Home: 10 mins. fix on a bookshelf

One of the things that's always on my to-do list is to organize the kid's play area and my props / craft supplies. It's something that I'm always putting off, however, because I can't seem to find a system that I'd be satisfied with. The bookcase in my daughter's play area belongs on that list. It holds a combination of their books and art supplies, as well as my own.

Lately, Aubrey has been climbing the shelves, trying to get to her art supplies on top. She also enjoys throwing it all over the place and at the end of the night, we're stuck trying to organize all her colored pencils / markers / crayons etc. back to their individual containers. Today I did a quick fix for it just to ease things up till I have time to take it all apart and re-organize.

Before:

Her art supplies were on the fourth shelf, paint tubes all the way on the top hidden from her (for obvious reason), and just one huge clutter in general.

After 10 minutes:

Rather than hide, I gave in and made a self-service arts and crafts area. All her colored pencils, crayons, and markers are separated by individual tins I had laying around. No more boxes to put them in. Coloring books and pads are on the same shelf. Meanwhile, all her painting supplies are in a clear bin so even though they're "hidden" from her, we know where they are and they aren't separated. Most read books are on the bottom shelf (bedtime books are now in her room). A couple of my art supplies are in the white box containers until they find a new home.

I'm sure we'd still have to straighten it up at the end of the night but at least it's not as cluttered and full as it looked before.

Any tips on how to organize your toddlers play area? Pls. share with me :)

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Family Time: A Day Out With Thomas

I honestly don't know what the big deal is with Thomas the Tank Engine. It's on Netflix kids so we'd watch it occasionally (esp. to give Aubrey a break from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Barney). She's never really shown that much enthusiasm towards that show until a couple nights ago when a commercial came on advertising a day with Thomas the Train at Roaring Camp Railroads. Whenever that commercial would come on, she'd yell "Tchwain! Tchwain!" at the top of her lungs. My husband had been wanting to bring her to RCR and when we saw that this event was only going on for the next two weekends, we decided to buy tickets and check it out.

Unlike their usual one hour train ride through the Santa Cruz mountains or the beach, the "Thomas Train" is a 25 minute train ride through parts of the Santa Cruz mountains. Given the short attention span our toddler has, this ended up being a great idea. 25 minutes was exactly enough time for Aubrey to go ooh and aah and stay in ONE position during the entire ride.

Tickets were purchased beforehand and kids two and under are free. You get to choose which train car you'd like to ride on: 3 are open, 3 have canopies, and the last train is covered. Aside from the actual train ride, there were plenty of other activities spread out over the camp: face painting, building with Mega-blocks, playing with train tables, temporary tattoo booths, music and instrument playing, bubble station, and plenty more.

It'll be going on for one more weekend and if you're free and don't mind the hour and a half drive from the city, definitely check it out!

quick tips:
1. Parking is $8 cash.
2. They have concession stands there (bbq, hot dogs, hamburgers, etc.) and it didn't seem crowded at all. However, if you'd like to save on some money, there are a lot of fast food restaurants nearby that you can go to and eat beforehand (or even bring your food in).
3. There are picnic tables for rent but a lot of people brought picnic blankets ( there's a lot of open space). I wish I'd known this before going!
4. Wear covered shoes! I wore sandals, not realizing that parts of the camp are sand and rocks.
5. Mamas, bring an extra shirt for whatever reason! Ok, this tip applies to anywhere you go with a kid but I forgot to bring my extra shirt and Aubrey, a little bit too excited once we entered the park, ran down the path too quickly and fell. Her battle wounds are now forever imprinted on my white blouse.

A Quick Note: How we roll.

 Oh, hey!

I have a couple of friends asking me how I do it. How do I make motherhood look easy? Let's be blunt here. Instagram and Facebook is what makes me look like a "super mom". It's all pictures. No one sees the fits and tantrums behind those photos (well....since they DO have IG video now...), or those times I put Aubrey in a cute little outfit, only to have her take it apart moments after I take a  pic, all those messy cramped corners in our house full of junk, and the leftover fast food / take out containers we have in our kitchen because lets face it, who honestly has time to make a gourmet looking meal every. single. day?

I ain't a supermom and my husband and I definitely aren't superheroes (even though our daughter thinks we are) but even though it may not be easy, there are ways to make it a little bit easier.

Here are some tips and ideas we (try) to live by to make it all WERQ:

1. Never bring work home
 No matter how good or bad of a day I had, once I'm clocked out, I'm clocked out. Sure, I may get the occasional phone calls here and there (that's what voicemails are for) but once I'm with my family, my mindset completely changes. All my attention is focused on the kids and try to take advantage of the time I have with them. I always joke around with my other co-workers "Time to head over to my other job!" when I leave. Let's face it, being a mother IS a job, but, it's the best and most rewarding job out there!

2. Get out of the house. Do something. 
Unlike most people, I don't have the M-F 9-6 kinda job. My hours differ week by week and sometimes changes last minute. It's a curse (no set weekends) yet a blessing (hello weekdays off). At the beginning of each month, I plan 1 or 2 weekends off in advance so my husband and I can actually have the whole day together with the kids and go out and actually get to do things together on the weekends. Because, you know, isn't that what most families do?

 3. Get out of the state. 
Even though it gets stressful, its always nice to take a vacation somewhere. Gives you something to look forward to and though they're still too young to remember, gives the girls a change of environment.

4. Never feel guilty for wanting some ME time. 
Whether it be an hour, half a day, or even the whole day, do something on your own. On the weekends, my husband wakes up at 6am and takes a ride with his bike for an hour. That's his ME time. As for me, I do anything and everything. You'd be surprise what a trip to Target (alone!) can make you feel :)

5. Take care of yourself.
No really. You have to. I remember those times when I was so preoccupied with making sure both babies were fed, diapered, bathed, etc., I didn't get out of my pjs (and let alone eat) till 3pm! Its easier now, however, because Aubrey can eat on her own and I can place Dani on a highchair. We eat meals together and afterwards, I leave them in their play area or turn some cartoons on (Yes, I let my girls watch tv in moderation) while I get myself ready. During those times when a nap is much needed, I hope AND pray that both can sleep at the same time, even if it means laying some blankets down on the living room floor so we can all nap together. A cranky and hungry mom ain't fun for anyone.

6. Teamwork and Communication and Have a pseudo-routine. 
Two babies and a dog = double the mess...and a half. Bottles, toys, clothes - my husband is all about making sure we never let things slide otherwise it'll just be a disaster at our place. It's become such an unwritten thing really, how we go about our day to day routines here. My husband is a morning person. He wakes up early every morning and in an hour, has washed the dishes, taken out the garbage, made a Safeway run (milk, food, etc), and then some. I like to take care of things before I sleep, no matter how late it gets. I fix their diaper bag, lay out their clothes for the next day, clean their play area, prep our meals and etc. No matter which time of the day it is, we're always trying to get things done. It's the only way.
 
 6. You have to come to terms with reality.
Honestly, despite all that I've said and done, it's still and always will be a challenge. There are smooth days and there are even more not so smooth days. Maybe we've become a little bit immune to it over time but we really wouldn't have it any other way. It's the life we created and the life we live for.


 


 

inspiration board: rustic and vintage party theme

My youngest daughter, Dani, is turning 1 on October 12. It's a few months away but I'm already thinking of possible themes and most importantly, a venue, to execute it all. Even though I'm pretty set on what theme I'd like to have, I'm still keeping an open mind to other ideas. Since it'll be the start of fall, I'm so intrigued with a rustic birthday theme: buttercream frosting cake on a wooden slab, blushes of pink mixed with dark blooms, and a shimmer of gold.

Events: Rainbow Chevron Birthday Party

Even before Aubrey turned 6 months, I already knew I wanted to do a rainbow theme for her first birthday. She was bright, bubbly, and so full of energy that I needed her party to reflect that. After searching through countless images on Pinterest (which, btw, is one of the best.websites.EVER) for ideas, I decided to give it a modern take. I focused on the colors, instead of an actual "rainbow". One of the best (and also hardest) things about having rainbow colors as a theme are the endless ideas and possibilities you can do. The trick is not to go too overboard otherwise it just wouldn't flow together. The way I had to explain it to the grandmas, just because Aubrey wears a pink dress doesn't mean she has to wear pink tights, pink shoes, with a pink ribbon too. (Of course they still didn't get it.).

Since I had a slight fascination with the chevron pattern at that time, I thought about combining the pattern and colors together to give it that modern look. I was lucky to find a bakery that could create the look I was going for and they did not fail. The cake ended up being the focal point of the dessert table (and the party as well).

We chose Recess as the venue of the party. It's a recreation center for toddlers and babies in Portrero Hill. We wanted a place that was close to home, plenty of parking for our guests, and indoors (since weather and parking can be quite unpredictable in the Bay Area). The staff was great. They cleaned up the area before and after the party. The only vendor we had issues with was the catering. I won't even mention which restaurant we catered from but they were 1.5hrs late (and that's just unacceptable when you're renting out a space for such a limited time) and, once they did arrive, forgot the plates and cutlery! We were pleased, however, with the way their catering manager handled the situation after we emailed a complaint but needless to say we won't be using them anymore in the near future.

Below are images of the party taken by Andy Sermonia:

cake and cookies: Beyond Buttercream

candies and gumball dispensers: Powell's Sweet Shoppe

garland: DIY

flavored sodas: Cost Plus World Markets

flowers: purchased from SF Flower Mart

balloons: Party City

party favors: purchased from The Dollar Store & Michael's

chevron printables: Anders Ruff

party hats: Target

venue: Recess

 

The birthday girl enjoying her smash cake.

(top and ribbon: Baby Gap)

 

 

 

Meet Us.

A family of five. Mom, dad, a 2 year old, a 9 month old, and a boston terrier.  It's crazy, fun, chaotic, and even though there are multiple times we don't know what the hell we're doing, we somehow manage to get things done...for now.

We live in the City by the Bay in a Victorian home that's been around since the 1906 earthquake. It's imperfections gives it charm and character. Because isn't that how everything is? Aside from the temper tantrums, difficulties of being a "working mom", and 6 hours of sleep (for us) on a good night, I wouldn't have it any other way.

And in those rare times in between naps, eating, laundry, grocery shopping, and etc. I blog. I blog to share and show that underneath all those tinsels and tassels, streamers and confetti, is a mom just trying to keep it real.