3.31.2015

Four

I saw this on Ally's blog and thought it would be fun! I feel like I haven't done one of these in awhile and I always love reading these on other people's blogs. 

Four Nicknames
Nat
Natty
Nug- this one and the one below are nicknames from Kyle, we make up very weird nicknames in our family :)
Chum 




Four Jobs I've Had
Lifeguard 
Waitress at Chili's 
Corporate Event Planner
Real Estate Agent
Four Movies I've Watched More Than Once
Legally Blonde
Because I Said So
Life as we know it 
Friends with Benefits 


Four Things In My Purse
Keys
Baby Wipes
Mints
Hand Sanitizer


Four Books I'd Recommend
Still Alice
The Fault in Our Stars 
Catcher in the Rye
Valley of the Dolls 

 
Four Cars I've Driven
Honda Accord Station Wagon- my cool high school and college ride- woot woot!
Honda Civic
Acura RDX
Toyota Highlander 

Four Places I've Visited
St. Maarten
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Aruba
Cinque Terre, Italy 



Four Places To Visit On My Bucket List
Paris
The Grand Canyon
Bora Bora 
Mustique



Four Of My Favorite Foods
Pizza
Caprese Sandwiches
Crab cakes 
French fries
 
Four TV Shows I Watch
Nashville
Scandal
New Girl
Hart of Dixie- but last Friday was the last episode :( 




Four Things I'm Looking Forward To In 2015
Watching my boys learn and play everyday 
Fun vacations 
Not being pregnant so I can actually enjoy the summer ;) 
House projects!! 
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3.30.2015

Weekend Recap and Toddler Bed Update

Happy Monday Everyone!  I can't believe Easter is this weekend, unfortunately our finicky Maryland weather kept the temperatures in the 30/40s this weekend which made for a loooong weekend with a toddler who is ready for summer.   We did get some outside time yesterday afternoon so it wasn't a total wash!

As I mentioned on Friday Kyle was away all last week and it was a rough week for sleep in our house.  At one point on Thursday night/Friday morning at 2:30am BOTH babies were crying and there was only one of me.  It might have been my hardest parenting moment to date but I got us all through and had everyone back to bed by 3am.  I think I got maybe 3 hours of sleep that night.  Thankfully I was able to make some of it up this weekend.  

 Friday was a little chilly but we still managed to get some time outside to play for bit.






After playgroup and running errands on Friday I decided that we deserved Chick fila because I was not cooking!   I figured this was an easy dinner for the super picky Mr. Miller since he usually loves Chick fila. 

The toddler-dinner stand off 

Yeah he was not having it.  I on the other hand enjoyed mine with a huge glass of wine and made him sit there and watch me eat it.  


 
Miller's toddler bed arrived Saturday afternoon and him and Kyle put it together.  We made a really big deal out of his bed and how exciting it was to be a big boy. 



He picked out choo choo sheets and was so excited about the bed once it was put together.  

 He did not like the quilt and pillow on his bed and preferred to see the choo choos and have all his friends on it. 


Now how did our first night go?!  HORRIBLY!!  He can open and unlock doors so we put a baby gate on his door.  For the first 30 minutes or so he stood there saying "oh no" and  I went and put him back in bed twice.  Then the crying started which honestly was an improvement from the screaming we've been listening too so Kyle went in and tried to get him down.  Well Kyle decided to lay down next to him to see if that would help but he kept climbing out and trying to play.  Finally Kyle put him back down and left.  That's when the screaming started.  I tried to calm him down but he only wanted Dada so Kyle ended up sleeping on his floor next to Miller in the bed.  This was about 10pm when we finally got him down.  Kyle snuck out about 30 minutes later.  At 2am we woke up to Miller screaming so Kyle went in there and laid on the floor with him and Miller slept next to him on the floor until 4am when Kyle snuck out.  Miller was then up at 6am for the day. 

I haven't written about his sleep problems on here a lot and they deserve a whole post. He's never  been a good sleeper but the past three weeks have been awful and we feel like we haven't been able to give Matthew an adequate sleep routine or enough attention because we've been dealing with Miller so much.   The toddler bed was a bit of a hasty last ditch effort.    We tried it again for nap time on Sunday and it still didn't go well so we just scraped his nap.    
We tried again on Sunday night  and we let him cry for an hour and he still didn't stop screaming or banging on the walls so I went in.  I decided to put him in his crib (we left it in the room) and I laid next to the crib on the floor and he was asleep in five minutes.  We're not sure if he was overly tired or if the toddler bed made him appreciate his crib more but we were happy with that result. 

Now where do we go from here?  Well he has an awful cold right now and we're pretty sure he's getting molars because he has his hands in his mouth all day every day so we're going to wait a week or two until he is well and see if these molars finally break the skin and then try again.   We are going to leave the bed in his room and keep talking it up and see if he shows anymore interest in it.   


We went out to a famliy date night on Saturday, at a local BBQ place, Mission BBQ,  and it was so good.  I'm pretty sure I gained at least 5lbs this weekend with my poor food choices but I don't even care. It was all worth it.  


Pulled chicken sandwich and cheesy potatoes 


I've been using my navy Longchamp bag this week and it's actually been working great with the kids.  Since it was freezing I was rocking my swing sweater.  As much as I love that thing I'll be ready to retire it when warm weather finally arrives!! 

Sunday we started the day off with Church, which has become amusing with kids.  We basically stand in the back room with ALL the other kids under 5 yrs old and their parents and sort of listen while also wrangling loud crazy kids.   We then had breakfast at my parents and came home to finish cleaning the house and garage.  


Miller's new favorite thing is to wear his backpack and take Layla for a walk.  It's so cute to watch and Layla is so sweet and gentle with him. She never pulls or knocks him down :) 

We enjoyed some Sunday evening appetizers before our glamorous dinner of frozen pizza.  
Weekends are for being lazy and not counting calories around our house :)  

And because this poor kid has been such an angel and going with the flow over the past week I couldn't leave him out! He loves watching us eat and waving his arms and talking! It is the best.  (sorry about the Kyle backside photobomb)  #whoops 


Hope you all had a great weekend!

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3.28.2015

Saturday Shopping: The Bucket Bag

It looks like the bucket bag is still in style this spring and I think I'm going to jump on the bandwagon and get one.   There are quite a few options out there so I've narrowed it down to the five I am loving.   


 I love the look of this one! It's simple yet sophisticated and for $60 it might be my favorite.  It is a faux leather which isn't a problem with me as long as the quality looks good.   It also comes in a hot mean which I'm loving also. 



 Love, love, love this one but it's a little bit out of my price range right now.  Plus I don't really want to splurge on a bag that might not be in season next year but if I could this would definitely be the one I would get.  


 
I love this one with the tassels and the price tag of $48 makes it really tempting!  The only thing I worry about is the black being a little harsh for spring and summer.  

 For real leather you can't beat the price of this one at $138 but with the 25% off with the code Happyspring it comes to $105!!  I love the color of this one and I've seen the leather in person and it's really good. 

I love that embossed python and tassels on this one plus the stone color might be my favorite from Gigi New York, of couse I do already have this color in a tote but you can't have too many handbags right?! 

I don't know how I'm going to pick which one.  Do you have a bucket bag?  Which one is your favorite?


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3.27.2015

Friday Five

 TGIF!  I'm so happy it's Friday!  Kyle has been out of town all week and it's been a loooong one. 


1. 70 and Sunny
 We were lucky enough to be graced with one nice day this week and I took full advantage of it.  It's back in the 40s again today but it was great reminder that spring is right around the corner.





2. Toddler Bed 
We've decided to take the plunge with the toddler bed!  I ordered the one below off Amazon and it should arrive on Saturday.  Naptime and bedtime have been miserable the past three weeks and I'm just at my wits end.  He fights us until 10 or 11pm (no joke) and then wakes up multiple times a night.  The kid is persistant and will not stop screaming.   I'm not sure if the toddler bed is the answer but we're giving it a try. A couple people suggested going right to the twin bed but Miller is still really tiny so I just think the twin bed would be too much.  Plus the toddler bed fits his crib mattress so we don't have to spend too much money if it doesn't work out.  I'm getting him new sheets and pillow from Pottery Barn kids today and we're going to make a really big deal out of the change and his special new bed.   Wish us luck!



This is just a flat sheet but I'm thinking about picking this up since it has trains, planes, and cars on it which are his favorite.   But I also love these gingham ones below. 

We already have the Harper quilt in white and navy which we were gifted when he was an infant so either of these sheets sets will work.   What do you all think?

3. Coconut Oil 
So after like two years I finally jumped on the coconut oil bandwagon and purchased some but I still haven't used it!! Everyone says it's so good to cook with but I'm afraid my food will taste like coconut and I hate coconut.  I know I'm being crazy.   I also want to add it to my skin care routine but again I'm afraid it will make my skin breakout so please tell me what you all use your coconut oil for! 




4. The Beach House by Georgia Bockoven
I can't remember who, but someone suggested this book to me last fall and finally got around to reading it.  I'm only about halfway through but I love it so far! It's my first book by Georgia Bockoven and I really like her writing style so I think I will be reading more.   Has anyone else read her before?


5. 2nd Birthday Party Planning 
Miller will be two in three short months!! I seriously can't believe how fast these past (almost) two years have gone by.   Since I only have three months left it's about time to get started on my party planning.   I'm not going to lie I LOVE going a little crazy with their parties.  I figure I won't do this forever so I might as enjoy it while I can.  Miller is obsessed with trains and Thomas so I we will definitely be having a train themed party.     I've been spending so much time on Pinterest because there is so much good stuff.


 via



Hope everyone has a great weekend!

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3.26.2015

Thoughts for Thursday: Life with Two under Two

Welcome back to another Thoughts for Thursday! Remember you can write about whatever you want, just grab the button, and link up below.  Thanks again for joining us!

Thoughts for Thursday


I've written and re-written this post about 100 times.  I want to talk about my experience so far with two babies 16 month apart but sometimes I just can't even find the right words to say.  Somedays I feel like a superhero and think this is the easiest job in the world.  Other days I'm crying in my coffee by 10am and calling my husband begging him to come home early from work because I need a break.



A lot of people warned me that the first 6 months would be hell.  Some people told me it would take about a year to really adjust to it all.  Some people told me going from one to two kids is the hardest transition no matter what the age because trying to cater to two people who are fully dependant on you for everything is exhausting, mentally and physically.  One of my friends even told me she was convinced she and her husband were going to get a divorce in those early months of two under two because she felt so stretched thin and felt like he didn't understand at all how hard it was. 



I tried not to listen to too much advice and go into this experience day by day.   For us the first two months were a breeze!! Matthew slept all the time and was a pretty easy to please baby.  I was still able to devote a lot of time to Miller still and make him feel special.  I had so many moments when I thought "wow this is so easy! I can't believe people think this is tough!"



Right around three months old Matthew "woke up" and that's when things started to get tricky.  I still felt pretty good juggling it all and we worked out a new routine that worked for everyone.   Once four months hit is when things started to get hard.  Both Matthew and Miller are going through a "phase" and it's been rough going the past few weeks.  Hence the lack of blog posts.   Matthew, my sweet easy going baby, has been hit with the four month sleep regression the past two weeks and it's been tough! He's back to waking up 2-3 times a night and wants to eat non-stop during the day.   He also is a lot harder to please and doesn't calm down quite as quickly as before.   His personality is so different from Miller's already.  He's such a happy guy, seriously smiling all the time, until he's mad and then he is pissed off!! 



At this same time Miller has a bad case of separation anxiety and wants to be near us or touching us 24/7.  He also hates his crib so naps and nighttime sleep have been rough!  The lack of sleep has made him so cranky during the day and his jealousy of Matthew in the evenings has skyrocketed.  He gets really upset when his mommy has to hold his baby all day and just wants me to put him down. 



 Now it hasn't all been bad!  There have been so many good things that have come out of this experience too.   My time with Miller is so much more intentional now.  Sometimes when we would play before I would be distracted, looking at my phone or talking on the phone, or just not paying attention.  (I mean we can't pay attention 100% of the time but you know what I mean) Now I make sure that my playtime with Miller is just that, lots of play time together and I'm 100% engaged in him.   It also makes me appreciate all my quiet snuggle time with Matthew.  There is a time during the day when Miller is asleep and Matthew is awake and I try to soak up all my baby moments with him and just devoted 100% to him.  



Then there are my favorite times.  The times when Miller and Matthew are interacting. While Miller still has a lot of jealousy he is really starting to like Matthew a lot.  He loves to play with him and show him his toys.  He also loves to be a helper.  He will give Matthew back his pacifier or lovie, he will cover him with a blanket.  He will get me when Matthew is crying.  He really wants me to let Matthew sleep in his crib and it's adorable how I will lay him down in there and Miller will lay down next him and hold his hand.  It makes my heart melt. 
Matthew is just in heaven during these times too.  He is mesmerized by Miller and wants to be watching his every move.  If Matthew could stare at anyone all day it would be Miller.  It's so fun to watch his face light up and his smile get really big when Miller says Hi to him or shows him a toy.  I cannot wait to see their sibling bond develop and grow over the years.   Those are the moments that make all the crazy ones so worth it. 

That's the first 4.5 months in a nutshell.  I could have written about 100 more paragraphs but I didn't want to put you all to sleep. I'm going to try to give these updates more often going forward. 

Anyone else with two under two agree? or anyone with two kids think the transition was hard?  If you only have one are you nervous to add another baby to the family?   Would love to hear your thoughts!


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