“a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013″
dear connor, beach season has begun! this is you on our first beach day of the season. we took a little impromptu trip up to myrtle beach so we could visit with a friend. p.s. you have been wearing that same beach shirt since you were 6 months old. how does it still fit you? 
xoxo
dear penelope, i love you in this green dress while you snack on sophie’s feet. you’ve started doing a little army crawl this week too. there’s no stopping you now. you end up on the other side of the room in an instant these days. i see my future getting much, much busier in the next few months with TWO mobile kids. xoxo
as always, joining jodi from che and fidel for project 52.
find more weekly photos here.
last sunday was a happy day full of sunshine, good food and one happy mommy.
in a the morning kyle proclaimed that he was going to clean the house so as penelope drifted off to sleep connor and i sunscreened up, grabbed our tennis rackets and hit the neighborhood courts to hit some balls.
as i was getting connor into his bike i couldn’t help but peak through the window and smile at my sweet husband who was turning on music and gathering up his supplies. cleaning is not his thing but he knows a clean house keeps my mind at ease.
connor was so excited to go play tennis and i was just as eager to get him out on the court. tennis was a huge part of my life growing up and it’s fun to start sharing those moments with my kids.
when did he get so old?
he had me nearly in tears from laughing as i would say “ready?” he would lean forward, racket in front of his body, feet moving fast, jogging just slightly back and forth saying “i’m ready mommy!” it took me back 20 years to playing tennis with my dad. he would always yell from the other side of the court “move your feet!”
needless to say, we had a blast. our next stop was the playground where connor cooked me soup, salad, quinoa and of course chocolate in the little play house. to top off a fun morning we stopped to say hello to the ducks and fish at one of the neighborhood ponds.
when we got home it was gift time much to my surprise. i told kyle not to get me anything. i’m not the kind of girl that says that just to say that either. i really do mean it. i would so much rather save money than it be used on presents but i decided to suck it up and happily accept my gifts that were, i have to admit were all totally awesome.
who wouldn’t immediately smile seeing a card like that? kyle knows how to pick ‘em. so for the presents, a new pair of toms, a new dress, alba body scrub and exfoliating gloves, and beautiful flowers!
the best part? when connor came in to give me my bag of goodies i said “ohhhh connor, what’s that?” and he said “ugghh.. it’s a bag!”
as the day ended kyle and connor whipped me up THE BEST gluten free, vegan i’ve ever had. it was so tasty i had to hold myself back from eating the entire thing in one sitting.
after the kids went to bed we enjoyed some wine and some sweet treats.
this day was a good one. this weekend was a good one, in fact. we celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary and mother’s day. each of those days were days i wouldn’t have if it weren’t for my husband so he deserves a big, public thank you for giving me a wonderful life and 2 beautiful children.
life is good.
it’s a catch up week for me today on project 52. we’ve been busy and i just did not get a second to put them all together these past 2 weeks. hope all you moms out there had a great mothers day. i’ll share all my goodies with you soon! xoxo
18/52
“a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013″
dear connor, this is you at our local children’s museum. “look mommy, a huwa-hoop! i gonna huwa-hoop!”
dear penelope, i’m going to soak in these sweet moments of you sleeping since it doesn’t happen too often these days. i love you.
19/52
“a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013″
dear connor, watching the boats, the water and the crabs while being in daddy’s arms is your kind of heaven. you told your sister you loved her this week for the first time. i have never heard you tell anyone you loved them, not even me or dad so to her you say it to your sister completely unprompted melts my heart.
dear penelope, you are crazy and silly and ridiciously happy all day long. you love getting a grasp on our faces and squeezing as hard as you possibly can while laughing. you also like to bite my nipple while nursing now and laugh but, we won’t get into that today…… no one can get you laughing as hard as your brother can. you two are about to have some fun time when you can get up and run around with him!
as always, joining jodi from che and fidel for project 52.
find more weekly photos here.
i feel like i haven’t caught up with you guys on a personal level lately. i’ve wanted to. i’ve needed to. i just haven’t had the mental energy to. i’ve been sleep walking the past few weeks…
penelope, my sweet, sweet wonderful penelope is the world’s worst sleeper. world’s worst! ok, maybe i’m being dramatic but she definitely right on up there with ‘em. i knew i had it coming to me. seriously, how could i have not? connor was the most awesome sleeper ever! he still is majority of the time but there was no way i was going to be so lucky again. i love her and she is awesome in literally every other aspect but just not with the sleeping. maybe this is a phase, maybe it’s not. either way it is what it is right now and i’m just chugging (sleepily) along trying to enjoy it all and not become over frustrated/cranky/annoyed at the situation because i know there’s only so much i can do. some babies are sleepers and some aren’t. it’s really quite simple but that doesn’t mean it’s not exhausting on mom…
so here’s her deal: she’s always needed me to be close when she’s falling asleep and more times than not needed to be nursed to sleep which i don’t have a problem with. what’s really exhausting is this:
we nurse. she falls asleep. i put her down. she stays asleep… for 10 minutes. wakes up. i comfort her. she falls back to sleep… for 10 minutes. i nurse her. she falls asleep… for 10 minutes. i cave. tell kyle goodnight. go to bed with her. now that i’m settled in next to her she stays asleep for at least 3 hours until she’s ready to nurse again.
ugh. and repeat that for nap time as well. and take in to account that she’s up 2-3 times during the night.
personally, i’m totally cool with nursing her to sleep, laying with her until she falls asleep and co-sleeping. i want to be close to her and i want to be doing all those things for her and i’m grateful that i am home to have all those bonding moments. i just want her to stay asleep for a period of time, at least in the evening. i just crave a little alone/husband/free time in the evening. i know, i know, this is motherhood and this is what we signed up for. it’s not always easy and all that jazz but i wouldn’t be human if i didn’t admit that it’s driving me a little insane some days. (and by the way, as i’m writing this she’s bouncing up and down, smiling and laughing at me in her exersaucer and i’m feeling a little bad whining about her sleep habits. oh baby, you have me wrapped around your finger.)
kyle tries to help but it’s really no help. the effort and compassion for my situation is appreciated but as much as penelope loves playing with her daddy, he is not yet an acceptable person to comfort her, in her eyes anyway. the lid completely blows if anyone besides me goes in there to help her.
i’ve tried switching up sleeping arrangements, bedtimes, routines, sound machines, etc you know name it and i’ve tried it and i got nothing! so most days she gets her naps in during walks or eventually konks out on the couch or while i’m wearing her and i’m good with that for now. it’ll be totally different 3 months from now, one way or the other so i can’t stress about it. that will only drive me crazy.
in the meantime, i’ll just cross my fingers for a few evenings a week where i can sit down, have a glass of wine and relax.
on another note, i mentioned here that connor and i had sort of lost touch with each other for a little while. we were a mess. not finding a rhythm and having tantrums like you wouldn’t believe. we’ve done a complete 180 and everything has been so incredibly awesome and fun with him lately. woohoo! 
i’ll write more on that soon. ok, soon-ish. meaning whenever i can find the time! add it to the long list of half written posts! ha!
finally! a window treatment for my kitchen window above the sink. check that one off the list! i have told myself for the past TWO years that i would get around to buying or making one and alas, it happened!
this project was so simple and cost next to nothing. i picked up 2 yards of this fabric at hobby lobby on a 30% discount for a total of $12 and i only used maybe 1 yard of the fabric on this project so we’re looking at about $5-6 total for this particular project! hobby lobby is always, ALWAYS having sales up for 50% off or more so check back there often you and can get really deep discounts on a variety of items. so for this window i took a cue from sherry over at young house love and went with a faux shade. i didn’t particularly need a functional, closing shade. we never closed the blinds on them before and didn’t think we would ever really need to so this “faux” shade works just fine for this window. it’s more of a decorative, warm up the room kind of window treatment so if you are looking for something similar check out how i whipped this up in an under an hour….
materials:
- fabric (i used maybe a yard total. you’ll have to do your specific measurements to decide how much you’ll need)
- fabric glue
- pins
steps:
- determine where you want your shade to end. for me it was about 13 inches from where i wanted to hang it (which was close to the ceiling) to about a quarter of the way down the window.
- i measured the width of the window and added 2 inches (1 inch on each side for hemming) and took the 13 inches and added about 12 inches to that to account for an inch of hemming on the bottom and the looping i would be doing to make the roman shade effect.
- i cut those measurements, laid down my fabric and measured and pinned an inch (for hemming) on both sides and the bottom. you won’t need to for the top.
- i used my fabric glue to secure the hemming on each side and gave it a minute to set.
5. next, i ran out to the shed to look for a scrap piece of wood to use to secure the shade to the wall. i grabbed a piece of shoe molding we had left over and cut it the width of my window. i laid it along the top of my fabric, wrapped it around a bit and secured it with white duct tape. (yes, seriously. duct tape) you could use a heavy-duty glue too, i’m sure! if you don’t have any spare wood you could always go to a home improvement store and pick up a cheap piece of wood and have them cut it for you.
6.now i had the top of my fabric adhered to the wood and the 3 other sides hemmed. now for the looping effect. this took some fiddling around to even it all out and decide how long i wanted my loops to be. i just pulled the fabric under to create the loop and took tiny pins and secured the loops. i used probably 4-5 pins per loop so it held evenly and well. i did 2 loops and then let the bottom of the fabric hang. (i know this is hard to explain. keep referring back to the pictures to get the idea)
7. after all the fiddling and securing of pins i ran an iron over it to smooth it out and called kyle in to do the hanging. all we needed to do was hammer 2 nails into the wood straight to the wall on either side and that was that! hanging it like this also keeps the fabric secure and tight where i wrapped and taped it to the wood.
and that is that. please don’t mind our half taken apart, ugly light in front of the shade (it kind of ruins it, huh?) a new one is on our list! this is really simple, really easy and makes a world of difference in the kitchen. it really warms it up and adds a little punch with the design!
let me know if you have any questions! i know this one could be a little tricky to catch on to…
i’m completely enthralled by ayurvedic medicine. everything about it intrigues me and kyle and i have been exploring many aspects of these ancient medicinal traditions from india. i already dove into oil pulling with success and now i’ve learned from ayurvedic doctor kulreet chaudhary about this curry powder that can help improve digestion and reduce fat in your body by incorporating all six tastes that ayurvedic medicine recognizes – sweet, salty, sour, bitter, astringent and pungent.
in order to feel full and satisfied, you must have all six tastes present in your food. the average american diet usually only has three of these six tastes – sweet, salty and sour so this curry powder is an easy way to incorporate all six tastes into every meal. cook with it or sprinkle it as a topping. we have put it on everything – salads, sandwiches, even in my morning shake!
this curry powder includes turmeric, which is one of the safest, most ancient and easily accessible home remedies in the world. turmeric has gained recognition for its potential for lowering cholesterol, reducing blood sugar in diabetics, relieving arthritis, supporting liver function, improving digestion, reducing menstrual cramps, reducing inflammation in the colon, wound healing, fighting cancer and preventing alzheimer’s. its broad medicinal uses are due to its anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and antioxidant qualities.
so, why make it yourself, right? certainly you could go pick up a ready-made curry powder on the spice aisle however dr. chaudhary advises against it. most of these don’t have the right balance of spices and may be too spicy and overpower the other tastes.
making this stuff is so easy and pretty foul proof so have at it! this can be ground up in a coffee grinder. we used our vitamix. we actually ended up doubling this recipe just so we didn’t have to make more so soon.
start with grinding the following ingredients together first:
5 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds (really great for digestion and fighting gas and for us breastfeeding mamas wanting to increase our supply!)
1 large bay leaf
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 small (1 1/2 inch) cinnamon stick
5 cloves
next, add:
2 tsp turmeric powder
we’re both pretty in love with this spice and with the bonus of improved digestion and some fat cells being zapped, even better! let me know how you like it!
i’ll be sharing a few more ayurvedic remedies over the next few weeks so check back often!
`
20/52
my mother’s day
18/52 & 19/52
i had it coming. my daughter hates sleeping…
{DIY} faux roman shade – no sewing required!
{recipe} ayurvedic curry powder
17/52
increase your energy level + overall wellness with alkaline foods
