Birthday weekend

We have been having the best weekends. Weekends are definitely my favorite. If I've been stuck at home for a few days, it is so stinkin' good to get out of the house and see something different. And when B is home, it feels like everything is right. It also helps that I get an extra pair of hands and another authority figure to back me up and help me out if I need it, and I feel myself relax once the weekend hits. We definitely bicker and fight every once in a while just until we find our equilibrium, since B and I haven't seen much of each other during the week. So it's not all bliss, but I'll take it! Even if we fight, we always make up, vow to be better, and move on.

This particular weekend we got to take the kids to see Despicable Me 2 and got to celebrate our neice Adele's first birthday and her brother Noah's fourth birthday. Adele is the sweetest baby, and I love that she knows me well and always wants me to hold her when she sees me. So sweet. And Noah is so full of energy and spunk, and has the best imagination. I'm so glad my sister and I live five minutes apart and get to raise our kiddos together. It's the best.

The chocolate cake is Noah's birthday cake, and the strawberry one is Adele's. I made Adele a pipe cleaner crown for the party, but I actually didn't get one decent picture of her at all. Olivia is wearing it in one of the pictures above. It was a good day.

xoxo,
Tanya

Thank you, blow-up pool

This blow-up pool from Target has saved me this summer. When the kids are bored and it's hot out (which it always is), they can go in the back and have fun, and I don't have to drive anywhere. I get to watch their shenanigans from the kitchen window and get things done inside. Love it!

xoxo,
Tanya

Who's with me?

Who likes diaper butts as much as I do? I put Naomi in these ruffled pants for the first time, and couldn't get over the cuteness. I just wish big behinds were just as cute on grown women as they are on babies...I'll keep wishing.

xoxo,
Tanya

God bless America

How about I call it Independence Day instead of 4th of July so I don't have to mention that these were taken almost a month ago? Then I won't feel like such a guilty blogger. I post what I can when I can, and sometimes the baby doesn't leave me enough energy for anything other than her.

We kept the holiday pretty low-key since Naomi was only 6 weeks old at the time. A simple BBQ with some fireworks, just family. We had burgers and sausages off the grill, sweet potato fries, grilled mushrooms, a cashew and veggie dish B made, egg salad, broccoli/tomato/carrot salad, and cake and pie. We're eating more veggies than ever before, and I love it. Makes it that much easier for me to eat healthy when B is conscious of his food and contributes in the kitchen. I even had some time to get all festive with my cake (I stole my shot from my brother's Instagram since I forgot to take a picture of dessert) and I whipped up a strawberry rhubarb pie for the occasion. Don't mind my square dish, I didn't realize I don't even have a pie dish, and every time I go for a dish, I remember and end up having to make it square. ;) We did a few fireworks that I mostly missed since Naomi and I hid inside from all the noise. I'm so thankful for our quality of life here in this country, all because we have freedom to live our lives how we see fit--freedom of religion, freedom of press, freedom of speech...and every opportunity to succeed. God bless America!

xoxo,
Tanya

We read

We love books at our house. These are just some of our favorites, because we have many. I love to request books for the kids' birthdays if someone asks for gift ideas, I requested some for Naomi on her registry, and I think it'd be so fun to have a book party where your child gets books instead of gifts.

I stopped reading to the kids before bed because it just always turns out I'm feeding Naomi at that time, so B has been reading with them. I've been wanting to do more daytime reading with them, but I'm always busy doing something else, and soon enough another day is over. I love making those memories with them, and knowing they will have those memories with us as well, so I'm working on it.

 

I set a goal for myself every year to read 12 books, one for each month, and I'm right on target this year instead of scrambling at the end of the year. So far this is what I've read:

• the second half of War and Peace --I'm counting it as one book..because I can..and because it's over 1000 pages long; I was so ready to be done reading it

• Entreleadership--love me some Dave Ramsey common sense

• Lucia, Lucia--a melancholy story about love lost that made me sob; it didn't help that I read it right after I gave birth and my hormones were raging

• How to Win Friends and Influence People--weird title, but this classic is useful and inspiring

• Bringing Up Bebe--this was a really fun one to read and helped me relax about things right when I needed that advice most; so glad I read it right when Naomi was born

• Wildwood--my first fantasy/science fiction story since elementary, maybe middle, school; this book was long but went so quickly

• The Case for Christ--this was another classic I wanted to get under my belt; it taught me so many things I didn't know and gave me new perspective on the Bible and it's writers

I just picked my next read off the shelf--The Poisonwood Bible. Time to dive in to another story and get lost in it.

xoxo,
Tanya

Just give me one of each please

I'm kind of embarrassed about how many West Elm items I have in my home. It's a big decorating no-no to get all your stuff from one place, but I just always find something I love there.  I was looking through their website today and found a bunch of new things to love. Of course.

 mid-century desk

 papier mache deer

 dune vases

 istanbul rug

 key wool dhurrie

 iris speckled planters

 mid-century dressers

 whitewashed shelves

 Newgate wall clock

 dune planters

gold leaf gallery frames

 

 

So good.

 

xoxo,

Tanya