Thursday, June 27, 2013
You Do You.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Revenge, Monday-Haters, eBay Addicts And More...
I used to love Mondays. I used to love the promise of a new
week- it was like being granted a Do Over day that allowed you to determine the
kind of turn your week would take. And then I would step out of bed and
remember how much Mondays suck. Especially if the Sunday before was
particularly wonderful and summery.
Do any of you watch Revenge? I understand I’m way late to
jump on this scandalous bandwagon but good lord, I cannot stop watching. I
finished season 1 in a little over one week which says a lot about how much I
neglected my children in exchange for a little extra free time to stream.
I’m kidding, mostly, but I will say that in this last week
those M boys sure learned to settle disputes between themselves.
Back to Revenge, OHMYGOD I AM OBSESSED. The kind of obsessed
that stays awake until 1 and 2 in the morning just to squeeze in an extra
episode or three. I can’t hang anymore. My children have sucked any ounce of
cool “let’s stay up until 2am and hang”-ness out of me so the sole fact that I
stayed up this last for multiple nights on end says a lot. As does the four
cups of coffee that I am averaging per day.
As for Emily Thorne and Victoria Greyson’s wardrobe? I would
like it all. Tomorrow.
I am addicted to eBay. I tend to go through these spurts
when I’m all, “ew, I would never buy something on eBay” and then I come across
a fantastic deal on overpriced children’s shoes, a handbag or perhaps even a
pair of vintage women’s shorts and I’m all “eBay me all the things!”
Speaking of shopping, I swear I unsubscribe from at least
8-10 email listings per day and I still manage to wake up to sale emails
tempting me. This would explain the packages that tend to arrive on our porch
as I’m left scratching my head as to how they got here. Sleep-shopping is a
real thing, friends. A real and dangerous thing.
I need to write a post filled with all of the hilarious
things Carter is saying. He leaves me in stitches multiple times throughout the
day whether it’s a funny way of pronouncing a word or one of his true “Carter-isms”
and I know by next week he will correct his pronunciation and the words will
never sound like that again so I need to write them down now because he’s
growing up too fast and before I know it he’ll be off to college and too cool
to say things on command like, “I want to wide my moco-cicle all the lib long
day.”
I’ve been in New Jersey these past few days and I swear it
gets harder and harder to leave the longer I stay. Thankfully my boss doesn’t
mind my temporary leave of absence from Maryland but I’m thinking of starting a
petition to grant us a move back to Pennsylvania. Something about the four and
a half hour ride home that makes me want to gauge my eyes out with Lego and if
we just moved back to Pennsylvania we’d be half of the way closer. And let’s
face it, Pennsylvania is > than Maryland any day.
Did you have a good weekend? Are you already counting down
the minutes until Friday like I am? If you need me, I’ll be drowning myself in
my third mug of coffee and duct taping the boys to the floor so that I can
begin season 2 of Revenge. Points for honesty?
Happy Sucky Day After
Sunday, friends.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Sit N' Stand Ultra, A Baby Trend Stroller Review
Thursday, June 20, 2013
On Flying With Toddlers. (Or Other Small Children).
There’s a saying, “plan for the worst but hope for the best,”
and I have no doubts about me that it was coined by someone who has flown with
their kids. Toddlers, even, because if you’ve ever flown, or thought about
flying or plan to fly with toddlers, that phrase may as well be your mantra.
My thoughts on flying with toddlers is this: have no
expectations. None. Zero. Don’t expect it to be terrible. Don’t expect it to be
peaches and cream either. Just don’t expect anything. This way, regardless of
what happens, you will always be surprised.
Well, that and find reassurance in the fact that anything
short of the plane falling from the sky in a fiery tailspin of death and
dismemberment is a win.
I’ve flown four times with the boys, first when they were 5
months and 2.5 years old and again when they were nearly 1 year and 3 years
old. Each time we were met with some unforeseen delays, most recently a
relatively important computer hard drive malfunction which resulted in a one
hour ground delay which left us captive on a full flight.
Thankfully, we were under the charge of a flight attendant
who had her wits about her when it came to dealing with a toddler on a plane
that is stuck on the ground. She included the toddler in each of her duties
allowing him to sweep the “hokie” up and down the long aisle, collect trash and
even pass out headphones. From what we could observe from the rear of the
plane, the passengers seemed to enjoy it too.
You want to know why? Nobody wants to be stuck on a plane
with an unhappy toddler. Not even the toddler’s parents. We’ll do anything and
everything short of hopping their little brains up on sugar to ensure they
remain their oft pleasant, bubbly selves.
But do you want to know something else? Toddlers are only
human and despite the copious amounts of snacks and treats and a carryon
entirely stuffed to the gills with new toys, they may cry. And scream. And kick
the back of the person’s chair in front of them.
It happens and as much as it sucks, sometimes there’s
nothing you can do about it other than offer to buy the passengers around you a
drink, be it a stiff one or even just a gourmet coffee. In my experience, more
times than not they will often offer to hold the screaming child in question,
especially if it is a baby. Or they may decide to play peekaboo with them
between the seats.
Although there were only a few times when I wanted to crawl
under my seat and hide until the plane touched down in our destination city, I
had to stop and laugh to myself because the situation was in fact comical. You
have to laugh. Why? Because if you can’t find the humor in the situation, you’ll
end up screaming “BOMB” in the rear of the plane causing the on-board Air
Marshal to tackle you to the ground in an act of anti-terrorist chivalry.
Readers have been asking me “what are your tips for flying
with kids?” And in summation, here they are:
1. Fly with zero expectations. The worst that can
happy is you’ll crash and burn. Anything above that is a success.
2. Peruse the dollar bins at Target in the weeks
prior to your flight. Pick up some new toys that you know your toddler will
love playing with even if for only 15 minutes. That’s 15 minutes that they aren’t
asking the person behind them 1,579 questions. Buy 5 of them. That’s an hour
right ther
3. If you have an iPad, download a new app or two
and a new movie the night before your flight. This is guaranteed to hold their
attention for at least thirty-forty minutes. That’s as good as gold
4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. No one on that
plane wants to listen to your kids scream.
5. Let your kids do an activity that you wouldn’t
typically let them do at home. For me this is letting the toddler color with
markers. At home I’m all “Crayons! Crayons! Crayons!” But as a special treat on
our flights, I allowed him to color with markers and he pretty much thought I
was the bees knees
6. Give your toddler something to drink or suck
during landing and take-off. That part where I mentioned about not hopping
their little brains up on sugar? I lied a little. Lollipops and fruit snacks
are great ear-poppers.
And last but not least, if your
toddler whines, cries or screams? Take a deep breath, count to ten, order a
jack and coke and think to yourself, “well, it could always be worse.” Trust me, you aren’t the first
mom whose toddler decided to lose their shit at 40,000 feet. Your toddler will
eventually stop crying, the plane will eventually land and chances are you’ll
never see those people whom you shared a plane with ever again.
And if you're anything like me, after four flights with two kids under the age of 3, chances are you'll vow never to fly with your kids again, no matter how "great" it goes. Sometimes I think I must have a little sadist in me to think that taking my kids on a vacation that requires a plane ride, especially one that takes over 4 hours, would be a good time.
Flight attendant, three jack and cokes for row 26 please.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
The Baby Shower Gift That Keeps On Giving.
And that's not all you can find at alldiapercakes.com! Laura also offers unique baby gifts in addition to the every day essentials. Take a look at this ultimate monogrammed layette gift set! Is that not one of the cutest things you've ever seen? You know me, when it comes to babies I can't turn down anything white or monogrammed!
Laura is generously offering one lucky reader a $50 gift card to her shop! Be sure to use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter and good luck! Giveaway open to US residents only.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Happy First Year, Maclane. Here's Your Letter.
MacAttack, you are sweet and kind. Inquisitive and adventurous. You are fearless and loving, lovable and mischievous. The look you flash us the minute you're getting into something you shouldn't is priceless. Your Daddy and I can only hope to continue to cultivate these traits in you as you grow, with maybe just a little bit less fearlessness and mischievousness. A mama's heart can only take so much!
Thank you for reminding us to let go and live a little. To slow down ad appreciate the little moments. To take neither life nor each other very seriously. Thank you for reminding me that it's OK to spend half of the day in our jammies, to leave the house with strawberry juice on our shirts and to stay up past our bed time. That it's okay to bend the rules sometimes and break free from our daily routine. We will survive and sometimes even be a bit better for it in the end.
We are so lucky to be your parents and we will always thank God for blessing our family with you, beautiful boy.
Monday, June 17, 2013
$500 Tory Burch Gift Card Giveaway. Seriously.
I can't remember the exact moment I fell head over heels in love with Tory Burch. Oh wait, I can. It would be Valentine's Day of 2011 when The Husband and Carter gifted me with my very first pair of Revas. It was love at first sight. Actually, first blister, if I'm being honest. Those suckers weren't all that comfortable but I would be damned if I didn't own a pair of shoes with that shiny gold emblem on it.
Since then I've fallen even more in love with The Eddie, the Miller, the Abitha and the Thora. Although each of these pairs of shoes is an investment of sorts, it is well worth it. Whenever Tory sends out that Friends and Family email, I just can't help myself. Word to the wise? Be sure to sign up for the email list- you'll receive a coupon for 10% off your first order. And you can sign up multiple email addresses. Not like I would know anything about that at all...
If you're a fashion lover, get even more EXCITED because today 22 bloggers have joined together to giveaway $500 to TORY BURCH! We know fashion can get expensive, so we want to help you out!
And who doesn't love pretty shoes? Want to know what you could buy with $500? Oh just some of these...
and these..
or these...
and these...
Tory Burch is one of our collective favorites, and we're sure that the winner will agree! Before (or after) you've entered the giveaway, please make sure you stop by the sponsor blogs. You'll love their blogs as much as we do, promise! Good luck and thanks for entering!
1. A Complete Waste of Makeup 2. The Vintage Modern Wife 3. The Perfect Compilation Tape 4. I Love You More Than Carrots
5. Every Day Is Your Runway 6. Jodi Bean's Blog 7. Notes on Lifestyle 8. A Night Owl 9. Follow the Ruels 10. Pink Heels Pink Truck
11. Lip Gloss and Lunges 12. My Beautiful Crazy Life 13. Just a Few of My Favorite Things 14. Dreaming About Someday
15. Mama Love Diaries 16. Haute Mommy Blog 17. Two Martinis 18. Simply Clarke 19. Love to the Moon & Back 20. Stress Case
21. Brady Cakes 22. Life, Love, and Pawprints
Friday, June 14, 2013
Nola, Family Style: It Can Be Done.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)