Remember these posts? Ha. It’s been a while. I really liked writing them each week and hope to post them more often. I write about my parenting ups & downs not to focus on the negative aspects, but to share how even in down moments of life there are always ups! The high times almost always over power the low moments. Together we can find solidarity in each others struggles and triumphs!

MY WEEKLY UPS:
1. Rowan is out of control funny lately. She is just constantly talking about things! The funny things she comes up with crack me up. I love hearing her little mannerisms emerge and how she says words. For example she calls a “bee” a “buzz buzz”, too funny right? She was making me laugh the other night when I tied a swaddle blanket around her neck and “Super Rowan” emerged.

2. The relationship between Rowan and Finley really is amazing. It kind of makes me want to have a million more kids. Rowan is so sweet to Finley, I truly think she loves her. Rowan is pretty much the only one that can consistently make Finley laugh (like a laugh out loud giggle)- holy cow that makes my heart melt.

3. I am not going to lie, hearing people say that Finley is a Mommy’s girl is pretty much the best thing ever. Not only does she look just like me, but she is pretty obsessed with me too. I love it. I love that no matter who is holding her, she always scans the room for me. Ha! Is that selfish? Rowan was always a Daddy’s girl, so I am going to enjoy this mommy love.

MY WEEKLY DOWNS:
1. Rowan has always been a good sleeper. We have had our struggles for sure, but nothing that a night or two of sleep training couldn’t fix. Finley has been an awesome sleeper too. I think we have taken it for granted because for the last month each one of them has on average been up a minimum of 2 times a night. I swear we sleep no longer than an hour at a time before someone else wakes up. I am pretty sure we are slowly going crazy. If it’s not one of them than its the other. I wake up like a zombie every morning. I know it’s just a stage and this too will pass but good golly I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.

2. The foot stomp. Oh Rowan. What you think you are accomplishing with that little foot stomp is beyond me. But you sure like to show you are mad with it. We are trying to work on expressing our feelings in a different way. We don’t tolerate being rude around here.

3. Teething. Why, oh why can’t it last one day and be done? Poor sweet Finley just got her first 2 teeth. They popped through one night and we finally realized why we weren’t allowed to put her down for the past week.

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Last week I had the honor of sharing these pictures over on A Beautiful Mess (Love those girls!) but wanted to share here as well! Other than Rowan’s room, the family room is the only other space in our house that is completely finished. We’ve been able to get most of the house to where it feels done just not finished yet. I am now working slowly to finishing off each room. I don’t want 5 years to pass and still feel like we are moving in. It’s so rewarding to walk into a finished room and feel at home. I want the rest of the house to feel like that too.

The kitchen is a work in progress, but I am happy with it at the moment. Hopefully this summer we are going to paint all the cabinets. I just need to get my hands on a spray gun first. What attracted us to the house in the first place was the big open floor plan. The downstairs all flows in a big circle. I love being able to see everyone no matter where you are downstairs. Like I mentioned over on A Beautiful Mess, I know that everyone gathers in the kitchen during parties and gatherings. Since the family room is attached to the kitchen, I wanted it to be an inviting and welcoming area. I didn’t want it to be where we had the tv. We spend a lot of time in there as a family and I wanted toys, books and the idea being creative to be the focus of the room.

I created a little nook for Rowan to read, draw and hang her artwork. We have baskets for toys and the dresser is filled with puzzles and games for her to play with. I am proud of this room because for a long time I struggled with how to decorate the way I liked, but also making it kid friendly. I feel like we found a good balance. I have accepted that for the next little bit I will not have a bar cart with fancy glasses and vintage bottles. I am ok with that. I would much rather have a well loved home with little kiddos running around.

The shelves were a major labor of love. Let me just say the older gentleman that work at Home Depot during the day thought I was crazy. I was hell bent on getting them done before Finley was born. I was 9 month pregnant, pushing a cart with a toddler in it and getting pipes cut (and then recut) and threaded everyday for like 2 weeks. It was a lot harder than I thought getting all the measurements right for this stupid custom shelf. It paid off in the end. I love it, but for a good long while I thought it was never going to work.

Chaise Lounge Chairs: Ikea
Owl Pillow: Modcloth
Magenta Bolster Pillow: Target
Gold Table: Target
White Desk Chair: CB2
Dresser: Thrifted from Goodwill
White Table Lamp: Homegoods
Rowans Vintage Desk: Thrifted
Shelves: Handmade
Bruins Cat: Handmade
Rowans Chalk board: Handmade (Tutorial Here)
Hanging Planters: Habitat Restore
Floor Poof: Target
Deer Painting: Handmade
Baskets: Homegoods

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I like when the weather warms up because I can wear wedges more often. They are much easier to wear with kids around than heels. Granted I am not wearing them to the playground, but I can handle a few errands with them on. Now these ones aren’t Kork-Ease sandals but boy, oh boy do I love those wedges. I saw some at Marshalls the other day and just about jumped up and down right there in the store. Hands down the most comfortable wedges/shoes out there!! Although, I have been thinking I need a pair of the gold Swedish Hasbeens.

Do you have a favorite summer shoe?
and can someone please make it stop raining? my frizzy hair would appreciate it!

OUTFIT DETAILS:
Striped Dress: Modcloth
Vest: Similar
Wedges: Similar
Scarf: Similar

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It’s funny how as you grow up you forget about how wonderful an imagination is. As an adult it’s almost painful to play dress up or make believe- it stretches you. An imagination is a magical thing though. Over the past few months Rowan’s imagination has grown leaps and bounds. It is amazing to me to watch and listen to her. She is constantly talking to herself these days. Making up stories and scenarios in her head. She doesn’t even need toys half the time! Kev and I secretly listened to her for like 10 mins yesterday as she just sat spinning in his work chair talking about all sorts of things. It’s cute because she tends to make up stories based on things that have happened to her that day (of course with a princess twist). She loves playing dress up. Most of our errands are done these days with her wearing a princess crown. Any kind of raised platform instantly becomes a stage to her. She loves putting on shows! Especially ballet shows. She will twirl, leap, and walk on tippy toes pretending to be a real ballerina on stage.

I am pretty obsessed with this quote…

so true, right? I love seeing Rowan’s imagination grow. As her parent, it’s something I want to help foster in our home. I hope that as she grows up it evolves to seeing things in a creative way. And that doesn’t mean just towards art like her parents. Whatever her passions will be, I hope that she can think outside of the box. That she wont limit herself to what she can achieve. I want so badly for her to know the sky is the limit.

But for now, I will let this almost 3yr old little girl dress up in her princess costume and run around making up stories about adventures with a purple dragon.

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Remember the mural I made in our old apartment? I decided to make an updated version in our new house. I picked a new saying & jumped right in. Hammer. Hammer. Hammer. I picked a font and traced the letters off my computer (yeah, we don’t have a printer). Then I used our projector to enlarge the letters on the wall. I didn’t trace exactly but used it as a guide. I did use a level to make sure everything was lined up right and did make some adjustments. You could also free hand the letters if you wanted too. That is how I made the first version at the apartment.

Then the fun part! You nail about a million nails in the wall. I kept having to go to Home Depot to get more nails. I severely underestimated how many nails you need. There is no right or wrong as to where you nail. Especially if you are just going to be wrapping the yarn all over the place instead of in a particular pattern. The more nails you use the more options you’ll have to create patterns with the yarn.

I love picking all the yarn colors. The sky is the limit. I went with brighter colors to add some pop to our family room. All in all I would say it took me about 4-5 hours to do.

^^just the nails. It’s a tad bit hard to take photos of nails in a wall

Have fun!

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I have always been a huge fan of this Ferm Living wallsticker, although I was never a fan of the price. With this summer filling up fast with events, bbqs and weekend trips, keeping track of everything was getting tough. It dawned on me that I could create our own chalkboard wall calendar with some painters tape, a level and chalkboard paint. It turned out awesome!! It almost creates a piece of artwork on the wall. I love having a large family planning center in the kitchen that we can keep track of everything. You could create it any size you wanted to depending on what size space you have to work with. I painted ours rather large so there was plenty of space to write in. I hand painted “This Month…” on top, but you could just as easily add a block to write which month it was too. Half the fun is planning out how you want it to look and function.

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1. We had a major storm pass through here last night. Holy Moly! It was crazy! Tornado warnings, flash floods, hail and then a full double rainbow.

2. The town pool opened!! Yay! We got a pass this year and I can’t wait to spend all summer there. I want to try to get Rowan into some swim lessons. The next few days are going to be in the 90′s. Swimming here we come!

3. Since Finley was born, decorating and getting settled in the new house sort of took a back seat. The past month though the overwhelming urge to get things done has returned. I am trying to focus on getting one room done a month. That way it’s not too much all at one time (even though I want it all done now!)

4. I have a feeling June is going to be a really great month. We have some fun things planned this month and we also celebrate our 7 year wedding anniversary! That is so exciting to me! I can’t believe how much time has passed since that special day.

5. I decided the other day that I am not going to run a marathon this year. It was a hard decision but considering time and nursing and other things, I just don’t think I can do it. I will however train for a half and then run a few of those this summer and fall. Kev and I are planning on finding some cool ones we can travel too and make a fun weekend out of it, hopefully exploring some new cities. A full marathon will just have to wait till next year.

6. We are getting a trampoline this weekend! We are all so pumped about this one!! Did you have a trampoline growing up? We did and I have so many fun memories playing on it with my sisters. We use to camp out on it too.

*the dollhouse is a Barbie Dream House from the 70′s. It was a gift from a friend and Rowan is smitten
**4Moms generously gifted us the Breeze Playard and I have nothing but amazing reviews for it. It comes with us everywhere.

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Are you a maxi dress lover? I am trying to like maxi dresses more. I always love them on other people but on myself… I am not so sure. Yes. This is an on going thing. I think I try to like them every summer. I was excited about this one though. I thought it was a lot more flattering and fitted than most. Kev even said he really liked it and he kind of hates maxi dress. It has just enough weight to the fabric to fit your curves but not be too clingy. And being 4 months postpartum that’s a big deal because don’t get me started on baby weight! Who ever said you loose weight while breastfeeding is lying. Well, in my case they are. I don’t over eat and I exercise 3-4 times a week, but you want to know something? I only weigh 4 pounds less than I did the morning after I gave birth to Finley. In 12 hours I lost 23 pounds and in 4 months I have only lost 4lbs. I am trying really hard not to be depressed about that one! Ha. I just am trying to focus on continuing to eat healthy, exercise and be super duper proud about nursing Finley.

What about you guys? What was your story with breastfeeding and weight loss?
(oh yeah this dress works great for nursing. V neck and stretchy fabric! Score!

OUTFIT DETAILS:
Dress: Target
Jean Jacket: J.Crew
Sandals: Similar

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Ever since I posted those kite pictures yesterday, I’ve been thinking about simple and sweet moments. I decided this week we should all focus on finding those moments. I am pretty sure they come more often than we think, we are just too busy, distracted or focused on the negative to find them. I encourage you to post about your simple and sweet moments this week too!

Leave a link in the comments if you do post about them so we can enjoy them as well!

^^sisterly love

^^Watching the Dolphins swim down the canal

^^waiting for the manatees

Don’t you just love golden hour? It’s pure magic. The warm glow, the colors, I can’t get enough. It was a very lovely evening out on the dock all together as a family.

Rowan and Finley’s outfits were a gift from Winter Water Factory.

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Somedays life is simple and sweet. This particular day was one of those days. Before we headed to Florida, we had promised Rowan we would get her a kite. She was in heaven and so were we. I hope I can always remember her cute little face as she went running down the beach flying her kite by herself.

Happy Sunday (and long weekend!)
Hope you can find your simple and sweet moment this week!

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