I need a Weekend from my Weekend

So we had an interesting weekend.

We were all set to host a backyard BBQ at our house with a few of our friends and their kids on Saturday. I was looking forward to it all week – we had prepared the ribs and the chicken wings, and I even bought gifts for the kids! But that morning when I woke up, I had a massive fever and a sore throat that went up into my ears. I was sick. For the first time since becoming a mom, I was really sick.

Do you remember what it’s like being sick without a kid? It’s all soup, and snuggles, and bed, and movies. Do you know what it’s like being sick with a kid? It’s trying to do everything you do daily, but hurting through it. While wearing a medical face mask because you don’t want to accidentally get your kid sick too. There are no snuggles, there are no movies – there is only the thought of “I need to get over this by tomorrow, so I can take care of my child.”

I really have to thank my husband here… he really stepped up this weekend and took care of the baby, the house, and me. For most of Saturday, I just lay comatose in bed, alternating between hot and cold. He knew what to do and when to do it – he handled Olive like a pro. I am so proud, and so thankful for this awesome dude.

How was your weekend? I hope it was less phlegmy than mine!

Favorite Pins This Week

We made it to Friday!

This week, my local farmers market was (finally) selling mulberries!

I had them for the first time last year (I know, I know, so late to the game, right?) and I’ve been waiting for them to come back into season ever since.

Have you had mulberries before? Will you be trying these recipes? I think I might have to try them all.

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SHOPBOP + BORNFREE

There is just so much good stuff happening this week.

I am on a posting spree.

So have you seen this? Shopbop has launched a capsule collection with BornFree, which is an initiative to end mother-to-child transmission of HIV. This collection is a collaboration with Vogue magazine and 22 leading designers (including Alexander McQueen, Celine and uber stylish mom, Victoria Beckham), and all proceeds go directly to the Born Free cause.

You guys, have you ever wanted to dress in matching designer duds with your mini? I have to admit, I have. Often. Is your husband also like, “Don’t spend money on that crap, it’s so expensive, yadda yadda?” Now, you can tell him that your matchy-matchyness is all for a good cause.

YOU ARE WELCOME!

All above items available here.

01 and 04: Isabel Marant

02 and 05: Vera Wang

03 and 06: Stella McCartney

Currently Totally Obsessed With…

I cannot get enough of this chambray + white combo.

I. Just. Cannot. Get. Enough.

Below are my 3 favorite ways to wear it.

 

Now, if only white pants were a logical thing to wear when taking care of a toddler all day.

Images from here, here, and here.

Don’t forget that it’s kind of awesome on men too:

Find him here.

The Mom Friend

Wow, it’s been almost a year since I wrote this post, about how difficult it was for me to make new friends after having Olive. I was totally, desperately seeking a Mom Friend; someone who understood how tired I was, why I was obsessed with milk intake and sleep schedules, and someone who would stand with me against the world of people-sans-kids. (Especially in restaurants, when my kid was being rowdy. Backup is always nice, then.)

In the past year, I’ve been fortunate enough to meet quite a few moms and their kids. While they are all pretty nice, I obviously wasn’t going to mesh with all of them. Everyone has different parenting philosophies, different priorities – and hey, sometimes, people just don’t click.

Somehow though, within my search, I was fortunate enough to find a few ladies who I absolutely adore. And luckily, I love their kids as well (and they, mine!). All of our kids are about the same age, and because of that, they all play really well together. Having them like each other only makes it easier for us moms to hang out, as well. We are able to discuss things like milestones, daycare searches, kid friendly recipes, or sleep problems. If I have a question, all I have to do is ask, and I’ll have answers from people who are in the same boat. Yes, you can talk to your husband (Hi Honey, You’re GREAT, yes you are.) but sometimes a female perspective really helps put your mind at ease.

This sense of camaraderie and support has proven to be essential for me to thrive as a mother. So often I find myself wallowing in a pool of anxiety and self doubt that I drive myself crazy; sharing these thoughts with likeminded women makes the burden easier to bear. It also really shows you that there is no perfect method of parenting – perfection is such a lofty goal – and you’re not the only one who feels lost, sometimes.

To all the new moms out there: try and foster your new friendships. Try to surround yourself with positive women who will encourage you to be confident in yourself. I hate to sound all guru-light-shiny, but that energy does transfer to your child. If you’re currently looking to meet new mom friends, my advice would be to put yourself out there. Until I looked, I never realized how many others felt as isolated as I did. Needing people isn’t a weakness!

Ok, go on out there. Maybe I’ll see you at the playground.

x

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The cute picture above was found here.

Happy (Belated) Easter!

Happy Belated Easter, you guys!

This past weekend, one of my friends, Melissa, hosted an awesome Easter Egg hunt for our kids. I have to say, I was skeptical at first. Olive wasn’t going to look for eggs, no way. She’s too young for that! We were also having a rough start to the morning – she woke up way earlier than usual, crying, because her canines are on their way out. So mommy was tired, Olive was tired… we were Grumpy Cat.

But Olive and I had a blast. I think she collected the most eggs out of all the kids (HAH! WE WIN! oh wait, not a competition….right.) and was so sad that the hunt was over. Melissa made the kids little felt craft boards, and hid felt cutouts in the eggs. Total awesome idea. Those craft boards came in handy when we took them out for brunch after; Olive was obsessed with hers for a good 15 minutes. That’s an eternity in ToddlerTime.

What did you do over Easter weekend? Any firsts for you or your kids?

PS: A funny DIY tutorial on toddler felt boards can be found here.

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All photos by the lovely Sadaf Murad

Favorite Pins This Week

These kids make me feel bad about myself, man.

I mean, look at how put together they are… so nonchalant and cool.

Do they make these outfits in my size? (although, I’m not so sure I can pull them off as well as these kids can!)

Happy Friday, everyone!

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How Moms Do Vegas

You might remember that a few weeks ago, I packed my bags and peaced out to Las Vegas for a mini girls getaway.

You might also remember that I was baffled about what I was going to do there, considering a) I don’t party anymore and b) I’m in bed at 10pm every night.

This trip ended up being awesome – I think one of the key things to making this trip really enjoyable was that I went with a fellow First Time Mom; so we both knew what was important….napping. Oh, also the spa. Also sleeping in. Super exciting, right?

Granted, we didn’t have to go all the way to Sin City to accomplish these things, but it was really awesome to go dancing and have a few drinks as well. It was liberating to be able to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted, and not be governed by our babies sleep schedules. At one point, we had watched a Ne-Yo mini concert, gambled a little, gone dancing, spent all day at the spa, and lined up until 1am to eat oysters. It made for a pretty beautiful weekend.

Tips for Moms who go to Vegas:

1. Get there on Friday, and if you’re going to do any drinking or partying….do it that same night. Because you’re going to need a day or two to recover from those shenanigans….and nothing is worse than going home to your kid on Sunday still hungover and tired.

2. Find a spa, and spend a few hours there. Because you deserve to be pampered, and Vegas has probably the best spas in the country. Also, because going to the spa is really conducive to the next thing you have to do:

3. Nap. Just for fun, because you probably rarely get to.

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The above image is the card that my travel buddy, Elaine of Papermade Design, sent to me after our Vegas trip together. In case you can’t read it, it says “Vegas needs to happen more often.” I couldn’t agree more. xx

Olive’s Currently Totally Obsessed With…

I know I usually write what I’m currently totally obsessed with, but I thought it’d be fun to recap what Olive is into each month.

Toddlers really develop so quickly, so sometimes they outgrow their toys and activities in a heartbeat, too. So here is what Olive is into at 16 months.

01: This push buggy is seriously so popular with kids this age. Everytime Olive sees her car, she can’t wait to get into it, and when other kids see us I swear they lose it because they want it too. (Sorry, other parents!) For kids like mine who HATE the stroller, this is one way to get them to sit for an extended period of time. Win win for mama and Olive.

02: Sidewalk chalk in 48 different colors? Yes please! Do you really need 48 colors? Probably not, but man, the colors are really pretty.

03: Olive has recently gotten into pretend play, and it’s been really fun for me to watch her “cook” and “feed” her toys. She really likes this food set, and particularly the bowl of cheerios and the mac and cheese.

04: Translated from the original book in Japanese, Everyone Poops is a a funny story that shows you different animals, and their different kinds of poop. I’m not sure Olive actually knows what I’m reading, but she likes saying the word “poop”. Classy!

05: This movie needs no introduction. Frozen was such a hit this past season that I’m sure all parents are pretty much sick of it by now. Olive has never really sat through the entire DVD, but she is obsessed with the soundtrack, particularly this song. She knows some of the lyrics! (on that note, have you seen this version of the song? I love it.)

Are your kids just nuts about a certain toy at the moment? I’m curious to know what it is.

Happy Wednesday!

How NOT to cut your Toddlers Hair

How was your weekend?

Well, mine was interesting. For some odd reason, I woke up on Saturday morning thinking that I was totally capable of cutting Olive’s hair, and giving her some attractive bangs.

I had been thinking about doing this for a while now, since her hair is always in her eyes. And I mean, how cute are bangs? (So cute.) But a baby haircut runs about $20, and she has, what, 20 strands of hair at best? So I was not going to go to get it professionally done. NO, I decided that I was capable of doing it myself.

WRONG.

Hey moms, if you’re even remotely considering doing this by yourself for the first time, let me just spare you – really, don’t. Between a squirmy toddler, you wielding sharp scissors by her face, and you having never done this before…… it never really does turn out as well as you expect.

I’m thinking it’ll take a month for this terrible mom-cut to grow out? After that, I’m going to willingly spend that $20 to get her a better haircut that she totally deserves.

Sorry, Olive.