EIGHT | FIFTY-TWO

February 26, 2013

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a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013.

my little artist, making and creating. i try and surround her with things (art supplies, toys...) that encourage her to be imaginative and creative. but i often fail in just letting go and letting her do her thing. i complain about messes or i tell her i'll be finished with whatever current task i am doing in just 5 more minutes... but five minutes turns into ten which turns into an hour and then it's time to fix dinner and bath and bedtime routines and i've let my girl down. i'm letting myself down.

and now i am rambling, which is the exact opposite point of this post. so i promise myself i'll try harder and be better and hope that i can keep that promise.

linking up here.


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CHEERY YELLOW FLOWERS

February 22, 2013

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sometime last year we discovered this tucked away daffodil field. a local farm runs it and they have it open for a short time of the year until all the daffodils have been picked. it's fun to let the kids run around and i never say to fresh flowers.

we went with some of L's preschool friends last week. the kids had more fun playing than picking but we managed to leave with enough to fill a couple mason jars around the house with some cheerful flowers. i think we need to go back soon though!

i love that we live in a place where farmer markers are open year-round and buying local from farms and small shops is encouraged. fresh flowers may be something small but to teach a child about the process is pretty awesome.

the peaks
counting down the days until we leave for hawaii
the yo gabba gabba show
getting a fence installed in the backyard
pizza takeout when i'm feeling crummy
a sweet & simple valentines day
a healthy toddler who had a good 3 year well visit
 a long weekend

the pits
getting sick
lia getting sick
target being crummy about shipping things
all of this chilly weather - call me crazy but i wouldn't mind some warmer days
being really bad with eating habits
we put potty training on the back burner again

and since i missed last week, there was a few extras there.

happy weekending!
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psst.

February 21, 2013

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i always feel weird if i don't pop in between a bunch of pre-written scheduled posts. i guess i feel my voice is detached on those days? and while i needed to do scheduled posts this week to catch up, i still wanted to pop in.

can you believe it's almost the end of February? this year has been really good so far. crazy and busy, but just so good. i keep thinking lately how we have everything we want. we have our dream house that we're slowly making our own. we finally have a big fenced in yard for lia and the dogs to play in.  maverick is really fitting well in with us and the whole poop in the house thing is SO much better now. 

we've had date nights. i've been reading a ton of new books. lia is doing great in preschool and talks about her friends all the time. we booked a trip to hawaii to visit some much-missed friends. we took lia to the yo gabba gabba show and blew her little toddler mind.

other than lia catching a sinus infection and giving it to me, things are normal and good and we're happy. 

and in other news - i am looking for some guest bloggers for the week that we're in hawaii! you can talk about anything really. got good traveling with kid tips?  a fun story or experience to share about hawaii? anything good to say to fill in the quietness while i'm away? it's golden!

just email me at ahappyheartblog(at)gmail(dot)com and we'll get the details figured out.

i would really, really appreciate it!

i'm off to work on a list of books & music to gather up for our hawaii trip then i've got a date with a pile of laundry and a broom.


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THE BIG SURPRISE

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we bought tickets to the Yo Gabba Gabba Live show back in december and went this past weekend. i have no idea how we kept the secret from lia so long. which is probably why we threw out so many hints on our way to the show that she kind of guessed who we'd be seeing.

i know some people don't get the show, but we're serious fans around here and i have to say - the show was awesome. it was fun and we jumped and danced and sang. dj lance was for real. and leslie hall showed up for some beats.

lia was a little unsure at first. it's a lot to take in in the first couple minutes. but as soon as foofa showed up, her eyes lit up and she was head over heels. after the show she pretty much demanded that i find more tickets to go again.

we ended the day with dinner and some fro-yo and a quiet drive back home. it's going down as one of my favorite days with my loves.
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VALENTINE'S DAY

February 20, 2013

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valentine's day was simple this year. my sweet, sweet hubby gave me exactly what i wanted - flowers that weren't roses and chocolate. and i gave him beer and homemade brownies. l-bug got some candy, a stuffed monkey and some wooden cars. 

our dinner was as romantic as subway take-out. we took a trip to target when m got out of class and after we got lia to bed we had popcorn and watched taken 2.

i think it was a pretty perfect day.

ps. a few years ago, pre-marriage/motherhood, M took me out to a fancy restaurant on valentine's day. it was the kind of place that cooked everything in wine and couples got engaged after the main course. seriously, that happened. anyways - we aren't fancy people, we thought the food tasted horrible and we ended up in the mcdonalds drive-thru. hands down, its my favorite valentines date.

pps. a few days earlier, L hand painted these valentines for family.  and for her preschool friends - we cut out construction paper hearts, she painted them, then we stuck on a blow pop sucker & wrote you blow me away. handmade + easy.


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SEVEN | FIFTY-TWO

February 19, 2013

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a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013.

running around the daffodil fields.

we're linking up with some other mamas here.
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monday, monday, monday.

February 18, 2013

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aren't monday holidays the best? i love getting that sinking "weekend is ending" feeling on sunday afternoon only to realize that we get an extra day. makes it all that much sweeter.

the end of last week and this past weekend was busy. and it doesn't look like it's going to calm down too much this week either. which means i'll be catching up on the blog all week long. or attempting to.

lia has been sick for a few days with a nasty cold. she's graciously giving it to me and after cleaning all day my brain is about to shut down. so here's a few bullet points to update you until i can get real posts out...

+ the Yo Gabba Gabba show was epic
+ having a clean house makes me feel like i can tackle the week
+ lia woke me up this morning with a hug and an i love you so much
+ lately, i've been thinking that writing a childrens book sounds like fun
+ fresh picked daffodils are making my desk very happy
+ oh, and current movie on repeat in the house: mr popper's penguins

happy presidents day guys. hope there's some good ones in your wallet. 

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it's love day!

February 14, 2013

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we hope your day is full of sparkly pink things, chocolate and love! 
happy valentine's day!

see cards from the past years here + here.

ps. she does still wear glasses. but if i am being honest, often times they are buried in the trenches of my bag and we forget about them. we're trying to be better though!


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another day, another holiday.

February 13, 2013

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i took these pictures in our front yard this afternoon while the sun was shining for a last-minute valentine's photo shoot with absolutely no thought put into it except "hey we're running out the door while it's sunny and you've got actual clothes on - let me grab the camera!". i basically got sassy toddler meets model toddler. but i just snapped away because she was semi standing still and that's all i can expect these days.

i feel like valentine's snuck up on me. the doily covered mason jars, handmade garland and all things pink, red and sparkly that were supposed to adorn our house never got made. the treats i pinned never got baked. who has time to wrap their heads around a holiday mid-month?

last night i set out craft supplies so L could make some valentines while i threw together a lesson for preschool. and today after school, we ran some errands and mailed off her valentines. while i was making dinner earlier, i threw together some chocolate covered strawberries then ditched the clean-up to blog this while M is giving lia her bath and i have a few minutes to myself. tomorrow i'll pull together some small surprises, mostly to keep the day exciting for lia, but we're keeping it low-key. m has class tomorrow evening so take-out and a movie sounds perfect to me.

i remember the days of hand decorated shoe boxes to collect valentine's in school and balloons and chocolates from my parents. the excitement of a special holiday. but these days if it's quiet and i've got a dr pepper, i'm pretty content.

how about you? do you go all out for love day or do you keep it simple?


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SIX | FIFTY-TWO

February 11, 2013

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a portrait of my child, once a week, every week, in 2013.

playing hide and seek in mommy's bed.

we're linking up with some other mamas here.
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THE WEEKEND

February 10, 2013

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it's sunday night and i am drowning my feelings in a chocolate bar and dr pepper. i'm trying to find some more mama patience and motivation to make it through the new week.

we tackled some painting projects this weekend. and potty training. while the first inspired me to keep making our home "ours", the latter seriously depleted me. i feel like i am losing my sh.t and not being a nice mama at all. i hit an all-time low earlier when i locked all of lia's toys in the guest room because she wouldn't clean up. mother of the year, right?

on a good note, lia's big-girl room is almost done and she used the potty 4 times this weekend!

we've got a lot on our plates this month and the next so i am just trying to keep going regardless of how much i want to scream in a pillow some days.

and since this weekend got really busy, here's the peaks and pits of the week.

the peaks
uh, booking a trip to hawaii. YES!
the hubs nicely buying me lots of chocolate tonight.
some potty training success.
finally painting L's room and rocking chair.

the pits
potty training is the pits.
losing my cool too often.

this week wasn't bad. but my brain needs a breather so i can look at things fresh again. any other mamas feel that way too sometimes?

ps. i'll be back later this week with pictures of l's room.

pps. lia just pooped in the potty! i know that's a little tmi but for me it means that things are looking up.

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currently.

February 7, 2013

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currently...
 
i am sitting here. thinking about the hundreds of things i need to do and the hundreds of things i want to do. i crave a balance between this list. a balance that i have never found. i like being a real mom. the kind that doesn't mind having bad moments here and there, the kind that knows life isn't all rose-colored glasses and peonies. the kind of mom that understands that sh.t hits the fan sometimes and thats just the way life rolls.

i am far from perfect and i am fine with that reality. but sometimes i wish i had a little more dose of a put-together-always-on top-of-things mom. i wish i could whiz around and only have one hamper of clothes to worry about and a few perfectly designed organic handmade + wooden toys to step over. 

anyone else feel that way? ha. lately i have been thinking of who i want to be and how i want to parent and take care of our home. i'm slowly changing and figuring things out so i am trying to live purposefully and understand as long as i work for something, i can achieve it. i may never get the balance i want, but knowing what i want is half the battle anyways, right?

currently...

 i wish i had a plate of these. i am feeling like i need to bake some asap.

this post is inspiring me.

i'm planning on doing this to our dining room. do black & white stripes make you swoon too?

printing these out for some handmade valentines.

tackling 10 ish loads of laundry, constant sweeping, catching up on pretty little liars & the mindy project, dreaming of a vacation, getting pretty excited about a backyard fence, thinking of dinner ideas, making L's first dentist appointment and tackling some painting projects. on top of whipping this house back into shape. i am pretty sure a tornado swept through here and i just can't take it anymore.

that's what our week has been looking like. it's been a busy one and i'm ready for some down time at home with my loves. down time = painting & staying busy, but if i don't have to get out of my yoga pants then it's a fair trade.
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WHAT SHE READS

February 6, 2013

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the princess and the packet of frozen peas | tony wilson
previously | allan ahlberg
the pencil | allan ahlberg
i had a favorite dress | boni ashburn

i was always the kid whose nose was stuck in a book. i love reading. i love libraries. i love quaint little bookstores. i just love books. so naturally i wanted to instill the same love of books in lia.

she's got quite the collection of books. some from my childhood, most thrifted or picked up off clearance racks in book stores. and we go to the library at least once a week, sometimes more. we always leave with a giant stack of books that we read every night at bedtime.

what are some of your favorite books? we're always looking for some new (to us!) ones.


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