Its a Hero

gifts

Holiday Gift Guide // For Her

by 26 Comments

I can’t believe it’s nearly here! You know what I’m talking about — the most wonderful time of the year! Ya know, Christmas hasn’t always been my favorite holiday (I’m more of a Thanksgiving gal), but having kids has changed me in that way. I absolutely love Christmas because they love it so much.

And I have to say, because of them, I’ve gotten much better at gift-giving! And even though this holiday is all about the kids, I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite items — FOR HER!

The Instant Pot.

My husband bought me an Instant Pot, which is an electric pressure cooker and slow cooker, two Christmases ago. It was an effort to make me more comfortable at cooking — and doing so quickly since we’re such a busy family.

And I absolutely LOVE it. Some of my favorite recipes are made in the Instant Pot and I’ve discovered even more through the huge IP community online.

Book of the Month Subscription.

I discovered Book of the Month last year and I haven’t turned back. I’ve had this continuous goal, year after year, to read more. But things come up; I never make it to the library; and I definitely haven’t seen the inside of a bookstore in years. BOTM makes it easy. You sign up as a member by entering your shipping information and choosing your favorite genres. The membership costs are $14.99 a month for one hardcover book, and you can add on additional books for $9.99 each.

The best part is that BOTM uses ‘judges’ who suggest books to you based on your preferences. The books I’ve received were items I probably would have passed over at the store, but I have enjoyed them so much!

You can give the gift of a subscription on their website.

Day Designer Planner.

It’s no secret that I absolutely LOVE my Day Designer daily planner — I talk about it all of the time! And what a better gift right before the New Year, right?!

The full 2018 line is out now and available in full-size and mini! I always get the full size (because my purse is basically a diaper bag these days), but the mini is the perfect size for smaller bags!

I wish I could have one in every design and style for 2018!

Essential Oil Diffuser.

We use essential oils in a multitude of ways, but my personal favorite is diffusing them. Different oils work in different ways, but we use them in the kids rooms and in our bedroom. For the kids we diffuse ‘sniffle stopper’ blends or, our personal favorite ‘calm the child‘ blend, whenever they need it. Which, let’s face it, is every night.

This diffuser also acts as a night light in several different shades (Ari’s favorite is the ‘white blue,’ which is his way of saying ‘light blue.’). But this particular diffuser is super inexpensive and works amazing! Perfect for the Mama or Wife in your life (Hello, relaxation!).

A Netflix Gift Card.

Netflix is LIFE! I mean it. Between zoning out in front of the TV for an hour after the kids go to bed, to playing the Magic School Bus for the kids for just 30 minutes of peace and quiet(ish), Netflix is seriously a sanity saver.

You don’t need to buy a subscription for the lady in your life, just buy her a Netflix gift card! You’re basically buying her sanity. Remember that.

A Meal Subscription Box.

When all else fails, make dinnertime easy for her. I’ve tried quite a few of the meal subscription boxes and I have to say that I’ve loved them all!

It takes the guesswork out of meals. The ingredients are all right there, the directions are clear, and they literally bring it to your doorstep. Sign. me. UP. There are so many different options to choose from — Blue Apron, Plated, Home Chef, Hello Fresh, Sun Basket, and more. All of them offer something that she can’t afford to lose — time!

More than anything, if she’s anything like me, she’ll appreciate some time to herself, some peace and quiet, and a nice meal with a glass of wine. Honestly. But if you want to go above and beyond, try one of these — for sure!

What item would you like to receive this holiday season?! 

Life Lately + A Last Minute Gift Guide //

by Leave a Comment

I’ve had grand plans of all of these amazing things I want to share with you before the holidays. But, realistically, my time management has not been great lately. Combine that with a sleep regression (thanks, Remy Bea) and the stomach bug? Well, that’s a recipe for dirty dishes and takeout every night.

So many-a posts have gone neglected.

That being said, there are a few things I want to share with you before we all get completely overwhelmed with the holidays.

  • Ari had his first Christmas program at school and it was every bit as adorable as you might imagine. He knew we were taking video and photos, so instead of singing, he was saying “cheese!”
    Melt my cold as stone heart!

fullsizerender-23
 

  • If you’re frantically looking for last-minute gift ideas, I leave you with these:
  • We were given a #JustBecauseCard at Chick-fil-A the other day. It was an awesome experience. And I still have butterflies from the whole experience! It turns out the movement was started by a local church. Even though we are not church people (at all), I’ve already had mega respect for this church. And this just elevated them even more.

 

  • For those of you trying to find the perfect wine to bring to your upcoming holiday party, run — fast — to Aldi. You heard me right. Aldi. Grab a bottle of their Flirty Bird Red Blend. It is incredible. No joke. And it’s less than $6 a bottle. Yep. You read that right. Less than $6 a bottle and an amazing wine!
    flirtybird

 

  • I’m still totally okay with cancelling Christmas obligations. Right now the only thing on my radar is getting through the next two work days, shopping for last minute gifts, and taking Ari to the movies Saturday morning. From there? We’re staying in. That’s it. Nothing else. Nada.

Easy Gift-Giving with #GrouponGoods

by 18 Comments

groupon

Back before having children I felt like my gift-giving game was on-point! I mean, I had energy to plan and prepare for birthdays, Christmas, and everything in between. Now? Now my life is full of uncertainty. I was barely able to plan and prep for my own kids birthday this year, let alone anyone else’s!

And nowadays I have countless nieces and nephews to buy for, but, quite frankly, little clue what to actually get for them! (Having kids that are four and under means I’m totally and utterly clueless what is fun and popular for older kids!).

Over the last year I’ve purchased nearly every birthday gift from Groupon.

screen-shot-2016-10-30-at-12-01-32-pm
The options for gift-giving are endless on the Groupon Goods section of the site! From books, to dolls, to baby gates! And don’t you worry, there are plenty of gifts for adults, too! The ever-so-popular adult coloring books and, my personal favorite, wine shipments!

screen-shot-2016-10-30-at-12-11-45-pm
It’s a great way to shop for all of the special people in your life, from babies to adults! Even my very hard to buy for husband has enjoyed goodies courtesy of my purchases on Groupon Goods, especially on the electronics section!

So for once I’m not concerned about the holidays coming up. My gift-giving needs are completely covered — and I don’t even have to leave the house while I’m saving money! I call that a major win.

What’s your favorite thing to shop for on Groupon?

Christmas 2015 // that’s a wrap!

by Leave a Comment

Guys – my holiday hangover is still in full-force. … and I didn’t even partake in any ‘party’ festivities, so to speak! Ha! But seriously, something about celebrating Christmas leaves everyone in a post-Christmas lull. For me, it’s a mix between that and pregnancy exhaustion. But I’ll blame it on the holidays. 😉

Christmas Eve-Eve  //

Well thanks to my ‘schedule clearing up,’ we were able to attend Chad’s families Christmas Eve-Eve party! Unfortunately, Chad was still working, so Ari and I went at it alone. And let me tell you… any shyness that Moosh use to have? it’s GONE. Big time. GONE. He was the life of the party… and he knew it. And he loved it! And for once, I didn’t have to chase him around, because he was a “big boy” enough to play semi-independently with the other kiddo!

ITSAHERO-XMAS-EVEVE
Christmas Eve  //

Chad worked Christmas Eve until about 3:30PM or so, so Ari and I met up with my friend Kristi and her kids at Chick-Fil-A for lunch.

ITSAHERO-XMAS-EVE
It was amazing to see Ari ‘ooh‘ and ‘ahh‘ over Kristi’s baby girl. He’s been around her since she was born, but he has never ever taken interest in any babies. Well, perhaps it’s because he’s finally come to terms with the fact that Baby Girl will be here before he knows it!

After that little playdate we honestly did nada! We had zero plans, so PJs at 5pm was absolutely in order. In fact, Ari and I may have actually been in PJs before Chad got home! Ha!

And we finally had our first experience with the “Santa is coming!” jitters! I know this is the first of many years to come, but it was so funny trying to get him to relax and go to bed knowing Santa was ‘looming’ around the corner! Eventually, we all fell asleep. [thank goodness!]

Christmas Day  //

We woke up at about 7:30-8ish. I was exhausted, but totally excited to see the look on Ari’s face! He came downstairs slowly and exclaimed “Santa came!”

ITSAHERO-XMAS-MORNING
It took a while to open presents because he would rip the paper off the present and then he would beg us to open it and to start playing with it right away! Ha! So it was a process of “open this,” “no, we’ll play with that when we get through all the presents,” to “OK Ari next present.” Tear it open and repeat!

ITSAHERO-XMAS-MORNING1
After assessing the Santa/presents situation, we tried to take a nap — Ha! That was a short-lived dream. 🙂 We ‘awoke’ to my father-in-laws visit with us to celebrate Christmas! We relaxed until it was time to go to dinner. See? We were doing a mega-ultra-relaxed Christmas celebration.

And a sorry to my Jewish friends, but we totally had plans to steal your Christmas and go to our favorite local Chinese restaurant. In our defense, though, I’m fairly certain that NONE of the people that were eating at this restaurant were Jewish; but the restaurant was very busy. We ate and ate and ate. Went home and played some more. A pretty perfect Christmas day!

December 26th  //

We. slept. in! Thank goodness. We all needed it. And after breakfast, we took Moosh to Cafe O’Play for their 1-Year Anniversary celebration!

Chad, my father-in-law, Moosh, and I met up with Ari’s girlfriend, Veronique, and her mommy for a fun playdate! And they totally soaked up every second together!

ITSAHERO-XMAS-CAFE
And before we knew it, it was time to go home and all take a big family nap! We seriously did SO much of this over the holiday break. Naps, naps, naps. You would think we would all be extremely well-rested, but that’s definitely not the case!

what to get a toddler for the holidays //

by 1 Comment

One thing I’ve learned about babies and toddlers is that you can totally go overboard with gifts. And well, everything. They get very over stimulated very quickly. At birthday parties, we’ve learned not to open every gift. In fact, we only open about 3. The rest? We put in storage to be opened later [and if I’m being completely honest, we put them into hiding so we can “regift” them — to him! — for Christmas just a few months later!].

The times he seems most uninterested in gifts is when he is overwhelmed. So this year, out of necessity and sanity, we are only giving him a select number of gifts for Christmas.

itsahero_toddlerboyxmas

  1. Matchbox Cars. All of the fancy toys in the world don’t compare to silly Matchbox Cars. I’ve learned that boys just love driving cars all over the place. So getting a giant box of cars is going to make his freaking day.
  2. Fake Power Tools. He was obsessed with this Home Depot drill his friend K had, so he ended up picking out a Home Depot Leaf Blower with his Toys R Us birthday gift card. 🙂 It’s so funny cause he thinks it actually works to blow things. [hint: it doesn’t]
  3. Action Figures. Especially the Marvel Titan series. Bonus? If I get roped into playing, it’s like Barbies, but with boys. Inexpensive. Sturdy. Fun.
  4. Ants in the Pants. I was surprised to learn that he’s playing games like this at the sitters house. And actually focusing; like sitting down and actually listening/following directions! So I picked up this game [which, admittedly, was my favorite preschool game as a kid] on Black Friday!
  5. Candy canes. Because, candy. And it’s a crowd-pleaser.
  6. Green Toys Dump Truck. Not only is it eco-friendly, but this dude suddenly became obsessed with dump trucks. When we go to friends houses, he immediately passes up the fancy toys and goes straight to the big trucks.
  7. Amazon Fire Tablet. Before you get all judgy about being ‘that mom’ that gives her kid a tablet, let me clarify: Ari has been using Chad’s old iPad for like a year now. Chad upgraded a while back and then pretty much it became Ari’s iPad. It had movies and preschool games on it. Aaaand it hasn’t been holding a charge for a few months so we haven’t used it in a long time. So the other day Amazon had the Kindle Fire on sale for $30 (!!!!!!) so guess who is getting a tablet [WITH a very childproof case]? Yep. Moosh. Really, they are great to have on hand for learning games and movies for road trips.

Looking at this list now, it looks like a lot. But I swear it’s easy to go overboard. And really + truly, we haven’t spent much at all on gifts. We’ve acquired them when we find them on sale and let them pile up over the months before Christmas!

What are your go-to toddler boy gifts!?

etsy pregnancy wish list

by 1 Comment

I am so excited winter is on it’s way! I know, I know… I’ve said that a lot recently. But even saying it ONCE, for me, is completely out of character! I told Chad that the sole reason I’m so excited this winter is knowing that I won’t have to drive in winter weather often [thanks, Baby Girl + maternity leave!]. But also because that means I can stay bundled up at home, complete with hot chocolate and Netflix, on the couch. Oh, no… I know it won’t be a vacation. I realize that I’ll also be responsible for keeping TWO children alive. But still. In those moments when Moosh is asleep and I’m nursing a baby, I’m going to enjoy that Netflix and hot cocoa!

I’ve also comprised a “Holiday Etsy Maternity/Postpartum Wish Lists” of sorts… [for anyone looking to buy me something — LOL!]

A non-traditional nursing cover/infinity scarf.
Like this one from etsy shop Kismet Love Collection.
Seriously. They are adorable. And they are scarves!
Gah! I’m in love.

kismet

Baby Girls’ Coming Home Outfit.
I realize absolutely zero people will see this in real life,
but lord knows I’ll be posting it on instagram, right? Ha!
This one from Adorned Baby Boutique is adorable.
I’m not big on pink, but gold? Heck yes. Give Baby Girl all the gold!

itsahero_cominghome

A Birthing Gown for the hospital.
I know it seems super shallow, but I honestly got one for my L&D with Ari.
And it was way more comfortable than the hospital gown.
It was plain black, but perhaps I want to go a little bit more frilly for Baby Girl? Ha.
This one from Stork Apparel is cute, but not overly girly.

itsahero_birthgown

Super Comfy Warm Socks.
‘Cause January is going to be mega cold, y’all.
And even though I’ve been hot-blooded this pregnancy,
I know that as soon as this baby comes, I’ll be cold. Again.
And these socks from Fir Tree Knitwear are adorable AND wool!
Swoon!

itsahero_warmsocks

Reusable Nursing Pads.
With Moosh I used these silicone reusable nursing pads.
They were horrible. If my boobs leaked, they would itch uncontrollably.
So this time I want fabric reusable pads.
And these handmade nursing pads from Marleys Monsters are cute and inexpensive!

 

itsahero_nursing

A Giant Warm Robe.
Cause, winter + nursing.
And this robe from Wrapped In A Cloud looks SO warm and cozy.

itsahero_robe
 

An Oversized Sweater.
Do you notice a theme here? Big, comfy, and warm?
Yep. Give me all the big, comfy, and warm.
I wish I could afford this giant sweater from Rose Unique Style.

itsahero_sweater
I’m just loving all of this stuff. And I know none of it is necessary to have, but gosh would it be nice to be warm and cozy after Baby Girl is born! ♥