm head first into potty training little man, I may just shell out the $39.99 and pick this sucker up.

Courtesy of  Daily Mail

A Week Of Cruz

I recently learned how to use PicMonkey to better share the many pics I love to throw in here of the kiddo. I hated always having to post one after another...well now, now I can post a ton, but not make each post crazy long. Thanks A for the recommendation!

We had such a fun week last week, so I thought I was share it with you all....

This kid loves to eat

Ok, so it's no shocker that we don't eat meals at the dinner table like a normal family...Nick and I are usually on our respective couches trying to shove some food into our mouths after we get little man fed, bathed and ready for bed. The other night we picked up some Julio's Mexican after work and of course were hounded not only by our hound, but also our hungry kiddo.  Below is him trying to take food off my plate, evidently trying to eat my plate - and then when I told him he needed to move back and I would give him a bite - he moved REALLY far back.  He is just so stinkin' funny these days. 

Spending our day running errands

Last Sunday, we had a full day of running errands. Luckily for me, he's a great shopper...well, lucky for him or he would be miserable...a lot. We piled our cart full at Sam's Club, wandered crafts at Michaels, had wood cut at Home Depot and then passed out from all the fun in Target...we even ate lunch in the Target food court. Now that's dedication.

Hanging with nanny

Another week in the books with our fave lady, J.  They hit up Fat Brain Toy's toddler day on Tuesday (look at all the fun he had!), went to the mall play area and were back at Metro Gym for their play time...little man loves him the foam pit! Check out the message I got from J - it may have just made my day and made me a very proud mama. =)

Other shenanigans

We baby - and parent - proofed the toilet. I was tired of little hands and all my stuff floating around in there...but it is a real pain in the middle of the night when I'm half awake and can't just one-hand it. He's also a major cheeser..put a camera in his face and you get a big "CHEEEEESE!" Here is my man of many faces...

Looking forward to yet another fun week of discoveries and "new stuff" developing from this little guy.

Gettin' Organized

I hate to admit when my hubby's right...but he was. His idea of tackling our organization problem...one at a time...was brilliant. When you think about all the stuff I wanted to get done - clean the kitchen cupboards, clean out all of the closets, the bathroom cabinets, arrange little man's toys. Slowly but surely we are getting there and as silly as it sounds it's just a weight off my shoulders.

We've got a ton left to do, but I'm pretty impressed with how crazy busy January has been how much we've gotten done. Next...tackle that mess of a basement!

MASTER CLOSET BEFORE

(I use "master" loosely - this poor closet hardly qualifies and 

is so tiny I had to kick the hubs out years ago)

MASTER CLOSET AFTER

BATHROOM BEFORE

BATHROOM AFTER

Dang...I'm even more impressed looking at the comparisons! =)

Project Make Kiddo Smile

My nephew and godson Kayden celebrated his 8th birthday on February 1st and I can hardly believe it's been eight years.

I still remember the day he was born and rushing to the hospital to meet him...I had been waiting for his arrival for so long! I adored him from the moment I laid eyes on him...he was such an adorable baby and all I wanted to do was spoil him rotten.

We've had so many great memories the past 8 years and he has grown into such a great little man. He is an awesome athlete, very handsome, has such a sweet heart and still gives the best hugs...even if they aren't the cool thing to do anymore.  Isn't he such a good looking kid?

Operation Birthday Gift:

For his birthday this year I wanted to come up with a cool gift that would be different than just a video game or clothes (the kid has more clothes than I do!).  Enter Pinterest and an idea I pinned months ago. Ship a box full of balloons to his house...and when he opens it he would realize the balloons are filled with money (or notes, but I figured the notes would be big losers). This way he can buy whatever he doesn't get for his birthday, but also has a cool experience opening the gift!  So I filled a bunch of balloons with different denoms from dollars to $20s - and threw in a pair of the Nike Elite socks he likes for good measure - shoved the balloons and some colorful tissue paper into a box, went to UPS and sent it off. It was waiting for him when he got home from school on his birthday. 

So, this may make more sense if you live in different cities than the kiddo you're sending it to - because the UPS guy sure looked at me funny when I told him I was shipping it within the same city - but this was fun all the same. I recommend being proactive and sending it sooner than the day before - damn procrastination! - because when they mentioned shipping it air (huh? air? it's going a few miles away) I about had a heart attack....and pulled a couple of those $20s out of the balloons!

I got this pic of him opening it and a call not soon after. I loved listening to his excited voice as he thanked me and said when he opened it and saw the balloons he thought that it was cool, but THEN he realized there was money in the balloons...and thought it was REALLY cool. 

I would say this little idea was a winner.

Getting Artsy

I discovered this amazing blog - The Winthrop Chronicles - with this super crafty and creative mama and decided to try out some of her ideas.

The first one I dove into was the subway art documenting little man's birth details. I've been admiring many different Etsy shops that sell something similar and had good intentions of ordering one, UNTIL I realized I could make it myself and add my own special touches. Plus, I wanted to try out making my first one for Cruz because I have good intentions to whip a couple up for some friends who've recently popped out some kiddos.

I was going to document the details, but figured since TWC already did, you can use her original and much more detailed instructions to make your own.  (Tutorial here.)

Trip to Home Depot to get some common board. 

Loud saw = ears covered for Cruz!

In addition to the white spray paint and a brush, these are the only other tools I needed!

(If I could cut straight I could do without the paper cutter, but I can't, plus I had 

it in my craft closet from my days pretending I was going to start scrapbooking.)

 Used PowerPoint to create this and printed it on card stock

 This is after the mod podge and glue - see the air bubbles - ugh

I sanded down the edges of the common board and lightly sanded

the words on card stock to give it a worn look.

I had taken these pics not long after I finished it and was a bit disappointed with the air bubbles in the paper...but since these have gone down and the project looks awesome (patting self on back....). =)

Be prepared - if you are having a kiddo and I'm invited to see your kid, you just may see one of these bad boys accompanying your present!