The "Mom-iform" and a Giveaway

Chasing kids around, picking up messes and running errands requires that you wear a "mom-iform" - aka an outfit where you feel comfortable, is washable and you feel semi cute in.  If I had to describe what my mom-iform was, I'd say it is jeans, a white shirt  (it's bleachable!) and my new "chucks".  I also try adding some fun jewelery in, to fancy up the outfit a bit and add a touch glam.

Hubby took my pictures for this post...  let's just say photography isn't his strong suit ;)

I'm wearing my Stella & Dot Alexia necklace in gold.  Katie from Cabernet and Chaos was sweet enough to send it to me.  It's such a gorgeous piece and can be worn by itself, or layered.  I can not get enough of this necklace and have been wearing it non stop since I got it.  It's my first Stella & Dot piece; for so long I've been curious about Stella & Dot, but have stayed away because I knew once I got something from them, I'd be obsessed - and sure enough I am!  I'm already thinking about what I should purchase next!

Katie is generously offering one of my readers a $40 gift card towards a Stella & Dot item of your choice.  Enter below, the giveaway ends on Monday, April 13th!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Linking up with Pampers & Pearls

Gym-tastic Fun

I can't remember if I have mentioned it yet or not but we enrolled the kids in gymnastics a few weeks ago. Since we are most likely homeschooling (I'm doing preschool from home with E right now and loving it) we wanted something where she was with other kids and was with a "teacher" and gymnastics was perfect because I'm not with her -  it's just her, her classmates and a teacher.

Once I enrolled E, I thought putting J in a mommy and me class would be fun for him.  I mean, it would be an hour that the monkey in him is allowed to climb, jump, and do all of the crazy things he tries doing at home; I knew he'd love it and sure enough he's having a ball!  He loves the trampoline and all of the bars - his favorite using the slide to slide down into a pool of foam pieces!

The kids always look forward to their class and it's so cute to see them learning all of these new little tricks and gaining confidence, especially E because she's so cautious in everything.  One of my favorite things of the mommy and me class is I get to watch E from across the room as she learns, and interacts with everyone - it truly is the cutest thing.  If we ever lock eyes she gives me this huge smile and waves at me and it melts my heart every.single.time.

I'm so happy we have them in something that they both like and have so much fun doing... and that makes them sleep really well at night ;)

Do you have your children in any actives?  Would you recommend anything else that your kids enjoy?


PS - I'm posting over at Down With The Dearmore's today taking part in her All About Mommy Series and talking about what us mamas can do to relax - I hope you'll pop over and say hi :)

   

She Has My Heart...

As a parent, we know how much we love our children, how hard we work for them and how much we sacrifice for them, but often times wonder (at least I do) do my children know how much I love them?  Do I show it enough?  When Brilliant Earth contacted me to be part of their Love & Appreciation: Bright Like a Diamond Campaign I thought it was such a cute idea.  We were to ask our children what they felt what was the definition of love whether between mommy and daddy or between a parent and child.

I took this opportunity to ask E how does she know that mommy loves her... she took a second to think and first said "because love is in your heart."  So then I asked her "how do you know mommy loves you?"  she thought again and said "because you pray with me, talk with me and we play together".  I thought that was such a great answer and I felt thankful and like I was doing my job as being a loving and nurturing mom. Sometimes after the kids go to sleep I reflect on the day and wonder if I did my job as a loving mother - did I show them how much I love them?  Did I spend enough time with them?  Did I lose my patience too easily? I was so happy to know that among all of the chaos of having two children close in age, and all of the demands of life that I make an impact on her and show her how much I love her, and she knows how loved she is.

I am by no means a perfect mom and I'm sure I make a million mistakes, but as long as my children feel loved - that's all that matters.

If you have never heard of Brilliant Earth, check out their website.  They specialize in ethically sourced engagement rings and have such a  gorgeous selection!  Of course I spent way too long on there looking at rings, I mean - what girl can turn away from a diamond, especially one that's ethically sourced?! :)

Day-To-Day Must Haves

While getting abnormally excited about buying a cleaning product for my house, it suddenly came to me that there are some things that are "must haves" for me.  These are the things that make me happy day-to-day:

Magic Eraser
I LOVE this little magic white bar - whoever invented this is a GENIUS.  If J decides that he wants to make me a little crayon masterpiece on our knock down walls or E got her play lipgloss all over her white dresser and it looks stained - no worries the Magic Eraser takes it away in a couple of minutes!

Keurig Coffee Maker
I look forward to my cup of coffee in the mornings and the Keurig machine is the best, it makes my coffee in seconds, which is great because I don't want to wait for a pot to brew especially if I've been up multiple times at night. I'm able to get the kids their juice/milk and make my coffee at the same time.  Plus, it allows for me and hubby to make the coffees we like (me light, him mud).

Clorox Anywhere Spray
This stuff is amazing, you can spray it on any hard surface and it disinfects 99.9% of germs and is non-toxic! I've been using it tons this week while the kids have been sick.  It's also a nice and easy way to disinfect toys and handles.

Clorox Greenworks Spray
It's 98% natural and it also cleans stainless steel, uh goodbye fingerprints!  I also like that I can clean the kids' table or highchair and I don't feel like if a grape falls out of their bowl and lands on the table they're ingesting chemicals.  I love this spray and it smells so good.  Next up to try are the Meyer's cleaners - I've heard wonders about them.

Wine
Does this need an explanation?!  It's my favorite way of unwinding after a long day.

iPad
One of my favorite purchases since entering into mommy-hood.  I love having this handy all day.  I'm able to go on Pinterest, browse the internet, catch up on my favorite blogs and reply to emails without having a big laptop open or looking at my small iPhone screen.

Slippers
As I have mentioned before, I need my slippers, like really need them.  This mama is on her feet a lot all day and our floor is stained concrete which means it's super hard and my feet hurt if I don't have my slippers on.

Bath and Body Works Candle
Most days I light a candle throughout the day.  It a great way to get the house smelling good and relax a bit. The only candles I buy are Bath and Body Works - they're such a great candle for the price, they literally smell up my whole house without being too strong.  My favorite scent is Eucalyptus Spearmint

What are your day-to-day must haves?  Is there anything that I'm missing out on and should add to my list?

Mommy Needs A Time Out

First off  I want to say that I love being a mom, and being a stay-at-home mom at that.  My kids are my life and I'm happy that I get the privilege of being with them every minute; but being with them every minute (although I wouldn't change it for a thing) can have it's challenges too.  There are meltdowns, tantrums, messes, sibling fights, laundry, sweet moments, funny moments, cuddles and kisses - by the end of the day I'm exhausted and drained.  Then we have those oh so special times when someone goes to bed at their normal time and they sleep for an hour or two and then wake up right when you're about to go to bed and they think it's party time and you're up for another 2 hours.  It's never a dull moment, there is no lunch breaks or clocking out  it's 24 hours a day and 7 days a week- it's a lot sometimes... and at times I feel like I'm running out of gas.

I'm so grateful for my support system - I have the best family who is always willing to babysit and I have great mommy girlfriends who are always ready for a night out with our husbands or a girl's wine night so we can de-stress, laugh and have adult conversations.  There's even the occasional weekend getaway that really helps me and come I can come back to mommy-hood refreshed and ready.

Do you fellow mommies ever feel the same way?  How do you relax when you feel like you've had enough?