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Oct 07

My Weekly Parenting Ups & Downs

It’s been a while since I’ve written one of these posts. Trying to make it more of a regular kind of thing. I really like them. I also really like hearing from all of you as we share stories in the comments section. Nice to know we’re all going through this crazy motherhood journey together!

Ups:
1. I really feel like we are in a good groove lately. It’s a nice feeling. Of course, there are crazy moments (see “downs” below), but really, I know in the scheme of things they aren’t all that terrible. Everyone is at a super fun age (when they are in good moods, of course) and they make the best little buddies. They entertain each other like crazy and it makes my heart explode every time I hear them laughing together from another room. Siblings are seriously the best thing ever! I know some parents choose to only have one child and I totally think that’s great but I could not imagine our family with out these two. I can’t help but think about how differently Finley gets to grow up because she has Rowan around. I guess there is good and bad to that but the first person she calls for in the morning when she wakes up is “RORO”. Finley is fiercely loyal to her. Whenever Rowan leaves the room, within seconds Finley is searching for her saying “where RoRo go?”. Finley is also in a pretty intense Daddy stage. I don’t mind — there is nothing better than seeing your children madly in love with their Daddy.

2. Homeschooling is going so great. Of course, we are still working it all out and getting into the swing of it but each week is getting better and better. Rowan loves learning and it warms my heart to hear her tell people about the things she learned that week. Now, whenever she comes across something she doesn’t really know much about, she asks if we can learn about it in school. Umm? So Cute! She asked me the other day if we could learn french. We have a little learning area set up downstairs so that when we are working on school work, Finley can be down there with us playing in the play room. I am really, really loving it so far. We’re going to be taking it a year at a time but I am excited about the possibilities for our family to grow, learn, and hopefully travel together more often if we continue to homeschool.

3. Finley has been soooo into books lately. I LOVE it so much. As soon as you mention nap time or bed time she goes running to her room. She’ll grab her blanket, giraffe and then pull out piles of books. She laughs at every page, no matter what the book even says. She’s just over the moon sitting together and reading books. When we picked her up from the nursery the other day after church, one of the volunteers even said she just wanted to be read to the whole time she was in there. I hope we can continue to foster her love for reading as she gets older.

Downs:
1. Finley. hahaha. This girl is seriously the craziest little child I have ever seen. She is hilarious and so in love with her family but… If she doesn’t know you, hasn’t had a nap, or is in a mood. Oh boy. Watch out. I use to think Rowan was active but whew! I was wrong. Rowan is totally a first born (ever read one of those birth order books?). She loves to follow rules, gets very upset when she realizes she has done something wrong and has to take care of everyone. Finley on the other hand LOVES to cause trouble. And she does it with this mischievous little smile on her face that you can’t help but laugh under your breath at. She keeps me on my toes thats for sure. I’m not wishing away this age but I am looking forward to her being able to communicate just a little bit more so it’s not so frustrating for her. Almost 2 is a tough one.

2. The morning time. I am not a morning person. I’ve tried to be one for years, but I’m finally accepting that I am just not cut out for it. I’m a night owl through and through. Why don’t children sleep in? I’m not even talking super late. I would kill for like a 7:45am wake up time. I hear Moms saying they have to wake their kids up because it gets too late… Ahhh teach my your ways!!! No matter what time my kids go to bed, they wake up at the same exact minute every morning. If we get them to bed early that’s fine. They’re mostly rested and ready for the day (it’s still too early…) but, chances are we’re not getting them into bed at 7pm though. There is always stuff going on, or it’s just hard to rush through the evening when they don’t get to see Kev till like 6:00. They want to play with him and he wants to play with them. Rowan is finally at an age where I think she would sleep a little later but Finley is up at the crack of dawn screaming and crying for her. She always wakes Rowan up. They both have fans in their rooms for white noise and both the doors are closed but their rooms are right next to each other. Then Rowan is upset because Finley woke her up but won’t go back to sleep and Finley is tired and cranky because she still needs another hour as well. BUT NO ONE WILL GO BACK TO SLEEP. Why?!?!? Please tell me what time your kids go to bed and what time they get up. I am dying to know what everyone does.

Rowan: I am only good at one hiya ninja move
Me: What is a hiya ninja move?
Rowan: HIIIIIIIYAA! (as she jump and kicks her leg out).

^^playing hide and seek in the maze garden at the park

Sep 07

Living a Simple, Intentional Life | Pt.2 Toys

Sep 07 | Lifestyle

Ever since I wrote the post a few months back about living a simple, intentional life I’ve wanted to share more about how we’ve been working on that in our house. I was so encouraged by all the comments and emails I received from readers and friends (thank you!) striving for the same things in their own lives. It really seems like it’s a common goal for so many of us. Over the past 2 months I’ve majorly purged our house. There seriously has not been a drawer or closet untouched. We have a huge pile of things for a garage sale and have taken countless trips to the goodwill. Man I loved knick knacks a little too much. Anyways, I wanted to start a series on here talking about the different areas that I went through and purged/changed/reorganized to reach our idea of a simple, intentional life.

Today we will talk about toys, but over the next few weeks I would love to talk about the changes I made to our closets, our food choices, our calendar/time, and decorating. Hope you will join along and share your own tips in each of these categories.
First up:

TOYS!

Boy, Oh boy! I can’t escape a trip to target without having to bring Rowan up and down each of the toy aisles. She always asks me when we walk in, “Momma, can we just go check on the toys and make sure they are all still working?” Nice try kid. The reason I picked toys as something we needed to change was because I felt like they were taking over. I don’t say any of this as a way of passing judgement on anyone. This is just how I felt for our house. I don’t like getting caught up in the idea that kids need lots of toys. They don’t. At all. In fact, I believe that too many toys hinder how kids play. I also don’t want Rowan and Finley to think they need toys to have fun either. I’ve never been a big fan of the big ol’ plastic, loud noise making, breaking every 2 seconds, million of parts, fill your house with clutter kind of toys. I stood pretty firmly when Rowan was a baby but over time they just accumulated. You can’t help it. Birthdays, christmas, etc… Every time you turn around it’s another holiday that presents are being given. I am always grateful, but there comes a time when enough is enough in my opinion. I looked around our house at the beginning of the summer and thought we have waaaaay too many toys and the kids play with literally 20% of them. That’s when I went to town on the toy room, their bedrooms, our toy dresser and donated about 75% of everything.

Kev and I sat down and came up with a new game plan when it comes to toys in our house. We talked with each of our parents and asked that for Christmas and birthdays they really try to limit what they give the girls. We suggested that what we would really love is if they gave a gift of an “experience” instead. Bring Rowan to the science museum, Disney on Ice, or the ballet for example. Something that would create a wonderful special day for the grandparents and the girls to share together. Rowan will talk about something like that for months and months, when a toy would interest her for like a week maybe. Some of you may think that is harsh or no fun but I really just didn’t like our parents wasting money either.

As far as the toys I did keep, I narrowed down the toys to 5 different categories. If it didn’t fall into one of them, wasn’t well made, or well loved by the girls, or a toy that I felt enriched their play it was donated. Our toy categories are…

1. Dress Up/Imagination play:

I kept all our dress up clothes (Melissa and Doug have the cutest outfits) and I created a little dress up chest with all the accessories. We have the Melissa and Doug Puppet theatre that the girls love as well. They use all their stuffed animals as “puppets” and love to put on little shows. We have a cute B. Doctor set the girls love. We also have a great kitchen set with lots of Melissa and Doug food pieces. Rowan’s favorite is her Kid Kraft dollhouse, I feel like that is the one toy we’ve bought her that she still uses almost daily. I keep a little basket next to it that houses all the dolls, figurines and furniture. She doesn’t use any one set of dolls for the house. I’ve seen a big ol’ party up in there with Barbies, My Little Ponies, Princess Sophie and Minnie Mouse.

2. Art and Craft Supplies:

In my opinion you can never have enough art supplies. We have loads of markers, paper, coloring books, scissors, glue, glitter (ugh), goggly eyes, pipe cleaners, ribbon. etc… Don’t get scared if you are not a crafty person. If you have the supplies out for your little one to create- they will create! They are so creative without even trying. Sometimes I like to have a set craft in mind for the girls but most times I just let them go at it. Love seeing what Rowan will come up with. If you do feel like you need a lithe help in this area, we love the Alex Toys Craft boxes you can get. It’s a great place to start!

3. Puzzles/ Building

Rowan loves puzzles. We especially extra large floor puzzles, but man she is good at even teeny tiny piece puzzles. She works so hard at them, it’s pretty darn cute. We also love legos. I just bought her first set of real legos. We’ve moved on from duplos and we had the best time this morning building silly animals with them. We also love these bristle blocks and then my absolute favorite are the Haba blocks. Rowan has this Janod circus set and it’s about the cutest thing I have ever seen. We also love this Janod alphabet puzzle.

4. Musical Instruments

Any real musical instrument is ok in my book. I not a huge fan of the fake kid ones out there, I don’t mean a miniature version of the real one, I mean the ones were you press a button on a “guitar” and it plays music sort of thing. That’s not really teaching anything about music. One musical toy we do absolutely LOVE is this Symphony B. Music Toy. I find myself sitting and playing with it well after the girls are done. It’s so fun.

5. Books

Books! Books! Books! I will never say no to books. I always want our house to be full of books to read and look at. I want them out and accessible to the girls and not just tucked up in their rooms either. We have 2 separate areas for their books downstairs on our main floor. I always want them around as an option for something to do.

We organized all the toys and created a few little areas of play around our house. Our basement has most of the imagination play items. We do a lot of our art projects over at my craft table. We have Rowan’s Dollhouse set up in our living room. In the family room we have a little chalk drawing area as well as all the puzzles and blocks stored in the drawers of the dresser. Our goal was to have things accessible but to not take over the house. I wanted it all scaled back and for everything to have a home. And you know what? Removing more than half the toys actually has made the girls play with the toys more. They can find things, aren’t overwhelmed, know how to clean up better, and are more creative with less.

How to you handle toys in your house?

Here are some photos of our play areas. Nothing fancy or styled for pinterst just real life how we organize our kids toys.

p.s. I didn’t mention any super specific toys for Finley because she honestly doesn’t want to play with anything other than what Rowan is playing with. She loves all the toys mentioned above just as much as Rowan.

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Apr 14

In The Morning Light

Apr 14 | Lifestyle

My girls. I just love these 2 so much! We have our moments but they breathe such life into me. They spent the night at their grandparents house this past weekend. It was something I had been looking forward to for so long. It’s funny though, as my Mom started pulling out of our driveway with them my heart ached. I could feel the tears welling up. At that moment I didn’t want them to go. Kev and I had such a wonderful time together though. We actually got to go to a late movie, to dinner and I slept in till 9:30!! I found myself a few times while they were gone looking thru the camera at these pictures from the other morning. Life with little ones can be very mundane. Same routine over and over. But you know what? There is such beauty in so many of those moments. Last week was indeed very rough. I found such redemption in the morning light though. It’s warmth, the glow, watching the shadows dance around as we got ready for our day. It was what my soul needed.

Just wanted to share a few moments that brought me joy from our Monday morning last week…

*always, always, always. At some point in the day the cushions end up in a giant jump pile.

** Umm Blind Melon on the Kids XM station? I don’t get it but it made me happy.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24

Feb 27

Survival Guide: Flying alone with a toddler and a baby

Feb 27 | Family Adventures + Travel

We’ve traveled quite a bit with our kids. It’s always been all together though. I have flown with Rowan by myself twice but never both of them. The thought of being out numbered by kids on an airplane has had me totally freaked me out. When the chance to go to Florida came up though, I bit the bullet and decided to conquer my fears. All in all it wasn’t too bad. Finley was pretty fussy to be honest but I just found out she has a double ear infection so I think that had something to do with it. The lovely folks over at Lily Jade just send us this gorgeous designer diaper bag and it totally saved my life on this flight. When traveling by yourself the less you have to carry the better. It will make it so much easier and make you less stressed if you don’t have tons of bags to drag along. Because lets face it, you are already going to have your hands full with the kids. The fact that this bag can be worn as a backpack was seriously the biggest help on this trip. Plus, the inside is HUGE. I was able to pack everything I needed for our day of travel for both kids in there.

Here are some other tips I found really helpful when traveling by yourself with your kids…

1. Bring a stroller. The stroller was essential for getting everyone around the airport. Especially between connecting flights. We seriously had a Home Alone moment (running top speed to make connecting flight) and if I didn’t have the stroller we never would have made it. We have a double Maclearn. We LOVE it!!

2. When we first got to the airport and checked in at the desk, we asked if Kev could get a special clearance ticket to go through security to help me with the kids. Did you know you can do that? I never knew that until a few years ago. Not having to go through security by yourself is so helpful. Besides, then he gets to stay with us until the moment we get on the plane.

3. Plan your flight (if you can) for when your kids will be well rested. I use to think it would be helpful if it was around nap time because then maybe they would fall asleep on the plane. HA! Chances are (well, with my luck), they won’t and then you are left with an over tired, extremely fussy baby. It’s better to have a happy, rested little one to play with.

4. Just give yourself a break. It will be tough and it will be stressful. Just know you are doing the best you can. The calmer you can stay the better everything will go. Forget if you can, that you are on a plane with other people. I know it’s so hard! As soon as Finley would start crying I could feel my blood pressure rising. Just remember not everyone is annoyed they are crying. I know when I hear a baby crying I just feel sympathy for the parents and well, most of the time I don’t even notice.

5. Snacks, toys and activities. Here is everything that I fit into my Lily Jade bag for the trip. 1. Mini Eggs (these were for me!) 2. Coloring and activity books for Rowan 3. Headphones and iPad for Rowan loaded with new games and movies 4. Her little toys she picked out for the trip (cheetah, my littlest pet shop pony and Cinderella) 5. A few toys for Finley. She doesn’t “play” with much, just gets into everything that isn’t a toy 6. Her bottle 7. Snacks 8. Teddy 9. My iPhone and charger 10. Aden and Anais swaddle blanket 11. Diapers, wipes and kleenex 12. Hand sanitizer 13. YumEarth Organics Vitamin C gummy bears and lollipops

*A Lily Jade bag is definitely an investment piece but their quality and function will last you well beyond the baby years. I have the Caroline bag and it’s on sale at the moment! A must have for your baby registry.

OUTFIT DETAILS:
Dress: Old Navy
Sandals: Sam & Libby from Target
Scarf: Target
Watch: Michael Kors
Madeline Bag: c/o Lily Jade

On Rowan:
Dress: gift from Little Hip Squeaks
Floral Crown: gift from The Wishing Elephant

On Finley:
Shirt: Gap
Shorts: Gap
Scarf: gift from Little Hip Squeaks

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Feb 18

Tips for Surviving the Winter with your Kids

Feb 18 | Motherhood

Don’t get me started on the 3ft+ of snow outside. It’s beautiful, yes, but I get to a point mid January when all the fun of Christmas and New Years wears off. All that I’m left with is the bleak outlook that winter is still another 2.5 full months (sometimes if we are lucky). That’s the Northeast for you. I would like winter to be around 1.5 months tops. Spring and Fall could be stretched out in my book. The hardest part about having little kids during winter months is not all going stir crazy. The winter blues are real and can get out of control if you let them. Here are some practical tips that help us all stay sane.

1. Get out of the house everyday! I have to get out of the house at least once everyday or I go crazy. Try and plan some fun activities. Find when story times are, find a local gymnastic gym that has open play, find a Mom’s group, etc… Even if it’s just to go to the post office. The act of getting dressed and getting everyone out of the house is super helpful.

2. Search Pinterest for easy activities to do at home for toddlers. THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS ON PINTEREST TO DO. You don’t have to be super creative either to do a lot of them. You and your toddler will have fun trying something new to do at home. Did you see this idea on A Cup of Jo?

3. Play outside. I know. I know. Getting everyone bundled up in winter/snow gear takes F.O.R.E.V.E.R! But even though Rowan will last about as long as it took to get everything on her, it’s always worth the fresh air and rosy cheeks.

4. Mailing lists. Does your town or county have a website of local events going on? Usually they have mailing lists you can sign up for. I am on a mailing list around here that sends out an email every Thursday of the weekend happenings and what events are good for the kids. It’s great. Keeps me up to date on festivals and fun things that I wouldn’t have thought of doing otherwise.

5. Playdates. It is easy to become a hermit during the winter. Invite some friends and their kiddos over (even if it means your place will look like a bomb went off). Trust me. It will be worth the adult conversation while your kids play together.

6. On the weekends when you all get to be together, really try to get out there and do something a little extra adventurous. Take a small road trip, explore a new town, or bring the kids to disney on ice. It helps make the weeks not feel sooo long when you have something to look forward to.

7. When all else fails… build a fort!

Here are some super random photos from the last few weeks as we’ve tried our very best to enjoy these cold, grey days.

^^both girls loving the new spring headbands from Little Hip Squeaks

^^ the cutest family portrait from the talented and lovely Linda over at Though Very Humble. Thanks Linda!!

^^We’ve been drinking so many smoothies in our house. My favorite at the moment is zest and juice of 1 lime, 2 cups packed spinach, ice, half cup of water, scoop of plain greek yogurt, one green apple, large scoop of ground flaxseed, banana, and a little squeeze of agave nectar. Mmmmm

^^Art project, art projects, and more art projects. We went on a cold winter walk one day before the snow dump and collected things to make a nature study with.

^^sometimes I take pictures of the girls and can’t believe how big they are. Finley’s shirt is from Geo Fox Apparel, Rowan’s cute dress is from Little Hip Squeaks.

^^Aww little Fin. I thought I was ready to wean her, but we both aren’t ready yet. I’ll take the sweet moments with her as long as I can.

^^ we had a little valentines day party for Rowan and her girlfriends last friday. It was chaotic but lots of fun! And there was for sure a Frozen sing-a-long that took place for a good 45 mins.

Ok, you ready to see what happens when Kev is bored by Olympic Ice Dancing and decides to make ridiculous pictures in photoshop instead? Here is the original… He’s always wanted to try to take a picture of Finley when he tosses her up because she always has the biggest smile on her face. He was on the bed with her and I was sitting on the ground looking up. That is why it looks like she is way high, although she isn’t at all. This picture is funny enough by itself.

and now this….

OMGOSH. I can’t even. It cracks me up so much. I literally choked on my tea when Kev showed me last night.

Ha! I am pretty sure this winter is turning us all crazy.

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Feb 07

The Girls | 02.07.2014

Feb 07 | Motherhood

I posted some of this on instagram the other day and loved the idea of capturing a bit of who they are right now so much, I wanted to expand and share here as well.

ROWAN WINTER: 3 years 5 months. She thinks her full name is Rowan Snow Winter Richardson. Loves dancing, playing dollhouse, doing “projects” and playing “tag you’re it” with daddy. Is taller than most 4 year olds (a few 5 year olds too). Loves to be with friends. Has such spirit and spunk in her. She surprises me daily with how brave she is and how big and kind her heart is. She is sensitive yet tough. She wants to do everything herself. ALL.THE.TIME. She says words like “blanklet” for blanket and “Prenzels” for pretzels. Her favorite foods are carrots and hummus, cucumbers, “peanut butta” and yogurt. Loves to eat out at “po-lay” (a.k.a chipotle). Is always saying “I have a great idea! Let’s have a family date at po-lay”. She gets so excited over doing new things. Loves traveling. She always wants to be out doing something. Is always saying how “adorable” Finley is. She is the best big sister. She can make Finley laugh more than anyone. She is very self sufficient and independent but loves to be cuddled. I am pretty in love with this 3.5 year old stage- the melt downs are epic but oooh everything else is so good. Such a little person.

FINLEY JAMES: 13 months. Her personality has exploded x 100 since Christmas. She has always been just the sweetest, most complacent little thing. She has turned into a monkey and a half over night. I love it though. She is still fiercely loyal to her mama. She freaks whenever she thinks I am leaving. She is into everything. Loves to throw EVERYTHING in the toilet. Including the apple tv remote this morning. She is the stubbornest little peanut I’ve ever met. Weighing in around the 30 percentile for her age (50% for height). She is built so differently than Rowan. Her coloring is much darker than Rowan’s too. She has the softest skin. I can’t help but snuggle her little naked self after baths. She has the funniest sense of humor. She thinks certain things are just hilarious. She loves to be chased and thrown on the bed. She thinks playing in blankets and pillows is about the most fun a baby could have. She sleeps every night with 1 giraffe and 1 pig in each arm. She will hold them ALL NIGHT long and will still be holding them when you pick her up out of the crib in the morning. She loves sitting in little chairs just her size. Her favorite foods are raisins, green smoothies, cheese sticks, black beans and quinoa. Since the day she entered our lives we couldn’t imagine life without her.

Feb 03

My Motherhood Is…

Feb 03 | Motherhood

One of my favorite things about motherhood is that as much as it’s a personal journey it’s also so uniting at the same time. We all go through the ups & downs. They may be a bit different for each one of us but I am sure we share so many similarities.

My Motherhood is…

…is a white t-shirt (most perfect tshirt ever) and jeans more often than not

…is being tired 99% of the time

…is messy and beautiful all at the same time

…is having way too many toys inside my shower

…is always eating meals that are cold

…is having a heart so full it wants to explode

…is still listening to the Veggie Tales cd way after I’ve dropped Rowan off at school

…is doing workout videos while trying to do a burpee over top of a crawling little one

…is wanting to have time alone yet never not all be together

…is having a Mary Poppins size purse that we could probably live off its contents for multiple days.

…is having spit up or food stains from tiny fingers on my clothes and not caring. It’s too much trouble to change

…is so excited for bedtime to come, but as soon as they are sleeping longs to hug and kiss them again.

…is crying at the drop of a hat when it comes to anything about my kids.

…is fully believing that I have the best/cutest kids in the world

…is sometimes so boring yet so overwhelming all in one day.

…is laughing until crying over the funny things that Rowan says

…is singing Phineas and Ferb (or Frozen lately) super loud with Rowan while cooking dinner

…is choosing to spend any money I used to spend on myself on the girls with out even a second thought.

…is drowning from the piles of laundry that need to get done

…is knowing how to carrying groceries, a baby, a diaper bag, my phone, keys and the hand of my toddler through the parking lot without dropping anything

…is being able to pick out the cry of my baby instantly in a busy room of other kids

…is staying up way too late to try to get everything done

…is not being grossed out by pretty much any of my kids bodily functions

…is digging deep and finding the patience to answer the 100,000,000th question Rowan has asked me today

…is thinking that every stage I come to with my kids is the “best” stage they’ve had yet.

…is knowing just where to tickle both of them to make them laugh uncontrollably

…is feeling weepy over seeing Kev become hands down one of the best Dads out there.

…is waking up countless times through the night to give water, to find teddy, to bring to the bathroom, to scratch a back, to tuck in, etc… even though I can barely keep my eyes open.

…is a daily reminder of God’s love for us as his children

…is dreading the day when you will have to let them go and live their own lives

…is being covered with stickers or temporary tattoos on any given moment on any given day (and yes, that is a temporary tattoo on my arm)

…is so blessed beyond belief.

My Motherhood is a whole lot of things all rolled into one giant roller coaster and it’s the best ride I have ever been on.

JEN; Tshirt: c/o Everlane, Jeans: Madewell, Boots: TJMaxx | Rowan: Overalls: H&M, Headband: Little Hip Squeaks, Shirt: H&M | FINLEY: Dress: Gap, Scarf: Little Hip Squeaks, Moccasins: Freshly Picked

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Motherhood

My Weekly Parenting Ups & Downs

Living a Simple, Intentional Life | Pt.2 Toys

TOYS!

1. Dress Up/Imagination play:

2. Art and Craft Supplies:

3. Puzzles/ Building

4. Musical Instruments

5. Books

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In The Morning Light

Survival Guide: Flying alone with a toddler and a baby

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Tips for Surviving the Winter with your Kids

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The Girls | 02.07.2014

My Motherhood Is…

Hi, I'm Jen!