Just Like Family: Auntie Robin {Giveaway!} ***Giveaway Now Closed***

March 21, 2012 By 79 Comments

You may have noticed this awesome Etsy shop in my sponsor section for a month or so now, but have you had a chance to check out this fabulously creative shop?  If not, you really should, ’cause your missing out.

Specializing in skirts, quilts, and stroller blankets, Auntie Robin is a children’s boutique that treats every customer like family.  Everything is made with top of the line, 100% cotton fabric, the skirts are lined, and all seams are finished.  She even includes a pocket for a the child to put their “special items” they collect on their adventures.  Seriously…you don’t even want to know what I find in Greenleigh’s pockets, but they are her prized possessions and she loves them.

Each skirt is one of a kind and has it’s own personality.  And if you can’t find the perfect item in her inventory, she’s always happy to take a custom order, allowing you to select the perfect fabric and trim colors for your occasion.  At Auntie Robin, it’s the attention to detail that makes her items special.  These skirts are designed to last several years so the same child can wear them through several seasons, and when that child outgrows it, the skirt can be passed down to younger siblings or family members.  What starts out as a skirt becomes a family treasure, passed from child to child for each to love and enjoy.

Speaking of skirts having personality, how cool is this Snow White skirt?  It would be a great gift along with a copy of the book.

And this Strawberry Shortcake skirt is adorable and perfect for the strawberry lovers in my house (it comes in an outfit, complete with matching doll dress too!).  Speaking of strawberries, how is it that we go through 2 containers of strawberries in 1 week?  How many strawberries can two toddlers eat?How perfect is this skirt for spring?  So bright and floral, I just adore this one!


Could this cowgirl skirt be any cuter?  I think not.

And lets not forget her classically beautiful quilts:Each created with hours of hand stitching, making them the perfect, soft and warm place for your little one to snuggle up at the end of a long day at daycare or just hanging out at home.  Personally, I love this one:So, want to win a $35 credit to Auntie Robin?  Then today is your lucky day, because Robin has generously offered one lucky reader a $35 gift certificate!

The Rules:

Yes, unfortunately there must be rules…but they’re simple!  Just visit Auntie Robin and let me know your favorite item in her shop.  Come back here and leave me a comment letting me know what item it is.  That’s all it takes – you’re entered!  And remember, don’t worry if you don’t see  the size that you need.  Robin can whip up anything you want in the size and theme of your choice.  Each item is handmade and one of a kind – that’s the beauty of it!

Want an extra chance to win?  Make Auntie Robin one of your favorites on Etsy.  The come back and leave me a comment letting me know that you did.

Giveaway is open to the US and Canada only.  Each person is allowed one entry and one bonus entry.   Remember, you must complete the mandatory entry of visiting her store before you can do the extra entry of making her store one of your favorites.  Giveaway will be open until Saturday, March 31, 2012 at 11:59 EST.  Winner will be selected by using Random.org.  The winner will be contacted and have 48 hours to respond.

Good luck everyone!Thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway and a very special thank you to Robin for hosting!  The winner of the $35 Gift Certificate is Sarah with Comment #22!  Congratulations Sarah!  The winner has been contacted and has 48 hours to respond.  Stay tuned for more great giveaways coming up in the next couple weeks!

Filed Under: Reviews & Giveaways Tagged With: , , ,

I Hate Tuesdays

March 20, 2012 By 8 Comments

I absolutely hate them.  Not because the weekend seems so far away, not because of the lack of good tv, and not because they tend to be one of my busier days at the office.  You see, Tuesday is the day that I set aside to impress one person – our cleaning lady.  Yes, I know, I should be happy to have someone that will come and clean my house so I don’t have to, but trying to impress her week after week is exhausting.

It all started about this time a year ago when Marilyn, our cleaning lady of 4 years decided to move to North Carolina with her family.  She was excited about her move and we were happy for her, but a little scared about what was going to happen to our house after she left.  Sure enough, things got scary.  Quick.  Like, really scary.  Embarrassingly scary.  We started getting recommendations from friends and trying new people, but were unhappy.  Some didn’t clean, others cancelled at the last minute, and one just didn’t show up at all, then yelled at us when we called to ask if we could reschedule (we were desperate and she came with a great recommendation).

In May, a good friend got us on “the list” with her cleaning lady.  She was highly recommended and had a crammed schedule, but we were on the list.  It was love – for me at least.  She hadn’t even given me a quote, but I didn’t care.  This was going to work.  I quickly scheduled our walk through appointment to get a quote, but in reality, I didn’t care what number she said, I was pretty sure we were going to pay it.

On the morning of our walk through, the girls had a playdate, so I took them and excused myself a little early so I could run home and tidy up a bit.  I should have tidied up before I left, but I was still struggling on how to get both kids out the door in the morning, let alone have time to clean.  So imagine my surprise when our new cleaning lady greeted me at my door, 30 minutes early for our meeting.  After internally freaking out a bit, I opened the door to let her and her son in the house.

The look on her face said it all.  I had that fear like I was going to be dumped right before prom.  I scrambled to make excuses as to why it was that messy on this particular day, because it was “never that bad”.  Oh, but it was.  All the time.  As we ended the tour, I vaguely remember saying something to the effect of, “well, with the baby being so little I just don’t have the time…I mean, I try but…” to which her son responded, “Yeah, I guess it’s hard for you, but…”  He never ended that sentence.  Instead he just looked around my home with a look of terror in his eyes, like “Lady, I’m considering calling the health department or submitting your house to that show Hoarders”.

And so it began, my quest to impress my cleaning lady.  Week after week, I pre-clean for her, afraid that she might dump me because as bad as things were when she first came to our house and Hazeline was a little baby, it’s way worse now that I’m at work.  I get home each night, spend as much time as I can with the girls, struggle to stay on schedule, and I’m exhausted by 8:30pm.  I have just enough energy to load the dishwasher and maybe put some laundry in the machine, because we just can’t go without clean bottles and fresh clothes.  Trust me, I’ve tried.  It can’t be done.  We need those two things.

But Tuesday?  That’s the day I push myself to make my house presentable – the laundry is folded and put away, the toys are pushed in the general direction of the toy room, and I clean out the fridge.  All so my cleaning lady won’t dump me.  So I don’t come home to a note that says, “I just can’t take it anymore, find someone else.”  I fear that day.

Please tell me I’m not the only one that goes through this crazy ritual.

 

Filed Under: Family Life Tagged With: ,

Crafty: Picture Frame Hair Bow Holder

March 19, 2012 By 21 Comments

Over the holidays, my sister gave Greenleigh a ton of hair bows.  After all, Greenleigh loves to accessorize.  But other than throwing them in one of her drawers, I had no place to keep them.  I then went on the search to purchase a hair bow holder, only to find out that they can be ridiculously expensive.  Seriously, who pays $37.50 for a hair bow holder?  Oh, and said hair bow holder (as cute as it may be) only holds 10 hair bows max.  Not for me.  No thanks.  But taking such a firm stand and drawing my line in the sand, only left me without a place to leave Greenleigh’s hair bows.

I then started to stalk Pinterest.  The best one that I could find, used a picture frame and several spare sheets of sheet metal.  Um, I don’t have any spare sheet metal in my house, but I started to think that they were on to something with the picture frame idea.  I continued to research, finding ones that I liked and ones that I didn’t, trying to figure out how to make mine.  With no instructions, I pretty much winged it on this one and ended up with this:Yep, that’s 12 hair bows on there, and room for several more.  I rarely love how my projects come out, but this is an exception.  Such an easy project and it cost virtually nothing.  I used left over ribbon from my Valentine’s Ribbon Wreath, purchased a frame with a 50% off coupon, selected fabric that was on clearance, and found some quilt batting for $1.97!  Whole project might have cost $9?  Maybe not even that.  And with the supplies I purchased, I could probably make 5 more of these (well, I’d have to purchase more frames, but you get the idea).

You will need:

8×10 picture frame

Fabric

Quilt batting

Ribbon

Hot glue & Glue gun

SharpieStep 1 – Take the picture frame apart.  My frame came with a piece of cardboard in it, but if yours doesn’t, use the sharpie and trace the glass on your own piece of cardboard and cut it out.  Place the glass to the side, you won’t be needing it anymore.  The attorney in me wants to remind you to be careful of the sharp edges when disposing of the glass.

Step 2 – Open your quilt batting and unroll it.  Place your rectangular piece of cardboard on top of the batting and trace the rectangle in two separate places.  Cut the first rectangle out of the quilt batting, using the sharpie lines as your guide, cutting exactly on the lines.  For the second rectangle, leave an inch or two extra between your cut and the sharpie outline.  In other words, you want this rectangle to be a little bigger than your first one.

Step 3 – Take the first rectangle that you cut (the one that should be the exact same size as your cardboard) and attach it to the cardboard using 4 dabs of hot glue in the four corners of the cardboard.

Step 4 – Roughly, cut a piece a fabric in the shape of a rectangle.  You want this piece of fabric to be slightly bigger than your largest piece of quilt batting.  This cut does not need to be pretty or perfect, only bigger than the cardboard and the batting.  I promise, no one is going to see it.

Then, place the fabric you just cut, face down on your surface.  Place your large piece of quilt batting on top of it.  And on top, place your cardboard with the smaller piece of quilt batting attached, with the cardboard side up (your two pieces of quilt batting should be touching each other).

Step 5 – Take your hot glue gun, and run a line of glue down one of the long edges of your cardboard.  Quickly fold over the fabric over, on top of the glue, so the fabric is attached to the cardboard.Then do the same with the other long end, but pull tight this time, because you don’t want to have excess fabric hanging on the front.Step 6 – The corners had me stumped, but I figured the best way was to wrap them similar to a present, so that was what I did.  Don’t be afraid of the hot glue here.  You need it to stay secure and as flat as possible so it will fit back in your frame.  Hot glue away…
Then do the same to the other end, again pulling firmly so as not to have any extra fabric hanging on the front.Step 7 – Get a visual of how it will look in the frame and decide how many bows you want your frame to hold.  More bows = more vertical ribbons. I decided to use 4 pieces of ribbon to hold the maximum amount of bows.  The long ends of your frame are the top – run your ribbons from top to bottom and space them out the way you want them.  You are going to clip your hair bows on to these ribbons, so leave room between them.  I didn’t measure mine to have them perfectly equidistant, but I kinda wish my mom had been around…she’s great at that stuff.  Mine were roughly measured, and it worked out fine.

Once you find the perfect spacing, flip your fabric covered cardboard over and glue the ribbon ends to the back:Don’t pull to tight on this one, you want it to have a little give so you can clip your hair bows on.

Step 8 – Press your fabric covered cardboard piece through the frame opening, and put the picture frame backing (the one that came with the frame you purchased) back on to the frame. Mine was a snug fit, but it closed.Voila!  Hair Bow Holder!Don’t think it looks like a hair bow holder?  How about now?This might be my new favorite gift for everyone who has a little girl!

 

Filed Under: Crafts Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Lazy Weekend Mornings

March 18, 2012 By 3 Comments

Our weekends are busy, so it’s pretty rare that we get to lounge around in our jammies.  Lucky for us, we had a pretty quiet weekend so I was able to get some pictures of the girls hanging out in Greenleigh’s crib.  Greenleigh just loves when I bring Hazeline to visit her in the mornings.  And yes, you read that right, my nearly 3 year old is still in a crib and I plan to keep it that way until she wants a big girl bed.  Hasn’t happened yet, so she’s staying there. This picture actually started out pretty harmless, but when Greenleigh wouldn’t let go, Hazeline freaked out.  That look of fear is pretty constant for Hazeline when Greenleigh is around.We read some books…We ate some books…Hazeline is out of focus here, but check out that tantrum!I finally got a picture of her teeth (well, 2 of the 4 of them).

We had a great time playing with stuffed animals, reading, singing songs, and enjoying each others company.  I’m glad to have had this lazy morning and a few pictures from it.  Sometimes it’s nice to have nothing to do.

Filed Under: Family Life Tagged With: , , , , ,

Eight Seconds of Fame

March 17, 2012 By 3 Comments

On Thursday when I dropped Hazeline off at daycare she wasn’t walking unless you held her hand.  By the time I picked her up that same day, she wasn’t just taking her first steps on her own, but she was walking all the way across the room unassisted.  She would even stop halfway and clap for herself.  Apparently, someone is an overachiever.

I didn’t get any video of Greenleigh’s first steps, so I was bound and determined to give Hazeline her 15 minutes of fame.  My plan was take video showing of her walking then send it to everyone I knew (and post it here, of course).  Sounds easy, right?  Apparently, not so much.  At least not while Greenleigh is around.

I must have tried to get video 100+ times.  Okay, maybe not that many, but it sure felt that way.  Every time I tried, Greenleigh would need my immediate attention, stand right in front of the camera blocking her sister, or tackle Hazeline.  Greenleigh and I had talks about how to be quiet and I even tried to make it a game.  We practiced being quiet, but that didn’t seem to help either.

In the end, this was the best I could do:

Around the 8 second mark, Greenleigh wants her blocks…now.  Not quite sure why, since her blocks are out of sight, up high, and in a completely different room, but who knows.  And that crazy breathing in the background?  Yeah, I think that’s Greenleigh standing too close to me…our spring weather hasn’t been kind to her asthma.  And when I don’t respond in one second (literally), she starts hitting my hand, causing the video to shake.  I turned off the video shortly after because I thought I was going to lose my mind.  I considered trying again, maybe when Greenleigh took a nap, but really, this is how life is around here.  Insanity.

So much for 15 minutes of fame.  My poor second born child doesn’t even get 11 whole seconds without her sister interrupting.

 

Filed Under: Family Life Tagged With: , , ,

Modern Sophistication: Lemon Sweet Jewelry {Giveaway!} ***Giveaway Now Closed***

March 15, 2012 By 344 Comments

Greenleigh is only 2 years old, but she’s convinced that I’m not cool, and she lets me know it.  The one thing we do agree on – my jewelry.  If you’ve noticed from the pictures I post, she often takes my necklaces or bracelets and wears them, no matter what our destination is – Build-a-Bear, music class, daycare, theme parks, anywhere.  Some of my jewelry she probably wears more than I do.  But as I look at my jewelry, I notice that they tend to be simple pieces that go with just about everything…even a toddler’s wardrobe.

And Lemon Sweet Jewelry is just that, jewelry that goes with just about everything.  Simple jewelry, with a modern, sophisticated twist.  You know, the type of pieces that you find yourself wearing day after day, and match not just your jeans and a t-shirt, but also your date night dress.  The type jewelry that you find yourself forgetting to take off at night because it’s so comfortable and becomes a part of you.  It’s jewelry that you can enjoy and live in, regardless of what life may throw at you (or what your toddler might steal).  And while it’s quite possible that just one of their pieces might go with everything in your wardrobe, they’re so ridiculously affordable that you won’t be able to hold back.  Before you know it, your online cart is full and you have no idea how it happened.  That’s the very essence of Lemon Sweet Jewelry.

So now that you’ve been properly introduced, let me show you a few of my favorites from Lemon Sweet Jewelry.

Fun fact:  My ears aren’t pierced, but I still like to look at earrings.  Love these dainty little flowers.And as you may have noticed, I really like silver, but Lemon Sweet has plenty of options for those of you who like gold.  I can’t help but think of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (Greenleigh’s favorite song) when I see this piece.But my personal favorite has to be this one.  Not sure why, but I love how simple and stylish it is.  Apparently, it’s supposed to be lucky too!

But that’s not all!  Lemon Sweet adds new items every week, so you just never know what you will find when you visit.  And in the event that you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for, Leslie (the creative genius behind Lemon Sweet) is always happy to accept a custom order.

So you want to win a piece of Lemon Sweet Jewelry?  Today is your lucky day, because Leslie from Lemon Sweet is offering one lucky reader a piece of jewelry (of their choice) up to $25.00!

The Rules:

As always, the rules are simple.  Just visit Lemon Sweet Jewelry and pick your favorite item.  Then come back here and leave me a comment letting me know what item it is.  That’s all it takes – you’re entered!  Simple, right?

Want extra chances to win?  Who doesn’t?  Those are easy too!

Once you have completed a bonus entry, come back here and leave me a comment letting me know which entry you completed.  You can complete either bonus entry, or both, but make sure you leave a comment for each bonus entry.

Giveaway is open worldwide.  Each person is allowed one entry and two bonus entries; however, you must complete the mandatory entry of visiting Lemon Sweet Jewelry and selecting a favorite item before you can do any of the bonus entries.  Giveaway will be open until Sunday, March 25, 2012 at 11:59 EST.  Winner will be selected by using Random.org.  The winner will be contacted and have 48 hours to respond.

Good luck everyone!

Wow!  The response to this giveaway was overwhelming!  Thank you to all who entered and a very special thank you to Leslie for sponsoring this great giveaway.  The lucky winner of this ah-mazing giveaway is…Janna with Comment #234!  The winner has been emailed and has 48 hours to claim their prize.  Congratulations Janna!

Filed Under: Reviews & Giveaways Tagged With: , ,

Changing of the Guard

March 14, 2012 By 2 Comments

As I explained earlier this week, I’m not great with change.  Of any kind really, let alone change that affects me and my family on a day-to-day basis.  So imagine my dismay when Greenleigh’s teacher pulled me aside last week to let me know that she had given her 2 weeks notice.  She had found another job with great pay and benefits, and while I’m happy for her, I was a little sad for us.  And my heart sank even further when I arrived to pick the girls on Monday afternoon and found that she had not stayed for the entire two weeks.

Dramatic much?  Maybe, but it’s hard to find a childcare provider that you trust and that you feel is going to take the time to really get to know your child and teach them something, not just let them run around the classroom like banshees.  Because, the latter is far easier to do than the former.  It’s difficult to find someone who will give it 100%, and I thought we had finally found that.

This particular teacher started at the daycare a little over two years ago, and despite a rocky start, we had really grown to love her.  She began working in the toddler room when Greenleigh was just shy of a year, and stayed with Greenleigh until she was 18 months.  A while back, she took over the 2 1/2 year room, and became Greenleigh’s teacher again.  I loved the organization and structure she brought to her classroom.  When I dropped Greenleigh off in the mornings, the teacher always had something going on – storytime, circle time, songs, or a craft.   She would send me pictures of Greenleigh during the day, call or text me with updates, and who could forget that she pretty much single-handedly potty trained Greenleigh.

The situation got even harder yesterday when Greenleigh started to ask for her.  Of course, this isn’t the first teacher to leave her school, but it is the first one that she’s noticed.  You might remember that her teacher was often the best part of her day, so she’s not very accepting of the fact that her teacher isn’t going to be there anymore.  I’ve tried to explain it the best way that I can and reassure her that we will have her teacher over soon (she babysits for us occasionally), but she can’t quite wrap her brain around her.  Finality is a hard thing to explain to a little kid.  It felt very much like that scene in Bambi.  And as a mother I’m sad because my little girl is sad.

This morning when I dropped Greenleigh off in her classroom, children’s music was blaring and the kids were running around like banshees.  The order and organization were gone.  No group activities, crafts, or anything like it.  I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that she’s had two accidents in the last two days that the teacher has been gone, after being accident free for nearly a month.  I know it’s temporary, until they can find another teacher at least, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about the quality of her care right now.

Why do the good ones always have to be the ones to leave?

Filed Under: Family Life Tagged With: , ,

Two Ingredient Cupcakes, Take Two & Tips to Make This Recipe Work

March 13, 2012 By 6 Comments

So after I posted my Two Ingredient Lemon Cupcakes last week, the questions started rolling in – Can you do this with “x” cake mix and “y” soda?  Will you be able to taste the soda?  The first time around, I used lemon-lime soda with a lemon cake mix, so there was no way to tell if the taste had really come through.  Others wanted to know – Why did mine turn out chewy?  Why did mine crumble?  How come mine was soupy?  Readers not only responded to the post, but I received several emails.  I love when readers email me, so that really made my day.  There was even a discussion held on Pinterest.  Honestly, I don’t know all the answers but I decided more research was necessary.

One of the main questions that I received was how you could make a chocolate cake.  I had heard that you could make one using Coke, Dr. Pepper, or root beer.  Diet versions of these sodas are also an option (and will make a healthier cake/cupcake) but I’ve heard that it will change the taste…I can’t let that happen.  Plus, when do I post recipes that are good for you?  Pretty much never.  So chocolate cake it was.

You will need:

Box of chocolate cake mix

Twelve ounce can of Coke (room temperature)

Step 1 – Preheat oven as recommended on box.

Step 2 – Mix together chocolate cake mix and can of Coke only.  Don’t add anything else!  Using a hand mixer, beat on low for 30 seconds, then medium-high for 2 minutes.Step 3 – Put batter in cake pan or muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes, or the lower end of the range recommended on the box.  My box recommended 20-25 minutes, so I baked them for 20 minutes.

Step 4 – Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour or more.  (I overfilled my cupcake liners, so that’s why mine are so huge.  Fill yours 2/3 full and you won’t have this “problem”.)

Step 5 – If you are okay with a Three Ingredient Cupcake, top with frosting.  If the extra “ingredient” freaks you out, then skip this step and call them muffins.  Makes a great excuse for gobbling one several down in the morning hours.  Muffins are a perfectly acceptable breakfast food, whereas cupcakes can get the side eye (not by me though!).

It turned out delicious and chocolate-y, just as promised.  A reader tried this same recipe but used Cherry Coke and said that the flavor of the soda did come through, giving her cupcakes a chocolate cherry taste, which she quite enjoyed.  Another reader said that they were able to make a white cake with sprite, but you could not taste the lemon-lime of the Sprite.  Not sure exactly what to take from that, perhaps that the Cherry Coke is more flavorful than Sprite.  Hmmm…

My Tips for Making This Recipe Work:

  1. Use a mixer and mix well.  So many times when I bake, I approximate how long I mix the batter.  This is one of those recipes that needs the entire 30 seconds on low and 2 minutes on medium-high.  Plus, I found lots of dry mix towards the bottom of the bowl a minute or two into mixing.  I wouldn’t try to hand mix this one, but that’s just me.
  2. Watch your bake time.  I can’t stress this enough.  Box mixes typically recommend a range that your cake/cupcakes should be baked.  For example, the box for my lemon cupcakes said that they should bake for 15-20 minutes; and the box for the chocolate cupcakes recommended 20-25 minutes.  Stick to the lower end of the spectrum.
  3. Once you remove your cakes/cupcakes from the oven, give them ample time to cool.  Like 30 minutes to an hour, or more.  When I made my chocolate cupcakes, I was trying to hurry and didn’t let them cool all the way.  When I took them out of the cupcake liners, the bottoms crumbled a little.  When I tried another one this morning (hey, nothing wrong with cupcakes for breakfast, and besides, it was in the name of research) it didn’t crumble.  Could have been the individual cupcake, but I think it was because I was in a hurry last night and didn’t let them cool.  Along these same lines, make sure that you grease your pans well or use cupcake liners.  If it sticks to the pan, it’s definitely going to crumble, no matter how awesome it comes out.
  4. Use room temperature soda.  Not sure if this is actually a requirement, but someone brought it up on Pinterest, and both of my sodas were room temperature.  Stick to room temperature, just to be safe.
  5. Use only 12 oz of soda.  Nothing more.  If you add an egg, butter, a little oil, water, or some other random baking ingredient I have no idea how it will turn out.  Resist the urge and only use the soda.  As for the amount of soda, there are different recipes going around using more or less soda, but trust me, stick with the typical 12 oz can.  It really is the perfect amount.
Have you tried this recipe?  Did it work?  Any tips you want to share?

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Daylight Savings is Trying to Kill Me

March 12, 2012 By 7 Comments

Don’t try to talk me out of it, I’m convinced that is what’s going on here.  How else can you explain taking an hour from a busy mom’s day when she is ordinarily trying to cram 26 hours worth of stuff into 24 hours?  Then to wake up and find out that you lost yet another hour?  There’s no other explanation.  Welcome to the week where I will be late for absolutely everything.  It’s also the week where I consider moving to Arizona, who doesn’t bother with ridiculous things like changing the clock for no particular reason twice a year.  Which reminds me, I need to look into the Bar requirements there…

Once upon a time, I loved spring forward.  It was actually one of my favorite “holidays”.  What wasn’t to love – an extra hour of daylight and days that felt like the flew by for the first week or so.  Now, not so much.  That extra hour of daylight makes it difficult to convince Greenleigh that it’s actually bedtime.  Just wait until the summer, when she’s going to bed when it’s still light out.  That was so much fun to explain last year, I can’t wait for this year since she’s much more of a negotiator.  Oh, and those days that fly by for the first week or so?  Yeah, not so fun now.  Did I mention that I’m typically trying to cram 26 hours worth of stuff into 24 hours?  Now make that 23 hours (at least for the first day).  Oh, and when my family and I get used to the longer days and extra sunshine?  You know, in the Fall?  Yeah, that will be just about the time that Daylight Savings will swoop in and take it all away again.  And that will be when I get to be greeted by my kids for the day at 5 or 6 am, instead of 6 or 7, because of yet another time change.  Seriously?  Let’s just be done with this already.

Apparently, Benjamin Franklin is to blame.  This whole Daylight Saving thing was his idea.  He had kids – three of them, actually.  How could he not foresee the problems that this random time change would spawn?  How could he be so cold and heartless?

Because like I said – It’s killing me.  My kids are not adjusting well and neither am I.  Yesterday we were able to make it through the day relatively unscathed, but today was a whole different story.  Hazeline woke up at 1am screaming.  She might not have gotten enough to eat during the short day yesterday.  Or it could be the 12 month growth spurt (if there is such a thing), but I choose to  blame time change.  Needless to say, I’m one tired mom today.  Shocking, I know, yet another post about my lack of sleep.  Sleep, if you’re out there, just know that I miss you.

Of course this time isn’t exactly without its perks.  This morning I had to wake Greenleigh up, something I normally try to avoid, but had no choice since we were going to be (extra) late to school.  I know she heard me but she refused to wake up.  I carried her out of bed while she was still sleeping.  By the time we reached her bathroom, she was begging to go back to bed.  She told me over and over again that she was tired, despite the fact that she had gotten 12 hours of sleep.  How divine does that sound?  Twelve whole hours of sleep.  [Insert heavy sigh here.]  As I tried to get her changed for the day, she demanded to get back in her pajamas.

As I negotiated with Greenleigh to get her into her school clothes this morning, I couldn’t help but giggle to myself – Remember all those nights when you got me up at 3 or 4 am, for no reason other than that you wanted to play?  Payback my little friend, payback.

Okay, so maybe Daylight Savings isn’t so bad…

Filed Under: Family Life Tagged With: , ,

Floral Fun: The Little Magpie Boutique {Review & Giveaway} ***Giveaway Now Closed***

March 11, 2012 By 92 Comments

Hazeline is 11 months old!  Wait, scratch that, she’s actually 11 1/2 months old…  We are in full birthday planning mode and I got a little too wrapped up in the planning and forgot to post an 11 month picture.  I’m actually not sure that I even took a picture on her 11 month-day, so this one taken today (on what is actually her 11 1/2 month-day) will have to suffice.Don’t you just love her headband?  I bought it from The Little Magpie Boutique to go with her Easter dress, but couldn’t wait to open it.  And everyone knows that the second I put the girls in their Easter dresses, the dresses will never be the same.  So I decided sneak and open the headband a little early, taking pictures in everyday clothes.I love, love, love this headband!  Turns out it looks just as cute on in play clothes as it will in her Easter dress.  While whimsical and floral, the headbands are remarkably sturdy.  Hazeline pulled at the flower once or twice, but the flower held its shape and stayed attached to the elastic.  When I flipped it over, I could tell that they went to great lengths to make sure that each individual flower was attached and reinforced to the elastic.  Perfect for my baby who loves to grab at things.

The Little Magpie Boutique specializes in completely custom floral headbands – flowers can be placed on different color elastic or on a clip.  There are so many combinations, it was hard to hold myself back, but the headbands are so reasonably priced, I couldn’t help but purchase an extra or two.  A girl has to have options, right?Little Magpie makes headbands from newborn to adult, so I ordered the 12 month-tween size.  I was nervous about how it would fit, but it turns out all the headbands I purchased fit both girls perfectly.  And you know how Greenleigh loves to accessorize.
And perhaps the best part about Little Magpie is that after your first purchase they send you a coupon for 10% off, so you will never pay full price again!  How cool is that?

But wait, it gets better!  Maggie from The Little Magpie Boutique has graciously agreed to give one lucky reader a $20.00 gift certificate good towards anything in her shop.  While she specializes in floral headbands, she also has tutus, hats, and legwarmer stets to choose from.

The Rules:

Want to win a $20 gift certificate to The Little Magpie Boutique?  As always, entering is easy – Just like The Little Magpie Boutique on Facebook!  That’s it!  You’re entered.  Maggie is always previewing new styles and running specials exclusively for Facebook fans, so this is one page you are going to want to keep up with.

Want extra entries?  That’s easy too!  Just visit The Little Magpie Boutique and tell me what your favorite item is.

Each person is allowed one entry and one bonus entry.  Just make sure you leave me a separate comment for each entry.  Giveaway will be open until Wednesday, March 21, 2012 at 11:59 EST.  Winner will be selected by using Random.org.  The winner will be contacted and have 72 hours to respond.  Giveaway is open worldwide.

Good luck everyone!

Disclosure – I was not compensated for this review in any way.  I purchased the headbands in the photos above with my own money and I’m posting this today to share how much I love them.  Maggie from The Little Magpie Boutique graciously offered to provide one lucky winner because she’s a generous Etsy seller.  Even if you don’t want to enter this giveaway, I highly recommend that you check out her shop!Thank you to all who entered and a very special thank you to The Little Magpie Boutique for sponsoring this beautiful giveaway.  Congratulations go to Ellen (with comment #17) as the winner of the $20 Little Magpie Boutique gift certificate!  The winner has been emailed and (enthusiastically) accepted her prize.  Enjoy your gift certificate Ellen!

Filed Under: Reviews & Giveaways Tagged With: , , , , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »