quality time

One of the many things I love about living in a city is the amount of activities available to my kids. Zoey is still a little young to participate in a lot of things, but she'll be big enough really soon (I'm not rushing it!).

Last spring, a month or so after we moved to Pittsburgh, I found a Mom's Day Out program at a church just a couple miles away from our house. I signed Shepherd up at 18 months old, and he loved it. He goes twice a week to their 2-year-old preschool program now. It was great for him to get a chance to socialize with kids his age, but it was also great for me to get some alone time with Zoey--just like I had with Shepherd at her age. Keep in mind she was just 3 months old back then! We used to come back, and she would lay on my chest uninterrupted, moving on to floor time and running errands together.

Now that Shepherd is a little older, I take him to a Mommy & Me tumbling class at the local gymnastics center once a week. Zoey stays here in the morning with a babysitter, and Shepherd and I get the same quality time we used to have. Sometimes we stop at Starbucks to get a latte and a juicebox. He loves it, and it makes him feel like a big boy.

Even if it's just for a couple hours each week, it is imperative to me that I get quality time with each of my kids so they know just how important they are to me. It's my way of controlling the crazy world we live in and slowing everything down, just for a little while.

P.S. Apologies for my absence in blogging; we had a death in the family and have been away. I promise to get back to blogging more regularly!

happy (early) earth day!

For those of you who don't know: Earth Day is this Friday, April 22nd. And I'm here to celebrate with a coupon code just for my many followers! My friend Steph over at Mada's Place makes the cutest eco-friendly, reusable snack bags that have all but replaced Ziploc in my house. Shepherd used to prefer goldfish in his (see picture), but he's all grown up now and prefers Pirate's Booty.

The cutest thing? You can buy sandwich wraps to match. The only thing that's kept me from the sandwich wraps is the fact that my kids don't really eat sandwiches while we're out and about, and I don't take my lunch anywhere. But we just had our first successful picnic, so there may be a couple of these in our future.

And if you don't have a need for toting snacks around, the keyfobs and wristlets are awesome. I have one of each, but I cannot stop myself from shopping around, looking at the eyecandy that is these amazing prints:

via Mada's Place

via Mada's Place

So, how do you partake in the Earth Day Coupon? Simply hop on over to Mada's Place, place your eco-friendly item in your cart (and check out all the options!), and don't forget your coupon code: SNACK10 for 10% off your entire order!


P.S. I haven't bought Ziploc bags since I we moved into this house...in March 2010. That's saying something!

[semi]-wordless wednesday

just words from shepherd today. enjoy ;)

backseat blogging

I apologize, dear blog, for neglecting you the past week. I apologize also, to my many readers, who have not been able to read about my fascinating life in Mommyhood for the past several days. You see, when it rains, it f*ing pours, especially when you have two toddlers.

Shepherd's croup started on Monday night, and his fever of 103 stayed around for 3 days. He was so sad and lethargic. B left for a work trip on Tuesday, the same day my mom arrived to stay with us. We had a lot of fun stuff planned, but pretty much just had to hang around the house. I was glad she was here, nonetheless, because an extra pair of hands really helps, especially with a sick little one. Especially when Zoey started to get the sniffles on Thursday. B got home on Friday evening and Shepherd started throwing up on Saturday morning. We are so ready for everyone to get well NOW. Not soon. Now.

So, you can see why blogging has taken a backseat for me. In other news, Sunday was my 26th birthday. and my very generous husband, got me this new handbag for my birthday:

Cell Phone Shot

via coach.com



I don't know why it turned out so dark on my cell phone, but it really is a nice silver and blue. I'm really into those colors right now. The lining is a pretty beige. I wanted a diaper bag, but since my kids are 1 and 2, I didn't want to order one sight unseen and then get something huge that I might not even use that much. I'm pretty good about using purses as diaper bags anyway. I consider myself a "minimalist mom" when it comes to dragging stuff around in my bag anyway. I'm pretty happy with it, and it's a great gift that I think will last for a long time. :)

true story--i might be crazy

Shepherd is getting his two-year molars, and thus almost constantly has a hand shoved all the way to the back of his mouth. It makes him do some weird things--gagging, holding his breath, drool everywhere. Lovely. Add that to him with a weird-sounding cough and my tendency to overreact, and we were at the pediatrician this afternoon, right when the heavens opened up for a huge spring storm.

I was lucky enough to plan ahead and dress the kids in their bright yellow raincoats (I really need to snap a pic of them in these soon!), but forgot to dress myself for the weather, as usual. After Shepherd got a clean bill of health and it was time to go, the rain had really picked up. So, I put both kids in on the same side, climbed in with them, buckled Zoey into her rearfacing seat while Shepherd climbed into his seat by himself, then buckled his seat. Instead of getting back out into the rain, I climbed over the console of my SUV into the driver's seat. That's when I looked to my right to see another mom sitting in her SUV staring at me, bug-eyed.

No less than 30 seconds later, the rain died down, this mom and her teenage daughter hop out of their SUV, and I decide we need to drive to Starbucks, past the one without the drive-thru, to the one with the drive-thru, for some warmth from the rain.  And maybe a snack. ;)

Starbucks Tiramisu Cake Pop

Yum! And, that my friends, is just the tip of the iceberg on my craziness.

i love my kids.

watching them have fun together can make the stress of a bad day or anything just completely melt away. they are amazing, and some days i can't believe i contributed to making them. <3