Monday, December 27, 2010

The Great SPACE Debate.


This is my second guest blogger since I started this little blog of mine!!

I heart Jenny more than wine and chocolate. AND that is a lot! We have become Twitter friends and my go to for advice when it comes to babies. We have little guys about a month apart. I was thrilled when she said she would guest blog for me because I think she is one smart mama, as well as a great business woman!
Check out the super adorable shoes she makes for babies and kids and give her some love on this post!

The Great Space Debate!
I remember thinking back after my first daughter was born about when to have the next one. I enjoyed having her all to myself so much - it was a tough call, but I guess God decided for us and BAM, a second little girl and 19 months from her older sister. Fast forward to the future and 9 years after I had my very first daughter and I am at it all over again – he just turned 1. I think I’ve seen both sides pretty well – so call me an “expert” on the subject. HA!
So the great space debate…Have them close together or far apart? I’ve got both going on here and I seriously cannot even decide which is better, so let me weigh your options for you and YOU can make the decision on what is best for you. My first two babies were 19 months apart. When my first daughter Rose was 10 months old, I was knocked up again. Which, for me, equals sheer exhaustion, pukiness, the crankies, etc. And it also meant carrying around 2 babies (one on the front and one in my arms) – until Rose FINALLY decided to walk at 16 months (and at that point I was 6 months preggo). I’ve always harbored some guilt because I felt like I jipped Rose out of being an amazing parent to her only for a couple of years, since I felt like crap and couldn't really function to my fullest {Martha Stewart} potential. On top of all that, life was just a giant cluster-eff and I fell into depression while pregnant with Ella. Which meant more doctor visits and B 12 shots weekly. I don’t remember too much of that pregnancy and that part of Rose’s life (the whoa-is-me part will end shortly, I promise). Fast forward to Ella’s birth – a great birth and a great baby. So easy going, so mellow, so go-with-the-flow – a dream really! But again, they will ask questions of their childhood and I feel like I have no recollection of it. No joke - I remember cancelling my Martha Stewart Living subscription because it would come every month, mocking me, and it destroyed me that I just didn’t have the time to do any of it. It wasn’t until Ella was able to interact with Rose and they could “play” together – at about 18 months. They were able to pre-occupy each other for longer bits of time giving me a chance to get something done, here and there.
But I will have you know that when both kiddos can talk – they will. And the demands will start, and won’t stop until they can do for themselves. And that is when I REALLY wanted to pull my hair out. Then there’s the mommy guilt from not giving the second sibling extra attention too. You just can’t split yourself into two people – so guess who gets all the guilt? *I’m raising my hand high in the sky*
Fast, Fast, Fast forward to just over 7 years after Ella was born and I’ve got two independent girls who are in school full time, who can get themselves dressed and get their own breakfast. Who require more emotional maintenance then they do physical and I’m back at square one, and with a boy no-less..changing diapers and dealing with the physical demands of boy baby-hood (those of you with boys – Get what I mean here!). Once again second guessing myself (it doesn’t stop just because you’ve had kiddos before – I think we will always do this as moms), deprived of sleep, poo on my fingers and sweet potatoes in my hair. But this time I feel blessed to have spent so much one on one time with Oscar for his first year. When I say one on one, I don’t mean Rose and Ella aren’t in the picture, it’s just different. The demands of a infant/toddler are way different than a pre-pubescent girl (Lord, help me!). That, and the girls LOVE to help – when they are around they would do anything for that little guy. It’s like he has 3 mommies. Is this route easier? Maybe, in the beginning it is instant gratification. Will it be easier when he is a full blown toddler or even at the age of 4 or 5, when he is home with me, doesn’t nap and will have ONLY me to entertain him since his waaaay older sisters are at school? Probably not! (Lord, help me again!)
So what is the right time? I guess you trade problems for problems with either option. But obviously I survived and am here to share my story with you. And in the end I am sooooo blessed to have 3 gorgeous, healthy, happy kiddos – so I must’ve done something right.
What did you decide to do? Or what are you contemplating doing? Any thoughts on my story?

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Cookies and Milk For Santa.

Late last night we put out cookies, milk and a note for Santa from Baby D.
It was quiet and B and I sat together on the couch looking at the plate of cookies, knowing good and well we needed to eat them! After all, he would know that Santa hadn't been to our house if the cookies were still there!
Um, hello! He is 11 months old! He has no flippin clue!

We ate them anyway, downed the milk and sat back and looked at the fireplace and wondered what next year would be like. We will have an almost 2 year old who just might understand what Christmas means and what Santa might bring. The joy in his eyes when he sees presents under the tree for him! The traditions we will start that will be filed in the memory bank for a lifetime.
We also realized we will have to eat a lot of cookies FOR MANY YEARS!

This morning Baby D discovered that all the cookies were gone and Santa left a letter for him.
Santa, or mom and dad, need to get their ass to the gym after devouring all the cookies!

Merry Christmas friends!
xoxo


Thursday, December 23, 2010

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree.

It's Christmas time in our little humble abode! This is my favorite holiday and I go ALL OUT every year. As I was growing up, my mom did the same. There was not a shortage of Christmas spirit in our house. Our house was lit up like the Griswalds. Well, maybe short a few strands of lights, but it was lit up!
We now have a baby and wow do things change.

Adding a baby to the family last January means that I have a little guy that is all over the place! And a little guy that has little hands that like to grab!

This year I decided I didn't want to mess with a big tree, worry about ornaments being broken, a tree knocked over and most off all I didn't want a freakin baby gate around my tree. Our place is SMALL and add a baby gate around a tree and we are talking claustrophobic.
So I dug out our small little "Charlie Brown" tree, as I so lovingly call it, and fluffed it up and made it a tree for Baby D!
I bought cheap, soft ornaments at Target and covered the tree with them in case we had a tree incident! I also had a few ornaments I bought when we found out we were having a baby.
I love owls and D's nursery is owl themed so there are a few of those on the tree, as well!

I will always have a tree for Baby D and any other kids we have. I love this tradition and want to keep it around for as long as they think it is cool! I am guessing the teen years will be hard to sell!

Baby D and his tree.



We called Baby D "The Peach" until he was born. I read Baby Center and The Bump while pregnant, and they always compared the baby week to week to fruits and veggies. I could never keep up with what he was from week to week so I went with "The Peach" from week 16 to week 40!


Target finds.



We all know and love Emily from Uff Da Designs. She makes super adorbs headbands, hats, and clips.
I was so excited when she agreed to make a little owl for Baby D!

More owl finds.
The little red owl on the left I found on Etsy.
The one in the middle was from Target in their big bin of cheap ornaments. I think this guy was a dolla! Holla!
The owl on the right was made by Robin also on Etsy.



Baby D got Elf on the Shelf for Christmas. I am so stoked to do this next year.



We are now in Texas and my mom decided she wanted to put up a big tree for the baby.
Guess who is distracting said baby from tree?
Not me!

Merry Christmas friends!
xoxo

Friday, December 17, 2010

Go Elf Yourself.

Ok, I admit it I love a good cheesy holiday tradition.
This one is too good to pass up every year!

Every Christmas I go Elf Myself. And every year I laugh uncontrollably at the little elf sporting my mug dancing around to ridiculous music. It is little things in life!

This year we added a little face to our tradition.

I present our family that went and Elfed ourself. Typing this brings the LOL's! (Perhaps the glasses of wine consumed tonight.)

Merry Christmas from California!


Thursday, December 16, 2010

My Kid Rocked Santa's Lap.

We went to see Santa AGAIN today.
After our first attempt at 'sitting on Santa's lap in hopes of not having a meltdown' was foiled due to a massive line and wait time on Sunday, we wised up and went on a weekday morning.
And guess what...NOT A SINGLE PERSON IN LINE! So rad!

I couldn't believe it. This never happens. There are always a bazillion people waiting in line with their cranky, over tired, bored out of their minds kids and today, well today there was not a single one of them.
We walked right up to the front of the line like we owned the joint, pulled Baby D out of the stroller, plopped him on St. Nick's lap and bam...6 photos, no tears!
No smiles, either, but again no tears! I take what I can get these days.

We now own 6 photos of our baby's first Santa Lap experience. He rocked it!
But....we shall see what next year brings when he wises up and knows that all mom really wants are some good Santa pictures for a photo album, and he will do whatever it takes to maybe ruin that in hopes of getting bribed into something he wants!



Getting squirmy.....

and he's done.....

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Wordless Wednesday. Best Friends.

Winner of Ellia C Naturals Products! Woot!


The winner of the giveaway for the super fabulous Ellia C. Naturals products is Heather!
Congrats mama! You are going to love these products.

Thank you everyone for entering. My first giveaway was a success!
Don't forget to go over to Ellia C. Naturals and check out all the yummy stuff she has for mamas and babies. There are lots of great things for Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers, as well!






Heather 1 day agoAnd lemon lavender merengue sounds just like me!!


Monday, December 6, 2010

9 Month Photos


We were lucky enough to have Tyler, from The Mill Photography Studio in Austin, take Baby D's 9 month pictures at Laguna Gloria. He took our wedding pictures 2 years ago so it was only fitting to have him take D's 9 month photos.

I still can't believe 9 months has come and gone! Planning for a birthday party in January, which is right around the corner, has got me all kinds of emotional. I am so excited for the 1 year old phase, but so sad that I won't have a little baby anymore!

Here is Baby D at 9 Months.
He will ALWAYS be my baby.








Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Bachelorette PAR-TAY Recap Plus My First Giveaway!

Some of you may or may not know that I was in charge of planning the most kick ass bachelorette party for a dear friend a few weekends ago in Austin, Texas.


AND some of you may or may not know that I STRESSED over this. I mean, like hard core, stressin'! Like that stressing you do when you have to take a final in college. OR the stressing you do when you are trying to pull together the right outfit for a first date (at least I did!) OR that stressing you do when you pee on a stick in hopes that you see two lines. Yes, that kind of stress! That was me all rolled into one big bundle of nervous energy and it was not pretty.

I wanted the bachelorette party night to be perfect for her and I wanted it to be memorable. My bachelorette party was awesome and one weekend I will never forget. I wanted the same for my friend. She deserved it! She has been through some really tough times in life and this was the least I could do for her. No pressure, right?!? Right!

While I loved the whole details process of this planing, the rest I could have done without. I lost too much sleep over this! My skin started to look like that of a 13 year old going through puberty. Not a good look! I got very sick and had to postpone my flight a day thanks to a flu bug. I dreamt of a failed bachelorette party where 2 people backed out at the last minute. Oh wait....that really happened!
***Common courtesy ladies, don't flake out unless it is a dire emergency! And if you do flake maybe offer to chip in and pay for some part of the day. After all you were factored into the cost! Am I wrong in asking for this? (One girl did offer to help pay for the spa which was a nice gesture.)***

In a perfect world the day went off without a hitch, everyone had fun, and no one complained but we all know good and well a perfect life does not exist. Especially when you are dealing with girls and their various personalities! I spent too much time driving around Austin looking for a blow up penis and glow in the dark straws all because ONE girl insisted we have this because "it isn't a bachelorette party with out a penis!" Really???? That's funny because last time I checked no one really liked wearing a giant penis hat on their head while. Nothing screams bachelorette party like a giant penis. The "bride to be" sash and black boa were enough for the bride. Add a penis to the head and we have a not so thrilled bride to be!

Despite all of the complaining I am doing here, I did have a lot of fun. I was determined to make the most of the day, regardless of all the glitches along the way. I had lots of champagne and that numbed the pain of looking at a penis on my best friends head!

The highlight of my party planning was picking party treats for each girl!
I love Ellia C Naturals products and I was so excited to team up with Jennifer for the party favors! Jennifer is so sweet and so talented and I was happy to work with her.
I decided on a Soap Pop and 2 Tub Tea Party Favors for each girl. You all have no idea how super fabulous these treats are! They smell so good and leave your skin feeling so soft. I love my soap pop! Not only is it super cute but the smell lingers in your bathroom and smells like a spa!
These were a hit with the girls and were the perfect gift since we had gone to the spa earlier that day.

Ellia C. Naturals Soap Pop and Tub Tea Bag Favors.

Jennifer is kind enough to offer one of my readers the same treats pictured above! This is my very first giveaway and I am so excited to share this with you all and even more excited that it is Ellia C. Naturals products that I am giving away. You will love these. Guaranteed!

One winner will receive:
- A Lemon Lavender Soap Pop
- 2-pk of Lemon Lavender Herbal Tub Tea
- A trial size of Lemon Lavender Mama Meringue which is very nourishing for dry, winter skin.

All you have to do is:
-Go here and tell me what other Ellia C. Naturals products you would love to have.
-Like Ellia C.Naturals on Facebook.
-Follow Ellia C. Naturals on Twitter.
-Follow my blog via Google Friend Connect.
Each of these count as an entry so be sure you have 4 different comments if you do all 3. Please include your email, as well, so I know how to let you know you won!

The winner will be chosen on Wednesday, December 8th.
Good luck and get to entering. These products are A-MAZING!

*I payed for the bachelorette party gifts and was not compensated in anyway for this review or giveaway. This review is my honest opinion. I love these products!*

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Giving Thanks.

As we celebrated Thanksgiving Thursday, I looked back on the year and all that I am thankful for.
What a year this has been and what a difference a year makes.

7 months pregnant.


And now we have a 10 month old baby to add to the dinner table!


It has been an amazing year for our family that started with the birth of Baby D in January. Being a parent has been such a blessing and has made me thankful for every single day I have with him. I am forever grateful for my family and friends who have helped me through this tough road we call parenthood. I have hit a few bumps along the way but without their help I would have never been able to look back on the past year and count my blessing, big and small.

I am thankful for the many friends I have made on Twitter. It seems so odd to say that I have "friends" on the Internet, but I really do. I consider some of the mama's I have met on Twitter some good friends. In fact, I would rather spend time with some of them over my IRL friends! That is nuts, I know, but so so true. Many have helped me through some tough times and they don't even know it. They have given me advice when I needed it most and have helped me to see different sides to parenting. All have been helpful in some way and for that I will forever be thankful.

Thursday we sat at our family table and ate our turkey, ham, green bean and potato casseroles, and rolls I was able to say that I am thankful for EVERY SINGLE THING that has happened this year, good or bad. Every occurrence is a learning experience and the only way to grow is to learn from each experience and take away something positive from it. That is just what I vowed to do. Take all that comes my way and make the most of it.

I hope y'all had a Happy Thanksgiving with friends and family and counted your blessings.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Things I Love This Week. Turkey Day Edition.

All I have been reading, seeing, and hearing is Christmas talk! Poor Thanksgiving gets the shaft every year! Come one people. How can you skip over a holiday that allows you to eat ridiculous amounts of turkey, dressing AND stuffing and then take a nap afterwards? This is a dream to me!

I love Thanksgiving and I WILL NOT let the holiday get swept under the rug by Christmas which is like SIX WEEKS AWAY!
So this week I show some love to Turkey Day (a bit early because you have to plan and such) and all it's glory!

Things I Love. Turkey Style!


This would be perfect for a kids table, too. We always had so many family members at Thanksgiving that the kids got their own table!


With the acorns sold in the shop you can make these.
You could, I probably couldn't therefore I would BUY these!


Two birds, one stone! (No pun intended!)







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