Baby Boy’s Room and Organizing with IKEA

If there’s one thing that calms my mind, it’s an organized space. But if you walk into our house at any given moment, you are likely to find toy cars scattered across the floor and stacked on top of blocks, dress-up clothes trailing down the stairs, and a couch covered in stuffed animals. That’s pretty much our every day scene on our main floor living space. And as long as there is a narrow path for me to walk safely through while holding a baby, I’m okay with that for now. Because that’s life. If you then venture upstairs to the bedrooms, there is a bit more order. Mainly because we play up there only a fraction of the time as we do downstairs. But I do love playing and just being in our kids’ bedrooms. The girls are proud of their rooms and what they’ve helped them become and I hope Guyguy feels the same one day too.

We already had most of the big items (dresser, glider, and crib) as they’ve been passed down from the girls. Instead, we were only left to find the fun stuff for Guy’s room– items for a gallery wall, some room accents, and tools to organize all the little things. Here are three IKEA finds we used to give us some order:

(more…)

Continue ReadingBaby Boy’s Room and Organizing with IKEA

CUSTOM APPLE WATCH BAND with CASE STATION

You guys. Case Station. We’ve mentioned their custom phone cases before with the “Perfect Mothers’ Day Gift.” And now we’re bringing them back because we just can’t get enough. But this time, they stepped it up even more. Case Station now offers custom Apple watch bands. Yes, please. Because if I can have my phone match my watch and have my kid’s art splattered all over both of them, then I’m all in.

(more…)

Continue ReadingCUSTOM APPLE WATCH BAND with CASE STATION

CREATING a FAIRY GARDEN

Here’s the beauty of a fairy garden: You really can’t mess it up. (Leah’s tried.) Your toddler can basically be in charge of what they do with it and there’s minimal maintenance. We threw two fairy pots together in the Spring and the girls still get enjoyment out of them. I didn’t anticipate the girls to voluntarily nurture and tend to them as they do, but it’s been a pleasant surprise on our many backyard days. Even if they’re just rearranging rocks, trading items from pot to pot, watering, or making mounds of mulch– it’s an activity that is easy, interactive, and keeps them somewhat stationary. Which translates to me sitting nearby, watching them create something they believe to be so magical.

(more…)

Continue ReadingCREATING a FAIRY GARDEN

ESTES PARK 2017

Last week we went to Estes Park– the first time flying with both girls– and it was beautiful. Exhausting, but oh so beautiful. The weather was a perfect high of 70 degrees, Leah only had 8 full-on tantrums– nothing makes Derek sweat more than a crying baby in the wilderness–, and the girls were both angels on the plane (thanks to endless snacks and iPad movies.) Compared to all past travels, I would have to say that I planned the very least for this little getaway. Perhaps because Derek took care of the hiking logistics/ rental car/ driving, or maybe just because I was already in the vacation, laid-back Colorado mindset and figured things would just unfold. And they totally did. Some of our favorite stops were planned, some were just by chance (cue bathroom emergency at a local coffee shop.) But whether or not things happened on purpose, I was so happy just being us four, showing the girls a new place, and having them remind us that the best world is outdoors. Here are a few of our favorite findings (and a whole lot of pictures) from our little trip:

(more…)

Continue ReadingESTES PARK 2017

MOTHERS’ DAY GIFT GUIDE: for the PRACTICAL MAMA

Being a “Mom” doesn’t totally define me, but let’s be real: I’m drawn to things that label me as a Mom because it’s what I live for. I swoon over pretty, yet practical products, entertainment is centered around watching my kids dance in the living room, and I wear a backpack for a purse. So yeah. The mom game is strong over here. Moms’ Day is just around the corner and I wanted to throw another gift guide together of some current functional faves:

Grateful sweatshirt | Floral picnic blanket | Gardening tools | Phone case | Kitchen shears | Lip treatment | LOVE tote | Foam curlers | Swaddle blanket

(more…)

Continue ReadingMOTHERS’ DAY GIFT GUIDE: for the PRACTICAL MAMA

THE PERFECT MOTHERS’ DAY GIFT with CASE STATION

Thanks for everyone’s input on the last post regarding our family travels. Since then, we decided that the trip to Estes next month seemed more appealing to fly 1 hr as opposed to a 10 hr drive. Duh, right? So the flights are booked and the VRBO is reserved. We’re basically already there. 😉 The thought of minimal cleaning (oh, and quality time with my loves, of course) has me counting down the days. But now let’s talk about something else I’ve been pretty giddy about: my new phone case from Case Station.

I’m not a techie person, seldom wear a watch, and lose my phone daily. So getting me a tech-related gift for Mothers’ Day wouldn’t normally score the hubby many points. Until now. Recently, we each got a phone case from Case Station and I couldn’t be more satisfied with the design, quality and durability. In the world of a billion different phone cases, I wanted something personal and practical. “Personal” meaning I wanted the imagery to mean something to me. “Practical” meaning “when the girls I (who am I kidding?) drop it daily, it will hold up and prevent injury to my phone.” Here is why we think Case Station is a step above the rest in creating the perfect personalized phone case:

(more…)

Continue ReadingTHE PERFECT MOTHERS’ DAY GIFT with CASE STATION

5 KID YOGA POSES with JoBea Kids

We might not always stick to a schedule around here, but we’ve got our morning routine down: The girls wake up by 6:30, we play and eat, then send Daddy off with his peanut butter and jelly breakfast sandwich. Derek feeds each girl a bite of it and kisses them goodbye for the day. Then the girls rush to the front door, Mya whips it open, and they wave and blow him kisses as Derek pulls out of the drive and down the street. It’s pretty much the most adorable thing ever. We’ve had a couple neighbors tell us they see the sendoff every day and I’m glad we have them fooled as totally calm, cool, and collected. Little do they know that when the door shuts, Mya usually has a meltdown of how she already misses Dada and Leah resumes banging on the pantry door for more food. But recently, the one thing that has been the best distraction from this and starts our girl days off strong are little yoga sessions. Mya takes out her yoga mat with this book and takes us through some “moves.” Leah pretty quickly ends up cozying up in the beanbag with another book, but Mya leads our yoga session and it’s always one of my favorite parts of our mornings together.

A couple weeks ago we met my Mom at a yoga studio and she helped us play document some of our favorite poses. My Mom is conveniently an Iyengar yoga instructor, so we pretty much have it made in the sense that she knows what to do and how to do it the right way. Since I can barely touch my toes, we keep it simple. These are our 5 favorite yoga poses for kids. I made myself look smarter by googling the sanskrit names and including them too:

(more…)

Continue Reading5 KID YOGA POSES with JoBea Kids

GEOCACHING with MY GNOME ON THE ROAM

Back in high school, Derek and his two brothers started a tradition whenever they went to Colorado to camp and hike: they took a troll and once they reached the top of a mountain, they would snap a pic with their colorful haired friend. When I saw My Gnome on the Roam, I was instantly reminded of Derek’s troll and knew it could be a fun way to document our family trips too. Last weekend, we stayed close to home and took “Rupert” (our gnome) geocaching– something I’ve been wanting to try with Mya for awhile… and with the help of Rupert, it was such a fun adventure!

(more…)

Continue ReadingGEOCACHING with MY GNOME ON THE ROAM

PICNIC READY with PLANETBOX

Let’s be totally real here and admit that kids “helping” you cook isn’t helping you at all. Doing twice as many dishes and prepping a meal at half the pace isn’t making anyone’s life any easier. But it brings them joy, so that’s why we let them scoop out the flour, leaving a trail of it until they (finally) dump it in the bowl. I do love cooking with Mya, but most days I just need to whip up something quick because when hunger strikes, it strikes hard. The food prep times when I welcome Mya’s help more, though, are when we picnic. Building a sandwich or stacking fruit and cheese kabobs is a lot easier than baking something from scratch. Suddenly, you’re a lot less frazzled when you don’t need 15 ingredients and precise measurements. With the help of PlanetBox, we’ve put together a how-to list to be picnic prepared.

(more…)

Continue ReadingPICNIC READY with PLANETBOX

FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES and ART STATION TIPS

One thing I’ve learned after having two kids is that “self play” is a pretty valuable trait to instill in your child. Yes, I would love to “play cars,” pretend I’m a cat, and become a master chef by just wearing underwear on my head for the day’s entirety. But then I realize that there are dishes and laundry and dust and sometimes Mama needs to just take a breath “by herself.” Because I think people usually visit the bathroom without an audience. And yet honestly, if I didn’t have Leah hanging on my leg and Mya asking me questions about puberty, it really just wouldn’t seem right. But when I do need fifteen minutes to throw dinner in the pressure cooker, the main lifeline I use is Mya’s art station. Mya does something productive and Leah throws all the supplies on the floor. And if that fails for Leah, I just open up the tupperware or spice cabinet and we’re good to go. 😛 Here are our tips for art station success:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

(more…)

Continue ReadingFAVORITE ART SUPPLIES and ART STATION TIPS

MYA SPY

Am I lame for admitting this?: I have a coupon folder. I keep it in my car console and grab ’em as I need them. Another truth is that I seem to only use the ones for Bed Bath and Beyond (because they never expire) and I’m sure I have a hundred of them. I pass them out to other customers as we wait in the check out line. Buuuut other coupons that I appreciate receiving are free 8″x8″ books from Shutterfly. They usually expire before I get around to making one, but not this last time! This time Mya and I had a plan: Mya chose what play things were special to her, we staged them, and she photographed them to make an “I Spy” (or in her case, a “Mya Spy”) book. And I love it so.

Books

(more…)

Continue ReadingMYA SPY