Weekend Review

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I cannot believe it was the last weekend in March (and the weather the rest of this week is looking amazing). I always start my weekend with Friday and this weekend is no different. T had art class before Grandpa and Grandma surprised him at lunch. He was very excited to see them. Afterwards I picked up this dress I'd dropped off to have monogrammed (it is very addicting). 

sorry for the tiny pic! 

After lunch, mom, T, and I headed to a consignment sale. We found a "few" things. Here are some of the highlights. 

All our sports activities for Friday and Saturday were cancelled because of rainy weather. It was a sadness and a blessing. We made cupcakes, iced cupcakes, had a leisurely breakfast Saturday morning and spent the rest of the day celebrating this soon to be 4 year old.

 Before his big party he opened presents from Grandma and Grandpa (they needed to head home before the party unfortunately). We blew up balloons and hung streamers. I've forgotten how much fun kids have with balloons. They have been a hit ever since. 

 T had a great birthday party and finally was able to have the one thing he's wanted for days - a cupcake! I'll post more about the party later.

 Saturday night I thought Chris was working on the computer, until I glanced closer. Instead he was checking out the Little Lillys.

Sunday we taught T's Sunday school class, which was adorable. T's soccer coach held an informal kick around and Chris and N were able to have some baseball practice. After such a fun weekend, we will have the birthday week continue as the actual birthday is on Wednesday. I hope everyone is looking forward to this week. 

Friday Finds

Helloooooo Friday! Did you have a good week? It was chilly here, but the flowers are blooming and the sun was out (well except for today) so things are good! 

Through Monday, Little English is offering 20% off all smocking! We are lucky to have a store close by that carries Little English, but if you don't, let me tell you - everything is even cuter in person! Use the code smocking20. Here's a few items I love:

Restoration Hardware Child and Baby is offering 25% off window treatments through Monday. I've been searching for Roman shades for the boys' room and maybe the nursery and these are really great prices. Now I need to know how hard they are to install.

Here was an interesting read on technology in our lives and missing out on moments with our kids from Pink Pistachio. This is definitely something I struggle with personally. We are great at eliminating tv and tablets from our kids lives, but I constantly have my phone with me (just in case school calls, among other reasons ;)). Some days my phone is the only connection I have to other adults (sad but true) or even Chris if he's super busy at work, but I know I use it way too often. 

This is a shorter list than usual because I completely ran out of time! I hope you are looking forward to this weekend (and maybe even some great spring weather). This weekend may be super busy or super easy depending on the weather. Today our church has a consignment sale and my mom took the day off to shop (and my dad took the day off to grab N from the bus since the sale is when he will be getting home), we will follow that up with soccer practice and then a thirty minute drive to pick up tball uniforms. Then assuming it doesn't rain, we have T's first soccer game at 8:45 and N's tball game at 10, all before T's big birthday party at 1:30. And on Sunday we'll be teaching T's Sunday School class. Phew. Somewhere in there I need to make cupcakes and icing, order balloons, and clean my house! Happy Weekend!

The Soon to be Middle Child

Looking back at this pregnancy so far (we have just about two months to go), we have had a lot of worries. Some justified, and some just because we feel lucky to have two healthy kids and wonder if we are testing our luck (not that either of us thinks things really work that way). I realized this month that I haven't thought a lot about how T will adjust. When I was pregnant with him, N was thrilled to become a big brother (and he's still thrilled at the idea of another sibling - he has asked for 100). Yet, I would go to bed crying thinking of how I was changing his life forever in ways I didn't know how (I'm an only child). At the same time I was so excited to have another baby, thanks to the amazing kid N is (I probably would take 100 of him).

 I'm not sure if it's because N and T have each other that I haven't worried about T, or if it's because we waited so long to become pregnant and then had so many early worries that I just haven't thought about how things will change for him. He is not excited about having a sister but he seems to like babies in general. He is a sensitive and yet strong willed guy which makes it hard to guide him at times. I think as the reality of this pregnancy ending soon is setting in, along with the fact we'll be celebrating his birthday soon, I'm thinking more and more about his new reality.

Recently a lot of questions relate to things that used to be his, now becoming KCs. It breaks my heart a little because I can see how it might bother him. There are a lot of limits I've set (his beloved Sophie is way too disgusting to pass down, so he is excited that KC will not get his). KC will have new stuffed animals (my boys are very particular about their lovies), and since she's a girl there's only a few clothing items I'll be reusing.

I also really worry about him sharing Chris and I with her. He still crawls into our bed each night and snuggles. He demands a lot more attention than N ever did. And things don't just slide off his back, he remembers and is easily hurt. I've been stressed with trying to get the nursery finished (literally NOTHING is done - no paint, no crib, it's just a room with a chair), but I think mentally I really need to focus on how to help T adjust (booking a sibling tour needs to happen today). If you have any advice (sans the baby giving him a present), I would love it. Books, ideas for him to feel included, or ways for N to help him adjust, or just ways to get him excited about this little lady coming - I'll take them.

(All pictures are from Bower Studio Photography, when T was less than a week old)

Easter Goodies

Easter is less than a month away. I've started gathering items for baskets (and hoping to remember where I've hidden them).   Here are a few things I have for the boys so far:

Kitchen gadgets tool / Gap Braided Ankle Strap Flip Flops - brown / Bubble Ooodles / Bubble Ooodles Refill - 8oz. / Boys' cotton braided belt - belts - Boys' accessories - J.Crew / Crayola Sidewalk Chalk Bucket pack of 20 / Mr. Putter Tabby Drop the Ball / The Day the Crayons Quit / Kids' glow-in-the-dark sneaker laces - necessities - Boys - J.Crew / Amazon.com POOF-Slinky Model #100 Metal Original Slinky in Box, Single... / Crayola 10ct Broad Markers - Assorted Colors : Target


T's Basket:
The Day the Crayons Quit is an adorable book! I've read through it twice and cannot wait for both boys to hear it (honestly they'll share most everything in their baskets). 

Sidewalk chalk and bubbles are a must every year (T already has a bubble blower so he just needs a refill). 

I've posted the flip flops before and just received them this week (they are 35% off through tomorrow) from GapKids. I'm impressed with their quality and I know T will be excited to wear them this spring and summer.

I picked up slinkys from the $1 spot at Target. My boys have a fascination with slinkys.

N's Basket:
Mr Putter and Tabby Drop the Ball looks adorable. We love the Mr Putter and Tabby series and with N playing t-ball this seems like a great gift.

Art supplies are always part of our gifts, and our markers are running low!

I picked up the robot ice cube trays at Marshalls and hope they work! My boys love a drink with ice, and make that robot ice - I think they will thank the Easter Bunny.

N's style is most definitely preppy and the boy loves a belt. I've mentioned this crewcuts braided belt before and I think making it a goodie is perfect.

Since N started tying his shoes, his shoelaces have seen lots of wear and tear. I'm thinking of hiding this glow in the dark ones in an egg for a fun surprise.

I'll share a few more ideas as well as pjs and outfits for the day soon! Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

Serena and Lily Private Sale

Serena and Lily are having a private sale (click here). Items up to 50% off! My favorite pillow is included:

and unfortunately sold out in K ... boohoo!!

Hanna PJs are on sale

And this set of baskets is on sale (individually)

There is also quite a bit of bedding to look at. Happy Shopping!!

Weekend Review

Happy Monday! Did you have a good weekend? Did it fly by? Ours felt like a long weekend and now I'm exhausted! We started off Friday evening with T's first soccer practice. He has been asking for months and he is so excited to play with his best friend from preschool, along with another preschool friend. 

 I had no clue how to dress a soccer player! This was the best I could do.

 He was so focused and determined the whole time. His coach is really really sweet and all the kids had fun.

 We had a dinner of Chick-fil-a, which is definitely a special treat for the boys these days. And it included ice cream, perfect Friday evening.

 Saturday N had a game at noon. It was the first game of the season and a lot of our players are really young and new to the sport. It was really neat to see how much N retained from last season. He made Chris and I very proud but his amount of attention on the field and the effort he had. 

His coach must have noticed his effort too, because he received the game ball! Following the game, we made an almost two hour trek to my parents to see family for dinner, and then made the trek back (with terrible construction traffic). It was a long night for the boys but they had fun.

Sunday was rainy and cold. We spent our time indoors and had friends over to watch the Heels. We made a cheese plate since we're the "wine and cheese" crowd, and ordered pizza. Unfortunately it was a sad ending for the Heels in the last seconds. 

I hope you had a great weekend. Our daffodils are blooming (from the first picture). T is so excited as he helped me plant each and every one (technically N did 2). T kept asking to help plant the light bulbs. Now that they are blooming he is excited to see them each morning. With spring here, bring on this week!

Friday Finds

Did you have a great first day of spring?! The weather was perfect here. N had a fundraiser at school that was an hour of running to music and through inflatable arches, so I'd say he had a good day. T had preschool and then we stayed on the playground for two hours after, he even made sand angels in the sandbox, so I'll call that a win for him. I picked up these beauties and ran into a friend:

So I'll call it a win for me and KC as well.

(Unfortunately Chris was in the office all day and night, so maybe not a great start to spring for him, although I did wake up to have breakfast with him at 6am.)

I'm actually kind of silly excited about these Friday Finds:

First up: I read this post by Blue Eyed Bride and really loved the idea behind it. I decided to try it as I am very guilty of rushing through bedtime to get to the quiet time for myself after a hectic day. My boys have been sleeping until I wake them at 8am since daylight savings time, so I set my alarm for 6:30 the first day. I was up, reading a devotion and within 10 minutes T opened the door to come sit. 15 minutes later N joined us. By our usual wake up time we'd finished a puzzle, had breakfast, made lunches, and practiced piano - not to mention we were all dressed and ready for the day. The next day I set my alarm for 6am, within 10 minutes again both boys were with me. And once again we had library books read, piano practice finished, breakfast, made lunches, even had a little tiny tots basketball game. So while I didn't get any more "me" time, I did get quality time. (And I'm sure my kids must now have some monitoring device for my sleeping habits.)

Second: Have you seen Tea's new arrivals? I'm usually not such a HUGE Tea fanatic (I mean I always like them) but goodness they have drawn me in again. Here are some highlights:

(Tea is perfect for my skinny guys - even the elastic waist shorts work on N)

The first dress is a maxi (but only in bigger sizes, it's regular length in smaller sizes). It's gorgeous! And the baby versions of the rest of these dresses with a diaper cover are crazy cute.

These are baby girl items but they have the prints in dresses in big girls as well. I love Tea bubbles for babies, they are so soft. If the dress on the right came in 0-3 months, little KC would be wearing it to a wedding we are going to in July. It's stunning!

This idea from Vogue Australia (I think) with what looks like fabric covered balloons would be so cute at a birthday party or baby shower!

 The warmer weather has me looking for awesome summer activities, and well how cool does this look:

It's a Water Blob from Homemade Toast (instructions here). It looks like so much fun and I can only imagine all the games that could be played on it.

Super happy weekend everyone! Any fun plans? We have soccer practice and a t-ball game before visiting family for dinner. We had planned to paint the nursery, but I think it will have to wait a couple weeks. Nothing like waiting till the last minute!

Old Navy Girl's Spring and 20% Off!

Happy Spring! I feel like I've waited for this day since the end of summer 2013 - now bring on the warm weather and Easter decorations! 
Crewcuts just released their new spring arrivals with a sale, but I'll admit I was a little underwhelmed. Old Navy on the other hand, is totally getting my spring style. If this little lady was a little older, this is what she'd be getting (us ONSAVENOW for 20% off through tonight):

Eyelet-Trim Pintucked Top, Pull-On Poplin Shorts

Lace-Trim Swiss-Dot Tank

Polka-Dot Chambray Bubble Dresses, Tiered Eyelet Sundresses

 Embroidered Stripe Dresses ,  Sailboat-Print Shirt Dresses

 Cross-Back Loop-Terry Dresses , Jersey Tank Dress 2-Packs 

I do feel a little guilty loving the girl items and not loving the boys, hopefully something great will spring up for them soon (they are getting a few Gap basics, but I'm ready for some cute family photo worthy items).

I hope everyone has a great Thursday! Thanks for the advice on T's new shoes!

Birthday Shoes, Help Me Out Please!

T has apparently decided that Grandma's number is a hotline for requesting birthday presents. Each time he talks to her, he gives a long list of items he would like. Please tell me where I can find a remote controlled robot! He doesn't ask for much but this one is from left field. 

I'm pretty proud of the fact I've convinced the kids that necessities make great gifts (bookbags, lunchboxes, shoes) however I feel slightly at risk of creating sneaker heads because they light up at the suggestion of new shoes. I won't lie, I love picking new shoes for them as well. 

Chris and I are divided on which to purchase for T this birthday. I usually pick their favorite colors. T loves dark blue, red, and orange.  Here's what I'm deciding between:

New Balance

or in blue

(The laces may drive me insane, but darn they are cute)

New Balance 420

Adidas Dragon 

(Chris' choice, because they are UT colors)

T currently wears these, which he received for Christmas. While they are cute and easy to wear, they are looking rough after almost daily wear.

Which do you think? (and what will I do when I have to pick girl shoes too!?)

Also, did you see Birkenstocks are on crewcuts sites? I don't know if I can handle them coming back. What do you think? I do love the look of these (they remind me of Teva's, which crewcuts also carries, in a style slightly different from my youth).