Wednesday, December 31, 2014

see ya social media

i deleted my instagram account recently. and i'm not really sure how i feel about it. i miss it. my thumb automatically hits the photography icon on my phone and then heads for instagram app. but it's not there. i'll be honest, it happened about 30 times in the first few hours after i deleted it. seriously. that's code for #iamanaddict. ew. i was scrolling through at 3 am after rocking the boy. i was trolling while the kids napped. while i made dinner. in the car at a red light. it shouldn't be that way but i know it is for so many people. like, a lot.

it began to feel like a life competition. everyones pictures needed to be better than the post before. i found myself taking my phone places i wouldn't normally take it all because i thought maybe i'd take an instagram worthy photo. so. dumb. if someone didn't 'like' a picture, was it intentionally a stab? was the 'one-upper' really one-upping? or was she really just so damn sure that her life was perfect? am i the only one who feels this way?

i haven't used Facebook in years. the only reason i have an active account it for the mommy groups of friends i have. and thats the only way they invite to birthdays, playdates and party's. what happened to a phone call? text? email? snail mail? i get that is works for people. i get people love it and thinks it's the easier way to communicate. but what about the people who want to belong to these groups but hate social media? like me? i want to be at your play date! i want to go to your party! i love the friendship we have! but can you call me maybe?

there are for sure things i miss. i may even get it again. who knows. right now i am enjoying not knowing every single thing there is to know about everyone. because let's be honest; do we really care that you're at the park? or that you have a coffee? i'm going to guess not. and i totally think people don't care about our park adventures either. :)

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

she's 3!


every time i write a milestone blog, usually about a new age, i scream HOW? how is this possible? how is she 3 already?! well, whether i like it or not, she is. and to be totally honest, i like it. i like how 3 feels. i like how 3 looks on her. she's perfect. she says the darndest things. she has a new haircut. she's grown so tall. she loves her brother. she throws fits. she growls when she's pissed. (it's kinda funny but i try real hard not to laugh).

at 3, mila:

can count to 13
can write the letter M…and try's to write the rest of her name
knows her shapes and colors
enjoys doing flash cards
loves to paint and do anything artistic
loves to explore outside
is an outstanding dancer
is potty trained!
loves her friends and to go to school
is the biggest helper; especially in the kitchen
has a very kind, sensitive heart
can scooter like crazy
is afraid of masks and spooky things
but loves the fastest rides
loves her daddy with all her heart
her "song" is all about the bass. yes, we let her listen to a song that says bitches. and is about an ass.

we went to disneyland to celebrate our little girls birthday. the faster the ride the better! it brought us immense joy to hear her squeal with delight and burst with laughter as the rides whipped around, up and down. on the way home she said "mom, i had the best time. thank you dad!" ugh. my heart officially melted one more time. like it does on the daily. she's the best.

oh, and she now calls us mom & dad. i beg her to call me mama and she adamantly says "no mom". 3 going on 13…..







Sunday, November 30, 2014

off the radar

we moved!!! yessssss. we moved into our stunningly beautiful new home a week ago and it has been heaven. well, kind of. it's been great. it's been busy. it's been sleepless. it's been happy. the kids have transitioned great. we've gotten a lot done in the short 7 days we've been here and i am feeling a little bit better about it all the time.

i skipped any fall decor and went straight for the christmas decor. we got our little happy tree the day after thanksgiving. it's small and beautiful. m helped decorate it and her eyes were filled with glee as she placed each ornament and then stood back to admire what she had done. every morning she is just as surprised as she was before that it's still there! elvira the elf has arrived but i don't do all the crazy. she finds her spot and rests there until christmas eve.





this little fancy nancy is going to be 3 years old in 2 weeks! i have no idea how that happened but, she is amazing. so funny. so sweet. we are going to Disneyland in 3 days to celebrate. just her, mama and daddy. SO looking forward to showering her with love and attention. she is going to have a blast. her gig and pop took her to the Frozen sing-a-long at the Performing Arts Center tonight. i can't wait for her to be home so i can hear all about it! 


Monday, November 10, 2014

11 days!

11 days until we close escrow on the new pad! this has been a long time coming. i mean really, a really long time. 7 months to be exact. we've been so lucky to have a cozy place to stay for the last 4 months-we forever are in debt to my parents. i am sure my dad cannot wait to lay on the couch and watch jeopardy uninterrupted but i am also sure he will miss sharing the breakfast bar with mila every single morning. i bet my mom is looking forward to no longer having toys strewn everywhere, in every room but i am also pretty certain she will miss dukes snuggles and milas hugs. as much as i didn't think it true, i will miss being here too.

duke is 9 months old. what?! i say this in every monthly update but how is this possible? he is walking behind his little walker toys, has 3 teeth- 2 on the bottom and 1 on the top, he loves to eat and wants what everyone else is having-not baby food, he is such a snuggle bug and i loooove it!

mila is almost 3 and the biggest joy to our hearts. we are taking her to disneyland in 3 weeks. it's going to be a blast! duke will be staying home with my parents so we can fully enjoy every joyful second with her. she can count to 13, recite her abc's, knows all her colors and many shapes, loves to do flashcards, color and paint, requests to watch Doc McStuffins and Sofia the First A LOT and has a mile long list for Santa. but don't tell her she has to sit on his lap because that is not going to happen. she is requesting daddy's lap and handing him the list instead of telling the big guy what she'd like.





i had someone tell me the other day that she read my blog, like months and months back (scary), and loved how real i was. how honest my words were. that was a compliment to me and made my heart happy. i try to be as real as possible. in my words here, my photos on instagram and the links i share on my fb feed. which is all i do on fb. life is messy. life is happy. life is so many things but one thing it is definitely not? perfect. i browse instagram a lot and i come across all kinds of lives. i don't think of them as a 'feed'. to many people, they are lives. pictures of the daily. in and out. up and down. some are the most artistic photos. some are the nitty gritty-tears, poop, hardship, laughs. mine is all of those. i don't ever want to portray that the daily is perfect-without flaw, without tears and poop and laughter and love. my daily is a mix of it all and i hope that if you take away anything from my words here or photos there, it's that this life i have is real. 

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

dutch oven tri tip sandos

this recipe is a favorite in the marks house. i make it frequently because it's super duper easy and super duper delish.

you'll need:

1 tri tip
1 yellow onion
pepper plant seasoning & bbq sauce
s & p
dutch oven
ciabatta rolls


pre heat oven 325.
brown the tri tip in a very hot iron skillet.
chop the onion and place in bottom of dutch oven.
season the meat generously with pepper plant seasoning, s & p, place on top of onion.

cook for 3-4 hours.
shred and serve on grilled ciabatta rolls with bbq sauce

i slice and butter the rolls then grill them on the cast iron skillet. they are seriously divine.

you can add cheese. serve with coleslaw, salad, beans. whatever you want. the leftovers are still amazing. so go. get this stuff and make it tomorrow!!! you won't regret it :)

a crazy calendar

a crazy calendar gives me anxiety. stresses me out. makes me feel out of control. really. as lame as it sounds it's true. and let me tell you, our calendar is nuts with a capitol N. i'm turning 28 on the 20th, plans with a girlfriend, plans with boss, family pictures, 4 halloween events plus finishing M's costume, praying we close escrow on time, packing my parents house, moving, Thanksgiving, Disneyland immediately after, baby shower two days after we get home, M is turning 3!!!! and then it's Christmas.

whoa. that is seriously crazy. all wonderful happy things that i know we will enjoy but…yeah.

i pictured moving into the new house before halloween, having carved pumpkins on our new porch, decorating and settling in. celebrating the holidays. celebrating 3 years of Mila. now that that isn't reality stinks but we will do the best we can to make the transition smooth and easy. i still can't wait to the holidays!! and i'm really looking forward to sleeping in a bedroom.



this boy. in his great uncles (what?!) cowboy hat. he is seriously to die for.
 we went to the pumpkin patch and let m fill the wagon as high as she wanted. we left with probably one of each kind of pumpkin and that's ok. 
 he's such a good daddy. m has been really in to crafts lately and i love it. it keeps her busy and she creates beauty.
we've been working on colors and counting and matching and shapes. it's so much fun to see her try so hard and succeed. she loves to learn. she is so bright. 

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

ikea

we are heading to the bay area this afternoon to visit family and go to ikea. seriously. i'm like a kid the night before christmas. i can't wait for tomorrow at 9:30. IKEAAAAAAA! i love it. they have great stuff for great prices and another bonus: not very many people where we live have it because the closest ikea is 3+ hours away. woop!

we sign contract for the new house next thursday which means we are like 30 days from moving in. yessssss. i am more excited about this news than i am about ikea. i cannot wait to see the finished product. we picked all of the interior finishes, bought our own hardware, are buying all new furniture for the dining and living, we get a playroom for the kids and the list goes on. it's going to be amazing. the perfect start to 2015!

here's a little peak into what we've chosen for the new digs:

flooring will be wood throughout, tile in the bathrooms, carpet in the bedrooms. granite on all countertops. we will be ripping out the island granite for butcher block with a different sink and faucet. also the backsplash will be removed and subway tile put in its place. (we are changing things after escrow because of the prices. what the builder is charging is seriously outrageous)

the new dining table is West Elm, white modern mid-century. the chairs are Restoration Hardware mid-century danish design; wood with metal bases. we bought an elk horn chandelier for the living space and a farm house light for the dining room. i am going to remove all of the lights they provided and sell them. not my style, but very nice. 

seriously can't wait!!!!




kiddos are great. i think they are ready to get back into our norm routine. i think we all our. including my parents. 

last week i worked Sunset's Savor the Central Coast put on by visit san luis obispo and sunset magazine. my friend jolie is the head of the Vision Team and i got to be apart for the second year. it was SO much work but so awesome. we spent 4 days at santa margarita ranch and one day working at Hearst Castle which was amazing. so cool to be behind the scenes in such a historic place that is sought upon by millions of people traveling through. awesome experience.










Saturday, September 13, 2014

The Great Pumpkin

as i was perusing target, alone, for an hour (amaze balls) this evening i was overwhelmed with the halloween/holiday stuff blasted everywhere. i mean, i get that halloween is actually right around that curvy corner but it still like 107 degrees so my mind isn't there yet. not even close. thinking i need to make my kids costumes, pack up everything at my parents to prepare for the new house…all in 6 weeks time. everything is happening at once it seems and while all of it is great stuff, it's a lot of stuff.

we are starting the tradition of The Great Pumpkin this year and i am really excited. if you know me, you know i love holidays. i love fall. i love winter. i love baskets full of goodies and i love love love making memories and traditions for our family. the great pumpkin will visit our home on the 1st of October to deliver some festive goodies to the babes. a mickey mouse halloween movie, a hello kitty pumpkin shirt, some festive stickers and such. then on halloween night the kiddos put their candy outside their door for the great pumpkin to pick up. after all are tucked in and snoozing on their candy high, he will trade the candy for a new toy/book; something they have asked for or have their eye on. my aunt did this when her babes were babes and i think it's a great idea to get rid of all the delicious candy i'd really like to hoard and eat piece by piece. i think the great pumpkin will leave this mama a small amount of the candy so she can put some in lunches or to have on hand for special treats!

moving. our new house is supposed to be finished in 6 weeks but that sounds like a load of bull. just like "we'll be in contract in two weeks." "ok, two more weeks" "ok, now two more weeks" etc etc. we've been hearing that sentence since april. seriously. it's losing its luster. on a happy note, my beautiful white shaker cabinets are installed! and some ugly lights too, but hey, at least they put those in for free.

m started school last week. duke is crawling like a mad man, still eating like a mad man and pulling up onto anything and everything. he started reaching for the next thing close to him but hasn't figurers out that he needs to move his sweet little feet to get there. this has resulted in quite a few face plants. and quite a few pouty lip tears. which is seriously the cutest face. ever.

the dream boat and i are trying to plan a vacation for spring of next year but where to?! warm sun and white sand? margaritas? or snow and cozy fires? and margaritas? i can have a margarita anywhere, yeah? i think i;m leaning toward the snowy skies and cozy fires. with margaritas. hmmmm…decisions.





oh! and we went camping in bass lake with our friends for three whole days. and it was three whole days of drinking coors lights, cocktails, eating tons of food and catching tons of rays. it was relaxing. i didn't know what to do with myself. except drink more coors lights and catch some more rays.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

lately

this picture is really just because. because look at that sweet girl! before she was a big sister. before her hair grew long. just, before. perfection.


 we went to the beach to celebrate cousin Reed's 10 birthday. bon fire. hot dogs. big sand holes. soccer. a "oogie bard'. it was great. great to see family and see my babies so happy. m loves the beach. duke just wanted to eat the sand. of course.
 i got some great shots of he and daddy. man, he is just to die for. he is crawling, sitting up and last night was the first night i felt like we had a sleep breakthrough. he has been a tough one during the night…. lets just say i probably haven't felt rested since he was born. i'm getting closer. its a miracle. really.
 maybe christmas card worthy…not sure it will get any better with 2 babes.
 cousisns jayden, reed and mila.
 me and my sweet babies.
 how we survive the witching hour: ring sling, wine and more wine!

our new house is moving right along. we are still on schedule to move in 30-45 days which puts us at end of September. cabinets and fencing are getting completed this week and we have an appointment for flooring and counters friday. please jesus let everything run on schedule. living at the parents has been better than we all expected but still, not convenient. 

anywho, life is moving right along. mila starts school in a couple of weeks, we have an adults only camping trip just after labor day, m is getting her first hair cut next week (yikes…) and duke's 6 mo check up is next week! 

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

moving, potty training and more

two months is way too long to not write. there is too much that goes on in just a short time and definitely too much in over two months! we sold our house. we moved in with my parents. new things with the new house keep getting pushed back (anxiety!). we went to tahoe (heaven!) our big girl potty trained. our big (little) boy is army crawling. she is a rockstar and he is growing too fast. and she is sleeping in a big girl bed. whaaaa?!

how do these things happen?

this girl….seriously, she's a heart melter

 in our heaven


 m and her pop

 and these two, heartbreakers


we took our babies to a bar. and it was seriously fun.

our new home


holy cutie

our soccer stud. she rocks the soccer stance, can dribble a ball down the field and love to "score!"