Our Favorite Bedtime Books

My kiddo loves books! And he always has. Even as a baby, he'd reach for books before toys. These days, he's found a love for toys, but he still craves stories.
Today I thought I'd share our favorite bedtime books. Not only does my toddler love these books, but I do too. These stories have a common bedtime theme and help calm my toddler, easing him into our night routine. So, in no particular order:

Tips for the Sick Stay-At-Home Mama

It was the last week of December... I was looking forward to the New Year. I love how the New Year feels like a fresh start and can often be all you need to create a new, healthy habit. I had some super plans... yoga, zoo visits, hanging out with new friends, even a weekend trip.

And then it hit me. I was sick. With a cold.

So I canceled my weekend plans. And put off the yoga. I thought I felt better, but it hit me again. And again and again. Ugh! It was the cold that would never end (in fact, the doc said I had bronchitis).

Suddenly, my whole life felt like it was on hold so I could get better. But wait... not my whole life. I'm a mom. Everyone knows... moms do not get a day off. Especially, a stay-at-home mom with a kiddo too young for school. Damn.

Hiatus is over!

You are going to have to forgive me for not keeping up with my blog for four long months!

Here are my excuses for why I've been slacking lately:

1. I moved... that ain't easy, we all know it.
2. I got busy... sure sometimes "busy" meant watching TV, but nonetheless, I was busy.
3. I have a toddler.
4. I wasn't feeling inspired. That's hard to say, but it's the truth. I would think of my blog, but not know what to write.
5. My blog motives were wacky... I've wanted to blog for years, but I don't think I was approaching it correctly. My blog motives have now been refocused.
6. I got pregnant. And then I lost my pregnancy in October at 8 weeks. It was devasting. 
7. I have a lot of family in the area where we moved and we've been traveling to see them. 
8. We all got sick... I'm still a little sick as I type this. 

So... I've had a few bumps in the road. One of the biggest issues was my blog motives. When you first start a blog you see all these awesome examples of blogs and you want to be just like them. But let me tell you firsthand, it takes a lot of time and hard work to get there. There isn't a fast fix to awesome blogger-ness. Some people claim there is, but those are gimmicks. And those gimmicks have helped them be successful. However, I didn't want to be about gimmicks. I want to be real. So refocusing on being real is my priority.

Thank you so much for your patience. I'm glad you're still here for the ride. I have some great stuff planned and the best news of all... it's a real part of me and what I stand for.

Fresh Peaches: Recipe Roundup

Ah! Summertime! One of the great things about Summer is the delicious fruits and veggies. One of the not-so-great things about Summer is watching my toddler refuse to eat those delicious fruits and veggies.
I love peaches. And peach flavored stuff! In fact, I could go for a frozen Peach Daquiri right about now. But that requires rum, which I do not have and I don't want to put pants on to go buy some. I recently bought some peaches for us to eat and **surprise, surprise** the toddler doesn't like them. He's nuts! Well, I had to come up with a way to finish these peaches off before they go bad. And I thought I'd share a few of the recipes I found on Pinterest to use fresh peaches.

Trolls Themed Birthday Party

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A few days back, my little boy turned two and we threw him a Trolls themed birthday party. The party itself was small... we only invited two other little boys to join. But it was perfect for my kiddo.
To say he loves Trolls is an understatement. I'm embarrassed at the number of times he has watched it (and at the number of times I've used the movie to get some peace or to finish the dishes). That, however, is not the point. The point is that he is obsessed with the movie, the songs, the characters... everything! So picking the Trolls theme was easy.

I really focused on decorations because the party itself was just his two friends coming over, them eating pizza, watching the movie and playing with toys (and later cake). I didn't worry about activities or games because they are so young.
And I tried to DIY it to save money. Some things I had so overall I spent less than $50 on everything for the party minus the pizza we ordered.

Saturday Fun: Hiking with My Toddler

When we woke up this morning, we could tell immediately that the weather was going to be great. My hubby is busy with work stuff, so my little guy and I decided to go to one of the local nature centers. My kiddo calls it "see animals" because, besides the hiking trails, they also have a building with critters inside. We didn't get a chance to see the critters today because I decided it was best to take advantage of the great weather we were having (lately it's been all rain).

One of the things I really love about this nature center is the fact that they have tons of things for toddlers to do. Yes, they have the critters inside (rabbits, snakes, turtles, birds) but they also have a playroom and a small children's hiking trail. We stopped to see the outdoor enclosures with the owl, hawk, and crow but then we walked the trail a few times. We enjoyed the few hours we were there and he is already asking to go "see animals" again.

What We Do All Day Long (Just the Toddler and I)

When I first became a stay-at-home mama a few months back, I was desperate for a routine. It was very chaotic around here because we had just moved to New York from Florida. I was still unpacking and I was still trying to figure out what a stay-at-home mama did. My 22-month-old son and I were just a hot mess every day (waking up whenever, eating whenever, forgetting to change clothes, forgetting what damn day it was, and more). So my solution was a schedule including a morning and evening routine. And once we had a plan, everything was so much easier!