Day 270 | My Favorite Things: #2

Random cat items. I think my love affair with cats (did you know I can speak their language?) has officially transitioned from the real animals to amusing cat things (don't worry, I still love you, Miga). I'm not looking to add on an addition to our house to make room for this growing collection (it's actually the purr-fect small-size at the moment) but for some reason this random cat stuff just makes me smile.

Special note: Thanks to my mom and dad for the adorable cat blanket. And to Mary Catherine Starr for the sweet kitty mug. And to Chris for thinking I stole the tiny cat figurine (I really did pay a quarter for it...I swear!). All pictured above.

Day 269 | My Favorite Things: #1

After a long long week last week full of too much crying and Chase's first full-fledged, limp-body, kicking-and-screaming meltdown (we almost made it to three years without one, that's something to be thankful for, right?), I'm tying to stay positive this week. So, to brighten my own spirits, I will be posting a photo a day of my favorite things. And I really mean "things," material things that is. Otherwise I'd feel obligated to come up with baby-related uppers and I'm trying to steer clear of those. I still have a tiny bit of me that exists outside of being a mom.

Here we go, day one: fresh flowers. And these in particular. I'm not even sure what they are...I picked them up on a whim from Trader Joe's and they're my new favorite. So dainty and feminine. 

Day 263 | Gel Manicure Review

As promised, here's my run down of my experience with my first gel manicure: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The good: it did last forever! In my life, forever for a manicure means 2+ weeks. A normal manicure lasts about two days so this is huge. And my nails ended up growing out more than chipping. Woohoo!

The bad: taking it off is a pain. I went to a salon to have it removed and can probably manage to do it on my own next time, but it's no joke to remove. Makes sense, right? It stays on so well for a reason. 

The ugly: my nails are not looking fantastic at the moment. I don't think the salon got everything off of them but even the few that are completely clear have seen better days. 

The final verdict? I'll definitely do it again. My nails don't look great on a daily basis anyway so that's not a huge a deterrent for me. I probably won't do one right after another (nor do I have the time/money for that anyway) so that should give my nails a chance to recover a bit. 

Day 259 | Oh How Times Have Changed

Not too long ago (about three years, actually), the idea of spending the morning at a car dealer service center would have been one of my least favorite ways to spend a few hours. Fast forward: two babies and no free time later and I'm loving the quiet, kid-free morning. It's almost too good.

What kept me busy for three hours?

• Knitting (Woohoo!)
• Reading a magazine (What? They still print these?)
• Getting my nail polish removed (Turns out you have to go somewhere to have that done for gel nails. My full gel manicure review will come soon.)
• Splurging on a delicious soy latte and muffin

Thanks, Chris, for hanging out with the boys so I could enjoy this luxurious outing. Ha!

Day 256 | The Sweetest Compliment

Do you see the resemblance?

Chase is the sweetest toddler around. His latest compliment?

"Momma, you're beautiful just like Thomas."

Day 254 | He Did It!

Call it a fluke. Call it a Christmas miracle. Call it whatever you want, but the important thing is Robbe slept through the night! Whoop, whoop!

7:50pm through to 7:06am. I knew he could do it. 

Don't think there is any part of me that is expecting the same result tonight but at least there's hope. I might sleep again some day after all. 

Day 240 | A Gift to Myself

I love having my fingernails painted. It just makes me so happy. What doesn't make me happy? The fact that they chip almost immediately.

So I finally succumbed to the hype and tried a gel manicure today. Will it last three weeks? Only time will tell, but it looks pretty great for the moment. Will it ruin my nails? I'm not going to worry about that-they have never been that fantastic. Will it become a new obsession? Maybe, just maybe. 

*Note: I was fully intending to give this to myself as a gift (hence the title) but Chris's mom swooped in and treated me to a late Christmas present. So sweet and greatly appreciated. 

Day 205 | The Sound of Christmas

I held off another two weeks, but decided today was the day to break out the Christmas music. Here's our first (but hopefully not last) family Christmas dance party of the season.

Chase selected, Frosty the Snoman for Robbe's first Christmas song. Probably wouldn't have been my first choice, but I let it go. See? I'm flexible.

Day 202 | Like a Sponge

It's amazing what a little mind absorbs at this age. Just in the past few weeks Chase is learning so much. And before you think we've been holed up running flash cards, I have to admit that I've done practically nothing to encourage his new spurt of knowledge. Here's what he's caught on to (and the method of/reason for the learning):

1. States: thanks to a lovely placemat, Chase can now identify 19 states and the District of Columbia.  He can also differentiate between Washington, D.C. and Washington state. This is beyond impressive to me since I was *ahem* much older when I grasped this concept. 
2. Spelling: Chase dug out our Bananagrams game the other night, Chris spelled out M-O-M, and all of a sudden he's into spelling. Here's his list so far (pictured above). 
3. Telling time: ok, he's more just identifying numbers on the clock but he started asking about when Chris would be home so I recently began answering with "when the little hand points to 6." Now we eat with the clock at the table and every so often (about every five minutes, you might guess), he shouts, with enthusiasm, "it's [the big hand] touching the 4 [or whatever number]!" 

Yeah, I know what you're thinking: he's probably a genius (she says with a wink).

Day 198 | Looking Good

I bought a new hair clipper a few weeks ago and Chase's hair was finally long enough to give it a try today. It's a bit short, but his hair grows so fast that short is necessary so I don't have to cut it every other week. I hope you approve.

He looks so grown up with a new hair cut, right?

Side note: Chase is still working on his thumbs up pose. :)

Day 189 | A Little Conflicted

Don't tell my husband but I'm considering changing my mind about one of the strongest beliefs I've had since we met: not listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving.

It just seems to be cheating the fall to start listening to Christmas music too early. Chris's tradition? Starting to listen to it after the first snow. Luckily, since moving to the District, the first snow doesn't typically come before Thanksgiving so it hasn't caused too many conflicts in our marriage.

This year, I'm torn, though. I want to give Chase a fighting chance at learning some of the holiday classics. I just don't know how realistic that is in only four weeks. I'll continue some heavy contemplation and keep you posted about my final decision. Motherhood is full of reconsidering things you've always known, right?

Note: Please don't judge me on my holiday music collection pictured above. These were the only hard copies I could find. Plus, it's not part of the holiday spirit to judge!

Day 185 | A Perfect Day

I'm not exactly sure what my perfect day looks like but today was pretty close:

Both boys transitioned to daylight savings pretty successfully so it wasn't a crazy early morning (a very important part of my perfect day). We had an amazing big breakfast (think eggs, sausage, hash browns), we organized the boys' closet (lame, but very satisfying), my mom and I scored some great deals at the outlet mall (shopping sans babies is one of the best things ever), then dinner was waiting for us (credit to Chris and the slow cooker for that one), and finally a pumpkin bar and hot apple cider post-bedtime. 

Ahhhh, perfection.

Special note: Robbe is pulling himself up to standing now (see photo above). He's so proud of himself.

Day 175 | Back to Reality

Today was definitely a snap back into reality. The boys had a good night considering the late (ok, extremely late) bedtime. They woke up just in time to make it to school and just as I was taking care of the final 15 things to get out the door, I heard a knock at the door.

Surprise: the contractor showed up to fix our siding! 

A little heads up would have been nice but the work needed to get done so I can't complain too much. Don't worry, no serious issues, just some cosmetic concerns. I would have picked a different day, in case you're curious, as the risk of of shortened naps after yesterday's wonky schedule about gave me an anxiety attack. The boys actually slept through it, though. I was shocked. No, SHOCKED (that describes it better). Just shows how tired they were. 

The other photo above is capturing one of the best decisions I've made in awhile: an online grocery order. I cannot express how happy it made me to not have to squeeze in a grocery trip on top of everything else today (did I mention my brother arrived tonight so heavy cleaning and loads and loads of laundry were necessary?). Sometimes my over-planning really pays off.

Day 154 | Putting on a Happy Face

*Not every day is a dream.

It's been a rough day around our house. Robbe was up early: 6am...what's that about? Usually he sleeps until closer to 8am. Hopefully it was a one-time fluke or this girl is going to lose it.

That got the whole day off on the wrong foot. The boys have been fine, really, I just can't seem to shake my negative attitude. I pulled it together for the selfie above.Why isn't it that easy to change the trajectory of the day...one quick smile and all the crankiness slides away.

Fingers crossed for good naps this afternoon to turn the day around. Naps solve all problems.

Day 145 | Big Things for this Little Guy

It's official. We have a crawler.

As I've mentioned, I'm not one to declare milestones lightly. Over the weekend, the crawling really took off and, as of yesterday, he was chasing a ball (albeit, slowly) around the hardwood floors. That's serious work.

He also started clapping yesterday. It's not on command at this point, but you can tell he's proud of himself. As silly as it seems, clapping was one of my favorite developments with Chase. There's something very sweet about babies expressing their excitement in this way.

Now, if only he can get his tummy troubles under control so he can fully enjoy his new diet (why do solids have to cause such a shock to the system?) and sleep a little better. Yep, still struggling with that one. Some day, friends. Some day.

Day 140 | Feeling Crafty

I've made a decision. I'm going to dedicate my child-free Tuesday and Thursday mornings to crafting. It's only about a half hour of time, but I'll take it. I finished a secret project on Tuesday (to be revealed at a later date) and I started a new one today. Any guesses what it is from the above photo?

I'm working on a growth chart for the boys. I'm still finalizing the design concept but the first step is painting and today was the day. My goal is to complete it in time for Chase's half birthday in October (I figure I'll try to make a hash mark every six months). 

As I wait for the first side of paint to dry, I'll sip my chai latte (have I mentioned how this was the best purchase ever?) and enjoy this comfortable, overcast day. Ahhh...it almost makes up for the fight the three of us got into over breakfast. :)

Day 134 | Yay for Caia and John

Have I mentioned how much I love play dates with my mommy friends? Chase and John are finally starting to play together (they did great today!) and Robbe even got in on the action a little. What does that mean? More chatting time for the moms...just what I needed today.

Fridays are the best. 

Day 133 | One of My Favorite Places

I have a confession: 

I think, taking into consideration all the amazing places I've been, my bed is on the top three list of my favorite places.

Is there really any better feeling than crawling in between soft sheets and resting your head on a cool pillow to make your soul happy? Of course, it helps that I get to share it with the love of my life (my husband, that is, and not the little guy pictured above, thank goodness!). 

I've recognized my love affair with my bed, and sleep as a whole, has grown dramatically with my nightly baby wake ups and feedings. One of my favorite moments of the day is putting a happy, zonked-out baby back in his crib and walking as quickly (and quietly) as possible to be enveloped by my blankets once more. Ah. Just thinking about it brings me to a happier place.  

Day 131 | A Long Over-due Morning Date

It's been 14 months (!!) since I've had a minute of time in the morning to myself during the week. Today, I had 45 glorious minutes of me-time with Chase at preschool (his second day went amazingly well) and Robbe taking his morning nap (I actually managed to coordinate it!).

Eventually, if this trend continues, I promise to take advantage of the down time for some relaxing, but today, the goal was to get as much accomplished as possible:

1. Prep dinner: This yummy meal is in the crock pot as I type.
2. Prep lunch: There's not much time for meal prep when Chase gets back from preschool.
3. Make baby food: Today's menu was spinach and avocado.
4. Drink tea: I managed to sneak in a little something for just me.

Whew...the 45 minutes went by really quickly (shocking!), but I enjoyed every second.

Day 125 | The New Look of Lunch

Yep...here it is, the new and improved lunchtime routine for this trio. Notice I said improved and not simplified. However necessary the solids-introduction is, it is not the easiest or enjoyable process (or maybe that's just my perspective). It will get easier, I know that and for now I'll just appreciate how sweet it is that Robbe couldn't be more excited about expanding his diet.

And for those of you keeping track, Robbe had his six month well visit today and here are the stats: 

• Weight: 17 lbs, 15 oz (60th percentile)
• Length: 28.25 inches (98th percentile)

He's happy and healthy and even showed off some of his new skills to the doctor: sitting up, getting up on all fours and moving back to sitting up from the crawling position. Pretty impressive!