Leap Day Vlog

If you watched 30 Rock last week, then you saw Leap Day William throw a great celebration for this day that comes only once every 4 years. So since this day is so rare, I thought I'd do something equally rare - a vlog.

Have you Rue La La'd?

I love fashion, funny women, good deals, and good causes. So last week when Rue La La contacted me to ask if I would be interested in promoting Busy Philipp's upcoming boutique "Doing a Little Good" I was ecstatic. I've been a fan of hers since the movie "white chicks," which I doubt anyone of you saw but it's one of those hidden treasures :) Opening March 1st, Busy's boutique will feature items personally selected by her for moms and children that reflect her eclectic style and encourages women to "live out loud." Some brands that will be featured are Twirls and Twigs, Tutu Couture, Tibi Dress, and Alex Toys {isn't that the cutest little art center? I can so see Ev in a beret painting away! } And here's where the good cause comes in - all proceeds generated will go to Philipp's charity of choice, The Step Up Woman's Network, in Busy's name.

So be sure to check out Rue La La tomorrow, March 1st, for Busy's opening day!
Here's your invite!

All hopped up on IHOP!

Did you go to free pancake day at IHOP? If not, I think we might have to stop being blogger friends. It's not because of you. Really. It's because of us. We're cheap and love free things, especially free pancakes, and I'm sure there are alot of classier people out there that aren't blogging about loading themselves up on triple stacks with butter pecan syrup, so I won't blame you if you leave us freebie scavengers in the corner. But it was dang good.

another week already!

We had such a good weekend! Jared, being the wonderful husband he is, offered to give me a break on Friday night and I went out with some girlfriends to Red Robin. {I know, you would have thought I'd pick some place a bit more classy like Maggianos or some non-chain restaurant, but I was craving my clucks and fries!} It was great to be out and about, eating my food when it was hot rather than feeding my little baby first and then getting to my cold food. But I have to say the best part of the night was coming home to Jared and having him rave about how much fun he had with Ev. He was going on and on about the books they read, her chatter, cuddles, and how interactive they were together. It just made my heart sing.

And now it's Monday. The weekend flew by. Ev had a restless night and I rocked her to sleep 4 times through the course of the evening, but she still decided to wake up at 7am today :) The joys of it all. So here we kicked it on the couch this morning, keeping an eye out for doggies through the window, eating bananas and watching the Oscars in review. Did you happen to see that cirque du soleil number? Insane! Definitely on my bucketlist to make it to one of those crazy shows.

rompers

I thrift shop. A lot. I only buy skirts for myself though. Everything else kinda gives me the heebie geebies. But when I was at the consignment store the other day and walked by these beauties, I just pictured Evelyn frolicking through the summer rays with golden whispy curls {which I hope come soon} in these pink rompers. They seemed too perfect to pass up.

when you get two vials of blood drawn from your arm...

.... you get to take an extra long rubba dub dub in the tub tub tub!

playing peek a boo

Bath times are always a favorite. Lately, Ev likes to drink the bath water from her little buckets, to which I have to say no to. This usually results in me having to take the buckets away from her, but the girl still finds a way to get her water. She gets on all fours and laps it up like a dog, looks at me and smirks. And I laugh. And let her do it over and over because it's funny.

we're going on a dog hunt

It was so beautiful outside on Saturday that Ev and I decided to get some fresh air. So we camped out on the lawn {where I soaked my tush on the damp ground}, ate an orange and waited for some doggies to come by.

Ev loves oranges, peel and all. Can you tell ;)

All weekend I have been DAYDREAMING about spring. I have to admit that I have had a huge case of the winter blues lately. It's not that I don't like the season itself, I just hate being cooped up inside all day and add a toddler on top of that it's just no fun. And our baby friends get sick or we're sick and it just makes for a couple of rough months. So I was so happy to open up BH&G March issue and see a two page spread on summer things to do in Virginia! I was sooo thrilled that of all 50 states they highlighted the one we're living in and that made me feel so much better about what is ahead for us during the summer months. Come on, Spring, don't be intimidated by the groundhog's shadow - show yourself already!

Funny Friday - I ran over an old man

I originally posted this story 2 years ago, but seeing that the majority of you weren't around then, I thought you'd get a good laugh out of it :) 

 "A couple nights ago in the shower I was thinking about how much I LOVE people who aren't afraid to share embarrassing stories about themselves. I LOVE funny stories. My friend Robin has THE ULTIMATE - I have yet to find someone to top hers. I'd share it, but she tells the story WAY better than I could, plus I don't have her permission but seriously, its classic. After thinking about all the funny stories I've had the pleasure of indulging in, I then got kinda lamed out because I didn't have anything cool to share. Like that get to know you game 3 truths and lie? I feel like I'm never creative enough to share something. My lie is always "I've had braces." Really? That's all I can lie about? My teeth? So I started to dig real deep into my past to find something. I don't know why, because its not like tomorrow morning someone is going to ask me to play 3 truths and a lie, but I need to have a story just in case. I found one. TRUTH: I ran over an old man.

It was the summer of 2008 and I was on my way to work as a swim instructor. My sister and I would ride our bikes to work along the bike path. We were coming up on a tunnel. Tunnels seem safe and wide and an unlikely place for a remarkable story. That is until an old man is coming down the hill and heading straight toward you. There I was, about to emerge from the tunnel when the old man enters. He's about 5 feet in front of me. I'm in the right side of the lane. He enters on the right - why he didn't stick to his right is unknown to me. Maybe he was drawn to my riding skills and my attractive one-piece navy swimsuit with my name stitched on it {while I am no longer pictured in the staff photo, see here if you can't envision the swimsuit.} At any rate, I looked at him and thought "Crap, i'm gonna hit this old man!" so I did. The force threw me off my bike but I'm so agile I quickly popped up without a scratch. I turned around and there lay the old man - still on the tunnel cement.  Did the dude die? He seemed to be gasping for air. So I ran over to him with my body shaking from shock and asked him if he was ok. He seemed to be in the same state I was. He said he couldn't move. At first I panicked and thought he was paralyzed with a punctured lung, but then I realized that this old man probably could move. And he could. I was first terrified not by the prospect of this injured man suing me but that I was gonna be late to work and my boss is going to KILL me. Jan Thomas is not a lady you want to mess with. Then the lawsuit thing popped into my head and thought that this sucker was faking and was going to try to get money out of me. So I left the man to call my Dad. After laughing, dad said I could call an ambulance but that we weren't going to pay for it. So I did just that. That was embarrassing enough calling the ambulance and telling them that there was a bike accident - no not a MOTORCYCLE BIKE accident, a BICYCLE accident and explaining what tunnel we were in. Pretty soon the engines came a roarin', the ambulance and police car pulled up, a stretcher was brought down, a couple cars stopped on the side of the road, the old man's wife and son came rushing in and after answering a couple questions from the police, my last image was the old man getting on the stretcher. Don't know what happened to him in the end. He never showed up dead on the news. I'm sure that this would have been a headliner."

Happy Friday!

Guest Post: Rachel from Tunes and Spoons!

Boy, do I have a treat for you today!
When I came across Rachel's blog a while back, I was giddy with excitement. She is so charming, classy and just an inspirational woman. She just recently became a mother to beautiful Evaleigh and it's been so wonderful to relive those newborn experiences through her. {P.S. you HAVE to check out Evaleigh's nursery. It is TO DIE FOR!}


Hello there Little Almanac readers!  I'm Rachel from Tunes & Spoons.  I'm really excited to be guest posting here today and a big thanks to Kendra to finding me and putting us in contact with one another. I love reading about her little Evelyn and her adventures as a mother, wife, and just down right stellar lady! With Valentine's Day just passed, love is on my brain.  Particularly how we express our love. Often times we use Valentines as an opportunity to express our love in grandiose ways, however I've always been more partial to the small everyday acts of love.   A box of chocolates or expensive jewelry will never mean to me what a kiss on the forehead, brush of my hair away from my face, or a little love note 'just because' ever could.  That is not to say that each does not express love in its own way but I believe that deep and abiding love is built on small moments.  And when those moments are mounted one a top the next what is built is strong and eternal. I have recently been schooled in what it really means to love.  My heart grew 1,000,000 times bigger just 4 weeks ago as I gave birth to our darling Evaleigh. I am so looking forward to building tiny moments of love with her while having my dear husband by my side.

Wishing each of you a love filled life!  Come visit us and follow along in our journey of love if you'd like!


Thanks Rachel for spreading your joy! I hope you all will hop on over and say hello!

Happy Love Day!

Pink crepes. Pink milk. Pink caramel filled "hugs." Snuggles under the bed covers. Homemade cards. Baby kisses. 

So far it's been a pretty good Valentines Day. 

Last night I thought it would be fun for Ev and I to make dad a little love note, so I smeared her hand with some paint thinking she would love the creativity to be had. Nope. You would've thought I was torturing her the way she screamed when I put the pink on her hands and pressed it on the paper. Oh well, I think it still turned out cute :)

Evelyn loves this book "Snuggle Puppy." LOVES IT. There comes a part where it says "fuzzy little snuggle puppy I love you!" Without fail after that line, she always looks up at me for a kiss. It is the CUTEST thing in the world. And then she'll go find dad give him a kiss too.

I love today.

Hope you are having a LOVEly day!

Grandpa.

My dad came to stay with us over the weekend, and it was so fun to have Grandpa around! We hadn't seen him since our move in August so it was great for Evelyn to see him up close and in person rather than through Skype {which I thank my lucky stars for every day. I don't think I could do this coast to coast thing if we couldn't video chat with fam}. On Thursday we took him to the Air & Space museum out in Chantilly, which actually ended up being our only outing the whole time he was here, for on Friday evening Evelyn had a bad reaction to her MMR shot and broke out in itchy chicken pox. {Luckily she didn't break out until after Jared and I had our date night out - Cheesecake Factory never tasted so good!} This resulted in her sobbing uncontrollably all night, Jared and I giving her a baking soda bath at 4am, me crying a half hour later, and Evelyn finally falling asleep on me at 5am, where she tossed back and forth on my chest until 9am. It was the WORST experience and Jared and I both felt so helpless trying to console her. So yes, Dad had to endure all of that and so we ended up just kickin it around the house the whole weekend.

Despite plans going out the window, we were grateful to have you, Dad!

P.S. Pediatricians are sometimes stupid and waste my time, which causes me to dislike them.

Funny Friday - kitty cat edition

Jared is way in to youtube. The guy finds the most random videos and most of the time I am sitting behind him scoffing at this weird indulgence of his. But scoff I no longer shall because I am outnumbered by the youtube fans in this household. Last Sunday Jared found this cat video, which I will admit is super hilarious, and it got Evelyn laughing sooo hysterically. By the time I realized she was laughing incessantly  after repeated watches, I grabbed my camera and we watched cat clips for probably 5 min. It was the best way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Also, tonight Jared and I are going out to dinner just the two of us! My dad is in town and he was so gracious to offer us a little getaway for a couple hours. I'm sure Ev would rather be with Grandpa than the two of us anyway.

Happy Friday!

4 thoughts on this Wednesday

1. Bedtime for Evelyn is a bittersweet time for me. When 7pm rolls around, I am exhausted and ready for some alone time. It always seems that the minutes between 6:50-7:00 creep by, but a weird thing happens when the clock strikes on the hour. For when I go scoop Ev up, cradle her in my arms, lay her down in her dark crib, and tuck her in with her blankie I hardly want to let go. She always gleams with this smile that melts my heart and I end up playing with her for a couple seconds more. I almost can't bare the thought that I won't see her for the next 12 hours until morning comes. She is my everything.

2. The other day I was walking by the maintenance room in our complex and I thought from the corner of my eye I saw a severed arm laying on the custodial cart, so I did a double take. Then I really did LOL. Did I REALLY expect to see a dangling lifeless arm when I glanced back? Do your eyes ever play tricks on you like that? No. Ok, I just have weird eyes that flash horror scenes.

3. I love blogging because I can make up any words I want and upset all the proper rules of grammar. I remember my 2nd grade teacher telling me that you can't start a sentence with the word because. Well guess what, I do that all the time. You might also notice that I misspell alot of words or use the improper form more often than not.  Like on a post a wee ways back I said "quarks" instead of "quirks." Just a minor typo that has now been changed. All of these mistakes make me look uneducated, but in reality I have such a high respect for proper English and my college papers prove my love for excellent prose, but this is my blog and it's fun to do word remixes every now and then :)

4. When I was little a whole box of mac and cheese used to feed me and two siblings. Now it just feeds me. Is that saying something about the box getting smaller or my greedy mac and cheese self getting bigger?

That's all.

Oh, and thank you all for your input on the shoes. #2 is a definite yes and still deciding between 1 and 4 :)

cast your vote!

I have all four of these shoes in my cart right now for Evelyn and I can't decide which one {or two} I should buy! I'm in LOVE with all of them, so I need your input! Here are my thoughts:

Shoe 1. Pros: LOVE LOVE LOVE the canvas material! Super duper easy slip on, gender neutral. Cons: is this a "winter" shoe or can it be carried over into spring?

Shoe 2. Pros: Leather, adorable stitched round toe, a shoe/sandal so great for seasonal transitions, can be dressed up or down. Cons: none.

Shoe 3. Pros: Leather, sturdy sandal for summer walking. Cons: summer shoe. so I guess I just answered my question and I should wait a couple months until summer to buy it :)

Shoe 4. Pros: adorable! Easy slip on, dainty, dress up or down, works with all seasons. Cons: $30 and I don't think I can pay that much for a shoe that Ev will grow out of in 3 months {the others are all either $15 or $20}

What say you? Which two shoes should adorn Evelyn's feetsies?

Funny Friday - Ellen Edition

I was dying when I saw this on Ellen this week. I can so relate to Kristen's emotional scale of 3-7. I tear up over anything these days. The other day it was over the ending of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" when Caesar leaves James Franco for his monkey friends. I turned to Jared with tears in my eyes and said "I don't want Ev to grow up and leave us!" But crying over a sloth? I don't think any furry creature could initiate such a reaction from me, but it's cute and hilarious that she has this attachment.
Happy Friday!

motherhood.

Motherhood is hard. H-A-R-D. I know everything isn't always cupcakes and roses, but for the most part life is pretty dang good and I like to celebrate that joy on this blog because joy is what life is all about. But I would also be unwise if I did not give motherhood it's proper explication.

I am a busy-body, go-getter, list-maker, organizer, strong woman. Motherhood has kinda undone all of those things for me. Well, just toned them down a bit. I've realized that I will be busy ALL THE TIME, but not with things that I would necessarily like to busy with. For instance, last night I wanted to be busy making homemade breadsticks, complete with warm insides and buttery-garlic-cheesy outsides, but instead I was spotting up spaghetti sauce from the carpet after Ev threw it overboard in disapproval.

I love conquering things, and in the past it's been stuff like writing a thesis paper, conjuring up marketing ads and designing websites. Now I feel like I've accomplished something when I make it to the post office to mail something off after it's been sitting there for a week, clip Ev's toe nails and unload the dishwasher.

It's not that I have become lazy since being a stay at home mom. All the more opposite. I am occupied now by things beyond materialism and am working on raising a very independent soul. I'm learning that a one-year old has a personality that she is unleashing on me that is very different from the docile baby that I've been used to for the past 12 months. I have become completely driven by this little person that is my everything and sometimes she can even drive away my sanity. Would you believe it if I said our little Evy Rae is a tantrum thrower? I know, it's hard to believe. The past 2 weeks have been grueling. I feel like she's a sargeant putting me through Navy Seal training {which is super hard. Read this book. It's fascinating}. Between teething, shots, and transforming in to a toddler, we have seen many food fights, tears, sleepless nights and complete exhaustion on both ends.

Again, motherhood is H-A-R-D. So, so hard. And I say that not out of regret, resentment or weakness. I say that out of humility, compassion, and courage. Nothing is more painstakingly rewarding than rearing a child and nothing brings more joy. I guess we're just in a time of transition.

{first mother's day - may 2011}