it got crazy up in here...

Last weekend was a giant adventure for us...we potty trained Finn!!  It was the craziest 3 days of. my. life.  We started on a Friday morning, and "finished" on a Sunday night.  For most of those days, I didn't think Finn was getting it at all, but by Sunday night, he was telling us he had to go potty, and would run to the bathroom to go!  (I put finished in quotes because we really aren't done...he still has occasional accidents, and we have to clean up some not so fun undies sometimes, but overall we are so impressed with how he is doing.)

It was very stressful at some moments.  I'm sure being 23 weeks pregnant didn't help with the emotional side of things, but Landon was so patient with Finn and pretty much took over the training when I couldn't deal with one more accident.  Finn seems so much bigger to us now, and seeing him wear his big boy undies is so exciting.  We ditched diapers completely, so even at night he is in his underwear.  As long as we limit his liquids a few hours before bedtime, he does pretty well through the night.

As a parent, I've realized that once you think you've got it figured out, something comes along that really throws off your groove.  Patience is huge, and it's something I'm learning and re-learning each day. :)

So here is to 4 more months of no diapers before our next wee one arrives!

Coming in two days...

Since last year, I have become more and more interested in Fair Trade products...what they are, what that means, and where our food really comes from.  I'll confess, I didn't know that much about what it meant other than from what I had read on the backs of food labels in the grocery.

After reading some great articles like this one by Tsh at The Art of Simple, I started hearing more about the fact that some of the products on our shelves are not sourced ethically, some even using child or slave labor.

One of my favorite bloggers, Rachel Held-Evans wrote this book, and while reading it, I heard how Rachel and her husband did a fair trade month at their house, specifically focusing on chocolate and coffee.  That really inspired me to try something similar in order to become more educated.

Then, my midwife, in counseling me about nutrition, challenged Landon and I to buy higher quality chocolate and mentioned ethically sourced/fair trade as great options, and advised us to do a little research on our own.

So, for the month of February, Landon and I have decided to only buy ethically sourced fair trade cocoa powder, chocolate candy, and coffee.  It's more like a challenge for us to become educated, as we don't know a whole lot about this world.  We'll probably start somewhere like Whole Foods or Earth Fare and hit the internet if we can't find anything we like or fits these categories.

We are starting very small...only a couple products, but I think given the fact we love chocolate and coffee, these will be great items to start with and see where it takes us.

Also, as a disclaimer, the fair trade part will apply only to products we buy for our pantry, like cocoa powder or cookie dough with chocolate chips for instance, or candy for Valentine's Day.  I realize it would be difficult for us to apply this if we chose to go out to eat or support our favorite local cupcakery as we aren't sure of their cocoa or coffee sources.  But, I think this project will be a good starting point for us to get us thinking and help us become more intentional about the things we purchase.

Finally, if any of you have done something like this and have a lot of resources for me to check out, please send them my way!  And, if you want to join along with us in some way or another, please feel free and let me know what you are going to be doing as I would love to hear.

loaded breakfast...

Since I am pregnant, good nutrition is a huge emphasis these days.  Starting off with a good breakfast is key for me at least, since it curbs any nausea and gives me energy to tackle the day.  Lately, I've been making loaded oatmeal for Finn and I to enjoy in the mornings.  We like to add fresh apples, raisins, sunflower seeds, almonds, raw honey, cinnamon, and coconut oil.  It's a filling and wholesome start to our day, and it really does curb the cravings for not so healthy snacks.  I am always looking for yummy breakfast ideas since eggs can get a little boring after the 5th day in a row. :)

bathroom progress...

Before.  I didn't like how dark it looked.

Well I have been making a lot of progress on our bathroom refresh.  As you can see from the before photo, our bathroom was very dark with the brown curtain and blue rug. We don't have any windows in our bathroom, so it's naturally a lot darker in there.

As part of the January Cure, my goal project for this month was doing a simple bathroom refresh.  We ended up going with a bath mat and curtain from West Elm (love that store!) since they were having a bath sale last weekend.  As we compared the two mats we liked the most in the store, Landon and I both landed on the Horizon Stripe Bath Mat in clearwater.  Then, we splurged a bit on a quality Waffle shower curtain since we really wanted something that could last for years and go with any color scheme we end up with.  It all ended up being like a late Christmas gift, since we used our leftover gift cash to pay for most of it.

So far, we love how the look is turning out.  The bathroom seems so much brighter now, and I love how it feels more spa-ish when I walk in.  While I am still hunting for something to place above the toilet in a bare spot, if I end up not figuring that out this month, I am still so happy with what we've done.

Yesterday, I cleaned out and organized our sink vanity.  That thing was filled up with tons of junk and leftover toiletries, and now it's stream-lined and there's a spot for everything.  I love a clean bathroom!

Now, we'll be spending a lot more time in this room as we're potty training Finn this weekend.  Perfect timing. :)

thoughts...

I loved watching Finn play in the snow earlier this week.  He took the top hat we used for our snowman and decided to make it his own while he tried to bike around in the snowy driveway.

This week has been so nice with not a lot of commitments.  We are taking it nice and easy around the house.  Tomorrow we are *attempting* to start potty training Finn.  That means a Target run tonight to get about 15 pair of toddler underwear.  Life is an adventure with a two year old, let me tell you.

Landon and I are so content with life right now.  I know I have said it before, but we have been talking about it a lot lately.  I don't know exactly why life seems good.  We aren't wealthy, we don't have a huge home, and our daily activities don't involve crazy adventures or wild trips, yet somehow we love where we are at right now.  Seasons of contentment seem to come and go for me, which I would love to change and be content all the time.  Something that comes with age, maybe?  Just reflecting on that these days, I guess.

Well it's gorgeously sunny but rather chilly outside today.  So I will be staying in and trying to knock out some things off the good ol' to do list.  Enjoy whatever you are doing and wherever you are on this fine Thursday.

today...

Today is so pretty.  The sun is shining, the snow is crisp and white, and it's a beautiful reminder of how gorgeous winter can be.

*Listening to:



And



*Drinking:

Lots and lots of water.  My goal is between 70 and 90 oz.  Being pregnant takes a lot of work!

*Eating:

Lunch with a sweet friend.  We'll be having bean and bacon soup, spinach salad, and zucchini bread.

*Wearing:

My bathrobe and yoga pants...going to be changing soon. :)

*Working on:

A wedding job to get out today.  Such a sweet looking couple!
Cleaning and organizing our room as part of the January Cure.

*Feeling:

Lots of baby kicks.  This wee one is a busy little thing.

*Looking forward to:

Spending the weekend with Landon's parents.  They will be here tomorrow and Sunday.  We have gotten a treat of seeing both of my parents in the last few weeks, and now we'll get to spend time with Landon's.  Having family so close is such a blessing!

Happy Friday everyone.  May you rest well this weekend, and spend it with those you love.

halfway there...

I am 20 weeks along already!  It's slightly hard to believe, but when I think back to September when I took the pregnancy test as soon as I could, it seems like forever ago.

Things have been progressing well so far.  We had an ultrasound right before Christmas and the baby looked good and healthy.  Landon and I disagreed on finding out the gender this time...he didn't want to, and I was leaning very much toward finding out.  But since it was this big of a deal and we didn't see eye-to-eye, we decided not to find out.  I will admit I was pretty emotional that day as we left the ultrasound, but two days later, I wasn't really thinking about it.  Imagining what a girl would be like, and then imagining what a boy would be like helped me get over it as I loved both scenarios equally in my mind.

I have been feeling pretty good these last 5 or 6 weeks.  Every now and then I will have a nauseous day, but I feel like those terrible days are gone for the most part.  Thanks to our dear chiropractor, I have little to no back pain, and getting back into yoga has really helped keep me active on days where it's hard to feel motivated to go outside and walk.

Landon and I are really excited about this wee one on the way.  I keep trying to imagine what a family of four will be like, and it's hard to picture right now.  We are always so focused on Finn and what he is doing, that throwing a second one in the mix seems crazy.  But I love watching families with two children and how they interact as they shop or eat out.  They are so precious.

bathroom refresh inspiration...

An assignment for the January Cure I'm participating in is to pick one item off of the project list I created at the beginning of the month.  The goal is to finish this assignment before the end of January.

For my project, I decided to do a bathroom refresh of our master bathroom upstairs.  Since a lot of my projects I wrote down were cleaning and organization related, and since a lot of the other assignments will be geared towards those this month, I wanted to pick something I normally wouldn't do.

Our bathroom is pretty awesome already as the owner updated it before we moved in.  But I wanted to add just a few touches to make it even better.

So here are my goals for our bathroom refresh:

*Clean out and organize the giant vanity.  There are a ton of half-used products, old medicines, and random junk that has accumulated over the past year.

*Buy a new shower curtain that Landon and I both love.  Ours is ok now, but it's very dark, and I don't care for the colors all that much.

*Buy a new bath mat/rug.  We are currently using on that I made three years ago, and it's gotten dingy.  I want an actual bath mat that will absorb water well and one that won't show dirt very easily.

*Fill in an empty space above our toilet.  There is an empty hook currently residing there from a previous tenant, and I want to fill it with either a small crate for toilet paper, or a small piece of artwork.

*Make homemade lotion for beside the sink, and homemade shampoo for the shower.  My mother-in-law gave us some pump tops for mason jars, so I'll just those two for this project.  I found an easy lotion recipe online, and I am hunting for a simple castille soap-based recipe for the shampoo.

From my inspiration boards, you can tell I'm going for a natural, simple look.  I want to keep our bathroom as light and airy as possible since it tends to get dark in there.

winter days...

Highlights from the past few days:

*10 inches of gloriously beautiful snow.  Also, sub-freezing temps that are colder today than those at the South Pole.  Ridiculous!  It's been keeping the frozen wonderland very pretty though.  We have ventured out a few times, and Finn loves it!

*Eating better than we did during the holidays.  January is always a great time to refocus on eating well.  My midwife would be proud of my attempts these past few days.  I've significantly upped my water intake, I've had dark leafy greens for almost every meal, and we got some high quality hormone-free beef to enjoy in some delicious roasts, soups, and whatnot.  Eating well really impacts my energy levels, and my body loves the good food.

*Vegging.  Like, a lot.  Finn can work his PBS Kids app better than Landon or I, and he enjoys cuddling up and watching some shows while I work or read.  We do limit his screen time, so he also has been playing very well on his own during his non-ipad hours.

I finished, with a ton of help from Landon, cleaning all of our floors yesterday.  The January Cure has been so refreshing to participate in, and I already know we will accomplish a lot this month.  It's so nice to look around and see the fresh floors and the flowers on our table.  I am excited for each day's assignment coming up!

brighten...

One of my January Cure assignments for today through Sunday was to buy fresh flowers for our home.  With the extremely cold weather predicted this weekend, some flowers are really nice to add to the indoor brightness.  Finn helped me pick these out from our local grocery store, and I love how they look on our table.  Maybe this will become a regular thing around here.
Happy weekend, everyone!

a break, new year, new news...

Yes, it has been awhile since I've posted here.  A lot has happened since September, so I will fill you in.  Life got busy fast, and I just needed a break for a little bit.

The biggest piece of news is that I am pregnant with our second baby!  Here's a peek at my 18 week bump.

I got pretty sick again this time like I did with Finn, so I was out of order for a few months while my dear husband cooked, took care of our boy, and took care of me.  But I am feeling myself now, and super excited for this wee one coming in June!  We are planning a home birth, and loving every minute of our experience so far.

Finn turned two in November, and he is growing into a little boy each day.  He is talking in small sentences, using clear words more often, and is a good helper in the kitchen.  Love that kid.

We had a great holiday season, with parties, family time, good food, and so many memories made.  It's easy to be inspired and positive this time of year, and it makes me grateful for all the blessings in our life.

Now that January is here, Landon and I are hoping to be intentional about this new year.  I don't like making resolutions, rather goals.  We have a few big ones in mind, and some little personal ones.  More than anything though, I just want to enjoy each day and try to live them to the fullest.

One goal I have is de-cluttering and re-organizing the house...a common New Year's task, but a worthy one, I believe.  I have signed up for Apartment Therapy's January Cure, and I am really eager to start on the assignments.  Today, I am doing a walk-through to note anything that needs attention in our home.  I'll be making a project list and working off of that.  I know for sure our garage needs an overhaul, and the bathroom cabinet could use a good cleaning out.  This is my first time participating in this cure, but I'm excited that it will give me some great ideas to use all throughout the year for a fresh, clean home.  Back with updates on the cure this month.

Happy New Year!