Sick + Lazy + Throwback Netflix

This post is part of a year-long partnership with the Netflix #StreamTeam.
Yesterday was one of those days where Carter was great all day and then suddenly at around 2 he just hit a wall and could no longer function. Tired, moody, telling me his stomach hurt. He just crashed. Then he started with the fever. I was so thrown off because these things always happen in the middle of the night, don't they?!

He actually fell asleep in the car yesterday, and I can't remember the last time that happened so I knew he definitely wasn't himself.

We put him to bed early last night and this morning I had one of those glorious, slow mornings with him. You know where you don't go anywhere or accomplish anything right away? I lounged with him in the recliner so he could get a little more rest (he always wakes up early when Tom goes to work, sick or not). We did absolutely nothing until 11am and it was so good for him (and me too!)

Now Tom and I are feeling this little bug too (the first sign I know I'm not feeling well is when I have to force myself to drink one cup of coffee rather than savoring cup after cup.)

So anyway, we've been sick of all our usual movies (no pun intended) so we searched through Netflix and happened upon The Emperor's New Groove. I remember seeing that in the theatre years ago. We also watched The Brave Little Toaster, which brought me back to my play room circa 1992.

Another throwback show on Netflix that we are just starting to get into (but it's not really a throwback since it's a new series) is Inspector Gadget. I LIVED for this show as a kid. The theme song is in my head right now
Go, Gadget, Go!
da-da-da-da-da
Inspector Gadget...

I also frequently ask Tom to use his "go-go gadget arms" to reach me anything in the back seat when we're in the car. His arms go for days and he can reach anything, anywhere in the entire car and it's hilarious. Sometimes I ask for things just to see if he can reach it because it's so amusing.

Anyway, around 11, Carter got a burst of energy and for the first time ever asked me to do his hair. I have begged him in the past only to get shot down over and over. Today he wanted it "Like Hobby Pig from Hobby Kids" and then he pulled up the YouTube video and showed me exactly what he meant. Oh those YouTube channels. They're a double edged sword, I tell you.

So I gave him a little swoop and had a silly photo shoot. It was a good day.

 also there was some cute cow lick action happening in the back today

Carter, New Dress, Red Lipstick

So Carter is still at it with his difficult questions. New today was "why do we have bones in our hands?" For that question I was able to whip up an answer, but for some questions he throws out--totally unprepared. 

He's also throwing me off with new words he's using. This stage of 3, almost 4 is so crazy. He's changing right before my very eyes and I don't even know what to do about it. It's like he's 3 going on 30.

The other day we were playing a Paw Patrol board game. You have to have a little cardboard cutout of each of six different pup packs to win. You get the packs by landing on them with the spinner. So my sister spins and gets the same pup pack twice. 

Carter: "It's okay, Auntie. Sometimes you get a duplicate." Duplicate?! What? 

Me: "Carter, that was a really good word to use." 

Carter: "How do I know these things?"

This dress was sent to me from eShakti. I chose it because I LOVE the top! I also thought it was fun that it was short sleeved. And yes, I'm standing outside with short sleeves and snow on the ground. I've had a hard time taking photos of this dress because even though we're inching toward spring, there are still limited hours of good daylight! So anyway, bare arms in about 20 degrees happened. And it wasn't that fun.

P.S. The belt is separate and I borrowed it from my sister. That's what sisters are for, aren't they?


If you're in need of anything from a sun dress to a bridesmaid dress, grab 10% off  with code NTYRVERGEB. Code is good until 4/3/15.

Since I had to get all dressed up today, I thought a good makeup sesh was in order. It's always fun to take the time to put more than a little bronzer and mascara on (my daily routine). 

In case you're interested:

Brows: Anastasia dip brow in blonde
Lashes are Ardell Demi 120
Lips: Combo of MAC Cherry Red lip pencil and Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in 69

Carter Sleeps: GoodNites Bed Mats

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and GoodNites, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #BetterNights  http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO

So my Carter-Man has been a star potty-trainer so far. We've been dabbling in the whole thing since 5-8 months (have you heard of elimination communication or early start potty training? You'll probably want to read about it--it's awesome).

Nighttime is a whole different story though. He has never been the type to wake up to use the potty, and we're in the process of switching to pull-ups/trainers at night. With the switch comes lots of leaks and accidents. So HELLO Target GoodNites Bed Mats. Total lifesaver. 

The genius who came up with the peel and stick back has my heart forever. I didn't realize before I got them that they would adhere to the sheet, and I wondered how the heck they'd stay put in the midst of Carter's flips and twirls (he's an active sleeper--basically he does gymnastics in the middle of the night). 

Carter sleeps in our bed with us (yaayy co-sleeping!!) so these mats are SO essential. Do you know how hard it is to change a King sized sheet in the middle of the night? It got to the point where I'd say forget it and just put a towel down wherever the leak happened (gross). These disposable mats are a MUCH better alternative to washing our sheets every other day (ain't nobody got time fo' dat)--that YouTube clip will never get old.

Whenever the boy springs a leak in the middle of the night, it's always at the bottom of his shirt/top of his pants, so the mat is large enough no matter which direction he decides to spin in.

If you want to try these out (why wouldn't you??) grab this coupon for $1.50 off at Target: http://coupons.target.com/goodnites-coupons It works for the GoodNites Bed Mats or the GoodNites Bedtime Underwear.

Toddler Logic + Style

We finally have outside weather here (and by outside weather I mean warm enough to hang out outside without sweatshirts!) so we've been taking full advantage. 

Last week we hung out by a mulch pile. I guess this is what little boys like to do. 

hat + tee : Old Navy | leggings c/o Jennifer Ann | shoes: TOMS 

So Carter finally allows me to put his TOMS on him. It took a few weeks, but he's finally into them because I explained that they have the same name as Dada. Duh. Toddler logic. I don't know why it took me that long to think of that strategy.

I've learned that if you want your child to wear things other than pajamas and crocs, you have to think like a toddler. Luckily, these leggings took absolutely no convincing. I'm sure you guys have seen the Jennifer Ann leggings before (this girl is the sweetest. do you read her blog?) I want to own every print. 

So remember when I told you about the mulch pile?

And when the mulch got boring, we threw rocks in the drain.

Look at that baby butt!! Boys are the best. I could watch Carter throw rocks down the drain all day. I think I did the same until I was  like 13. (I'm completely serious).

Carter also rocked some skinny jeans this weekend that I got from ThredUp.com. Do you guys do this?? I am all for second hand clothes, especially for name brands. I can't help it. I have a thing for brands and there's nothing I can do about it. I have some True Religion jeans coming that I got for only $36 including shipping. Whaatt? Do you know how exciting that is?

This weekend we RELAXED (after a way too busy previous week). Tom played 48 holes of disc golf with my dad and Carter and I hung out at the park with Grammy on Saturday. On Sunday Carter got to see his two best buds. We tried to get a cousin picture, but they weren't having it. 

I'm not so patiently awaiting my MAC Pro Membership card. If it doesn't get here pronto, I'm going to start having seizures or something equally horrifying. 

Be sure to come back tomorrow for a Chic Nova giveaway and a few outfit pictures!

Who's Birthday Is it Anyway?

Can I just be completely honest and tell you that it's really hard to not get all Pinterest-y and to make Carter's second birthday the way that I want it?

I feel bad admitting to that, but if it were up to me the colors would be completely different and the theme wouldn't be so theme-y. But you know what? It's about Carter, not me! I think with first birthdays, us moms are allowed to make it a little bit about us. I mean, at 12 months, your child doesn't really have too many preferences regarding party decor. But 24 months? That's a different story.

Now that Carter has certain things he's obsessed with (*cough* Veggie Tales *cough*) I feel that it would be a huge injustice on my part if I simply ignored them and went with party decor that I want him to have. Since I have come to this realization, we're going with green, red and purple as the party colors (the respective colors of Larry, Bob, and Larry Boy). The excitement that these three colors bring to him is unreal. He now calls the colors by name--meaning anything red is now called Bob, anything green is called "Hine" (Larry) and anything purple is "boy" (Larry Boy). Everything from the balloons to the cupcakes are going to be somewhat Veggie Tales related.

I never thought I'd have a character themed birthday party. For some reason, they're just not my thing. But to be able to guarantee that Carter loves his party? I'd have a Dora party for goodness' sake (can't stand that girl.)

What do you do for your kids that you secretly (or not so secretly) don't like?


And let's reminisce really quick about Carter's birthday last year.

Sick Boy + Comforting Things

Carter woke up this morning with a fever. It's always a sad day when that happens. He's been lounging on the couch and really not doing much in general. His only source of happiness today is the iPad and his dog lovey, who is aptly named Doggy Blanky (we are original, I know). 

I thought, that since he isn't feeling so good, I'd come up with a few little items that would be comforting for sick kiddos. #1 and #4 also play soothing music, which is always a nice addition on sick days.

1-4 can be purchased at Baby Lurve | 5

I think the sheep and the giraffe would be my first choice. Or quite possibly the Aden + Anais issie bamboo security blankets. Have you felt their bamboo products? So soft you could cry, seriously. 

Baby Lurve also has lots of other sleep "friends" with night lights and music. We were always in need of those. The bear and seahorse ones are particularly adorable. 

I have a few other things to tell you today. 

I am meeting Andrea from Glam Hungry Mom and Jodi from Jodi Bean's Blog at a Boston Bloggers event on Monday! That is less than a week away! I am beyond excited to meet them! Stop by and check out their fabulousness ; )

*   *   *   *   *

And if you haven't entered the $100 Target gift card giveaway, you should probably take part in that as well. Target is always a good time. 

This post is supported by Baby Lurve. 

you'll want to read this one

So Carter has a dairy sensitivity (coconut milk yogurt^^). This has been an ongoing thing. It has gone from bad, to better, to worse. He hasn't had much dairy recently, and last night he started begging me for some Trader Joe's cool whip. Well, there really isn't that much dairy in it, so I thought what the heck, a couple of spoonfuls aren't going to hurt. Wrong.

And hurt they did. A few spoonfuls later, Carter gave me the uh-oh-mom-i'm-gonna-puke look. I calmly walked him to the bathroom (he pukes a lot), held him over the sink (just in the knick of time), and he did his thing. He fussed about the "mess" in the sink, then laughed, and got down to run around like his normal self.

I started to clean the sink. In the two seconds that I took to actually concentrate on the cleaning, Carter walked to the other side of the bathroom, lifted the lid on the toilet, stuck his hands in the trash and threw the trash into the toilet. Not a big deal if you're talking a few tissues or something, right? Nope. He threw in a a disposable diaper, a cardboard toilet paper roll, a paper towel and a baby wipe before I got to him.

*I took a picture to send to Tom, but I'll spare you a picture of my toilet crammed full of diapers, cardboard and paper towels. Use your imagination.

I grunted a little and told him to walk to the living room while I grabbed a plastic bag.

As I fetched the debris out of the toilet (glamorous, I know) he came waltzing into the bathroom sans diaper (apparently he ditched it in the living room) and peed in not one, but three places on the bathroom floor (I was incapacitated at this point because I was holding toilet debris and plastic bags). When he started chanting "poop" I almost lost it.

I this time seriously told him to go in the living room, threw everything out in the trash, cleaned up the bathroom floor and washed my hands 50 million times.

Toddlers are hard.

But I'll keep him anyway.

his new favorite things to do

Raising Imperfection and Mommy Confessions

Have you entered the $100 Amazon gift card giveaway?

Food Allergy Fail + Cool Bracelets

So on Halloween, I was not thinking. We had tons of Halloween candy, but it was all chocolate. Some contained peanuts (peanut butter cups!) and others were made in the same facility as tree nuts. This little (I would guess 3) year old boy came and was trying to pick out candy and kept asking his mom if it was safe. She nicely told him "no" and he picked one anyway that they would later swap for him. I felt HORRIBLE. And so dumb for not having Starbursts or something that kids with nut allergies can have.

We were smart enough to think of Carter and to not get anything contaminated with sesame (which is pretty easy when it comes to Halloween candy), but I should have had nut and dairy free candy since those allergies are so common with kids now!

I can't even explain how bad I felt because it's so sad to see little kids disappointed when they can't have things that all the other kids around them are enjoying.

I'll make sure to do better next year!

In happy allergy news, we have discovered some pretty AWESOME allergy bracelets from Cool Allergy Stuff on Etsy. I'm so excited to tell you guys about these because I love how they have a fun/happy look (something not often associated with food allergies), and they don't just look like medical bracelets (kids will actually want to wear them!). These bracelets are so perfect for kids in day care and in school and once Carter starts school he'll definitely be wearing his every day. Every bracelet has a cute character made out of the allergen.

Carter has the sesame bracelet and his character's name is Teeni Tahini. How cute is that? (If you don't know what tahini is, it is ground sesame seeds and it's in most types of hummus). These bracelets are just what we were looking for, and even better? They're only $6.99. Not a big deal to replace them if they get lost.

The bracelet is great because it has three size settings. It is a tiny bit big on Carter, but he's only one so what can you expect? He liked wearing it and he actually brought it to me the other day to put on for him. ; )

It was tough to keep him still long enough to get a good picture of him inspecting it. This was as good as it got!

There are also bracelets for asthma. pollen, latex and cat allergies. Love how there is something for everyone.Definitely check them out if you deal with serious allergies in your family. I love them!

Makeup Consultation Success!!

So I had my makeup consultation today. It went AWESOME. I now have a real, almost set in stone plan for the classes I"m going to take and when I can start booking clients! (scream, scream, scream, yell like a little girl). It was beyond exciting.

The makeup artist himself was all sorts of amazing. He is SO nice, told me I did a good job on my own makeup (instant best friends--this is probably what he was going for seeing as he wants me to pay him the dough--it worked). And I got to tour the huge/awesome facility. There is a separate eyebrow and eyelash room. Swoon. I was basically completely in my element and having so much fun just looking around at all the photography studios, etc. We talked about the celebs he has done (Sarah Jessica Parker, and a bazillion others) and I kind of got a little giddy. I saw his autographs and his super awesome vintage makeup collection. SO, SO cool.

I really don't have words for anything else because I'm consumed with makeup right now, and I don't want to bore you within in inch of your life. All I want to do is go figure out how I get discounts at every makeup store once I'm an official makeup artist.So that's what I plan to do right now ; ) You know me, always contemplating my next shopping move.

So I'll  leave you with a picture of my two-tone hair that I'm loving that I was supposed to post like a month or so ago (sorry about that). And some photos of Carter at Halloween. He was an 80s rocker (fake earring and all). My sister and I were groupies, Tom was security. Carter has a mullet that I refuse to cut so we had to take advantage, you know?

(oh and excuse my random hair loop in the Halloween photo)

Sentimental

So I'm writing the real "how we met." If you read this one and were confused, don't worry, you'll get the for reals story, OK? I think I'll even give you a wedding sneak peak and some preggers photos just for fun. You know, since this little blog didn't exist then, it might be fun to still have all those stories on here. Sound good?

So writing the real stories made me go back and look at pictures from last year. And I found pictures of last fall. Carter has changed so freaking much. Usually, I am not all sappy around these parts, but I just can't help it right now.