Toddle Along Tuesday--Mommy Advice

When trying to think of a piece of advice to share with you, I could quickly come up with the 'don't hesitate to ask other mommy's questions', the 'you won't know all the answers', and the 'do what you feel is right for you'. But then I thought about it a little longer, and I came to the conclusion that is much more simple than all of that.

My advice to you is to enjoy the little things.

Source: images.search.yahoo.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Often times we get too caught up in making sure that our kids pick up there toys that we forget just how cool it was to pull out all of toys and be a three year old again.
Or we tell our kids to not make a mess when really it's okay that the playdoh got smashed into the rug because we made a mean crazy spaghetti playdoh-hair man.
Or we tell our kids to not scream and sing (and annoy their parents) in the car when really sometimes screaming at the top of your lungs singing a song in the car makes the trip go by just a little faster.

Source: itsallbeendonebefore.tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

We forget to truly live in the moment. And I can not emphasis this point enough! This quote is just perfect and brings me nearly to tears every time I read it.

Source: lh4.ggpht.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

So while we try to teach our children the correct way to act and behave, to be kind and generous, and to love and laugh....we forget to enjoy the little things.

Source: etsy.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

I think if we remember to enjoy the little things, everything else will fall into place. You won't stress about things. You won't care if maybe you're not doing it just right. You won't care if your house isn't picked up. You'll just be in the moment, enjoying it with your kids. Let yourself enjoy it!

Read some other mommy advice over at Growing Up Geeky and link up with Toddle Along Tuesday.

A Year Ago...

This was me. (eek!)

I was a few days shy of 38 weeks pregnant.

We were a few days shy of meeting our little man.

How has it already been a year???

11 Things

I was tagged by Jill over at Our Cozy Casa to tell 11 random things about myself and then answer her questions. 


Here we go!

11 random things about myself:

1. I have naturally curly hair, but ever since I had Hannah my hair has lost a bit of its curl. SO now I straighten it almost every day.

2. I am addicted to Coca Cola. My dad works for the company. I have to have at least one can of regular coke a day. Not super healthy but I refuse to give it up!

3. I was born on my mom's birthday.

4. I got hit by a car in the 4th grade. I had to miss school. It was the first time I had ever missed school. Later the same year I got the chicken pox and had to miss school again. 4th grade was not a good grade for me. After that I never missed another day of school. I had perfect attendance.

5. Hannah has my middle name—Danielle. Colson has Nick's middle name—David. When (sorry hubs...i mean IF) we have another kiddo, we will keep with the "D" middle initial.

6. I absolutely love Chinese food and sushi but my husband doesn't...which means I hardly ever get to eat it. It makes me sad. :o(

7. I take showers before I got to bed. I am not a morning person and standing in the shower right after I wake up does not sound like fun.


8. I have scoliosis. My spine has a 27 degree "S" curve. Luckily, I have never had to have surgery to have a rod put in. And even more luckily, I never had a problem with my epidurals, other than they did take a while to put in.

9. I used to be able to bend backwards and touch my ankles, but I have never been able to bend forward and touch my toes.

10. Nick and I are both turning 30 this year (gasp!) so we will have known each other and been together for half of our lives—15 years.

11. I love to crochet as a hobby.


My 11 Questions:
1. What is your guilty pleasure tv show? I am kind of obsessed with Dance Moms.

2. What is your favorite place to shop for clothes for you? What about your kids (if you have kids)? What? Shop for clothes for myself? If I ever do shop for myself I usually stick with Old Navy. Same for the kiddos—Old Navy and Target.

3. If someone gave you a check for $10,000, what would you do with it? Pay off my credit card bills or get a car. I hate hate hate not having a car when I am home all day, every day with the kiddos. I hate it! Did I say that I hate it???

4. What is your favorite body part? Eyes. I think you can tell a lot from people's eyes.

5. What household chore do you dread? Folding and putting away the laundry. Ew! Sometimes I will even turn the dryer back on just so I don't have to fold the clothes. Don't judge! I'm sure most of you have done that too!

6. Name something on your bucket list. I am going to be able to cross something off of my bucket list here in a few weeks—go horseback riding on the beach. But I would also love to go to the Galapagos Islands or Costa Rica.

7. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I would really like to have more patience.

8. What's your dream job? I'm living my dream job. I love being home with my kids and I am so so so lucky that I am able to do it.

9. How do you feel about Christmas cards? Are they getting to be an old tradition? I love them, especially photo cards! I think with the cost of stamps though and the ease of internet, a lot of people are forgoing mailing cards.

10. How are your new year's resolutions going? I don't make any.

11. What shampoo do you use? I never buy the same shampoo twice in a row. I just go to whatever bottle strikes my fancy.

Wordless Wednesday—Cruisin' Around

There is no stopping this boy! He is all over the place!

 And he is so inquisitive! He inspects everything!

Toddle Along Tuesday—Must Haves

When it comes to a must have item for the kiddos, I had one thing come to mind.

It's nothing crazy and I'm sure almost every household with kiddos has these all over the place.

My must have item right now are these:

 

Hannah, I swear, needs to have a constant flow of some sort of drink coming from her cups. This girl is always thirsty. Always! As soon as she finishes whatever is in her cup she is asking for more. Sometimes I think she lives on liquids because she sure as heck doesn't eat like she drinks. :o/ (Oh and the constant love for drinks makes diaper-free naps and bed time a breeze, let me tell you! Yeah, not so much.)

Colson is now drinking from these, as well, so we are in crazy sippy cup land.

Sometimes, I feel like I am drowning in these sippy cups because they are everywhere. Yet, at the same time we never seem to have enough. ???

How is that?

Maybe I need to wash them a bit more often?

Nah! I'll just buy more! :o)


Mommy's must have item?

ALONE TIME!

I hardly ever get it. Sometimes I want to go crazy. Sometimes I tell my husband I am going grocery shopping just so I can have a moment to myself.

Other times I prefer this:

Because let's face it:

See some other must haves over at Growing Up Geeky.

Master Bathroom

I have been in a mood lately...a mood to get things done.

Yesterday, I randomly decided to repaint our master bathroom.

Between taking things down and getting everything ready to paint, to actually painting, and then putting everything back up; it took the better part of the day.

But now its done and I'm glad I just got motivated and did it! The husband wasn't too happy that I decided to do it...on a Sunday...during football, but ah well!

I love the grey much more than the awful peach color that for some reason I thought was a good color choice when we originally painted the bathroom 3 years ago. :o/

before                                          after

I would like to get a new shower curtain. Something less graphic and more romantic but we'll get to that eventually. :o)

For now I am happy that I have gotten rid of the peach!

Our Weekend--Instagram Style

Little man.

Peanut Butter and chocolate covered bananas

Helping mommy paint the master bath.

Playing ball.

Playing with scrapbook paper and my new clear iPhone case.

Orange chicken. Yum!

8 inches of snow.

Relaxing with mom.

Two Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed

I can't even begin to tell you just how much I am in L.O.V.E. with these photos!

Their joy was contagious!

1st Birthday Photos

We took Colson to have his 1st birthday photos taken yesterday.

I was looking forward to getting some super cute photos--of just Colson...without his sister in the photo with him. This was the first time we scheduled a session just for him!

Sadly, I was less than happy with our session. I mean, the girl taking the photos took 4 photos of my kid crying (because I put him down). Why would you waste 4 of my 20 precious photos, on my kid crying. Seriously? Seriously???

And while I'm not into tons of corny props--it was for his birthday. The girl did nothing.

Don't get me wrong, we got some cute photos...it just felt like pulling teeth with the girl to get them. After looking at the first set she took, we finally just asked if she could take a few more to see if she could get some better ones...you know, of my kid NOT crying. :o/

Who knows...I might be done with this 'easy, take them to a store studio' crap because 1. I could have gotten these same photos (no props) at home or 2. we could have just had Amy come over to take some awesome photos of our little man.

I'm just bummed.

Anyways, here are the 'good' ones.

Colson's Birthday Party—Ideas

Colson's birthday party is inching ever closer and I am in full blown party planning mode!

Here are a few photos from Pinterest that I am using as inspiration:

Source: tonyastaab.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: laurenslatest.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: party.tipjunkie.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: foodgawker.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: wendyinflorida.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Linking up with The Vintage Apple!