When Is The Right Time?

Once upon a time there was a boy and girl all they wanted was to have a baby. Eventually they did. Then all they wanted was to spoil that one baby forever and ever. Or at least for 3 years. Then all of the sudden the girl became very ill, laying on the ground cursing her morning chai latte next to the toilet ill and 10 months into their sweet spoiled babies life she told the boy another baby was on the way. 

True story! Kaden and I were just fine having one baby. We honestly could not imagine every loving another child as much as we loved Leighton and that just wouldn't be fare to our other children. We were convinced if we were going to have more kids they would't come for a long time. We wanted to have a few years to prepare ourselves mentally and financially for another baby. Clearly someone had other plans for us and we couldn't be happier that they did. Emersyn is loved just as much as Leighton. Our hearts have only grown with the birth of both our girls and now when someone asks when the third one is coming i just reply hopefully soon. Deciding to have children is a huge step, deciding to have more is an even bigger one. It is scary, you already took on a huge financial burden how can you afford another? (Children are financial burdens, sorry) You love your first child sooo much you cant possibly have more love left in your heart. What about your bond with your first and all of the fun things you do together? You just got use to your freedom and figuring out how to handle one, why give that up?

 I totally might offend people by saying this, but because you want your child to be a nice functioning person in society. Really though Leighton would be so spoiled if we never had Emersyn. She is already a handful but she would be a brat on top of it. I know a lot of people are only children or only have one child and that is great. We just personally don't have the right set of parenting skills to raise a good person with out a sibling to help teach them. Thinking of having two babies so close together seemed like the worst/scariest idea ever but guess what? It is the best thing that has ever happened to us. I hopefully will be done having babies super soon and on to a boob job and having my body back and it will be amazing! I am dead serious when i say that too. I also love the bond that Leighton and Emersyn are forming. They really do adore each other and they are close enough in age that they can grow up doing everything together. Choosing when/if to have another baby is very personal though and everyone knows it, but everyone loves commenting or asking on when it will happen. You have to find your own way of dealing with it. I tend to joke with people and say light hearted things like oh i have no idea these two might be enough or I love this one so much i dont need another. People don't need details they just want some sort of response. So give them one and make your decision with your partner and if things dont go as planned, just know it all turns out okay.

  Hopefully you can relate to all of these Baby #2 talks this week!  Check out the other mama's blogs for even more!  And be sure to link up with us below if you also have a post on this.  

Like a Morning Cup of Coffee// From Here to Eternity// The Not Quite Military Wife//

A Cowboy's Life// My Delicious Adventure// Sadie Sky Boutique// Meet the Sullivan's//

Love and Life//  Foxy's Domestic Side// Everyday Love// Life of Faith

Aug 14:  Deciding when the time is right for baby #2 (and/or how to handle these questions)

Aug 21:  Tricks for eating out with your toddler

Aug 28:  Feeling confident as a mom (How to feel this way, Your struggle with, etc.)

An InLinkz Link-up

Realizing

So i am bailing on the summer favorites post again. I can't quite get into it since this end of summer month has gotten out of control. The next unplanned weekend i see in my future isn't until the end of September. It is exciting but a little depressing at the same time. So anyways here are some thoughts from tonight.

Earlier i was trying to work, Kaden was watching a movie and the girls were playing in the living room. Leighton got so crazy that at one point she was threatening to jump off the counter or maybe it  was jump on her sister? At any rate it was crazy and I got so angry that i had to stop working and fix the situation and put the girls to sleep (shouldn't Kaden be capable of this). I was so frustrated when i was getting Emersyn to bed i just sat there rocking and bouncing and thinking "come on go just to sleep now." Then the rocking and bouncing seemed to calm me, I pulled myself together and thought wow we are crazy blessed! I'm so lucky i have a job i can do from home and walk away from the computer to put my babies to sleep, i am so lucky to have a job at all. I am blessed that Kaden is able to be home with us every evening and afternoon. Recently so many things have changed for us that i forget to stop and realize how good they are. Kaden's work situation went from 50+ hours a week to 40. Sure we miss the pay, but our relationship and his relationship with the girls has been beautiful. Kaden has been a happier person, he is enjoying hobbies and he really is helping more around the house. I was able to take on more hours with hospice and have found the time to work them. I also co founded a new business with an amazing partner and our fist event is in 3 short weeks! (I'll post more details later) Honestly life is great. I get frustrated and then i count my blessings. We really do have so much to be thankful for.

Motivate Me Monday- In Between

Today is simple. Some days i wake up and start off exactly where i was when i went to bed...with a billion things on my mind. I am a girl who stays busy. I tend to make  myself busy. If i don't have a hundred things on my to do list I don't know what to do. Right now my list reads; mail package, write sarah, paint bathroom, write 3 blog posts, work 4 hours today, draw reception layout, sketch things for kaden, clean kitchen, unpack... Well you get the point because yes my list keeps going. I am a stay at home mom with a real part time job i do from home online and I am starting a new business adventure. I have a lot of goals both personally and for my family and sometimes i get lost in them. Somedays I forget that instead of just working towards something i should be living too. So last night while scrolling through pinterest this hit me like a ton of bricks. This is what i am working on this week.

Road Trip Survival Guide (from an expert mommy traveler)

We are on the go so often that sometimes when we load up in the car i have the tumble weed song from  Fievle Goes West playing in my head. Rollin, rollin, rollin, keep rollin, rollin, rollin, rawhide! 

Okay hopefully im not the only one that feels that way. Luckily i have been blessed with two great little travelers. These babes pretty much have been on the go, in the car since the day they were born. Both of them started their long distance car rides at just a couple weeks and the treks have just kept getting longer. Since i consider myself a travel expert i have came up with a few items that you MUST have to survive a trip via car. 

Lets call it the Rollin, Survival Kit

1.Back Pack To store everything in of course, 

2. I am pretty sure this is how miracle worker is spelled-IPad. I know this isn't in everyones budget but if you are brave and run errands and travel a lot with your kids I promise the investment is well worth it.  I can not even count how many times turning on sesame street or an app has saved both mine and Leightons lives.

3. mirror this is for the rear facing babes. It is so nice to know when Em is awake or not and to give me peace of mind that she is still alive when she has been quiet for a long time.

4. head rest this should be self explanatory.

5. coloring activities Hello best coloring inventions ever! So besides playing on the iPad, coloring can keep Leighton entertained for hours and the plus side to both of these, no mess! 

6. Mostly mess free snacks Because your littles will get hungry and you don't want to stop to feed them.

Even though stopping every 2 hours is recommended

7. Books Why not work on those ABC's while you have the time? Not only do we read but we play games. Find a letter or an animal etc. Its like having eye spy in your hands.

I'd love to hear what your road trip go too's are and don't forget to link up!

Have questions about traveling? Feel free to ask! Don't want to leave a comment?

Email me at hello@loveandlife-blog.com

  Hopefully you can find these tips helpful for your summer travels.  Make sure to check out the other mama's blogs for even more tips!  And be sure to link up with us below if you also have a post on this.

Like a Morning Cup of Coffee// From Here to Eternity// The Not Quite Military Wife//

A Cowboy's Life// My Delicious Adventure// Sadie Sky Boutique// Meet the Sullivan's//

Love and Life//  Foxy's Domestic Side// Everyday Love// Life of Faith

July 10:  Keeping your marriage alive with a toddler

July 17:  Favorite summer toddler activities

July 24:  Helping Your Toddler to Communicate (Words, emotions, etc.)

July 31:  Dealing with Separation Anxiety

Aug 7:    Car Trip Necessities

Aug 14:  Deciding when the time is right for baby #2 (and/or how to handle these questions)

Aug 21:  Tricks for eating out with your toddler

Aug 28:  Feeling confident as a mom (How to feel this way, Your struggle with, etc.)

An InLinkz Link-up

9 months!

My sweet sweet Emersyn turned 9 months old on the 1st of August. I couldn't believe it. How has this tiny little baby of mine grown so quickly. In three short months she will be 1! Okay I am going to pretend like i didn't just realize that. She is so little still. Really she is like having a real life baby doll at my disposal. She lets me dress her up, wears her bows, lets Leighton drag her around, push her, hold her and pat her on the head and she doesn't do anything but smile. I hope i don't jinx myself here but i can't say it enough, Emersyn is a dream baby. At 9 months old Emersyn is still wearing 3-6 month clothes. But don't let her size fool you, she has some chunky legs that we cant squish enough. She loves to smile, laugh at Leighton, clap her hands and stand. Yes, stand! She even took 3 steps today with out holding on to anything. (insert eye covering emoji here) I tried to pretend like it didn't happen, but it did. When Leighton was 9 months old we were encouraging early walking, i dont know why we wanted that girl to grow up so fast. I just want my babies to be babies forever now. Em is still a total baby when it comes to eating though. This silly little girl just wants to nurse and that is alright with me. If she is absolutely starving she will take a bottle even though she doesn't know how to drink it very well. She will ocasionally eat kale puffs, bread, or a veggie pouch but those moments are few and far between. Maybe with walking will come eating. We still haven't decided whether or not we should call her Emma. 9 months ago we thought thats what we would name her and here we are still calling her Emersyn. She just seems like such a unique spirit that she deserves a unique name to go with it. 

The Things My Daughter Says

Kids really say the darndest things. I about die several times a day when i hear what Leighton has come out of her mouth. Lately I have thought "I really hope i always remember this" So here they are. I am interrupting the regular Tuesday post to bring a list of crazy words from the mouth of a babe.

These are just from yesterday...

Cover your boobs! Cover your boobs!
(as i fed Emersyn Leighton tried to cover me up. Funny that Leighton knows no modesty herself though.)

It eats a boob, It eats a boob.
(This sent me back to silence of the lambs and uhh Leighton tried to feed Emersyn herself and all i could do was take a picture and of course it was blurry.)

Me- Can i have a kiss? Leighton- We May! and proceeds to kiss my face off.
(maybe just a little too much frozen around here.)

Motivate Me Monday- Be Happy, Be Kind

Leighton is rarely this sweet to Emersyn. 

But today she made her bed, gave her a baba and read her a story. 

Melt my heart!

I have mentioned before that my insecurities tend to get the best of me. I have been working on them and with that here are some new things i have discovered. The more i try to be kind to others the happier i am. Sometimes being kind is scary, not that i want to be mean but its intimidating to go out of my way to say hi to people or smile at strangers or start small talk with the person behind me at the store. We live in a world of busy individuals who don't have time for anyone around them. I have noticed the more i walk around with a smile on my face, hold doors open for people, say hello and compliment people the more i shock them, but hopefully they are all pleasant surprises. If you don't follow Whippy Cake, you probably should. Her blog is full of all sorts of beautiful and this month she is hosting the most amazing online event in honor of her birthday. She is asking to spread kindness. Check it out and this week as i make a conscious effort to be a little kinder i hope you will too.

 

Whats Separation Anxiety?

I am almost serious when i ask that question. Really separation anxiety is not something that i have had to deal with at all. Both Leighton and I came up with this understanding when she was born that we would love a lot when we were together and play hard when we were away. Okay not really but that is how it seems. My little Leighton is a social butterfly, whats the biggest butterfly there is? Maybe one from the rain forest. A queen bird wing or something like that, that is what she is. I can't believe i am going to post this on the internet, but that girl has no problem walking away with a total stranger. She loves everyone for the most part and really loves spending time with her cousins, friends and other family. Even her first week in nursery or first time being baby sat (at 3 weeks) she was like "see ya mom don't come back anytime soon." The lack of anxiety makes me a little sad at times but it is also a huge relief. I have spent several long weekends and even an entire week away and i knew she was alright. I hear a lot of moms say "well i am a stay at home mom so its really hard for my child to leave me." Maybe, maybe not. Personally I feel like a lot of it is in the parents attitude. I make it easy for both of us. Give me a quick kiss, have lots of fun, I will see you soon. I started our goodbyes like this since the beginning. I also really push building relationships with people outside of our home. Our girls love their grandparents, they have friends, we are social and out of the house regularly. All of these things will help them in the long run with whatever separation we may go through and the anxieties that can go with it. Sorry i can't be more help on the subject. I know it is a real thing, I know most children experience it as well as mothers and I hope that with all of the link ups today there is a lot of great advice on how to deal.

Dealing with separation anxiety can be tough for any mama.  Be sure to check out the other mamas in our series for their helpful posts.  If you've got a post on separation anxiety, don't forget to link it up with us below!

Like a Morning Cup of Coffee// From Here to Eternity// The Not Quite Military Wife//

A Cowboy's Life// My Delicious Adventure// Sadie Sky Boutique// Meet the Sullivan's//

Love and Life//  Foxy's Domestic Side// Everyday Love// Life of Faith

July 10:  Keeping your marriage alive with a toddler

July 17:  Favorite summer toddler activities

July 24:  Helping Your Toddler to Communicate (Words, emotions, etc.)

July 31:  Dealing with Separation Anxiety

Aug 7:    Car Trip Necessities

Aug 14:  Deciding when the time is right for baby #2 (and/or how to handle these questions)

Aug 21:  Tricks for eating out with your toddler

Aug 28:  Feeling confident as a mom (How to feel this way, Your struggle with, etc.)

An InLinkz Link-up

Summer Favorites- Did Someone Say Sale?

It is still July and already the back to school sales are in full bloom. I would be lying if i said i wasn't on constant sale watch mode and I may or may not have put a few online orders in already. You see i am in middle of redoing my office, starting up a new business and well I just love to shop. The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale has almost been the death of my credit card but since we are being smart shoppers this year... its paid off already. Here are my favorites so far and if you haven't hit up the Nordstrom sale, what are you waiting for?! It ends August 4th and believe me you don't want to miss it.

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

Motivate Me Monday- Realize You Are Blessed

Kaden and I have been struggling to find answers to some of the thoughts consuming our minds lately. All i have wanted to feel was peace and to know we can make hard decisions and that what we choose is right. Answers to prayers are not always so simple. Sometimes they are just plain hard and frustrating and there is not just one right answer. So with a leap of faith we think we have decided on what kind of life we want and how to go about obtaining it. Only time will tell how things will turn out but for now we are happy. After a long week of frustrating conversations and what not we took a much needed trip to our cabin and it hit me... sometimes you just need a break to remember you are already so blessed. Stepping out of our routine reminded me that i have everything i need. A husband who can frustrate me to no end but loves me more and more every day, even with all of my faults. Two beautiful daughters who are my world, the seconds in my days and almost all the joy that fills my heart. Nothing else matters except for them. Our lives are right and good as long as we are together. So my friends I hope this motivates you. Step out of your routine and count your blessings. They are there, your life is beautiful and even the most humbling of circumstances is filled with a life so worth loving.

How Do You Feel?

This weeks link up is all about how we get our toddlers to communicate. Sometimes I think that Leighton and I had this down a lot better when she was 1 and couldn't speak. When Leighton was about 8 months old I started teaching her baby sign language and she really caught on to it around 10 months and she has been speaking in some form or another ever since. Now that my 2 year is as sensitive and dramatic as a 14 year old the biggest thing i am trying to teach her how to properly express her emotions. This one is hard for me, sometimes i want to place her in her room and tell her we don't cry, ever. She is a crying fool. Really Leighton can drop a pouty lip, watery eyes and heart wrenching scream at the drop of a hat. I usually have to tell myself to stay calm and then I say something like "I can see that you are upset right now, are you angry or sad?" She usually doesn't say which one but if i know the situation i will make a really dramatic face and say something to follow the situation. "sister taking your toy makes you angry." or "Tiffany (our dog) pushing you down makes you very sad." Recognizing a feeling with a situation helps toddlers to put a word to their feelings. Sometimes i also offer feeling exercies. Like punching pillows or throwing balls. When she is excited, happy or scared i name those emotions as well. Sometimes she will say "I am so happy mommy'" What is better than that!? The other way we identify and learn emotions is through the book, The Way I Feel. I have always loved this book and even memorized it when i taught at a Montessori years ago. Leighton can see the emotions on every page and recognizes them. Books are really one of the best ways to teach communication in general. They hear more words when you read, identify with them and then use them on their own, more than when you don't read at all or rely on apps and television. 

What are you working on communicating with your toddler? Dont forget to link up!

We are back with week three of our series and hopefully this helps you other mamas to find out how to help your toddler communicate!  Make sure to check out the other 10 wonderful mamas who are posting with me this week.  And don't forget to write your own post and link it up below!

Like a Morning Cup of Coffee// From Here to Eternity// The Not Quite Military Wife//

A Cowboy's Life// My Delicious Adventure// Sadie Sky Boutique// Meet the Sullivan's//

Love and Life//  Foxy's Domestic Side// Everyday Love// Life of Faith

July 10:  Keeping your marriage alive with a toddler

July 17:  Favorite summer toddler activities

July 24:  Helping Your Toddler to Communicate (Words, emotions, etc.)

July 31:  Dealing with Separation Anxiety

Aug 7:    Car Trip Necessities

Aug 14:  Deciding when the time is right for baby #2 (and/or how to handle these questions)

Aug 21:  Tricks for eating out with your toddler

Aug 28:  Feeling confident as a mom (How to feel this way, Your struggle with, etc.)

An InLinkz Link-up

Motivate Me Monday- Get Out of That Shell

I have a lot of irrational anxieties that I tend to allow to hold me back from being a really awesome person. Most of the time I think, I'm out going, I'm fun, I'm cute and well rounded. I probably should have way more friends. I probably should have a booming business or more followers on the blog. What's my deal? Well let me tell you... The second I'm in situations that I feel like I don't control I totally clam up. I turn into the shyest person ever! A couple of weeks ago I attended Bright Nights. Let me just say It was Amazing! So many inspiring and beautiful women and I learned sooo much. I signed up for the event telling myself that I was totally confident and was going to leave with a hundred new friends. Uhh nope. I stressed too much about what to wear, thought I was running late so I didn't finish getting ready and I felt soo out of control, there were so many dominate personalities in the room that it was easy to go unheard. I learned a lot from this experience though, including ways to get over all my unnecessary worries. That i really do need to put myself out their more and be the person to start a conversation. No one is there to judge me or worry about what i am thinking so why do i worry that they are all making judgments about me? Alison from The Alison Show spoke and said so many perfect things. She gave us tools on how to be awesome and so many of them spoke to my soul. Like really perfect things for making my life so much happier. So far I have loved working on each of the steps given and seeing how they change my day or perspective on things. I found all of these saying and thought they were fit for the shy person i tend to be.

 

Finding Me

Being a mom is not for the faint of heart. I am sure i've wrote that in previous posts but it really isn't. Somedays i envision being a mom in the same way i do running long distance. I start to feel over whelmed and think why did this sound like a good idea. The further into the day i get its like the longer i have been running, i start to feel numb and just let my body take over. Then when i put the girls to sleep and Leighton says i love you everything seems right in the world and so worth while. Just like finishing that last mile and taking in the runners high. With so many days like this I tend to feel like I am loosing myself. I would sacrifice everything that i am or have for my girls but where do i draw the line? How do i feel alive and not numb until it's time to go to sleep? Lately i have realized a huge problem i have is that i don't allow myself to dream or plan or even live. I hold on to what i have and keep my mouth shut in fear of losing it. The more i open up the more i realize i find myself. When i let people know how i feel, when i plan to enjoy my days with the girls, when i dare to dream of a new job or business. When i crawl out of the hole i have been hiding in i find all of the things that make this life beautiful. I need to do this more often. I constantly say how happy i am, and how perfect things are. They are, life is wonderful. It just sometimes is not my life. It is my life as a mom or my life as  a wife but there are so many more ways i define myself than those. Don't worry they are my top two. I just don't want to lose everything else that makes me, me and I am working on that.

Summer Summer Summertime

There have been few things i have blogged about lately besides summer, summertime, summertime faves, summer go tos, and summer activities. This weeks link up is all about favorite summer activities. So I figured i would just come up with a list. We have put so much time into celebrating this amazing season and try to be outside as much as we can. 

1. Park

Some of my favorite memories from when i was little were at the park. I'm not sure how often we were really there but i remember it like it was everyday. I love giving Leighton the same opportunity to spend time on the play ground. She is a super active little girl with way to much energy so the huge jungle gym at our towns main street park is perfect. Plus they give out free lunches during the week. Emersyn enjoys crawling through the grass and experiencing new surroundings too. 

2. Swimming

I gave birth to the two biggest water babies ever! I love it and they are the happiest when they are playing in a pool, splash pad or even the sprinklers. Leighton is in swim lessons already and so far so good, this girl is on her way to being a future olympian. Maybe not but we can hope right? 

3. Hiking

When it isn't too hot we love to explore the great out doors by hiking them. I pack Emersyn on and Leighton is usually pretty good at walking on her own. This is the best way to get out all of our energy and get an awesome work out. 

Basically we feel very strongly about getting outside, being active and enjoying the summer sun. I read the other day that vitamin d difficiensy is an epidemic. How sad is that? They try to blame it on sunscreen, but i am sure its on the lack of outdoor activities people participate it. So this summer go outside as much as possible. If you are living somewhere hot, then play in the water. Your kids will thank you later (probably not) but you'll love it when they are all sleeping through the night.

What are your favorite summer activities?

Like a Morning Cup of Coffee// From Here to Eternity// The Not Quite Military Wife//

A Cowboy's Life// My Delicious Adventure// Sadie Sky Boutique// Meet the Sullivan's//

Love and Life//  Foxy's Domestic Side// Everyday Love// Life of Faith

July 10:  Keeping your marriage alive with a toddler

July 17:  Favorite summer toddler activities

July 24:  Helping Your Toddler to Communicate (Words, emotions, etc.)

July 31:  Dealing with Separation Anxiety

Aug 7:    Car Trip Necessities

Aug 14:  Deciding when the time is right for baby #2 (and/or how to handle these questions)

Aug 21:  Tricks for eating out with your toddler

Aug 28:  Feeling confident as a mom (How to feel this way, Your struggle with, etc.)

An InLinkz Link-up

Summer Favorites- On the Go Snacks

So i failed and didn't post my Motivate Me Monday yesterday, but i was busy being an awesome mom! Yesterday I took the girls to Saint George to play at the Tabernacle Square splash pad and needless to say, they were in love! So i am just going to skip this week and post an epic MMM next Monday. So stay tuned.

Since i wrote about trying to explore and experience things more with the girls we have spent a good amount of our time outside. It has been great to be out of the house, in the sun and just playing. One thing we do quite a bit is head to the park or pool or even lounge in the back yard all day. I tend to pack our lunches and snack in a cooler bag so we are prepared to be away from the house all day and not eat fast food. It is really important to me that we eat healthy, I go in and out of feeling a need to be organic and all sorts of crunchy. I am back at it now. Our home is stocked with fruits and vegetables (all organic) and lots of other meal ingredients that are actually good for us. So anyways here is what the girls are loving, especially Leighton and they are semi healthy choices for on the go families. 

You can find all of these at Amazon, Target, Smiths and sometimes Costco.

We also eat a lot of apples, mandarin oranges, grapes and steamed carrots and broccoli.

What are your families favorite on the go snacks?

One Year and Beyond- Keeping your marriage alive

This weeks link up is about keeping your marriage alive with a toddler. I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Kaden and I have an awesome relationship but I have wondered what exactly we do to keep it that way. After two babies we seem to still be as lovey as ever. After paying attention to the two of us the past week I have came up with a few of the ways we keep our marriage alive. 

- We take interest in each others dreams. Kaden and I are huge dreamers and we talk about our ideas all the time. Our best talking time is in the car. It seems like we get a little one on one time when we drive. Basically we just tune out the two babies behind us and drift back to the time before they weren't around.

- We flirt. When Kaden walks in the door from work he is almost always greeted with a kiss. When i make dinner Kaden bugs me as he walks through the kitchen. We tease each other, call each other babe and laugh a lot. 

- We share the responsibility of putting Leighton to bed. This takes a lot of stress off of me and helps us to both be in good moods before we go to sleep. 

- We date. This is a big one. We love our children. Leighton and Emersyn are the best part of the our little family but time away is good for all of us. Dating after having the girls didn't come easy for us. We tend to do everything with the girls and we love it so we never even thought we needed more time alone. Then one day I wanted a break, we went to a movie and our lives were changed forever. Dating is the best thing you can do for your marriage. 

When you are chasing crazy stressful children around all day. Making time for one another doesn't always seem realistic. If you want to keep your marriage going strong, stay intimate with one another and have a fulfilling relationship, you have to develop a plan. For most couples i know that a loving relationship doesn't come as naturally as it did before children entered the picture. Being open with each other and deciding how you are going to stay close is the best way to start. When you are on the same page it is so much easier to know what will help you to get past the fact that your world is being rocked by a 2 year old. The four simple things we do help us to continue to grow closer and feel loved. 

One Year and Beyond is back!!  We just couldn't stay away from this awesome toddler series.  We've gotten so much positive response so far.  Motherhood can be difficult especially with a toddler at home.  So we're here to talk toddler issues, mom to mom.  We've got a great group of mamas who are offering their advice on getting through those challenging times with their child.  Be sure to check out their blogs and then link up your own post on the topic with us below!

Like a Morning Cup of Coffee// From Here to Eternity// The Not Quite Military Wife//

A Cowboy's Life// My Delicious Adventure// Sadie Sky Boutique// Meet the Sullivan's//

Love and Life//  Foxy's Domestic Side// Everyday Love// Life of Faith

July 10:  Keeping your marriage alive with a toddler

July 17:  Favorite summer toddler activities

July 24:  Helping Your Toddler to Communicate (Words, emotions, etc.)

July 31:  Dealing with Separation Anxiety

Aug 7:    Car Trip Necessities

Aug 14:  Deciding when the time is right for baby #2 (and/or how to handle these questions)

Aug 21:  Tricks for eating out with your toddler

Aug 28:  Feeling confident as a mom (How to feel this way, Your struggle with, etc.)

An InLinkz Link-up

Summer Favorites- Traveling Must haves

We are heading out of town first thing in the morning for Salt Lake. Anyone else going to bright night on Thursday? I am so excited. But anyways since we travel sooo much I have just a few things that i feel like are must haves right now. 

Backpack- Forever21. Amazingly comfy pants- Anthropologie. Wrap- Solly Wrap. Polaroid camera- Amazon.

Motivate Me Monday- Some Perspective

Last week was kind of a dream. We played so much as a family and it was perfect. Spending time together having fun was exactly what i needed. During our stress free time together i realized that i have been taking advantage of the days i get to spend with my girls. I worry too much about making things be just so and i expect way too much out  of Leighton. Both of my girls are just babies. Even though Leighton is a crazy toddler, she is supposed to be. She is two and I catch myself telling her not to cry that she isn't a baby. Just because Emersyn is a much smaller baby doesn't mean Leighton isn't one. Since i have started treating her more like i should not expecting her to listen to every thing i ask her to do, we have been able to enjoy each other so much more. I only have so long with these two and i plan to see each day with them as blessed. 

"Its not what you look at that matters, its what you see." 

- Thoreau