Here we come 2014!

I know, I know. I have been MIA.  And I come up with a list of excuses for it, but what's the point? We are all busy with work, children, family, life...

Can you believe it is 2014 already?  I can hardly believe my little family has flown through an entire year with (not so) baby Ledoux.  As 2014 approached, I was blown away that a whole year (the first year!) of Ledoux was gone...just like that.  Life goes so fast, and our sweet little babes are only little for so long.  Before I know it, Ledoux will be wanting to go to the mall and want nothing to do with me.  Eeek!  Of course, this is still a ways away, but I realized how badly I want to soak up every waking minute with her.  Life is about family, not about a job.  Its about making memories, not making a paycheck.  I have realized in my last year that money and a high profile job no longer excite me.  They aren't my driving motivation like they were just two short years ago.  Its just not as important to me.

That being said, 2014 promises to bring major changes to our little family. Again. My motto for 2014 is "LIVE IN THE MOMENT." In order for me to truly live in the moment, and embrace everything I have been blessed with, I need to first clear the 'noise' from our lives.  How can we de-stress our life and allow ourselves to be truly happy?  When we moved to Tucson, we bought our dream home.  We bought a gorgeous home, far above the budget we had set for ourselves, and have found ourselves in a place where we are constantly working to ensure we can continue to afford it. In turn, Ledoux has to spend more time at childcare or away from us, because we have to be at work.  For a time, I was working a regular 9-5 job, and then teaching a college class 2 nights a week until 8:30 pm. Lee works 13+ hour days, and a good 20 hours of overtime every paycheck.  Long days...and for what?  To say I own my dream home?  I realized as 2014 approached that it just isn't worth it. 

So we are selling it.  We are lucky that we were smart in the renovations we made, and they are paying off.  It looks like we will be able to make a little bit of money off this house, walk away, and buy something else. Something smaller, something cheaper.  And the best part? The reason we are doing this is so that I can be a STAY AT HOME MOMMY!  With a smaller mortgage payment, I will be able to stay home and Ledoux will not HAVE to be at childcare everyday!  I might continue to work, I might just work part time...Doodle might still go to school a couple days a week. There is no telling what I will decide to do.  But one thing is for sure... I no longer have to sacrifice my time with her to work in order to make ends meet.

So for 2014, my promise to myself is to live fully in each moment with those who mean the most to me.  No interruptions by cell phones and work emails.  No being half present in conversation in friends, because my mind is to occupied thinking of all of things I have to do when I get home or go to work. In 2014, I will just be. I will be present.  I will count my blessings.  I will live each moment.

What are your new years resolutions?

Happy (late) Halloween!

Hi Y'all!!  Ledoux and I here, sharing our last couple weeks going-ons! I hope everyone had a fab Halloween!  I have LOVED seeing all of the adorable costumes of all the little kiddos!  I totally failed this year in the family costume department, Halloween totally came out of nowhere and hit me like a semi-truck...and before I knew it, we were scrambling to put together costumes.  The original plan was to be a family of pirates, but ended up being witches (and Lee as a vampire) for trick or treating at the zoo the weekend before halloween. It was easier. And yes, the zoo.  It was a blast...and any excuse I have to go to the zoo I will take!   So much fun!

On Halloween day, we opted to not go trick or treating (since we went on Sunday night before Halloween instead...) but still dressed Ledoux up in her little pirate outfit I had already purchased before I did the last minute costume change.  I made Halloween sangria (red wine, with oranges, peaches, and pumpkin) and we hung out together...waiting for trick or treaters.  We never got any. :(  But we did get a family of bobcats! (EEK!)

I will be posting again soon with Ledoux's 14 month updates, and some of our fave baby must haves for this fun (and exhausting!) toddler stage!

 

XOXOXO

Wow, I have a toddler + weekend in review.

Already playing with makeup.  I am screwed!

Well, with a super sad face, the weekend has come to an end. *tear* And my baby?  She is no longer a baby.

Right after she told me no and waived her finger at me...

This weekend, I realized I officially have a toddler. I know, I know, she is 14 months and walking, so obviously I should have realized this before.  And I have.  But I mean I REALLY have a toddler.  She has the attitude of 16 year old, totally out of nowhere.  I said to Ledoux "grab your shoes" and what did she do?  She looked at me, looked at her shoes sitting on the floor across from her, looked back at me, and said "No, No, No" while she waived her pointer finger in the air and gave me a huge, devious, naughty little smirk. Say whaaaa? Did my sweet little baby seriously just tell me "no" and wave her little finger at me? Yes, yes she did.  And it was hilarious.  And it pissed me off.  I wanted so hard to laugh out loud.  Or scream. This happened multiple times this weekend.  Pretty much every time I said something, or asked her to do something. 

Then, I learned an important lesson.  No matter how cute babies are butt naked, running around your house, there is a reason they MUST wear a diaper. 

And letting your baby toddler play outside in the dirt with the hose?  The best/worst idea ever. She had rocks in her diaper. She had dirt in her ear and up her nose.  And it was awesome, because she loved it. (And bonus: It kept her busy for atleast 30 minutes which equals hours in mommy time.)

  

Other highlights?  We went and had drinks with BG and Opa this weekend, which is great because it means we have a DD. Safety first, people.  Ledoux decided she wanted to wear her sunglasses to the restaurant.  Such a diva.

Lastly, we welcomed our friends the Javelinas to our yard, also known as wild pigs.  However, they actually aren't pigs but rodents.  Weird, right?

I hope you all had a great weekend! 

5 on Friday: Our fave finds this week!

Linking up with Hello Happiness, here are our fave 5!

ONE: Kate Spade sale on Ebay RIGHT NOW!
I love Kate Spade... it is simple, classy, and pretty much timeless.  Unfortunately, it is also expensive.  Really expensive.  In the old days (aka before I had a baby) I had plenty of disposable income.  A $300 purse? Whatevs... I didn't have anything else to spend my money on.  These days, I think "that could buy so many diapers, formula, etc." (Actually, I just lied.  I think to myself "do you know how many baby gap outfits that will buy?!") Regardless, I hardly ever take the time and money for myself.  Through Sunday, Kate Spade has a HUGE sale going on- check it out if you have been wanting to score a designer purse on a budget.  I am buying this one now, 75% off!

TWO: Ugly Christmas Sweaters, family edition.  Oh yes, Tis the season my friends.  Well, not really.  But it is time to start planning the family Christmas card (aka outfit!) Last year, it was all about Ledoux, but this year (and ever year to come) I plan on having a theme.  A good theme.  This year is ugly sweaters (on sale now on Zulily!)  I cannot wait to send out our awkward, ugly Christmas sweater themed cards. Fa la la la la!

(Photo from Pinterest)

THREE:  Ikea LATT Table and Chairs: Kiddo edition.  This table and chair set is EASY to put together (unlike most Ikea items) and its $19.99.  No kidding.  I have wanted a toddler sized table and chairs for Ledoux, and found this at Ikea online.  I ordered it and they shipped it to my door!  Before I assembled it, I painted the table top piece with chalkboard paint and it is now Ledoux's very own art table!  We hand her artwork around it, added a kid sized bucket with chalk and crayons, and let her go to town!  The table and chairs come to you in a plain, pine wood- and it is up to you to color/paint them however you want!

FOUR: Halloween Lights



Think Christmas lights, only for Halloween!  One of my coworkers decorates his house starting in October, with a sound and light show that is synced to hit songs and draws major crowds!  Check out the Blurred Lines light show he did for Halloween this year!

FIVE: Camo Leggings for our littles
I love these.  Enough said.

Happy October, y'all + our fave fall brews

Happy October from Ledoux!

It is officially my favorite month (well, except for December...)  October reminds me of all things fall, apple spiced, orange and brown colored...you get the point.  Actually, the only real reason I love October is because of Pumpkin beer.  I really wish it was sold year round. Its complete BS that any other month of the year, it is non existent.  I also discovered an ahh-mazing cinnamon apple beer and a caramel apple spiced beer that are VERY close seconds to my loved pumpkin...  Here are my top 3 fall beers this season... give em a try! :)

In other news, lets address the elephant in the room... yes, I have completely (on accident) ignored my blog.  Life has been so insane, I find myself never able to find the time to sit down and write.  And I miss it.  So this is my promise to get better.  When I find the time to actually relax, I am usually busy making baby bows and enjoying a glass of wine before heading to bed.  You all know how it is, there is never enough time in the day, the week, the month... blah blah blah.  Bottom line: I am back, bitches.

We have had a crazy month, and I can hardly believe my sweet baby doll will be 14 months old this week.  WHAT?  Where in the hell does the time go?  We spent a fab family day today at the pumpkin patch, and then watching the Broncos game (they won.. Duh! )

 Here's hoping all of you are having a great October, and take time out to enjoy a pumpkin beer.  I'd also like to take a quick second to give a shout out to the creepers, aka Wilbur(t) and Steve, at work that stalk my blog.  XOXO and see you all soon! Cheers!

5 on Friday!

 

Its time for another installment of 5 on Friday!  Here are 5 things I am obsessed with these week!!

 

 

1.) Hello Apparel.  Hello! I am obsessed with this company.  They have the cutest clothes EVER for babies, toddlers, kids, and adults.  I bought Ledoux this Hello onesie for her new classroom (I figured who wouldn't want to love my baby when she has a onesie that says HELLO on it?!) Paired with the fact that she nows says "hello" all the time, it was perfect.  And everyone loved it! I bought my self a matching adult one, so I cannot wait to wear it with Ledoux!  And then, I bought these us another matching set.  Mine says "grown up" and hers says "baby."  Yes, I am totally that mom.  You know, the one that matches her baby.  And I couldn't care less! :)

2.) Our new Britax B-Agile stroller.  I really wanted a lighter weight, sturdy, and overall pretty looking stroller for Ledoux, and decided on this one!  Now that she no longer has an infant seat, I no longer have the need for the big, bulky infant seat/stroller combo.  It was a lifesaver her first 9 months, but since, the stroller has just become more of a burden.  It was so big and difficult to fold up that I avoided going anywhere that I would have to use it.  And then I found this! It has great reviews, it super light (less than 16 pounds) and folds up with the press of a button.  Easy breezy! The only downside is the tray and console are sold seperate, but whatever.  Its the price I pay for pretty I guess :)  I chose the teal color, but they have them in a bizillion others.  Except hot pink.  Dangit!

 

3.) Olde Time Gatherings on Etsy.

I LOVE this shop, and am so excited I randomly found them.  While searching for some cute and unique Halloween inspired throw pillows, I was getting pretty frustrated that everything I found was so darn expensive!  Holy canoli, $40 bucks for a little pillow?  No way, Jose!  So then I found this cute company!  Not only are their little pillows affordable ($6-10 bucks each! No joke!) but they are just spooky enough for Halloween, but not so “Halloween” that they are annoying.  Does that even make sense?  I wanted something Halloween inspired, minus the annoying pumpkin characters and cartoon monsters.  These are primitive, spooky, and totally my style.  Bonus?  They do all sorts of Holidays, not just Halloween!!  Check them out! J

4.) Sorry, I am still on a Halloween kick, but these were just too cute not to mention!  Check out these Halloween inspired spoons.  If you are having a Halloween party, or just want to have a dinner with a fun little kick, you probably need these!   These spoons are also from a shop on Etsy.  The shop has all sorts of fun silverware with words, phrases, themes, etc.  It certainly makes it a bit more fun!

 

5.) Its football season!  Need I say more?  I used to hate football.  Seriously, hate it.  I couldn't for the life of me understand why someone would want to spend 4 hours watching some silly game.  Fast forward to today, I am obsessed.  I love football.  I still don't get it all- like the penalties, flags, etc., but I sure do love to watch it!!  And how about my Broncos?  Yep, huge donkey fan.  Always have, always will be.  Lee and Ledoux went to the mall yesterday to buy family Bronco gear, and he did pretty good with picking out Ledoux's special outfit. I had to teach class last night, and had to miss the first game of the season, so Lee recorded it, and when I got home, we made wings, drank a beer, and watched the game.  Oh, and they killed it.  Goooooo Broncos!!!!

Happy September 2nd (and Labor day!)

Finally!  September!  Today starts my favorite season ever.  Fall! I am so sorry to all of you summer lovers, but I am happy to see it go.  Perhaps it is because I live in Tucson...summer here is ridiculous.  There is nothing nice about it.  100+ degree heat, every day, really makes a girl get sick of the warm weather fast!  Even when I lived in San Diego, I didn't dig summer time (I know, you are all thinking about sand and beaches and now thinking I am totally crazy!)  Even in San Diego, the beaches were crowded in the summer, there were people everywhere for vacation, it just wasn't my scene.  I found myself completely avoiding the ocean in the summer time- mostly because I hate crowds!  I digress...

I took this as a sign that it is time for Halloween.

Our first tarantula came to visit.  Yep, it's time for Halloween!

Today I am putting up all of my fall and Halloween decorations.  I know- Halloween is still 2 months away, but there is something so fun about decorating for it! (and planning for Ledoux's costume!) The thought of fall reminds my of playing in leaf piles, cold weather, sweaters, pumpkin beer... ahhh!  So, although I live in Tucson, I am going to do my best to re-create that fall weather.  Minus the leaves. and the cold weather.  All I have is cactus.  humph.  I have taking all sorts of ideas from pinterest, and am excited to decorate! Rather than go all out, I am opting for more subtle decorations that can be Halloween, but also used for Thanksgiving and fall in general (multi purpose!) Ledoux and I will be making a trip to Homegoods later today to get more awesome decorations, but this is what we have done so far!

And with that, I am off to do some more shopping (Labor day sales!!) and enjoy this day of no working! Happy Labor day, and September 2nd!