Happening Lately.

Happening Lately.

After a month of almost non-stop travel, we are finally back home! My little family has experienced a lot of adventures since the end of April, and we have had SO MUCH FUN, but we are seriously ready to get back to normal. Babies thrive on routines. Heck, I thrive on a routine. It's back to grocery lists and scheduled naps and, oh yeah, this thing happened while we were gone - SUMMER!!!

I am still in the process of compiling all the photos from our trips to St. Simons Island and Rome (I found a few more Madrid photos and added them to the previous post, in case you're interested in seeing a few more) and I will have those up for you over the next week or so. One trip that I have almost zero photos from is the one from this past week - I was in Florida with my husband's family, where we basically go back in time and pretend that technology doesn't exist. Which was fitting because, this year, none of our technology worked anyway! The service on the beach that we love seemed to be worse than ever, so it wasn't hard to forget about owning a phone or computer. We just relaxed by the ocean and watched our babies eat sand while we ate grapes and sandwiches. I actually read a book. Well, part of a book. Okay, I read two chapters of a book and it was spectacular. I forgot how desperately much I love to read. It's been a long year of very little reading, but now that my baby is getting older, I feel like some of those pastimes will make a comeback in my world. Fingers crossed. Anyway, all that to say that I actually have very few pictures of the family beach trip (except for the few snippets above), because I needed to take a break and check out from my usual over-photographing, and that is quite alright. I got the memories!

I hope you all have some wonderful summer plans on the horizon. Since we stacked all our summer travel at the beginning of the season, come July and August I will probably be itching for another trip! But that's okay. I will just live vicariously through all of your vacation photos :) In the mean time, I hope you have a marvelous Monday and soak in some of this warmth!

Happening Lately.

Happening Lately.
We knew the month of May would be a little crazy. But it usually is for everyone - travel, graduations, birthdays, it always seems like the busiest month of the year. This May is no exception.

We have just gotten back in town after a week-long "work trip" at the beach. Actually, Stevie really did work the entire time, but I got to explore a new locale with Everett and we had such a sweet time together. Everything was slower-paced, both because I had a baby in tow and because the pace of life at St. Simons Island is slooooow. And it was just the absolute best. It gave me permission to relax a bit and get used to having a baby completely on my own in a tiny crowded hotel space - and we made it! More than made it, we totally loved it. More about this lovely trip next week though. I have great pictures and some of my favorite discoveries to share :)

Shopping + Swings Date.
A baby of 9 months is a baby of FUN. I can't believe how full-circle things have become with my little son. In the beginning, the days were long and tiresome. Oh wait. That hasn't changed. But our sleep patterns have improved and I am adoring this season that we are in together. He is a bundle of fun, curious about the world and discovering new things all the time. He has a great compass for humor and he legitimately has me cracking up laughing 10 times a day. I can't imagine what toddler-hood is like, because he is already crawling everywhere and getting into trash cans, eating my shoes, dissembling my purse, the works. But his newest and most favorite discovery is the park swing -  HE LOVES SWINGING. It's a delight! We have started going to the swings everyday, even if its only for 15 minutes. The other fun thing we did this week was shop - he accompanied me in my dress-shopping endeavor to find something for a wedding next week - what a patient gentleman he was. I think we picked a good one. All in all, he is just becoming my little buddy who is along the ride for anything. It's been such a blast.

Everett Got a Passport.
So obviously I dressed him up in a bow tie for his photo. I can't wait to see it - we pick up with completed passport this week. Someone's getting ready for his first international flight! Are we nutso or what?!

Snazzy Atlanta Wedding Heyyyooo.
It's wedding season! We've had the privilege of attending quite a few over the past month, and we are headed to another next week! But this last wedding was a particularly special one, because it was in honor of Stevie's cousin, whom we love, and the celebration was like a family reunion. It didn't hurt that we partied on an Atlanta rooftop whilst enjoying the splendid view, delicious food, and dancing the night away. A baby-free night is a good one, especially when there's a bit of bubbly involved.

Travel!
Coming Up: Stevie's Birthday in MADRID, an international Flight WITH A BABY, and a Wedding in Rome! Ah!

I'm seriously not sure if I am ready for all of this, but I guess it doesn't matter... because these things are coming up! We leave next Friday for our 9-day trip abroad... if you think about it, pray we have an easy time traveling with our baby! I am compiling gear, packing and repacking, making lists, etc. and hoping that it will all come together seamlessly. I won't be blogging along the way, like I did on our last Eurotrip, because I know I will have my hands a lot fuller this time, figuratively and literally! I really want to soak in the experience and focus on my family. So I have some posts pre-written and ready to go during the time that we will be gone. If you'd like to follow along the Euro experience, I will probably be over-posting on my Instagram, and obviously I will do lots of follow-up posts about our travel once we return. I am a bit of a travel glutton... so there will be lots of sharing!

Happy Mothering.
It's Mother's Day this weekend! My first ever! I have no idea what's in store, but I imagine that I will actually get to sleep in... maybe? That would really be something. If you haven't gotten your mama something yet, I put together a little guide a few weeks back. Hopefully it's helpful? Otherwise, enjoy your weekend, all you incredibly hardworking moms!

Happening Lately.

Pollen = Beauty = Head pain.

Happening Lately.
Happy Friday, folks! I hope you have some spectacular weekend plans in the mix.
We've been dealing with some sickness up in here. Not fun. Stevie's had some kind of upper respiratory funk since he got home from Turkey, Everett got his first fever and ear infection, I got a stye on my eye... and this morning I woke up with some symptoms of what my boys have going on. Is it pollen? Is it illness? I don't know, but I'm tired of taking care of sick people and I certainly don't feel like dealing with it myself. Do I sound moody? Sorry. I probably need a nap. But just imagine that I am hobbling around like blind Quasimodo, poor Everett is draped in my arms hacking up a lung, and Stevie's in the background somewhere blowing his nose like a trumpet. We are a touch pathetic. We are so ready to be back into the swing of things. Fingers crossed that this weekend is a time that we all heal up for good. I'm ready to wear contacts again, let alone maybe some mascara. Maybe.

Since we are really boring and have nothing but sickness to report, here are a few fun links.

I so very badly really, really really want to go to this retreat.

How rad is this bag? Plus, I love Honest Co. and FEED. Just dynamite.

My gal pal sent me this stroller workout and it's revolutionary.

Crap. I happened to find THE MOST ADDICTIVE snack food and now I'm a bit obsessed.

Gonna make this cake. Be on the lookout. 

Any awesome weekend plans? We are heading to a dear old friends' wedding tomorrow night, suuuuuper excited! I love marriage!
TGIF :)

Happening Lately.

Happening Lately.
TGIF Guys. I am happy that we have reached the weekend!

Reunited.
My husband is home from another work trip, and it feels good to all be reunited. He's been traveling every week lately for work and it's been me and Everett against the world. I am so grateful to have my little partner-in-crime, but obviously we are always waiting with bated breath by the door for when Stevie gets home. This week, especially, because Everett started saying "Dada"! All week long its been "dadadadaaaaa" and I've been videoing it and sending it to Stevie. Needless to say, I am really looking forward to the weekend so we can just be a normal family, all together :)

Running?
I'm running a race next weekend. I registered a while ago, intending to "train" and prepare for such an event... and well. Well. Then I sort of forgot. I've been exercising more, jogging/walking almost every day (see below, my cutie mom, we went trail hiking the other day!), but by no means would I consider this serious running. I've been doing lunges when I can, squats while I hold the baby, crunches when I can squeeze them in. But I really don't have a formal workout time everyday. And now I feel like I'm going to pay for it. Because this race! It's only a 5K but I would really like to run the whole thing and not take walking breaks, you know? Oh my pride. A lot of you have sent me your tips and ideas for post-baby workouts, which has been super helpful and inspiring. I will have to post some of them when I get in the groove of actually, consistently doing them! Thanks for sharing.

// 1. Cherry blossoms at Zoo Atlanta! // 2. So much joy in the morning. He's the best best best. // 3. Our growing book collection for Everett (we're giving away a book this week, enter here!) // 4. My mom in the woods of Serenbe, doing a bit of trail hiking with me and Everett. A few of our other visits to Serenbe here, here and here. //

Summer Clothes.
I've done a bit of clothes shopping lately. Trying to restock my wardrobe a bit. Summer is quickly approaching, and with a few trips on the horizon, I am in serious need of bathing suits and shorts. I can't wear anything I wore last summer since I was a giant. I haven't really done any shopping since having a baby, because going into stores to try clothes on takes so much effort. And it's often fruitless since I don't even know what sizes I am these days. I've done all this shopping online, and I have to admit, getting all these packages in the mail has been super fun! I am loving the shorts here, dresses here and sportier bathing suits here. What are some of your favorite places to stock up on summer essentials?

Site Makeover!
One other fun tidbit for you - and I could use your help! My site is currently undergoing a significant re-design. I would love to know what you love/don't love so much about the look, feel and content of this site. What do you love reading here on Oy! and why? Any random bits of feedback you have would be super helpful! If you're up for taking a moment to share with me, you can just leave it in the comments section below! Many thanks, friends.

Hope you have the BEST weekend! :)

Slice of Life.

Slice of Life.
Life has been fast and slow lately. Winter feels endlessly long, but I feel like there are enough things going on in our world to keep us occupied (and exhausted!) by the end of the day. Is anyone with me? It's like that saying, "The days are long, but the years are short" - I am really starting to feel the impact of those words! So true in this season of my/our life. These are the things happening in our corner of the world lately:

1. I started a blogging course. And I LOVE IT A LOT.
I am so, so excited about this one. I just started taking the A Beautiful Mess course called Blog Life, and I am a little bit addicted to it. I took one of their courses two and a half years ago when I started this blog (what - it's been that long?!) and it really helped kickstart my ideas. I am ready for more with the blog, and I have been throwing around a few ideas about how to grow it. If you are in a similar place, and you're interested in growing your online business or blog, taking this course is an awesome place to start. Be ready to do quite an alarming amount of soul searching, some semi-time consuming imagining and some creative mining in that brain of yours. But I can personally tell it's going to be worth it! I am feeling those creative juices flowing and it is really fun :)

2. We started feeding Everett solids.
Omigoodness. WHAT A CHANGE. This has probably been the biggest shift in my personal world lately, because feeding my sweet 6-month-old son real food has most definitely impacted his sleep schedule. Which has impacted my sleep schedule. Can I get a hallelujah amen? People - this child is sleeping more than EVER before. Some of you have been mentioning to me for months that I should start feeding him real food, but I wasn't ready to take that step. We started him on solids a few weeks ago, beginning with banana, avocado and sweet potato. It has been quite an experimental process so far, since I've been making everything that he eats, but I love trying to figure out the best things to feed him. It's been a super big learning curve for both of us, but he LOVES eating and I really really love that his sleeping has improved so much - so we are going the distance on this one. I'll share more about our experiences in the baby food department in the coming weeks.

3. I'm drinking a grandmotherly beverage.
This might seem really dorky. But my favorite hot beverage this year has been the most home-made drink in the world: hot water with lemon and honey. Not a fancy latte. Not a holistic tea. HOT WATER. Squeeze in some lemon. Stir in some honey. Bam. It warms me to my toes and it has gone hand-in-hand with my blog course. Give mama a little "me time" and this is what she will be drinking. The times are wild over here.

4. Still saturating ourselves with some good old fashioned family time. (While we use store products and don't purchase them.)
This picture just makes me laugh. Last weekend Stevie and I were browsing through a very female-ish store, where he was attempting to pick something out because he had a store credit (it's a long story, but yes, it was HIS store credit. To One Magnolia Lane. Hahahaa.) We were joined by Stevie's bro, and we found this darn cool iPhone Selfie Pole, which we used to take this picture. Of course, after two takes, we were good. Selfie taken. Stevie bought some honey instead.

It's cold outside. Go make yourself a grandmotherly beverage, you won't be sorry :)

Happening Lately.

// 1. Bedtime is equating to sleep time these days. HALLELUJAH HANDS. // 2. Sweet Auburn Barbeque in the Highlands. Rad spot, less rad parking. // 3. 4 hawks in the sky. Oh wait. Those are vultures. // 4. Our little family out and about this weekend. Happy 1st birthday to baby Ethan! Everett has friends yall. //

Happening Lately.
The new year is a little less new these days. There has been an attempt in our household for a bit of grounding, refreshing and re-focus. Probably like many of you, my little family is grasping for our center of gravity and licking our lips in anticipation of Spring. I know, we have a while to go. But we live in Georgia this year! Which means spring is coming sooner for us than it has in years! Our stints in Boston and New York really left a freezer-burn kind of scar on our hearts in terms of the monumentally blistery winters. I will gleefully accept a pass this year and prematurely skip on into the sunshine, if the groundhog allows such a frivolous delight. BRING IT, LITTLE HEDGEHOG.

Our life lately:

1. SLEEP.
People. We have been sleeping. THERE HAS BEEN SLEEP IN THIS HOME. It's been a long road (almost 6 months) of gently nudging my child into the direction of a peaceful state of rest. I haven't been shy about it. I haven't modestly pretended like I have it all together, as if we have nailed this whole "having a baby"-thing. I have not had it together. I have not slept well in over a year (pregnancy can do a great job robbing you of that, too.) I've read the books and tried the methods. And I have been pretty vocal in asking, nay, begging for help. Some of your suggestions have worked. For like 3 days. And then things would change again. But I am happy to announce that for the month of January, my son has sifted into a much more manageable sleeping routine at night (still working on the daily naps situation, more about that below.) But these days, we are putting him down to bed between 7-7:30 pm, and he sleeps until about 3:30 am. Halle-LU-jah. I change him and feed him then, and then he's up again at 6:30 am. That's usually when I whisper to him about the wonders of dreaming and MORE sleep and I prod him into another mini-slumber, always attempting to inch him past the 7:30 am mark. Sometimes it works. But the point is, this routine. Is SO doable. I mean, we aren't in the sleeping-through-the-night phase, but we are close. Closer. We are ballparkin' it. Thanks to everyone who willingly shared their stories and encouraged me - you have no idea how valuable your kindness was during a time that can only be described as the dark night of my soul.

2. Getting Out. 
You know what happens when you get sleep? You feel normal again. I'm not saying that I feel normal yet (or that I expect I ever will! What is "normal" anyway?), but I'm starting to feel normal-ish again. I have the urge to leave my house. Do things. Eat meals in exotic places. Like Panera. You know, that kind of thing. I even ventured to Atlanta the other day and enjoyed a tasty birthday lunch celebrating my girl Tricia. That's right. Stella is getting her groove back.

3. My Goals.
My birdwatching is going very well, thank you for asking. I learned this week that all the hawks I've been thinking I've been seeing... well, a lot of them are turkey vultures. Womp womp. They walk like a hawk and talk like a hawk, but hawk they are not. They are a vulture. Yuck. The angle of the wingspan and finger-like feathers are a dead give away, so now I can spot the difference in the sky! And we still have our one close, personal hawk friend who frequents the back yard and sits on the brick fence. He'd rad. I've named him Moonhawk, for the gloriously Moonstone-colored feathers that warm his broad chest. He is most welcome here. Also, other than the bird watching, I've been *attempting* to meal prep a bit more so we eat healthier. This gal inspires me. And last week I worked out 5 times! This week... well, I'm currently sipping coffee and eating a breakfast cookie. Yes. Breakfast cookies are a thing. Moving on.

4. Normalizing Routine?
I'm going to say two normal words that equate to one valiantly mysterious phrase: baby + schedule. This has been my Everest as of late. What in the world. How in the heck. WHAT IS A BABY SCHEDULE. How to get a child to nap on a schedule? I've started to notice ebbs and flows in Everett's sleeping urges, but it's not consistent enough to follow on a daily basis. And the thing is... I want this schedule more for me. Yes, the selfish truth is just that. If he could stick to a plan, I could get a few things done around here! I mean, when am I supposed to clean? Shower? Blog?! MAKE BREAKFAST COOKIES. I've started asking moms about their schedule, but it all seems so cryptic. Share your secrets, women! There are people in the world (cough*me*cough) who need to glean from your treasured knowledge and experience!

Fun Around the Web.
Just a few fun things I had to share because they made me smile this week.

This cop jamming out with his sassy bad self to "Shake it Off". I can't stop giggling.

I am still infatuated with Designlovefest's Dress Your Tech posts. It's like a free present every month! I won't stop sharing these with you because they are just so indulgent.

I feel like a lady again because I bought this organic lip glaze and it's super, ultra pink. I feel like I should smack my bubble gum and twirl my hair. Girl alert.

Also, have you entered my giveaway in partnership with Turbans for Tots? We are giving away this adorable Sibling Set, which is for a boy and girl, consisting of a bow tie (for him) and a hair bow headband (for her) - this Turbans for Tots stuff is so cute! You can enter the giveaway here up to three times and the winner will be announced and contacted next week. Share with your friends and deck out the littles of your life!

Love to you all.