Pages

Pages

Saturday, May 31, 2014

This week

Almost a year and a half ago I decided to post a list of what I called "Daily Smiles" each week on my blog. I would jot something down each day that made me smile, whether it be Liam telling me that he loved me or seeing a bunny in our backyard. Forcing myself (willingly) to write something down each day made me stop and reflect on the simple, beautiful things that happen each day. 

Well...for Christmas this year my sister-in-law gave me a perpetual calendar where I write down a special tidbit or event from each day. It has become too time consuming for me to write a tidbit down in my perpetual calendar plus write it in my blog each day, so I've stopped adding Daily Smiles to this blog.

I thought of a more fun way to share the things that make me smile each week here on my blog - I'm going to start my Weekly Smiles. At the end of the week I will post some of my favorite moments via photographs. I take so many photos each week, on my Nikon, my iPhone and the iPad. So I figured, why not just download some photos and share them. It's fun for me and more visually stimulating for you.

And I'm changing it to weekly smiles instead of "daily" because, honestly, some days we don't even leave the house or the play/toy corner! I definitely smile at Liam and Chloe in the toy corner many times a day, but do you really want to see photos of Liam playing with Matchbox cars every day? And Chloe drooling on her play mat? And then there are some days when we actually get out and walk to the park or pick veggies from the garden and those days warrant more photos :) 


Finding time to blog has become a bit hard for me (toddler + newborn = not a ton of personal time). But blogging keeps me somewhat sane and I love doing it, so I'm going to try really hard to keep up with this.

So here it goes...my first Weekly Smiles...complete with photos and blurbs:


'Up north' at our cabin this past weekend my niece and nephew showed Liam how to fish...

Liam played nicely (most of the time) with his cousins...

Here are my niece and nephew splashing around in the lake. The water was about 40 degrees, but they didn't care at all! These are some true Wisconsin kids.

My niece turned 14!! How did that happen? I feel so freaking old. We celebrated 
with her at the cabin. Happy birthday, sweet Caroline :)

Matt and Liam sharing a moment. Makes my heart flutter.

I am obsessed with Chloe's little feet! I can't get enough of these cute toes. 
I already have a vast collection of Chloe Feet Photos :)

Our neighbor left a bottle of this by our back door this week. Who knew there
was a bottle of wine named after our kid!

I actually baked something. I found time! They are not from scratch (what. ever.) but they
were still yummy (yes, they're gone already).

Our perennials are finally blooming in our yard...

It was warm enough outside for Liam to play in his sandbox...

Chloe enjoyed the warm weather too. Although I'm a pretty paranoid mom
when it comes to keeping her warm, so she was still bundled up in a blanket.

We took a family trip to a local garden center (Caan Floral and Greenhouses) and bought some more perennials to add to the gardens in our front yard...

And I scored THESE at a rummage sale yesterday!! Liam, Chloe and I were out for a 
walk and came across some rummage sales in an alley nearby. And I found these
bad boys!! Can you tell I am excited? They are perfect for our kitchen and just the
right size for a small cup of coffee in the morning. And guess how much I scored them for?
$2 for the entire set!! And they're vintage Fire King

Lastly...we're chicken-sitting for our next-door neighbor this weekend. 
Look at what Matt found in their coop today? Fresh eggs...yeehaw!

And here's Matt putting them in their coop for the night. 
Note how Liam is intently watching his dad :)



Happy weekend to you all...

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Coffee, cookies and crayons

On any given weekday there are a number of things that happen pretty routinely in our home -- a dozen diapers changed, three meals and two snacks prepared and baths given before bedtime. And then there are the 'extra' things that we accomplish (if we're lucky), such as me writing this blog post :) I thought it'd be interesting to keep track, for one day, of the things that happen here at our house. I've listed them by number to make it less boring to read! So here it goes...


1
- trip to the dentist (Liam's first dentist appointment!)
- cup of coffee drank by me
- blanket/pillow fort built in living room
- one-month photo taken
- trip to the grocery store by Matt and Liam
- empty tube of diaper cream thrown in the garbage
- car seat re-installed in the car (after cleaning puke out of it from this weekend)
- card received in the mail for Chloe
- loaf of banana bread baked
- dishwasher filled up
- phone call to my mom
- prayer recited before bedtime

1 1/2
- cartoons watched by Liam

- kid baths
- toddler meltdowns
- colors of Play Dough played with
- kitty bowls filled with kitty food
- closets purged of old clothes 
- iPad games played by Liam
- sippy cups tossed across the kitchen floor
- magazines that came in the mail (HGTV and Parents!)
- hugs from Matt
- crayon drawings completed by Liam
- wonderful children that I got to spend the day with!

3
- cups of coffee drank by Matt
- "I love you mommy's" from Liam :)
- grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches made
- wet Liam diapers
- Liam outfit changes
- loads of laundry that SHOULD have been done but weren't :)

4
- infant meltdowns
- Chloe outfit changes
- amazing hugs from Liam
- bills paid online

5
- daffodils picked from our yard and placed in a vase
- Chloe poop diapers
- Chloe spit ups
- times the high chair was wiped down

5 1/4
- the time that I woke up this morning

6
- thank you notes written
- Chloe wet diapers
- amazing girlfriends that I spent time with at Crafty Club

6 3/4
- the time that Liam woke up this morning

7
- boogie wipes used (on various noses)

8
- books read to Liam

9
- cookies consumed (Liam and I shared them, it wasn't ALL me)
- nursings/breastfeeding sessions with Chloe

10
- things added to my Target shopping list
- the number of paper lantern squares (x2) that I folded during Crafty Club

________________________

Give Liam 5 minutes and this is what his play corner looks like...


Have a great Wednesday!

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Mr. & Mrs.

I'm a huge fan of putting together gift baskets. I think it's fun to find things that "fit" together when creating a basket. 

Well...my brother got engaged last weekend to his girlfriend Chris (congratulations you two!) so I put together a quick little basket for them today :) 

Somehow, in between nursing Chloe/changing diapers/wiping Liam's booger nose for the 100th time/etc, I found a bit of time to run to the grocery store this afternoon. I got everything I needed in one quick stop. I'm sure I could have found some better things to throw in the basket (had I gone to Target or Shopko) but I did the best I could perusing the grocery aisles...

What's a gift basket without beer and/or liquor?
Beer for my bro. Wine for Chris.

Every future bride needs a couple of these.

I attached some Post Its so she can bookmark things in the magazines that she likes.

Awwwwww.....do you get it???

 I wanted something pink to put in the basket. 
Strawberry yogurt pretzels did the trick.

Chris is a crazy good baker, so i thought it'd be fun to give her a recipe card with
a 'recipe for a happy marriage.' I know...totally corny, right? But seriously, these 
are the little things that Matt and I try to live by in our marriage,  and I wanted to share it with them.

When Matt and I got engaged over 8 years ago my mother-in-law had a little engagement party for
us with Matt's family. She bought these plates and I saved a bunch of them.  I dug a few out of
our 'wedding box' in our closet and stuck them in their basket.

Add a balloon, some heart napkins, etc and you have yourself a quick 
little engagement gift basket.