We spend a lot of time in the main room of our home. It is a large living/dining area that opens into the kitchen with large windows that overlook the ocean. We can’t complain. Yet spending a lot of time there means that a lot of Declan’s toys live or end up out there which made for a constant mess. We finally did something about it a few weeks back and gave Declan his own play area by moving the couches up a bit and putting his trucks and toys behind them, creating a separate seating area from the play area. Not only does the IKEA storage system we purchased keep all of his toys hidden, it also helps him keep things clean up by having specific bins for specific types of toys. Trucks, kitchen stuff, legos, musical instruments, dress up, coloring… they all have a home. While toys still make it to the front half of the room it is 100 times better than before. We might even buy a second storage system and use shelves instead of bins to fit his growing Playmobil collection.

One of the (many) fun parts of being a parent is getting to experience the excitement of holidays through a child’s eyes. There is nothing like that first Easter Bunny photo (he was skeptical) or waking up to a basket of goodies (the mini whisks were his favorite) or hunting for plastic eggs filled with goodies (thank you Target for the R2D2 ‘eggs’ they were a hit!).

Another fun part… stealing the candy afterwards.

When I was pregnant with Declan finding the perfect diaper bag seemed like a big deal. Something that would fit a lot of baby things (what those were, I wasn’t totally sure) have a place to change the baby, and be easy to carry. I found all of that in a Petunia Pickle Bottom Backpack from Pottery Barn Kids. And it was awesome for a good 6 months. Mostly while I was on maternity leave and could use it as a purse and diaper bag in one. Once I went back to work it got pretty bothersome switching from a purse for work to a diaper bag at night/weekends. We had been gifted an embroidered Land’s End bag for Declan, which he used for school, so we started using that more and more. As Declan got older and in turn needed less and less stuff there were times when I wouldn’t bring a bag at all. I figured there was always a clean diaper somewhere in my car, or we were just running to Target where I could just buy diapers if it really came down to it.

While going bag-less had its perks, I realized just how unprepared I was for all of the little things that could happen. Runny noses, scrapes, a stronger sun than anticipated. I was at a loss for all of these. So while we still always pack a bag for long outings or out to eat (think diaper/wipes/extra outfit for those FEED-MASELF dinners/crayons/paper/books) I decide to take charge and prep an always ready Mom Kit (that didn’t scream Mom).

I picked up a pencil case and tissue cover from The Pleated Poppy to hold everything. I packed it with the following:

1 and 2. sunscreen stick and aquaphor for my little guy’s sensitive skin
3 and 4. Antibiotic cream and alcohol pads
5. Hand sanitizer
6. Bandaids
7. Kleenex
8. CPR booklet (which I understand would be useless in the case of an actual emergency, but you never know…)

I also threw in a pack of sensitive wipes (again, that skin of his. Poor little guy!)

The entire thing fits nicely into my purse, stays contained thanks to the zippered case and leaves me feeling one step ahead no matter where we are. Which is good because these days I usually start off two steps back! With the new baby coming I will probably switch back to the diaper bag while I am on leave, and then back to the Mom Kit and school bag once I go back to work. At least, that’s the plan!

Do you have a Mom Kit? Any items that you think I am missing that you were glad to have on hand in an emergency? I would love to hear!!

Is it okay to decorate for St. Patrick’s Day and Easter at the same time? I’m telling myself it is. Have a good weekend everyone! Declan is fighting a cough so I’m home today. Hoping he gets better quick so that we can enjoy the gorgeous weekend ahead!

Over the long weekend we had one exceptionally warm day. Declan took the opportunity to do his new favorite thing: sit at the kitchen sink and drink water out of a medicine cup straight from the faucet. Only this time he decided to pour it all over himself, leading to some always fun naked time. There is something about babies and toddlers in their birthday suits that makes life feel simple.

Growing up we were always doing crafts. It has obviously carried on into my adult life and whenever I get up the mental energy to do one with Declan I learn a lesson on letting go. Which is probably why it takes so much mental energy. On this particular day we tried out water colors and a certain little boy was more interested in spreading water everywhere than he was about painting mama a picture for the fridge. I had to let go of all control, and rather than screaming “STOP MIXING ALL THE COLORS!!!!!” (which is what was going on in my head at the time) I mustered up a few “Good job, buddy!”s and called it a day. Baby steps.

I got a little crafty this year with Declan’s class Valentines. After creating the tattoos, I pulled together some supplies I already owned including paper, envelopes and mini envelopes cut in half to hold the tattoos. Declan added the final touch by coloring a secret message for each of his friends.

I hope the kiddos like the tattoos, and if you are still in need of a quick and easy non-candy gift, you can download the heart tattoo PDF here.

So, temporary tattoos are my new favorite thing. I made some for Declan’s birthday party out of animal shapes and now I am making some to hand out as part of his Valentine’s day treats for his classmates. I am still working on the final presentation (thinking glassine envelopes, white card stock… still working on it) but wanted to make the tattoo layout available for anyone who might want to use it! Since it is basically a bunch of hearts on a PDF you can also print it on card stock to use for any other projects. If you go the tattoo route, you will need to pick up some temporary tattoo paper. I used one from Silhouette, which I bought off Amazon and had no complaints about!

And here is one of Declan rocking the giraffe tattoo!

Download the  Valentine’s Day Tattoo PDF here.

Wow, kind of embarrassing to have my last post be titled Merry Christmas when it is February! Between Christmas, colds (for both Declan and I) and Declan’s birthday my nights were filled with sleep or birthday prep. I actually chose to post this over making valentine tattoos, which will have to wait another night. I hope to have a post and a free download for the valentine tattoo sheet by this weekend for any procrastinators like me who want a quick and easy non-candy valentine treat!

But back to Declan’s birthday! He is now officially a two year old and will tell you so if asked. We are still working on the whole two fingers thing. We say two, he points one, it is all very entertaining. We went with a safari theme since Declan loves the zoo, has a million zoo animals and is too young to tell me “no mama, I want an elmo/super hero/insert-tv-show-character-here party!”. We went simple with a party at my mom’s house, food catered by the same Mexican restaurant who we used for his first birthday, centerpieces that we already owned and Target dollar bin mini animals for the cupcakes. Unlike last year, when I tried to pretend I was a baker and made a dry cake from scratch, this year I was smart and bought devil’s food cake mix and white frosting for the cupcakes. Delicious! Fun was had by all and we felt so blessed by the family and friends who were able to make it. Declan is officially spoiled and we may have snuck a few gifts into the closet to pull out at a future date.

I couldn’t have asked for a better day for him! We had planned to have a friends playdate party the following day, but it had been pretty rainy so we canceled it. I haven’t rescheduled it yet but I took the time to create and cut out a ton of cute safari tattoos, so that will keep me accountable for making sure the party happens! Temporary tattoos might be my new favorite favor for parties and holidays. Kids love them!! Declan rocked his elephant tattoo the whole day.

Merry Christmas, from my (growing) family to yours!