Ruffle lamps

When we first found out we were having a girl, I started pinning cute nursery ideas like crazy. I originally planned on pink and blue for her room and came across these adorable DIY lamps at Ginger Snap Crafts. I pinned them and, like most things on Pinterest, I forgot about them.

When I couldn't find any inexpensive lamps that matched in her room, I remembered those cute ruffle lamps and set out to Big Lots to see if they had some simple lamps like I got for Ethan's nursery. Luckily, it was back to school time so they had all their dorm room stuff out. We got both for $24 since I had a 20% off coupon.

   

Then I went to hobby lobby for the ribbon. They were 50% off so $2 per color. I started with a roll each of hot pink, purple, and white. Then we just got to work with a glue gun.

After looking at it for a few days, I decided it was too much white in the middle. Since I couldn't start over, I ran out and got a light pink to add. It's kinda squeezed in since there wasn't space left, but I think it looks more complete with the white being separated. 

Here's a pic with them on. Love how they turned out. They're bright and girly. And for $22 per lamp ($30 + $8 in ribbon + $6 in hot glue) they were much more affordable than any other options I saw. 

Toddlers are unpredictable

Ethan woke up this morning about an hour earlier than usual. I think it was too cold upstairs (Texas fall weather is just as unpredictable). He did not wake up happy. It was a chore just getting him downstairs for breakfast. None of the usual tricks were cheering him up and he ended up making a huge mess of his meal.

I tried just about every toy, his fave animal sound video, motorcycle videos, music and dancing, but he was having none of it. I almost decided to skip meeting Josh for lunch for Veterans Day. 

Then, just like that, he was back to sweet toddler. So I got them both dressed and into the car. He was great at lunch eating like a champ. We got home and played some more and he was still good.

Then came the absolute adorableness. I took him up for his nap and since Emma was happy in her swing (rare at naptime), I took the time to lay in the lounger with him first. He pulled open my cardigan so he could snuggle in close to me. Then he gave me sweet pats on my arm and back while "singing" to me. He was going ahh ahh ahh softly in time with the music. 

It was the sweetest thing ever and totally made up for the terror he was all morning. I swear this kid knows how to make me forget about how bad he can behave sometimes. He's totally a sour patch kid: first he's sour, then he's cute.

Aveeno review

I was sent the Aveeno Positively Radiant Targeted Tone Corrector to try out thanks to Influenster. I love Aveeno lotions, but have never really tried any of their other products. I also have never tried a tone corrector.

The product claims to help fade dark spots and uneven tone. I wanted to use it for a few weeks before reviewing to see if I noticed any difference. Overall, I didn't notice any change. Luckily, I don't really have any dark spots, but I do have some uneven skin tone where areas are redder.

While it didn't really live up to it's claims for me, it did feel smooth going on. It wasn't sticky like some products and it has a nice, light scent. I used it both morning and night and it didn't affect makeup at all. I was worried at first that it would make makeup more cake-y, but it didn't.

Most of the reviews on it are pretty positive in regards to fading dark spots so if this is something you struggle with, I'd say it's still worth a try since it's only around $15. It may just be better at that than fixing the skin tone unevenness.

Growing up

As we're getting ready to welcome out baby girl into this world (a little over 4 weeks!!), we've been reflecting on how much has changed in the last year and a half. It's hard to believe E was just a little baby so recently when he seems so grown up now. On one hand, it feels like we just had him, but on the other I can't even picture our lives without him.

He's always been in a hurry to get out of each baby stage. He was over his swing/bouncer by about 2.5 months, started crawling early, and quickly swapped to walking. He's always trying to grow up too fast for us. There are only about 2 things he does that are "baby" like: snuggling with his teddy bear and wanting to hold our hands when walking. He is soo happy when he gets to hold both mine and J's hands and will walk with his little hand outstretched until he has us both. It's the cutest thing ever. He's fearless and confident the rest of the time always in a rush to try new things and push himself.

The everyday things that E does constantly surprise me. It's amazing how much kids learn and change in such a short amount of time. Our morning starts out with him (usually) happily babbling and talking to his teddy bear, then downstairs for breakfast. In the last week he's added his first "chore" because he'll feed the dog while I make him breakfast. Then we have play time until lunch/nap. E loves to pull every toy out normally, so we've started a system where we have things organized by type and he can't pull out more until we put the other away. The first few weeks were rough since he didn't understand really, but in the last week, he's already starting to help me put the toys away. Don't get me wrong, he's still a toddler so it's far from perfect. Some days there's still toys everywhere, but it's a work in progress and I'm trying to teach him good habits now.

When he's hungry, instead of just getting crabby, he now says "unch" for lunch (doesn't matter what meal lol) and heads to the gate at the kitchen. He's still eating pretty good, but goes through stages now we're he won't eat much. I think it has to do with teething since he's getting a ton of teeth lately. When it's time for bed, we say ready for bed and he heads up the stairs to the bathroom (for vitamins and teeth brushing). When he wants to go outside, he brings us his shoes and says bye bye. Now if he could only learn to listen when I saw "no"...

It's so weird to really be communicating with him. All his new words are adorable and his understanding of us is incredible. It's so cool to see someone who a little over a year ago couldn't do anything on his own become so smart and independent. I can't wait to see how he handles having a baby sister. And hopefully she isn't in as big of a rush to grow up as he is. Since she'll likely be our last, she needs to take her time.

Feeding Zuker

Chaos

Life with a 1 year old is never predictable. Some days (like yesterday) go super smoothly. Lots of playing and having fun and happiness. Then there are days (like today) that are completely exhausting. E has been a crazy jumble of chaos today. If there's a way to get into things, he will.

This is partially my fault. After a breakfast of eggs, I gave him 2 mini donuts. He doesn't usually have sweets in the morning so I'm gonna blame the sugar.

So far today he has: cleaned out the toilet with the scrub brush (I'm usually really good at keeping the bathroom door closed), gone in the closet to grab an umbrella and try to bash the tv and speaker, threw a tantrum because I took away the umbrella before he could break anything, tried to lift his ride on motorcycle onto the entertainment center, ripped his diaper off, dumped my water on the carpet, climbed all over the furniture, unhooked the bottom of the baby gate, and reached over the gate to grab the lid off the trash to put on his head. All of this as I'm right next to him...that kid is quick (well and I'm slow right now with only 6 weeks left to go).

This looks like a good hat.

And this is just what I can remember. He's full of energy and mischief. We've also done multiple somersaults and played basketball to try to wear off some of this energy, but he's still running around in circles. Normally, I would take him to the park or outside, but it's WAY too hot for that. Or I would take him to an indoor play place, but as luck would have it, his carseat is in pieces since he threw up in it last night. (Note to self: no yogurt before swim class). I'm thinking once J gets home, I'll put the carseat back together and take him to open gym class at WinKids. I would do it during nap time, but I think I'll need a nap too.

What?! I shouldn't be up here mama?? 

I say this all the time, but it's a good thing he's cute. I can only imagine the kind of chaos the new baby will add to the mix. Can't wait for the craziness. 

Happy Father's Day

Up until last year, Father's Day was just another day to me. My dad hasn't been in my life for quite awhile so it just came and went. But, last year I finally got to really celebrate Father's Day since we finally had our little one. 

I'm so grateful that our E has such an amazing dad. Before we had him, J had only held a baby maybe once in his life for about 5 min where he was too scared I move. So he was definitely nervous about becoming a dad and afraid he was going to somehow break him. But once the little guy was here, he quickly became a natural. 

Their first pic together remains one of my all time faves. It shows how he instantly became a dad, totally in love with his kid. He seems so at ease holding him.

Not only is he an awesome dad, but he's supportive of me and helps with all the parenting decisions we make along the way. He embraced babywearing and wore E just about everywhere til he started walking. When I suggested baby led weaning, he let us give it a try even though it kinda freaked him out. He was my rock through the early struggles with breastfeeding and he's the calm one to tell me everything will be ok when I have those normal mama worries.

Even though he's a super busy dad with a full time job and going to school full time, he takes every chance he gets to spend quality daddy/son time together. They take trips to Home Depot, work in the garage, and wash the car. He does the bathing and nighttime routine. And he'll be the one taking him to swim classes next month. 

I'm super bummed that he's overseas this year for Father's Day and we aren't able to spoil him like he deserves. E is definitely missing his dad and gives him tons of kisses through the phone (thanks FaceTime!). We can't wait for him to get home. I'm excited to see what the future brings and how he handles being a dad to a little girl. 

Also a shout out to J's dad/E's grandpa. So happy that he has such an amazing grandpa as well. E just loves him and gets so excited when we get to see him, either in person or on FaceTime. These 3 guys are soo similar it's scary. That Mincher gene is strong I tell ya.

Toddler Travels

Every 6 months of so, my husband has to go overseas for work. It normally lasts 2 weeks to a month so I usually use this as an excuse to go see family. Neither of our parents live anywhere close to us so it makes sense that since he'll be gone, we might as well get some family time for the little guy. Well, that may come to an end after the last 2 trips. Unfortunately, he is so used to his room and routine at home, that the change completely throws him off. He seems to have a harder time adjusting with each trip.

The hardest part is his sleep. He has barely been sleeping at all and nothing seems to help. He's only been sleeping maybe 8 hrs a night instead of his usual 11-12 and his napping is almost non existent. He only napped about 30-40min today. Not nearly enough. Even with that little bit of sleep, he wouldn't go to bed tonight. I think a big part of it is that he's just more aware now. He's used to his dad doing his bedtime routine and I'm sure now he realizes that his dad isn't here. So, he's extra attached to me like he's afraid I'm going to leave also. He's NEVER been the type of baby who wants to sleep in bed with us. We've tried co sleeping a few times and he has wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. But, the last few days, he can't/won't sleep unless he's in bed with me. And the second I move or get up, he freaks out.

Obviously, this lack of sleep ends up with a super cranky baby. During the morning and early afternoon nothing makes him happy. Luckily, by around 4ish he starts to deal and get happier. But it's making for a super stressed out me. I haven't really gotten any time to myself. Normally, I have a few hours after he goes to bed and nap times to get things done. The mornings and afternoons are the hardest since I'm exhausted and just want him to take a nap and he's unhappy. At night, he totally makes up for it and is super duper adorable though and it makes me feel so bad for being frustrated with him during the day. Each night, he holds on to me tight, smiles at me, stares into my eyes like he's trying to tell me something, and "sings" along with the bedtime music.

Hopefully as the days go on, he'll get a bit more used to being in a new place, but I'm not getting my hopes up. This is gonna be a long 3 weeks and I can't wait until the hubster is back so we can get back to normal.