Not All Coffee Creamers

Are created equal

I recently discovered this...the hard way. The store I was at didn't carry my usual Coffee Mate creamer, so I picked up a bottle of the International Delight. HUGE MISTAKE! It tasted horrible. I ended up picking up more of my usual creamer to replace the disgusting creamer. I had a friend over and told her about the creamer situation (I am an interesting person to be around, I know.) and the same thing happened to her. Weird, right? I am thinking one of two things happened:

1. Coffee Mate is so good that every store in Modesto simultaneously (such a big word for me!) ran out of it
2. International Delight paid all the stores to conveniently run out of every other creamer to boost their sales

Okay, so I have a confession to make. When going to take the picture of the creamer bottles, I discovered that the gross creamer, International Delight, is actually sugar free. That is probably why it takes so freaking bad. Fake sweetener equals GROSS. But still, it is ruined for me. I have vowed myself to Coffee Mate forever. Kidding. Kind of.

And seriously, who writes an entire post on coffee creamer?!?

Thrifty Find

Normally if I want to go thrifting, its my mom who goes with me. These days I never go at it alone. Two kids in a thrift store just doesn't seem fun. So, when my mom comes to town, we thrift it up.

This past Sunday, Ian and I decided to take the kids to the Bay Area Discovery Museum in San Francisco. Then Ian heard about this crazy huge rummage sale in Oakland, so we decided to stop by on our way to San Francisco. It was pretty insane. Tons of people everywhere for blocks and blocks surrounding the building. Since strollers weren't allowed, I wore Isla and Ian wore Connor. Let me just say Connor wasn't exactly a willing participant in this stop. So, we didn't stay long. But we did stay long enough for me to know I want to go again next year. And long enough for me to find this...

A vintage port-a-crib that I paid only $2.50 for!!! It is so stinking cute. Sure, I didn't need it, but it was so cute I couldn't pass it up. And it is actually in really good condition. I cleaned the whole thing today and can't believe what good condition it is in. It doesn't need to be sanded down and re-done or anything. Score!

And here's a picture of Isla trying out my new cage find for her.

Oddly enough (and awesomely enough) the sheets I have for Connor's pack-n-play from Scotland (it is a different shape than the ones in the US) fit this mattress. It's like it was meant to be...

Now I get that technically this isn't supposed to be re-sold anymore. In fact, it stated on the port-a-crib that it was sold as a decoration and not for use as a crib or playpen. But I checked it over and this thing is solid. And adorable. Did I mention the cute factor already? For now, it has found a home in the kids playroom as, uh, a decoration...a decoration that a certain cute little girl can chill in from time to time.

Living Life Intentionally

Sometimes you've just got to hold babies during nap time, cause they are oh-so-snuggley!

As I've gotten older more mature, I've learned how I need to be intentional about life. I need to be intentional about the decisions I make. I need to be intentional about who I surround myself with (that deserves to be a post all of its own), I need to be intentional about what I do with my time, I need to be intentional about how I raise my children, I need to be intentional.

Right now in my life, time speaks more than money. I say this because I don't spend money like I used to. Of course, I don't make it like I used to. Five plus years ago, it was easy to tell what I valued. You could tell just by looking at me. I drove a nice car (heck, I cried when I got rid of that car to move to Scotland!), I carried nice purses, I wore nice clothes, I always needed the latest and greatest. It was a craving so large that it almost couldn't be satisfied. Seriously. I was out of control. Scotland broke me of all that. I remember how painful it was to be broken. But I am so thankful to have given up that obsession of materialism. Especially thankful that it happened before I had kids. I can only imagine what it would have been like transitioning into motherhood and breaking myself of extreme materialism. That would have been fun.

I think the biggest definition of who I am can be described in how I spend my time. Obviously motherhood is the biggest definition of who I am right now. I eat, sleep and breathe my kids. Heck, with an infant, one is lucky to get some sleep in there! But really, that is my current role in life and my time is showing that. One of the most important things in life to me that doesn't get as much time as it deserves is my relationship with Ian. We don't have the 24/7 time together like I have with our babies. But what I have discovered is we have to make the time we do have together count. Cut out distractions. Isla giving us our evenings back (she actually has a bedtime now) helps. Ian is the only person in the world I feel 100% comfortable around. I don't hide anything. He sees the true me just as I am. Now that is a relationship I value and want to keep.

Since becoming a mom, I've discovered how much I truly enjoy good, true friends. People who you can cut out the show with and really be yourself. People who know you haven't showered in days (that was my life after Connor was born. Second time around, I showered daily), that your house is a mess, that your toddler is ,well, a toddler. People that will pray for you when you are having a crappy day. People that will celebrate with you when your baby sleeps through the night. In turn, I want want to be intentional in how I treat these important people in my life. I want my actions toward them to show how much I truly value them.

In the end (heck, even today), I want people to be able to say, "She loved God, she loved her family, she loved her friends. She was fiercely loyal, was always willing to help. She was a prayer warrior." I'm living my life everyday, well most days anyway, intentionally with that goal in mind.

Oh Rain, How Connor (and I) Adore Thee

The way I have been blogging about rain lately makes me think back to my old blog posts about snow in Scotland. You can read about that here, here or here. 


It poured down rain for a few hours today. As soon as I heard the rain, I was excited. When I looked out the window to confirm what I was hearing, I was giddy. In honor of the occasion, I once again allowed Connor to go out and play in it. I swear that kid loves the rain just as much as his mama. And he played and played and played until his boots were full of water and his pants were soaked through. Even then, he still had to be forced to come back in the house. 

If only the rain would stick around for a few days in a row...this girl and her little boy can only dream!

What I Wore {six}

My dad suffered from temporary psychosis on Sunday and went a little crazy buying me stuff at MadeWell. I always feel awkward having people foot the bill for me, but it felt really nice to be pampered. Its been a long time since I've shelled out money on nice clothes for myself. So thanks dad for doing that!

It all started with the pants. I've been wanting some red skinny jeans for a while now, but haven't been able to find the perfect pair. While browsing in MadeWell, I found some in orange. And they fit perfect. Then my dad had the workers pick out a couple tops to match and I got two of them. Lastly, my dad was sold on this bag before I even saw it. Needless to say, I ended up getting it.

So here is my awesome new outfit, courtesy of my dad:

Sweater: MadeWell

Tank Top: Michael Stars

Jeans: MadeWell

Shoes: from Scotland

Purse: MadeWell

I am seriously in love with these jeans. I think I will be buying another pair in actual jean color to replace my skinny jeans that I've worn out. I wish I could wear orange pants every single day and not be judged for doing so because these pants are that comfortable.

Driving with Babies

Traveling any distance with two babies is no easy feat. I would like to hand it to my two little ones for both being on their best behavior while traveling today. Connor seems to have turned a corner lately and become easier to travel with. I think it is because he is more willing to play with his toys in the car. And I brought a whole bag of toys for him. He also likes to look at the trains along the side of the road. The only problem? He cries when the trains are gone! It's funny and sad all at the same time.

And Isla, well today she was content pretty much just sleeping and stopping to eat. She did get slightly fussy at one point. But that was it. Slightly fussy I can take.

After I hit the road this morning, it occurred to me that it would be the biggest pain ever for me to stop and go the bathroom somewhere by myself, with both kids. After thinking it over, I decided it would be best to stop at a Starbucks where they have those bathrooms that are an entire room and not just a stall. The only problem was there wasn't a changing table to change the kids. So, I ended up putting something on the ground and changing them there. Not the best, but it worked. What I didn't think about was how I would carry my drink to the car while also holding Connor's hand and carrying Isla. It was difficult and Connor may have gotten a small amount of coffee on his head, but we made it. About halfway to the car I considered ditching my drink. It was that hard of a walk! And you know what sucked? Once I got the kids in the car and took a drink of my coffee, it tasted horrible. But I wasn't about to take it back in and complain. Oh well. At least I was able to go to the bathroom.

The last crazy thing that happened (but was really the first, if we went in chronological order) was it was snowing hardcore on the grapevine (the mountain range between southern California and central California). The kids were asleep when I was driving through it which was kind of a blessing given that it allowed me to concentrate, yet a bummer that Connor didn't get to see the snow. And even though it is a little nerve wracking to drive in conditions like that, it was fun to see it snow.

After a long day of traveling and a long few days of being away from home and Ian, I arrived home to a beautiful bouquet of flowers. What a sweet man that Ian is. And I unwounded from the trip by taking a bath, drinking a glass of wine and forcing Ian to sit there and talk to me while I relaxed...pure bliss.

The Los Angeles Zoo

It's been a while since Connor's been to a zoo. In fact, I am pretty sure certain he doesn't even remember it. It was when he was 5 months old. We went to the London Zoo. Anyway, the kids and I are in LA for my aunt's 60th birthday and decided to head to the zoo.

Besides the sticker shock of paying to get in the zoo, and having to pay almost as much for a 2 year old as an adult, it was a good few hours. The zoo seems nice and new. Unfortunately there were two large sections closed for construction. One of those sections included a train. Bummer. Connor would have loved that. Maybe it was just because of some stuff being closed, but the zoo did seem rather small.

 The stinky, yet beautiful, pink flamingos

Connor checking out the gorillas

Anyway, I am pretty sure the highlight of the zoo for Connor was the carousel. In fact, we were duped into paying for it twice. Thankfully, you only have to pay for the kid and the adult rides free...and it was semi-cheap. Before the second ride, Connor decided to throw his token to ride the carousel. Thankfully the workers said that happens all the time and still let him ride.

And Isla? She pretty much spent her first zoo adventure sucking on her hands and wrist! Glad she enjoyed it.