Blog

quick takes

one

The weather in southeast Texas is heating up, and I am beginning to question whether or not I’ll be able to keep up with my running over the summer. The only time I have to run is right after work, and the sun is still out in full force. Thankfully the free gym at work is opening up in June or July and I’ll be able to get most of my fitness in there, but I really am enjoying my runs and would like to keep them up.

two

We are going to visit the shelter this weekend and possibly get a new dog to be a friend for ours since she seems to be completely calm as long as there is another pup in the house. Borrowing dogs from family members isn’t a permanent solution and although we are nervous to take on another one, at this point it is the least stressful of all the options. We aren’t rushing into it though and are looking for just the right fit.

three

Liam had his first belly laugh this week! It was before bed, I laid him down and while I was getting Meredith changed David went to talk to him and he was just cracking up. Makes it all worth it.

four

The most recent Book Riot podcast was all about book recommendations, and so my to-read list has grown that much more. Sometimes I get sad thinking about how I’ll never be able to read all the books I want to, especially since I don’t have much time for it these days. But I’m also happy that there are so many great books out there. (Side note: if you’re a book lover, check out that podcast as well as Books on the Nightstand.)

five

One of the best things about our family life is how connected we are to our parents, siblings, and the kids’ cousins. We see everyone a lot and we all get along. Right now Meredith is in love with her cousin Cameron, who is the next oldest from her (he turned four in January). She wants to play with him all the time and when they’re together she copies everything he does. It’s sooo adorable the way she just unashamedly admires him. Seeing her like that also makes me very afraid of her getting her heart broken one day but hopefully that’s not happening anytime soon. :)

six

I love that other than checking out rescue dogs, I really don’t have any plans for the weekend other than regular housekeeping stuff. I’m hoping to be able to get some more frames on our bedroom wall and maybe do some projects for fun. Have a great one!

May 2, 2014
wish list / 1

We are really focusing on our budget right now, and even though in general I’m not a spender or a shopper, I do get the urge to buy fun stuff sometimes! I thought that it might help me curb those cravings to share my current wish list. :)

home // some things take time print : my next home project is going to be building a gallery wall in our bedroom. I’m going to have to do this with thrift store finds and handmade art, but how I would love to one day hang a perfect print like this.

craft // martha stewart weave loom kit : after I finish my quilt I think I want to tackle weaving again, and this loom would make it much easier and give me more options for shapes.

style // rolled sleeve henley : what I really need clothes-wise right now are more casual, neutral, loose-fitting shirts. Something I can just throw on to run to the store or to visit family rather than my PJ’s.

kids // shirt, leggings : Liam is a big boy and his fluffy diapers make it so that we generally have to size up. We don’t have many clothes for him in size 6m and greater, so I am going to have to start begging and borrowing. I would love to splurge on soft organic baby clothes like these though!

misc // houseplants! I want to fill up the place with them. My yard and garden are going to have to wait at least another year (they need major work that I don’t have the time for right now) but I’d love to bring the outside in! In the meantime I’m taking all the free cuttings I can get. :)

May 1, 2014
project life 2014 : weeks 15 – 16

This is from April 7 – 20. I have an insert for Easter, but the above is the spread without it.

The first week Liam was still dealing with an ear infection and nebulizer treatments. So glad he’s healthy again!

This picture of me and Meredith is my favorite in the whole spread. It leant itself perfectly to journaling in the negative space.

Then we have my favorite bluebonnet pictures, Liam’s 3-month update, a little bit about Eddie, and our zoo trip.

Here is the insert I did for Easter. (Front on the left, back on the right.) I just wanted to include all of that stuff in one place.

Journaled on vellum.

And that’s it!

April 30, 2014
let’s talk disposable diapers

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of H-E-B Baby Diapers.

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When it comes to diapers, we are a hybrid family. My babies are in disposables (typically the ones they send home from the hospital) until they are 1-2 months old, and then I switch them to cloth. I’m not fanatical about the cloth thing though; if I don’t feel like doing the laundry or we are traveling, I don’t hesitate to use disposables again.

Meredith wore cloth until the end of last year when we changed her back for several reasons: I was super pregnant and didn’t want to do laundry every day, the diapers she fit in were velcro and worn out, and most of her pants weren’t fitting her because of the added bulk. So now she is just going to be in disposables until she potty trains, which I hope is soon, but from the way things are going it will be another year. (Sigh.)

Liam switched to cloth about a month ago, and it’s going great so far, but I always make sure to have disposables on hand for him just in case. So we are pretty experienced with the whole diaper spectrum, is what I’m saying.

I recently got the chance to team up with H-E-B to try out their brand of baby diapers. This is a Texas store, I believe, and it’s awesome. We do probably 90% of our shopping there because their prices are the best, they always have great deals and extra services, and so far I have loved all of their brand-specific products that I’ve tried. I’m happy to say that their baby diapers are no different! I tried them out on Liam over the weekend to give myself a break from laundry, and as you can see he was quite content wearing them.

So here are a few things you should know about these diapers: they are super thin – the thinnest I’ve seen, so compared to cloth Liam’s butt seemed so small! And the side wings are extra long so you feel like your baby is really covered, which is great for those of us with chubby babies. :) They are soft and hypoallergenic, lined with vitamins and aloe, which is cool. And they work great overnight! No leaks from my little dude, and no blowouts either! That’s always a positive, right?

They are also more affordable than other options, which is why these are now our go-to brand of disposable diapers that we keep on hand as our cloth backup. So I’m wondering, if you have babies or toddlers what is your diaper philosophy? Are you passionate about one brand or another?

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of H-E-B Baby Diapers.

April 29, 2014
around here

Meredith is a slow eater and doesn’t like us to put away her food even when we think she’s finished. This was one night before bed, after bath, when we were getting Liam ready and she just casually wandered back out to the table and started eating again.

The grapefruit right now is so sweet and juicy.

Fun at the park for cousin Lucas’s 5th birthday party.

Morning smiles.

The kids hardly ever nap simultaneously, but at least I can still get some work done with just Liam awake.

Little man accompanied me to the store to finally get myself a sports bra that fits, along with another pair of running pants. The one I’ve been wearing fit me back when I used to exercise pre-baby, and it’s ridiculously small.

Nursing during the sermon at church. Thankful for the little nook they have for breastfeeding moms so I can still hear the message.

My brother-in-law’s dog Sydney stayed with us last week. And guess what? No panic attacks from our dog Eddie! It’s so sad that she has been experiencing separation anxiety from our dog Cleo who recently died this whole time. Sydney went home on Friday and Eddie had another attack that night. It’s unlivable to have her like that, so currently we are borrowing my parents’ dog Maisie and so far so good! Maisie is high energy though, so we’ll see if I can manage her!

We had a good weekend. It felt very busy and I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to get everything done that I wanted to, but everything fell into place. It usually does happen that way. Other than the birthday party we also got the chance to go out to eat (Mexican food…yum) and I had a book club meeting. We discussed Lexicon by Max Barry which was so good! Now I’m going to turn my attention to finishing Allegiant. Not a lot of crafting done this weekend, just some Project Life and a few stitches on Liam’s stocking.

Here’s to a great week ahead.

April 28, 2014