O is for...

Old!

Yes, my little man is getting old.  I can't believe he's not my little baby anymore.  He'll be 21 months on Monday.  That just sounds so old. He's a walking, talking, basketball playing, Goldfish eating, snuggle machine! He truly has become a little "man." So handsome!


And check out my baby girl!

All that wrinkly newborness is gone!  She's all baby now.  Chunky thighs, big blue eyes, sweet smile and even little giggles. Man, they grow too fast! [don't worry, I'm not getting baby fever!]


Speaking of getting old....my main squeeze turns 29 today.  Unfortunately, next to my 3-0, that 2-9 sounds so young! I won't get too sappy on you, but I will say I'm a pretty lucky girl to have him in my life and my kiddos are the luckiest kiddos in the world; they have the world's best daddy!


To show their love for their daddy they put together a very special gift....the gift of quality time. I created a "date kit" for each kiddo to spend some special time with daddy.

Boogie's "Daddy-Son Date" kit is all about a fort building movie night, complete with sheets, string, clothes pins and of course some yummy movie snacks...

C-Monk's "Daddy-Daughter Date" kit is all about spending some time in the sun planting pretty flowers, complete with flower pot, seeds, soil, watering can and, of course, a cute sun hat [for baby, not daddy]...

Can't wait for them to spend their special one-on-one time together, but of course I'll sneak in and take some pictures :)

gut wrenching love...

Hot sun, beautiful beaches,crystal clear water, delicious food, tasty drinks, peace and quiet....what isn't there to be excited about?!

Hilton Barbados

When J won this trip, we both said we wanted to go somewhere where we could just lay on the beach.  We knew that with an almost 2 y/o and a 5 month old we would be in desperate need of a relaxing, do-nothing vacation. That's why we chose Barbados! We plan to eat, drink, relax and get a couples massage on the beach.  We're so excited.....except for one thing...

I'm a mommy.  That means I'm a sobbing, blubbering mess with extreme separation anxiety! J and I were able to go half way around the world last year on our trip to New Zealand; leaving Boogie at home with grandma and grandpa.   I thought, if we could make it through that, every trip there after would be a piece of cake....wrong!

Don't get me wrong, I know they will be in capable, loving hands. But, I'm their momma and NO ONE can take care of them like their momma can :) There's a couple things I keep thinking about. First, Boogie is old enough now to know that we're not there.  My heart breaks thinking about him crying, wondering if we abandoned him.

I also keep thinking about, god forbid, something should happen to J and I.  It's crazy how after having kids your own life seems to have so much more value.  The moment I became a mother I realized what I was put on this earth to do; to love and raise my beautiful babies. I've made a million promises to God that I will, above all else, be there for my kiddos.

Please tell me I'm not crazy!  I know, as I've admitted before, I'm an OCD, anxiety ridden, worry wart...but, this intense fear of being away from my children, this gut wrenching love, seems normal.  Isn't it? If not, I'm sad for those kiddos whose parents don't feel that way...They're my world, my everything and it's my job to make sure they're safe and feel loved.

I'm beyond excited to spend an amazing week just me and my hubby.  We need this.  It's healthy and important for us to have this time together.  I can't wait to lay in the sun, sleep in late, eat hot food, shower as often as I want......but, I'm a mommy and there's no vacation from that.  My kiddos will be there in my heart and on my mind and I'm OK with that.  For now, I'm going to snuggle the heck out them up until it's time to leave.

N is for...

Nappies :)

For those of you not down with the British lingo that means diapers! Yes, call me hippie, call me tree hugger....the HH has made the switch to cloth!

There are so many reasons why people choose to switch to cloth diapers; environment, health, economics, cuteness factor....I'm definitely not one of those crazy "crunchy" types with a picket sign demanding the world switch to cloth. Just like all other parenting styles; to each their own. When we first found out we were pregnant with Boogie, the thought of cloth crossed my mind.  At that point it was economic factors, if done right you can save hundreds of dollars buy using cloth instead of disposable.

I brought the idea up to J and he just looked at me like I was crazy.  I agreed.  I was already overwhelmed with the thought of becoming a mommy, that this was just one more thing I didn't want to have to learn. Cloth diapers have come a LONG way since the days of cloth rags and pins. There's covers and prefolds and AIO and AI2 and pockets and fitteds and liners and boosters and wet bags and etc and etc.  Holy cow! It's a foreign language and a whole new way of life. 

Once we added C-Monk to the mix, I started getting nauseous every time we had to empty two full diaper cans of stinky poop! Yuck! I really started to realize how disgusting it was to be tossing all those diapers into the trash.  I started picturing these mountains and mountains of poop....

Now that I have this mommy thing down (bah! haha!), I figured I could finally try to tackle the world of cloth. I started researching and learning and asking a million questions. Armed with a lot of knowledge, I approached J with the idea, again.  He still looked at me like I was crazy, but this time he said "you're the diaper expert, you make the call."  So, we bit the bullet and started stocking up!

I'll admit that initial cost was heart stopping.  All I could think was "and this is SAVING us money??!" But, when I got our first fluff mail and I put those chunky little diapers on my C-Monk I fell.in.love! I mean come on, is there anything cuter than a fluffy little baby butt?!!

Now I'm addicted.  I drank the cloth diaper Kool-Aid. Even though we've got our stash, I still find myself stalking the internet looking for deals and cute fluff.  That's my only regret.  I went with the deals and just got basic solid colors.  Now I'm finding all these cute patterns and styles....yea, J would take away my credit card and put me out with the trash if I bought anymore :)

I'm definitely no expert, I still have to ask a million questions all the time. But, if you're considering switching I'd be happy to help.  I've learned sooo much over the last month or so.  Two great companies that have helped me along the way are Cotton Babies and SweetBottoms.

i heart faces: beautiful b&w

It's been awhile since I submitted an entry over at iheartfaces! They have recently changed to a monthly photo challenge format and the first theme is Beautiful B&W. 


I snapped this one yesterday of my beautiful babies.  They love each other so much!!