Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

Sunday Best with my Son

~ Etc.

His outfit: blue suit | grey shirt | sneakers
My outfit: striped shirt: J.Crew | floral midi skirt | nude heels: from Korea
It’s no secret I am obsessed with my son. He is just such a good, happy baby(He doesn’t look like a baby anymore but I’m still in denial, mmmkay?) who smiles constantly and his dimples, oh my goodness!!! He is silly and funny like his daddy and he’s such a daddy’s little boy. He wants nothing to do with me when Jay walks in the door but that’s okay, that doesn’t effect my love for him, I don’t care if it’s one-sided!
And this blue suit with a grey shirt from Appaman? I am smitten. I love the skinnier pants, low-rise waist and the slim fit all over the suit. A man in a suit is so attractive, but a little toddler in a suit? I can’t take it! I am not embarrassed to admit I matched him on purpose with this blue/white striped shirt from J.Crew and a blue floral midi skirt. He doesn’t seem to mind it, at least for now but I’ve told him sternly and with all seriousness that he better get used to it because I’m going to match him and HIS SON! 3 generations of matching, here we come. 😉

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Today is our 8th wedding anniversary

~ Etc.

Today marks our 8 year anniversary. It was 9 years ago when Jay said his first “I love you.” to me, when we’ve been only dating for 1 1/2 weeks. 1 1/2 weeks people! I didn’t say anything back to him in shock and the next day when I said to him, “Hey, remember that awkward moment when you told me you loved me?” he flat out denied he said it. Hahaha. Well, if I could go back to that day, I’d say “I love you too.” right back. Marriage is not easy, anything that’s of great worth is suppose to be hard and challenging, but I wouldn’t want to work through it with anyone else but you. I get more smitten over you for the amazing man that you are every year so here’s to another happy anniversary! And to more awkward pictures like this one! Our photographer told us to give her a serious face. We don’t do serious well. I love building awkward moments with you, Jay!

What all stay at home moms want to hear from their husbands

~ Etc.

My husband’s daily ritual when he comes home from work is to take the kids on a ride or a walk around the neighborhood. The kids look forward to this time when daddy comes home and they get to tell dad all about their days and have his full attention. 
My girlfriend once told me that she was gone for a weekend and left her kids with her husband to take care of the kids by himself. When she came back he said to her, “I will never look at stay at home mothers the same again. Or ask you what you did all day, because this was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, you are a super woman.” My mouth dropped open and I said to her, “That is the best thing a husband could say to their stay at home wives!” And I told her my story. 
Two years ago, several months before I had my 3rd child, Jay surprised me with a trip to New York by myself to go visit my brother and my best friend for a Valentine’s present. He arranged the dates and asked my brother and my best friend beforehand and planned it out! It was so thoughtful of him and I had an amazing 5 days. And Jay took work off to stay at home with our kids for the 5 days. I remember on the airplane home, I thought of my friend who went away for the weekend and came back to an appreciative husband. I thought to myself, “Hmm, maybe Jay will say something similar when I get back! Maybe he’ll appreciate all that I do more than before.” 
Well, how wrong I was. I walked in the door and first of all, the house was spotless. It was glowing even! The back of the oven was wiped clean, the stainless refrigerator was shiny, every toy was put away, all the laundry washed and folded away, all the beds made, no dirty dishes in the sink. I came back to two happy kids who came running to me to shower me with love. Then they proceeded to tell me all the fun things they did while I was gone like swimming, arcade games, riding around the neighborhood, going to the park, eating sack lunches made by daddy, having play dates and so forth., while Jay and I looked at each other and smiled. Then my oldest said to me, “I missed you mama, but dad is way more fun. He takes us to more fun places than you.” Ouch. “Well honey, you have to remember that dad isn’t with you in the day much and it was only 5 days out of this year. If he stayed home for 365 days a year, he wouldn’t take you to this many fun stuff!” I said as Jay was laughing in the background and I gave him the stink eye. Then throughout the day I noticed that my kids were listening the first time I asked them to do something! And they did their chores happily and without any complaints! Then Jay shows me the chore chart that he made. The chore chart that was colored by the kids and laminated and on the white board. Each chore on a 1.5″ square magnet was colored and laminated too. He told me this was why the kids were listening so good, it was so they could get to the top of the destination which would win them a fun outing with the family. I asked him, “So was it hard staying with the kids all day?” He said to me, “Nah, it was fine.” like it was no biggie at all.
So there’s that. All stay at home moms want to hear from their husbands is, “I will never look at stay at home mothers the same again. Or ask you what you did all day, because this was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, you are a super woman.” But not me. Not my husband. Instead, he make me feel like I don’t do enough when I am at home with the kids and I should do more! What the heck!
But in the end, I am so grateful for having a husband who is just so great at being a stay at home parent. His wish is to be a stay at home dad which I find absolutely adorable. Everyday when he comes home from work he takes the kids on a little walk or a scooter ride around the neighborhood.  He likes to wear the Converse sneakers from Famous Footwear that I got him and he said to me, “Oh, finally I get something for myself from you being a blogger! It’s about time!” Haha. He is such an involved, fun dad and I really feel we parent 50/50. I am so grateful for a husband who is so good  with the kids.

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Mother’s Day

~ Etc.

We started celebrating Mother’s Day on Saturday. My parents live about 2 miles away from my house and I am so grateful I get to celebrate this holiday with her. I gave my mom two frames with quotes about a mom(you can find the free printable a few posts back on my blog) and also this beautiful wallet from MZ Wallace in blue which is her favorite color.
Along with the wallet for my mom, MZ Wallace sent me this handbag in gold/silver sparkle linen for Mother’s Day which was so sweet and thoughtful of them. I chose this bag because it’s a classic style and the gold/silver hue matches with anything. Thank you MZ Wallace!

Saturday lunch we took my parents out to dinner. 

My 1st grader drew a picture of me. It looks just like me, doesn’t it? 😉

I woke up on Mother’s Day to breakfast in bed with handmade cards & chocolates.

And that awkward moment when you’re minding your own business & preparing to teach the Young Women at church while sitting in the halls eating a cookie, when a lady walks by and while laughing hysterically says to you, “Oh my gosh, you’re just the funniest person ever, every time I see you, you’re eating something! What is that? You have a WHOLE bag of cookies! You always have snacks with you every Sunday and eat it during class and sacrament!” I had nothing to say to that so I gave her a cookie….

Then a couple weeks ago I posted this on my FB:
so Jay made me elotes for dinner on Mother’s Day! How sweet and thoughtful was that? 

We had my parents over too and Jay made steamed crabs, me and my mom’s favorite. For dessert we ate cheesecake with fresh berries.
Every year when Mother’s Day approaches, I think of the women who can’t conceive or something’s stopping them from having a child and it makes me sad. It must be a hard holiday for these women. So for me, Mother’s Day is about celebrating ALL women who are nurturers, who lead others, who befriends others, who helps others. So I hope all of you had a wonderful Mother’s Day.

Staycation in Park City

~ Etc.

We stayed in Park City for Spring break, which seems to have become an annual tradition for us.  Park City is about 40 miles away from our home and it’s beautiful there so we keep coming back to this place!

We stayed at The Montage hotel for 4 days which is our favorite hotel we’ve ever stayed at. The girls were so excited and kept asking when we were going to go to the “fancy hotel and go swimming”. 
#1 reason they love The Montage: they each get to pick out a stuffed doll upon entrance to the hotel.

#2: They always make us feel like royals with their welcome treats. Their chocolate chip cookies are the best cookies I’ve ever had, I really wanted to ask them if they could give me the recipe.

#3: how cute is this handmade sign they make for us each time we come?

#4: the girls love the mini-bath robes they have hanging in the bathroom for them.

#5: The pool. Look at this gorgeous pool, enough said.

We ate at The Brass Tag and it was so delicious, I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting Park City. Every item we ordered was excellent and Jay and I are pretty hard to please and a harsh critique when it comes to restaurants. But they passed with high scores and we are pretty sure we will go there every time we take a staycation there. My favorites were Steamed Mussels, Brick Oven Shrimp Skillet, Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Bacon. 

We rode the ski lift the next day, we would have loved to go skiing but our 20 month old son was too small! Maybe next year we’ll all get to ride down the slopes. I was itching to go skiing seeing the beautiful scenery and the other skiers ride.

One, two three…. and my boots disappear! 

We got our snow boots from Sketchers, my oldest daughter and I matching in our snow boots! I got the kid size since my feet are small(embarrassing but one benefit of having small feet!) and I took off the pink ribbons around the fur and viola! Adorable snow boots for me!

#6: there’s a bowling alley inside the hotel! 

Do any of you watch the Real Housewives? It’s been awhile since I watched the show but can you name this celebrity? 

 #7: s’mores! Marshmallows of all kinds. The kids were in heaven. They have s’more night every night at The Montage and it’s open to everyone, and not just the guests! So make sure to go there for S’mores and hot chocolate if you are ever in town.

And the terrible two’s are starting…  Good thing two is one of my favorite age and they’re so dang cute they make up for it with their cuteness.

On our drive back home. Growing up in Utah I always thought there was nothing to do here, it’s so boring here, but in actuality there are so many things to do here! We can go camping literally 10  mins. away from our home, the lake is 20 mins. away, we can go hiking and see water falls, bike trails, skiing, rock climbing, camping, there are so many outdoor things to do. My husband and I decided we should take advantage of living in UT while we are here so we will be going on more adventures in UT this Summer, I can’t wait!