Juggling

So, there are a lot of exciting things happening around here (hence the reason I haven't posted in a few weeks)! I feel like I have a lot of apples in the air, and I am just hoping I am able to them all from crashing to the ground.

We are starting another season of Baseball! This is a crazy, hectic, fun, and stressful time of year for us. WE LOVE IT!!! As I have said, watching the bond my son and hubby have on that field together is something I will cherish always, but being team parent (coach's/husband's  organizer, email sender, and team activity director) definitely adds to the juggling act of baseball.

This year, we are also throwing another apple into the act: Gymnastics. In the past, gymnastics has been an activity Hannah has done when Ethan is in school, and she is not. She recently graduated into a more advanced level for 4-5 year olds (Yay!). So, a morning class is no longer an option for us. Tuesday evenings will now be a juggling act between gym and a possible baseball practice (hopefully not a game).

I have also thrown in a couple of apples of my very own! I am starting to get serious about my photography (even have a potential wedding to shoot in May)! I plan on taking some photography classes this year once Hannah is in school full time, and I would love to do more family sessions. I have plans to start website, and complete all of the "official business" stuff. This is going to require a lot of work and research, but I AM READY!

I have also recently become a Product Consultant for DoTerra International Essential Oils. So official sounding, right?!?! Really, it just means I just get share my experiences with essentials oils to whomever wants to listen. Guess what...I was already doing that!!!! Now, I can also offer people the means to have their own experiences with these oils! I am really excited about the possibilities this has presented, and I am even more excited about the excitement and willingness of others to learn about essential oils!

On top of these recently added apples, I am still JUGGLING my involvement with the kids' schools, homework, housework (that apple seems to be dropped a lot), and MOST IMPORTANTLY making myself available to be a good mom and wife. 

Please don't mistake any of this as complaining! I am thrilled and grateful to have all of these opportunities for myself and for my family. I am also under no illusions that I am JUGGLING any more than anybody else out there! This is what we all do as moms and dads and wives and husbands and friends and family.

What I am realizing out of all of this is how blessed I am to have amazing support of family and many wonderful friends. So, when I feel like there are too many apples in the air, I can just toss one their way, and somebody always seems to catch it! 

I hope they all know that I will be there to catch their apples too!

Window....

WINDOW??? Hmmmm.... I will admit, I was very uninspired by this week's Weekly Photo Challenge theme. I tried. I really did. I actually have some window pictures that I attempted, but in the end, I just wasn't feeling it. Do you know what I mean? I guess some week's will just be like that.

Never fear, though! The creative juices were flowing in another direction!

Our little Hannah turned FIVE this week! (CRAZY, I know!) That meant all of my creativity was channeled into a PARTY; specifically, a Spa PARTY. Our little birthday girl got to invite 7 little friends over for Manis, Pedis, Facials, and Fun!

Hannah is definitely a girlie-girl. So, it was so fun to throw a PARTY perfectly suited to her personality. She was very involved in the planning and details; right down to the magazines and PARTY favors. The idea originally came from one of her favorite books, Fancy Nancy Ooh La La! It's Beauty Day, by Jane O'Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser (There is a whole series of these fancy books, and they are a must read for girlie-girls). A lot of the PARTY details were taken directly from this story. Hannah, of course, has the book memorized. So, she made sure no detail was forgotten.

I had so much fun planning with her, and I hope it was everything she dreamed of!

Happy Birthday to our Sweet Girl!!!! We love you more than words!

PARTY Details:

Spa Printables provided by:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SIMONEmadeit?section_id=7932505

The girls were treated to relaxing Pedicures complete with their own soaking tubs, pedicure sets, and slippers. They passed the time reading magazines or resting their eyes with silky sleep masks before having their toes painted (their color of choice) by my wonderful Spa helpers. 

We then moved on to the Manicure table. The girls re-hydrated with Spa Water and Pink Lemonade. Their little hands softened and re-hydrated in another relaxing soaking bowl. Once they each had their fingers painted with precision, it was time to eat! 

Only the finest Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwiches were served with fruit, veggies, and, of course, Pirate Booty! 

The fun continued with homemade facials made of strawberries, bananas, oatmeal, yogurt, and honey. The girls were especially giddy about the cucumber slices for their eyes. Hilarious!

Finally, we let the girls make their own Ice Cream Sundays! It really is amazing the joy that Rainbow Sprinkles can evoke! We also had Strawberries, Chocolate Sauce, Whip Cream and Cherries! So easy 

and super fun!

We are so grateful for sweet friends and the time we got to share with them!

Until next week...PARTY on!

Begininnings

Of course, we all know it is the BEGINNING of a new year, but in our family, that also means the BEGINNING of a new AGE for our kiddos. Ethan turned 9 on December 31st, and Hannah will begin her 5th year in just a few days. As we celebrate their birthdays this year, I have been especially sentimental about it. More so than in years past, for some reason. My kids are growing too fast for my liking, and I feel like I need to hold on a little tighter.

The WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme for this week is BEGINNINGS. The pictures I chose to represent this theme are very literal, but were also chosen for the same personal, sentimental reasons I mentioned

This is the BEGINNING of our day.

 

Hannah wakes up each morning bright-eyed and ready to start her day.

She tends to wake before the rest of us are ready for the BEGINNING of our own day.

 She is now able to turn on the television by herself and navigate to her favorite channel (PBS Sprout)without having to wake us up, but being able and being willing are two different things.

She doesn't like to wake up alone. : )

 Food and drink are foremost on her mind as she get out of bed. 

A little apple juice, a light morning snack (or two), and some company are how this little one prefers her mornings to begin.  

9:00 am - Although back in jammies,

she is showered and morning snack #2 is in hand.

 

 

 Ethan, however, moves a little slower in the mornings

He sleeps later.

He prefers lazy mornings snuggling in our bed or on the couch.

Breakfast can usually wait.

So can conversation.

Lately, his morning channel of choice is Sports Center (or any other sports news show)

to catch up on the latest sporting news and scores.

He is easily annoyed by his sister's morning energy (she knows that), but if he does wake before mom and dad, he doesn't mind handling his her on his own for a while.

9:00 am - He is still snuggling in Mommy and Daddy's bed.

 

 

One more because

These are rare, but cherished BEGINNINGS around our house. Haha! 

 

 

 

These BEGINNINGS are the little things. The little things that, as the kids get older, I want to remember, to hold on to. The little things that matter. These are the BEGINNINGS that, someday, I know, I am going to miss.

 

Until next week...Cherish your BEGINNINGS!

 

Maigan

Joy

I'm baaaack...

A new year means new goals, resolutions, and beginnings.
So, what do you say we begin again with this blog thing? I have a new name, a new purpose, and a new desire for blogging.

Anybody who knows me well, knows I take pictures...a lot of pictures. ONE of my resolutions for 2014 is to take a lot MORE pictures (yes, I believe it is possible).

Last year I tried the Picture a Day Challenge without much success. It was too much pressure, and my kids got really tired of me shoving my camera in their faces EVERYDAY.

This year, I have set my sights on a WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Each week I will shoot lots of pictures (or maybe just a few) with a specific theme in mind. At the end of the week, I will post that picture (or pictures) on here for you to see.

In other words, you are going to see an overabundance of pictures from our life. What the kids are doing, what I am doing, what WE are doing.

That's the goal, anyway. It's good to have goals, right?

So, here goes...

This week's theme: JOY

Of course, there is nothing else that brings me more JOY than these three people. Get used to these faces because you are going to see a lot of them here!

 

 

Baseball and the JOY it brings to these two guys is something that I will always cherish. Watching their father/son connection on and off the field NEVER gets old.

 

 

Jumping for.... 

So, I will admit that this one was posed, and she actually wasn't all that JOYful about participating, but I liked the way it turned out it anyway. : )

 

I had a lot of fun taking these pictures this week. All of them were taken with the new 50mm lens I got from Santa (AKA the hubby). It is so much much fun learning and experimenting with new photography toys! I have a feeling this lens is going to be my go-to favorite.

 

Can't wait to see what next week brings! Until then...hope you find your JOY!

 

Maigan

 

 

 

 

To Do Lists

Whew! It has been a while! This summer has flown by, and I am sorry I haven't been keeping up with this blogging thing as well as I had planned.

 I am hoping that now we are getting back into a routine, I will also be more diligent about keeping up with LaMomma too.

See, to get us back into our routine, I am also back in the habit of my list making.

Yes, I am a list girl. I like to make lists for just about EVERYTHING:

Grocery Shopping (of course),

Party Planning,

Packing,

Wish Lists,

Holiday Shopping (which has already been started),

and my all time favorite...

 the TO DO LIST.

I find that these lists keep me organized, motivated and confident -- confident that I have it all under control(Ha ha ha)!

So, I have started my lists.

My TO DO list started out with the typical "around the house stuff,"

Laundry

Wipe down kitchen

Clean kids bathroom...

etc.

 You know everything that we mommies try to get done during the day.

My list was coming together nicely. With every task added, my confidence was steadily increasing. Until...

I was snapped back to reality by my screaming kiddos.

Of course they were fighting...again about who knows what.

I realized, then, there were some things missing from my To Do List.

In fact it was missing some VERY important tasks.

So, here is my revised TO DO List:

Have Patience

Say lots of "I love yous"

Have Patience

Give lots of Hugs and Kisses

Have Patience

Have fun

Have Patience

Appreciate

Have Patience

Laundry

Have Patience

Wipe Down Kitchen

Have Patience

Clean Kids Bathroom

Have Patience

 BLOG

Have Patience

 Notice a theme? Obviously 2 and 6 year olds require a lot of PATIENCE.

Is it sad that I have to include these things on my TO DO List?

Maybe.

But, I have to say, that it has served me (and my kiddos) pretty well the last couple of days.

Sometimes, in the midst of trying to keep up, we forget to keep up with the life's most important tasks.

So...add them to your LIST, and hopefully you will be able to put a big CHECK MARK next to them at the end of each day.

Happy List Making!

Operation: Bye, Bye Binkie

One of my goals Little Miss H this summer was to

break the binkie habit.

E had given his up at a year and a half... pretty easily (as I remember it).

But I was coming to the conclusion, very quickly, that it wasn't going to be that easy with his

VERY STUBBORN, VERY STRONG-WILLED little sister.

We had been trying to limit Little H's time with her bink to just sleep,

but she was starting to manipulate more and more time.

(She has her ways)

It was time...time to take control of the situation.

But how?

I had heard the stories of cutting the tips, the fairies, the presents, the parties...

They all sounded great, and fairly non-torturous.

There was just something about it...

It was deciding when the time was right, and the anticipation until that time,

the anticipation of the day when we had to take away something our baby girl enjoyed...

and also still classified her as a "baby".

So, now you know the real truth.

I remember, very clearly, how I felt when E gave up his bink.

I was sad.

It was a huge milestone for all of us,

and I knew that feeling was coming again.
It made my heart sink just thinking about it.

Ugh!

So, here is how it all finally went down.

Our hard-headed little girl sometimes needs some encouragement to make good choices.

One night, when I was "encouraging" her to make the right choice,

I informed her that the wrong choice would result in losing her binkie for bedtime.

Apparently, that wasn't enough encouragement.

So, the decision was made...for both of us.

The time was NOW!

Little H went to bed that night without her binkie.

She asked for it once, and I told her she couldn't have it because she didn't make a good choice.

She seemed okay with that, and surprisingly, fell asleep...

and slept ALL night.

Just like when E went to sleep for the first time without his binkie, 

I knew there was no turning back.

The next couple of days were rough.

The very first thing she asked for the next morning?

Yep, her binkie.

In her mind, she had done her time. Punishment over.

Now the relief of an easy night turns to GUILT.
We managed to keep her occupied enough the rest of the morning to keep her from having a complete binkie-withdrawl meltdown.
But there was no distracting her at nap time.
This was the true test.
After an hour and half of screaming and crying (from both of us),
lots of comforting, snuggling, and begging
she finally fell asleep, and we have never looked back.

I am still carrying around lots of mommy guilt over how it all transpired.
I really wish a "punishment" hadn't been a factor in the whole story,
and I am still hoping that it doesn't result in therapy for my sweet little girl...
or myself.

Nonetheless, we have been binkie-free for TEN days!
Since then, she has asked for it a handful of times,
and for a couple of nights she took little longer to settle herself in bed, but we are done!
For the last couple of days, she has made NO mention, at all, of her beloved binkie.

Mission Complete!
(now onto Potty Training)

I Heart Faces Weekly Challenge - Let's Hear It For the Boys

Here is this week's entry into the I Heart Faces Weekly Photo Challenge.

 I love this picture of my E in daddy's baseball hat.

He was at his first major league game watching his favorite team

in their quest to get to and eventually win the

World Series!

Such a great memory for him...and for me!

Go check out I Heart Faces to see all of the wonderful entries this week!