Tickled Pink!

We are tickled pink for our dear L! She's officially done with chemo so we celebrated in our pinkest pink.

Here are some shots from our photo shoot!

And, here are my favorite out-takes from the day!!

Hah, B looks like an old lady!

This Life We Live...

The thing I've learned about parenthood is that the expectations you had typically get thrown out the window, nothing ever goes as planned and it is ever-important to roll with the punches.

For a long time I was upset about the way that my labor and delivery went with my little Daredevil. Then I said that we both survived so that in and of itself was enough. But then a friend told another acquaintance that even though her labor and delivery didn't go as planned, it was beautiful none-the-less. Those words really struck a cord with me and reminded me just how beautiful it all was....all the ways you could find God lurking in the corners making sure that everything played out exactly as he planned. My prayer my entire pregnancy was that my Daredevil would be ok, he would be safe and healthy and that if something had to go wrong that it would be me. That was my prayer and how awesomely did God deliver. It was me, but he carried me through that scary time anyway. What I expected of my labor and delivery were so vastly different from how they actually went, but it was beautiful and its mine. I wear my scar as a beautiful badge of honor that brought life into this world.

Parenting is full of these times of expectations getting thrown to the wind.... when your labor doesn't go as planned, when you end up in the hospital for 8 days. How about when you plan and shop for the perfect Christmas gifts for months to have a sick baby on Christmas morning who wants nothing more than to be held. A perfect Christmas, but not the one you planned. Or, when you plan to go to a family outing to end up with a sick kiddo so you have to turn back mid-way through the drive (or as Mr Tech Guy says, when we drive 3 hours for a soda). An unexpected surgery. A great playdate interrupted by teething or a bop on the noggin'. The day you hoped to get the house clean only to discover that this particular day your kiddo wants to be held or have you play the day away. When you do get to the store to find out your baby has had an explosion and you forgot an outfit change.

What I learned very quickly is that if you don't embrace what you're dealt with that day.... the illness, the clingyness, etc.... you miss a lot of the magic.

A very wise woman once told me that the days are long, but the years go quick and boy was she right. It seems like yesterday we brought Daredevil home from the hospital; small and fragile but strong all the same. Then I blinked and he's this strong-willed, hot-headed, inquisitive, curious, sensitive dude that's nearly half my height! Embracing the days that haven't gone as planned or completely de-railed has taken me a bit to adjust to but if I hadn't, I'd have missed some of our best memories... bundling up a sick baby to find the only open store in all of Madison to desperately search for Pedialite. Lazy lunch at the park because we couldn't get Daredevil to leave. Ordering pizza because Momma forgot to make dinner because we took such a long walk in the freezing cold only to realize that Daredevil lost his shoe somewhere along the route. Carrying your baby into Target in a scarf because he peed through his third pair of pants and you have to buy him new ones because you're two hours from home.

This life we live is a precious one. If you compare it to TV, movies, other people, or your own perceptions or expectations you could miss some of the best moments. Real life and real love is so much better than what you could dream up if you could just stop relating it to others or what you've "seen" on TV. Sometimes I wonder why that's so hard for me to get through my head. My senior AP Lit teacher told us that, that real love is so wonderful but that if you compare it to what you see on screen you'll always be disappointed. How true is that. I'll take my love story and my life with all its imperfections anyday.

If anyone is still reading this post out there, thanks. I just needed to ramble tonight. There is so much un-necessary hurt and disappointment in our society. I'm still so clueless why people like to compare their lives to others, TV families, etc. I'll save the post on why mothers pick on other mothers for another day... it's not like it's an easy job. And, I'm spent. Off to bed!

Recipe - St Patrick's Day Edition

I decided that easy would be an easy treat to make and transport to celebrate St Patrick' Day. I got the idea here. This is a great idea to do with your toddler or young child. Daredevil is a bit too little to help, but he sure liked eating the ingredients!

You need:
Hugs and/or Kisses
M&Ms in your color of choosing (I chose green and white mint ones for St Patrick's Day)
Pretzels

You place your pretzels on a baking sheet, add an unwrapped hug or kiss.

Bake at 200 degrees for 20 minutes
Stick an M&M in the center
Let cool and enjoy!

So easy! And seriously, your kids would love unwrapping the candy, sorting the M&Ms, helping put the hugs or kisses on the pretels... so much fun!

I will say that these were on the stove cooling when Mr Tech Guy and Twin dropped in for lunch and let's just say that they were BIG fans of them! Try them, you won't regret it.

If you're a nut person, another awesome thing to do is to melt a Rolo on the pretzel and stick a pecan down in the center. Yum yum yum!

Enjoy!!

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And, I have to shout it from the rooftops that I am so very very very proud of my most awesome nephew who made the baseball team after some intense try-outs!!!! Go Rocks! I've been a puddle all day!

Craft - St Patricks Day Edition

It was a gorgeous morning today, but seriously, who ordered the snow? We have had snow the past three days. Doesn't Mother Nature know that Spring is right around the corner? Ah, well, I'll take the snow over rain and mud, I guess.

With St Patrick's Day coming up, I made a quick craft to put us in the spirit! I love banners, I feel like they are so festive and instantly spruce up a space. For this banner, I just ran to Joann's and got some fun fabric, felt and ribbon. Cut out some shamrocks and sew it up. Lickety-split, easy peasy. This is something easy and quick that you can throw together for any occasion. It would be fun to let your kiddo pick out the fabric.

With some of the extra fabric, I made Daredevil a bowtie and I made me a flower pin. They took like zero time and I love how they turned out. Now we have our festive St Patrick's Day attire!

Daredevil loves his Lucky Charms. I get smiles and claps when he gets them for breakfast. Since he's been sick, I'm happy to oblige! What's more St Patrick's Day than Lucky Charms.

We also made a taste-tested, family-approved, quick and easy St Patrick's Day inspired dessert today! I'll share it with you tomorrow!! Your family will love it, too!

Favorite Places to Play!

Since I'm itching to get out of the house with my Daredevil, I thought I'd day-dream about our favorite places to play around Madison. It's a fun list so if you need an idea, you have some.

Henry Vilas Zoo
Olbrich Gardens and Butterfly Exhibit
Children's Museum

West Towne Mall play area
Verona Public Library

Play N' Wisconsin

Waltham Park
Pump It Up
Middleton Splash Pad
Madison/Monona/Fitchburg Dream Parks
Kittleson Swim School 

There's so much fun to be had in Madison for littles. I can't wait to take him to Dane Dances and Concert on the Square and Babcock Dairy and UW's Union!

Misery Loves Company

My sweet Daredevil is miserable!

That sickness that was going around our family? Well, it came back for Daredevil or just took its sweet time getting worse. It hit like a train on Saturday. Missed family gathering in lieu of a visit to urgent care left us with a diagnosis of a sinus infection and some antibiotics. Fast forward two days and he's worse. Another trip to see our PCP and a diagnosis of ear infections in both ears with a new antibiotic. Needless to say, he is miserable and exhausted, which means that everyone is exhausted. I absolutely hate seeing him so miserable. It makes my heart hurt.

I do want to give a happy birthday shout-out to my BIL! Hope your day was great.

Diaper Bag Help -- Spring 2013!

Please note: Sorry for the delay in the post. I forgot to schedule it when I wrote it last night and then the day got away from me. 

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I am in need of some suggestions for a great diaper bag for spring and summer 2013. I am forever obsessed with bags (and blankets, but that's another post) and I'm in the mood for something new and fresh for the new season.

Let me first show you what bags we've used in 2012.

The Dad Bag - this bag was perfect for winter with an infant and for dad anytime. But as Daredevil grew, so did the size of his things and only the necessities fit well in here. So this became the dad bag, for when Daddy and Daredevil go out alone. It works great for that and the basics are always inside. Plus, it's masculine and easy to carry to boot.

The Big/Everything Bag - this is my go to bag for traveling (especially for flights) because there is a spot for everything and there is a zipper on top to secure everything that's overflowing necessary inside.  However, too many bottles and sippy cups have been spilled inside leaving it stained no matter how I attempt to clean it.

The Hands-free - I loved using my Petunia Pickle Bottom. I used it a lot in the summer because he only wanted to be worn regardless of where we were (zoo, mall, grocery, church, etc). Strollers? What are those? (Luckily, he's better now). So anyway, I'd wear the PPB as a backpack, strap Daredevil in the Ergo on my front and still have hands free for important things (like paying for things, taking pictures and finding his teether). Overall it was a really good bag.

And what bags we are currently using... yes, bag(s)...

The Purse - love it so far, but usually I just use a small clutch thrown into the diaper bag (see below).

The Diaper Bag - fits a lot less than the PPB and the Coach above but since Daredevil requires less to be entertained, the bag is primarily back to basics now.

The Camera Bag  - this bag doesn't usually go out with me but it holds my precious camera equipment. It is built for cameras and lenses. I love that they have a safe place to reside, and I always know where everything is.

So, have you seen any neat bags lately? The only requirement is that I want a side pocket for his sippy cup. I do not want a backpack. A plus would be if it could go cross-body and on the shoulder. I'm thinking about a new Vera or another Coach bag, but I just don't seem to find any anywhere that seem to be just right. If you have seen any, please please please let me know.

And because no post is complete without a picture of my Daredevil. Here he is playing at the library!

Have a fantastic weekend! I'm praying that Monday finds my family healthy as a horse!!