Beauty Bag Swap.

In the beginning of February, I paired up with some beautiful ladies to participate in a beauty bag swap which consisted in exchanging 3-5 beauty items for the perfect nails. Of course I had to be part of it! I always love to have nice nails, though with a one year old that doesn't always happen. Wow it was weird to type one year old. Anyway, I got Michelle from Sugar, Spice & Newlywed Life who's a teacher and can cook a mean meal!

I love all of these items! Especially the nail polish colors, they're perfect for spring and I can't wait to wear them on my toes! Who doesn't need all the accessories to give yourself a perfect mani/pedi? I've already tried the buffer to make my nails naturally shiny and I love it! Thank you so so much Michelle! :)

My Family.

This weekend we were all cooped up in our home because Elliot wasn't feeling good. Well, except for Saturday morning since we needed to run some errands but as soon as we got back home we got into comfy clothes, sweats for Jack and leggings for me (of course) and vegged out the rest of the day. I had planned to attend a pampered chef party with my best friend on Sunday but Elliot wasn't feeling good and I just couldn't leave him and he didn't want to leave me which made me feel good but also bad because I knew he was miserable.

This weekend I really realized the importance of my little family, not that I didn't know that before, but being together the entire weekend without going outside was the best thing in the whole world. Take-out, adult drinks, and TV were our go-to's along with meds for Elliot.

It was also a weekend of tests, family tests. You know when you are so tired, your kid is crying because he's feeling like shit and finally falls asleep and you feel a moment of Heaven. This happened Friday night. Being a parent is so hard and trying sometimes! I was laying down with Elliot sleeping next to me, and Jack came in and sat with me, we started talking about the vacation that we have been wanting to take the minute I found out I was pregnant and were planning for this year. It turned into a complete argument that I did not want to have and I found myself yelling, quietly, at Jack for no real reason. Like ugly talking to him. He walked out of the room upset as I lay there fuming, for a good five minutes, then I realized what am I doing? This argument had zero reason for becoming well, an argument. I am not that person, yeah of course we fight over other issues, but the way I was with him that night was ugly. I saw myself and felt embarrassed that I let myself talk to him that way. I got up and went into the kitchen to apologize.

I think over the course of not only our marriage, but our relationship, we have learned, the hard way, that we need to pick and choose our battles, not every single thing we disagree on needs to be talked about or argued about. There are things that we will always and I mean always, disagree on and we have learned to let those go. So Friday night, as things were getting heated (not that kind of heat), I stopped, I said I didn't want to talk about it anymore and that was that. Then I apologized. Then he apologized. And all was good in our world again. We continued our night as if nothing had happened and didn't bring it up again.

Then Sunday, my mother-in-law came over and I honestly can't even remember how it started but Jack and I started on a subject we know we are always going to disagree on, right in front of my mother-in-law and once again we stopped right then and there. As simple as that, and didn't bring it up again. For one, I didn't want to do that in front of my MIL and two, it was going to take us directly to nowhere.

I think that we have been so tired or as Jack puts it, we haven't slept in thirteen months (ha, I agree) and sometimes we let little things get the best of us, or at any other given moment for that matter.

Where I am trying to get at is that before my MIL left, she told me, out of the blue, what a good man I have in my hands, what a good father he is, good husband, a hardworking man, etc. and I completely agreed with her then she looked at Jack and said how he has a good woman, a good mother and wife, I could have cried, she kissed me on the cheek and reminded us of the good life that we have. And we do. We really do. She also told me, this is forever, you and him, you guys are forever, with this beautiful boy you have. How right is she! In the three years of marriage that Jack and I have under our belts which could be newlywed years still, we have fought, cried, laughed, wanted to kill each other and loved each other like no other. I don't think longevity has anything to do with it, but the quality is what matters to me. I think we are going to go through trials and tribulations no matter how long you've been married and can happen at any stage of the marriage.

Adding Elliot to this whole thing was truly a blessing and we still continue to do and go through all those things but we learn every single day how to be better with each other, how to be better parents, better people in general. Our marriage isn't perfect and will never be and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm so glad Jack and Elliot picked me to be part of their lives. 

We didn't need my MIL to remind us, but she was there for a reason. I love my little family and what's become of it, fights and all. As my MIL walked out she told Elliot that now he needs a little sister as Jack and I laughed and looked at each other then looked at her like "no way, we are not doing this again". Of course we are but I think we first need to catch up a little bit on our thirteen months lack of sleep. ;)

Have a great Monday! :)

Be My Valentine.

Is it just me or does every Valentine's Day keep creeping in sooner and sooner every year? It feels that way. Ever since I met Jack, our Valentine's have always been about making something for each other then of course giving each other our favorite treat, chocolate. It's just a simple little way we have to show our love for each other. It has never been extravagant by any means and I like it that way. We never go anywhere (except for one year) because for one, it's always packed everywhere, and two, it's just nicer to stay home and celebrate our own way. This year just creeped up on us and we were completely unprepared. Jack has been working OT for the past few days and has been getting home at midnight. Last night was no exception and that at least gave me some time to prepare what I had in mind for this year.

I actually went to the store (huge mistake) to get what I needed for my card. I had to fight the crowds buying roses, the humongous teddy bears, cards, chocolates etc. Thank God I didn't have to go down the Valentine's isle. It was insane. I made it out alive, mind you I had Elliot with me, and headed home with the goodies. I waited till he fell asleep and got to crafting away.

I opted for a very simple card this time using watercolors. I had been pinning away on this board for cute ideas on DIY cards. They have so many great cards that are simple and so easy to make! I could have gone on forever pinning away. I really wish I were the type to bake and make all these heart shaped things but I'm not. Plus I had zero time! So this is what Jack got. His favorite chocolate and a cute card. He got home so late that when I woke up in the morning, I peeked in the kitchen and everything was still intact which made me wonder if he was so tired he missed it! He says he did see it, but who knows ;)

I have been having my own little celebration with some pretty drinks. One thing that we absolutely always have to have is sparkling water. Always. So to make it more interesting we add lime or fruit to it. Strawberry sparkling water is so good and is a perfect Valentine's drink. This is a nice way to make it less boring.

Of course as soon as Target put these on the shelves I was already there. :) Why do they always have to have the cutest stuff? You're killing me Target! These are the cutest plates and sippy cups I've ever seen!

Look at this tiny little baby. He was six days shy of two months old. Sweetest Valentine's gift ever!

Now at a year old. It's crazy that we are celebrating his second Valentine's Day. Time goes by way too fast. I cannot wait to see what goodies he's gonna give mama and daddy from daycare!



Happy Valentine's Day friends! :)

P.S. Jack, "There better be something in there I haven't already seen". :)

Lately- Zombie Mode.

I seriously suck at keeping up with my posts. It's been a crazy, sleepless busy week. Elliot has been waking up in the middle of the night about twenty thousand times a night, therefore, Jack and I are walking zombies or walkers. Okay lame joke. It's the deliriousness in me from lack of sleep. Elliot has been waking up, getting up on his crib facing our bed and proceeding to scream at the top of his lungs to be picked up and sleep in our bed. Mind you we have a queen size bed where Jack and I barely fit. Add a crazy little sleeper and you get zero shut eye. When I say crazy sleeper, I literally mean crazy sleeper. I will lay this kid down one way and he wakes up the opposite way with a leg or an arm sticking out of the crib. Jack and I are pretty smooth sleepers and hardly move so this drives me nuts! When he sleeps with us, I've been woken up by a kick in the face or the stomach or a headbutt. Those are the worst.

Last night I told myself I would do something about it, because let me tell you, we are fully aware that it's completely our fault for letting that little Button sleep with us but it has caused us to resort to more coffee and going to bed earlier and earlier passing out as soon as our heads hit the pillow. I laid him down in his crib and he realized that it wasn't our bed so of course he got up and started whining. I let him be. He cried, got mad, threw his pacifier at me, not really, the floor, and kept crying for a good 45 minutes. I didn't budge as much as I wanted to get him and just let him lie with me and I knew that as soon as I did that he would fall right asleep but that wasn't the point right? After that, he went down! He was out. He did not move one finger, I swear I had to go check him a couple of times to make sure he was breathing. He did get up a couple of times later on, yeah Rome wasn't built in a day, but as soon as I would put him down, in his crib, he would fall back asleep. We were able to get a little bit better sleep and I am going to continue to do this until he no longer wakes up screaming in the middle of the night.

We were so out of it that when Jack got in bed, we turned the lights off and were talking about how Elliot did so good and how we are going to continue with this then out of the blue he yells "oh shit what's that?" pointing towards our bathroom and I yelled "what!" then he said "oh nothing I was kidding". I was like huh?? He scared the crap out of me! I punched him so hard on his arm and we started laughing so much and so loud that we almost woke Elliot up. Yeah that ironic. Then of course, we were so riled up after laughing that I had a hard time falling asleep. Double the irony.

Jack also broke the blender and I broke the coffee pot all within days of each other. So after making a trip to Target, we decided that the coffee pot took precedence because honestly nowadays coffee is what we are surviving on! Who needs a blender? ;)

In other news, Elliot is no longer on formula and took regular whole milk like a true champ. He is also eating everything in his path and is almost walking! He did come down with an ear infection and pink eye which were not fun at all (boo daycare) but he is doing so so much better. The eye drops were not an easy task but he takes the antibiotic like candy. Such a big boy!

Have a great Tuesday!

P.S. If you have any tips on how to make your baby or how you made your baby a better sleeper please tell me!

Elliot's Birthday!

There was a change of plans for Elliot's birthday. I had been so excited about the planning and theme and colors and everything about it that I didn't sit down and think it through. I started buying this and that thinking how perfect it was going to be and then it hit me. He's turning one. ONE. Then I started freaking out. He won't remember, it's too much for a one year old, etc. So then I started stressing out. Is it really worth it to spend all this money on catering food and drinks for all my friends and family when really, it's more of a party for us than Elliot? Jack and I talked about it and we made the decision to cancel the big party and have a small gathering with family. I still decorated and tried to make our home look nice for Elliot and for our family but I was so glad we did it this way. It was fun, I wasn't running around making sure everyone was okay and that they had a drink in their hand. It was relaxing, enjoyable and fun. It might sound selfish but I wasn't ready to deal with the stress!

So get ready for a pic overload coming at you. :)

I knew I wanted a sweets table whether it was for a small or large group. I think it's a cute way to send off the little ones with a little reminder of the party and a sweet treat for later. I used our dining table for the setup and I already had a bunch of containers from my baby shower and got a couple of extra ones whenever I found an inexpensive but cool one. I had marshmallows, chocolate, gummies, twizzlers, brownies, lollipops, and gumballs. I ended up eating quite a few since we had some leftovers. Eek!

Remember I told you about getting together with Tiny Prints? After the invitations, I really felt like the party needed an extra touch! I was so excited, so after speaking to them on the phone, sending a bunch of emails and telling them about my plans for his party, we decided that party favor labels was the way to go. I went to their website, picked a design and sent it to them. They were in the mail a few days later! They were stickers which are super handy and I peeled them off and put them on colored construction paper then cut them, punched a hole and tied them with twine to the candy bags. I absolutely love the way they turned out. How crazy that they had this design that perfectly matched the invitations AND the theme without being too much? It was a pleasure working with them! I look forward to more projects with them in the future! 

I printed a bunch of my Instagram pictures through Artifact Uprising if you haven't been to their website please go right now. It's beautiful! You can create beautiful things. This is such a bad pic and doesn't do justice to how awesome the pics came out. I can't wait to make a book!

The cake. The cake was so pretty and exactly what I wanted. Plus is tasted so good! I picked a lemon cake with vanilla butter cream under the fondant. If you live in the area please check my sister in law out at Jen's Cupcake Corner on Facebook. I made a quick and simple bunting for the top and was planning to put a couple of tiny balloons but that didn't happen. I love how it came out!

He then had a taste of his little smash cake! Which was so hard to make for me. Definitely not my thing. He

enjoyed it although it lasted about a second then he was over it.

I set up a sheet of butcher paper, party hats, stickers, markers, crayons, bubbles, glow stick bracelets and other fun little things for the kids to color, decorate hats and have fun. They also decorated a banner that I need take a million pics of and frame them. They did such a great job! 

Even Elliot helped out. He was such a good boy throughout the entire thing, he sat there and looked at everything and everyone as if enjoying and soaking it all in. My heart was content.

Ooh balloons!



My two loves.







It was such a nice day. I truly believe he enjoyed it and I know he's not going to remember but I hope one day he looks back and sees how mama and daddy tried so hard to make it a special day for him. We love you little Button, time flew and we cannot believe what a big boy you are!

Ok mama no more pics! :)

I hope you enjoyed the overload I just couldn't help myself :) Happy Wednesday!