Friday, February 20, 2015

I Heart a Bow Tie

Happy Friday Friends!!
Boy have we had a hard time in our house :( We had a fun weekend last week and celebrated V Day with friends. I went to give warm wishes to a good friend expecting her first baby boy in March and the boys went up to Omaha to celebrate with our friends' twin girls who were one! Busy but fun day. But as Sunday/Monday crept around we all got bad colds. So along with bad colds and teething, its been a rough week and a half.

In all things L-O-V-E last week, I wanted to share the mini Valentines day photos shoot with our favorite photography lady, Lindsey at LjM Photography.

I wanted them to look adorable as always but didn't want to run out and buy two brand new outfits just for this. So with a little pre-planning, bargain shopping and digging around in what they already had, I came up with this...

I only ended up purchasing the stripped shirt for Oden on clearance from Gap after Christmas for around 5.99 and the bow ties I snagged from the clearance area at Target #score

It was an evening photo shoot so we could accommodate Liam's first school friend birthday party but in usual Liam fashion, he was a pill and it took patience and bribery for these few shots. Thankfully she even got some for me to use for his birthday party invites as well!











I'm head over heals for these images! And these boys :)

Happy Weekend Friends!
xo
Megan

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

You're O-Fish-ally an Awesome Friend Valentine

Hello!
Happy Tuesday!! :) While it's cloudy and cool here this morning, it is supposed to get into the mid 50's today, so if that is the case the boys and I are going to the park after school and we all are looking forward to some fresh air and outside time!

With Valentines day coming up I wanted to get crafting and make some cute Valentines for the boy to take to school and daycare. I started on Pintrest (where else), and had in mind to use these gold fish cracker packages I spotted at Target. They are easy and individual sized, so it was the perfect choice for quick and simple.  Being fish, I searched Valentine fish quotes and found these free printable that are pretty darn cute. I added some cute ribbon I grabbed at Hobby Lobby for 69 cents a roll (99 cents with 30 % off) using three different patterns. Simple to put together during an afternoon nap time!

Fish themed that was quick and fun I found this printable, by this inspiration on Pintrest.




 

I got these fun Nerd Rope's for our providers kiddos because they are always so sweet to Oden. They are always showering him with attention and making him smile :)
I found a free printable here from a link on Pintrest.


And a little something for our 2 providers. I found those free printable on Pintrest and printed them from here.
I used cute heart washi tape (that I also got at Hobby Lobby) to stick the cards on each box, and the boxes are 2 valentine chocolates by Ghirardelli I also scooped up at Target.

.

Hope this gave you a little inspiration of ideas for you little ones fun Valentines day goodies!
I'd love to hear all the creative Valentines you made this year :)

Have a great day!!
xo
Megan

Monday, February 9, 2015

iRobot

Hello! Happy Monday Friends!! Well last week flew by before I even posted once but our poor Odie has been teething so it's was a rocky week for us all. But hopefully we are over the worst and settling back into our more normal routine. I have a few posts planned this week to share all things love with a recap of the boys' valentine photo shoot, how I paired together outfits without shopping for anything new, the valentine cards I sent out as well as the valentine's I made for their school friends.

Today I am going to share one of the Christmas gifts I had put on my wish list and was lucky enough to receive!

As I continue with our goal of cleaning out/purging organizing, I thought I would share my thoughts so far on my awesome surprise Christmas gift from my dad.. That's right friends, I asked for a cleaning item for Christmas. Surprised?? Ha, didn't think so.

My dad and step mom have this little lady aka my dad's french maid Monique. And it's a huge time saver for them with their large kitchen with tile floors. I've seen her in action and pining for one ever since. And wouldn't you know I was lucky enough they surprised me with my very own :) #happylady


About 4 years ago we updated our kitchen and dining room floors with a beautiful engineered hardwood floors from Thomasville. They look great. The downside, they always look dirty. Since they are dark, all lint/dust show, wet puppy foot prints and drips, drops, smudges and smears. So I do like them, just not all the maintenance it requires for them to look nice and clean.

After seeing dad's in action, I knew this gal would help cut down on our nightly swiffering and I can set her to run as we go to bed.So I sat down read all about it and gave her a go. And you know what, I love it so far. Super easy to get going  right out of the box. The first charge went well and the next evening she was sweeping away while we were in bed. The GPS cube worked great and while I did take the time to move all our chairs out from the dining area since the area is pretty small, she got under the table and our buffet really well which are both areas where I see lots of dust build up quickly. I really like the cloths it came with, 2 dusting and 2 mopping ones. And I just wash them up when needed and can buy more on Amazon which is nice.

I have only used the swiffer/dust mode so far, but will share my thoughts on mopping mode when I give that one a go here soon.




Have a great day!!
xo
Megan

Friday, January 30, 2015

Friday 5

Hey, Hey, Hey!! Happy Friday Friends!! Its been a busy but great week and I am ready for the weekend for some relaxing as well as tackling more on our to do list for our New Years Resolution to get our home more organized and purge.


-ONE-
Birthday
This week I celebrated my birthday! It was a great day and we had gorgeous weather here in Nebraska so we visited the park after work 3 nights this week! We went out for Mexican for my birthday dinner and of course we didn't take any photos because the Mr. worked late so the kiddos were getting tired by the end of our meal. But I did enjoy two delish peach margaritas and got a visit from my mom in Idaho who is in town visiting so that was fun. Here we are in our PJ's for some evening snuggles before bed. Overall it was a great day :)


 
-TWO-
Go Bites
Last week I had to make a late night Target run because Liam's snack day was next next day (of course) at Montessori and you know I was out of mandarin oranges. That always happens like that doesn't it?? I had seen a Facebook add for these little Go Bites snacks earlier in the week, so while picking up crackers for snack day too, I gave them a go.

My review on them- they are just ok, but I don't think I will be buying them again. The outside takes nothing like a graham to me. It is a very crunchy shell, but the taste is more like a bland wheat cracker than a graham cracker. #disappointed
 


-THREE-
Haircut Time
After the birthday festivities, since we are all finally on the mend, we made an appointment with my dear friend and stylist, Melanie for some over due haircuts. Liam has had a long and strong dislike for haircuts so I talked up my girl Melanie big time. We talked all about what was going to happen and that if there were no tears, he would be rewarded with a trip to Walmart where he got to pick out a new plane. He did awesome, fussed some but no big tears, so on the way home we stopped and he picked out this guy. Here he is at school with his handsome new do! Just in time for photos this weekend! (do you spy the home made Goldbug shirt daddy made him??)


-FOUR-
Cupid Baby
I LOVE to send valentines and have schedule a mini session with our photographer for this Saturday for the boys. It will be nice to get some new photos of them and so I can use them for the Valentines day cards as well as for Liam's upcoming birthday invites. I have them picked out but need a photos for them too, see the ones I have picked out here.

So while I had wanted to order one of the cute designs I spotted over at Mint or Shutterfly, its not going to work out because the shoot is only 2 weeks before V day. I browsed Sam's club instead as I have order from there before and been happy with the end result. They have a cute selection and the turn around is super quick. Here is a few I thought were cute. Since I don't know how many shots I will get back, I will have to wait and see which photos I want to use, meaning I can't pick the card just yet. Can't wait though :)





 
-FIVE-
Swim like a Fish
This guy started swimming lessons at the beginning of January. We started Liam when he was 10 months old and he was in and independent class by 17 months! Oden is doing awesome just like big brother did and he is loving every minute in the water. A real fish :) The first class he was going under water like a champ. Can't wait to see how he develops over this year, I can't believe he is almost one already #uglycry





 I am linking up with Christina, April, Natasha and Darci today for their Five on Friday things!!




Have a wonderful weekend Friends!!
xo
Megan

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Coming Clean

As part of my New Years resolution (which I do still plan to share, even if its a month late) our house is in a total cleaning/organizing transition. I had set my sights high and decided I was going to get back to getting things more organized and cleaned out. Having a baby in April, things had certainly gotten a little behind and no better way to start a new year and the later part of the cold winter than cleaning and purging.

I LOVE to clean and organize and bf (as in before kids) it was a huge part of my life. I organized everything from closets, to crafts bins, kitchen cabinets to our home office and everything in between. After kids, things defiantly took a turn, and I spent less time on it and while some areas are still holding pretty well, others are a mess. But I don't know many moms who'd rather clean than play and enjoy time with their kids.

So I am going to share some of the cleaning and organizing as I go along. Not necessarily big tips or how-tos, just some before a and afters and some things that worked well for me. Sometimes I just need a little inspiration from my favorite blogs to ignite a spark to dive into a project and get it done!

Today I share how I tackled my dirty oven. Not exactly exciting, but necessary.
We bought this brand new about 5 years ago and up until this past Easter, when we had family visiting, and a very messy unfortunate honey ham juice spilling incident, this baby was Clean. It was an accident, but the oven I had kept so immaculate was suddenly a disaster. And it stayed that way for 9 long months.

Then a while back I had read Jen's article about her making her own cleaning supplies and cleaning her oven here. I was inspired to give her home made cleaner a go and try it out.

I didn't have the lemon castile soap or lemon EO on hand, so to use what I did, I used the almond Dr. Bronners and some Almond oil I did have on hand. I picked up the spray bottle and rags at Walmart for about 4 dollars total.

  • 1 cup distilled water
  • 1 tbsp castile soap
  • 10 drops tea tree or lemon essential oil

  • Spray first, let it set about 5- 10 minutes. Sprinkle on the baking soda and scrub. Scrub. Wipe the baking soda with clean rags and use one part water one part vinegar to get the baking soda haze out.


    Before
    I mixed it and followed her direction. It worked pretty great, all except for a few spots where there were big puddles of ham juice that had really been set in. (See below in the front middle)

    Close up of before


    After I sprayed the solution, I added the baking soda

    After two hours and some major elbow grease and after the kiddos were in bed, I had had enough, I broke down and used some Easy Off  oven cleaner I had found in the back if the cupboard. It wanted the green cleaner to work, I really did. But in the end, it just didn't cut it. The Easy Off cut through those big stains with after two more coats and a few more hours of sitting it finally came out.


     
    MUCH. BETTER
     

    I put the racks in the tub overnight with some dish soap and really hot water and they were easy to scrub clean in the morning.

    So there ya have it, I'm coming clean about trying to use my own green cleaner and ended up using the chemicals just to get the job done.
    Did this happen to any of you? Did you pull out the big guns and use a harsh chemicals to get the grit out?
    I'd love to hear what works great for you for next time around. Which I hope is WAY off in the distance :)

    Have a great day!!
    xo
    Megan

    Wednesday, January 28, 2015

    A Quick Trip to Colorado

    Hello Friends and Happy Wednesday!!

    I feel bad that this blog of mine has been so neglected. I honestly haven't really posted since before Christmas and had good intentions of sharing our holiday decor, how I came up with thrifty but cute holiday outfits for the boys and my new year resolutions (which I HAVE been working on ;) ) but I just haven't shared any of it. I have not yet decided if I will share some or just move on and share new things. Our house some big illness after the holiday craziness and Odie is still battling another ear infection so we are on the down hill of all that, but not yet over it entirely.

    I wanted to share some fun from our last minute trip to Colorado to visit my husbands only sister, who's is the youngest of 3 in his family. She is married and has two kiddos, my adorable niece Julia who is 4, and nephew Joel who is 1.

    We were only there for 3 days but we packed in so much. A trip for lunch at the Aquarium and to see the mermaid show, sledding, a mall train ride, indoor water park swimming & play place and bowling. My in-laws were already out there visiting along with my other niece, so it was a surprise to Grandma Jan that all 6 of her grand kids (yes Oscar too) were there for her that morning when she woke up for her birthday (which is January 2nd).

    On Friday for her birthday we went to the Aquarium for lunch and saw the Mermaid show.
    After we went home and the kiddos had naps, we took them sledding. Liam's very fist time! He loved it, but loved kicking the snow in his boots just as much #typicalboy



     


     



    After we warmed up from sledding we headed over to their local mall for a train ride around the mall.



    On Friday, we got up and headed over to Arvada to the Apex Recreation Center. Let me tell you, they have it all. Indoor water park with 2 giant slides, rock climbing wall, indoor playground, workout facilities. You name it. The prices were very reasonable and as it snowed outside, the kids had a great time splashing and swimming away.





    Then on Sunday we got up had another big breakfast at my sister in laws together and headed over to their local bowling alley. Liam had never bowled before and really liked it for about 1/2 of the first game!! haha
     

     
    Then it was time to make the drive back home. I am not going to lie, it wasn't a quick one, and the way home was a little more during day/evening hours. But overall both boys did amazing in the car. Thanks goodness for portable DVD players!! I sat back with the boys and kept Oden company. We would like to travel again soon, but we have plans to return to Oregon to visit my sister this summer and rent a beach house in Cannon beach, so that's where our sights are set for next :)

    Until next time Rocky Mountains~
    Have a great day!!
    xo
    Megan
     
     

    Tuesday, January 27, 2015

    33

    They say it's your birthday, it's my birthday too...
    Name that 80's movie this was sang in??

    Ok kidding aside, today I celebrate 33 years. Wow. It seems like so much older when I type it out. However, I have never really been one to get hung up on the birthday/ age thing, so to me, it's just kinda a number. Because lets face it, I really still and look 24, don't ya think??

    So to celebrate all things 33, I eat, drink, and share 33 things about myself in the honor of those double threes. Ok, kidding about the first two. I mean 33 donut holes SOUNDS like a great idea at the time, but my pants will thank me later using it as a joke instead ;)

    1. I was actually supposed to be a Valentines baby but came about two weeks early


    2. I was almost a 10 pound baby. (so that's where Oden gets it from ;) )

    3. I LOVE the color pink, always have, always will.

    4. I am the oldest of four siblings, which explains all the type A bossy tendencies I have. For real.
    Both are actually half siblings, but I would NEVER say that. They have always been whole to me.
     


    5. My first job after I started college was in a grocery store bakery closing it for the evening. I hate the job because I was left with a million things to do and not enough time. But I did learn how to decorate cakes and still to this day can do a pretty good job. (ironically, my first high school job, outside of babysitting was at a grocery store too, bagging and then checking)

    6.  I have always wanted to visit France, I even studied French for 7 years, all throughout Jr High  & High School and one semester in college.


    7. I hate cooked carrots. #yuck But I am not a picky eater. I like almost all things.

    8. I love to clean and I am pretty good at it. This is where my OCD and organizing comes hand and hand.

    9. I don't like beer and only drink hard ciders, which isn't a beer according to my husband. My go to drink is Jack and coke.

    10. I am awful about going through our mail. I mean sometimes I just put it in a bag and put it under our bed, I pay bills online so I just hate dealing with the paper! I have three paper sacks under there now.Yep, defiantly one of my new years resolution to get this under control. Now you know my dirty little secret. This uber neat freak/organizer has sacks of papers under her bed!!

    11. I am terrible at spelling and bad at typo's as well..

    12. I have Jazzercised off and on for 9 years now and still love it!

    13. I love carbonation. I love sparking waters and the carbonation in soda. I try not to drink soda, maybe one a week, but I just can't get enough of those bubbles!!

    14. I have breast feed both my babies and am going 9 months strong with my second baby, Oden. It is honestly one of the hardest yet most rewarding things I have ever done. Hands down.

    15. When I get board, sometimes I look at houses on Zillow and the local realty sites, just to see the what is out there and how homes are decorated.

    16. I played the violin from grades 3 to 6 and actually really enjoyed it, even though at the time I told my mom I hated it a lot of the time. I thank her now, just like she said I would.

    17. I was supposed be be named Emily. When I was born, my mother said I looked nothing like an Emily. It took till the last day I was in the hospital for her to choose Megan. She chose Megan because of a character in a book named Meg. I can't think of the name of the book now, darn.

    18. I grew up spelling my name Meghann. (long story why) All the way until college.

    19.There are 8 giant storage bags  full of breast milk baggies squirreled away in my freezer, you know how Gollum is so protective of "his precious", yeah I'm kinda like that about my frozen breast milk. But hey, I worked hard for that, my precious.. haha

    20. I love Mexican food and Spaghetti

    21. I only like fancy coffee drinks. Like say, a Carmel latte. We have a Keurig coffee maker at home and I rarely use it.

    22. I've only broken one bone before, I had a green stick break in my right arm when i was around 3 or 4. I was doing dishes on my grandma's vinyl kitchen chair and slipped off.

    23. I hate making decision and have to take a really long time to do so.

    24. I have lived in two states my entire life, Idaho and Nebraska

    25. I have had the same iPhone for 4 years. And never once broke or lost it. Hope I didn't just jinx myself.

    26. I met my husband when I was 16 years old. The year was 1998. Even before cell phones, free long distance, skype or texting. We wrote letters with pen, paper and stamps. I still have every one and It is one of my most cherished possessions.




    27. I love to be warm while I sleep and wear fleece pants, long sleeves, and socks. Sometime I even wear my robe to bed. And why yes we have a down comforter too. I just have to be warm or I can't stay asleep.

    28. The only place I have been outside of the US has been to Mexico.


    29. I have been to a majority of the US states however. Only in the south (Mississippi/ Louisiana areas) is where a few are that I have yet to visit.

    30. I did not order my wedding dress until the last possible day to do so. I hate making big decisions.


    31. My husband and I have gotten our photos taken every November for the last 14 years. It is fun to see each year and how we've changed and how our family has changes. We were 18 and 20 when we started and he thought I was crazy. Now, I am so glad we did. We have added a dog and two babies in those years and it is so fun to see how our family has grown.




    32. I have always wanted to live somewhere where it was warm all year long. Here's to hoping.

    33. I don't watch TV much anymore, I used to have a whole slew of shows in my recorded que. Guess my brain will thank me someday. I still love watching the Real Housewives of OC when it is on.


    So, there you have it, some interesting and not so exciting things about this gal.

    Oh, and it was 16 Candles. The song. I used to watch that movie with my sister all the time. That and Now and Then and the Babysitter club. We were junkies when it came to those movies.

    Well, Happy Tuesday to you all, and go have a drink and party for my big day!! :)

    xo
    Megan