Fri-YAY

Jumping right in this fine Friday...

{ONE}

I'm hammering out this post quick on Thursday night because I have BIG plans to grab a snack and watch the return of Grey's Anatomy and Scandal before any spoilers appear in my newsfeed tomorrow morning. PRAISE!

{TWO}

Justin left Tuesday morning and has been out of town all week. The kids could have been worse, Leighton is still a shitty sleeper and Gracyn is currently whimpering up in her room like a puppy. I'm not sure why other than to derail my snack + TV plans.... #kids

{THREE}

Before Justin left, we were able to spend a great day as a family celebrating Gracyn's birthday on Monday. She opened presents first thing before we headed out to create custom donuts at Donutology for breakfast. This little donut shop in Westport is super cute. They have the regular sized Daylight Donuts but also have these mini ones that you can customize with toppings and drizzle and things like that. She thought it was amazing. The donuts were good but the fresh ones they brought out to us after we sat down were really good...

After breakfast, we headed to Sea Life Aquarium to see the fishies. The aquarium is... just OK in my opinion. Slightly overpriced for the 45 minutes or so it takes to walk through. But, the kids liked it. After the aquarium we headed across the street to Fritz's for lunch. I feel like this place is just one of those things you have to try at least once in your life if you visit or live in KC. It's set up like an old fashioned diner and you order your food through a phone at your table. A train delivers your food approximately 3 minutes later. Seriously, the food came so quick. It's funny little place.

We headed home after lunch and spent the rest of the day playing with new toys, eating pizza and having birthday cake. Home girl was suuuuuper excited about cake. It's good to be four.

{FOUR}

The other night, this was my attempt at getting Leighton to sleep like the two year old she is. Poor girl has been fighting a cold and nasty cough on top of her less than stellar sleeping habits so I was pulling out all of my tricks. Started off by diffusing lavender + cedarwood upstairs, rolled thieves on her feet, RC on her chest and spine, SniffleEase on her nose, SleepyIze behind her ears and had her chug some all-natural cough syrup. C'mon oil gods, don't fail me now!

She went to bed like a champ and only woke up ONE time. Small victories.

She's finally starting to feel (and look) better so she should start sleeping for my annnnny day now...

{FIVE}

We have no big weekend plans which is just the way I like it. J leaves out of town for work next week (....and the week after that! send help..) so I'll be taking advantage of having another parent around the house and maybe run a few errands by myself. Sounds heavenly, right?!

Have a great weekend!

Gracyn :: Four Years Old

Note: the above "posing" was all her idea. She was in charge, I was just supposed to take the pictures... ;)

My biggest gal is F O U R today! Happiest of birthdays to the girl who made me a mama. Gracyn, you really are the best.

You have been wishing for your birthday to come for months now. We've talked about it pretty much every day since Christmas because you're so excited to celebrate. Daddy and I took the day off work today to make it even more special. I love that we can do this, for at least one more year or so, before you're in school full time. We have big plans to open presents, get doughnuts for breakfast and hit up the aquarium down at Crown Center.

At four, you are very into talking and asking questions. If the news is on, you're constantly wondering what's happening or what they're talking about. So much so that I can't always concentrate on the story enough to answer your questions... ;) I love it though, you're always curious and eager to learn. You LOVE school and I'm constantly blown away with what you know. A few weeks ago, you randomly started singing the months of the year and I had no idea you knew any of that. You make me proud, girlfriend.

You have a love/hate relationship with your sister. She's a handful and still learning how to be a good friend (she likes to hit and kick..) but you ALWAYS accept her apology. You ask to "be alone" more often than not when she's in your hair but I'm convinced you two will start really playing together here soon. Every once in awhile I'll find you two playing a game or something peaceful and will ride that wave as long as I can. Ha!

We've talked a lot lately about what it means to be a good friend, to be kind to others and to make sure we always use our manners. You don't throw very many fits - for that, I am SO thankful! - but in the event that you're having a "moment", we're quick to sit you down and talk it through. You are sensitive and get more upset when you think you're in trouble or when you know you did something wrong so I think you really try to behave most of the time! ;)

You love to play outside, ride your bike, play with friends and you ask to watch a show about 341234 times a day. On a normal day, I can't get you nap any more but you will rest quietly while watching weird YouTube videos that you somehow manage to find on the internet. You also love to help me cook and/or bake which is fun.

Life is never dull with you in it and I'm so glad I get to be your mom. I can't wait to see what this next year brings! We love you, Goose!

These interview questions cracked me up. I'm pretty sure she only likes to go to the aquarium because we've been talking about it for a few days now (the only other time she's been there was 2 years ago..) and I don't know what toy train she's talking about as being her favorite toy. She's right about #14 though, when she's in a mood, you better not be caught looking at her.. haha!

My babe is growing up too quickly, that's for sure.

1 Year Old // 2 Years Old // 3 Years Old

Friday Things

Heyyyyyy Friday! So very good to see you again. Gracyn has been sick with a cold all week that turned into a mild fever on Wednesday night so she's had a rough couple of days. She kind of reminds me of a sickly grown man when she's under the weather - lots of moaning and dramatic coughing and hysterics. She woke up yesterday and still had a temp so I kept her home from school and rescheduled the girls' dental appointments for this morning.

I know taking two kids to the dentist by myself sounds like a party, but trust me - it'll be anything BUT a good time.

Thanks to a less-than-stellar visit 6 or so months ago (think mean evil hygienist threatening a three-year old that she couldn't see her mom until she stopped crying...), we're switching practices but poor G is still all worried about going. It'll be Leighton's first time in the chair and she will either rock it or completely melt down. I'm gonna place a bet on melt down right now. I'm prepared to be full-on sweating and bribing with ice cream (obvi) by the time we're done.

But first...

{ONE}

There aren't very many good things (or ANY good things? #worstmomever) about your kids being sick except for mayyyyybe all the napping that comes along with it. Both girls have napped at the same time EVERY DAY THIS WEEK. Which has not happened since Leighton was a newborn.

The poor thing has been miserable but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying the open-mouth naps on the couch every afternoon. They've been giving me a quick, quiet break from all the whining, crying and sniffles in the middle of the day.

{TWO}

Have no fear, I'm not wishing for her to remain sick or anything. G's temp was gone and she was feeling better (and I'm sure back to foregoing the almighty nap....) by yesterday afternoon so we made an effort to get outside for a bit. It was cloudy but tolerable so we took the wagon up and down the block a few times.

They're having fun, I promise...

{THREE}

We eat tacos for dinner a lot. Like, a lot a lot. We got these taco holders for Christmas and they are life-changing. Why it took us so long to discover such a thing is beyond me.

{FOUR}

Every blogger in blogland is obsessing over these but I have serious problems with spending $50+ on a pair of leggings. Which is silly because I literally wear leggings every day. (What is my life?!) You'd think I could stand to invest a little because leggings ARE pants, I don't care what you say, but nope. I can't do it.

So, I was pleasantly surprised when I scored these at my beloved Target the other day. They come well above my hips and belly button to hold everything together (#momlife) and are still long enough to keep my ankles warm. I got the burgundy color but might need to go back and get a black pair for good measure.

{FIVE}

With all of Leighton's sleep issues lately, I'm debating whether or not to move her out of the crib and into a big girl bed. I really don't want to make that transition quite yet but I'm curious if that would make a difference. Or potentially make it worse, if that's even possible. If (or when) we do make the move, I'm thinking we'll put Gracyn's current full-sized bed in her room and move the twin bed up from the basement for G.

Which means.... I get to revamp TWO rooms! Eeee! When we moved, we kept Gracyn's room pretty much identical to her room at the old house. I loved her "big girl room" and especially love the quilt so I'm totally planning on giving that to Leighton and changing up a few things for her very own "big girl" space.

That also means we'll need new bedding and things in G's room for the twin bed. We already have a really cool reclaimed wood headboard that I'm dying to use and want to stick with similar colors so I can reuse some of the decor and accessories she already has in there.

Here are a few that I've pinned so far but cannot decide on my favorite. I'm leaning towards #1 (Gracyn said she liked it and it's on sale...) but I haven't committed yet. Which one is your fave??

1 // 2 // 3

Hope you all have a great weekend! I'm hoping the colds and germs leave us alone for a bit...

Gracyn's Birthday Wish List

Our biggest gal is turning F O U R next week! She has quite the wish-list going and is constantly shouting out something else she wants for her "birfday." Being so close to Christmas, it's sometimes hard to not go overboard on the holiday but I feel like we did a good job of holding a few things back for her birthday this year and I'm excited to celebrate her on Monday!

She's obviously not getting everything on her list, these are just the things I've been keeping track of on my phone as she mentions them in passing!

PlayDoh // I'm not a HUGE fan of playdoh but she could use some replacements. Most of the stuff we have is dried out and crumbly and G does like to play with it every now and then.

Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Checkup Center // Gracyn is still big into all things Doc McStuffins and I'm hoping she'll keep this bad boy up in her room. Another big toy in the playroom is the last thing we need but I know she'll like this.

Bike Helmet // She outgrew her first helmet and recently asked Justin to take her training wheels off her bike. I'm excited to get her back out there once the weather warms up to see how she does on a "big kid bike!"

Sleeping Bag // Not sure where it came from but all of a sudden, she's changing every blanket into a sleeping bag. Could be fun to get an actual sleeping bag for fake slumber parties, right?

Guitar // Same thing here, not sure where it came from but she's mentioned wanting a guitar lately. This kid sized one would be a hit.

Headbands // Doc McStuffins headbands, no less. Her mind will be blown.

Tool Set // She mentioned this to Justin the other day. She needs tools to fix things. Exactly what will be getting fixed, I have no idea...

Pink Scrubs // Gracyn got a doctor's coat and real life stethoscope for Christmas so a set of real scrubs to wear under her coat will be perfect. She can take everything to her room and play for hours! ;)

The Ice Storm That Never Was...

Well, THAT was anti-climactic...

I don't think the experts, polls and data had been more off since Election Night. The forecast called for a major ice event in the Kansas City metro over the weekend. Schools were canceled Friday, activities were called off and the Chiefs game was moved to later in the day. All before an actual sprinkle formed in the sky. Weather fear-mongering at its best! 

While it was cloudy and gloomy all weekend, there wasn't any actual ice. None that I witnessed, anyway. 

The weekend wasn't a total bust. We got together with friends, I got to nuzzle a sweet newborn and Leighton pretended to be a teenager by sleeping through the night (one night only, lets not get too excited...). She literally slept until 11am on Sunday morning. She's either at one extreme or the next when it comes to sleep and I still can't figure it out. Girlfriend loves a smoothie, though.

We've been trying to bribe her for a few weeks now when it comes to sleeping through the night so when she actually did it, she got a sticker. I don't think she actually cares about stickers - after a few minutes of wearing it she declared, "sticker trash, mommy" and threw it away - but we still made a big deal out of a successful night's sleep. 

I myself took an actual nap on Sunday afternoon which I didn't hate. Afterwards, we thought the girls were coloring nicely at the kitchen table only to be taken for fools a few minutes later when I found Leighton coloring the wall with a purple marker. Super awesome.

It's labeled as washable, of course, but there are still remnants of purple showing after several good scrubs. Good thing we have extra paint... 

The Chiefs blew it in the playoffs, but other than that I suppose we had a pretty solid weekend. 

We have a semi-busy week ahead. Gracyn hasn't stopped talking about her birthday coming up and I have some shopping to do for my soon-to-be F O U R year old!

Ice Storm of the Century

Well, maybe not of the century but apparently it's supposed to be a decent storm rolling in this weekend. So much so that schools around the metro were called off LAST night, which is so weird to me being from South Dakota. I suppose ice is probably worse than snow but still. We'd have a full-on blizzard growing up and MAYBE get lucky enough for a two-hour late start! I think I could count the number of snow days we had during elementary, middle and high school on one hand. Silly Kansas!

Either way, we're planning on hunkering down for another cold weekend at home and cheering on the Chiefs during Sunday's playoff game.

{ONE}

In other news on this fine Friday...

This girl took a F O U R hour nap yesterday! WHAT?! Her best nap in probably a month and it was glorious. Still waking during the night but I'll take what I can get...

{TWO}

Are you signed up for Influenster? Super easy to sign up, fill out your profile and take the surveys to see if you qualify for upcoming campaigns. If you fit the demographic, you're sent free samples in exchange for reviews, social posts and things like that. I've gotten a few boxes from them but this one is probably the best in terms of product I'd actually use (or have used before). I'm mostly excited about the Oreo thins, naturally. Followed closely by the dry shampoo and mascara.

{THREE}

I helped the girls make a mediocre blanket fort in the family room the other day and they played together for a whole 10 minutes. It all came crashing down - literally - 5 minutes after I took this picture when Leighton knocked over my fool-proof support system (read: the flimsy wooden thing by her arm) and it smacked G in the face. Game over. Womp, womp....

{FOUR}

The kids had plain noodles for lunch yesterday. Like, only plain noodles. That's ok, right?!

{FIVE}

We had a $200 reward card to our beloved Nebraska Furniture Mart so last weekend we made a trip to purchase a new Smart TV. There was nothing wrong with our current TV but Justin saw one on sale and convinced me our lives would be forever changed if we could watch Netflix on the main floor. You know, instead of traipsing all the way downstairs to the basement we paid to finish and watch via the Xbox. First world problems, I tell you what... ;)

Any who, he was RIGHT. We flew through Stranger Things in a matter of 2 days and the girls have watched far too many episodes of Beat Bugs but it's nice.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! And if you're going to be (allegedly) iced in, stay safe!

Photo Every Hour | Tuesday

7 AM | all hail the mighty keurig....

8 AM | wild hair don't care

9 AM | discovered the latest art project..

10 AM | she's pretending to be a puppy.

11 AM | not snow boots {shoes}

12 PM | a quick bike ride to the mailbox.

1 PM | take care of the girls...

2 PM | yasssssss.

3 PM | not pictured: all the candy wrappers....

4 PM | epic tantrum. see instagram stories for more proof that I don't know what I'm doing 99% of the time...

5 PM | prep

6 PM | actual food thanks to cooksmarts

7 PM | THE WALL

8 PM | I MISS YOU ALREADY.

I have big plans to sit in front of this TV for the rest of the night, so instead of posting 2 or 3 more photos of doing this ^^ exact same thing, I'll just call it good. Stranger Things finale and This Is Us, coming right up!

oh hey, blog

Heyyyyy 2017! I've been struggling to get back into the swing of things around here after the holidays. Everyone's all energized with the beginning of the new year and writing goals and gettin' shit done and I'm all about counting down the minutes until bedtime so I can lay around and watch too many episodes of Intervention and Fixer Upper. I have four randoms for you today. I couldn't even muster up a 5th thought... I'm in a funk, ya'll!

{ONE}

Preschool started back up today so maybe that'll help get my groove back. Establish the routine. Have my child do something other than watch the same episodes of The Lion Guard over and over again. Kidding. Kind of....

It's cold as all get out today so I think one more day of being a shut-in will do me good. ;)

boots

{TWO}

This two-year old has decided she doesn't need to take naps or sleep longer than 3 hours at a time during the night or snooze past 6 AM. Remember when I bragged that we'd have to WAKE HER UP for things in the morning?!?

TAKE ME BACK.

She flipped into high gear shortly after her birthday and it's been miserable ever since. Sleep regressions can kiss my ass. For reals.

{THREE}

Any tips for getting these sister girls to play TOGETHER? Without me having to referee every second of the game? They seem to fight so much! Maybe it's still just an age thing? Leighton is very much into pestering her big sis and Gracyn often declares, "I just wanna be left alone!" Justin can get them to play hide-and-seek together every once in a while but I spend a large portion of my day separating them into their own corners. It's exhausting. I'm still hopeful they'll love each other some day!

leighton's doll // gracyn's doll

{FOUR}

This made me LOL...

via

I'm not one to make a bunch of New Year's resolutions but I am trying to make an effort to put my damn phone down more often. Especially around the kids. It's so hard because I do almost everything from my phone (emails, banking, take pictures, etc.) but mostly I'm on social media reading the comment sections on political news stories and getting pissed at complete strangers. It's just not worth it, ya know?! Ain't nobody got time for that! Less phone time, more kisses from Leighton (which are really just slobbery licks to my face when I'm not looking...).

Hope you all have a great weekend!