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20
Feb

Blast from the Past

posted by rachel, February 20, 2012

About a week before we went to DisneyWorld, we were having dinner at my parents’ house. “Mom, where’s that old photo album full of the photos from our trip when I was a kid?” She told me to go digging in one of the closets, and sure enough, there was the fantastic treasure trove of old photos. We have not stopped cracking up. I think this was roughly 1986 or 1987, putting me at a year or two older than Jude. It really blows me away how much Jude resembles me when I was little.

Allow me to present a rough comparison of our trips. I give you “Disney World: 1986 vs 2012″.

For the record, please note that for my traveling ensemble, I was carrying a single red rose, a My Little Pony, and was wearing that awesome pink polka dot frock. Dramatic much? We also howled with laughter at my fantastic pose in the photo below left. I think I counted no less than 3 separate Mickey Mouse sweatshirts that make an appearance in these photos. So of course on our first day when we arrived with Jude, it was 40 degrees. For the high. And I had packed only warm weather clothes. So it was off to the nearest sweatshirt emporium where both Jude & I acquired the least-heinous Disney sweatshirts I could find.

I really love that photo album that I got from Mom. The photos of us 3 together – me, Mom, and Dad – are utterly priceless. I see a happy little girl with crazy 80s outfits having the time of her life with her folks. And someday I know Jude will see the same thing when he looks at our photos.

Except without the puff paint and tiedye. And the mullet.

Let's Chit-Chat { 2 }

17
Feb

Disney World!

posted by rachel, February 17, 2012

Can we all agree that Disney World really is the happiest place on earth? I’m pretty sure it is. Well, that and Paris.

Jude was the perfect age for this. It was a pretty taxing routine, and we blew on through naptime, but I was willing to be flexible as long as we were till having fun and not throwing tantrums. We spent four days total exploring the various theme parks. On Valentine’s Day (Tuesday), Simon ducked out of his conference and came to join us at the Magic Kingdom, and I’ve gotta say, it really was a magical day. I felt so glad to be with my wonderful little family. We rode rides, we ate junk food, and we laughed until we couldn’t laugh anymore. Perfection.

For the record? My kid is a total daredevil. He is fearless. I think that’s one of my favorite things about Jude. He’s joyful, fearless, and it brings me ridiculous amounts of joy to show him things.

We rode Peter Pan over and over again, and I drug him onto It’s a Small World (my favorite!) twice.

But right up there with Peter Pan was anything having to do with rockets or Buzz Lightyear. And when he finally got to meet Buzz Lightyear in person? I thought the kid was going to explode with excitement.

A big thank you to my sweet husband for taking us along on his conference. We really did have an amazing time.

Let's Chit-Chat { 5 }

1
Feb

Jude’s Big Blue Bed

posted by rachel, February 1, 2012

Right before she got sick at Christmas, Mom told me she wanted to buy Jude an honest-to-goodness big-kid bed for his Christmas present. I totally jumped at the offer because I’d been wanting to do something like that for him. Ever since we moved him out of his crib, he’s been sleeping in a West Elm daybed that we’ve had since we were newlyweds. And to be fair, it worked. But I wanted something a little more boyish, a little more (sob!) grownup.

Enter the Land of Nod’s Clark & Addison Bed. I researched tons of beds and I knew wanted something slightly modern, and definitely something colorful. It’s hard to tell from the above photo, but it’s actually navy blue. I love how tall the frame is but I also appreciate its simplicity. This is the perfect modern touch to his otherwise eclectic room. I had ordered it right before Christmas and then it was delivered before I headed to Alt Summit. More than anything, I’m extremely impressed with the quality. This bed can withstand a whole lot of abuse; it is ridiculously sturdy.

I’m happy to see how the room has come together. It’s a wonderful mix of estate sale finds (the campaign side tables and ginger jar lamp), Pottery Barn Kids (drapes & dresser), Williams-Sonoma home (the greek key rug) and Ikea (Expedit bookshelf & polkadot duvet). It’s whimsical and kid-friendly without being childish.

More and more I think how glad I am that we stumbled on those campaign side tables. Sure, they’re beaten up, but they’re perfect for storing all our favorite bedtime reads. Is there nothing more delightful than cozying up in bed with a book at the end of the day?

Isn’t that a darling happy boy all curled up in his bed? He loves his big boy bed so much. Thank you, Mom & Dad!

Let's Chit-Chat { 13 }

23
Dec

Merry Christmas, darlings

posted by rachel, December 23, 2011

Well, we made it! Hooray for Christmas. I hope you’re snuggled up with your families and staying warm, wherever you are.

The presents are all wrapped and cookies are baked. Can’t wait to let Jude rip into his presents as we celebrate Jesus’ birth.

Much love to each & every one of you!

Let's Chit-Chat { 0 }

14
Dec

Busyness of the Season

posted by rachel, December 14, 2011

Are you relishing in the season or are you overwhelmed by the busyness? I find myself swept in the tide of the latter, but I’m making an attempt to enjoy each day as it comes. Isn’t it funny, though, how we can set ourselves up for failure by expecting perfection? There’s so much pressure, I think, in making memories, especially at big events such as holidays or birthdays.

Take my little advent calendar, for example. I keep thinking, “Oh, how marvelous it will be when we participate in whatever day’s awesome activity together! The memories! He’ll remember it foreverrrrrrr.”

Well, let me just say that I hope he doesn’t remember a couple of them forever because they’ve been complete & utter motherhood failures on my part. Day no. 10 for example. We planned on baking cookies and decorating our IKEA gingerbread house but as it turned out that day, we spent the entire day at my sister’s house helping her stage it as they were listing it on the market w/ Simon this week. Jude had no nap and passed out in the car the second we left at 6:30pm. So when we got home, I thought I’d just put him to bed and call it a day. UM, NO. Cue the sleepyhead epic meltdown as he realized where we were headed halfway up the stairs (TO BED!). Me, not wanting to break a promise, said rather shortly, “Fine. Which one do you want to do? Gingerbread house or cookies?” He woefully muttered through the tears, “Gingerbwead house.”

So I got out all the trimmings and set them up on the island in the kitchen. I was exhausted but had to make cookies later that night anyway for a cookie swap I was participating in the next day. As I turned around, I saw Jude dump out half the container of sprinkles all over the floor. Then as we tried to put together the gingerbread house, it kept breaking & crumbling. It was the biggest disaster.

Just as I tried to attach the roof, one of the two pieces slid off the top and right onto the floor (frosting side down OF. COURSE.) and promptly crumbled into 1000 pieces. Jude’s sobbing, I’m nearly sobbing, then I yelled for him to go upstairs and get ready for bed. MOTHER OF THE YEAR RIGHT HERE.

AND. AND! As he’s sobbing heading upstairs while I’m cleaning up the frosting lard mess up off the floor, I hear a huge thump and wailing. HE FELL DOWN THE STAIRS. I flipped out and ran to him and made sure he was ok (which he was). It was not the proudest moment of my life, that’s to say the least. It was an early bedtime for both of us.

Oh, and the gingerbread house? More like a gingerbread shanty. Or lean-to. Take your pick. See how I tried to strengthen it with ‘Nilla Wafers? Yeah, not so much.

Well, live and learn, no? This week has been a flurry of work activity as I pressed through to meet my Etsy shop deadlines, which was insane. People were buying like crazy, and that is awesome, but I’m not gonna lie – it brings its own fair share of stress, too.

Have you met TomSam? That’s our Elf. He’s a busy little booger. One of my favorite things this year is seeing all my friends on Facebook as they show the creative ways they’re using their Elf on the Shelf. This was TomSam the other day – he got really busy wrapping presents & tying bows on all the packages.

Tangent: Do you like Brussels Sprouts? I think they’re my most favorite vegetable of all time. I simply adore them.

I can’t get enough of this kid. I hope he knows how much I adore him. I just want to bottle his sweetness up. Today he told me, “Mom, we’re gonna have to move the TV out of the fireplace so Santa can get down the chimney. Oh, and I don’t want him to see all the presents that are already under the tree.” Hahaha