art | tandem in love

i love encouraging olive’s creativity. it means so much to me that she explores art, colors, pictures, draws, and builds her imagination. i believe this is something that we should nurture and encourage as early on as we can. she loves to read, she loves to paint, she loves to build, and she loves to draw. i find she can spend hours on any of those things.

a few new items i have discovered recently, that will encourage her creativity and imagination, are the jaq jaq bird chalk book, hape toys sand art, and the kid o magna tab. three great toys that olive will love. what i love most is that they are available on a site i have just found! the cubby baby…literally the best of everything baby! this shop has everything you need for mommy and babes! from strollers, wraps, baby needs, toys, and trend alerts, this site offers something for us mommy’s on the go!

i love the chalk book because it’s reusable, portable, and promotes her creativity! the chalk is dust free and it’s so easy to clean. it’s a perfect item to bring along with us to restaurants or when we are out and about and olive can keep herself preoccupied. olive is so well behaved {regardless} when we go out and she’s very good when we are sitting down at a restaurant but bringing along toys as a back up is a smart thing to do for any parent!

the hape toys sand art is soooooo cool! i love that it’s colorful and olive can create works of art using the pretty sand and patterns that they offer. she is so good at recognizing animal shapes and telling me what colors are what! it’s so cute when she asks me, “can i count the colors?”…i always have to correct her! what she really means is, can she identify the colors but that will come in time! haha!

the kid o magna tab is pretty awesome. it’s magnetic and it pops the little white ball into the hole and supports olive’s learning with letters, shapes, and pictures. to ‘erase’ the pic, all you have to do is swipe your finger or the back of the stylus over the dots and presto! the pictures is erased! how easy and fun is that?!

i’m excited to discover more fun items for both ellie and olive on the cubby baby! their growth, development, and learning path is so important to me and finding new interactive items to engage them with is always something i’m seeking. make sure you check out their website and see all the wonderful things they offer for you and your babe!

xoxo

i was looking forward to my day off.

well, actually, i was not looking forward to waking up early {yuck! i just despise waking up early} but definitely looking forward to what was to come after my court appointment {don’t ask, so lame}.

then came news of the snow. everyone was abuzz {yesterday} about the snow that was coming. i was skeptical, as usual {i mean, c’mon…it’s chicago aaandddd it snows every year aaanddd the weatherman always claims “it’s going to be the worst snowfall of the year!” every time!}. so, as predicted, the snow was coming down early this morning. i geared up and went out to abolish this silly court thing. trudging through the snow towards the daley center…it was pretty heavy. i had my trusty sorels on, my earphones in {with some good walking jams on}, and my umbrella {i laugh at those peeps who walk by with the worst looking dandruff on their heads}. i got there early and was quickly called up in front of the judge. my ticket was dismissed {duh!} and i was on my merry way back home.

as i was walking, the snow wouldn’t stop. i was looking forward to having lunch with my dad and then, later, dinner with the sis + bro-in-law and the two cutest nephews alive. but i digressed with the idea of driving out to the ‘burbs. it made me sad. i love my days off and i love making the most of my time and i love seeing my family. damn you snow!

so, i went home. i was cooped up in my place {with no hubby charming // can you see my sad face?} and felt a little stir crazy. it’s so not me to sit around in my apartment, especially by myself! so i stared out the window, i did a little cleaning, i did a little web surfing, and i did a little crafting. time started to fly by {phew!}. finally, i did a little cooking. cooking for one seems more pragmatic and conventional than cooking for two or more, right? i’ll just cook whatever is available or i tend to eat breakfast for dinner! it’s not that important on what i cook, as long as i am fed.