TWO: A TRUCK PARTY.

I originally set out to throw Dude a tractor themed birthday party, but it easily slid into a construction/truck/whatever party. I knew I was pressing my luck throwing this party so close to my due date, so we opted for simple yet fun. I wanted enough details to say "Mommy loves you" but not so many that it stressed me out. It ended up being the perfect combination of the two, and Dude was pleased as punch.

My favorite part was the cake. This is where I usually stress the most, but I found this simple yet adorable idea on Pinterest and it was perfect.

I justify its simplicity with the fact that I still went to the effort of making it from scratch. Homemade banana cake (Dude's choice) and chocolate butter cream frosting. It was heavenly.

A few weeks back, the kids and I hit the "big" dollar store, and found some great, inexpensive decorations.

Scored this balloon for $1, only for our local grocery store to charge $4 to fill it. What a rip. Stupid helium shortage.

I did manage to make this with some basic scrapbook paper, washi tape, baker's twine and rubber stamps.

Dude got some fun new toys, but seriously, they ALL make noise. Don't these people know we're going to have a newborn in the house soon? Needless to say, some got tucked away for a rainy day ;)

 Thanking Great Grandma Mary. Melts my heart.

Teamwork. Sister was just as excited for the new toys as he was.

 

While I am in charge of the invites, cake, and decorations, Nick is in charge of the food. This year we accepted the offers for help with a few side dishes, and Nick made a triple batch of homemade broccoli cheese soup. It was a hit.

 

 



And then of course, every one's favorite part. Cake. And singing.

 

Doodey smiled the whole time and kept looking around at everyone. He couldn't believe we were all there, singing just for him.

 

He got one candle out, then kept trying and trying for the others. Sissy stepped in to help, and together they knocked those bad boys out.

 

 

Thanks to all our family and friends who helped us celebrate two years with this sweet little man. He surely felt the love. 



TWO: A BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW.

As I sit here on the brink of bringing another baby into this world, I am grateful that God has given me this day to remain a family of four. As much as I am over this pregnancy, wishing to get back the ability to breath and have energy to do anything, I was nervous that baby would come and I would spend Doodey's birthday in the hospital loving up someone new, instead of him.

But alas, I'm still here! We checked his party and two year photo shoot off the list this weekend, and are spending this day celebrating him. He is such a stud. I love him so much it hurts. It's wild to think that two years of his precious life have ticked by somehow. I don't know how we got so lucky and got such a cool kid, but I'm sure glad we did. He's a lover and funny and pretty chill, which helps balance out our family pretty nicely.

So, in honor of his second birthday today, I asked him a few questions over breakfast. Although his language is blossoming everyday, I'm adding in my two cents where he gave me blank stares :) My answers are in (parenthesis).

Q: How old are you today?
A: (2)

Q: What do you like to play?
A: Book. (Cars, Little People, Duplos, color, look at books)

Q: What do you like to do with Mommy?
A: Book. (Snuggle, read stories)

Q: What do you like to do with Daddy?
A: Book. (Wrestle, play Hide and Seek, race cars)

Q: What do you like to play with Sissy?
A: My-o (Milo) book. (Little People and Dora house, babies, kitchen, color)

Q: What do you like to eat?
A: Juice. (also yogurt, oatmeal, hummus, any kind of dip, and anything sweet)

Q: What is your favorite color?
A: Purple. (also orange)

Q: What do you like to watch on TV or what is your favorite movie?
A: Doy-ah (Dora), Art-er (Arthur), RuRu Map (Max and Ruby)

Q: What is your favorite store?
A: (Technically it's not a store, but I'd say the library)

Q: What makes you happy?
A: (Blankie and nuk)

Q: What makes you sad?
A: (When Sissy takes my toys away.)

Q: What is your favorite animal?
A: Dog, mew! (Dog, cat)

***

He makes my heart smile a million times a day, and I can't wait to see how he grows and blossoms even more in the next year.

Happy second birthday,  my sweet little lover man! xoxo

LET'S GET SWANKY!

This is new for me y'all, and I'm SO excited! I would like for you to meet my first ever blog sponsor, Swanky Shank! Jen is just the sweetest thing ever and is the creative mind behind Swanky Shank designs on Etsy.

Photo source, here.

When I'm shopping for my kids, I always consider a few things. One, I like to be original. I like to find new and different things that not everybody has. Two, I watch my budget. Let's be honest, kids can either outgrow or trash clothes pretty quickly so I like to be conservative with the amount I spend on them. And three, homemade is best! I love supporting small business owners, so it's no surprise that Etsy is usually my first stop when searching for great products. Jen totally meets my needs in all three categories.

The two of us crossed paths through a mutual friend, and I am so glad we did! I am constantly ogling over her new designs and dressing up my little man in her duds. Here's a peek at a current favorite of mine from her spring collection, The Spring Swagger Set:

You can get yours here.

 

And the coolest part? You can order your set in two different sizes! Get some for now and some for later! Or split them between two little men in your life! Or just plain spoil your little man with all five!

I got these two for Doodey and I can't wait until he wears them (which will be like, tomorrow!).

Speaking of Doodey, he is turning two next week (can you believe it?!), which means we have a photo shoot coming up. You better bet your britches that he'll be sporting some swank in them! Like this for example:

Get your NERD onesie here.

 

And don't let me fool you, Swanky Shank has oodles of cuteness for the little girls in your life too. In fact, when I opened my latest package, Nugget said "Mom, you should get some swank for me too!" And you know what? She's right!

 

How cute would this be?

 

Photo source here.

 

Or this? Ooh, yes, this one.

Photo source here.

 

Okay, enough of my ramblings. You need to go check her out for yourself! And guess what? If you spy anything you adore, which trust me, you will, use the code littlewhile to save 10% on your order! How sweet is that?!

 

But don't wait, the code is only good through Saturday. So if you spy something you love (which you will, remember?) snatch it up right away!

 

Then come leave me a comment and tell me what you got! I'll totally be jealous, because I want it all!

 

***

Find Jen on Etsy, here.

 

Like her and follow her latest creations on Facebook, here.

 

Follow her on Instagram at jennycakeslane.

 

And read her blog, here!

 

***

Can't wait to see how swanky y'all get! Happy shopping!

SALLY SUCKER AND DEBBIE DECOY.

Sometime earlier this winter, we took the kids out ice fishing at Daddy's spear house. There surely isn't enough room for all four of us in there, but not to worry, the kids mostly want to run around outside and play in the snow anyway.

But nonetheless, we try to get them out there at least once a winter, just for fun.

It was a fairly decent day out, temp wise. Nugget didn't come in the house once to get warm, and Doodey was in and out the whole time :)

I spent my good share outside, but also enjoyed the quiet of the fish house...chilling with Sally Sucker and Debbie Decoy (named by Daddy and Nugget long ago!), and spying on my peeps who were out setting tip ups.

We didn't catch anything that day, or even see any fish for that matter, but the kids could have cared less! They just enjoyed the fresh air and time spent with Daddy.

Doodey fell asleep on the way home, so while I headed inside the house with him, Nugget and Daddy got to go out to lunch, just the two of them.

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday.

[DIS]CONNECTED.

Sometime around Thanksgiving I got the itch to pack up my little family and take a mini winter vacation. I wanted to whole up in a cabin somewhere, surrounded by snow and hunker down under patchwork quilts. I wanted to get away from all the distractions and focus on each other. No phones, no Internet, no TV. Of course Nick was on board. Our minds seem to be one and the same these days. We started brainstorming areas we could go and cabins we could rent, when we had the genius (?) idea to reach out to some friends whose cabin had been shared with us a few years ago, and ask if they'd be up for working something out with us. To no surprise, they were more than willing to let us borrow their space, the only catch was it was only available to us during the week. Good thing we are self employed and can be flexible like that.

We were actually planning on going up this morning and returning early Saturday, but after looking at the forecast for the week we made a last minute change of plans and left on Sunday, returning today. What normally would have taken me all day to pack and prepare so carefully, was haphazardly thrown into bags and boxes and loaded into the van just a mere three hours after the switcheroo. I didn't even freak out about it. Not once. It worked out.

But then we ran into this:

However, Nick was confident that he could get us there safely with a little added time on the road. And I trust him. So we forged ahead. And it all worked out. I will admit I held my breath more than once and said many prayers, but we made it. Like he knew we would.

The past three days have been everything I wanted it to be. It was perfect. My heart was so happy as I soaked in the colors of our favorite quilts, felt the warmth of the fire place, and got down on the floor to play with my kids (which isn't easy these days, let me tell ya).

We played games.

 Vintage Old Maid. Best card designs ever.

 

We colored.



We read stories. Over and over again.

We made crafts.

Snow Prince and Snow Princess crowns courtesy of Daddy.

 

Face painting. I made her into a butterfly, she drew hearts on my cheeks.

We went exploring...

...and found lots of pretty things.

The thirty something degree weather felt refreshing and good for our souls.

 

He cooked all the meals.

And I baked cookies, with help from little hands.

I spent a lot of time reflecting on our little family, and how it has changed for the better with each new chapter. I thought a lot about our new wee little babe who will join us in just a few short weeks. I wonder how we will grow and change once again, but find comfort in knowing that it won't take us long to find our groove as a family of five.

35 weeks!

 

And we topped it all off with a warm bubble bath and warming by the fire.

 

I am so, so glad we make time for moments like this. We push through the tough stuff and carry out the good, solidifying our bonds along the way.

 

We disconnected to reconnect and it felt oh so good.

 

***

Winter cabin getaway, near Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin