5 On Friday

Long time no see!  We’ve had quite the eventful past couple of weeks.  First the kids were hit with ear and sinus infections and then we all got hit with Norovirus. Worst thing EVER! If you get hit with it, Bleach and Lysol are the only things that will kill it. I've done a lot of research! 

I decided to ease my way back in and I’m linking up with Darci, April, Christina and Natasha for Five on Friday!

1.)  My new IPHONE.

Somehow, Jordan lost my Galaxy s3. We tore our house apart more than once looking for it and it still hasn't turned up anywhere.  After almost a week of no phone (which made me so nervous with Olivia's severe food allergies), I got a new one.   I really liked the Galaxy and I loved my phone plan.  I've had a T-Mobile employee line for over 5 years (My husband used to own 6 stores). We haven't owned one in a couple of years, but my line was still active.  You can't beat $26 a month for unlimited everything.  We couldn't afford another $600 cell phone and I didn't want to give instagram!  It was only a matter of time before they caught up with us, so I signed up with AT&T and got an Iphone5s.  I really like it so far!  I just miss my unlimited data and my $26 phone bill.  At least my husband still has his, for now. 


2.) Shin Splints are also the worst thing EVER!

I was doing C25k until we got sick and I took a 2.5 week hiatus from the gym.  I’ve been going every day since last Saturday and started up on Week 1 again.  It’s been going really great, but as I figured I have the wrong shoes.   I have extremely high arches and I underpronate (supinate), and my shoes do not make me feel great after a run!  I have shin splints like you wouldn’t believe and after my interval workout on the treadmill last night, it is killing me to walk .  Anyone have any suggestions for shin splints?  I bought some new sneakers that were highly recommended for my type of feet/gait, so I’m hoping they help! I want to keep running.

3.) Stitch Fix

I got my 3rd Stitch Fix this month.  I think they are getting better and better as time goes on. I liked everything out of this fix, except one item.  I only kept one thing though. This awesome Elephant blouse.  I love the cut of it and how it fits.  I also think that even if I lose weight, it will still look good a little loose.  I want more of them, but from what I’ve been reading Hawthorne 41 is their brand and you can’t find it in stores.

4.) Terrible Three’s

Not to scare any mom’s that haven’t hit three yet, but three is AWFUL! I thought Jordan was bad at two, he’s even worse at three.  The tantrums, the screaming are 10 million times worse than 2 was.  Yesterday, he spent 30 minutes straight screaming because I wanted to change his poopy pull up.  He screamed in the car because we passed the airport and I said it wasn’t time to pick up Grandma yet. He has also become the destroyer of all things.  I can’t even go to the bathroom without something getting ruined.  Our house constantly looks like a tornado went through!  The other day, I took eggs out to hard boil them.  I went to go keep Olivia from climbing something and turned back around to him smashing the eggs one by one on the floor.  He smashed 10 of them. I had just mopped. Ugh, I hope for my sanity that this goes away soon.

5.) Olivia is not a baby anymore!

She is officially 100% a toddler.  She talks up a storm, her baby laugh is gone, and she doesn’t look like a baby anymore.  Girlfriend loves the Gym childwatch!  We were waiting our turn yesterday and someone opened the door to the childwatch and she ran in and the other day when I went to pick her up, she saw me through the windows and said “No No No” while shaking her head and finger at me.   I guess she didn’t want to go home.

Olivia: 18 months.

I should have started this blog a long time ago.  I’m awful at baby books, but I’d love a way to keep track of the way that my kids have grown, so I’m going to start doing some posts on them at certain “milestone” ages.

As you can tell by the title, Olivia turned 18 months old in January! I cannot believe how fast it’s going (I know, I know, everyone says that.).  It’s amazing how much she has blossomed/grown up these past 6 months! She truly isn’t a baby anymore, she is a full blown toddler!

STATS: At her well baby visit last week, Olivia was 33.5 inches tall (85-90th percentile) and 23 pounds (24-30th percentile). She’s mostly wearing 12-18 month clothes, but they’re loose on her.  I’m having to buy 18-24 month things (and 18 month from Carters) because she’s too tall for the other clothes. Only they fall off of her! Any suggestions for a tall skinny baby?  She’s still wearing size 5 shoes (which my husband loves).

LOVES: 

• To Eat.  Girlfriend will try just about anything!
• Cats. She’s a crazy cat lady. She wakes up meowing.
• Little Mermaid.
• Minions.
• To Read.
• Her bows and her shoes.  For a while, she hated them. Now she cries if you don’t put them on fast enough.
• Water. To Drink, to take a tubby, to swim. The cats water bowl is a favorite toy of hers.

MILESTONES:

• She’s 100% off the bottle and on a straight sippy cup! She’s been off the bottle since 11 months but was using a soft spout (Nuk ACTIVE cup), so it was kind of like a bottle, the nipple was just a little different shape.  We lost it last week and she’s just been using the Playtex hard spout ones and has been doing great.
• She’s talking up a storm.  She easily knows 20-30 words and it amazes me that she has new words every day.
• She has all of her teeth except her 2nd set of molars! She’s actually had them for a while now.

DISLIKES:

• When daddy leaves for work.
• Not getting her way (like most toddlers)
• Her brother not sharing.
• The car.
• Being trapped in the stroller.

SLEEPING:

Surprisingly going so much better.  She’s been trying to put herself to sleep and unless she’s sick, she’s been sleeping through the night. I’ve been able to lie her in bed at nap time and she’ll fall asleep occasionally. That’s more than I can say for her almost 3.5 year old brother.

HEALTH:
She’s just like her brother. Chronic runny nose. It comes with the territory of allergies though.  I just have to be better at remembering to give her the zyrtec that the allergist prescribed.  She’s still having random bouts of hives but no anaphylatic reactions since her one to the almond milk months ago.  She’s still allergic to all nuts and eggs (she can have them baked into things but not on their own).

A Photo An Hour.

 Last week, Steph from Southern Mess had a fun post called A Photo An Hour.  She decided to host a link up with Meg. O from Meg O. on the Go to have everyone else join in on the fun.

My day can be pretty hectic/boring, but I thought this sounded really fun.  Some photos were taken with my camera and some with my phone.

I woke up before the kids. It's a miracle. I spent some time drinking the green juice I made last night (Kale, Kiwi, Pineapple, Mint) and a coffee.  I sat down with my devotional and my bible study book to get some uninterrupted time in.

The kids are up, so I made them some breakfast.

I attempt to put on makeup and get dressed

I have to unlock Olivia from the bathroom because Jordan locked her in while I ran to the basement to grab some clothes. How he managed to lock her in while he was out of the bathroom, I have no idea. The skeleton key wouldn’t work so I had to take apart the door.

My makeup is finally done and I’m dressed, which means I put on a clean tee and clean leggings.

I’m going stir crazy because I haven’t been to the gym in a week because the kids have been sick so I try and get in a workout. It was a success.  I loved the Love Your Body HIIT workout workout from Tone It Up.  (My booty is still sore this morning!)

I make some lunch for everyone, homemade mini pizzas.

I attempt to put little munchkins down for a nap. I was not successful.

Jordan’s doing the usual, destroying the playroom. He’s pretending his safari truck is a lobster and yes, he is wearing his rash guard and swimsuit.  He said he wanted to wear it so we could go to Long Island on a long long drive to go see Grandpa and Grandma and go in their pool.

I attempt to clean up my office/sewing/guest room so we can put the new bed in.  (I wasn’t that successful  and I swear it really isn't "that" bad, the pictures make it look a lot worse.)

I start doing some meal prep.  I’m making spaghetti squash for dinner and I decided to try out the oven method for hardboiled eggs.  It turned out pretty good.

Jordan passed out right before 6, so Olivia and I are having fun playing in the kitchen while we wait for Tj to get home.

 Olivia gets a bath and then goes to bed. Somehow her brother is still sleeping (and slept until 8 am this morning!)

Sparkly shoes can make any bad day better.  I'm also a million times more productive when I wear these around the house. 

 I find Wickett curled up in his new favorite spot, the kitchen sink.

I decided to take an Epsom Salt bath and go to bed!

This was a really great idea.  I'll have to remember this so I can do another one!

DIY: Kids Room Art

While my husband was off on a ski weekend, I got a little crafty.  I made a few picture ledges (all by myself) and I cannot wait to show you those once I get them hung on the wall.  I also did a quick (cheap) canvas craft for the kids room.

It was so simple.

I just used some paper punches (which I got 50% off at Hobby Lobby), some scrapbook paper, a canvas and Mod Podge.  I think the whole craft (including the punches) cost me $10.

All I did was use the punches to cut hearts and some starbursts out of the scrapbook paper. 
Then I put some Mod Podge (I use the Matte kind) on the canvas with a brush and just placed on the hearts and starburst randomly.

Once it dried, I covered the whole thing in a layer of Mod Podge.

This is how it looked when it was all dry.

Easy Peasy! I plan on putting it in with the kids gallery wall along with  few other DIY canvas projects I have up my sleeve.

Have you ever used Mod Podge before?  I think I’m a little obsessed with it right now!

Kids Room: Inspiration and Plans

One of my goals this year is to really focus on our house and making it more of a “home”.  We’ve lived here for almost three and a half years and I don’t think a single room is “finished”. 

One of the first rooms on my list, the bedroom that our kids share.   Yes, we have a three bedroom house. Yes, my kids share one of the smallest rooms in the house.  My daughter is a light sleeper and we wouldn’t be able to be in the living room watching tv (her room shared a wall with it) while she was sleeping.  Since moving them in together, she has slept like a rock. Plus they don’t spend much time in their bedroom. Mostly just for sleeping and reading books.

When we moved Olivia in, we painted the room gray and haven’t really done much since.
Here are some shots of the room as it sits right now!

Here’s some of the inspiration and things that I would love to incorporate into their room. I have no real theme, mostly just an eclectic whimsical mix of things that I think my kids would like.

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12

These are the things I’d love to accomplish in their room over the next few months.

- Re-finish their dresser and put on new knobs
- Finish gallery wall
- DIY art
- Add one more gutter shelf
- New area rug
- Throw Pillows
- Bed Tent/Canopies
- Star Decals on ceiling
- Pom Pom fringe on drop cloth curtains
- DIY Lampshades

I am so excited to have a fun place for our kids to spend some time reading and sleeping. I have a ton of DIY things planned, to keep us on our small budget and I cannot wait to share some of them with you!

What I’m Loving Wednesday.

It’s been a rough couple weeks, so unfortunately I fell off the 30x30 wagon.  We’ve had some big changes in our house that we’re still trying to adjust to, so hopefully the next challenge I’ll be able to complete the whole thing.
Today I thought I’d share some of the things I’m loving this week.

-Having this little guy home with me full time!

As hard of a transition it is from him going to school two full days a week to now being home full time, I’m really excited to try my hand at homeschooling him and spending a little more time with him.

-Watching the kids play together.  The older they get, the more the interact together and I think it’s just too precious.
Here’s a cute video of them splashing together in the tub.



- All Christmas all the time! Christmas is 2nd favorite holiday (Halloween being the 1st) so I’m happy that it’s finally socially acceptable to put up Holiday decorations.  Our tree is up, but not decorated yet and I’m hoping to get it done in the next couple of days.  I really want to decorate the outside with some lights or something, but we have no electrical outlets outside.  I’m hoping we can figure out a solution.

-Last, a (semi)clean playroom! I’ve been trying to get out house in order and in the past month or so this is the best that our playroom has looked! Having such a long playroom (18ish ft) is a major challenge in keeping it clean.