Friday, January 29, 2016

Phayre's Nursery Tour

Phayre's nursery has quickly become my favorite room in the house.  It's so light and bright, it makes me happy just walking in there!  Eric and I worked together on the room (he did all the handy work while I decorated my little heart out) and it turned out better than I had even envisioned.  There is an eclectic mix of products in her room, my favorites being the handmade items!

I began buying things for Phayre's nursery before I even found out she was a girl.  It was no secret I realllllly wanted another girl!  I had bought a few things for her and figured if it was a boy I would just put them in Sloan's room.  Well lucky for us, we got our second baby girl and I had so much fun with her nursery!

I didn't want a specific theme or colors for the nursery, but I did end up using a lot of pinks, mustard, gold, and florals.  I have a major soft spot for florals, you'll see a few pop up in P's room!  It has a shabby chic feel, with some modern elements as well.


Phayre's quilt was the perfect piece that tied everything together in her nursery.  I absolutely love the fabrics and the craftsmanship is just incredible.  We even have a little matching doll quilt (how cute is that?!).  Her crib sheet is so darling and whimsical, I ordered it the moment I saw it.  I am also so in love with her rug and felt like it was really reasonable for such a large rug!

Come on in and take a peek...







Eric put up wood planks and then white washed them to create the wall behind her crib.  Then we hung a floating shelf and covered it with frames and the most darling name blocks.  Another nursery favorite are the cloud mobiles.  I dreamed of these mobiles before I was even pregnant with Phayre.  They are so unique and look so sweet hanging above her while she sleeps.  The felt ball garland was the perfect finishing touch to this wall.



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I can totally envision Phayre pushing this little doll pram around with the cutest handmade doll and little quilt (similar pram here).  And I love showing off all of the beautiful fabrics from her blankets and crib sheets in these peek a boo baskets (similar basket here).  I may have a bit of a blanket obsession, but at least I get to enjoy looking at all of them!



Phayre's dresser doubles as her changing table.  I love her simple changing pad cover because there are so many other colors around it.  I used picture ledges above her changing table to display artwork and picture frames.  The gold foil unicorn and "You Are Loved" frames are my favorite!  Her headbands hang from twine and clothespins (we may have a few too many headbands... yeah right, like you can have enough?!).  I also hung a fawn clock and a dreamcatcher (which hangs from a bow hook).  I repurposed a kitchen cart to hold her diapers, wipes, toiletries, and burp cloths and it fits so nicely in the corner. 




 


I love the simple mirror I found for Phayre's room (I got it at a discount store, but this one is similar).  I added a little wire rack below so that I could display (and easily see) her shoes.  It also has little hooks that let me display some of her special things (like this flower crownteething necklace, and romper).




Phayre's glider is really comfortable and I love how perfectly the fuzzy blush pillow fits on it.  I like to display my favorite floral blanket on the back of the chair (it's crazy soft).  Instead of a traditional ottoman, I use a gold pouf.  Above her chair I hung a watercolor art print and the cutest unicorn head!



We spray painted a cheap white curtain rod gold and hung sheer ruffled curtains (similar ones here).  The cutest little shelving unit hold's Phayre's toys and books (toy basket).  I love when books are cute enough to display!



We all enjoy Phayre's nursery so much and I love watching the girls play together in there.  This room was so fun to decorate and I look forward to watching her grow and change in this space.



I also just got this crib sheet and have really loved it in Phayre's room as well!



Hope you like P's room as much as we do!  Let me know your thoughts!

Xo

Marisa

Follow Friday // Our Favorites

Hello and HAPPY FRIDAY!  I'm so excited that it's Friday because we have a fun weekend planned and we're actually getting in some family time just the four of us!  This week flew by as it was filled with play-dates, doctor appointments, and other errands.  We also squeezed in a few fun things this week like evening walks, trips to the park, and dinner at the food trucks (If you live near Portland, OR you need to check out Happy Valley Station!).  I thought I would share some of our current favorites (and latest finds) so that you can follow along with them too!

Well my current most favorite thing in the entire world is Sloan's imagination.  We have entered into imagination land and I am beyond excited to be a passenger on Sloan's adventures.  She say's the absolute funniest things and I am painfully aware of how much she listens to what I say!  The other day she was pretending to be me (Rapunzel doll) and Eric (Flynn Rider) and she had Eric walk in and say, "I'm home!  How's errything goin Mama Bear?"  Then I said, "Hi Daddy, hold baby Phayre, I so tired!  Be very chareful, she's just a baby!"  Eric and I started cracking up... apparently Sloan senses how exhausted I've been!  Ha :)

Other Favorites:

1. These floor pillows from Ruffles and Beaux Baby.  Sloan calls it her "marshmallow pillow", which actually makes sense because it's super light weight and airy.  Our pillow gets drug from room to room and is sat, bounced, and drooled on regularly.  I just think it's such a cute and functional item for any bedroom or playroom!



2. The world's softest and cutest onesies by Golden Hill Designs.  You guys, I'm not kidding these onesies are crazy soft.  My only complaint is that I didn't have any for Phayre before now!  And don't even get me started on how cute the fabrics are!  Made by two hard working mamas, Golden Hill onesies are definitely a new fave around here and a new regular in Phayre's wardrobe rotation!


3. This bunny push toy from Bannor Toys.  All I can say is Phayre will have this in her Easter basket this year!  Way too cute.


4. This super easy and delicious cauliflower chowder recipe that we tried this week.  The leftover soup was equally as good.  A must try if you like making soups!

5. This super adorbs heart and lip sweater for toddlers!  I picked one up for Sloan and it's seriously so cute and perfect for Valentines Day!


6. Another current obsession are these criss-cross toddler flats.  Um these are cooler than any flats that I own?!  You guys have to check these out!

I hope you guys have an amazing weekend!  Rest up and recharge for next week!

Xo

Marisa


Thursday, January 28, 2016

Whats in my Diaper Bag // Packing for two

Having two kids means having lots of stuff!  Obviously every time I leave the house, I bring my trusty diaper bag with me (my husband refers to it as my suit case).  I'm that mom that has anything I could possibly need at any given time.  I may be an over-packer, but I'm always prepared!


Let's start with my suit case diaper bag.  I use the Lily Jade Elizabeth bag in camel and I absolutely love it.  I got the bag when I was pregnant with Phayre because I knew it was the perfect bag for two kids.  It's so spacious and has soooo many pockets.  It has this amazing insert that helps me stay extra organized!  Now, what do I fill it with...


1. Diapers, Wipes, and Cream
Sloan potty trained super early, so I only have to carry diapers and wipes for Phayre (thank goodness).  I'm not particularly picky about diapers, but I always use these Honest wipes (they're super slim and only 99 cents a pack).  I try to make sure I have 3-4 diapers every time I leave the house.  Luckily Phayre hasn't gotten a diaper rash yet, but I do have a tube of my favorite diaper cream just in case.

2. Extra Clothes
I always have an extra outfit for both girls-onesie, pants, and socks for Phayre and shirt, pants, panties, and socks for Sloan.  I also keep little hats for both girls just in case we stop at the park (bonnets or beanies in the winter and sun hats in the summer).  Ok ok and I'll admit it, I keep an extra headband and bow :).  Clearly not necessities, but I already told you I like to be prepared!

3. Food/Drink
If you have a toddler, you know that above all things-YOU NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT SNACKS!  I use a large snack container and mix in raisins, gold fish, cheerios, and yogurt dips (this snack container is super cute!).  I also usually throw in a fruit bar or some fresh fruit.  I always pack Sloan's favorite sippy cup and a bib just in case we go out to lunch/dinner and she wants mac n' cheese!  I may have a secret stash of lollipops as well, ya know for when I really need to bribe some good behavior out of Sloan.

Phayre is still exclusively nursing, so I bring my nursing cover everywhere I go.  If your baby is formula fed, you'd just bring a bottle and formula.  I used this formula dispenser with Sloan.  And when P is eating solids I'll have to make sure I bring this food dispensing spoon that I loved with Sloan (and another bib for her).  

4. Comfort Items
Phayre is a major paci baby so I always have 1-2 extra pacifiers in my diaper bag.  Sloan is very much attached to her "silky" (a small lovey blanket) so I have one of those packed.  I always bring 2-3 toys (or teethers, this is Phayre's favorite) for the girls.  I also love the Indestructibles books because they are so thin and don't take up much space.  And because I've forgotten a blanket for P one or two or three times, I always roll up a lightweight swaddle blanket and leave that in my diaper bag just in case. 

5. First Aid
In the inside zipper of my diaper bag I always keep a thermometer and infant tylenol.  Oh and band-aids!  Because those suckers will calm Sloan down in an instant!  In the summertime, I always have a small roll on sunscreen as well.

6. Clean Up
I always bring surface wipes (to wipe down shopping carts and restaurant tables) and use them religiously.  Both of my kids have had acid reflux so I never leave the house without one of my favorite burp cloths (seriously they're the best).  I'm also kind of a hand sanitizer freak and love this spray kind.  I attach a little disposable bag dispenser on my diaper bag so that I have something to put messy burp cloths or dirty clothes in... comes in real handy when P has a blowout!

7. For Mama
I bring the obvious things like my cell phone, wallet, and keys, but I also always bring myself a snack (usually an oat mama bar) and my lipgloss.

I hope this helps you guys stay organized and prepared!

Xo

Marisa

P.S. We are giving away a Lily Jade diaper bag over on our Instagram (@sloan_and_co)!  The giveaway runs from 1/27-1/29, good luck!!


Monday, January 25, 2016

Weekend Adventures

How is it already Monday again?  This past weekend flew by (they all seem to do that lately).  Eric has a huge meeting today so he had to go in to work for a few hours on Saturday and most of the day Sunday.  Dada working on the weekend is the worst, but luckily the girls were really good and we mixed some fun outings in.

Saturday morning Sloan had her first swim lesson of this year.  She's been taking swim lessons for more than a year now and loves it.  I finally talked two of my girlfriends into signing their kids up so it was much more social for mama!  She had a blast splashing around the pool and finally doesn't mind putting her head under water.  After swim I took the girls home for lunch and naps while Eric went into work for the afternoon.  The girls took amazing naps and at the same time (hallelujah!).

Once the girls were up and Eric was home, we headed out to Bridgeport Village to do a little shopping.  Ahh and this is where our first bathroom adventure took place (oh just wait, I have two stories for you!).  If you're a parent, you'll totally get this... and if you're not I'm really sorry for all the potty talk, but this is what parents do.  We talk about poop.  Regularly.

Anyways... We were walking through Crate and Barrel and I told Sloan that I wanted her to come to the bathroom with me.  The bathroom was packed so we had to wait in line for a few minutes.  Once we were in the stall, I helped Sloan go potty and then sat down to go myself.  I reached over the get some toilet paper and Sloan grabbed my hand to stop me.  She got this incredibly frustrated look on her face and yelled, "NO MOMMY, YOU DON'T WIPE YOUR GG!!! I WIPE YOUR GG FOR YOU!!!"  Did I mention the bathroom was packed?  Oh and Sloan calls her vagina a "GG".  I very quietly explained that she could not wipe Mommy and that I needed to wipe myself.  The girl lost her damn mind.  She started screaming and crying (on repeat), "NOOOOO SONNY DO IT!  SONNY WIPE MOMMY'S GG!!!"  I had to hold her little fist full of toilet paper away and quickly get my pants up.  Then I drug her screaming little body out of the stall and all of the other women in the bathroom were cracking up.  I just gave a half smile and put my head down while I washed our hands as fast as I possibly could.  Hashtag mom life.


Sloan was able to recover from the bathroom mishap and so we finished our shopping and met some good friends for dinner.  Go figure, she was a perfect angel at dinner.  Toddlers are cray I tell you.

Eric had to work most of the day Sunday so the girls and I had a slow morning.  We rolled around in bed and read books for a few hours.  I finally got all three of us dressed and headed out to run some errands.  After our errands I decided to stop and get us some lunch.  As we sat there just the three of us Sloan said, "Mommy, I had a wonderful dream!"  I matched her enthusiasm and asked her what the dream was about.  She said, "I was twirling at dance class!  It was so fun, I love it!"  OMG she is so cute and acting way too grown up these days!

Such a big girl!

Phayre was sitting on my lap during lunch and half way through our meal she began pooping.  Within seconds I could see that it was a blowout and seeping down both of her legs.  I jumped up and quickly drug the baby, toddler, carseat, and diaper bag into the bathroom.  There wasn't a changing pad in the bathroom (seriously Chipotle, you suck), so I had to lay a blanket down and change P on the concrete floor.  If you've ever seen a breastfed baby's poop, you know it is not at all solid.  There was poop everywhere!  As I started to clean wipe her up, Sloan started whining.  I turned around and she was REACHING INTO THE TOILET trying to fish out her little finger puppet that had flipped off of her finger and into the toilet.  I was literally tripping over myself trying to get to her as fast as I could.  I told her that yucky germs were crawling all over her toy and if we touched the toy it would make us really sick.  That didn't work, so I promised to buy her a new toy if we could leave it there.  She immediately said, "I can get a new Palace Pet toy?"  Sure kid, whatever you want!  Then I scrubbed her hands and basically bathed her in hand sanitizer.  Crisis averted... right?

Wrong.

I turned back around to finish changing Phayre's diaper and she had pulled the diaper up onto her tummy and covered herself in shit.  I mean poop, sorry.  I won't even go into more detail, I'm sure you can imagine how awful it was.  You guys, sometimes I wonder why I even leave the house.  We are literally a traveling shit show.

In other (less disgusting) news, we are currently obsessed with using a condiment dispenser (like for ketchup or mustard) to write things with pancake batter!  Sloan thinks its amazing and will eat a ton of breakfast if I do it this way!


We also made this amazing baked honey garlic chicken over the weekend!  Seriously my new favorite chicken dish!  Make sure you're following me on Pinterest so you see the recipe!  You can find me @sloanandcoshop and it's under 'Good Eats'!

Outside of our two bathroom adventures, it was actually a great weekend!  I missed Eric like crazy, but I got to spend a lot of quality time with my girls.  This whole mom thing can be tough, but last night when I put both my babies to bed, I felt so overwhelmed by how much I love them and how lucky I am to be there mama.  Alright now lets get through this week so we can have more adventures next weekend!


Xo

Marisa

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Owlet Care // Product Review

Even as a second time mom, I am still always worried about something happening while my baby is sleeping.  I don’t think that fear, that awful nagging feeling that something might happen while your baby is sleeping ever goes away.  It doesn’t matter if it’s your first or your fifth child! 

As soon as Phayre turned four months old, my husband began asking me when we were going to move her into her crib (all the way down the hall in her own room!) at night.  She had been sleeping in a little bassinet next to my bed and I loved having her close to me.  On any given night, I would wake 1-3 times and just reach over and put my hand on her little chest to make sure I felt it rising and falling.  The thought of her being so far away gave me such anxiety.  While we use video monitors in both our girls rooms, I still felt very anxious about moving her into her own room.  Mama worry and anxiety is the worst!  #amiright??  This is why I am so excited to be reviewing the Owlet Smart Sock today!


I received the Owlet Smart Sock and put it on Phayre’s foot as soon as I opened the box!  The Owlet monitor uses hospital technology, designed to alert you if your baby stops breathing.  It uses the technology of pulse oximetry to monitor heart rate and oxygen levels.  Setting it up was a breeze and Eric and I easily connected both of our smart phones.   The whole Owlet system is incredibly user friendly and easy to understand, there are even quick videos in the app to help you get it set up.


After testing it out during her nap, we were so impressed!  We loved that we could both easily check on her, even if we weren’t home.  I felt so confident in the product that we moved her into her crib that night!  Now if only the Owlet could help us with that awful four month sleep regression ;).  Seriously guys, where did my perfect little sleeper go?


Now if I wake up at night, I just glance at the base station and go right back to sleep.  While she’s napping, I can quickly open the Owlet app and check on her.  I ran an errand the other day and was able to check on her through the app even though she was at home sleeping (thank you technology!).  We have used the Owlet Smart Sock for every nap and at night since we first got it, the peace of mind this product offers Eric and me is priceless.  My biggest complaint is that I didn’t have this two years ago with Sloan!  It is truly a necessity in my opinion!


I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “You can’t put a price on peace of mind.”  But for me, peace of mind and better sleep came at the price of the Owlet monitor.  Being a parent is hard and sometimes fear and worry can get the best of you.  I couldn’t agree more with Owlet’s slogan, “A little help for the hardest job in the world.”   I’ll take all the help I can get!  Our Owlet gives me added peace of mind when I'm trying to rest myself, I sleep easy knowing that my little lady is breathing just fine.

But seriously you guys, is she not the cutest little bald headed babe you've ever seen?!

You can learn lots more about Owlet Care on their website.  Also check out their social media platforms: Instagram & Facebook.

Xo


Marisa

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Valentines Wish List For The Littles!

Hooray for another holiday, my house felt really bare after taking down all of our Christmas decorations!  Valentines Day is a fun holiday because it's all about love and hearts and so much pink. You guys already know how I feel about dressing my girls up for holidays and Valentines Day is no exception!  I gathered up a few of our favorite Valentines goodies and put links for them below!



And although these aren't on our wishlist, I already bought the girls these heart jammies.  They are SO cute and Sloan loves when she matches Phayre!

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Homemade Pop-Tarts


Is anyone else's Pinterest feed full of Pop-tart recipes?  I have been seeing cute sprinkled treats fill my feed for a few weeks now, so this morning we decided to try our own!  Because I didn't want to go to the store, our Pop-tarts were semi-homemade (we didn't make the crust), but if you're wanting to make them totally from scratch just search Pinterest and you'll find dozens of recipes.  Recently, Sloan has started to love baking and asks almost every day if we can bake something (this is really really helping me shed that baby weight :-/).  This semi-homemade version was perfect for a toddler's attention span!

I hadn't planned on putting this recipe on the blog, but after a few of you asked on Instagram I decided to add it... I didn't take many photos as we made them though, sorry!  Also the photos are terrible because I took them on my phone to send to a friend.  Maybe someday I'll make these and take great photos... nah lets be honest, I'll never get around to that :).

What you'll need:
-1 package refrigerated or frozen pie crust (it's usually rolled up and in a box)
-Preserves or jam (we used Smuckers low sugar strawberry preserves)
-1 cup powdered sugar
-2 Tbsp. milk
-Food coloring (whatever color you want the icing to be)
-Sprinkles

Tools:
-Rolling pin
-Pizza cutter
-Fork
-Baking sheet
-Wax paper

1. If you bought frozen pie crust, you'll have to let it defrost.  I had Wholly Wholesome organic pie dough in the freezer and it only took about 20 minutes to defrost.  Once your pie crust is defrosted, unroll it and you'll have two circles of dough.  Using your pizza cutter, cut the edges of the circle off so that it becomes a square (save your scraps though!). Cut your square in half vertically.  Now cut it in thirds horizontally, you should now have six rectangles.  Do this to the other circle, now you'll have 12 equal pieces of crust (6 pop-tarts).  Take all of your scraps and roll them into a ball, then roll them out using your rolling pin, you should be able to get four more rectangles out of your scraps (2 pop-tarts).  ***I let Sloan help me with the cutting of the dough so our pieces were not equal at all, they still turned out just fine!

2. Place a piece of wax paper on your baking sheet. Put eight rectangles of pie dough onto the baking sheet.  Using a tablespoon, put about 1 tablespoon of preserves or jam in the center of each rectangle.

3. Dip your finger into water and spread a little water around the edges of each rectangle.  Cover each rectangle with another rectangle and press down around the edges to seal them.  Take a fork and press down around the edges.


4. Pop your pop-tarts into the refrigerator and let set for 30 minutes.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.


6. While the pop-tarts are baking, make the frosting.  Mix the powdered sugar and milk together until smooth (you may want to add more powdered sugar or milk depending on what consistency you want).  I added two drops of red food coloring to make our frosting pink.

7. Once you've gotten the pop-tarts out of the oven and they have cooled completely, drizzle the frosting over the pop-tarts and then sprinkle the sprinkles over top.  And ta-da you have cute and delicious homemade pop-tarts!  Enjoy!


Xo

Marisa

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