Finding The Good In The Crazy

November 1, 2014

Did I say September 15?
I’m sorry, that must have been the crazy talking.

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You know, the crazy.  The crazy that can only come from a mother.

The crazy that makes her think she has enough time in a day to keep the laundry done, the kitchen clean, the toilets scrubbed.  Enough time in the day to get a shower in, walk the dog, brush her hair, and get a delicious home cooked dinner on the table.  The crazy that convinces her that in these days her children will also receive undivided attention, filled with games, crafts, stories and snacks (homemade and organic of course), with absolutely none of that horrible screen time.  And the crazy that tells her that obviously she has plenty of time to keep up with an online business, blog posting, and keeping up with other life responsibilities such as getting to every appointment on time, keeping the cupboards stocked with fresh groceries, not missing a single bill payment, etc.  The same kind of crazy that convinces her that through all of this, she will also maintain a rockin’ bod, a flawless marriage, and a smile on her face.

That’s probably the crazy that convinced me I should start a blog right before our baby boy arrived.
The crazy that told me I was a complete failure for not keeping up with said blog, or the laundry, or my mile long to-do list, the crazy that told me to just give up on it all.  The crazy that I allowed to completely take over my life the past few months.

Fortunately, I’m starting to snap out of it.  The crazy is still there.
It always will be. That’s just part of being a mom.
But I’m shifting my focus to the better part of the crazy.
Luckily for us moms, we’re also crazy in love. 
With our husbands. With our crazy babies.
That’s the best kind of crazy and I wouldn’t give it up for the world.

It’s finally the beginning of my favorite season.  And this mommy is finally getting into the swing of things again.  Slowly but surely.  It helps to be blessed with such amazing friends and family.  I can’t thank them enough for helping me pull through.  The days are long but the years are short and I just can’t waste anymore time being stuck in the gloom.

So here’s to the load of laundry that’s been in the washer machine a little too long, to the piles of dirty dishes, and to the unfinished to-do lists cluttering the counter.  You all can suck it.  Cause I’m doing better things with my time.  Like spinning in circles around the living room with a two year old in her pink fairy wings and mismatched socks. Or making a complete goof of myself just to get a smile out of my little guy.  Or sitting on the couch with the love of my life doing absolutely nothing for a few minutes because both our babies are finally asleep.

I still have bad days, even some no good very bad awful hide-in-the-bathroom-to-cry-for-a-minute kind of days.  But I’ve started to try and focus on what I did accomplish in a day instead of what I didn’t.  And something wonderful happened.  Now I can feel like a super rock star on the days that I go to bed with a clean kitchen, or all the bills caught up on, or a finally completed project that had been sitting in the garage for months. It’s not every day, not even most days.  But I’d rather have a few super rock star days than none.  So I’ll count it as a win.

Here’s a shout out to all the moms out there.  Because we all deal with the crazy.  And it’s not always fun.  Not even most the time.  Just remember that if the only productive thing you did in your day was make hot chocolate for you and your kid, you still made hot chocolate for you and your kid.  And it was the best darn cup of hot chocolate your kid had all day.  You’re a rock star momma.

 

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I’ll Be Back! // Maternity Shoot

August 14, 2014

I realize it’s not the best move to take a long break from blogging… Right after starting a blog…
But I promise it’s for a good reason (:

In less than two weeks Baby Olsen #2 is due to arrive.  We have until then to get moved into our new home.  We are crazy people. I know.

But I’ll be back September 15.
Until then, my world is boxes and babies.
And my rock star husband that I couldn’t do any of this without.

Thank you to M.J.M Photography for the amazing photos.  Here are just a few of my favorites.

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Organic Baby Leggings

August 1, 2014

I have been obsessing over these adorable organic baby leggings that have been becoming all the rage.  I wish I could afford a hundred pairs seriously.  I’m not the biggest fan of patterned leggings on grown women.  But babies can pull them off.  They are freaking precious.

There’s a lot of places to get them.  Naturally with my Etsy addiction that’s where I shop for just about everything including these.  So this Friday’s round of favorites features all of the best organic baby leggings from Etsy.  In my opinion anyways.  I like to think it’s an expert opinion.

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one // two // three // four // five // six

 

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Music to Sip To

July 31, 2014

Pandora and I had a break up.  I was frustrated with constantly pressing the skip button.  To make matters worse Pandora started frequently giving me the “You pressed skip too many times!” notice.  Apparently they were frustrated with me constantly pressing the skip button too.  It was time to go.  So I finally took it upon myself to start making playlists.  I have absolutely fallen in love with Spotify.  Life is better now.  I don’t have to press the skip button anymore.  I feel free.

Seriously though.  I haven’t made a playlist since I used my dinosaur iPod back in high school.  You know, the iPod “mini” that wasn’t really mini at all. Loved that thing.  Eventually it died though and I had to move on.  Pandora was nice for a minute. Until it started playing the same thing over and over.  Now I’m back to exploring music on my own again and putting together playlists that have music I actually like.

So here’s the one I find myself listening to the most.

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Whether it’s a hot summer day and I’m sitting down sipping on some lemonade, the end of a rough day and I’m sipping on Mexican hot chocolate to cheer up, or it’s a cold rainy day and it’s time to sip on a pumpkin pie latte, I’ve got to have some music to play while I dig through my nail polish colors or grab a pen to doodle.  Or while I waste more time on Pinterest.  (I’m an addict).  So for those moments, I present to you the chill out playlist.


Nothing too crazy.  None of that bump and grind stuff.  No screaming or head banging.  But not the put-you-to-sleep stuff either.  I have a different playlist for that.  I am getting pro at this playlist thing let me tell you.
Do you have a go-to chill out album or playlist?  I’d love to hear what’s on it!

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20 Foods Your Toddler Can Help Make

July 30, 2014

Lately our little sunrae’s favorite thing is “Just like mommy!” or, “Just like daddy!”  She loves doing anything all grown up.  It started with her cheesesticks, she went from from taking big bites out of it to tearing it into strips and was so excited she had figured that out, she told everyone about her cheesesticks she could eat “just like mommy.”  And it has continued from there.  She has no interest using her little princess potty that sings and applauds to her, she wants to use the big one “just like mommy.”  The other day in the shower, she even tried to hock a loogie.  At first I didn’t know why the heck she was doing that, until she looked up with a huge smile and said “just like daddy!” I just had to laugh.

And now that little E thinks she’s all grown up, she refuses to let us help her with much.  Getting on the road takes at least three times as long now that she needs to put on her own shoes, zip her own jacket, and buckle up all by herself.  However she seems to think we need her help with just about everything, and she is thrilled to do the job.  Seriously.  She even tries to scrub the toilet.  Hopefully that attitude doesn’t go away right?

Anyways.  Ultimately seeing a smile on little E’s face is the best thing ever, so we love to let her help us where we can.  One of her favorite places for that is the kitchen.  A while back I Google’d recipes that toddlers could help make, but I had a hard time finding anything! We’ve gotten pretty creative coming up with ways to let her get her helpful little fingers into preparing food safely.  So here’s a little list for all you mommas out there who also have a busy toddler that wants to help (:

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1. Seven Layer Bars
(As pictured above)
This is little E’s very favorite. We put bowls of chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and coconut in front of her, give her a (very small) pan with the crust ready, and she just goes to town. Then when she’s all done, “time to cook it mommy!”

2. Pizza
Spreading cheese, sprinkling toppings.

3.  Chocolate Chip Cookies
Dumping pre-measured cups of ingredients into the bowl.

4. Fruit Salad
Putting cut up fruit into bowl, hand mixing with clean fingers.

5. Sloppy Joes
We make our sloppy joes with just ground meat, barbeque sauce, and ketchup.  We (very carefully) help little sunrae squeeze the ketchup and barbeque sauce into the pot.

6. Trail Mix
Dumping ingredients into container, stirring or hand mixing with clean fingers, or even shaking them up in a bag.

7. Smoothies
Putting fruit or helping pour juice/yogurt etc into blender.  Tearing up spinach/kale if you do green smoothies.

8. Peanut-Butter Banana Sandwich
Arranging banana slices, putting sandwich together.

9. Crock Pot Soup or Chicken
Dumping pre-measured ingredients into crock pot.  Turning dial on crock pot on.

10. Muddy Buddies
When we make muddy buddies, we put the chocolate-mix covered Chex into gallon size bags with the powdered sugar, and then shake that up to get them all covered.  Little sunrae loves helping shake, shake, shake, and then dump the bag back into a big bowl.

11.  Nachos
Spreading chips onto pan, sprinkling cheese, olives, etc before cooking.

12. Blueberry Pancakes/ Chocolate Chip Pancakes/ Etc
Pouring berries or chocolate chips into batter, stirring. Spooning yogurt (or any topping) onto pancakes once they’ve cooked.

13. Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Dipping strawberries into melted chocolate (once it cools off enough that it won’t burn little fingers, but not enough to thicken up too much).  This one gets very messy!

14. Fruit & Yogurt
We put yogurt into a bowl and give little E some berries to throw into the bowl and stir until she feels it’s ready to eat.  She really digs that.

15. Paper Bag Popcorn
Pouring kernels into paper bag, pressing button on microwave.

16. Chicken Cordon Bleu Roll-ups
This sounds much fancier than it is.  We take Pillsbury crescent rolls, and put diced ham, chopped chicken, and shredded cheese in and roll them up to cook.  Little sunrae likes to help put the toppings in while I roll them up. (I suggest lining the pan with tin-foil because this gets messy when you have a little helper).

17. Mashed Potatoes
Helping squirt some ranch in, and throw in some shredded cheese before it gets mixed up.

18. Sugar Cookies
Squish duty!  Once you roll the dough into little balls on the pan, have your helper use the bottom of a plastic cup to flatten the balls into circles.  Or have your helper assist with cookie cutters on rolled out dough.

19. Fruit Pizza
Choosing and arranging fruit.  Good time to practice learning colors if you have a good variety!

20. Breakfast Burrito
Putting meat and shredded cheese into tortilla before mom/dad help put the eggs in and wrap it up tight.

 

Do you have a busy toddler in the kitchen too?  Maybe a cute niece or nephew who like to help out when they visit? Please help me add to this list!

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Weekly Wishes #2

July 28, 2014

Oh my goodness it really has already been a week since my last post. I say it all the time but it’s just so true, time goes by way too stinking fast.

This last week truly has been a whirlwind!  Between all of the buying-a-house stuff (I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. There’s a lot more to it than I thought!) and doctors appointments and our anniversary, oh and trying to maintain sanity while keeping up with shop orders and sometimes eat or sleep, I have been going non-stop.

We did have a really awesome anniversary weekend though.  It was so nice to get out of town and have a little break from the crazy with my all-time favorite guy in the world.

I can’t even fathom that this was a whole year ago.

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Oh, and bonus, this week I finally got my last name updated at the bank which should complete the entire name-changing process.  It only took me a year.

LAST WEEK’S WISHES

1. Find our McMenamin’s gift card. Well luckily we accomplished this.  It may or may not have happened in a last-minute chaotic rush to get out the door on time.  The important part is that the mission was accomplished.

2. Keep kitchen clean. Epic fail.  But I did get some new rubber gloves and cleaning supplies so here’s hoping this week goes better. (You know you’re all grown up when you’re excited about new rubber gloves and cleaning supplies).

3. Create a realistic plan of action. Although we didn’t get a nice official hand-written list made like I had wanted, we did sit down and talk about our priorities to make sure we are on the same page and on the right track as far as what we want to accomplish and when. We managed to make it through this week alive and without missing anything on our to-do list (well, except the kitchen) so I’d consider this a success (:

THIS WEEK’S WISHES

1. Blog, blog, blog.  I have quite a few unfinished drafts sitting in my Posts file.  Time to finish them up and schedule/post them, and start writing the ones I have been wanting to write but just haven’t taken the time to do it.  No excuse to disappear for a week this time!

2. Create a birth plan. When we were expecting our first, we literally lived within three blocks of the hospital.  My husband worked about two minutes away.  Worst case scenario I could walk there if I went into labor.  We ended up scheduling an induction anyways.  This time, we are a little over a half hour from the hospital.  My husband works about twenty minutes away, and is in a different work atmosphere where it is a little harder to get a hold of him quickly.  Not only that, we’ll have a little sunrae who will need somewhere to stay while we are madly dashing to get checked in and comfy before her baby brother makes his grand entrance.  Considering there’s only four weeks left, it’s about time to get figured out what the heck we are going to do when the water breaks.

3. Zero impulse buys.  Pay day is always very exciting.  Then towards the end of the pay period, checking my bank account and adding up all the little $5 or less unneeded purchases reminds me I need to calm the heck down.  I usually forget about my good intentions when the next pay day comes though.  Well we really went over our spending money budget when we went to the city for our anniversary, so it’s my ultimate priority to only do necessities this week, purchase only what I planned on purchasing before I left the house.  No blueberry-guava slushies or Baseball-Nut ice cream cones for me.

We definitely have another crazy busy week ahead of us with more appointments and a house inspection and an ultrasound (yay!) but fortunately it’s hubby’s week off so I’ll have a partner in crime by my side to help me get through it.

Oh, and anyone out there a Gordon Ramsay fan?  Tonight’s episode of Hotel Hell will be featuring my past place of employment and all of my wonderful old co-workers (well, most of them were wonderful).  I opted out of being featured in the show but I was there for all of the filming excitement- which happened a year ago, so this has been anticipated for a very long time and I’m excited to finally see the show.

Usually I just get insanely excited when the sun finally makes an appearance here in the rainy Northwest, or when I get something other than bills and junk in the mailbox. I’m really not used to all this commotion but I am loving it.  What’s exciting lately in your world?

The Nectar Collective

 

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Weekly Wishes #1

July 21, 2014

I figure it’s about time to make some blogging friends.  So I decided to join this awesome link-up by The Nectar Collective- it’s called Weekly Wishes, goal oriented posts for “people who like to get shit done.”  Perfect.  Cause let me tell you, this girl has a lot to get done.

It was a fantastic weekend for the Olsen’s as we received news that our offer had been accepted on the perfect little home for our family.   Which brings lots of excitement and celebration, and also a huge freaking to-do list.  We are going to be busy bees over the next couple weeks.  Just have to remind myself to take one day at a time.

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THIS WEEK’S WISHES

1. Find our McMenamin’s gift card. It’s our anniversary this weekend (hooray!). We got a gift card to a really awesome hotel downtown Portland as a wedding gift, and still haven’t used it.  What better time than for our first anniversary.  So of course I called and made reservations.  And then realized in a panic that I have no idea where that gift card is.  Search is on.

2. Keep kitchen clean.  My worst nightmare is a messy kitchen.  Honestly once it gets bad enough I just start going out to eat until my poor husband breaks down and does the dishes for me.  I’m kind of a baby.  So tonight we are deep cleaning our kitchen and it’s my mission to keep it sparkling all week long.

3. Create a realistic plan of action.  We have so much to do to prepare for our new home.  Lots of junk to get rid of, a few things to fix-up before we leave this one, and tons of cleaning projects (I really want our deposit back).  Being 8 months pregnant with a very busy almost-two-year-old to chase around, there’s only so much in a day I have energy and patience for before I start to go a little crazy.  So it will help to break things down and have a day-by-day plan that’s not too overwhelming.

I might need some ice cold lemonade breaks a long the way but I think I can do it (:

The Nectar Collective

 

 

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My Toddler Still Has A Binky. And That’s Okay.

July 15, 2014

Being “judged” is something everyone goes through at some point.  There’s always going to be someone who has an opinion that should be kept quiet but it’s not.  Story of middle school through high school.  If only it ended there.  I have to say though, I have been absolutely amazed by what “adults” consider appropriate to say.  Seriously.

I was working at a bank recently, and I would get all kinds of comments and fun looks.  I don’t wear my wedding ring right now, seeing as my finger is larger than it was when I got it and it’s just uncomfortable (pregnancy makes me poof out everywhere it’s just not fair).  More than once I was asked, “So, are you still with the father?”  …  Really?  Good thing I am, or this would be awkward?

Anyways. I have always held the opinion that a caring parent knows what’s best for their child(ren).  Nobody else.  Every situation, every household, every child, is totally and completely different. Everyone has their own challenges.  That means every household will have their own rules, their own standards, their own habits, traditions, and so on.  This opinion has only become stronger as I have been a parent myself.  There are parenting methods I don’t agree with and that I’d never use, but I wouldn’t look down on the parent because I don’t know what strategy or reasoning they have behind it.  Seems like an easy enough concept.

But really, some people just don’t get it.  It’s like they have it in their heads that there is some magical formula for perfect parenthood and only they have the knowledge, and the power to enlighten everyone else who isn’t as fortunate.

Recently, I’ve gotten a couple comments regarding the binky that’s still hanging out of my toddler’s mouth about half the time.  And you know what?  I’m fine with it.  I can honestly smile and be totally okay with it. Doesn’t bother me one little bit.  So I want to share why.  Just in case someone out there is having a hard time dealing with the bullying.

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When little sunrae was still in my belly, I vowed up and down there would be NO binkies.  I wasn’t going to do the pacifier thing.  Absolutely not. Well, that lasted all of about four weeks from the time she entered the world.  We had a few binkies we’d received as gifts.  One night, my sweet husband was caring for baby and letting me get some sleep.  And she wouldn’t stop crying.  So instead of waking me up, he got a binky out, boiled it to sanitize it, cooled it down, and gave it to her.  He was pretty happy that he had accomplished all of that with a screaming baby and then got her to sleep and got himself back in bed all without waking me.  Well when I woke up and saw that binky, I was furious.  So poor Kyle got zero thank you for his efforts and instead got a very angry earful.

It didn’t take me long to realize that the binky was magical and provided countless hours of sleep that I would have otherwise missed out on.  So I decided it wasn’t so bad after all.  But it would definitely be gone by the time she was one.  No child of mine was going to be walking around with a binky still hanging out of their mouth.

Well, then I spent a year actually raising a child.  And I learned something really important.  Every child is different.  Obviously.  But that never really hits you until you have one.

Every kid learns things at completely different paces.  They are ready for things at different times.  That doesn’t make anyone better than anyone else.

Yeah, our sunrae is almost two and she still has her binky.  But guess what?  She also uses the toilet every day.  She can memorize whole songs, she has a huge vocabulary for her age, she asks questions and talks in full sentences, and she recognizes written numbers, most letters, and even a few words.  She knows animals, their noises, colors, shapes, and she can get dressed and put her shoes on by herself.  She’s been in a toddler bed since just after she turned one.  When we decided to take the bottle away several months ago, we just flat stopped giving it to her.  No transition. She asked for it once, we told her she was all done with the bottle, she said okay, end of story.  She showed us she was ready for those changes so we made them.

She drags her binky and her blanky around everywhere.  Sometimes it drives me crazy a little bit.  I can’t wait to be done with them.  But she’s not in any hurry.  And I decided I don’t need to be either.  She’s doing great with so many other things, it won’t hurt to let her be slow on the things she wants to be slow on.  She has a lot of big changes going on around her, with a baby brother coming soon and her grandparents that she’s grown up with moving across the country, I’m not going to rush another big change.  That’s my decision as her mommy and I’m happy with it.  I’m so proud of her for how fast she is learning and I’m always excited to see what she’ll learn next.  Most recently she figured out how to open the fridge and pour herself a cup of water.  She wants to do it every two minutes now.  Little pill.

So here’s to all the rock star moms out there doing your best everyday! Keep it up!  You’re a hero no matter what.  Don’t let anyone make you think otherwise.

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Free Fonts// Summer Collection

July 14, 2014

It’s hard to believe that in just a few short weeks we will be meeting Baby #2 face to face.  I can’t wait to see those tiny eyes looking back at us.  And by then summer will be coming to an end.  Time really does just fly.

As excited as I am for the appearance of our little man and for all the autumn fun, I still have a lot of summer left to soak in.  I’m hoping to get to the ocean at least a time or two.  And have a few more s’mores of course.

In the mean time, here’s a few of my favorite summer fonts, all free.  The links to each are below.  Enjoy 🙂

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KG GIRL ON FIRE
SLOPPYHOLLOW
BLAKE
KG SUMMER SUNSHINE
JANDA CURLYGIRL
DROP YOUR ANCHOR

 

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