HOOKY

On Wednesday, the girls and I played hooky, and had so much. I can remember hooky-days well from my childhood. They didn't happen often, but just when you least expected it, my mom would say - lets not go to school today! And, we would break out in celebration.

I get 10 vacation (and some sick) days a year. Coming from 30+ days off a few years ago, this is a struggle for me/us.  To have had that time while I was single didn't mean much, but I have a different appreciation for it now since having a family. It certainly is true, hindsight is twenty-twenty.

Anyway, 10 days mean I have to chose my days wisely. While we've had lots of family time over the last few weekends, I just wanted to the day off to hang with my kiddos. So I did something that was hard for me, I lied and called out sick. And, it.was.perfect :) We got a (dreaded) doctors visit for shots over with for Madelyn, went shopping and to lunch with Mimi, took great naps, and then got to play outside before dinner. It was a great day, and the extra bonus was that it hit 70 degrees! I came back to work yesterday, all better from my illness ;) refreshed and happy, and now it's Fri-yay!

Have a great weekend! XO

My thoughts on having a house cleaner.

My opinion about having a house cleaner has greatly changed over the years.  I actually feel a bit guilty for my previous thoughts about it. Prior to being married, having a dog and kids, when we lived in a shoebox apartment - I totally passed judgement on people who regularly had a cleaning lman/woman. My thoughts were - its not that hard to dust and clean bathrooms, and why would you pay someone to clean up after you. I mean, no one really likes the tasks, but you do it. Flash forward a few years, and I want to confess how terribly wrong I was, and that I feel bad about my judgments.

I recently agreed to have our house cleaned on a regular schedule, and it's changed my life. I didn't even really have the OK from my husband, but when presented with the opportunity, I didn't hesitate. This was one of those decisions, that I had to make for our family, and most importantly, for my sanity. Sorry Bri, there's no turning back now - I'm hooked.  

From time to time, I'd have someone come to do a big cleaning either before a party, or when it seemed time for a deep clean. All the weekends in between, it was up to me. Over the last 6 months, it was becoming more and more of a challenge to find the time and energy to spend doing it. Since I work so close to home, sometimes I would come home on my lunch break, just to sneak in 45 minutes of uninterrupted cleaning/tiding. I did very little each night to tidy and clean, so come Saturday morning, our house was a mess and I resented the work I had to do. I don't like living in a mess, but quite frankly I found it hard to keep up with.

I was excited about the (obvious) benefit of a super clean house every two weeks, and me not having to do that work. But, I've also found that it's help me in other ways. Since, I'm relieved of the serious cleaning, I'm way more on top of the regular day to day cleaning. So, our house is tidy, clean and more organized over all.  That little bit of stress-relief and added organization, has gone a long way! I wouldn't have thought it possible, but only a few weeks in, and I feel less stressed, and more at peace while we're at home. The housework isn't overwhelming anymore. I've found I'm more present when we're home, because I'm not as distracted by my list of things I have to do. Another silly thing, but I'm wondering if a cleaner house will help us keep the germs out. That'd be an great added bonus :) 

So, just in case you are considering getting on someone's regular schedule - I highly recommend it! Dog or no dog, kids or no kids, if you can swing it financially, it's one less thing to worry about, and I'm all about that :) That's my randomness for the day... hope you are well! 

Happy Hump Day!

XO

Time for a phone photo dump!

For over a year, I've had an issue not being able to link my phone photos to the blog. So, anytime I had photos to share, I'd have to email them and save them, before uploading them. Not a big deal, but a pain nonetheless, so I just shared less. Whatever just happened, suddenly we're in sync again! So, it's your lucky day - here's a look at the photos on my phone from the last month and change :) I don't know about you - but TGIT!!

Cousin fun!

Off to Florida!

 

I don't mess around on date nights ;)

 

 

our beach babes

 

  While the girls napped, we snuck out for a spontaneous, fun lunch date! <3

 

My MIL and I went to see Barry Manilow!

From sunny to Florida, back home to snow!

Madelyn's haircut - from moia!

Anna's new hair cut - not from moia ;)

Our friends birthday party at a great farm

 

Her - don't tell me what to do - face

 

60 degrees in February - smiles all around!

 

This girl wants to play dress up, all day every day. We're not just talking a dress here and there, she pulls it all out - accessories, phone, clutch, lip gloss and heels. Pretty funny but it makes her happy - so it makes me happy :)

Swooning

I know, you've been waiting anxiously for an update to on the changes to our bedroom ;) I finally cleaned a bit, and decided tonight I'd take a picture to share. I am 100% totally swooning over our new bed, and have been since we got it about a month ago! Like swooooooning. I got the duvet for Christmas, and with the blue and white undertones, I've been loving finally having these colors in our room. The mattress and bed, came a few weeks later, and we are so happy with how it all came together.

As I mentioned in this post, we debated upgrading to a king bed for a while. Now, that we have it, I wish we'd made the change sooner. It completely transformed the feel of our room. I hemmed and hawed over an iron bed, and we love that too! In addition to polishing off our room, we are over the moon about our mattress. We did a lot of research, and extensive testing of different mattresses until we decided on this one, and we can feel a difference already. I don't wake up sore and Brian is getting a better nights sleep. I feel like I'm on a mattress commercial, but its not an exaggeration... Best money we've ever spent, this whole update was a complete win-win!!

I was just about to order my prints and frames for over the bed, when I started thinking something round might be better. We have a lot of straight lines in our room, and I don't know much about design, but I know mixing shapes and textures is suggested. So, I think back to the drawing board on that for now. Any ideas or suggestions welcome!

Night - night!
XO

Love

All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need.

Valentine's is certainly a commercial holiday, but I'm not ashamed to say, I've enjoyed the holiday for as long as I can remember. I'm not an overly romantic person, and I don't think of the day as a romantic holiday. To me, it's a day to celebrate the love in my life. Friendships, family, etc. When I was single, it was an excuse to get together with girlfriends and cheers to friendship. Now, it's about celebrating with smiles, hugs and kisses with my family. 

I make a point as often as I can, to tell those closest to me how I feel. It's something that we were open about as a family in my childhood, and I hope to create for our girls as they grown. So hugs, kisses and "I love yous" are important to me on a daily basis, and all the more reason to celebrate on the day of love.  I'm not referred to as a "smother mother" for no reason :P But honestly, it's important to me for the girls see the expression of love between Brian and I, and with them and be open expressing all feelings. 

This year, we had a family celebration and it was perfect. Saturday night we went out to dinner as a family, to one of our favorite burger places. I was planning on a nice dinner at home with the girls, all red food, a red table and candles... but then I sort of lost my motivation. So, a dinner out it was, and I was psyched  :) Then on Sunday, we went over to my parents - where my mom totally spoiled us. Little treats for the girls, an amazing steak dinner for us, good wine, a beautiful table and tasty little desserts - it was awesome! Top that all of with the fact that we didn't have to get up for work on Monday - and the weekend was a real home run!

Hope you had a great weekend!

XOXO

They asked to watch TV in my parents basement and when we checked on them, they'd cuddled up together and were lying like this on the floor:

 

Matching heart pj's - and refusing to say cheese to me

making Valentine's cards for Uncle B

 

Recipe share

I rarely do this, but this recipe is just too good, it deserves a share. I've been making this chili for a few years now, and no matter how I alter the recipe, it's always a crowd pleaser. If you like chili, you must try it, and to be honest, even if you aren't a big chili fan, I'm confident you'll enjoy it. I've had a lot of different chilis over the years, and this beats even the best restaurant versions.

I've made it with beef and turkey and both are as good. Sometimes I do less meat than it calls for, I usually leave out the beer unless I have a bottle of GF beer in the fridge, and I never use bacon. I cook it in the crock pot, and the recipe makes enough for multiple meals worth. So, like Wednesday night, when it was our first day back in the grind after vacation and I was not prepared or in the mood to cook, I pulled it out of the freezer. Next time you are jonesing for chili - give this one a try! Nomm Nomm

Happy Friday! XO