Fall Bucket List!

Hi Friends!

I wanted to do this for Summer and just didn't get around to it--- now that my Photography season is wrapping up I can finally get to the 'to-do list' projects that keep getting bumped. I love when that happens!

Here's is our Fall Bucket list! What's on yours? What did I miss?

1. Pumpkin Patch and carve pumpkins

2. Learn to use chopsticks (one of my many life goals :)

3. Visit the Snoqualmie Historic Train Trail and Museum (Isla loves anything with wheels!)

4. Take a trip on the West Seattle Ferry

5. Ride the Ducks Tour and eat at Steelhead Diner (raved about fish & chips!)

6. Enjoy Bluebird Ice Cream Sandwiches (another raved about Seattle hotspot!) and Kirkland's Sweetcakes' Pumpkin Spice Cupcake (that comes out 10/15- I already asked!)

7. Jump in a pile of leaves (a childhood milestone I feel like!)

8. Buy a winter hat -- (of course this applies to Isla too!)

9. Day or weekend trip to Leaveworth to see 'Fall color'

10. Take Gemma and Isla's pics in Fall leaves (we made this an annual thing after last year's shoot)

11. Make cider!

12. Finish 2013 and 2014 Family-photo yearbooks :)

Happy Fall Everyone!

xo.
S

Monday

Hi Friends!

Back to Monday--who else wasn't ready for their weekend to be over?! It really flew by -- I hate it when that happens! Since I'm catching up after another napless day with my crazy toddler I thought I'd blog in one-liners (if I can keep it to one :) Here's what's on my brain:

1. My Fall Bucket List. Can't wait to blog it (Oct 1st!). Can't wait to start checking it off! I'm SO thrilled for FALL!!!!

2. This snazzy dresser. (That tutu is from my photography prop bin and she just wouldn't leave the house without it on. She literally tore the other skirt I had on her off. At least she loves color :)

3. The sweet little rocking chair my Grandpa just made for Isla. I love looking at it in my living room- so darn sweet.

4. Our Family Pics from Sunday--can't wait to edit!

5. Taxes. Dammit I hate doing taxes and I hate being on an extension. blugghhhhh!

6. Halloween decor- Time to bust that out!!!

7. This rain. Oh, how I'm loving this misty, wonderful, ocean rain :) Tonight after putting Isla down I picked up the house and turned on just enough mood lighting. I love when it's raining out and my house is filled with a warm glow--perfect Fall.

8. Hunter rain boots for Isla. DROOL!

9. Decorating Isla's rooom.....so many ideas. so little time.

10. Buying newborn pressies for a baby I can't wait to meet. GAHHHHH!

xoxo.
S

Hug It Out!

Hi Friends! 

As many of you know my kid has been quite a terrorist lately-- she is going through a definite growth spurt and has been teething but she's just a bit of a crazy-terrorist also-- between not napping, being overtired and throwing dramatic tantrums I've been researching every 'course of action' (i.e.: googling how the F do I stay sane with a toddler?!) 

One of the best methods I've found is something so simple and it sounds completely crazy. When I read about it I literally LOL'd. Right at the computer screen. 

Just - "HA.HA.- You must be out of your damned mind." 

The advice stated that when your kiddos having a fit to offer to give them a hug. If they agree.....

Just hug it out. 

I know, I know.....all of you are imagining your kiddos in the midst of a tantrum when they look like they are definitely possessed by an angry demon who is out to ruin your life and wanting to hug that little person can be terrifying...but here's the deal, it totally works and I think for Isla's age where many of her fits are because she's tired or can't verbalize exactly what she wants it provides just enough distraction for her to slow down, relax for a moment and either move on or refocus. It also provides a quiet opportunity to talk (in few words) to them about what can be done to relieve the situation. Obviously this only works if your kid isn't hurting themselves or other kiddos during the tantrum. So seriously, give it a shot if you need a new method in your arsenal of tantrum-relief. 

For older kiddos (i.e.: 2+) I've heard really good things about removing them from the situation and taking deep breaths with them. Taking deep breaths is a natural relaxation method and in my opinion, a skill they can use for the rest of their lives (god knows I take about 150 deep-relaxing-patience inducing breaths a day when dealing with my crazy kid). 

And of course Time-Out. Has anyone used the 1-2-3 Magic Method? or any of the Time-In methods? 

If you have advice on this or completely disagree message me or comment-- I'm interested and obviously digging for my info! 

xo. 

S

PS- I was reminded to write about this because of this blog, check out her post here.

Genius Momvice!

Hi Friends!

A couple quick posts coming your way! I've meant to do these all week but have been bogged down with a very fussy-teething-non-napping Toddler (yikes!) and photography editing (I love my sessions but ready for the season to be over at the end of October- yay me!).

I wanted to share a little tip I just read from my hospital's emails to parents that I thought was great---

I'm pretty patient with Isla when it comes to messes and I try to see the lesson in whatever mess she has made. The only one that really gets me is when she won't eat her food and it ends up all over the floor. I know this is a powerful teaching tool and necessary for development but it has made me INSANE the last couple months especially because my normally 'great-eater' turned into a very particular, bossy eater (pointing out what she would and wouldn't eat-- seriously, what does she think this is? A 4-star restaurant apparently!)

Anywho- evenings would quickly turn into chaos and my patience would drain immediately! When she's not napping (i.e.: we're BOTH exhausted!) and I make her something healthy from scratch and it ends up on the floor--nothing takes my anger from 0-10 faster. I don't love to cook so the effort and frustration hits an all time high. All of this led to me not giving her utensils often enough. #MomFail

I read a really helpful tip that said you don't have to just give them utensils at dinner time- if dinner is chaos (as it is in my house at the moment) give them utensils in the morning or afternoon to experiment with when you have fresh patience and aren't worn down. I loved this tip and it's really helped her improve and grow with using her utensils...and helped me not feeling like a crappy parent who holds her kid back because of messes and a lack of patience. Win! Win!

Now....if anyone knows how to get her to nap we'll be life long friends....I would even consider paying you a large sum of money. Wishful thinking!

xoxo.
S

Deals!

Hi Friends!

I ran in Target yesterday and before Isla had a MAJOR MELTDOWN (UG!) I spotted a couple bargains--food for thought!

 They now sell Hape wooden toys at Target! Yay! Those little tubes of wooden animals/cars are so fun-- my nieces loved the animal one!  (and $5.39-- are you kidding me?!) 

They just got in new fun Fall tights -- I love the heavy tights for Fall/Winter and couldn't deny how cute this cheetah print will be on Isla's little stems. They had a couple cute patterns and for $5 you can't beat it! 

and last but not least I went to the Rack today and snagged these pair of knockoff Uggs for $25. Of course no one really believes they're Uggs but if your kid has fairy feet like mine and they aren't fitting in cute boots quite yet this may be a good option. You really can't beat that price! I figured for how quickly Isla ruins clothes/shoes these would work for us. 

Now--- where to find cheap Hunters?! (LMK if you spot them!) 

xo. 

S

Seattle's Wooden Boat Museum and Waterfront

Hi Friends! 

We had such fun going down to the Wooden Boat Museum in South Lake Union near Downtown Seattle this weekend. We were looking for a fun, outdoor, family activity for cheap and we found it! The parking is super easy (remember to pay!), there are lots of wooden boats stashed all over the place to look at, the museum was quick with nice-clean exhibits and the waterfront was fun to walk around on. If you know me, you know that I am not a fan of docks (at all- like AT ALL) so it's a miracle I had such a good time doing this. It was nice that there were so many wonderful distractions. You can go on a free boat ride which a lot of people were doing. I wouldn't recommend taking kiddos unless they are over 4 years old on the boats because they're pretty small and you don't want to go for an emergency swim. Another perk were all of the seaplanes flying in-- it was really fun to see them landing on the water (and watching the boats scatter! :) 

The Museum is right next to MOHAI :) I still need to do this! 

The museum is right next to Mohai and is part of the recently renovated South Lake Union Waterfront- it's pretty awesome over there! They have TONS of area to walk around and let your little ones run around like crazy-- Isla LOVED the open space to sprint. There is also a manmade pond with little boats you can rent and a beach area. So much FREE fun to take advantage of!

Go enjoy this free fun in Seattle - it's totally worth the trip! And now....an Isla + Mom selfie just for you :) xo.

DIY: Ribbon Bracelets

Hi Friends!

Last week I watched both girls while my very-prego-fabulous-Mama Friend, L had some time to relax alone before baby arrives. I decided I needed activities to keep the little girls busy for a couple hours. Besides glowsticks and masking tape to stick things they found in the yard on (they are little adventurers :) I made these really fun ribbon bracelets for dancing. Both little ladies love music and dancing so I thought this would something easy and fun for them! They were SUPER easy to make and relatively cheap too. There are numerous DIY's on pinterest for them and you can probably figure it out yourself but here are a couple tips!

1. I stocked up on ribbon at Michaels' but anywhere with cheap ribbon works. I put anywhere from 7-9 colors on a bracelet and varied the colors/patterns.

2. I measured them by pulling out what I thought was long enough, folding them in half and seeing how far they hung on the bracelet. The halves were about one-arm's length. I made little piles so I could grab them easily (and to keep Isla out of them)

3. It was easiest for me to stick them on my window pulls and do them standing up since Isla was harassing me (see her feet upside down no the speaker below? my goodness!) but you can also do them kicked back on the couch!

4. All you do is fold the ribbon in half and pull the loose ends through the loop. Make sure it's tight and I did a knot to give it a little "speed bump" to go over if it's trying to unravel (they do come loose but they're easy to reassemble.

You can use wooden circles for the 'bracelet' part - I used the cheap, plastic bracelets from the Dollar Store but I saw several things that would have worked (they even sell oval purse handles at the fabric store that would work!)

5. After it's assembled you can help the edges not unravel by painting the tips with clear nail polish. I cut them at an angle and did a quick polish. Super easy!

6. The girls had a BALL with them dancing to Taylor Swift and Happy! Such fun!

Oh! and if you're a sports fan they make touchdowns extra fun for your little one! I made Gator colored bracelets for my Miami Nieces and they loved them (please notice how Grace won't share with  her little Sis, typical Big Sister- ha! :)

Happy Crafting! 

S

catching up

Hi Friends!

Sorry for the long breaks between blogs---Isla's been REALLY challenging lately and I'm still trying to catch up on my Photography editing.

We had a really nice weekend which was made possible by B NOT WORKING AT ALL---amazing. I was like, "oh, this is how the other half lives!" ha! We had our moments with Isla's crazy moods and tantrums but overall it was such a lovely, relaxing, family-filled weekend! I hope yours was great as well.

I have decided to join one of the local (and very popular!) toddler groups because I know I need another Fall activity for Isla and honestly I need to talk to other parents and find out what they're doing that is working with these toddler-manic-moods! I hear everything that Isla's doing is totally normal for her age and that it doesn't get better as she heads into the 'age two and three zone' (insert VERY SCARED emoji Mom here!) As my best friend said last week when I called her after a particularly challenging day-- "it's not like they turn two and turn into little jerks"-- which is so true, apparently that happens around 19 months in my case. I like to think of this phase as Isla dishing up a little preview of what the next couple years may look like...and let me just say, "god help us!"

I think the hardest thing right now is that she goes from being so fun and in a great mood to being super destructive with hyerp-active energy (as my Father-in-law said this weekend, 'she's planning her next move while she's carrying out her current one' which totally fits). As I mentioned before she has also started rolling on the floor and dramatically crawling in public during a fit that's more of a dramatic episode than a true tantrum. She's usually not loud or disruptive but more over-dramatic and most likely ... tired.

I know Isla has a serious sleep issue. She's a great night sleeper but she resists a nap EVERY SINGLE DAY. On average she's been taking a nap about once a week lately. Some days (like yesterday) she's great and when I get her up after doing her nap routine and laying her down for a bit she plays and is really fun but most days she is just a complete and utter terrorist--which is where much of the exhausted energy and destruction comes in. If she allowed herself just one little nap during the day it would change our day for the better in so many ways. I don't know how to help with that---I'm really hoping more Fall activities do the trick for the time being.

On that note---it's time to get her up from her latest 'non-napping' episode and try a stroll, maybe she'll at least relax a little. ug! Time to buy a stress ball and get back into yoga!

xoxo.
S

Grandparents Day!

Hi Friends!

Last year, I totally failed on Grandparents Day (i.e.: Today!) so this year I put it on my calendar a week early to make sure I got gifts out and celebrated with Isla's Grandparents (all 6 of them- including 'Greats'!) as they deserve! 

Isla apparently didn't get the memo that it was time to celebrate..... :) 

.....But we still had a great time prepping gifts and seeing the ones we could meet up with! We made all of them handprint trees and gifted an updated picture of Miss Isla (from her 18 month session). What Grandparent doesn't want a new pic for the mantle? No brainer!

I already have next year's gift planned- It's a good one!

I hope your Grandparents Day and weekend were wonderful! 

xo. 

S