sweater: old navy jeans: target rainboots: amazon
September 30, 2013
Apple Picking
September 29, 2013
Welcome
September 27, 2013
Words of Wisdom
I'm unbelievable excited to be off to spend a long weekend with this sweet niece and nephew, and the rest of my whole family. This will be the first time my sister gets to spend time with Addilyn and I am so excited for her to be with her Aunt Laurens and cousins. If you don't already follow me on instagram for pictures!
While I'm gone, today I have a sweet friend who is sharing some words of wisdom with me (and of course all of you). I love Preethi and her blog lace etc. She's become one of my good blogging friends. Plus she has adorable kids and a really cute sense of style.
Hello, For Lauren & Lauren readers! My name is Preethi, and I blog over at lace, etc. about style, vegetarian food, the occasional naptime-friendly DIY, and my generally-cute-but-occasionally-demonic kiddos (Nat, 2.5, and kina, 11 months). Katie is one of my oldest blogging friends, and she is just one of the sweetest, most sincere & lovely people on these old Interwebs. I count myself lucky that I've gotten to e-know her!
Ever the optimist, today I wanted to share some of my own personal mommy FAILS. Inspiring, right? ;) But you know what I do think? I think that we moms are generally way too hard on ourselves. Because we all fail. Moms fail, dads fail, kiddos fail. And our mistakes teach us to be better. But you know? I'm learning from each of them, and each of them has the very important role of actively teaching me to be a better mom every day.
So here are a few mommy fails with which I personally struggle, and what I'm learning from them:
1. YELLING: About a year ago, my son, Nat, started pretending to type on my laptop, even though he knew he wasn't supposed to play with it. As I went to stop him, I realized I was too late - he'd somehow broken the command key so that it was permanently pushed down. For those of you with Macs, you'll know this means that my computer thought that any time I pushed a key, I was making a command. For instance, whenever I pushed the letter "P," it thought I was trying to print. Letter "F" meant I was trying to find a word on the page.
I was...not the happiest I've ever been.
Which is a nice way of saying I kind of lost it. It had been a long and frustrating day and I admit - I yelled at my 2-year old for breaking my laptop.
I recognized a while later that I was the one who needed to be forgiven. I had acted poorly, far more poorly than he had. While his error was unintentional and driven by curiosity, mine was just me being a meanie.
Last week, we were hosting some little friends for our weekly coop preschool. My son really wanted the blue plate, but I told him that everyone would just get what they got. He started to have a little meltdown when he got the yellow one instead, and I wouldn't let him trade. We went to his room to cool down and I started to yell. But then. Then! Then I stopped myself. I crouched down and I gave him a hug. And he trusted me and looked in my eyes and hung onto my neck.
I'm obviously still not perfect. I clearly still started to yell.
I'm not there. But I'm getting better.
2. HURRYING:
"Hurry and get dressed so we can go to playgroup!"
"Hustle and finished eating so we can go to the park!"
"Hurry and go potty so we can go to bed!"
"Hustle and finished eating so we can go to the park!"
"Hurry and go potty so we can go to bed!"
I'm an east coaster through and through and I'm 98% sure I've said all these phrases (and more!) in the last week (at least). Lately, I've felt especially busy and in some ways, bogged down. I've been loving the summer and cramming in lots of fun activities, but then part of me thinks, isn't summer for rest? Being lazy? Is it really relaxing to rush to the pool...to relax? I read this article recently and it really touched a chord that I've been considering a lot lately. Should I really be "hustling" so much myself, and making my kids do the same? I really think we all would benefit a lot from me just taking the time to let my kiddos chat some more during meals, read one more book, and take their time to ask questions and tell stories as we stop on the landing of our stairs. If I take an extra 30 seconds to crouch down, look my son in the eyes and respectfully explain to him why he can't wear the too-small shoes on our walk, well, that's 30 extra seconds of loving, respectful interaction with my favorite little boy in the world.
So yesterday, as we were coming up the stairs, trying to get in the house for naps, I stopped. I laughed. On the STAIRS. Without ignoring or hustling or worrying.
I'm not there. But I'm getting better.
3. BEING DISTRACTED: I'm writing on my computer and also flipping over to check email. I'm glancing at Instagram in between reading a book with my kindle app while also folding laundry. I'm listening to my audiobook while making dinner and also trying to answer a phone call and field questions regarding Legos and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Women in general tend to multitask, and I epitomize that blessing/curse. It's rare that I'm only doing 3 things, much less one. My son, on the other hand, will spend a solid 20 minutes examining one book with about 10 pages, or take half an hour showing his sister how to cram all the toys in the washing machine (true story). My daughter will spend a quarter of an hour playing with her block train, or be equally content just sitting and looking at people and "chatting" with them.
A few days ago, I sat on the floor. I looked my kiddos in the eyes and chatted it up. I played some airplane, despite my usual "non-fun-mom" status. It was just for a little while, but I wasn't distracted.
I'm not there. But I'm getting better.
September 26, 2013
Wisest Kid in the World
September 25, 2013
My best idea yet
I know I mentioned this book before Addilyn was born, but I have to share how we used it because I'm pretty sure it's been my best idea in terms of baby projects or presents for Addilyn. The first time I read this book in Barnes and Noble I cried. You can partially blame it on hormones but it also is the sweetest book I've ever read.
We brought the book to the hospital, along with a permanent marker, so that visitors could write a note to Addilyn on the pages. The book is now filled with sweet messages from family and friends that love Addilyn so much!
My favorite part of the book is that we had the nurse put her footprints on the last page. I was quite impressed that in my post tramatic birthing state, I remembered to ask Chris to get the book out while they were doing her footprints.
Sadly a few of her toes started smudging so I bought some sealer spray and that has seemed to work! I'm so glad that we have this book. We already read it many nights before bed time and I still get teary eyed once in awhile. I get excited thinking about Addiyn being able to read and understand how many people were so excited to met her!
September 24, 2013
Things I'm bad at
top: old navy pants: loft sandals: target necklace: c/o choies.com
September 23, 2013
Chalkboard vase
If you thought these projects that I shared last week were easy, this was can beat it as it took less than five minutes. I found this old vase at Goodwill for less than $3.
I bought some chalkboard spray paint at Hobby Lobby for $4. I sprayed on one good coat and let it dry for a few hours. Then wrote on it with chalk and filled it will fall leaves.
And that's it! I love how it looks on our fireplace mantle and it cost less than $7. Plus I'm excited to use it for other holidays as I can wipe it off and write something else! Sorry for the poor quality phone picture. Someday I'll learn how to take good pictures with a real camera.
Happy happy Fall!
the pet tracker
Read more about my story with Pet Tracker here.
September 22, 2013
why you won't want to sleep at my house
September 19, 2013
Two months already
Dear Addilyn Jane,
It's hard to believe that you are already two months old. It's crazy to me how much you have changed this last month. You no longer seem like this little baby. You are SO long, which your daddy and I think is so funny since we are both pretty short. You haven't fit in newborn clothes for a few weeks and even some of your 0-3 month clothes don't fit. It makes me a little sad that you are growing so fast, but I also love it too.
You've become so alert and we love to play with you. It's been so much fun finding out what kind of things make you smile, which you do a lot! You love when we say "boo" to you or make noises with our lips. You just started loving looking at books and we can sit on the floor or bed and read for 15 minutes. You favorite book is "Peek a Who" and you laugh every time we read it. You also LOVE your stuffed animal pig, which you "talk" to for at least five minutes every morning.
The mornings are your favorite time of day, as you are so happy! We get the most smiles out of you right after you eat and we sit on the living room floor and talk and play. Bedtime has become another favorite part as we just started more of a bedtime routine. We sit in bed and read a few books and then pray together. Most of the time you are so content and happy.
You've been quite inconsistent with your sleeping during the day and at night this month. I thought I had it somewhat figured out and then you changed your mind! I'm guessing you will keep doing that for awhile! You have started sleeping longer stretches at night and while it's been inconsistent, those few longer nights of sleep have been great!
You got your first cold this month and it was sad to hear you coughing and sneezing. Thankfully it didn't last long. You also got your shots this month which I hated! You handled it like a champ and only cried for a few minutes.
We are pretty busy and find something to do most days. You've had a few play dates and made some new friends. We're excited for lots more play dates together!
I look at your one month picture and can't even believe how much bigger and different you look. Sometimes I get sad at how fast this time is going. I don't want you to grow up too fast, but I'm also excited for each new phase that you're going to go through.
September 18, 2013
The truth
The truth is that although unlikely, I was maybe hoping that after writing this post yesterday, some of you would tell me that I really am funny. Someone besides my mom and my sister. But no such luck. Good thing so many of you can at least relate and also wish you were funnier. Now thankfully there are some bloggers out that that really are funny. Like Karly.
Karly Kim's blog always makes me laugh, and is one of those bloggers like I was talking about who I'm envious of their humor. Like this post, which is when I realized we share a serious love of candy. Or this post which was by far the funniest "five things" post I read on Friday. And speaking of five things, Karly is sharing some of her top fives in life. Plus she's giving one of you a $50 gift card. Funny and generous? Yes she is.
Five things I have a passion for
1. Mouthwash - I truly believe the world would be a better place if everyone used it.
2. Underground rap battles
3. High heels
4. The person who invented eyeliner
5. Laughter
Five things I'd like to do before I die
1. Invent a new candy
2. Learn how to play the piano
3. Have a butler. Preferably Geoffrey from Fresh Prince if he's available.
4. Hoard pets
5. Leave the world a happier place.
Five reads I love
1. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
2. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
3. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
4. Bossypants by Tina Fey
5. My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler
1. Life is Beautiful
2. Mean Girls
3. The Notebook
4. Bad Boys 2
5. Grease
Five places I'd want to travel to
1. Des Moines, Iowa - because why not?
2. Phuket, Thailand
3. The Maldives
4. Curichiba, Brazil
5. New Jersey
Five things you'll learn from my blog
1. How to upset your neighbors
2. How to get cast on The Bachelorette
3. How to respond when someone calls you ugly
4. How to be serious
5. How to take too many pictures of yourself
Thanks Karly! If those five things you'll learn from her blog don't motivate you to go visit her, then I bet a chance to win a $50 giftcard to Sephora will. Enter below! :)
Thanks for entering! Winner will be contacted after the 24th!
September 17, 2013
Funnier
top: target (beach coverup) jeggings: jcpenney shoes: target
September 16, 2013
How to spell pumpkins and two super simple projects
I've finally done not one but two craft projects since Addilyn was born. Both super easy! The chalkboard one would've been even easier if I knew how to spell pumpkin.
yes. I plan on getting some pupkins this year.
Thank goodness it was easily fixed. I originally bought a chalkboard pen to use but it didn't work. Regular, cheap chalk worked so much better.
Next is the banner, which honestly took less than ten minutes.
Which is about the time Addilyn was entertained on her play mat next to me.
Here are the super simple directions.
All you need is some burlap, stickers, twine and sharp scissors.
Cut out 9 triangles (or however many you want.)
I realize that this is a terrible place to take pictures but I was a little stuck as this was next to me.
And we weren't going to waste anytime moving somewhere else.
Sew your triangles to your twine or rope. You could probably use a hot glue gun as well but with burlap, glue gets quite messy and it was easy to sew.
Then put your stickers on and hang it up. And that's it!