Tasty Shades: Mint Candy Apple & Cream Puff

You may remember my saying a little while back how I haven't painted my nails with anything other than clear polish in a long, long time. I might go as far as to say it may even have been... 8+ years..? Well, a few days ago, I broke that mold. I got a manicure during my mommy spa day and I chose to have my nails painted in color! Woo-hoo! Don't get too excited yet. It was a nude. :) I tested the water and I liked what I saw. So now, I am jumping on the nail polish bandwagon and here are the first additions to my up and coming nail polish stash (is it sickening that these are the only colors of nail polish I own...???):

ESSIE Mint Candy Apple

Vinylux Top Coat, Cream Puff, & Powder My Nose

The Vinylux nail polish boasts a 7+ day wear and an under 9 minute drying time. The "Powder My Nose" color is the one I had put on at the spa and obviously I was pleased since I couldn't help but buy a tube of my own. I used the "Cream Puff" to give myself french tips on my toes and it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be applying a thin line with a large brush. I actually think it is harder to control those tiny nail art brushes. I can't wait to see if these white tips last an entire week. That would be amazing!

The Essie "Mint Candy Apple" is such an awesome shade. I think I have an addiction to this color - it was our wedding color back when we tied the knot. Maybe it holds some nostalgia to me. Whatever the case, I love it to pieces.

I hope I'm not crazy to have gone with such a pop of color on my nails with Asher's 6 month/our family portrait session tomorrow. We rescheduled the session from a few weeks ago due to a severely sunburned daddy who may or may not have worn his sunglasses and no sunscreen and ended up looking like a critter of the night. ;) The polish ties into our color scheme so fingers crossed (pun intended!) that it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb (another pun intended! Haha).

Hopefully I'll have some fun stories and exciting pics to share after this long weekend. I need to get the dust off my camera and get a snappin'! Happy Labor Day, everyone!

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Marriage After Baby

Maintaining a strong relationship after having a baby is not an easy thing to do. There are so many changes. There are so many added responsibilities and there's much less time to get everything done. Much less. Sleep deprivation is running rampant and postpartum hormones are out to stir things up at any chance they get - thanks for that, hormones.

They say that men's marital satisfaction actually shows an increase during the few months following the birth of a first child. Then, a few months down the line it shows a steady decline. For women, they say the decrease in satisfaction happens immediately (mostly due to hormonal and any drastic lifestyle changes), although, in some cases, the "new baby high" lasts for both parents throughout the first year and then the reality of parenting kicks in sometime after the baby's first birthday.

For majority of couples there seems to be a common denominator in this decrease in marital satisfaction - the division of responsibilities and a lack of communication. Ding, ding, ding, ding! 

I'm not sure where we fall with those statistics. We haven't necessarily had a decrease in marital satisfaction, but I do think we have to work a little harder. We have our moments and they definitely happen more often than they used to. 

I do think, however, that the simple acknowledgment that this is something very common and taking the time to talk about our responsibilities - who will do the majority of 'x' chore and who will take care of 'y' - can make a WORLD of a difference. The power of a conversation can be amazing.

- Some people suggest to get your communication on during walks with the baby. This way, you both are looking ahead rather than face to face which eliminates misread body language or damage from unintentional eye rolls. -

For the past week, John and I have spent more time together than we have in a long, long time. In this short time, I feel like our relationship and understanding of one another has been revived, in a way. We both see how hard the other works, whether on the job or at home, and we are both appreciative. But I think the real game changer has simply been that we have been TALKING. We've talked about work, about our business, about our baby and our home. We've talked about chores and how much its going to suck to have to do an emergency clean up before the bug man comes to spray the house. ;) But we've also had the chance to talk about the small things, the silly things, and the unimportant things. The things that connect us and make us laugh together. The things that were the only things before there were other things. (You follow?) 

Like I always say, I know everyone and every situation is different and I am not an expert by any means. It's still early in the game over here. But in our case, communication has been key at this point. Taking the time to connect to one another again and to BE FRIENDS again, has made us a better team and with that we can be better parents - happy parents.

A little time apart spent with friends is important, too!

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Asher's Closet - 6 to 9 Months

Lately I have been throwing so much clothing into the "Too Small" box in the corner of Asher's nursery. His closet has been dwindling down until I recently realized that there is not much left that fits! Other than the much-too-big 12 month sized outfits I have stuffed in the back of the closet, almost everything else is now outgrown. What else to do then build his wardrobe back up with some shopping?

My biggest peeve about baby clothes is that it is really hard to find something UNIQUE! It seems like anything purchased from the department store is sure to be seen on at least 2 other babies within the week. We want individuality around here! { Even if I am the one who chooses the said outfits... :) } So, I am left with no choice but to shop online, which, is one of my favorite past times. So it all works out. 

Another issue with buying baby boy clothes for us is the FLORIDA HEAT! All those cute layered baby looks pinned all over Pinterest and featured in photo shoots left and right... yeah, those aren't happening around here. We have to go with as few layers as possible, foregoing the socks and hats to boot. So much for coordination! We'd like the thinnest fabric available, please.

So, what IS Asher wearing these days?? I'm glad you asked. Let the baby fashion show begin! (Joan would be so proud.)

1. Rock Me Grasshopper One-Piece | 2. Tea Collection Fish Romper | 3. City Threads T-Rex Tee Charlie Rocked Striped Shorts | 4. Tea Collection Skull Tee & Surf Short | 5.  Carter's Firetruck Tee & Red Fitted Short | 6. Jumping Beans Truck Tee & Khaki Pants 7. Jumping Bean Robot Onesie & Patch Pants 8. Jumping Bean Sherrif Onesie & Plaid Short 9. Jumping Bean Car Onesie &  Blue Pants | 10. Jumping Bean Dig It Onesie & Cargo Short 11. Carter's Anchor Short Set 12. You had me at HOLA! Onesie

Thankfully, we no longer are dealing with the extreme spit-up that forced us to change clothes every hour or go diaper-only. This makes for one happy mommy. Now I can dress this kid up with all the fun looks!

I have to admit, I am a sucker for Ebay when it comes to baby clothes. I don't buy used, just new items with and sometimes without tags. Not that there's anything wrong with used clothes, I  have just had a bad run of luck when it comes to purchasing pre-owned articles of baby clothing, so I steer clear now. A few of the outfits shown here were purchased on Ebay. It takes commitment. Think at least one hour of scrolling through search results just to find one cute outfit. I'm picky. And apparently I have too much time on my hands. { I wish! }

I like to mix just a few "higher end" pieces in, but not too many because these clothes don't stick around long. If I'm lucky, I'll get 2-3 months out of something and I'm really pushing it there near the end. I probably could get a few more wears out of some of his things, but just the thought of stuffing Asher into something tight while he wiggles around and fights putting his arms and legs through the holes makes me just move on to something else. Into the bin it goes!

"How does this pug look on me, mom?"
You also may have noticed our old rug is back. The new one was the worst quality ever! :(

Zulily, of course, has been an excellent source of unique and fashionable baby clothes. Diapers.com has a nice range of options from lower end to higher end and their app makes shopping fast and easy. Kohls.com has some great things, too!

I have learned not to wait too long to wash clothes that you think you have a few months to go until they'll fit. Most of these clothes SHRINK! I can't tell you how many times I pass something by thinking it's still too big, then when I finally go to put it on Asher it's too small! :( Mommies beware.

I know one day Asher will thank me for putting so much time and effort into his perfectly coordinated and balanced infant wardrobe... Bahahaha! 

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Immune Boosting Maple Cookies

It's been one of those weeks (hence the lack of posts the past few days!).

On top of one of the busiest weeks at our Etsy shop that we've EVER had, my car battery finally died. It's been on it's last leg for the past few months; we knew it was going to. Every time I get into my car, the time is 10 more minutes behind. I have been helplessly late to everything because of this battery! (At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.) Yet, somehow we kept finding ways of putting the replacing of it off. Apparently BMW batteries are NOT cheap. Thankfully, when it finally decided to kick the can, Asher was not with me to melt in the 98 degree heat and John was just down the road. 

I felt ANOTHER cold coming on and even though I am not a proponent of taking antibiotics at every given chance, I decided to hit up that extra z-pack I had in my medicine cabinet. Last time I was sick, it lasted for 3 weeks and my ears still don't feel quite right. I didn't want to take any chances.

Which leads me to my next hiccup this week... I haven't been out in the sun in AGES. So, I decided to hit the tanning salon (I know, I know!!!) to give myself a tiny base tan and some much needed vitamin D. I've literally only been out in the sun one time in the past... year???... so, hey, give me a pass on this one. Anyways, I forgot that antibiotics make you sensitive to sunlight and I got burned, baby, burned! I just hope my red hot skin tames down before my massage scheduled for this Sunday. If not, that will really top everything off for me. This momma needs to get her relaxation on and I am not about the let a faux sunburn stop me!

On the positive side of things, our transition from the bassinet to the crib has been going magnificently well. The past 2 nights, Asher has slept through the night again (10-11.5 hours) and gone to sleep within 10 minutes of being put down. He's even starting to cooperate with being put down for naps, now, too. (Insert applause - make that standing ovation - here!) Take that Cry-It-Out. We barely even needed to use you. :)

So in celebration of our baby sleeping soundly at 6:30pm and also as a band-aid to my oh-so-stress-filled week, I decided to whip up some sinfully delicious Maple Cookies this evening. Did you know maple syrup (the real stuff, people, not that high-fructose-corn-syrup-crap) has immune boosting properties? Maple syrup contains zinc and manganese, both of which are key players in the function of your immune system. So if you happen to eat one too many of these cookies - it's all good! You're just building up your immune system, after all!

MAPLE COOKIES - FIND THE RECIPE HERE

Oh, you thought I made that recipe up? Not a chance. ;)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Go and get some sun - some real sun - but don't forget your SPF! Learn from my mistake. 

...Lastly, I have to leave you with at least one cuteness shot from this week. Check out these adorably chunk-a-licious Jumperoo lovin' legs! Go, baby, go!

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