Seriously. Go away!

You guys, we live in Tampa, Florida and it has rained everyday for like the past 3 months. I am not being dramatic, which I sometimes have the ability to be, I am dead serious. We don't mind it when it's dinner time and nap time and bed time but when we have plans, it stinks to high heavens. Like last night when I wanted to go to Home Goods, it started pouring and then came the lightning that cracked every five seconds. I wasn't about to risk my life for some new sheets, even though I did contemplate it for a good 15 minutes. 

2013 Summer Accessories of the Year: Black Umbrella, Underwear & Rainboots.

Sorbet on a cloudy day!

My sisters friend is having a girl around the same time I am and she is using grey and coral as the nursery colors so I whipped this up for her. I find it totally refreshing. Like sorbet on a cloudy day!

Zebra Rug & Print Curtains - West Elm

Giraffe Bumper - Pottery Barn Kids

Love Print, Coral Pillow, Grey Pillow - Society 6

Elephant Print - Animal Print Shop

Magic Print - Kensie Kate Etsy Shop

Polka Dot Crib Sheet - Layla Grace

Slingshot!

Because I'm a girl, I often find it hard to think like a boy when it comes to decor, gifts, clothes and all that jazz but when I saw this on Etsy, I was like SCORE! What a great gift idea for a young boy! 

All over the place!

My mind is all over the place today, as usual. 

Boys' bathroom inspiration looks like this:

 

Our DREAM house looks like this: 

Rad style looks like this:

Why does life look like this?

SO thankful for moments like this:

Focus ma'am, focus!!!

Hope you all have a simple & sweet weekend! 

XO

It's not you. It's me.

Since last week, I was bound and determined to find out the who/what/where and why's to why my sweet little boy was starting to act the opposite. So, I hopped on the interweb and searched "toddler tantrums" until my fingers fell off and my eyes went cross-eyed and this is what I came up with...

What do children need when they are angry, frustrated and sulking?  

Angry, frustrated, and sulking children ALWAYS need their parents’ or caregivers’ help and understanding. 
When children are acting out, caregivers can assume the following:

• They are doing their best.
• They are acting out their hurt feelings that they don’t yet have the skills to manage.
• This is their way of showing you how they feel or how they have been made feel by you or others.
• They need you to teach them what they can do about their big, often overwhelming feelings. They need you to make them feel safe and loved so they can get their big feelings out with big tears and/or words, and show you how they feel.
• Their acting out is symptomatic of unmet needs.
• They need your love the most when they act the least deserving of it.
• They need your help to feel happy, peaceful and balanced again.
• They need to regain a warm, loving connection with you again.
• They would be more co-operative with you if they regained that warm kind connection.

I also found this brilliant website that spoke straight to my heart.  I am new at this and I am always researching to understand the different ways we can handle our children. Honestly, spanking or time out DOES NOT work for my son and because of that I vowed to stop doing it. It didn't feel right in my heart and I would feel SO GUILTY afterwards. With that being said, both of these sites talk about a different way to parent. To me it seems like a guilt-free way to parent so I am all about it. For the record, I haven't had the chance to try these recommendations out but when I do, you all will be the first to know. To me, it feels right and it makes me breathe a little easier at the thought of not having to be so forceful with my son. Janet Lansbury's site is awesome and I could of stayed on there all night reading her articles. Please check her out!

GREAT CHART!!!!!

Brillant. Just Brilliant.

...that moment when you see something on Pinterest that makes you say WOW! Why didn't I think of that?

This was that moment: 

Seriously. How brilliant is this??!! 

Definitely keeping this filed away in my DO IT TO IT folder!

Kick it.

I am having the hardest time kicking Landon's kicking habit. 

Like I am seriously going nuts. 

He is 2 1/2 and kicks me or anything else when he is tired or mad. He knows how to say "I am tired." and "I am mad" so he knows how to verbally express how he is feeling, but right after he says that WHAM! a swift kick to my thigh or head or whatever else is near by. Ugh. 

Anyone have any tips on how to break this? 

I do not want to spank my children for everything. While I do believe in spanking, I don't think it should be used every time a child messes up. I think it should only be used for major crimes. With that being said, I will firmly tell him that "kicking isn't nice" and "I understand that you are mad, tired, upset but we don't allow kicking..."but he still continues. Driving me bonkers people. 

B-O-N-K-E-R-S!!!!!

BOYS, BOYS, BOYS!!!

After finding out that we are having another boy, I was SUPER thrilled. What's not to love? Boys love their Mama's, they are easy, they don't require much, and I have tons of boy stuff! The fact is, I grew up with five women in my house. We had the best times, but there was a lot of emotions flying around and I happy to be missing that in my own household. I was made to mother boys. I am at one with them. I don't mind dirty floors and fake tattoos. I don't mind breaking up fist fights and cleaning up blood. Boys are best friends with each other. No cat fights. No drama. No dates. No weddings to pay for me. Can I get an amen?! 

With that being said, we have started working on the nursery. It's painted a pretty muted mint/blue color so I am keeping the color and using this color combination to fill in the details.

Here is a little Treasury Board I put together on Etsy this morning of some stuff I have found over the last week that has caught my eye! 

Looking forward to this new adventure!

LittleLow Shop

You guys, check out this shop. 

Such fabulous design. 

20 weeks: boy or girl?

WE'RE HAVING ANOTHER BOY!!!

and we are so very thrilled about it!!

K?!

My twin sister comes in this week, don't expect much from me, k?!