My Favorite Things: Household Products

I noticed that my Favorites post received the most views on my blog so far and thought I'd make My Favorites a regular post!

As I was cleaning house this morning, I thought I'd share some of my new favorite household products.

1. Mrs. Meyer's Countertop Spray (Geranium scent)

This stuff is awesome. It's natural, it cleans really well and smells great!

2. All Mighty Pacs

Cam and I both have sensitive skin. When we traveled to Colorado for a week last month, I knew I needed to bring some baby detergent with me because the traditional Tide that most people use doesn't cut it for us. However, traveling with a jug of Dreft seemed bulky and unnecessary.

As I was strolling down the aisle at Target, I saw these:

Brilliant! Pop a few in our suitcase. No risk of spills, mess or rashes from chemicals. And, they worked really well. Got all the Cam Juice stains out! Also a lot cheaper than fancy baby detergent. I give them an A+


3. Dr. Bonner's Baby Mild Castille Soap

Maybe it's a first-time-mom thing. Maybe it's a paranoid thing. But the thought of using my regular dish detergent on Cam's bottles and pacifiers made me cringe. My mom told me about castille soap and when I noticed it was readily available at Target, I began stocking up when it went on sale. This stuff is great and we've been using it since day one on all of Cam's utensils. Definitely a must for babies!

Happy Spring Cleaning everyone!! 

Bad Mommy Moment #347

Rick and I attended a wedding last night. A beautiful wedding. I cried during the vows (typical), we sipped on cocktails and danced till our feet hurt. We stayed up a little too late and are feeling it this morning thanks to Cam's new pooping schedule. 5 am on the dot. For 6 days straight so far. Oy.

I put the little muffin down for his nap this morning, and went upstairs to join Rick in our weekend morning ritual. Coffee, Up with Chris Hayes, and lounging on the couch. I heard Cam crying and fussing and figured he was just overtired and struggling to get settled. About ten minutes later when I went downstairs again, I peeked at the monitor and saw this:

Sweet little angel baby snuggled up with MoJo. But then I realized the picture was awfully clear. Abnormally clear. Typically we have to squint to make out the grainy night-vision picture, but if you notice in this picture... you can clearly see his blue sleeve and the white sleep sack.

I forgot to turn out the lights. The poor bunny struggled to fall asleep, but managed to nonetheless, because I forgot to turn out the lights.

When I taught third grade, I used to hand out "Oops Notices" when a student forgot his/her homework.

I most certainly deserve an Oops Notice for this one. Forgive me Muffin. I love you.

Blessed.

I'm just feeling incredibly grateful and blessed at this moment, and needed to write down the overwhelming feeling of peace I am feeling so I can look back at this the next time I am overwhelmed with fear, guilt or exhaustion.

Cam and I had lunch today with two of our friends. Both shared some heartbreaking stories about their pregnancies and children they had lost. The three of us sat through lunch looking at our three little princes repeating, "our miracle babies." It was a quick last minute lunch turned emotional. I'm so glad it happened.

I then came home and put Cam down for a nap and opened my email to find a link to a blog about a mom who was pregnant with quadruplets, and only one is left fighting for her life. The tears just streamed endlessly.

I know this is all sounding so depressing, but I'm sitting here staring at the baby monitor as sweet baby Campbell sleeps and I can't stop smiling. I don't know if there's a reason I was to be reminded of how lucky we are to have a healthy, happy baby today. I'm not sure if Cam knows how loved and how absolutely perfect he is. I hope he does.

I do know one thing for sure.

We are absolutely blessed.

My Favorite Things Right Now... Non-Baby Edition

I'm no Oprah, but I do have some favorites I thought I'd share in hopes they might become some of your favorites, too! (Hoping this appeals to the non-baby reader population out there since all I do lately is post about Cam!)



1. Pink bow flats.

Chinese Laundry (I ordered them from DSW... so cute!)

2. Orange and Navy.

I'm all about orange lately. All variations, too. Watermelon, deep orange, burnt orange... and I'm    loving navy as an accent color with it. So chic.

3. Ruffle collars

I recently found this top at Target. Love! And of course, I bought it in the watermelon color :)

4. Irish Otameal.

I've been on a major oatmeal kick lately. My mom told me to try this a while ago, and I'm hooked. It's heartier than Quaker, wholesome and just the perfect start to any day!

5. Essie "Garnet" Nail Polish.

I'm rocking this color right now and loving the pop of pinkish-red. Great Spring color!

Not my hand. Nor my dog.

What's on your list of favorite things right now?!

Enjoy It

In the past two days, five (random!) people have told me to "enjoy this time!" with my baby. All the comments have been followed by, "just wait until he talks back to you..." or "just wait till he starts walking and running away from you.." or "just wait until he leaves you for another woman.." (yes someone actually said that!!).

I have so many thoughts about this, I couldn't help but blog about it. First of all, what makes these people think I'm not enjoying my little man? Is it the fact that I had three bottles of wine in my Target cart today? Or that I was drinking a venti coffee and eating gummy bears to keep my eyes open in the checkout line at the store? I don't remember reading in any of the baby books that "a mother must be smiling, cooing and doting on her baby every second of every day in order to enjoy him." Maybe I missed that chapter.

Though I felt frustrated my the onslaught of comments, I was more saddened by the follow up commentary each person had to offer. It made me feel sorry for them that they felt they needed to project their feelings of regret, frustration, exhaustion, or whatever it is they were feeling at the moment they had to tell me that their child had the worst potty mouth or they hadn't peed alone in three years.

By no means am I claiming to have never complained or felt the same way. I guess I just never thought about laying those feelings out there on a perfect stranger. Which led me to feeling grateful. Grateful that I have friends and family whom I can call when I've been pooped on three times in a day. Grateful that the people I love the most pick up the phone when I call even if I've already talked to them twice that day. Grateful that my husband pitches in... a lot.

So, let me assure you mothers out there who feel it necessary to remind me to enjoy my little angel that every time I look into his eyes I'm enjoying him. Every diaper change... I enjoy him. Every time he tugs on my fingers... I enjoy him. I absolutely enjoy him. As much as I can every minute of every day. Especially when soaking in my evening bubble bath with that end-of-the-day glass of wine in hand.

Photo Wall

I've been VERY bad at changing the photos on our photo wall downstairs. Some of the pictures in there are classics (i.e. from 1987) but others are just a bit dusty. In fact, I didn't even have a picture of Cam down there.

So when I saw this on Pinterest, I was inspired.

I started my search for a frame and found one at JoAnn fabrics for $29! Tip: framing stores will put out custom made frames that people ordered but never picked up or ones that they no longer need at ridiculous discounted prices. The frame I bought is a custom wood frame measuring about 40" x 25".

I then searched for contact paper instead of wall paper so it could be easily removed, and I bought six white 5x7 frames from Target. After printing out the pictures, hanging all the pieces (it took about 30 minutes total!) our new photo wall was complete:

BEFORE

AFTER

Close up of contact paper and frames...

I am very pleased with how it turned out. It's clean, simple and makes me smile every time I walk by it. I think I may take a short break from Pinterest projects. In fact, I hear the laundry, and dishes, and floors, and countertops... calling!

The Interest in Pinterest

I posted this a while ago showing how Pinterest inspired me to re-do our bedroom decor a bit. Well, the Pinterest craze has exploded. I've always been one who enjoys a craft project. I love moving furniture around in my house, changing photos and their locations, and finding new purposes for old things. So, it's no wonder Pinterest has me hooked.

Most people's complaint about Pinterest is that they spend hours "pinning" ideas onto their boards that they never end up creating. I, on the other hand, now have some time on my hands since Cam's nap schedule is all sorted out, and I have found myself itching to get crafty.

I started with Cam's room. I was not in love with the wall decor in there and saw this and this on Pinterest and used the two ideas as inspiration. I loved the idea of putting a quote up on Cam's wall that he could look at each day (when he eventually learns to read!) that reminds him of how much he is loved and how special he is. Even when he's sent to his room for being in trouble, and even when Mommy and Daddy are frustrated with him because he's doing this...

... I want him to be able to look at these words and remember he is adored. So, here's what I came up with:

I used Mod Podge and tissue paper to cover a canvas.

I then adhered a quote onto the dried canvas.

 It says, "You are more beautiful than you know, More talented than you think, and More loved than you can imagine"

This project was super easy and I would definitely do it again to add a pop of color in another room.

Once that was completed, I decided Mod Podge was awesome! I started searching for other projects to use the tub I had bought, and came upon a list of ideas for using Mod Podge. One of which was to make coasters (which our house desperately needed!!).

For this easy project, I bought 4x4 white tiles at Home Depot (each $0.16), two pieces of scrapbook paper and shellac spray. 

And here's how the coasters turned out!

We've been using them for a couple of weeks now and they have held up great. They're pretty, durable and you could really go wild making these. You could personalize them with pictures, monogramed paper, tissue paper for bright color, etc. etc! I will definitely be making these as gifts because of the endless possibilities.


Next up... this photo wall in our downstairs hallway!

Bitten by the Travel Bug, Part 2

After 24 hours of unpacking, doing laundry, repacking and loading up the car again... we made our way to the airport for Cam's first trip to the mountains! The Mathews clan met up in Snowmass for a family ski vacation to celebrate Pop Pop's 70th birthday!

It was an amazing week of sunshine, snow, family time and lots of eating and drinking!

We played with cousins...

 

... and envied their abilities to climb, drink out of cups and eat Cheerios.

 

We lounged in the hot tub and Elliott showed off his new pose... (Ashley, we ALL thought of you when he randomly did this and thought you'd appreciate it!)

We snuggled with Nanny...

And played at the park...

We enjoyed the outdoors...

...and got a little dirty.

Of course, there was cocktail hour...

But mostly we spent time together with family and made memories that we will never forget...

The Mathews Gang (April 2012)

Bitten by the Travel Bug

Cam can check off Florida and Colorado on his list of places to visit. Our little guy is quite the jet setter and traveled the past two weeks from coast to coast.

We began our adventures in Bal Harbour, Florida for a short visit with Gigi and Papa (and Mimi and Poppy, Aunt Candy and Uncle Marion, too) to celebrate Passover.

Mama/Gigi threw a beautiful luncheon for her friends to meet our little ham. We got dressed up in our Country Club Chic attire and lunched with the ladies!

 

There was of course lots of giggles....

And lots of dancing...

Lots of kisses and snuggles...

 And story time...

Cam took his first dip in the pool with Daddy...

And lounged in the sunshine...

It wouldn't have been a trip with Cam without a little fuss...

And by the end, we were all just about ready to get home.

To be continued...

5 Months!!

Dear Campbell,

I feel like each of my monthly letters to you begins with the same statement, but I'm going to say it again -- I can't believe you are five months old today! This past month has been such an incredible one. It has been my favorite so far as you have developed the sweetest and funniest personality. You have also learned so much and reached many milestones.


This month, you learned to roll over! You will only roll from your tummy to your back and you will only roll one way (over your left shoulder). Daddy and I have been encouraging you to roll the other way, but you aren't interested. You also started to sit up this month! You do a "tripod" sit where your hands support you and your body leans forward over your legs. You usually topple over after a few seconds unsupported, but my goodness you are getting strong!!

I'm not sure how much you weigh or how long you are, because we don't go to the doctor until you are 6 months old. But I can tell you you are definitely growing! You are wearing 6-9 month clothes and size 3 diapers. 
 
Perhaps your biggest accomplishment this month is learning how to sleep. You dad and I put you through Baby Bootcamp, and you no longer use your pacifier or swaddle to sleep. You still sleep in your Rock n Play, but once we return from all our travels this week, we plan to put you in your crib. Right now, you sleep from 6:00 pm-6:00 am. Sometimes you wake up around 3 am and fuss a little or talk to yourself, but you typically go back to sleep quickly. You are taking 3 naps a day which range from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours. We are so proud (and so thankful!) that you are getting the rest you need.

It is so obvious that you are so much happier now that you are rested. You are also able to soak up the world around you in a new way. You love your music classes and play dates. You still love to flirt with the ladies, and you are grabbing everything and trying to put it in your mouth! You love to look around on our daily afternoon walks, and just this weekend while we were in Florida (post to come soon!) you discovered the wind! You also went swimming with your dad for the first time on our trip!

Perhaps my favorite thing about your age right now is how fun it is to make you laugh. You laugh when we tickle you and make funny faces, and especially when Daddy throws you up in the air. We call you Cam the Ham because you truly are such a sweet, giggly, happy little guy. I love how you grab onto my fingers when you're eating, how you splish splash in the bath and get me soaked every time, and I love how you burrow your head in my chest when you're getting tired and you need a snuggle.

Campbell, you are more loved than you will ever know. It's impossible to put into words how special you are and how much joy you bring to our lives. We love you so much and can't wait to see what you have in store for us this month!

Love,
Mommy

Good Morning!!

One of my favorite times of the day is when Cam wakes up from sleeping. He typically wakes up cooing and talking and the minute you turn on the lights and he hears your voice, his face lights up. It melts my heart every time.

Rick captured a video of him last weekend when I was out of town, and I thought I'd share. What a peanut. 

For those of you reading this via email (that's you Mama and Papa!) you will need to go to the actual website (www.doseofhappiness.blogspot.com) in order to watch the video. 

A Day at the Park

It is absolutely GORGEOUS out today! This is my favorite kind of weather. The sun is shining, the wind is blowing and the parks are buzzing with kids laughing.

 L.O.V.E.

Cam and I took our daily walk a bit early today as we have an appointment later this afternoon. We stopped at the park and laid down a blanket to play. I brought my camera along and snapped some photos of the little muffin.

You can tell he is really soaking up the world. He listens a little closer to the ruffling of the leaves. He looks around at all the kids swinging and climbing as if to say, "hey, I want a part of that!" He responds to smiles and engages with those who talk to him. He's really turning into a little boy, and while I love watching it happen,  I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet!