Thoughts for Thursday

Happy Thursday! Yesterday we ventured uptown to meet Chris for lunch. It went really well. I even found a coffee shop that makes a latte with almond milk! I've been dairy/soy free for almost a month now. It makes eating out impossible because of the use of soybean oil so I always call ahead. Luckily my favorite pizza place doesn't use either in their crust! If you want to see the difference it's made, here you go:

After three days of treating it with over the counter remedies

 one week being dairy and soy free

 two weeks dairy and soy free (there are some spots on her chest and arms, but this week they are clearing as well)

I keep wanting to clean out the house. Sometimes I laugh to think of ALL the baby stuff we had out when N was born, slowly we've used less and less and now I think the pack n play has been in the attic for six years straight. On top of all of that we have way too much stuff in general. And I'm itching to put away the maternity clothes (when my hands are free long enough). All the cute tight fitting tops aren't so cute once there isn't a tight baby belly under them, maybe there's something to the tent look. 

Tea has free shipping today on orders over $75. Code is JULYSHIP. I want to order. I also feel the need to order from the Nordstrom sale, but only because it's ending soon. What if I miss a great deal? Instead I'm sure browse the website over and over and spend way too much time and then order nothing because there's really nothing I want to order. Except maybe the Stila lip glosses. They are my favorite and I love to give them as gifts. I'll debate this until August 4th.

Chris found this for me at Barnes and Nobles. And I could totally use it except trying to decide the "decision importance" would need a pad in itself. I am the worst decision maker ever. This is not an understatement.

I'm linking up with Annie and Natalie for Thoughts for Thursday! I everyone has a great end of the week. The days are flying by. The saying really should be "the days are short and the years are short" - time is such an enemy with little ones!

Recent Finds

Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone has started the week off well. After having an extra set of hands last week, Monday went surprisingly well (although Chris did keep calling last week vacation, which I had to correct him - paternity leave is very different from vacation. It's not all Lego building and snocones)

I feel like I haven't shopped in ages, although we did make it to the mall last week for the Nordstrom sale (and Anthro too - if only all the baby weight was gone). Even my online shopping time is extremely limited (Chris is probably grateful for that). But with that said, here are a few recent finds:

aden + anais for crewcuts

I LOVE aden + anais swaddling blankets! KC just stopped being swaddled, but before then, these were the perfect size for swaddling. I love that they teamed up with crewcuts (not that they didn't have adorable designs already). I will say the bamboo cotton is much softer, which I'm not sure if these are bamboo cotton.

I'm just going to say it - the Nordstrom sale wasn't that great for kids. The one exception - kids' shoes.

Hanna Andersson is offering 20% off jeans and cords. These were my favorite jeans of N's last year and I'll be buying more. The girls are a skinny jean version (and I love the yellow for fall). Tights are on sale too!

I'll be ordering Goodnight Mr. Darcy August 1st. Here's a part of the description from amazon (I seriously cannot wait to read it all, obviously this is more for my entertainment than my kids):
All of Austen’s much-loved characters are at the Netherfield Ball. In the great ballroom, there was a country dance, and a well-played tune, and Elizabeth Bennett; and Mr. Darcy surprised, by a pair of fine eyes . . . And don’t forget Jane with a blush and Mr. Bingley turned to mush, and a gossiping mother and father saying hush. 

Weekend Review

Last week, Chris took his second week of paternity leave. We were able to use this time to have people over to meet KC, have a movie theater playdate and get the house clean (things I couldn't have done on my own). After such a busy week, it was perfect to have a weekend of doing nothing. Each day KC was up at 6 and the boys would ride bikes in pjs while I followed with coffee. There were games of Checkers or Trouble, kid-driven art projects, lots of good dairy-free/soy-free food (the boys even were able to pick peaches at a neighbor's house), and naps.

 The boys decided to make a train out of the packing materials from their bookshelf.

Sunday morning I was up with KC at 6am, T woke with us but I sent him back to bed. I made coffee and headed to the patio. The weather was perfect and the sun was rising. 15 minutes later T joined me and we had the sweetest chat. He ran upstairs to grab horse and returned, then ran back upstairs (I assumed to grab another animal) instead he grabbed Chris and the four of us sat outside to watch the sun rising and enjoyed the company. A moment that would have been easily missed by sleep. N joined us later and around 8:30 the thunder and lightening rolled in and we headed inside, but still it was a perfect weekend morning.

Boys' Room: The Book Nook

I started working on the boys' room last September and shared my vision in this post. In January we had the room painted, beds were moved, and the dresser was purchased (small picture in this post). We still have quite a bit to do, but this week we finally installed their book shelf. This is quite possibly my favorite book shelf ever. The only change I would make would be to make it larger - wider not deeper. 

We purchased this one from Pottery Barn Kids:

And here is how it turned out!

We placed these bins (also from Pottery Barn Kids) under N's bed with more of their books in them. We have books everywhere in our house but honestly not all of them need to be displayed. (The solid color bins are on sale for $19.99)

One reason I love this bookshelf so much is that it's thin (just over 5" deep) and our rooms are small (about 10x10) so it allows a lot of floor space, but holds quite a few books. I also love that it is a magazine style rack. I've always found it impossible to find a book using a bookshelf that only exposes the spine (especially with thin paperback books). With this shelf, it's easier to flip through the books to find the perfect one. We purchased the 4 shelf, but there is also a 3 shelf (our 4 shelf will require the boys use a stool to reach the top).

 All our favorite books are prominently displayed.

 I do have to mention, if you are local to Charlotte, the SouthPark Pottery Barn Kids store has the BEST customer service. They have helped me with many purchases and returns, whether in store or calling to place an order (at 40 weeks pregnant they two day shipped the nursery curtains that were online only when I had only called to have them shipped to the store). I purchased our crib in white, then changed my mind and had it returned - it was a breeze. It makes shopping there so easy which may be one reason we keep going back (and I do like the quality of their products). 

The book nook is definitely one of my favorite parts of the room. We still have a long way to go, but I am loving the boys' room more and more (and they are too).

Weekend Review: 7!

This weekend my first baby turned 7! We took our pictures with 6 year old N for the last time Friday night.

 Saturday morning he requested chocolate chip pancakes made by daddy. He was a little disappointed it was raining because he has a memory of "playing at the treehouse in PJs while daddy makes pancakes" that he wanted to relive.

 At 9:11am, we captured thr official moment he turned 7 and celebrated the time we first met.

 N was so excited KC would be here to celebrate his birthday. I hope she lived up to the hype. 

 N asked to stay in PJs all day (and almost did, until he remembered he could ask for anything and asked to go to the toy store to pick out a new toy). Before doing that, we sang 'Happy Birthday'.

This is the "I am scared of fire" look:

 The next day was his party. Game room, laser tag, pizza, and cake. 

Grandparents also came to celebrate (bearing gifts). It was a great weekend.

Newborn Pictures

First of all, thank you for all the comments yesterday! I can laugh at myself and the craziness of life right now, thank goodness. Even Chris mentioned at the wedding on Saturday how much he loved how crazy life is (it something we probably wouldn't have appreciated back when we were younger and just had N - we had a lot of growing to do)!

On the eve of my oldest's 7th birthday, it only seems fitting to share pictures from my youngest's newborn session. KC was a week old for our pictures and they were done by Tracey at Bower Studio.

And two comparisons between her and T (I wish I had some of N!) 

(KC on top, T on bottom)

(T on left, KC on right)

And with my big guy turning 7 tomorrow, here's a little photo love for him-

I checking out the Nordstrom sale today (although I'll admit going there with three kiddos doesn't exactly sound like a fun day of shopping). N's grandmother wants him to pick out a new pair of kicks (my boys love shoes). I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend! We'll be celebrating my sweet guy allll weekend long!