hi freshie

Posted on November 25, 2015 by tandem in love

so, i was able to visit baby asher in the hospital a few days after he was born and then again a few weeks later! that’s what’s so great about maternity leave, i can pretty much visit jodi any time for the three months that she is at home!

we were running so behind. i can’t even remember what it was that caused us to fall so far away from our scheduled departure time but anyhoozle, we finally hit the road! ugh, we were running 45 minutes late! eep.

when we arrived, jett greeted us at the door and we walked inside to jodi sitting on the couch with asher and jett jumping up and down, all excited! olive was scared! she clung onto me for dear life. oh she’s so funny, sweet, and shy. it took quite a few minutes for her to warm up.

we asked jett to bring out a few toys so it would spark olive’s interest and she would start to play with jett. he was so cute! he ran into his room and brought out the most random things, like a card. then a small figurine. and then something else that they couldn’t really share. jodi and i were laughing! we said to jett that he needed to bring out something that they could both play with! so, he finally did and it worked…olive slid off my lap and walked over to the toys jett had brought out!

after jodi fed asher, we all sat down for lunch. jett and olive were too cute together! he was boisterous and fun and olive was stoic and shy. jett ate for two seconds and ran away to play while olive so patiently sat in her chair and ate and ate. she’s an eater. she loves to eat and won’t give up any food that’s offered to her!

[aren’t they just the cutest?]

[she was so into this go fish game!]

[sleeping cutie]

after we ate and cleaned up, we sat on the couch for a bit and chatted. jodi told me that matt was still home, time extended from his paternity leave and i thought that was awesome! how amazing is that? your husband is home for almost all of your maternity leave…such great help! although, jodi jokingly disagreed and rolled her eyes and said matt needs to go back to work! hahaha! she’s so funny!

well, after an hour or so of us being there, matt arrived home {out from doing some errands}. we all then migrated downstairs to the basement to play. oh the kids had a blast. they built blocks, played with little cars, pulled wagons, ran around, drove big cars, and watched t.v. olive was super happy. there were so many fun things to play with and it kept them both busy…although teaching two little toddlers on how to share was a whole ‘nother story!

[oh! love this little cutie pie]

[love these peeps]

[so fuzzy and out of focus but it will do. their hugs goodbye]

after several hours of us hanging out, we finally, reluctantly, decided to leave. we didn’t want to. i was having a great time hanging out with matt and jodi and jett and olive were having fun together. plus, matt is so stinkin’ cute with the kids. he’s so good with them. it was so sweet to see.

we finally gathered our things together and said our goodbyes. we had such a great time hanging out with this beautiful family. oh we love them to bits! it’s so sweet to know this lovely family of four.

xoxo

a great afternoon

Posted on November 23, 2015 by tandem in love

it started out as a gloomy, super super windy morning. like howling, screaming wind. it appeared very ominous but i was not worried. we were set to head on over to kim’s house for a lunch play date. as the hour passed in the morning, the day seemed to get brighter and the wind started to die down. yay! like i said, no worries!

we {per usual} were running behind. i just don’t know what it is anymore. well, OK, really it’s a combo of everything. i don’t plan accordingly, manage my time, and olive is always full of surprises that lead into the minutes then the hours being sucked up into a black hole!

well, we got there in no time and the weather had perked up so much! we said our hello’s and began our gab fest. it’s always so nice to hang out at kim’s. it’s comfy cozy and olive loves to explore all of brady’s toys!

[love these two gals!]

[awww, are they being camera shy?]

brady and olive are so funny together. they won’t directly interact with one another but will definitely eye each other from afar. brady loves to run around and scream and olive will just curiously watch him with her stoic expressions. hahaha! the only time they ever ‘play’ with each other is when olive drags the dog pull toy around the house and brady loves to follow her. it’s the cutest thing to watch! soooooo sweet.

of course, there is little brooklyn who just minds her own business! oh i love this baby! she is such a chunker. that is an understatement. she is a brick house. the baby rolls are endless and amazing. oh what a babe!

after visiting for a bit, we sat down for lunch. olive throughly enjoyed eating her meal of cheese, hotdogs, goldfishes, and pears. she loves, loves to eat fruit. of course, us moms just snacked and ate what we could in-between running around after these babes.

[they are so cute! olive loved pulling the toy and brady loved following!]

[eating in unison]

[hey brady! take a selfie with me!]

[my girls in grey!]

[hugs goodbye]

as usual, the hours passed so quickly and it was getting so close to rush hour. i am always saying, ok we are going to leave, we are going to leave and kim and i will keep on chatting! i love it. it’s so us to gab and gab. ten minutes, twenty minutes, or a half hour or so will go by and i am still gathering our things to leave! haha!

well, we finally did get our stuff together and said our sweet goodbyes. i love seeing this lady and her beautiful babes! it’s always a great time when we are together!

xoxo

sunday chili

Posted on November 20, 2015 by tandem in love

we invited olivia and aaron over for some football chili. we debated on the idea of going to their place in the city but decided to invite them over to our abode.

the morning started out slow, haha, well at least for me! hc was already busting his hump getting the meal ready for lunch. we bustled around cleaning, getting ready, and just tying up loose ends before our guests arrived. noon rolled around and we were set. the food was almost done, the house was clean, the odds and ends were competed, we were dressed and ready to go!

arron and olivia arrived only fifteen minutes late! not bad…especially when olivia is involved. this lady is infamously late, always. hahaha! once they settled, hc and aaron went on a beer run while olivia and i chitchatted until they came back and i made sure the cornbread was done. once drinks were in hand, hc and i prepared the final touches to the meal and we were set!

hc whipped together a chili and cornbread meal for our lunch. it was sooooo flippin’ delicious! sooooo yummy! i could have eaten the cornbread in dozens. we had avocado, green peppers, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and oyster crackers as our toppings. mmmmmmm. everybody had seconds and the food was almost gone! a good sign of a great meal!

olivia and i sat in the kitchen while the boys sat in the living room to eat and watch football. no matter. i love my time with olivia. we talked about all sorts of good stuff. life, friends, family, kids, and everything in-between. i love this sweet girl, she is such a dear friend. we always have a blast whenever we are together. it’s so funny when the four of us do get together…hc and aaron get all guy and bromantic and olivia and i get all girly and gossipy. and not the bad, wicked, mean gossipy…we just love talking and talking and talking. it’s more about life’s happenings versus demeaning, catty talk. ya know what i mean? i hope y’all do.

[my girl…don’t mind the under remodel kitchen]

[toppings]

[these peeps…]

[oh my goodness. so yummy]

[love this babe]

anyhoo, after a few hours together, olivia and aaron decided to hit the road. it was fun, as usual. we love hanging out with these two. such good people, they always say to surround yourself with the great people and keep the good ones close, right?!

xoxo

hb dan!

Posted on November 18, 2015 by tandem in love

we all got together to celebrate my brother dan’s birthday! my little brother dan is super sweet. like the sweetest guy ever. he’s quiet, calm, loving, thoughtful, polite, and just a wonderful human being. he was always the baby of the family…the last of the kids and the one we always watched after. i love him bunches.

my sisters decided to get together for his birthday and coordinated a little dinner get-together. they chose to go to a place called pizza barra. hc and i were one of the last ones to arrive. the fam had already ordered some apps and started with one order of pizza. we all settled in, ordered drinks and perused the menu to order some more garb to eat. we ended up getting plenty of apps, a pan pizza and a thin crust pizza to go around. yum. their calamari there was deeeeeeelish! nom nom!

[nice smile reagan!]

[why do i look so surprised?!]

as usual, olive was bit grumpy when she first got there. she’s always so cautious and shy when she’s in a new environment, even she knows the peeps! of course, cousin reagan is just the sweetest to her. he always takes care of her, dotes on her, and does his best to make her happy. oh he is just the cutest with her! i love watching them together, it just melts my heart.

our food arrived and away we ate. i love that about life. i love the simple things in it. i really do. i love my family. i love getting together with them and eating. i love the time we can spend together. i really do cherish simple, sweet moments like this together. my dad has always taught me that family is number one. sometimes it might not seem like it in the moment, but in the end…they will always be there for you and that is the truth.

[addicted]

[ma pere, mere, & soeur]

[my brother and brother in law]

[yummy]

[best pic we could get with olive]

well, happy birthday dan! you are the such a sweet, awesome brother! we love you and we hope your birthday and every day is just as amazing as you!

xoxo

friday night

Posted on November 16, 2015 by tandem in love

so months ago, during dana and scott’s engagement party…we made plans to get together with irina, patrick, dana, and scott. fast forward a couple months, we finally make it happen!

our plan was to get to au cheval early and hopefully nab a table {we were crossing our fingers…}, they don’t take reservations! dana, hc, and i have eaten there before but the rest have not and we all wanted to eat there together, it’s soooooo yummy!

per usual, hc and i were running so late! ugh…like very late. traffic on a friday night is horrific, so we were a bit anxious to get going. we hit the road and of course it was baaaad. well, we finally saw why it was so bad, there was an accident on the ike. yuck! we surpassed it and started cruising. the good news was {well, not really good news}, dana and irina were running behind as well! phew! so, we weren’t far behind! yay!

irina’s husband, patrick, arrived at au cheval early, before six o’clock, to put our name down for a table. um, they told him it would be a four hour wait. wtf?! a four hour wait?????? are you kidding me?! no thank you! that was such a bummer. oh, we so wanted to eat there but there was no way we waiting for a midnight supper.

so, patrick moseyed across the street to the haymarket pub and nabbed us a table. i was super annoyed at it all. i, first, didn’t want to spend my friday night in the city at the haymarket pub but hey, whatcha gonna do? there was no way we were eating at au cheval. well, no matter, what was most important was spending my time with everyone. i was super excited to catch up and have some fun!

[my girls]

[cheers to being out!]

the conversation flowed non-stop. we have a bunch of talkers in this group! we shared, switched, and started multiple conversations between us all. it was so much fun. i love this group of peeps. patrick cracks me up, irina and her sarcasm, dana is a little bit of both, and hc and scott are just good sweet guys.

we ordered plenty of libations and delicious bites to fill our bellies. after a few hours {we did feel a bit old…or is it because we have kids?} we decided to call it quits. no, we weren’t going to party all night and yes it was still early but it was friday night, where everyone worked and of course, everyone is a bit tired from the week.

[love these two!]

[these two are the best!]

[having a blast]

we wrapped up our bill, nibbled on the last bits of food, and took the last swigs of our drinks before we hit the road. we had such a great time with everyone and we can’t wait to do this again! drinks, food, and friends are the best combo!

xoxo

brand reppin’

Posted on November 11, 2015 by tandem in love

i am not sure if y’all know that olive is a brand rep for many shops.

what does that mean? well, she is sent free clothes and i pretty much take pics of her in these gifted garments and post it on our instagram account. easy peasy! we are also brand enthusiasts for a bunch of shops too! it’s where we receive a steep discount on their merchandise and do that same, post pics of olive sporting their gear!

it all started way back in january. one of my favorite shops was hosting a brand rep search. i had noooooooo clue what it entailed and nor did i have any skills in photo taking. my instagram account was mainly of our lives and every day activities. i loved posting pics of her #ootd but i never knew that the BR world even existed.

i was on vacation in l.a. for my sister’s birthday when i looked at my ig account and i was tagged by the shop owner {@stichesandsoles} on a pic of olive, notifying me that she was chosen as a BR for her shop! i was over the moon! how awesome was that?? olive was chosen out of hundreds of applicants and we felt so honored! besides the fact that the photos i had submitted were so poorly taken or not even taken by me!

then it became an addiction. oh my. i began entering all sorts of searches in hopes that they saw something in olive and would choose her! i went overboard {who me?!} and entered soooooo many searches, i was in over my head. at one point, we were repping for over 30 shops! oh my goodness. it became a job versus something fun {which it was fun in the beginning} and it should only be fun!

after tapering off on some shops, we were finally in a groove that felt right. we were having fun again and it became more like dress up time together versus a demand. we also surpassed a few weeks where olive completely boycotted head wraps. that was a tough few weeks where this mama sweated a bit but olive eventually got over it and became a champion head wrap wearer!

a few things i love about this whole brand repping gig: one, i love documenting olive growing up. i love seeing her pics from earlier this year to now and how different she looks! it’s amazing to see her changes {from super chubby cheeks to not so much anymore…waaahhhhh}, to see her grow, and to capture such sweet moments of her!

two, i love the relationships i have built with these amazing shop owners. these women behind these gorgeous babes or the women behind these amazing shops are just the best. they are my instafriends and such wonderful, supportive people. we believe in positivity, spreading love, and lifting each other up.

three, we believe in supporting handmade! so many of these women put their blood, sweat, and tears into the beautiful pieces they make. it’s pretty cool that so many women or stay at home moms can create a business for themselves and i definitely love supporting their craft, art, and cause!

scroll down below to see the list of shop owners we rep{ped} for! check them out and remember to shop small this holiday season!

[gorgeous head wrap: hellomissgorgeous}

[purses: rainandskye crown + dress: czarinasproject moccs: mybeautifulittleshop]

[headband: archnollie tee: kid+kind skirt: flamingotease_kids]

[headwrap: hobsonvilleco]

@stichesandsoles

@lilrouxbarbsgarden

@littlekutiesboutique

@coco.and.lulu

@lemonteeshop

@cutelittlebabes

@mybeautifulittleshop

@hellolittlemisshaven

@greatgreenroomclothing

@littleladies_boutique

@urbanearthco

@cuddlemuffinsblankets

xoxo

momfessions

Posted on November 9, 2015 by tandem in love

oh, toddler tales. toddler woes. toddler antics. baby olive is twenty-three months young and full of spunk.

a favorite statement i saw on fb recently was this:

toddler – emotionally unstable pint-sized dictator, with the uncanny ability to know exactly how far to push you towards utter insanity, before reverting to a lovable cuddle monster.

how accurate. my oh my. she is a trip. for the most part, she is so sweet, kind, cuddly, loving, funny, goofy, silly, and darling. then she has these moments where nothing makes sense. she is deliriously emotional and i can’t get any sort of reasoning across to her. i know she {obviously} does not communicate very well {yet} and when she gets upset, nothing soothes her, consoles her, or calms her down.

i must admit, it is extremely hard for me to deal with her outbursts. it pushes me to the edge. it makes me want to scream soooo loud. her tantrums drive me crazy and i react in {sometimes} a not so nice way. it gets the best of me and it makes me very, very sad when that happens. i feel like i have failed as a mom and failed as a teacher to my child.

my upbringing was very different and very unique. my anger issues stem from not being able to channel my emotions correctly and think straight. it’s easier for me to fly off the handle then it is to think calmly and channel my energy into a more positive light when i get upset. so, as you can tell…olive can get just as upset as her mommy, so it’s like i am staring at my mini me {staring in the mirror}…literally. oh, has it come full circle and it’s totally biting me in my ass! ugh.

the worst part about it is that i have to learn new ways and change my behavior and that is the hardest part. try living like your whole life the way you are and then bam! you have to change the way you operate. much easier said then done. so, with that…olive’s tantrums and nonsensical ways put me on edge. i get anxiety when we are out because i worry about her having a meltdown or causing a scene. i do. i can’t stop it but i try to deflate it. i am very conscious of it and try my best to overcome it and realize that she is a toddler and that other people out there have kids too and they understand. again, easier said then done.

my emotions and ways are too deep rooted to change over night. my driving force is my baby. i try so hard to become more patient, more kind, more understanding, less angry and temperamental all for my girl. i don’t want her to learn my tart ways and i believe i can influence it if i step back and calm down before i react in a way that is not appropriate. again, easier said then done.

but i am learning. i am changing. i am s l o w l y getting better. i have my freak out moments when she gets cray cray but i am much more cognizant in the moment than i was in the past. olive’s mood swings and temperamental ways as a toddler has given me my biggest challenge to date. i only strive to be the best possible mom, example, role model, and foundation for her. i hope that i, in turn when she has a tantrum, love her, console her, hug her, kiss her, show her, and guide her how to channel her emotions, thoughts, and anger in the right direction and always have her come out in the end, feeling peace, happiness, and serenity.

xoxo

trick or treat

Posted on November 5, 2015 by tandem in love

i was super excited for olive to go trick or treating this year! last year she was eleven months old and didn’t have a clue what was happening. this year, she was much more aware and i couldn’t wait to see her reactions.

we started off our morning with some pumpkin carving! hc cleared out the garage and set up a table for us to do our carving. olive wasn’t quite sure what we were up to and she was a bit upset we were inside when it was raining outside only because she loves to jump in puddles. that silly girl.

once we started carving, she was so perplexed. she thought it was a bit gross when she saw the pumpkin guts and was confused on why we were chopping up the pumpkin. she kept on saying,”pumpkin?” and pointing to it as we carved. we set her up with some markers, her white pumpkin, and she was a happy clam drawing away.

[her favorite thing at the moment, the pumpkin pez dispenser in her hand from her sitter mary]

[getting her draw on!]

[pumpkin carving complete! yay!]

***

after our pumpkin carving fun, we relaxed a bit inside, and then got ready to head on over to my parent’s house for some trick or treating. i didn’t try the costume on olive for i knew it was going to work! duh! i put her in and i was in loooooove! it was so darn cute! like soooo cute! i was dying. oh how i love her and want to squeeze her all the time! everything was so on point!

after a mini photo sesh, we drove {one minute travel time} over to my parent’s house to hand candy out to the trick or treaters and to take olive out on stroll later. we waited for the rain to stop and got olive ready for her trick or treat jaunt. oh how i loved this costume! it was sooooo flippin’ cute on her. we walked outside and debated on which direction to head…we decided to go left because we definitely wanted to hit the kagann’s house to say hi to laurie {carol’s mom}. we only wanted to hit a few houses because she’s only a toddler!

[her amazing princess leia costume! so in love with it!]

[thaaaaaat face! i die]

[this face. oh how i love her]

[we were like, “which way? which way should we go?”]

[she’s too much.]

[she was storing about 6 cashews in her cheeks. not lying]

we strolled from house to house, saying hello to the neighbors and making small talk. everyone just loved her costume! it was so fun! we got to the kagann’s and laurie pulled out a stuffed animal. olive was smitten. she saw the bear and immediately grunted for it! she knew what it was! we chit chatted with laurie for a few minutes and then went along our merry way. by that time, olive got the hang of what we were doing. she was probably thinking…hmmmm, you knock on people’s doors and they give you candy? heck yeah. so she asked if she could walk. i pulled her out of the wagon and she happily walked up to people’s door, knocked, and shyly said, “twick tweet”. it was soooooo cute! she would then say, “dank you” and “bye, see ya!”. oh how i love this girl!

[loving the stuffed animal bear from mrs. kagann]

[independent and on her own!]

[olive’s work of art is the scribbled on white pumpkin!]

it was a blast taking olive out. i loooooved seeing her become so independent. what a sweetie. her costume was awesome, the trick or treating was fun, and she for sure ate waaaaaaayyyyy too much candy! eep! she definitely loved trick or treating and i can’t wait to see her really love it next year!

xoxo

huy + tashina

Posted on November 4, 2015 by tandem in love

so yay for my brother huy and his fiancé tashina visiting us here in the chi. they had come into town {from l.a.} the days prior and attended a friend’s wedding, so this night, we had them over for dinner and fun!

please don’t mind the kitchen under construction. that’s a whole ‘nother chapter. anyhoo, everyone came over and we hemmed and hawed over what food to order. in the mean time, i had my two little nephews running around, my brothers, tashina, and my mother in law hanging out in the kitchen, deciding on food, and then olive just waking up {crying} in her crib. all of a sudden i was in the middle of trying to place an order for food, consoling miss olive, and appeasing everyone else. it started to get a wee bit crazy for me! olive was grumpy but everyone wanted her attention {huy wanted to play, reagan wanted to play} and this only caused her to cry even more! i couldn’t place the food order because i was trying to console olive, then hc calls me on the phone trying to talk to me, and the boys kept asking me if they could eat ramen noodles with sriracha because they didn’t want to eat chinese food! hahahah!

ohmygawd. it was only until after the food arrived did the craziness seem to settle down! the boys didn’t mind eating hot dogs and chips {my speciality}, so it saved me from making an easy meal to making an easier meal! woo! we all actually sat down to eat, relax, and converse. it was great. we had such a wonderful time talking, eating, and enjoying each other’s company. it was so nice. in-between us ordering food and eating, tashina helped us out by sewing olive’s halloween costume. i was so ready to do it myself but with her coming into town, i thought, why not ask? she made olive’s baptism gown, so why not another white gown for miss olive?! yay!

[setting up the sewing machine]

[watching the action going down]

[being curious]

[bestie cousins eating together]

[chillin’ and having a really good time]

[someone is wiped out and someone isn’t. haha]

we had a wonderful time together as a family. slowly, everyone trickled out. dan left, jane went to bed, and then huy and tashina said their good nights. i had the boys until my sister came home from her event that evening. it was too cute. R + B fell asleep while olive stayed w i d e awake! she is such a nigh owl!

it was a great evening with family, those are always the best moments in life.

xoxo

arboretum squared

Posted on November 2, 2015 by tandem in love

we headed out to the arboretum on a cool autumn day. my brother huy and tashina were in town and we wanted to snap some pics {ya gotta take advantage of your photographer brother when he’s in // huyfoto}.

it was a perfect day. total sweater weather. not too cold and not too warm. a wonderful fall day. i previously mentioned to the hubs about getting a membership to the arboretum because i heard from others, that it is so cheap and going there twice pretty much pays for your membership.

we pulled up and yessssss, it was quite pricey to get in. we asked how much a membership would be for four people and gasped at the fact that it would be down right stupid not to get one!

huy and tashina had just arrived right before us and huy wanted to drive around to explore and find a good spot to snap some photos. we drove around and found a beautiful {well everything at the arboretum is gorgeous} little spot. we continued to cruise around and found another little nook that was beautiful to capture in the photos. after our escapade, we decided to head back to the children’s area so olive could play around a bit. we walked into the building and hc signed us up for a membership, we grabbed coffee, and a little bite to eat. after our snack, we headed out to the children’s garden.

we had to so much fun walking around, exploring, and watching little olive’s curiosity. the first area we went into was the maze. it was fun to walk around and decide which direction we should head to and wonder where it would take you and where you would end up! they also had an amazing tree fort that we explored. olive had fun running around in circles with me chasing her!

after the maze, we explored the garden area. it’s pretty cool to watch her have so much fun with the same thing, over and over again. she loved the spinning wheels, the leaves, the fun interactive activities all around the area. we probably could have been there all day.

[coming out of the maze]

[look at those fall colors!!!]

[such a gorgeous day]

[she loved putting the little balls into the noise maker]

after a bit, huy and tashina needed to get some stuff done before they headed out to a wedding that evening. we stayed a bit longer, soaking in the goodness around us. as we were leaving, they totally get you with the smell of popcorn…it was a sweet and delicious aroma. we caved in, bought a bag and popped a squat to enjoy our treats. yummy!

once we spent some time eating, enjoying the perfect weather, and absorbing the amazing environment, we decided to head out. it was a truly lovely morning. we had a really great time with everyone. i love spending time with my family and getting out to do fun stuff like this really is my jam.

happy day everyone! enjoy every moment and be thankful for your health, your family, their health, and the little things in life. be kind and love one another. peace.

xoxo