My Opinion, Let Me Share It

I've had a few things rolling around my head for the past couple of weeks, but have not had the opportunity to share them.  What can I say?  Other than my husband, who has been working a ton lately, my audiences consist of children under four and other moms with children under four.  We are a liiiiiittle distracted.

So, now that I have a captive audience, here we go... :)

Tip #1: Beauty Balm :: I LOVE IT! ::
Do you know about beauty balm?  Of course you do, I googled it and it has been around since the 1960's.  I'm sure it's been on the makeup market in vast supply for years and I've just missed it.  Somewhere, my sister is rolling her eyes because I'm behind on everything.  She's probably been using beauty balm since 1998.

Beauty balm, for anyone who doesn't know, is a combination of foundation, moisturizer, some sort of serum, and I'm really not sure what else--but it is fabulous.  I've used Laura Mercier's tinted moisturizer on my skin for years.  It is a lovely product but there are two big problems--it is expensive and I am cheap.  I've refused to venture off to try something else because I hate, hate, HATE trying products and not liking them.  It's such a waste of money!

I tried Garnier's very reasonably priced beauty balm on a whim (it was on sale at Target so I bit the bullet) and I am now in a very serious relationship with it.

Tip #2: Chocolate Almond Butter :: I LOVE IT! ::
I read a Facebook post from Ashley about chocolate almond butter and decided to try it.  I had no idea how easy it was to make (grind up almonds in a food processor for several minutes and, once it is the consistency of coarse peanut butter, mix in melted chocolate) or that it required so few ingredients.

We have a ton of leftover almonds in our house at all times because we buy the mixed nut jar from Costco and Rhett and Cate decimate the pecans, macadamia nuts, and cashews, but leave the raw almonds and Brazil nuts for me.  Thanks guys, I'm not even that big a fan of nuts.  But this almond butter is heaven on earth.  I even toss some Brazil nuts into my almond butter and eat it on saltines because I am crazy like that.  I may or may not have had it for dinner tonight.

Tip #3: Maskcara's Blog :: I LOVE IT! ::
Are you a total makeup novice like me?  I never thought I'd be so, hmmm, pathetic(?) at makeup application in my early 30's but I am.  FACT: Most tweens are better than I am.  So I am glad I stumbled upon Maskcara's blog on Pinterest.

The girl, Cara, who writes the blog is a professional makeup artist and she is just so darn helpful.  I had never used self tanner before, had never even heard of contouring, and had zero clue you could use makeup to even out your eyebrows.  Side note: the eyebrow thing makes a HUGE difference.  I'm still a novice, but at least now I'm not a complete klutz putting makeup on.

Tip #4: QuickZip Sheet Sets :: I LOVE THEM! ::
I have told this to anyone who will listen and I was reminded of my love of the QuickZip sheet sets on amazon.com this week--they are the best baby purchase ever.  There is no other product I have constantly marveled at and wouldn't want to live without.  I've had mine for four years and they are still going strong.

The sheet sets have a top sheet that zips off of a fitted sheet so there is no hassle when you have to change a crib sheet.  Have you ever tried to get a mattress out of a crib?  It's a pain!  Charlotte had terrible allergies this week so I've had to change her sheets daily.  It took me all of two seconds to get that done--so easy!  I will be in serious mourning when I no longer have any kids in a crib.

Tip #5: Salt Water Sandals :: I LOVE THEM! ::
I read on Design Mom's blog eons ago that the only shoes you need for a kid are the following: a set of slip on sneakers (like Vans), flip flops, and church shoes.  I totally agree with her, anything else is unnecessary and don't even get me started on buying tie shoes for a child.  Don't do it!

Design Mom recommends Salt Water Sandals for summer church shoes.  We recently ordered these for both girls and we ALL love them.  We've had multiple full-on meltdowns when I have told the girls they can't wear them.  And it wasn't just the baby crying.

That's all of my tips for now--back to the chocolate almond butter I go!

Thought of the Day

As a mom in a new(ish) city, today's thought on Real Simple's site made me really happy.  It is so true--making friends makes the daily grind so much sweeter.

Ten Years

Today is my husband's birthday and a sort-of milestone for Rhett and me.  We have now been together for ten years.  Ten!  An entire decade.  He would joke and say "Is that all??!?"  Har har.

The first birthday gift I got him was a set of headphones.  He and I worked together in a US Senator's office and, while we did sit right next to each other, we rarely talked during work hours because he was always listening to music on his computer.  Of course, he couldn't listen to it out loud, so Rhett had to have headphones.  The ones he had looked sort of like this:

Headphones similar to Rhett's--just much more non-falling apart-ish.

The headphones were stylish in a 1987 sort of way.  So I bought him the kind that went around the back of your head and instantly he was cool.  You're welcome, dear.

Two days later we went off to the wedding of one of his college friends in Williamsburg.  After witnessing his closest buddies do things like dance with fake trees and bite each other in the groin, I decided I was smitten.

We've had a good run over the past ten years and there is no one I'd want to spend my life with than Rhett.  He is funny, sweet, hard working, smart (too smart), and the best darn dad you've ever seen.  And dreamy.

Yes, I know he'd joke that the past ten years have felt more like three times that, but the fact is, we have blinked and now we've got this:

And this:

Some of this:

This crazy pair:

And this:

Cheers to the next ten!  And happy, happy birthday, love of my life.

Childhood

"A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost."

-Marion C. Garretty

Dress Up

Kate Spade said "Playing dress up begins at age five and never truly ends."  I have to disagree...

Royal cape and a tutu?  Don't mind if I do.

I'm pretty sure there aren't many things my not yet one and a half-year-old would rather do.

Homemade Yogurt Drinks

We are new to the yogurt drink phenomenon, and have made up for lost time by consuming approximately 1,000 of those Danimals smoothies over the past three or four weeks.

Cate was at a friend's house and cleared out their supply.  She then came home and asked to get them.  I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I said "Yes, sure!"  It sounded fairly healthy and, frankly, like just the kind of no-effort snack I love to give the girls.  Me likey.

Enter the Danimals yogurt drink:

Danimals Strawberry Banana smoothies=Crack cocaine for little ones

These things single handedly thrust Charlotte into figuring out how to open the refrigerator.  Every time she would see the fridge door open, she would make a beeline and start making sounds not unlike a smoke alarm until a new yogurt drink was procured.  Once I started making sure Charlotte was out of the room before opening the fridge, she took matters into her own hands.

Soon we were plowing through the 12-pack in two days.  Rhett was remarking that the drinks were like pacifiers and I was serving them up like hotcakes to bring peace to my household.  And those suckers are expensive.  Me no likey.

Then I found out, from another mom, the very complicated recipe to make the Danimals drinks...mix strawberry yogurt and milk--slightly more yogurt than milk.  Bonus points for putting it in a Danimals bottle.  

I enacted Operation: Fool My Children and served up their favorite (homemade) yogurt drinks today.  

They were none the wiser.  Mwahahahahaha...

Thought for Today

God bless those that rushed to protect, comfort, donate, and help, however possible, those affected by the Boston bombings.  Our thoughts are with you and everyone touched by this tragedy.

Simple Pleasures

The burst of warm weather this week was total and complete heaven for us.  We have been enjoying the simple pleasures around our house and neighborhood.

Cate had the idea to "do science" and we settled on planting some seeds and seeing if we could get anything to sprout.  While my mom is an expert gardener and all-around green thumb, I did not get that gene.  So, fingers crossed that Cate gets to see something grow beyond the weeds in our yard.

After a quick trip to Home Depot yesterday, we started by potting some pansies by our front door.

Cate watering while Charlotte and Snow White watch.

Here is an example of how non-green thumbish I am.  See the picture above?  See how Cate is not using an actual watering can?  It's a milk jug with holes punched in the cap.  Sigh...

Anyway, after the pansies, we got to the main event--planting our seeds.  At Home Depot, Cate selected pink and purple morning glories and violas while I chose to go the (less exciting) herb route by picking basil and parsley.  Here is Cate with some herb seed packets and our new pots:

Cate explained to me that her shoes were very appropriate for gardening--I wasn't buying it.

Bring on the seeds!

Cate was very careful to get her seeds in the perfect positions.

Finally we got everything planted and watered while Charlotte watched.

Morning glories, violas, sweet basil, and parsley--check, check, checkity check. 

Just try to take her ball from here...we dare you.

After that, we headed to the playground for some more fun...

Boo!

 ...and then enjoyed lunch and homemade popsicles on the deck.

Heaven.

 Ahhh...warm weather.  Never leave us again.

Twins

When I look at Cate and Charlotte, I think they look like sisters, but I don't think they look too much alike.  But then I started going through old pictures of Cate and found something like this...

Cate, Summer 2010

and it reminded me of recent pictures of Charlotte like this...

Charlotte, Spring 2013

and I realized I had no idea what I was talking about.

The Reader

Cate is at the point where she is starting to identify words, but it's pretty limited.  "No" is one she knows everytime--haha--but most others are shaky.  So I was pretty surprised when she asked to read me one of her princess stories...until ten seconds in when I realized she had just memorized the book.

I quickly whipped out my phone to get as much on video as I could.

Funny girl!

Spring Break with Yaya and Poppa

This week is Spring Break for Rhett's mom so she and his dad made the trek to our house for a few days.  We all love a good Yaya and Poppa visit.  They are good to the girls and keep them constantly entertained in so many ways.

Cate, Yaya, and Poppa went to the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center where Cate got to see her first movie.  We thought a 40-minute IMAX with no scary characters would be a nice trial--and she did pretty well except for asking questions at full volume throughout the entire show :)  What can I say, the girl has an inquisitive mind.

She got to see a view of earth from space and was mostly delighted that our planet appears to be, at least a little, pink.  Of course that was her observation.

We also made some pinecone bird feeders, which actually turned out to be squirrel feeders.  It was a team effort--I picked up some pinecones on a dog walk, Yaya put them on strings, Poppa and Cate slathered on peanut butter, and Cate rolled everything in birdseed.

The all-star squirrel feeder making team.

Being oh-so careful under Poppa's watchful eye...

Ta-da!

The finished product.

A liiiiittle over-excited to hang a pinecone...

Come and get it, squirrels!

I did see a few cardinals and robins hanging out by the tree where we hung the feeders, but mostly I saw squirrels on kamikaze missions to bring the cones down.  And down they came.  Oh well...we tried!

Yaya and Poppa also cooked an early birthday dinner for Rhett, made me guacamole, took the girls to the playground, did some errands for me, and made the girls laugh a lot.  Come back soooooooon!