Bust A Move

We had a pretty lazy, low key day today. At least Ayden and I did. David was the lone busy bee. He and his dad fixed our sump pump (yay for having our own working bathroom again!!) and got a TON of planting done in the garden. He also spent a while figuring out a new budgeting software while Ayden and I took a nap. We all kind of had our own days and though it was refreshing we missed each other!  It was great to come back together at the end of the day. We had dinner and took a walk with my parents around their beautiful gardens.

Black locust blossoms.  So beautiful.

My mom and I were like kids doing cartwheels down the hill in the back hard (yeah, she's totally 63!) and Ayden marveled while I hung upside down on the rings on the swing set.

The farm is such an amazing fit for us!  We can't wait to get our own little home out here and push play on our lives again. With patience and time all these dreams will come true. 

I took a little video of our new evening dance party ritual so we can always look back and see Ayden's moves at 1 year old. The boy loves dancing!  Enjoy!

~Sarah

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A Pat On the Back

Ayden has started doing something that I absolutely LOVE! Sometimes when I pick him up, especially if he has asked for me to do so, he lays his head down on my shoulder and says, "Mmmmm." It makes my heart melt into a puddle on the floor because now he is beginning to express that he gets just as many warm fuzzy feelings as I do when we hug. Today, he even took it one step further and patted my back while he hugged me. It was just precious.

David and I are very huggy and affectionate with each other (as well as with Ayden) and it looks like Ayden is beginning to follow suite.

To be surrounded by love is one of my life's greatest accomplishments to date. If you have love, there's really not much else you need. Surround yourself with it and everything else will fall into place.

~Sarah

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Toddler Friendly Smoothie

We drink a lot of smoothies at our house, especially since the weather is warming up!  It is a cool and refreshing way to start the day and an awesome way to get in a heaping amount of greens early on.  Talk about starting the day out right!  Ayden has always enjoyed smoothies too and I was recently talking to a fellow mother who had never thought to make smoothies for her daughter.  I had her at, "He drinks an entire handful of spinach!"  I don't know about other toddlers but Ayden, who doesn't have molars yet, has a tough time eating leafy greens.  He'll put them in his mouth and gum them around a bit and then out it comes.  Smoothies are the way to go in our house!

If you've never had a green smoothie, you may be concerned about it tasting like grass or other things green.  I'd imagine that some greens may cause that to happen (kale, for instance) but the light flavor of baby spinach is completely masked by the fruit.  Nothing but sweet deliciousness and TONS of nutrition.

I typically put in some frozen fruit, a banana (sometimes frozen, sometimes not... depends on what we have available) a HEAPING handful or two of spinach and a liquid of some sort.  Sometimes we juice some carrots, a head of romaine and an apple and add that as the liquid.  If we don't feel like cleaning the juicer, we just stick with coconut water or OJ.  Any kind of yogurt, milk or milk substitute would work too!  You can also add ice if you don't have any frozen fruit.  The sky is the limit.

Ayden's favorite combo:
Pineapple, orange, banana.

The amount of each ingredient you add is totally personal preference to what consistency you like and what flavors you want to dominate.  You really can't mess it up!

Kid tested, mother approved!

Get your toddler to drink his/her greens today!  If you give it a try let me know what you think!  Are smoothies a regular on your menu?  What is your toddler's favorite flavor combo??

~Sarah

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Getting Into It

Ayden slept well last night and was in the BEST mood today. I think it is safe to say he is officially healthy again! Woohoo!!! Even though he was sick, we can still tell his little brain is making more and more connections everyday. He is really getting into the swing of how things work. He likes to set things back upright when they fall. Likes to "cut" veggies which a little Gerber knife right along with me during dinner prep. He loves to feed the pets and dusts his hands off when they get too dirty. He even tries to say, "Bless you" when we sneeze. He is starting to pretend to count things and says new words all the time. And if he can't say what we say, he repeats the syllables. Here are a few pictures of what he's been getting into lately.

Naunie's head bands.  He had three around his neck.

"Pretending" to be Maverick.  He closed himself in and liked it that way.

Taking Daddy the shovel.

"Wearing" Daddy's watch

Bringing Mommy a dandelion so we could make wishes together.

There is never a dull moment where Ayden is concerned. He is a busy boy and watching him discover the world has never been this fun. The best part is that I'm sure that will continue to hold true for every age and stage. Sometimes it's fun to just sit back and really think about the fact that this little boy is OURS. We made him and get to raise him and he is a permanent part of our lives. He is now part of what defines us and for that I am eternally grateful. Who were we without him? I can't even remember and don't even want to.

~Sarah

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5 Tips To Make Your Life Simple {laundry edition}

David and I have a bit of a tendency to overbook our ourselves and take on lots of hobbies.  We know that this can spread us too thin at times but we just can't help ourselves.  We love this life we are living and all of the possibilities that are waiting for us out there. It's so hard to settle and choose and why should we?!? Since we can't help but only add to our ever growing to do lists, it is important that we don't waste valuable LIVING time on the details.

As you may have gathered from the tag line of this blog, I am on a mission to make life more simple for my little family.  I am actually still working to figure out exactly what my definition of "simple" is (that will need to have a post dedicated to it in and of itself), but I do know that we have adopted some little tips and tricks along the way that really do make our crazy lives run more smoothly.

I am going to start a little series that will consist of short(ish) posts that will list 5 little extra things that we take the time to do each day that make our lives more simple in the long run.  I am excited about this because: a)This is what my new blog direction is about in a nutshell, and b) I love sharing and exchanging tips with other families.  Surely if we put all of our minds together we can find the magic solution to an effortlessly simple, enjoyable life!

Here are the first 5 "Make Your Life Simple" tips that I'd love to share with you!

1) Invest in a 3 compartment hamper system.

It doesn't HAVE to be an actual hamper.  Any 3 compartment system will do.

Sort your clothes for laundry day everyday!  Not having to sort on laundry day makes it all a little less daunting.  I actually like to do 1 load per day (wash, dry, fold/hang and put away - that's the tricky part, isn't it??) so this method really helps.  I can just grab and toss in a load each morning without having to sort through it all every time.

2) Use a vertical line up system while putting clothes away in your dresser drawers.

Ayden's pants and shorts

You can see everything and you don't mess up the pile every time you have to dig something off of the bottom.

3) Stuff your cloth diapers where you can put them away as they are stuffed.

If you have diapers to stuff, of course...

I can't tell you how many times I have stuffed the diapers, stacked them in a laundry basket, and then lived out of that basket all week.  If I stuff them at the changing table, I can put them away as I go and it really feels like I've cut out the middle man (sorry, Mr. Basket!). 

4) Impliment a ONE laundry basket rule.

This is a new one that I am trying out.  I actually have several laundry baskets and adopted the mindset of "keep the laundry going."  It just seemed more efficient to put a new load in as soon as I took one out.  The problem is, life would get in the way.  Every. Time.  and I would end up with basket of clothes at verying degrees of put away readiness that would never actually get put away. If you are only working with one basket, you won't be able to start a new load until the previous one has been put away.  

5) Do ONE load of laundry per day.  

That way all you have to focus on is putting that one load in the washer, then the dryer, then folding/hanging it and putting it away.  Focusing on one load at a time really does make the laundry less daunting (no mounds and piles all at once) and much more simple.  If you know about FlyLady then you are probably familiar with the phrase, "A load a day keeps the CHAOS away" (CHAOS stands for "can't have anyone over syndrome).   I used to be a one BIG laundry day kind of girl and it was a challenge for me to get it all done. Ever since I've been making everyday a little laundry day things just seem more manageable. I'd also like add how, to help on diaper laundry day, I put my diapers in for their first rinse and wash cycles right before I go to bed, then all I have to do when I wake up is the last rinse and dry (I haven't had any problems with them sitting in the washer overnight).  This also helps me take full advantage of a day's worth of sunshine if I'm hanging them out on the line because I get to it right after breakfast.

There you have it!  5 little laundry habits to implement everyday that can make your life more simple in the long run.  There are some days where I forget to do a couple of these and I can really tell when things start to pile up.  I hope these can help you find a little peace on laundry day and I would love to hear any tips you have to make your laundry life a little more simple! 

~Sarah

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Homemade Glass Cleaner {that really works!}

Since we have moved into my parents basement, my cleaning schedule has been akward to say the least.  I still run the vacuum regularly in our basement living space (mainly to keep Maverick's fur at bay) and do my part to help my mom out with maintenance on the main level of the house.  I also keep up with the laundry and try to keep our things tidy as much as I can.  Though this is actually much harder than you'd think since our stuff is on top of their existing basement decor/"stuff" (if you've ever sublet an apartment or lived in someone else's already furnished home you can probably relate).  You know the saying, "A place for everything and everything in its place?" Yeah... That's not possible in our current situation.  My usual weekly dusting, window/mirror cleaning and the like that I did pretty regularly before our move have kind of fallen by the wayside.  The longer this has gone on, the more of a cleaning bug I have gotten. I am way passed ready to get my cleaning on!

I had come across a homemade glass cleaner recipe last summer and jotted it down on a post it note.  Somehow, that post it made the move and has been calling my name over the past few weeks.  I finally made myself some for the first time today and was amazed at how well it worked!

Ingredients everyone has in their house!
{This recipe will refill a standard sized store bought cleaner bottle}

Here is my wedding bouquet that my mom had preserved for me as a wedding gift:

Oh... what's that?  You can't see it through the film of dust?!?

YIKES!

This beautiful bouquet needed a little TLC to let its beauty shine through agian so I thought it would be a great item to test out my new homemade glass cleaner.  Drum roll.....

Look at the reflection on the top of the glass!

Let the beauty shine through! 

My official review of this homemade cleaning product:
This homemade glass cleaner is a definite win in my book.  I'll never be repurchasing pricey glass cleaner again!  It easily broke through that dusty film and didn't leave a single streak behind.  The essential oil that I added masked the vinegar smell and it felt good knowing exactly what was in it.

See for yourself!

And now I shall leave you with a couple of glass cleaning tips:

- Use microfiber cloths, news paper or coffee filters for lint free cleaning (unlike with paper towels).

-If you use microfiber, be sure not to use dryer sheets or fabric softener with them as that will cause build up and ruin their absorbency and static induced, dust attracting benefits.  If you do accidentally use these things, just hand wash the microfiber with Dawn original dish soap to strip away that residue (much like cloth diapers!) and they will be good as new.

If you make this and give it a try, let me know what you think.  You will not be disappointed!

~Sarah

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Taking Initiative

I took Ayden to the doctor today, just to make sure we were really in the clear. His fever finally broke after 3 doses of the Motrin. We were worried that we'd have to take him to the emergency room because his fever was so high. The Motrin would only bring it down to 102 and heat was just radiating off of him. It is hard to guage how alert or to what extent they are acting like "themselves" when they are sleeping restlessly. It was terrible but once the fever broke, he soaked the sheets under him with sweat. I don't think I have ever been so happy to feel wet sheets in my life!

He was feeling *better* yesterday but was still a tad bit warm. We thought that a fever of varying degrees lasting from Thursday night through Sunday warranted a visit to the doctor. After looking Ayden over and giving his little lungs a listen, Doc said that it is a little bit of bronchitis with what is possibly viral pneumonia in one of his lungs. He assured me that it sounds much worse that it actually is and is pretty common for kids Ayden's age. He said it sounded like we did everything right with the immune boosting, infection fighting supplements and the Motrin.  He thought that Ayden appeared to have already turned the corner to recovery.

Pretending that his horse was eating something under  patient table.

Doc wrote a prescription for an antibiotic and said to only use it if his temperature spikes again and suggested pairing it with an infant probiotic if we do have to use it. We love that our doctor is open and supportive with how we feel about medicine and letting the body work for itself.

Other than a lingering cough (which is now wet and must burn his chest with the way he fusses after every cough) Ayden was back to his normal, cheery self today. The cough gets worse at night so I'm sure we'll be up with him once or twice but I am just glad he is feeling better and LOVE kissing his forehead and finding it feeling back to the temperature to which I am accustomed.

Ayden has had some new developments over this past week. Since this post is all about him, I thought I'd include the cuteness here.

"Helping" us buckle his car seat straps.
We have to allow 5 extra minutes if we want to be on time anywhere.

"Helping" us feed the cats...
I was folding clothes while he was rummaging in the pantry.
Then I heard little kibbles scattering all over the floor.
Now I know that when he is rummaging the pantry, he most likely has a plan.

{I have a video of him trying to clean it up but Blogger is having trouble communicating with YouTube at the moment.  I'll come back tomorrow and try to add it then.}

~Sarah