Monday, February 28, 2011

boo hoo

You know the flip flops I just posted about (look below)? I wore them today and didn't like them. Boohooooooo!!!! They are pretty thick, too squishy, a little squeaky, and they rubbed my feet a little raw. In defense I did wear them on an errand morning. So I will be saving these for a day at the pool or a quick errand. But now I need to find me some cheap, everyday flip flops or sandals!


flippity flop


My flip flops from last year literally fell apart. I wore them out to the sole, but we usually do that here in California. I had to get a pair quick and cheap and was hoping to stick to my favorite flip flop color of gold, so I was happy to find these cuties at Old Navy for only $7.50. They have a ton of cute flip flops and sandals right now!


Sunday, February 27, 2011

still fun



My kids pitched together their money from Grandpa & Grandma to buy these Ikea Ekorre Hand Rings. I thought Mark would put them up and they would be interesting for about two days. I was wrong, the kids still love them! He attached them securely to a beam in the garage. Only $9.99.

Follow me

Just added a button so you can follow me, I had two people in one day tell me I needed it! Thank you!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

beautiful

Have you ever thought of having a professional photographer at your birth, someone who could be "on call" for your special day? I am so blessed that my sister is an amazing photographer, but she lives 2.5 hours away and has her own family. It just never crossed my mind. Well that is until I saw my friend Brooke's photographs from the birth of her third child. Brooke was a warrior woman and had her little Mr. Benjamin at home! Amazing right? And look at the photographs she has of those moments.










How beautiful (and Brooke you look gorgeous even giving birth). You can see more photos here. So who is this special woman who takes birthing photographs? Her name is Lindsey Kliewer. You can see her photos at her blog Our Beautiful Mess. She is located in Orange County, California. I contacted Lindsey and asked her to give me a little insight on how it works! Here is what she had to say:

"I always want to meet face to face with the woman before the actual day, to connect and give her an opportunity to ask questions, feel out her style/likes/dislikes in regards to the birth shoot. I feel like this could be a great opportunity to get to know her and for her to know me, so that I can be a more comfortable, safe, supportive person in the room during the birth. Plus if it's a homebirth, then that gives me the chance to make sure I know where she lives. Also, during the initial meeting with the mom, I want to make it clear that at any time, she can ask (or tell) me to leave the room. I want her to feel the freedom to create the environment she needs to birth her baby and if that doesn't include me for some moments, then so be it! I also want to communicate this with her support people (spouse, mother, doula, etc) the day of the birth so that they too can be an advocate for her.

A couple things about me... I am a strong believer that a woman's body is more than capable to birth her baby, and that she needs a safe place (in all senses of the word) to do so. I also LOVE birth!!! Ever since I can remember I always have! I am a nurse. In fact I went into nursing with the hopes of someday becoming a midwife. I am well read on the art and science of birth so I understand the process and the stages and such; this can help me go with the flow of the birth and anticipate what might be coming next. "

Lindsey sounds amazing right? After having three babies of my own, I wish I had something like this for my kids. So I had to share it with you! If you would like to contact Lindsey go to her website here, click on the Contact section and you can send her a message!

sweet girl



Do you remember little Maddie James that we collected Valentine's for? You can go to the new website for her foundation to read more of her story and to see how you can contribute to her foundation and her legacy.



Tuesday, February 22, 2011

sweet tooth

Apparently February is my crafty month. Tonight I made this cute little Tooth Fairy Pillow for my son! I love it! Too bad it's a week late for his first tooth, but he has plenty more teeth to come out. I am actually not that crafty and still not very good at sewing so I get really excited when I accomplish something.

Monday, February 21, 2011

menu planning

A fav new family tradition from my friend Noel. Enjoy!


Menu planning with the whole family

What to cook for dinner in my home is always a quandary, and choosing something everyone will like is even harder. So when I heard a new idea given to me by a mom from MOPS, I was so excited to try it out. Each member of the family gets a night; on their night they choose the dinner, they set the table, they say the prayer, and they get to clean it up. Great right? On Sunday afternoon I sit down and ask everyone what night they want and what they want to eat on their night. Each person picks a main dish, veggie, any side they want and maybe even a dessert. Our family has four people picking, so we have four planned meals per week, one night of leftovers, one night with some kind of quick dinner, and one night out. So easy!

This has been the best plan implemented into our home yet. My 3 year old loves it and is great at it! Everyone else seems happy and I find I do not have to tell anyone to "eat your food, or please take one more bite!" They pick good things too and the pressure to please and the timeless question of "what's for dinner" have been alleviated for now!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

what i am working on now

So I have been in a funk about decorating our house, mostly due to money restraints and other things. We moved here in October and I have just let it sit. Well that all changed this weekend and I have been on a decorating spree. I used me Pinterest to pin ideas and I also went through all the decorations and furniture we had and reused and reshaped things. It's amazing what some research and a little perseverance can do. Most of my little projects cost nothing or pennies. I am still finishing them but I can't wait to show you!

I will show you two wreath projects that I saw that I am working on adapting for my home.

As seen here.


As seen here.


Wish me luck! I have had great success so far on my other projects!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

she made me do it

(My sister's Pinterest board, mine is blank right now)

My sister just made me sign up for Pinterest, no seriously, she made me :) Have you heard of it yet? It's like making your own inspiration boards by "pinning" things from blogs or web pages. You can also follow other people and and gain followers. So wish me luck...here I go!


p.s. You can follow me on Pinterest here.

help me

I'm in a blog funk. I currently have 80 blogs bookmarked in my Blog Favorites folder, but I only read two every day. None of those 80 blogs even count for my friends blogs that I catch up on at least once a week. I'm just not feeling inspired right now. I don't really relate to any of the blogs I read for their social/mommy content. The party blogs are still cute but I haven't found one that really inspires me. I'm in a blog funk.

I'm thinking of deleting all 80 blogs and starting over. I'm afraid I won't know how to find some of them again, but then again I never really go to them anyways. I think I am going to do it and start a fresh clean Blog Favorites folder.

I think part of the problem is that I'm not feeling inspired. What do I do about that? Suggestions? Do you have a blog favorite that just makes your day every day? Please share.

box of love

Here's a quick pic of the "box of love" we sent Maddie. This picture doesn't do justice, it was a pretty big box filled to the brim with so many cute things. People really do have a big heart and I got to experience it first hand while collecting things. I hope she loves it.

milestone

(important note: the dentist pulled the top tooth
when he was 3.5, bottom tooth fell out yesterday)

The Toothfairy visited our house for the first time last night! I don't have his toothfairy pillow done yet (it will be done next week, I couldn't find time to sew it this week and never would have thought that tooth would come out so quickly) but luckily she still came without it! She left a note, some cash and some fairy dust on her way out.

I love being a mom.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

good start

I hate eating breakfast. Nothing ever sounds good and with three kids, I'm too busy to eat. But, I know that it is the most important meal of the day and that I need to make it a priority! I already posted about the McDonalds oatmeal and I love oatmeal, so I knew I wanted to incorporate it into my breakfast routine. But I never did... well until today. I know that oatmeal is so good for you and that you should not eat the instant oatmeal from the packets because they have too much sugar and not as much whole grains. I bought a big tub of Quaker Oats and JUST realized that you can make it in the microwave, not just on the stove. How come I never saw that before? So I made myself a piping hot bowl, added some craisins and a touch of brown sugar and voila! Next time I will add diced apples or bananas. And my friend told me she loves adding pecans. Yummy and SO GOOD for you.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

update


Do you remember this post? I just have to tell you how happy I was with the Crest 3DWhite Whitestrips. I got the Advanced Vivid box. My teeth were pretty discolored so any white would be great with me, but I am really happy considering it's an out-of-the-box solution. I do wish the lower treatments extended to a few more teeth, but not everyone smiles as big as I do (and maybe I could tone my smile down a bit). But I was really embarrassed by my teeth and I feel so much better. I even found mine on sale at Target.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

happy heart day


I already showed you the Valentines we did this year, but here's another one I helped a friend do. Cute right!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

a fav from a favorite

I LOVE it when my friend Dan sends me a new fav for my blog. Dan and his wife have great taste and if they like something, I know I will too. Plus I love any man who doesn't mind sharing great finds with a bunch of women. Thanks Dan!! You rock (and you are a great Godfather too). So here is Dan's new fav, as told by him:

I have a new favorite: I'm a fairly manic running/work-out guy as you know. The biggest challenge for me is finding shorts than can be great for both running/cardio & lifting while offering maximum comfort. I've tried all brands over the years Nike, Under Armor, Target Brand etc. However on a whim (while my ladies were in Forever41, I mean 21) I went in to Lululemon at the Irvine Spectrum. They are mostly known for their Women's yoga apparel but have a Men's line too. The staff were very knowledgeable and helped me pick out the Run: Response Short. I just got them this past weekend, have worn them twice, and they are simply awesome. Ultra comfortable, 3 pockets, built in liner, super wicking & cool. Pricier than other brands but absolutely worth it. Never thought I would get so enthused about a pair of shorts and that they could be Amanda's Favs worthy! I'll be picking up another pair very soon.

Thanks Dan!

two things together

When two good things come together....I'm happy. I love my Pottery Barn Kids Lunch Bag. It's cute and easy to carry. Plus, it has zippered pockets on the outside and inside so I can fit more things in it. I also love my new Bright Bin Lunch Box sent to me by the people at Bright Bin. It's small enough that it fits inside of my Lunch Bag with a small water. The top compartment can fit a sandwich or something larger and then the bottom has trays for separate items. So much better than wasting sandwich bags or having lots of separate containers that get lost and have to all be washed (Mark hates that). Both are BPA free and easy to clean. I like that they can both be used separately or together. When it's summer I am constantly packing snacks and after awhile having loose food in my reusable grocery bags sloshing around everywhere gets old. I am going to try and keep it simple with these two things this summer (I am seriously already thinking about it!).

valentines

Our school Valentine's are done, the teachers wanted them early this year! They were super easy to make. We also made Valentine's for our friends (and for Maddie, read below) with pretty papers and lots of glue sticks. I will post those pictures tomorrow! I LOVE Valentine's Day so much!

Monday, February 7, 2011

a box of love


I just read this blog post. Expect tears when you read it. I am collecting Valentine's to send in a big box to Maddie. Please email me at elhajs@aol.com to contribute any Valentine's from your child or little goodies from you.

new find


These Mighty Pops are great for little sick ones. They are like 3 inches tall and melt slowly. I gave one to my little guy (1 years old) and he happily ate it (the big kids each wanted one too). Good option when they have the flu and you need to keep them hydrated but don't want a gigantic popsicle. Or I guess if you love to have popsicles around in the summer! I found them at Pavilions.

dress it up


Just because I can't afford to give the biggest gift, doesn't mean I can't try and make it the prettiest.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

i love other people's ideas

I am LOVING this post on Design Mom's blog by Brooke Reynolds of inchmark. I love her grocery list template!! I was doing this already but everything was separate. Now I can put everything on the same page, awesome!

I also like her dad's new blog. I could only glance at it for a few minutes but I am going to go back for more!

yum

Mark and I REALLY like these Yogi Granola Crisps. They are like little pieces of cereal that you can munch on during the day and they are really good for you! They have oats, barley, spelt, quinoa and much more in them. I didn't expect to like them as much as I do, I just picked them off the shelf because I have been looking for healthier snack foods. I bought them at Target!