Words on Wednesday

“Food cannot take care of spiritual, psychological and emotional problems, but the feeling of being loved and cared for, the actual comfort of the beauty and flavour of food, the increase of blood sugar and physical well-being, help one to go on during the next hours better equipped to meet the problems".

-- Edith Schaeffer, The Hidden Art of Homemaking

My two year old woke the seven month old up this morning at 5:30am, and then she (the two year old) promptly curled up in my bed and fell back to sleep. As a result I've been awake for some time now, sipping coffee, answering emails, and watching the rain fall while Piper plays on the floor.
The past couple days the weather was SO nice. It was warm, sunny, and like a little glimpse of wonderful Summer days to come. Now it's supposed to rain for the rest of the week and I'm looking up some fun activities to keep us busy while cooped up in the house.

It's the middle of the week and we really don't have any plans lined up. Tomorrow or Friday I'll probably take the girls to the library since I have a ton of books waiting there on hold for me.  But other than that we have a pretty free week. Which is nice, because I feel like things have been busy lately.

Happy Hump Day!

family weekend

I have a lot of work waiting for me so I'm going to keep things short and sweet. We had a wonderful weekend!

Friday was Adam's and my anniversary (four years!) and thanks to my family kindly babysitting we were able to out for the night. We got dinner, and went thrifting (yeah, I know, we have fun doing that kinda thing though) and it was just nice to have some one-on-one time (the first in months!).

On Saturday I took the girls grocery shopping with me in the morning, and then once we got home we all went to the nature center and then down to the river so that Adam could fish for a bit. It was so nice out (don't be fooled by the hat and coat that Adri was wearing-she's just addicted to them)! It feels like Spring might, just might, be finally here! We are more than ready for it too.

Sunday was another lovely warm day. Although our morning was thrown just a bit off by both girls waking up at 3:00am. I ended up getting out and heading downstairs with them for a few hours. Piper fell back to sleep around 5:00am (and slept until her usual waking time at 6:15am) but poor little Adri was awake until 6:30am. She finally passed out and slept until 9:30am! Adam went fishing and caught three rainbow trout, I went up to my parent's with the girls to vist a bit for the afternoon and then came home and we made dinner and worked on meal planning (we're trying this for the next few weeks). Both girls passed out at 7:00pm for the night (that's early for them) and Adam and I sat around wondering what we did before having children. Ha.

Now it's Monday. There is a lot of work waiting for me, and it looks like it's another really nice day outside. I'm going to hurry and get things done so we can go enjoy the beautiful weather.

Happy Monday! 

Latest Library Haul (books for the small ones)

We went to the library earlier this week and stocked up on some new reading material. I found some really good children's books that Adri has been reading for the past two days, and I thought I'd share them here.

The Big Umbrella.
A happy, easy to read, good-for-small-kiddos book. Illustrations are good too.

Caps For Sale and the Mindful Monkeys.
Another sequel to Caps for Sale, this is written in the same style and just as good.

Hello Hello.
Lots of words for little children combined with colorful pictures and animals. Quite a bit like Eric Carle's books.

Bunnies!
Adri is OBSESSED with this book. We've read it about ten times. It's cute, easy to read (hardly any words) and I highly recommend.

A Bear Sat On My Porch Today.
Written in a rhyming style, this is a funny and creative story. Reminds me of P.D. Eastman's writing a bit.

The New LiBEARian.
Storytime, missing librarian, a bear in her place. Another really good one that Adri likes. Not too long either. The perfect bedtime read.

I Love A Book.
This one I loved and was a fan of, but Adri not as much. Maybe it's meant for older children? Anyway, she lost interest. I love the illustrations though, and it's really good. Just more for 4-6 year age range.

What To Do With A Box.
A boy, a dog, and all the things they find to do with a box. Not only is this one an interesting read, but also has some good ideas! 

DockATot review: an update

I posted about getting our DockATot back in January, and I've had a few people ask if we are still using it and how I like it, so I thought I'd post a little update.

We are still LOVE with our DockATot and use it every day. I'd say it's fair to say it's one of the most used baby items I've ever had and only wish I'd had one for Adri when she was a baby.

I have it in Piper's pack and play (that's where she naps) and she loves it. Before putting in in the pack and play she hardly ever was able to nap, and woke up after about ten minutes of going down. But now with the DockATot in it she sleeps SO well.
I also took it with us when we went away for the weekend and she slept in it then, and again slept really well. it was like she didn't even know we were away from home.
As far as holding up, it's still in great condition, no fading, and the bumper pillow part is still firm and round.

Seriously. I highly recommend this to anyone having a baby. Yes, they are pricey, but well worth it--even if you have to ask a couple people (like parent and grandparents) to go in on it together, as a "big" gift.

Also, I was a bit worried that the Grand was going to be too big, but it's not at all. In fact, I love that even though Piper is getting bigger (and she's on the tall size) she still fits really well in it (so does Adri for that matter, even though she never uses it).

One last thing. We do not use our Dock in bed (although you could). We do co-sleep, but Piper is a cuddle bug and likes to sleep right next to me. So, no, we don't use it in bed, but only because in our situation I don't think it would work for us.

**Side note: DockATot also offers payment plans, if you really want a bed, but can't afford to shell out all that money at once. 
**Use coupon code 10EXIT to save $10.00 off your Dock! 

lately {or, everything that hasn't made it to the blog in the past couple weeks}

Oh, hey, happy Tuesday! This Tuesday blogging seems to be turning into a thing, despite my best efforts to make it not. 

Anyway, the reason I haven't been blogging much is that #1, I've been busy living life, and #2, I actually don't have all that much to blog about. 

Life is busy and things are happening, but it's mainly day-to-day stuff and not really interesting to anyone other than my mom (and even that is a maybe).

Also, terrible rainy, overcast weather makes for crappy pictures.

Alrighty, moving onto what HAS been happening around our neck of the woods lately.

It looked like all the snow was finally gone, and even though it's still been cold, it was RAINING yesterday. This morning we awoke to snow again. Clearly, we are not safe from Winter yet.

For some reason I've been all about Thai and Chinese food lately (homemade). I'd say for the past few weeks we've had some form of one of those at least twice a week. Is a sad to say that I'm still not sick of it yet?

My blue-eyed babes {insert all the heart-eyed emojis}. 

We have a really good night time routine going these days and I've been trying to not mess it up. It really helps if I keep to the same schedule at night and things are fairly low-key. It seems the girls are able to go down easier and earlier (nice bonus) as a result. 

I have this essential oil roller that's a nice little calming/sleepytime mix and Adri loves to put it on her hands and feet before bed. I like to think that not only does it smell good, but actually helps her to fall asleep.

I've been making an attempt lately to eat a bit better and exercise every day.  I think I'm tired of being cooped up in the house and the lack of sunlight and movement makes me feel rather sluggish.

I've been walking at least three miles every day (sometimes five), and have cut out all sugar, alcohol, and bread. 

Not only have I been losing some of the baby weight I still have, but I've really been feeling so much better. Much healthier, and I have a lot more energy.

I made Adam's Crock-Pot Beef Stew for dinner the other night out of the last of the venison. SO GOOD.

It's also really easy to make (a nice bonus). If you haven't seen the recipe yet check out the link above!

This little person is getting so big. I know I say that a lot, but I mean it. She's crawling, sitting up, saying "Dadda", and can already stand along furniture. I feel like if I blink she'll be walking.

The last of the snow on Friday.

 It was beautiful out and felt like Spring was finally here. We cleaned the yard outside and even took a little walk while dinner cooked. It was the first warm and sunny day that we'd had in weeks and it was SO nice. 

Adam went fishing on Saturday with a friend and he caught that rainbow trout. We cooked it for dinner and it was delicious. The meat was pink (I've never seen pink, only white) like salmon.

  I always bake the fish whole in the oven, stuffed with lemon and onions, with salt, pepper, and butter on the outside.

I have a pile of work waiting for me right now, a load of laundry to watch, breakfast to make, and a baby hanging off my leg (just keeping things real for you).

Later this afternoon I'm going to run out since I have to return library books and grab some things at the grocery store.

Have a lovely day!

Daily Routine With Two

One of the questions that I get quite often around here is about our daily routine, and now that I have two littles it's changed quite a bit since I last posted about it. Here's our new Daily Routine, updated.

6:15am Piper wakes up at this time every single day, and has since she was born. It's like the most reliable little alarm clock in the world (not saying I wouldn't give mega bucks to be able to sleep in ONE morning). We head downstairs and I make coffee, change her diaper, and get her set up playing in the livingroom. I start checking emails for work.

7:00am Adri wakes up and comes downstairs. I get her set up with a snack and either playing with toys or watching something.

8:00am I make breakfast (always eggs of some sort) and we all eat.

9:00am We clean the house, I do a little more work on the computer, and then get the girls dressed for the day.

10:00am I walk for about 45 minutes (or however long it takes me to walk five miles) and while I do that the girls watch something.

11:00am Piper goes down for her morning nap, Adri has Quiet Time, and I either work or read a book. I also take this time to do any deep cleaning that I have to.

12:00pm Lunchtime. Usually salad for me, and snack plate for Adri.

1:00pm Piper is awake. We clean up, read, play games, and if it's nice out this is when we go outside.

3:00pm Adam's home, we all hang out and I start getting dinner ready.

4:00pm Around now we eat, hang out some more, I do a bit more work, and then we normally watch a show or something.

6:00pm Bedtime routine is started. I give baths and/or get the girls p.js on. We read books, brush teeth, Adri watched her tablet or plays for a bit while I nurse Piper to sleep and then I nurse Adri and she falls asleep.

8:00pm (or around there) Adam goes to bed, I take Adri up and pop her in her bed. Then I either watch something and relax, but more likely I'm tired and just head to bed and read until I fall asleep.

9:00pm/9:30pm We are all asleep.

This is a very loose example of our day. Depending on how much work I have to do (since it varies) and/or if we need to run any errands it changes quite a bit. Since we are down to one vehicle right now I am not out and about during the week as much as I was. I'm also no longer working as a librarian right now (that's a whole 'nother story for another day though #babydidntwantmamatoleaveher) so our days do have a bit more structure to them.

related: Our Bedtime Routine, Our Daily/Weekly Routine, 10 Ways To Start Your Morning Out Right.

is it already Tuesday?

I can't believe it's Tuesday already! Mondays are always super busy work days for me though, so I'm actually not surprised that I didn't have time to write an After the Weekend post. 

Anyway, I'm sure the big question is, did we find the snake?? Ahem. No, we did not. Well, at least, not yet. There is a chance that she could show up at any point, like even months from now. So we'll keep our eyes open and hope for the best.

Yesterday Adam came home from work early and took off to go fishing with a buddy. I piled the girlies in the car and we went up to my parent's place for the afternoon.

I got in a nice visit with Mama, and the sisters were the best of aunties and held babies, drew pictures with Adri, and even took her out to play in the snow.

We came home, Adam came home shortly afterwards, and then he made dinner (yes, I know how good I have it!) and then it was an early-bedtime-kinda-night for all of us.

Okay. So that was Monday. Now it's Tuesday, and it's SNOWING outside again. I'm getting ready to tackle some house related stuff today, like cleaning, laundry, and such.

I'm doing a Library Book List later this week, but I did want to link to two of our current favorite reads around here that Adri LOVES.

Caps For Sale (an old one, and also a favorite from my childhood. We've read this about five times and she keeps asking to read it again!

(there are also two sequels to that book, and I just placed them on hold at the library).

the second book is Little Blue Truck's Springtime (sequel to the Little Blue Truck book). It's a lift-the-flap board book, and since Adri love those, has been a huge hit.

I believe that there's also a few other Little Blue Truck books, besides those two.

 

I'm off to clean, work, and make breakfast, and walk.

Have a lovely Tuesday!

we lost the snake

 And here I was all happy about the weekend and it being Friday and all, and then Adam had to wake me up this morning when he was leaving for work to tell me that Pokey, our three foot long Ball Python is missing. What fun. Yes, we have a giant snake loose in our house. We have looked everywhere and are going to look some more after Adam gets home from work. It sounds like we'll probably be successful in finding her (thanks to all my 5:00am Googling) however in the meantime I guess I'll have to be super careful every time I open a box, put on a shoe, or sit on the couch.

 

This past week Piper had a growth spurt and has really taken off in the eating department. She's eating about three times a day, continues to nurse all the time, and even then is still hungry. She's also getting into everything, and (this is the big one) can climb, yes, CLIMB up on the couch. We had the couch cushions on the floor (thanks, Adri) and she climbed up on on of them, and then moved onto the couch. Twice. My peaceful life has ended. 

We are looking forward to the weekend, and are going to take things easy. We did have plans to go to the indoor waterpark near us, but I think we're going to wait until next weekend. 

It's snowing outside right now and has been since yesterday. Not exactly what I was thinking for our April, but still it sure is pretty out there.

I'm off to clean, plan dinner, and search for a three foot snake in my house. Wish me luck!