Its a Hero

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What I’m Loving Wednesday //

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It’s still Spring break around here and we’re keeping busy with activities and naps galore! But I feel like I’ve had too many awesome experiences to ignore as of late!

So I’m sharing what’s good — here’s what I’m loving lately:

  • The brand new podcast S-Town, from the people who bring you Serial and This American Life. I’m only one episode in and I’m already hooked. Totally hooked!

  • The new mid-year Day Designer came out last week and I’m beyond in love with the designs. I’ve tried every planner out there — you name it, I’ve tried it. But the Day Designer is, by far, my favorite.

  • I’m in love with all of the doormat tutorials I’ve seen lately. I think I’ve found my next craft project! Let’s just add it to the list, ya’ll.

  • I’m feeling particularly inspired by OohBother’s 72-Hour Cleanse. Perhaps even so inspired that I’ll actually do it (I’m thinking this weekend….). Thoughts??

  • The @InTheCLE twitter feed! I’m going to be the featured tweeter starting this Sunday! It’s my third time tweeting for In The CLE and I’m super excited — you should totally follow along.

That’s pretty much the extent of my excitement for now! What are you loving this Wednesday!? 

 

A { For Real } Mother’s Day Wish List

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In case you live under a rock, Mother’s Day is coming up this weekend. And since that fateful October day several years ago, Mother’s Day has taken on some serious meaning to me. Yep, Moosh made me a Mommy and, much to my amazement, I’m forever a changed woman!

That being said, I stand by my oh-so-many of my first year Mommy requests. And I’ve expanded upon them a teeny, tiny, bit.

And in the spirit of honesty, here’s what this Mommy really wants for Mother’s Day this year (… and literally every Mother’s Day from here on out):

itsahero_momsday

  1.  A Spa Day. I mean, like a full-on spa day; a no kids, no responsibilities, nothing-but-pampering, kind of spa day. For whatever reason, massages alone tend not to relax me. I’m always thinking about my to-do list. But the one time I had an actual spa day (which just so happened to be my wedding day), I was incredibly relaxed.
  2. A Beer Flight. Like, in an actual restaurant/brewery. Tasting, smelling, drinking it all in. Give me all the hops!
  3. Lots of Macarons. The elusive macaron. Pretty much the only cookie I haven’t even attempted to master. And they just so happen to be my most favorite of all of the sweets!
  4. A Yoga Class. It’s been a shamefully long time since I’ve practiced yoga. Pre-Remy Bea pregnancy, that’s for sure! And I need some hot, sweaty, breathing-in-unison, class time. I know as soon as I get back to it, I’ll be addicted to that post-yoga high.
  5. A Hotel Room, A Bath Robe, + Room Service. No one else. No people. No talking. No questions. Nothing else. Just me. And the quiet. And the TV. And the wine. Is that so much to ask!? Ha!
  6. The Day Designer Planner. Mine was, tragically, “lost” during our car break-in incident last year. Bummer. Mega bummer. I’m a stickler for my planner and I haven’t yet replaced my old one with a ‘good’ planner. And I’m a planner snob (and a beer snob. and a cookie snob. and a coffee snob….). And nothing comes close to competing with this planner!

In all seriousness, this *is* my wishlist. But also? As much as they drive me nuts, I cannot seem to stand being away from my children. Sigh. Such a double-edged sword, this motherhood thing!

In reality, I’ll be surprising my husband with an early birthday gift on Sunday instead of celebrating Mother’s Day… Because I totally forgot that the day I was planning fell on Mother’s Day! Ooooopsie!

31 FOR 31 //

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It’s been a while since I set any sort of goals for myself. In fact, it’s been over a year! Holy smokes. So it’s time to change that — to give myself a sense of purpose in my thirty-first year of life. Even if this list is making its way two whole months after my 31st birthday. 🙂

I’ve posted similar goals sporadically in the past, but I’ve always gone a bit ‘overboard’ with my lists. Which completely overwhelms me and then I do absolutely none of it. So this year I’m keeping it simple-ish.

31for31
[1]  Run another half marathon. Having a baby in the middle of the winter will certainly help because we won’t have many options to leave the house. So enter the treadmill!

[2]  Find a new job/career that will offer more of a work/life balance.

[3]  Have a successful no-spend 30 days.

[4]  …. in which I also cook/eat at home for 30 days straight.

[5]  Pay it forward to someone by paying for their coffee.

[6]  Take a cooking class.

[7]  Take a “makers” workshop of some sort.

[8]  Purge + donate old items from my closet.

[9]  Get rid of old electronics.

[10]  Completely reorganize our bedroom.

[11]  Completely reorganize our laundry room.

[12]  Donate blood.

[13]  Get a haircut. I know this seems like NBD. But honestly? I haven’t had a haircut in like 18 months.

[14]  Get back to my pre-baby weight.

[15]  Attend a county or state fair.

[16]  Participate in another Wine + Canvas event.

[17]  Meditate everyday for 30 days.

[18]  Do a 7-day juice fast.

[19]  Workout for 30-days straight.

[20]  Go 30-days without alcohol Postpartum obvy cause being pregnant and doing that would be cheating, right?

[21]  Complete a cross-stitch project that I’ve had the tools for.

[22]  Go to a comedy show.

[23]  Take a road trip to NY State.

[24]  Attend a pro sporting event.

[25]  See a movie at The Nightlight theater in Akron.

[26]  Take a Balance + Brews yoga class.

[27]  Complete a 60-day streak of 10k steps per day.

[28]  Set up my home-office in my bedroom.

[29]  Take a SUP yoga class.

[30]  Visit a local winery and do a wine tasting.

[31]  Attend a yoga event.

I feel like this list is totally attainable — unlike other lists I’ve made in the past. So I’m totally looking forward to scratching one off at a time! No worries — I’ll update it as I go!

Sidenote: I totally almost named this “31 before 31″… and it literally took me like 3 hours to realize that I AM ALREADY 31! Ha. Myyyyy bad.

what to get a toddler for the holidays //

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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!?

because it’s been a week now…

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One of the main reasons I was so anxious to find out if we were expecting another little boy or our first baby girl, was because I want to either: a. pack all of our boy stuff up (I’m not ready to part with it yet), or b. look for all new awesome girl stuff.

Sooo obviously you know what I’ve been up to over the last week. The search is on! And as much as I truly adore boy clothes (seriously they are SO cute), there are some equally adorable girl clothes. Bonus? I tore through my bins of clothes to find the baby girl clothes I hid away about 13 years ago! 🙂

But here are some things on my “Baby Girl Wish List” right now (because let’s be real… it’s going to grow).

Hello World
This Hello World newborn gown.
From Etsy shop ShopVivaLaGlitter. 

feed me
This Feed Me + Tell Me I’m Pretty outfit.
From Etsy Shop Three Sweet Limes.

blanket
This Personalized Name Blanket.
From Jennifer Ann. carters

This completely unrealistic Faux Fur Vest.
From Carters.

goldleaf

This Gold Leaf Headband.
From Etsy shop WildJuniper.
And pretty much everything else in this shop.

Aaaand this is just the start of my wish list. I can see it just growing and growing over the next several months.

Road Trip Must-Haves

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This summer I’ve travelled solo with Moosh a couple of times. Well, guys, I’m a freaking pro these days! And we’re taking one last small trip. And while I’m putting together our travel necessities, I decided to share our go-to road trip list!

1. A LeapPad (and/or iPad). We bring both. Especially on a long trip. Our iPad doesn’t have 3G/4G access, but we do have it loaded up with movies! It seriously makes him a perfect traveller!

2. Beef Jerky (or Pork or Turkey). This is our personal go-to snack (for the parents, not the toddler). It’s high in protein and really helps this mama’s tummy!

3. Tissues. Because, snot. But no seriously. Whenever I have them, I don’t need them; whenever I don’t have them, I desperately need them. So yeah, better to be safe than sorry!

4. Podcasts. I’m obsessed with Podcasts. Obsessed! My favorites are Serial, Undisclosed, This American Life, and Mortified. Road trip or not, if you haven’t checked these out, you must! Must!

5. Toddler-Friendly Drinks. We prefer Honest Kids juice pouches, and so does Moosh!

6. Toddler-Friendly Snacks. Our go-to snacks are Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies and the other cookie offerings they have. Our little dude loves them!

7. Audible. Audiobooks are perfect for longer road trips. I like to have one that is just long enough for our trip, one-way. And I do lots and lots of research on a good book that will keep us entertained for hours in the car. This has worked out very well for us. Also? If you sign up with Audible

8. Potty Seat. Travelling with a newly potty-trained toddler? Potty chair is a MUST. Like, no question about it. I’m not taking this kid into a rest stop. I. just. can’t! Ha.

9. Coffee. Lots and lots and lots of coffee.

10. Plastic Bags. Because you literally never know when you’re going to need a plastic bag. Seriously.

11. Wipes. Just like the plastic bags, you never know when you’re going to need them. And they aren’t just for the toddler! They’re also for spills,

12. Google Maps. Do people use traditional GPS devices anymore? We use Google Maps for EVERYTHING!

13. Hand Sanitizer. I have an aversion to germs. Especially when travelling. I just always feel ‘icky.’ So I keep this on-hand at all times. Yes, I’d prefer to always have clean hands via soap + water; but if that’s not possible, this is a perfect backup.

So there’s our list! It’s not all-inclusive, but it is a handy start! Is there anything I missed that is on your ‘must-have’ travel list!?