Oh hey, Friday! | 5 Things I did this week

Another Friday is here, y'all! And this mama is looking forward to the weekend. We have some visitors stopping by Saturday afternoon, and Sunday, it's supposed to be in the 60s. After traipsing around the big city in the 30-ish degrees and crazy winds last night, I am SO OVER winter weather! Why must it be windy? The wind is whipping up leaves and dirt outside as I type this, and it's vicious! Max and I have errands to run today, and every time I tell him we have to go out in the wind, he says, "Me haaayyy!" ("my hair" in Max speak). Just like his mama, his hair gets a good tousling in the wind. We don't care for it.

Anywho, I thought I'd share a few things I did this week: some are exciting and others underwhelming. Such is the life of a stay-at-home mom.

1 ||  I made aprons for my kids out of dish towels. Yes, you read that right, ladies. A dish towel, some twill tape (I used rug binding because it's all I could find in a pinch, but some thinner twill tape is more desirable), and 2 stitches (just 2!) turned these cute dish towels I found at Michaels into aprons. Even the most novice seamstress can pull this off. I saw the tutorial months ago on Miranda's blog, One Little Minute (she is such a talented seamstress and an inspirational lady), and I knew I had to make them.

How cute?!?!

I had to bribe him with Teddy Grahams to be my model. He still prefers my floral apron. Probably need to hide it.

2 ||  I left my clean sheets in the dryer for 4 days. I changed our sheets on Monday. I washed the dirty ones on Tuesday. They're still in the dryer as I type, likely wrinkled beyond recognition. Whatevs, they're clean.

3 ||  I picked a tick out of the dog's ear fur. Ugh, ticks. Why are they out already? I wasn't expecting to see one, but Kenny's ear was flipped back and I saw a dark black fleck in his fur, so I investigated. I thought it was just some tree bark or a dead leaf or something, but upon further inspection, I discovered it was a nasty tick. It was still crawling around in his fur and hadn't attached to him yet, so I was able to get him off (through no help from Kenny, of course. He made the task quite difficult because he's a spaz). Kenny takes oral flea and tick meds, and he's been bitten by ticks in the past (finding their engorged bodies stuck in his skin is quite frightening), but I think I need to be more vigilant about checking him when he comes inside. Our yard backs up to the woods and we have lots of deer visitors, so it's better safe than sorry!

4 || I stayed up well past my bedtime each night. In a perfect world, I'd head up to bed around 10:30 to read and be ready to pass out by 11. But this week I haven't made it to bed before midnight each night. Blame it on perusing the interwebs and watching HGTV with Victor. As a result of staying up late, I take naps during Max's nap, which means I'm not tired for bed at 10:30. It's a vicious cycle...one I hope to break next week.

5 || I hung out with Carrie Underwood. Ok, we didn't actually "hang out," but she sang for me...and thousands of other people last night. I went with a group of my old teacher friends to her concert in DC; it was my first "mommy's night out" in...forever. We had lots of fun and Carrie was amazing! That girl is so talented and adorable (can we talk about her cute new hair cut?! I've decided I want "Carrie Underwood hair" now). She made me cry a few times (singing Dolly's "I Will Always Love You" and showing a slideshow of pics of her with her hubby and baby during "What I Never Knew I Always Wanted"), and I didn't bring tissues (pregnant woman mistake...I should know by now that I could cry at the drop of a hat with all these hormones). Her set was amazing, as well. I was kind of fascinated by the logistics behind it all. Please enjoy these blurry pics from my phone.

Get it, girl!

Today I plan to watch "Fuller House" on Netflix during naptime until I pass out since I was up until 1:30 AM last night and Max woke me up at 7. It's okay, though, because I missed him. Have a happy weekend, everyone...can you believe it's the last weekend in February?!?!

Linking up with

Karli at September Farm

Amy at The Farmer's Wife

Recipes That Rock | Milk and Cookies Lasagna

Do you love Chips Ahoy? How about Cool Whip? If you answered no to those questions, you're either my brother-in-law who doesn't like sweets (I wish I had that problem), super health-conscious (I wish I had the willpower), or just weird. 

Truth time: when I find myself in my house with Chips Ahoy and Cool Whip (which is rare), I dip those cookies in the Cool Whip until I have a stomach ache. If there's no Cool Whip, I just dip 'em in milk. It's just so darn good. So you can imagine my excitement when I came across this recipe for Milk and Cookies Lasagna on Pinterest. I had 2 8oz. tubs of Cool Whip left over from our Friendsgiving, and I wanted to use them up somehow. So I searched "dessert" and "cool whip" on Pinterest and this little ditty popped up. This is so super easy to make (no baking required!); the worst part is waiting for it to chill for 6 hours before you can eat it! I made this last weekend for our family dinner with Victor's family, and it was well-received!

Milk and Cookies Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 2 packages Chips Ahoy cookies
• 2 containers Cool Whip (I had 2 8oz. ones, and just barely needed to bust into the second one)
• Hot fudge sauce (I used Hershey's chocolate syrup)
• 1 1/2 cups milk for dipping

Directions:

1. Find an 11x7 glass baking dish (this might also look lovely in a trifle dish, but you would probably need more cookies and Cool Whip to fill it). 
2. Create a layer of cookies by dipping each cookie into the milk and lining them in the bottom of the dish. You only need to dip for a second. 
   
3. Spread on a layer of Cool Whip. 
   
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you reach the top of the dish. I did 3 layers of each.
5. Top the last layer of Cool Whip with crumbled cookies and chocolate syrup. 
   
6. Refrigerate at least 6 hours before serving.

The cookies get pretty soggy in this finished product (duh, you dunk them in milk first!), but the chocolate chips still give it a good crunch, if you're into textures. I think this might be even better with some layers of sliced strawberries or other fruit, too!

Stitch Fix #2 | Maternity Wear

I've been wanting to schedule another "Fix" with Stitch Fix for a while, but I decided to wait until I was well into this pregnancy so I could do a maternity fix. I enjoyed my first Fix last fall, even though I only kept one thing. It was nice having someone else shop for me and having the opportunity to try everything on at home. Shipping back the stuff you don't want is also easy peasy and free! If you haven't given Stitch Fix a try, I urge you to do so at least just once. It's quite fun! And no, Stitch Fix isn't paying me to say this, I'm doing this of my own free will (although I am using my referral link to share with you all).

Now let's get down to it (apologies in advance for not pairing each item with shoes/accessories. I took these photos during naptime and my shoes and stuff were upstairs. I hope you like my stripey socks!). I requested all maternity wear with some accessories. I wanted mostly casual stuff that was comfortable so it could be worn every day. Here's what I got:

1. Cheyenne Cross Back Maternity Knit Top: $48

This shirt looks pretty plain from the front (it's also navy), but the back is super fun with the criss-cross design. The fabric is super soft, too. Totally kept this.

2. Monroe Striped Oblong Scarf: $38

It's tough to see from the photo, but the scarf is navy with burgundy accents. It felt more like a scarf you'd wear with a coat, and it was super hot and bulky. It went back.

3. Angelique Maternity Knit Top: $54

This top was OK. While I like the fit and pattern (patterns are my friend with a handsy, curious toddler. They mask the gook he manages to slop on me all day), I wasn't crazy about the material: thick and not very breathable. This went back.

4. Kiley Maternity Ankle Zip Legging: $58

These were great! I've been loathing my Motherhood Maternity leggings lately as they're super thin and almost look like tights sometimes. These are more spandex-y, thick, kind of structured, but still comfy. Plus, they have that cute little gold zipper at the ankles. These stayed in my closet.

5. Christa Maternity Dress: $68

This dress was cute, super comfy, and I thought it fit nicely. However, I saw very similar dresses at Target for $20-$30, and this one is $70. Not worth the price for what it was, so I sent it back.

I was overall very happy with what was sent to me this time. I doubt I'll do another Fix during this pregnancy unless I need something fancy, but I'll definitely schedule one once baby comes!

Oh hey, Friday! | 5 Random Things

Happy to be back linking up for Oh hey, Friday! I don't have a specific theme for today's post, so I'm just throwing together a random combination of 5 different things to tell you. #sorrynotsorry

1. I'm currently reading For the Love by Jen Hatmaker and I'm loving it! I haven't read a book in a couple of months, and this book was the perfect one to get me back into my groove (thanks for bringing it, Santa!). It's different from my typical chick-lit novel choices, but it's so good. It resonates with me on so many levels. I also love it because it's funny, the chapters are short (which is perfect for my pre-bedtime reading. I don't like stopping mid-chapter), and she makes some profound points. Highly recommended!

   

   via

2. Last night, Max went to his first "big kid" birthday party. By "big kid," I mean a party meant just for kids and not a big extended family party like he usually attends. His cousins Juliana and Jayden had a joint 9th and 2nd birthday party at a local bouncy palace, and he had such a great time! I was honestly so impressed with how well-behaved he was, especially once all the bouncing was over and it was time to go eat dinner. There's no denying that my baby is growing up (he turned 21 months on Wednesday). It's sad and fascinating all at the same time. 

   

   Daddy was a great bouncing/climbing/sliding buddy

   
   

   

   Raise your hand for cheese pizza!

   
   
   
3. My mom is leaving for Arizona this weekend for spring training (for her job) and I am so very jealous! I can't remember when the Reds moved their training camp to AZ, but I want to say it was 2009 or 2010. I've gone out there every year since for at least a long weekend to visit with my mom and sister, enjoy the Arizona sunshine, and take in some spring training games (and occasionally schmooze with the Reds officials and players). I didn't go in 2014 when I was pregnant with Max, and I'm missing this year, as well. Thankfully Victor, Max and I made a family trip out last year so I could get my fix. I have some serious FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) when I think about not indulging in the startling blue skies, dry desert heat (it's in the 80s there right now), and daily baseball games. However, the Reds traded away many of my favorite players (Todd Frazier to the White Sox??? I could cry!), so it won't be quite the same this year anyway. Wishing my Ma a safe flight and a wonderful time working her booty off in the warm weather! 

   

   Owners' Weekend 2013 with my ma and sis

   
   

   

   The resort my mom always stays in, The Wigwam. We love it there!

4. It's supposed to be 61 degrees here on Saturday!!! This might call for a trike ride to Starbucks with my little ginger! We might be getting more snow next week, so we need to take advantage of the nice weather when we can!
5. We got to see baby girl again via ultrasound on Thursday to check on the location of my placenta. At our anatomy scan at 20 weeks, it was discovered that I had a very low-lying placenta that was only 1 cm away from my cervix (they like it to be at least 2 cm away). To prevent bleeding, I was told not to do any heavy lifting, strenuous activity, or exercise until I came back at 26 weeks to check on it. Good news: the placenta has moved away from the cervix and all is good! Baby girl is measuring small but still within the normal range. I also have what's called marginal cord insertion, which means that the umbilical cord inserted itself near the edge of the placenta instead of near the middle, which could cause the baby to receive decreased blood flow, leading to a lower birthweight. The doctor is not overly concerned about this at this point in time, but I'm scheduled to go back at 32 weeks to check on baby's growth; prayers are appreciated that everything continues to go well with the cookin' of this babe! In the meantime, I'm just enjoying feeling her wiggle and jab/kick around in there. The other day, she kicked me so hard in my bladder that I almost peed myself. No joke.

Have a great weekend!

Linking up with 

Karli at September Farm

Amy at The Farmer's Wife

The Making of a Nightstand for Baby Girl

I am so happy to announce that I am FINALLY FINISHED with this nightstand, and it turned out just as I dreamed! I'm so glad I went the DIY route with this one. It was most definitely a labor of love, and it came with quite a few challenges, but I feel a great sense of pride knowing that I created it for my baby girl.

I didn't always know I'd use this particular table for a nursery nightstand, though. In fact, when Victor and I went to IKEA a couple of weeks ago to get another Hemnes dresser for Max's new room, I was also on the hunt for a cute little nightstand/side table for the baby's room. I considered getting one that matched the dresser, but since it was $99, I figured I could find a cheaper option. I found Max's nightstand at the local vintage barn that I love so much for $45, and I loved the look of it. Another chalk-painted piece seemed fitting, so I thought I could try to find something at the barn.

Then I remembered that my late maternal grandmother's old sewing machine table was just collecting dust in a spare bedroom. It needed some serious TLC, but it could be beautiful again.

The top was in really rough shape.

With my mother's blessing, I decided to chalk paint it myself. I've never used chalk paint before, but one of my aunts is a chalk painting pro (for realz, she has a cute little shop in Cincinnati where she refurbishes old furniture. She's quite talented), so I consulted her for advice. I decided to use the brand of paint she sells in her shop, Chalk Country Paint, and she helped me find the perfect color I was looking for: a light, minty green. "It's Jade" was the one I decided on, and she shipped it out to me.

As I waited for the paint to arrive, I got to work prepping the table. It's super old--so old that my mom remembers it in their house when she was a kid. I needed to remove the hinges and take off the flap-style flip-up doors, which proved to be quite difficult. I tried to no avail to get the ancient screws out of those hinges. Then Victor came home and removed them without breaking a sweat (likely because I had already loosened the screws for him...). One of the hinges was missing a pin, so I found similar hinges at Home Depot, but it turned out they weren't the right width, so I couldn't use them. I took off the table top, as well, as it was missing a screw. I wiped everything down with a damp cloth in preparation for painting, then set up shop in the basement (I normally would've done this project in the garage, but it was so cold outside that I couldn't bear it).

Chalk painting is nice because you don't need to do any real prep work before you begin painting other than a good wipe-down of the piece. No sanding or priming required. I quickly added the first coat on Saturday during nap time.

I swung by Home Depot on Sunday to find new knobs and some sort of solution to the missing hinge pin dilemma. Victor and I thought of using a nail to serve as the pin, but we later decided that wouldn't work since the hinge sits up and away from the table and the nail could slide out. I needed something that fit snugly. I thought some thick wire would work, so I hung out in the picture-hanging aisle and shoved various gauges of wire into the hinge (so important to bring your stuff with you to help shop!). A 14-gauge wire fit the bill! I came home, changed my clothes, and got to work adding the second coat of paint, and I also cut some wire to fit into the hinge and put it into place. It worked perfectly!

On Monday after playing in the snow, I lightly sanded the entire piece using a 220-grit sanding block, then dusted it with a dry cloth. 

I did some Googling to figure out how to clean off the hinges; they were all completely tarnished and looked almost black, but in a few places I could see some hints of brass peeking through, so I knew they could be pretty again. I first tried a paste of baking soda and vinegar, which sort of worked, but then another trip to Google suggested just plain vinegar. After a few hours of soaking and some serious scrubbing with a metal brush, the hinges looked good as new!

Nicole Curtis of Rehab Addict would be proud!

Unfortunately, the screws didn't fare so well. It turns out they were not made of brass like the hinges, and they totally rusted out after being soaked and scrubbed. 

On Tuesday during naptime, I waxed all surfaces of the table and its components using Minwax Paste Finishing Wax (Chalk Country Paint has their own recommended brand of wax, but my aunt said I could save a little money and use Minwax and get the same result). I decided to do two coats of wax since the first coat was a little streaky. I simply used a foam sponge to apply the wax, then once it was dry, buffed it with a soft dry cloth. It left a nice, satiny finish.

After naptime on Tuesday, Max and I headed to "the tool store" (aka Home Depot) to return the knobs i bought on Sunday/search for smaller ones and find some new tabletop and hinge screws. We were armed with some original rusty screws and one of the table's doors to help with comparisons and sizing. I still had the new sets of hinges that I had previously bought and decided that if I couldn't find anything else that would work or if the prices didn't match up, I'd just use the screws from those hinge packs. Max and I found some cute glass knobs and some perfect screws for the tabletop. I found some screws for the hinges that would work, but they came in packs of 6 and I needed 16 screws. Instead of waiting to return the hinges and purchasing 3 packs of screws, we headed home with the hinge packs (which had exactly 16 screws).

After Max went to bed on Tuesday, Victor helped me reassemble the table. We hit quite a few unexpected roadblocks at this point in the project:

• The screws for the knobs were too long for the doors. Luckily I have a handy husband, and he used some heavy-duty wire/bolt cutters to cut them to size. 
• The screws from the new hinge packs were slightly longer than the original screws (which I was aware of), and two of the screws poked through the top of the wood on the table (they worked fine in the doors). We removed those screws and decided to use the old rusted ones (after I wiped them off with a cloth, which helped a little. I Googled how to remove rust from metal, and one popular suggestion was to use vinegar. Since vinegar was what caused the rust in the first place, I opted against that solution).
• When we were attaching the last couple of hinges, we realized we were missing a screw! To troubleshoot, we used a screw from one of the original wooden knobs, which was slightly bigger and longer than the hinge screws and was difficult to install--it later broke in the hinge! Luckily the coats of paint on the doors helped hold the hinges in snugly, so a missing screw wasn't the end of the world.
• As I was attempting to add the last screw to the last hinge, we learned that a screw must've broken off in that hole since I couldn't get the screw into the table--so a wasted effort was made in replacing the screw in the first place!
• When it came time to attach the table top, the screw wasn't attaching well to the tabletop in one location due to the fact that the tabletop was warped, so we shifted the top over a bit and made new contact points with the tabletop.

Finally, after about 45 minutes (I was expecting the reassembly process to take close to 10 with no snafus), the table was completely reassembled and she looked divine!

Admittedly, this is not a project I would typically take on. I like projects that can be done from start to finish in one sitting. This one took 4 days. That's a monster test of my patience. Had I not needed to work around nap schedules and such, I probably could have done it all in 2 days. I give a lot of credit to the people who do this process on huge pieces! Needing to remove old hardware made this project a bit more difficult than I anticipated, so perhaps a future project with no disassembly/reassembly required will be less time consuming.

In the end, I'm glad I took this on and came across a few issues in the process. Being a stay-at-home mom is rewarding and challenging in itself, but it was nice to be challenged in a different way and be able to use my problem-solving skills.

Doesn't that gold Target lamp just look precious on that sweet table?

Presidents' Day Weekend 2016

We had a pretty nice (but cold!) weekend here in Maryland. My mom came out to visit for the weekend, and we had few major plans, so it was a nice, low-key couple of days just spending quality time together. We squeezed in lots of different activities in the short 2.5 days she was here!

My mom arrived early Friday morning (1:15 AM) after her flight was delayed 3 hours out of Ohio. She and I returned home from the airport around 2:30 AM and promptly headed to bed. Max had us up by 8 and we got ready and headed to the mall. We bought some clothes for Max and his sister at Old Navy, had lunch, and bought new bras at Soma (I just love their bras...the best, in my opinion. I also picked up a nursing bra while I was there--hoping it's much better than the ones I had last time!)

Max insisted on carrying our bags for us

Max took a late nap on Friday due to our mall escapade, so I had to wake him up at 6 PM (I took a nap too). We had "breakfast for dinner" in the form of pancakes and eggs since it was the first Friday of Lent and I forgot to plan a meatless/fish-centric dinner. No complaints here, though! I love breakfast for dinner!

On Saturday, I hit the grocery store at 7:30 AM to get some breakfast essentials (mainly donuts and fruit), and then we spent the frigid day inside. Max made cards for his Valentines, and I started working on baby sister's nightstand for her room. Her nightstand is my grandma's old sewing table, and my mom gave me her blessing to paint it with chalk paint.

Easy DIY Valentine: painters tape and crayons.

Max used the painter's tape to decorate the dog.

Saturday night, my mom babysat Max while Victor and I went out for an early Valentine's Day dinner. We first stopped by Victor's cousin's house to meet her new baby, 2-week-old Clare (such a sweet girl!). We got home from dinner as my mom was trying to put Max to bed--"trying" being the operative word; Max kept telling her to "go" so I intervened (such a sass-pants, that boy!). Victor was passed out on the couch "watching" 50 First Dates by the time I got downstairs. I fell asleep shortly afterward. #valentinesdayasparents  I also have zero photos from Saturday night.

On Sunday, we went to a local My Gym to join Max's friend Eleanor for the "Waddlers" class. Max loved it...although he wasn't too keen on the structured circle time. I don't have any photos from the class, but my mom took a zillion. Later, we had lunch and after I put Max down for a nap, Mom and I headed to the airport. I swung by Home Depot on my way home to get a few items for baby girl's nightstand, and then came home to add a second coat of paint to it. Victor and his friend were busy planning Victor's brother's bachelor party (I pretended not to hear the details), and Max played with his trains and watched some Curious George while I painted.

How do you like my painting outfit??? I obviously didn't consult the mirror after throwing those shirts on!

Kickin' back on The Pouf watching George

Sunday night was spaghetti night (and bath night). Max is back on the spaghetti train (we think) and required 3 plates full of the stuff.

I tried to have him eat naked but he was too cold. Considering deeming one outfit his "spaghetti outfit" for the winter months. The tomato sauce stains are more than I can handle!

My Valentine also surprised me with beautiful tulips AND long-stemmed roses for the holiday. We agreed on no gifts this year.

Today (Monday), we had about 4 inches of snow fall throughout the day, so we had to go outside to play. I think we had way more fun in this amount of snow than we did after the blizzard. Max got a good taste of what sledding is all about this time. He had so much fun. He also enjoyed just running around the yard in the snow. Our little guy is quite the adventurer!

Get a load of that grin!

Max went down for his nap at 2 and is still sleeping now at 4:30...I think the snow play wore him out! Victor did some snowblowing/shoveling and I've done some housework and nightstand prep (sanding and de-tarnishing super-old hinges). I gotta say, I'm enjoying this project but I much prefer things I can do from start to finish in one sitting...this is really testing my patience as it's likely going to take the entire week for me to finish it. But I can't wait to share the finished product!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend celebrating love and our forefathers! Have a great week!

Life lately

You may have noticed that I've been in a bit of a blogging rut lately. I just can't seem to find the inspiration or motivation to churn out regular posts. I've found that when I focus on posting regularly, my other responsibilities tend to get put on the back burner, which then leads to me getting stressed out because my house is a mess, the laundry is piling up, and Max and Victor are feeling ignored. I'm hopeful that in the future, I can find a good balance between blogging and my wife and mommy duties--perhaps a 3-day/week blogging schedule. I know it's all only going to get more difficult with two babes in the house, so between now and baby girl's arrival, I'll work on getting my groove back. I love sharing with you all here, so I'll try to get a good schedule in place.

Since it's been a couple of weeks since my last post, I thought I'd fill you in on the random stuff that's been going on at Casa Little Blue Sailboat...

• The 30 inches of snow we got a couple of weeks ago has melted. Well, most of it. Some parking lots are still half usable because sections of them are piled high with snow. It snowed again on Tuesday, but that's melted too. And now it's frickin' freezing and windy. I am perfectly fine with staying inside on days like this, comfy in my sweatpants.
• I deep-cleaned the kitchen on Tuesday, and I've been very good at keeping it clean over the past couple days. It's amazing how nice/clutter-free the busiest room in the house can look when I put things away right when I'm finished with them instead of leaving the peanut butter jar on the counter all week. Ha!
• Max has made sure I've gotten my exercise lately at naptime and bedtime by not going right to sleep, often requiring me to run upstairs to resettle him. If he's not unzipping his PJs and loosening his diaper, he's throwing his Curious George doll out of bed and shouting "Uh-oh uh-oh uh-oh!  Gore! [that's "George" in Max-speak]" until I return him to the crib. On Tuesday, he fought his nap for an hour and a half (!) by singing and jabbering to himself, finally falling asleep at 3 PM. Yesterday, he was asleep less than 5 minutes after I left his room and slept for 3 hours. Today, it took him about 30 minutes to zonk out. And last night, I finally got smart and put a onesie under his footie PJs so I didn't have to zip him back up a million times in fear that he'd pee out of his diaper. This kid keeps me on my toes! 

  

  Naptime today, snuggling George

• My sister came to visit the last weekend in January. In addition to helping wrangle Max at Ikea one day while we shopped for this dresser (the best dresser for babies/kids, in my opinion. It's our second one), she helped me get all of Max's outgrown clothes organized in bins, and we sorted out any clothes that baby sister can wear (like plain white or gray onesies, jeans, socks, etc.). 

  

  Here we are amongst the madness of Max's old clothes.

• We've been making big strides in getting Max's big-boy room ready (I'll post a tour once it's all finished). We're planning to move him in there at the end of the month to give him some time to get acclimated to his new surroundings/bed before his sister makes her debut. I'm both nervous and excited about the big switch; nervous because I'm sure we'll have a handful of long nights as he gets used to sleeping in a full-size bed and having the freedom to get out of bed on his own. Excited because once Max is moved out of the "perpetual baby room," I get to go crazy decorating the room for baby girl! I've already purchased a lamp similar to this and these curtains for her room. On the hunt for a colorful rug and some wall decor. I might also get ahead of the game and make some DIY crib rail covers to match her room, as well.
• I took a bunch of stuff to Goodwill to donate. It felt good to get rid of things that are no longer useful to our family but could very well be useful to someone else.
• I've been eating a lot of Hershey's Kisses...because they're here and they're delicious. And baby girl seems to enjoy them...lots of kicks and wiggles about 30 minutes after indulging.
• Max got his first hair cut last week. He was always looking so disheveled and unkempt; it was time for a trim. But darn it, my baby's gone! Despite practicing "cutting" his stuffed animals' hair the day of the big snip and talking about how they weren't sad, they were HAPPY!, Max still didn't find the experience fun, especially when the gal was trimming around his ears. Overall, though, he did great and he looks so handsome (and grown-up) now! 
  
• I'm looking for cute Valentine's crafts to do with Max in the next couple of days. This one and this one look like winners to me. Simple is best for my little dude.
• I dropped Max off at the in-laws' house last Thursday to run a bunch of errands solo (errands that require browsing with Max in tow have proven to be quite difficult lately. He has zero patience for meandering through Target...or anywhere), and Victor and I got to have a nice little lunch date just the two of us. We went to &pizza, which is basically pizza ordered and prepared Chipotle-style (but without the food poisoning, ha!). I highly recommend this place if you have one near you! Delicious, fresh ingredients, a variety of sauces, and unique beverage choices (the ginger berry lemonade--OMG!). 
  
  
  

  

  Pictured is the mango passion fruit soda. It was good, but seriously, the ginger berry lemonade...life changing.

• I ordered a new play room toy organizer and I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner. We had another one in there that just wasn't fitting the bill, but this one is amazing. Plenty of space for all kinds of toys and books. 

  

  My love for this thing is a little ridiculous.

• Max has been having lots of jam sessions with his kiddo instruments lately, and the other night, Victor got his guitar out to jam with him. Max got really sad when his toy electric guitar didn't sound like Daddy's, so he got to strum some tunes on the big one. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen this photo. Seriously, this kid's going to be musical. He's a natural. 
  
• I attempted to make these Inside-out S'more Brownies for the Super Bowl party we went to last weekend. They were only okay. I found another s'more brownie recipe in my Family Circle magazine that looks like it'll turn out better. If it's good, I'll share.

That's about it! My mom is coming to visit this weekend; she gets in late tonight. Looking forward to spending time with "Gaga" (as Max calls her now) this weekend before she heads to sunny Arizona for spring training! So sad we can't go this year! I guess we'll just have to reminisce about last year's trip.

Have a lovely weekend and an even lovelier LOVE day on Sunday!