Around the House

Lately a little house has been providing hours of entertainment for my kids. Seriously, hours. Everyone that enters our house must first be shown the house by Connor. Got that? House within a house. It's amazing that such a simple thing could provide so much enjoyment. The thing is made of cardboard after all.

It's only been up a few days now and taken such a beating. Heck, it took a beating within minutes of being assembled. Hello child attempting to jump through the window! Everyday I have to go at it with tape. And everyday, practically every hour, it is in a different position in Connor's room.

 

As for the coloring, you would have thought the kids would have been all over that. In fact, Connor was begging for the markers. Once they were out, he had no interest. He watched while my brother and I colored the house...for an hour! Who knew it would be so fun to color a cardboard house?! My brother just told me today, I need to come back over so we can finish coloring the house. SO MUCH FUN. I'm not quite sure why, but it is.

This has made me realize that it is about time I start stalking craigslist for the perfect little play house for our backyard. I am thinking my kids would love it. Plus, I don't think this cardboard one can last too much longer with Connor around. He climbed up on the roof. I kid you not. The roof of a cardboard house!

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After coming across this article last year about mom's needing to be in more pictures with their kids, it hit close to home. Now I don't have many photos of me with the kids not because I am self conscious, but because I am the picture taker in the family. Thus it is hard to take pictures and be in them at the same time.

With it being the new year and all, it seems like all the cool kids out there are doing photo challenges on their blog. I decided it would be fun to do my own challenge of sorts. Every week of the year I am going to take a picture of me and the kids and post it on here.

So, in all our glory, here is the first (well, actually there are two) of many pictures to come of me with Connor and Isla:

Aunt Carli's Animal

The other day I was driving along and Connor starts telling me that he wants to go see the animals. What animals, I ask. The animals, he responds. Having no clue what he was talking about, I remembered that my sister-in-law was in town with her horse. It would be the perfect opportunity to see an animal.

When I asked Connor what kind of animal Aunt Carli had, he quickly said "giraffe" before changing his answer to horse. Even better, he now calls the horse "picker". Her name is Pic Aree. Though that one is my sis-in-law's fault given that she told him it was like picking your nose!

When we got out to the horse, Connor was really excited. And I think Isla was just following along and didn't know what was going on.

Once Carli got her horse out, it was Isla who was really excited. And Connor, he didn't want to be close. Isla actually tried putting her finger up the horse's nose!

Connor finally warmed up. At first he wouldn't pet her, but only poke her...oh little boys! Then he got to comb her hair and he was excited about that.

Then he asked to sit on her and Carli obliged. As Carli was holding Connor up there, Connor asked her to let him go. It was funny. But she did and he seemed fine.

Then it was Isla's turn. She was really excited, but then again, she had been excited about the horse the whole time.

Now for what you didn't see. It was hard trying to take pictures and keep track of the other kid at the same time. I put Isla down and she started eating mud on the ground...I don't even want to think about what was in it! And Connor was so full of energy that he didn't want to stay in one place and we didn't want him to get kicked by the horse. So I was basically holding on to his coat with one hand and taking pictures with the other. Fun times!

Actually, it was a lot of fun. I'm glad the kids got to see a horse up close. And I am glad both of them did so well and weren't scared. Connor is still talking about it. Isla, not so much...but I am sure she is dreaming about it!

 

{Recap} The Twelve Dates of Christmas

The twelve dates of Christmas was much more successful this year and I am convinced that was due to my planning ahead. Twelve dates in twenty-four days is a feat in itself. Add on top of that various Christmas parties and last minute shopping and things could get crazy fast. Thankfully nothing ever got crazy. It was just busy.

The real reason I think the twelve dates of Christmas was such a success was because at each date we were fully unplugged and fully engaged with each other and that really was fabulous. The other thing that made everything run smooth is I had all the dates planned in advance. That means, I picked when and where we were going. And if the date was at home, I had all the supplies stashed away somewhere and set up once the kids were in bed. No trying to make decisions as we went along.

I now present to you, our twelve dates of Christmas 2012:

Date 1: a breakfast date
Date 2: a wine & cheese night at home
Date 3: dinner out
Date 4: a game night at home
Date 5: dessert at home
Date 6: go cart rides
Date 7: a night out at the movies
Date 8: a coffee date
Date 9: dessert out
Date 10: coffee & chocolate at home
Date 11: a special day planned by Ian
Date 12: smores by the fire, in our house

And a few specifics about some of the dates.

We played checkers at home on game night. When we were dating, we used to go to Starbucks and play checkers almost every night. Apparently Ian has forgotten how to play because I kept majorly beating him.

The go cart rides were so freaking fun. It was freezing and we were the only people there. The guy let us go for what felt like forever. My cart was way faster than Ian's. We had a lot of fun hitting each other, even if the signs said not to. Oops. We aren't much for following rules anyway.

Our movie date was the first time we have watched an entire movie in the theaters since Connor has been born. We tried once when I was pregnant with Isla, but had to leave because I was having coughing attacks.

I was actually planning a date where we would leave town. Ian decided he wanted to plan a date and planned a day over in San Francisco for us. So that one worked out perfectly!

Our smores by the fire date never actually happened, and it was the one date I wanted to happen the most. Every time I scheduled for our fireplace to be inspected (we have never had it done) it would start pouring down rain around the time of my appointment and the guy would cancel. This happened three times. I guess it wasn't meant to be.


All in all, it was great fun. It helped to remind me how necessary it is to unplug and fully focus on my hubby from time to time. And, it inspired me to think outside the box when we do dates.

Teething Blankie & Safari Chimes {Nuby Product Review}

In my opinion, one of the things Nuby is really great at is their toys for babies. Not only are they fun, colorful and super affordable, but babies really like them! At least mine does. Now lets take a walk down memory lane. Waaayyyy back. Okay, it just seems like a long time ago. Really it was just a few months ago that this toddler of mine was a little baby who just laid there and played with her little Nuby baby toys. 

Teething Blankie 

The teething blankie really is more of a toy than a teether to me. Sure Isla put it in her mouth. She put it in her mouth a lot. But she seemed more interested in eating the ribbon pieces on it than chewing on the hard teething corners. She has always seemed to enjoy the gel filled or silicone teethers to the harder ones. Anyway, I think her favorite part of the blankie is that it crinkles and makes lots of noise. And this just proves how easily entertained Isla is! 

You can purchase the teething blankie at BuyBabyDirect and Walmart. 

Nuby Safari Chimes

The safari chimes has one of my favorite features in an infant toy; a built in hook. I am one of those moms, the ones that likes having their kids toys hooked on so they aren't dropped...or more realistically, thrown. This feature in and of itself makes this one of my more favored toys. I like that it can be clipped to the car seat or stroller and just be there for when we need it. No having to worry about finding a toy to entertain with. Add on top of that the fact that it makes a noise when it moves and that it is the perfect size to chomp on, makes it a winning combinations. 

The Nuby safari chimes come in three different characters. You can purchase it at Ideal Baby for $4.99. 

Want to see what I had to say about some of Nuby's other infant toys?

     * Softees Soft Silicone Teether

     * Flower Dumbbell Teether 

I did not receive any compensation for this post, although as part of the Nuby Mommy Blogger program I may receive items to sample or review. All opinions are my own and 100% honest. 

2013

Though I'm not one for resolutions, I am one that likes to live life with hope and anticipation. So 2013, this one is for you.


My prayer is that everyday I get to see the world through my children's eyes. That I will slow down with them and notice things I haven't noticed in years. That I will say no to things that waste my time and say yes to more precious memories with my family.

I hope to keep on purging my life of the unnecessary and focus on the necessary. I don't want stuff and clutter to hold me down. I want to be a better friend. I want to be a better wife. I want to be a better mother.

I want to continue to hope and pray for others in my life. Even though they may not know that I do, I really do weep with them. And I want this to be a year of break through for so many of them. Heck, I want this to be a year of breakthrough for me.

And really, I just want my plumbing fixed. I want to be able to flush toilet paper down my toilet again and have two fully functioning bathrooms again. And, fingers crossed, no more issues with the house.


2013, I know you will be an amazing year. I expect no less from you. I expect more good than bad. And I pray that when the bad does come, that I can give it to the Lord and keep perspective.

So 2013, here is to a year of fun at the park, family coffee dates, long walks, good food, disneyland, and maybe a trip abroad. It's going to be great.

Lately {in photos}

 

1. San Francisco

2. San Francisco - at the Scottish gift shop

3. Isla looking adorable in her owl beanie

4. Enjoying a riveting conversation between a rubber ducky and a train

5. Christmas Eve park fun

6. More park fun

7. Starbucks on Christmas day!

8. Cousin love

9. Little miss sassy pants

10. Enjoying a beautiful sunset on the road

11. Ice cream

12. Isla and her boyfriend

The amount of stuff we have been able to pack into this holiday season has been amazing. We have been having a great time seeing friends and family and getting out and doing some fun stuff on our own. More on that later, but for now enjoy the pics!