Tuesday, March 31, 2015

weekend {re} cap - Kohler SPA edition

Happy Tuesday friends! I got back yesterday from an amazing little girlfriends getaway at Kohler Spa.  Everything about the town Kohler is amazing and everything is beautiful!

I missed my kiddos so much though and was soooo happy to see their smiley, happy faces as soon as I got home.  Ella was jumping up and down and squealing with delight when she saw me, I almost cried!

Anywho - to recap my wonderful weekend, we'll start with Saturday.  The girls all met at my house and I drove us.  We stopped at a huge outlet mall along the way to do some shopping (something I haven't been able to do without 3 littles in a looooong time) It was so nice to just walk around and not worry about what snack to get out next or who needs a potty break.

First though, I had to do a little pumping in the parking lot #gottadowhatyougottado





We got to our hotel around 5:30ish and hung out in the room for a while, had some drinks and got ready to go to the bar/pub that was downstairs of the hotel.  No pictures from this night except this late night one back in our room.  Drinking wine in our pjs :) I actually managed to stay up until 12:30am! (this is so not like me)


The next morning, 3 of us went down to the hotel's greenhouse which has the cutest little coffee shop/food.





Then it was time to head to the spa! The spa is right across the parking lot basically of our hotel, everything is right on the grounds where we were which made it so nice and convenient. 

My first service was a bamboo contouring drizzle and it was ahhhmazing!! It was a body service mixed with water and lots of heat.  I was in heaven!


We took a break and had lunch together then spent some time hopping back and forth from pool to hot tub to sauna.



I had my next service at 2 and it was a body exfoliating treatment with a mini facial and the facial was probably my favorite part! I've never had one and wow, now I know what I'm missing.

We spent more time in the pool and just lounging around the spa after our services were done


We all got ready and headed to dinner at a really nice restaurant that was also in our hotel.


We all took it easy this night since we overindulged the night before in adult beverages :) We knew we had to get up early and head home so bedtime came pretty early.

The last picture before we left - we had such a great time and I hope this becomes a yearly tradition!!

Friday, March 27, 2015

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday Friends! It's time for the link up party, woo hoo :))

{ONE} - Kohler Spa

This weekend I am headed to the amazing, beautiful Kohler Spa in WI for a girls getaway!! I've been here once before when Brayden was almost 1 with some other girlfriends and it is so so nice.  This Mom's getaway is just what this Mama needs.  Lately life with my littles has been super challenging and I need some time to re-charge.  But that being said, I already feel guilty about leaving and am going to miss them so so much.  That's the funny thing about parenting, your kids can drive you crazy yet you still don't want to be away from them! (or maybe that's just me)







{TWO} - Kid Craft

When I return, I plan on making this fun craft with the kiddos, I would love if Avery would let me paint her hands too but I highly doubt that's going to happen {but I will definitely stress myself out trying :) }

Perfect for the kids to make for grandmas for valentine's or even grandparents or mother's day.


{THREE} - Dress Up Closet

Since my hubby is so handy, I think this needs to be added to his Honey Do list :) Having 2 girls now, we will definitely need something like this very soon!! How cute is this!?

Dress up "closet" - use an old/cheap dresser & pull out all but the last drawer & top with a shelf..... Add some crown molding & paint!


{FOUR} - Glitter Eggs

I'm a sucker for anything glitter! I think I need to somehow make these eggs this year - I'll let the kids do the messy dying, and I'll do the messy glitter :)

Easter - No Dye Easter Egg Tutorials at the36thavenue.com ...Adorable ideas!  Pin it now and make them later!


{FIVE} - 21 Day Fix

Have you heard of it? I've been hearing about it for months and finally bought the DVD's only and decided to give it a try.  I didn't want the food/diet portion because I'm nursing and I need to keep my supply up, plus I like to eat what I want (in moderation of course) Anyway - this woman (whose body is AMAZING) is not messing around with these workouts! They are so intense (at least for me) I've completed the 21 days and now I alternate between doing a workout from the set and jogging on our treadmill.  I don't think I lost many pounds, but I have definitely gotten more toned and feel much better about myself overall! These are definitely my new favorite work outs!




Well, there you go, 5 randoms for you this Friday :) Now you'll have to excuse me while I go pack my weekend bag and get the heck out of dodge! I'm hoping to come back rejuvenated and relaxed (which will last for about 5 minutes after I walk in the door)

Happy weekend!


Linking up with:




Monday, March 23, 2015

weekend re{cap}

Our weekend was pretty relaxing, probably a little too relaxing on my part since I didn't get half of things I wanted to, accomplished. Oh well, there's always tomorrow, right? (I tell myself this waaaaay too often)

Anyhoo - Friday started out super fun.  The girls and I picked up Brayden from school and headed to a preschool play date.  All the Moms grabbed McDonalds drive thru and we met at a local park district and ate inside then the kids played (more like ran around like wild animals)

Avery on her first playdate :)


These two are just so cute!


This is the same place we had Ella's 1st birthday party at.  It is awesome, one side has a carousel that you can go on as many times as you like, the other has a jungle gym play area.  The boys all stayed on the jungle gym side while the girls rode the carousel a few times.

Carousel selfie :)
I have never seen Brayden so worn out from a playdate before! His cheeks were so red and hair was soaking wet - that is a huge win in the playdate books :)  When it was time to go he was soooo bummed and even more bummed that he didn't get ride the carousel (we stayed until they closed and no more rides were available) Poor dude, I didn't even think to ask him because he was having so much fun with his friends.  I told him next time, to which he replied "No, I'm never coming back here again!!" Ahhh gotta love the 4yr old attitude!


Saturday was very low key.  After the girls went down for their naps, Brayden & I headed to Michaels to grab some playroom storage then stopped at the new Trader Joes that just opened in our town! It was a madhouse but Brayden wanted to get his friend Noelle some flowers for her birthday party later so we proceeded.

They have mini carts there so Brayden led the way (probably not the best idea on day #2 of the store opening, LOL)

I can't wait to go check it out during a weekday morning!



Later that day we headed to his preschool friend's birthday party - here he is with the birthday girl




And with some of his buddies





This was the first time Brayden has been swimming without myself or the hubby right there with him.  I was so proud of him for just going in and having such a good time!! But it also made me a little sad...where did my baby go!?

Sunday the hubs was out at his bowling league and the kids were restless! I didn't have anything planned except clean the house but they were not having it! I decided to go to the mall to return something and thought it would be fun just to get them out.

We stopped for a soft pretzel and made the return, then got the heck out of there.  Sunday at the mall is INSANE.  Never again.



Then of course we had to watch some change spin, it's one of Brayden's favorite things to do at the mall



Later that night Avery was practicing her leg stretches - she is son darn cute!!


This morning starts day 1 of Spring Break for Brayden and I woke up to this! Looks like we'll be playing outside in the snow today!

Friday, March 20, 2015

Friday Randoms {link ups}


                                 


Happy Friday Friends!





Ha ha, gotta love a good ecard.  Even though Friday's aren't what they use to be, I still look forward to this day as much as I always did.

I'm pretty impressed with myself as this is the 2nd week in a row I'm participating in the Friday link ups. Who cares if it meant laundry didn't get done in order to do this post (thankfully the hubby doesn't need his dress pants for casual Friday)


{ONE}
Coffee

Ever since the time change, I just cannot seem to get with it.  I am going to bed at the same time but dragging major booty in the morning.  I love waking up before the kids so I get some "me" time in, but lately, that "me" time is sleeping an extra hour.  Even then, I need 2-3 cups of coffee to function.




{TWO}
New clothes

A new item of clothing came for me this week and I was SO excited.  I first saw this top on Pinterest Told Me To and debated on buying it.  It was 40% off so to me, that was a good deal since I never spend $58 on a top (SAHM budget and all) but I waffled back and forth and decided no.  Hours later I waffled back to a yes and went online and was so bummed when it was out of stock.  I did what I usually do and called my local Nordstrom and they found one for me in my size at another store and I ordered over the phone.  It is so pretty in person and I can't wait to wear it!



{THREE}
Spring Wreath

I haven't done anything really crafty in a while and I've got the itch to make a new Spring wreath for our front door.  I plan on using this one as my inspiration but will change the colors up a bit

Spring hydrangea wreath inspiration. Love this plus super easy to make for half the price!!




{FOUR}
House projects

I always have a list of house projects I want done and since we are big DIY'ers around here, the list seems to never move, because, well, there are 3 little people who need all of our attention, all of the   time. #damnkids #kidding     

but for real, I am wanting a whole new bedroom set, but mainly a new headboard.  I keep going back and forth between a planked look or an upholstered look 

Planked headboard | Do It Yourself Home Projects from Ana-White.com           Design-Aholic: Afternoon Headboard. I would change fabric, I heard of using that egg carton foam bed topper for probably cheaper. I don't care for that roll of trim. Oh but good photo of attaching diy headboard to metal frame vs. the wall.




{FIVE}
Easter Baskets

If you missed my post on how to make these Easter baskets, check it out here.  I am hopefully going to get Miss Avery's done this weekend



I hope everyone has a great weekend! We have a lot of relaxing on our agenda :)


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Thursday, March 19, 2015

here comes Peter Cottontail

Aren't the holidays just that much sweeter when littles are involved? I love putting together the kids baskets every year and this year I have an extra basket to fill.  That makes me soooo happy!

Speaking of, I need to get on making Avery her basket to match the others.  You can see my post on how to make these Easter baskets here - Yep, even our dog gets one




Usually I don't go overboard for the baskets.  They usually consist of coloring books, new crayons, bubbles, of course some candy, and money inside of eggs.  But this year I saw someone post on FB these awesome Crazy Forts

Have you seen these?





My older kids are going to LOVE these, especially Brayden.  He has been really big into building forts lately and it's not the easiest task when you have to bring all of your kitchen chairs downstairs and still have your fort fail.  I show the hubs these and he immediately said get those, and get 2!

It's definitely more than we usually spend for Easter but I can always justify a purchase for my kids :)


Does anyone else have these crazy forts? I hope they are as cool as we think they are!

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Ella Bella - 2 1/2

My sweet sweet Ella Bella,

I blinked and you are now 2 1/2.  In some ways it seems fitting, and others it seems impossible that you are that old.  Over the past year you have grown so so much it's almost hard to believe. 

You are such a beautiful girl, inside and out.  You are very sweet and loving (most of the time) You love to come up to me and give me big hugs and big kisses.  You grab my face with such force and give me a big wet one, and I love it.  You LOVE your Daddy so much and you light up when he walks in the room or when you see him.  You run to him and say Hi Dad!! And he scoops you up for a big hug and kiss and you are in Heaven.  You love Brayden and try to show him too but sometimes he's not that into it and my heart breaks a little when I see your hugs and kisses getting rejected, but I know this is all normal sibling behavior.  And Avery, oh you love her so! I think you really enjoy being a big sister. You look after her, play with her, make her laugh so hard and give her plenty of hugs and kisses.  She eats all of it up! You are also so sweet to Max and I know he enjoys the attention.



You are becoming such a talker! Something that has taken you a while to get going on, but now, you are full on talking and coordinating sentences that make sense and that I can understand! Of course you have your own way of talking, and most things are said with an Italian accent - such as, your "yes" is "yepp-a" or "no" is "nope-a" It's so adorable and your brother did the same thing when he started really talking.  Your first *real* sentence was in early January and you said "Mickey on please now" and from then to now you can say even more elaborate sentences.

You are a wild one Missy! You love to climb and jump off things and push the limits with us and it doesn't help that you have an older brother who coerces you into doing things you shouldn't.  You are still a very tiny girl so we still have to watch you and tell you repeatedly to stop doing things that can hurt you.  In December, we thought you could walk up and down the stairs by yourself because you were doing so good but one time, you fell down them.  It was so scary but you were OK and it made us realize you were not ready for that, so we still walk up and down with you.

You and your brother have become quite the little BFF's lately.  You follow him around everywhere and want to do everything he does.  Sometimes this is good, sometimes it's bad. The moments you aren't being BFF's, you are messing with him (or vice versa) You love to take his toys, look right at him after you do it, then run away and have him chase you.  



You are such a smart little cookie! You are counting to 13, almost singing the ABC song and doing so well with flash cards.  You love puzzles and have started to be able to put some 24pc ones together by yourself. You LOVE the memory game so we play that everyday and you have such a good little memory! 

You're really into coloring and drawing.  You can sit at the table and do that for over an hour.  You really love playing with your dollhouse and it is seriously so cute to watch and play with you.  Most of the time I'm the Mommy and you're the little girl but sometimes you're the Mommy when you play alone and I watch you closely and see you having the Mommy give the little girl kisses and putting her to bed and my heart melts!! You also enjoy play doh, painting, and recently I made a sensory bin and you are loving that too.  

You are POTTY TRAINED!! I can't even believe it! I wasn't sure you were ready but boy did you prove us wrong.  It took about a solid week before I left the house with you and you did great.  There have been a couple accidents here and there but sweetheart, I am SO proud of you!! You still wear a diaper for naps and bed but even then, 99.9% of the time you wake up dry!

Your favorite show is still Mickey Mouse but you have started liking some of Brayden's shows too. You both love The 7D and you will watch Paw Patrol too.  

You love to eat and you're always open to trying new things.  For a while you wouldn't try hummus but the other day you saw me eating it and you wanted some and you loved it! You always eat your food as soon as it's put down in front of you (a concept your brother still hasn't seemed to grasp) 


My beautiful daughter, I hope one day you will know how much I truly love you.  It is with all of my heart and more.  You make me so happy and you are at such a fun/cute stage right now I want to freeze time.  I hope you always stay sweet, yet assertive, loving and kind.  I want you to have a great life and I want to be there every step of the way watching you grow into a beautiful woman. I love you so much baby girl and that will never change.
 
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