Thanksgiving 2015

For Thanksgiving this year, we all headed over to my Aunt and Uncle's house in Mesa for food, fun, and family. And there was so much food. And so much family. And yes, so much fun. My favorite part? Probably the pie. There were so many different kinds -but somehow no one brought pumpkin pie??

Fox and Sloane had a blast with my cousin's daughter, Abby. They were so cute together, just playing behind the couch for most of the evening. Sloane looks a little terrifying in the above photo -pretty sure she's just repeating words back to us (really loud). It's her new favorite thing:)

Me: Fox, how many babies are in Bethany's tummy? 
Fox: "TWO!" Yay for twins!
I have no babies in my tummy, but I'm pretty sure I ate enough for two or three. It's a skill.

I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful. I love getting to spend time with our families -especially when there is also a ton of food around. Can't wait til we all get together again at Christmas!

Anyone else busting out the Christmas decorations this week?


Scary Angry Mama

I don't say this to brag, I just want to make it clear: I have really great kids (just look at that face-squishing hug above). They are so nice, thoughtful, fun, funny, friendly, and helpful. And so many other great things. Me on the other hand ...well, I try. I don't want to put myself down to sound like I'm fishing for compliments, but I am aware of some of my short-comings. And I am always working on becoming better. And Camaron: perfect. He's the best dad ever. Nothing more to say on that. But most of the time, it's just me home with the kids. Well, Camaron might actually be alone with them just as much, but I have the afternoons and evening usually. The time of day when we're all just tired. And worn out. And patience is just really hard to find sometimes. 

I guess what I'm getting at with all of this information is that last night was just bad.

It was the perfect storm of no naps for either kid, my schedule/routine just being off from not working that day, me also being tired, and just the normal stress of being a mom. Most of the afternoon was fine. We played, watched shows, ate, played with forts, cleaned up ...and then it was time for bed. 

Sloane went right down (she's a pro at her bedtime routine). Fox didn't. Something went wrong (maybe something I said, or the whole no nap thing?) and he just stopped functioning like a rational person altogether. He was all ready for bed, laying with his head on his pillow when the tantrum started. I couldn't help at all. He wanted to answer a question I had asked (The question was "what are some nice things you do for others?" in reference to the scripture we had read together), but whenever I said "ok, go ahead" he just said "I don't know." And whenever I tried to say or do anything else, he got upset and brought up that he wanted to answer the question. But again, "I don't know." And he wouldn't let me help him answer. So eventually, I told him I had to leave. "But I want to answer the question!!" I was in a pickle. And it was making me angry. This kid needed to go to sleep! Why wouldn't he just say something when I let him answer the question?! I wanted to go eat my dinner! Uggh!

I quickly became scary, angry mama. Patience: long gone. 

It wasn't pretty. I became rude and not helpful at all. I didn't yell, but my voice was scary. Basically, I would never want an adult to ever see me like this. And it made me even angrier that I was being this way with Fox. He didn't deserve that. But I had basically lost it and it was too late. 

I was finally able to leave with him not running after me, so I could cool down by myself. I don't know how, but I quickly became myself again. I calmed down and felt better. Fox had gotten quiet. I suspected he fell asleep. I thought of just leaving it at that, because he was asleep. I had met my goal. But why was that my goal? Shouldn't my goal at the end of the day be more than just enduring until the kids go to bed? So I went back in there*.

I laid down next to him and he turned toward me and smiled. How did he forget how mean I just was so quickly? I asked him what his favorite part of today was. He started jabbering about the feast they had earlier that day in preschool to celebrate Thanksgiving. Then we talked about our family's Thanksgiving coming up on Thursday. We discussed who would be there (Bowski isn't invited "because he knocks everybody down," according to Fox). We talked about the foods we would eat. We talked about daddy and Sloane. We giggled, hugged, gave back scratches, and said good night. It was wonderful.

I wish there was a switch in my brain that I could flip that would keep scary angry mama from appearing ever again. I really do. But at least I know that if/when she does, I am incredibly blessed to have kids who don't hold grudges. Who quickly move on and love with their whole hearts. Who hug and give good night kisses. I want to be more like them:)

*he still sleeps in our room. But not in our bed anymore. We put a mattress on the ground for him. Baby steps.


When Your Kids Do Better at the Doctor's Office Than You Do

Both of the kids had doctor's appointments today. No one is sick, just the standard annual checkup (well, Sloane isn't quite annual yet, but she's getting there). Usually, no matter how the appointment goes, I would say that the kids rocked it -because they're always doing their best. But they seriously rocked it (like really hard) this time.

Sloane wasn't even phased when they weighed and measured her. I'm pretty sure that scale was her favorite part of the whole visit. And it's not a huge surprise, but Sloane is in the 90th percentile for height. It's not much of a shock because she's only 17 months but is wearing Fox's footie pajamas from when he was two and a half. Girl is tall. Also, let it be known that they are two years apart, but only eight pounds apart. But even more important, they are both healthy and doing great:) Fox just has a little rash on his chin from licking his lips too much (the pics above were taken before it developed). Has anyone else's kids had this? Any tips on getting him to quit?

The best part of the appointment though, was when the kids got their shots. Yes, you heard me right. We had Fox go first and he wasn't nervous at all (mostly because I bribed him with Christmas cookies). He was a little sad right after getting the shots, but perked up quickly once he saw the doctor's stickers:) Then, as Sloane was getting positioned to get her shots, Fox fed her all kinds of comforting words about how it would be ok and wouldn't even hurt very bad:) It was the sweetest thing ever. It's basically the whole reason I decided to write about their appointment at all.

I swear, I've done worse at doctor appointments as an adult than these two did today. And what a huge blessing that was. I don't know about you, but I tend to get really nervous/anxious at my kid's doctor appointments, so this was just such a great relief -you never want to see your kids in pain or uncomfortable or scared. I know doctor visits won't always go this way (especially the ones when they are scheduled together), so I want to recognize the ones that do, and remember them. It's the season for counting blessings, and today this was one.

Thank you // Watercolor Giveaway

watercolor giveaway

A few months ago, during the summer, I noticed the number of sales I had in my Etsy shop. I don't pay a ton of attention to my shop's stats (I should probably be better about that), but I check on them occasionally to see if there are areas I can improve to help my shop be more successful. I don't remember the exact number of sales that day, but it was high enough that I felt proud of myself and I decided to set a goal. I wanted to reach 1,000 sales before the end of the year. 1,000 felt like a good number. A pretty neat mile stone. Once I set my goal, I really started paying attention.

I checked my stats more regularly. I did more research on growing my shop and increasing sales. I created more prints to add to my shop. I worked harder. And I knew I would reach my goal. I could see my work paying off and I could see my goal getting closer and closer. I thought I might even reach my goal early, right at my shop's first anniversary. Wouldn't that have been cool? But I didn't quite make it ...It came one month later. 
It came this weekend. Before the end of the year. I made my 1000th sale. 

*insert all the happy dance gifs *
...and this pic
Michael Scott dance

Sure, I put in work for this, but there's no way I could have ever reached my goal without all of you. The support you've shown me -and not even just through purchasing my work, but through kind words, advice, inspiration, patience... You guys are amazing! And I just want to say thank you! Thank you for being so great! 

And as a special thank you/celebration gift, I'm doing a GIVEAWAY! An artist I've recently become kind of obsessed with is Bethany Eden. Her watercolors are so beautiful and I love the emotion you can feel behind each piece. And the colors. Oh, I love how vibrant her colors are. 

watercolor giveaway
watercolor giveaway
watercolor giveaway
watercolor giveaway

The lucky winner will receive the gorgeous floral print above (I think it would look so cute in a nursery ...or a kitchen ...or anywhere, really), along with the box of thank you cards -both beautifully painted by Bethany Eden. Enter below and receive additional entries by entering on my Instagram post as well. Good luck! 
Giveaway ends Saturday night.

Bethany Eden Watercolor Giveaway

***Ok, I know some of you are thinking, "Why are you giving away someone else's artwork when you just went through this long-winded post all about your own artwork??" Well, the best way I can explain it is that I'm so excited and grateful to have reached my goal and what better way to show appreciation for the support I have received than to pass it on to a fellow artist who also works hard and has goals? I hope that makes sense.

My First Boutique

art prints craft fair booth

I've been selling my prints online for just over a year now (and just made my 1000th sale!), but my first ever boutique experience happened this weekend. I always thought it would be fun to sell my prints in my own little booth and get to meet people and you know, the whole boutique/craft fair experience. It just sounded fun. 

How did it go? Well let's just say, it can only go up from here, right? 

Have you ever heard of Murphy's Law? Basically, anything that could go wrong, went wrong. Here we go: 

I meant to have a wall behind me with prints hanging, but at the last minute I found out some pieces didn't fit and I didn't have time to go exchange them. So, no cute wall or way to really display each print:/

When I went to go pick up prints (after they had already taken a day longer than the original "2 hours" they said it would take), they still weren't done. So I just went to a different printer altogether. Please give me props for not crying when the first printers told me they hadn't even started when I went to go pick them up the day before the boutique. I got so close, but I was able to keep it together.

Then while I was cropping the 5x7 prints, I discovered they were slightly smaller than 5x7. Great. A bunch of irregular-sized prints. Aka useless. And no time to print more.

Oh yeah, I somehow double-booked myself the day of the boutique. It was the same day of the Time Out For Women conference that my sister, mom, cousin, aunt, and I had all planned to go to. I was super lucky that Camaron wanted to run my booth for me. He's the best. So, I actually didn't even get to have the whole boutique experience in person. I got the set-up-for-a-boutique experience though (that was when we took the above pic:) )

And I ended up being scheduled to work all week before the big day, so I was incredibly strapped for time. And everything took longer than planned. So the night before the boutique and women's conference, I was that pathetic, crying mess who stayed up until 3am getting everything ready. It was terrible. I got to the point where I figured it really wouldn't be that big of a deal if I just didn't do either of my huge commitments for the next day. Just stay home and sleep and no more stress. Camaron got home from work around midnight (crazy work schedule) and, because he is the absolute sweetest, got right into the "how can I help?" mode. I would not have been able to get out of my funk if it weren't for him. Anyone know when the Best Husband Award nominations are due??

See what I mean? Why was this so much harder than it needed to be?

But even though I had a rough time and the majority of customers only bought the discounted irregular-sized prints (who were these people?), I left the experience ready for more. I'm already prepping for my next boutique in December. I got all the dirty work out of the way, so the next boutique should be way easy, right? I'll be sure to give you a heads up the night before the boutique, so you can send provisions (all the soda and cookies, please).

Highlights of the weekend:

Time Out For Women was sooooo good! I'm so glad I was able to go

After my super late and stressful night, my mom surprised me with a delicious smoothie on our way to the conference. It was seriously such a lifesaver. Yay moms!

We ate a The Arrogant Butcher for lunch and it was amazing. And our waiter looked just like Richard Gere and John Cusack somehow.

I got a nap when I got home that afternoon. Yes.

You can find my shop HERE

Sharing the Bed

Each night before bed, for as long as we've been married, Camaron and I do the same thing. Right before going to sleep, as we're getting comfortable on our pillows, Camaron and I will lean over toward each other, say "goodnight. I love you," then kiss. For the last few months, that routine has slightly changed. The part where we "lean over toward each other" has changed to "we lean over Fox toward each other." Fox has become quite fond of sleeping in our bed at night. Every night. 

Most of the time, we don't mind at all. He's an adorable sleeper ...when he's not kicking or head-butting, or waking up demanding treats or milk. We experienced all of the latter last night, so Camaron and I decided that sharing the bed has got to end. We've never planned on it being a permanent thing, of course, but we just kept putting it off for some reason. I would have made last night the last night, but then I got sick today, so maybe we'll try tomorrow. 

Ok, about getting sick: It was so embarrassing. At work, I was helping someone with a return and I just got really light-headed. You know the feeling, when it feels like all the blood just drains from your face? The worst. I went to the back (had to fake tying my shoe on the way, because I couldn't stand any longer) to drink some water and have a little snack to hopefully help whatever was happening. But when I went back up front, it happened again. I had to leave mid-transaction again:( My bosses were really nice though and said I could go home. I decided that was best, so I called Camaron to come pick me up. And no, I'm not pregnant. You better believe that's what everyone asked me. 

Back to the important stuff now: any tips on getting a child to sleep in their own bed? A child who really doesn't want to go back to his bed? And shares a room with his little sister, so I don't think we can just have him cry it out or anything like that? Is this going to be as rough as I predict it will be?

Snapshots // Birthday Week

It's was such a great week! Camaron surprised me each day with something fun (clean house, new work space, pie...) He's so great. On Sunday, we had a little family party at my parents' house, with plenty of cake. I think I'm making my birthday wish in the top picture;) And notice all of the pictures taken outside?? The weather has been perrrrrrfect around here lately. We've been going on evening walks a lot. I love this time of year. Fyi, that picture in the stroller was purely the kids' choice. We do have a double stroller. And contrary to the look on Sloane's face, they actually liked it -no complaints our whole walk. More cake and free food on my actual birthday, so it was a wonderful day:)

Thanks for the birthday wishes!! Thirty, flirty, and thriving!

The Night Before I Turn 30

Tomorrow, I turn 30. 
This isn't what I originally wanted to write about. 
I would have loved to write about our Halloween, with plenty of costume pictures ...but we don't have any pictures of us in our costumes. And it's driving me crazy. It got too dark too fast, so it just didn't happen. I am just going to hold on to the hopes that we'll stage some photos this week, so I'm saving that Halloween post until then. Is it as tacky as I think it is to post Halloween pics later this week? Oh well. I'll just post some photos I took earlier in the day on Halloween to tide everyone over for now. 

But, as I mentioned earlier, tonight is my last night in my twenties.

I don't know how I feel about it yet. I feel like age becomes less and less important as you get older. Like, when you're fresh out of high school and going to lots of parties and meeting new people all the time, it seemed like you told people your age all the time (Which just sounds really weird now. Why were people asking each other's ages so much? Weird). But I swear, in the last year I've only said my age out loud like two times. And one of those times, it came out as a question. "I'm 29 ...?" It didn't sound right, so I wasn't sure if I was right.

Ok, I have to pause Netflix to write the rest of this. I'm not saying what show I'm watching though, because it's embarrassing. Ok, ok, it's Jane the Virgin. Ok? But that's what happens when there's only one season of Fixer Upper available and I get totally sucked into it and then I'm devastated that that was it. I need more! But I don't have cable! I need a new "me" show that just I watch while Camaron is at work. But all of the other HGTV show on Netflix are lame. How did I pick Jane the Virgin? Why am I still watching it? Wow, this is becoming quite the tangent. Alright, back to the serious writing. I've read posts where people are like "30 is going to be the best year ever!" Or people are just so bummed that their twenties are over that it is never spoken of. I'm neither of these. 

I'm more of a "well, we'll just have to see what happens" type. 

But I don't mean that in a "thirty-shmirty" way -like it's no big deal. I want to be celebrated, gosh dangit! 
This is a big deal. I've come a long way, and I am grateful.
Just ten years ago, I was a completely different person. I was incredibly shy. I was (I'll admit it) pretty self absorbed -I wish I was there more for some of my friends who went through huge life changes early in their lives. I didn't really have any direction and didn't know what I wanted. I was also a pretty fun person -always up for an adventure. Always making fun memories. And I was, like, really funny (I'm so glad I kept a journal ...and that FB has that timeline).

I love who I've become. At 30, I am a confident mother of two amazingly wonderful children. I am a wife to an amazing husband. I get to work selling my own art -that I love creating and growing with everyday. I care more and am starting to understand empathy. I still love adventures (although, they definitely take more planning and preparation now). And I work hard to continue making fun memories. And I'm still funny. Maybe more than before. Who knows? I'll give the full report once I'm actually 30 (which is about an hour from now). 

Let's do this, 30.

p.s. all of my expectations for what 30 will be like are from binge-watching 13 Going On 30 when it first came out, fyi. Don't let me down, Jennifer Garner.

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