Life Lately . . . .

I got these jeans at JCPenney last month and after a $10 coupon they were only $7. You can't tell but they have little zippers by the ankles and are perfectly stretchy and comfortable. I love them!

Both kids have been sick the last few days and it hasn't felt like very long since we just got over the stomach flu.  I am very ready for Winter and germs to be over!

The weather lately has been warmer than normal and we even got outside a few times.  Everything is a huge mud fest, but Addi didn't mind.  Thankfully she has some pretty mild puddle jumping, which I'm sure will change come Spring.

I don't think I could ever have too many garlands, and love finding places to put them in our new house.  This is in our kitchen and the chalkboard is one of my favorite things to decorate.  I made this garland last year, and loved putting out some Valentine Day decorations.

My friend bought me this mug for Christmas and I love it.  

Addi is still in her crib and I think she'd stay there forever, but I'm guessing it's time we switch her to a bed.  I've been looking for new bedding for her and am excited to decorate her room with a big girl bed! I want this comforter from Simons!!

I can hardly handle Molly and Isaac's relationship.  I need to do a post with the millions of pictures I have of the two of them.  Isaac is constantly hugging Molly, laughing at her and loving on her. We could not have gotten luckier with a better dog for our kids.  It makes me so happy! 

Five on Friday

 top: c/o shein   jeans: old navy   boots: justfab 

1.  I love the tassels on this top and it's only $14!  I didn't realize until I'm writing this that they match my shoes. Too much tassel perhaps?

2.  I started working on a video with pictures and videos of Isaac's first year and need some song suggestions.  I have thousands of pictures so need at least a few.  Or six.  Let me know some good ones!

3.  I found some shutters at an antique shop a few months ago and finally spray painted them this week and hung them on my wall.  I'm going for something like this and really want to buy that gather sign.

4.  Addi turned three and a half last weekend and I can't believe that she will be four this summer, and that I will have a four year old and a one year old.  Time goes by so quickly!

5.  You'd probably never know that I own any other jeans besides these because I don't wear any other. I should probably just get rid of all of my other pairs.

Happy Friday! I hope you have a great weekend!

2017 Goals

I'm pretty sure each year for the last many I've come up with a word for the year.  Honestly I have barely even thought about it for this year.  I have been feeling like I am not giving myself time or putting the energy into processing things or trying to think about what God is teaching me and I'd like to change that.  So maybe a word for the year will come, or I'll leave it with just some goals for the year . . . . 

Drink more water & work out a few times a week.  I am terrible at drinking water and I know that'd make a big difference in my headaches, how I feel and just better for me.  I am ready to get back into a workout routine and am determined to be consistent with it.  

Lower my expectations & be more content.  Sometimes I think that I assume everyone is out there having playdates and coffee dates and date nights and I'm home alone, only having conversations with a three year old and baby.  I think it's so easy think that everyone else is busy and having these great days, and you're stuck at home lonely.  I'm learning to be more content with just being home with the kids, and lowering my expectations of how "busy" my week should look like.  I'm so grateful I get to stay home with my babies, and even though it can feel lonely, I want to continually remind myself what a blessing it is that I get to be home with them.  

Figure out what makes me happy and recharges me and do it more.  A lot of the time when I get alone time when the kids are napping or sleeping I choose to watch tv, sit on my computer or scroll through my phone.  I feel like this is relaxing to me and I do enjoy it, but I think I've forgotten that sometimes the things that actually recharge me and make me happy require a little more energy but give a whole lot more once I do them.  Things like reading a book, working on a house project or making a craft or project.  Those things are much more fulfilling, and although when I'm tired and just want to zone out tv seems more appealing, I want to choose those others more.  It may make me a little more tired, but I think it will make me happier and more fulfilled.  

Be more intentional with my time with Chris.  Similar to above it's so easy for us to just sit on the couch and watch tv.  It feels hard to play a game, sit and talk or work on a project together. But I know those things would be so good for our marriage and in a season where so much is about our kids, I know it'd be beneficial to spend more quality time together.

What are some goals you're working on in 2017?

Late to the game

sweater: c/o shein

I think I'm a little late to the lace up sweater look, but I just got this one and I love it.  It is soft and comfortable and I love it with jeans and booties.  Also, Chris complimented me on it, which he has many many plusses, but complimenting my outfits or noticing something new is not one of them. So this must be a keeper!

Winter Uniform

 top:  c/o shein   jeans: old navy   booties: white plum

This Fall and Winter my most common outfit is a tucked in longer shirt, jeans and booties.  These Old Navy jeans are my favorite and I wish I had exact same pair in a lighter color and in black. I got them after Addi was born and can't seem to find the same style.  This top is from last year, but here are some other options that would be perfect with jeans and booties:

one // two // three four // five  
Do you have a favorite winter item?  If I'm not in yoga pants and leggings, there's a 90% chance I'm wearing those jeans.  

Ten Months

Dear Isaac - 

Ten months old!! Crazy to think you are so close to being a one year old.  I keep finding myself looking at your baby pictures and reading your birth story and crying! How are you so old and how does time go so quickly? I'd give anything to go back to the day you were born and hold your 8 pound self again.  

You are starting to feel less like a baby and more like a little boy.  Your face has always looked a little older to me, but this month you've starting seeming older.  You have such a sweet personality. Happy, affectionate, and so sweet.  You are constantly giving me hugs and kisses.  Your kisses are quite aggressive, banging your mouth against mine, but I still love them.  

Molly is still your favorite and it is so sweet.  You wrap your arms around her neck and say "awww." You climb all over her, feed her all the time and get so excited when you see her.  

You still hate it when I change your diaper or your clothes.  You still don't love your car seat either. You started climbing out of your highchair, and we lost the straps when Addi was little, so we need to get that figured out!  

You love fruit, yogurt, and baby snacks like those little cheetos and yogurt melts.  You get so mad when they are gone.  You want to eat everything we eat and get so frustrated when you can't drink out of all of our cups.  

You do great taking a bottle and going down when mama is gone.  You go down for naps fine too, and naps are finally better and more predictable, often lasting about an hour for both.  Your night sleep still stinks, up two or three times a night. 

This month you celebrated your first Christmas and it was so fun.  You loved playing with the wrapping paper and tissue paper and were so happy just crawling around everyone's presents. We got you this little dinosaur thing that sings and you put "food" in it's mouth and you love it.  

You are getting so strong! You can stand on your own for a few sections and you get so excited, put your arms high in the air and your hand back and then you fall over.  I feel like you will probably be walking next month.  I can't even imagine you're tiny little self running around. 

You love hiding behind the curtains and get unbelievably excited that your arms and body shake and you laugh so hard.  It is impossible to not laugh watching you.  Everyone comments about what a happy baby you and we are so lucky for that! 

We love you so much Isaac Jordan! 

Love, 

your mama

"I'm over this.  Here Molly."

A look back at 2016

In January we had our maternity pictures taken.  I am SO glad we spent the money to have these done and will forever cherish them.  It's crazy how little Addi looks a year ago! Addi turned two and a half and continued to be hilarious, sweet and clever.  Chris and I had a night away before Isaac was born, and my belly kept on growing as we anxiously awaited our baby boy! 

In February I wrote a letter  to Isaac before he was born, and I have hard time now remembering what it was like without him in here.  I had my 39 week doctor appointment and it looked like I was measuring quite ahead. We discussed inducing and had an ultrasound to check, and with only being dilated a centimeter my doctor didn't think he'd be coming on his own in the next week or so.  Isaac's crib and room was ready as we waited for him to come! Isaac Jordan Vale surprised us and came a week early all on his own.  His labor was perfect and he was just the best gift ever.

In March we started adjusting to our life as a family of four.  I shared the rest of our maternity pictures, and we had Isaac's newborn pictures taken.  I held Isaac all the time.  In the carrier most of the time, on my chest whenever Addi was sleeping and soaked up every second I could.  I ate a million mini cadbury cream eggs surrounding Easter and way too long after.  I shared Isaac's birth story and would do anything to relive that day again.  

I spent most of April being incredibly tired and learned to function on very little sleep.  Adjusting to life with two kids felt mostly manageable at the beginning, but was I completely exhausted.  I shared Isaac's newborn pictures and he is just the cutest thing in the world.  I wrote a post about being a second time mom, and how somethings were a lot easier but some just as hard. 

In May Chris and I celebrated eleven years of marriage.  Addi continued to say hilarious things and my Addi says what posts continued to be a favorite.  I wrote about being a "boy mom" and will probably forever be learning how to let go of my own agenda when it comes to motherhood. I celebrated another Mother's Day and will forever be so grateful that God gave me that role. 

In June we went on a vacation with my family and it was so much fun, although Isaac hardly slept and I felt like a total dud.  We did have a good time and it was great spending all that time together. Isaac turned three months old and he continued to be laid back and felt like he fit perfectly in our family.  

In July our sweet girl turned THREE!  We celebrated with donuts at the park with friends and then an ice cream party with our family.  It was so fun celebrating her and seeing her excitement for her birthday this year.   I shared about how I felt like being a mom to two got harder the older Isaac got and was struggling with figuring out how to be a mom to both and felt anxious for any kind of routine.  We celebrated the fourth of July and Addi saw fireworks for the first time.  

In August Isaac turned six months and I couldn't believe he'd already been here for half a year! We had some great summer weekends as a family, and I attempted to get some kind of workout routine started.  The biggest news this summer was that we bought a new house! It came out of nowhere and wasn't what we were planning, but was just great, exciting news! 

In September Addi started preschool and we had a rough month or so with drop offs.  I hated that she cried a lot when I left and felt anxious for her to do better.  We moved into our house at the end of August, and got settled in pretty quickly and LOVED our new space.  Isaac had so many firsts this month.  Sitting up on his own, swinging, a haircut and started to crawl!  

In October we went to the pumpkin patch and it made me so excited for all our traditions as a family of four.  I got a new haircut and started feeling like I could get dressed in real clothes and feel more put together more often.  I loved decorating our new house for Fall and was so thankful for nice weather, as we continued to spend so much time outside.  We had a great Halloween and it was so much fun with both kids! 

I shared our Halloween pictures and about how much fun that weekend was!  In November,  I attempted to put Isaac in a pumpkin and he was not having it!  I turned 32 and celebrated my birthday with my family and didn't write a thing about it until two months later.  Opps.  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, which I just realize I never shared about either.  Clearly this month was not my month for blogging!  My sister and I ran a 5K Thanksgiving morning and I love that tradition.  We got our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, which will forever be my favorite tradition. 

In December we had a fun big snow storms and we loved watching from inside our house, and Addi loved playing in it.  Isaac turned nine months old and continued to be the happiest, sweetest baby that still stinks at sleeping.  My sister had a hot chocolate party again this year and it was so much fun. Chris had a fancy work Christmas party and I got to dress up in a sparkly dress, and we had a great time!  I finally wrote about my birthday and some things I'm good at and areas I need to work on. We had a great Christmas Eve and Christmas day and are so for our families all being close by to celebrate with. 
2016 was a year full of a lot of blessings for us.  Our sweet Isaac was born and we moved into a beautiful new house.  I am so thankful for this last year and all that God has given us.  2017 welcomed our family with the stomach flu, but I am sure the year will be filled with many wonderful things.  Happy New Year!

Bedroom Makeover

I've LOVED decorating our new place and pretty quickly got things up and on the walls and felt like it was "our" house soon after moving in.  I love thinking of how I want to design a space and really enjoy looking for things and putting spaces together.  Our bedroom is one place that doesn't have a ton up, and I haven't had any set ideas of how I wanted it decorated.  I was excited when Kelly contacted me asking if I wanted any help with designing our new place.  I've known Kelly for a few years thanks to the blogging world, and was so excited for her when started her own interior design company, KB Design Interior.  Kelly will help you come up with a complete makeover for any room you're looking to update.  I sent her some pictures of my bedroom and she sent me a list of questions to fill out, including my design style, colors I like, any specifics I wanted for our room, etc.  I knew eventually I want the room to be painted grey and want to make a wooden headboard behind our bed, and that I'd love a bench and chair in the room somewhere!  She asked me a few other questions and within a few days emailed me a mood board: 

Here are Kelly's notes from her mood board: 

top row: curtains. I got these from ikea and love them. They have to be hemmed though. but they're great quality. I recommend 1-2 inches longer than floor length. I"d get these for all windows in the room., a blanket ladder for by the old door and behind the new chair, a fake plant (unless you can keep them alive....I can't!) for the corner to the left of the bed (if you're standing at the foot of the bed), and a vintage style old mirror that I love. I wasn't sure if you need one that you can see in better. in that case, I put one of those on here too. Either one would go to the right of the upright dresser. and matching lamps for the side tables of the bed

second row: a rug to place under your bed. I'd get it large enough to have it sticking out the front of it. the back legs don't need to be under the rug. This would tie in the white from the drapes and the grey from the chair. The cozy chair for the corner, a side table and plant for next to the chair, and a pillow for the chair. There's lots of cute options out there too!

third row: A tufted bench for the foot of the bed. This would tie in the off white i the pillow and lampshades, a cozy throw pillow, and the standing mirror I talked about earlier

Last row: a few pillows to spruce up the bed, some new robe/towel hooks for the place you have them hung now. would provide a clean update since you don't really have yellow anywhere else in the room, and a cute sign to hang on the left as your looking at where the towels are hanging. 

Sources:

curtains

blanket ladder

aged arched mirror

standing mirror

grey rug

 grey chair

lets cuddle pillow

 bench

throw blanket

bedside table lamps

white pillows

robe hooks

side table

sign

plant for side table

I LOVE everything she included.  I didn't want to change anything!  I loved that all of her items were places I normally shop and not out of my price range.  I put a very similar bench on my Christmas list and we got it from Chris' parents and I love it.  The IKEA curtains are currently in my cart and hopefully get them soon!  While we can't afford to work on this room completely, it's so nice to have a list of items I'm looking for and will slowly fill up our room.  I can't wait until it is all done and would be thrilled if it looked like the ideas Kelly gave me.  
Check out Kelly's work and if you want to use her services, mention this post and she'll give you 20% off.  Thank you SO much Kelly! I love it and can't wait to make our space match your vision!

Addi Says What

"Your first name is ma, middle name ma and last name Vale.  Mama Vale."
"Babies don't toot as loud as humans."
Addi asked if she could share my piece of chocolate with me.  I said yes and she took it and I asked for my half. "You can just have a crumb."
"That doesn't happen in our world.  Maybe in another world.  Like Chicago."
"I want glow in the dark silly string.  But it's only made in another country."
"I'll grow up someday and have lots of kids.  And Isaac will be the daddy."
"Daddy? Remember when you cried tears of happiness? I'm crying happiness right now because I love mama so much."
"I can't find daddy.  He's not picking, he's not peeing.  I LITERALLY do not know where he is."
Addi are you trying to spill those on purpose? "No. I'm trying to spill it on accident."

Our Christmas . . . .

 Christmas Eve service at our parents' church.  So thankful we can all go to church together!

Back to my parents house for dinner and presents.  I wish I had more pictures, but it looked like five blurry kids and a tornado of wrapping paper.  Just as it should be, right?

Putting out reindeer food and leaving cookies for Santa. 

Christmas morning at our house.  I can't get over Isaac's face in this picture!

 Christmas day with Addi and Isaac's other cousins!

Such a wonderful Christmas with our family!