Fun Filled February

In typical "me" fashion work and home life has consumed me and kept me away from my new venture into the blogosphere...so time for a little catch-up on all the things I thought about posted and never got around to actually posting!

Having a full-time job outside the house and being an adoring mother and wife at home is so challenging and at times it can be so hard to find balance. There have been many huge life altering decisions I have been faced with lately and it can all just be too much some times. So I have tried to truly be "present" with Lilah and Tom and make the best out of a few not-so ideal situations.

So here is my look back on the simple, happy and special things we filled our time and hearts with this month...

One-of-A-Kind Valentines

We gathered up the art supplies and valentine-like cut outs from good old Martha Stewart Living and Lilah and I created Valentine's for all of our loved ones. Then Lilah and I whipped up another batch of jello jigglers for all her friends at school. They were a hit and Lilah has been enjoying the leftovers ever since.

Lilah's favorite medium...Crayons

Taking her work VERY seriously!

And the finished products

Home Away from Home- Maine

On the February 14th Lilah and I were in Maine and away from Tom, although it was sad being away from him on such a special day we had our own special day in Maine with my Dad. My Mom was away with my sister at my great grandmother's so it was just the three of us!

We had such a special time, my Dad and Lilah made blueberry pancakes in the morning and english muffin pizzas at night. The whole trip was so fun, just the three of us...so much fun in fact I didn't get a chance to take any pictures! We saw lots of other family too and it was so great to be "home". I am so blessed with such an amazing family and adore every single one of them.

When we got back to Connecticut we celebrated with a special heart shaped pasta dinner....yummy! Tom and I actually just celebrated our Valentine's Day yesterday with a date to the movies and dinner, while Lilah played with my wonderful babysitting cousins at home.

Snow Days
The rest of the month was filled with a lot of snow and we even had some snow days we all got to spend together at home. We played outside when we could and Lilah got to break in her new sled and play with friends. I love the beauty of the snow and all the fun it brings. Lilah's pink cheeks say it all...

So another month has past so quickly and brings us closer to Spring. I am looking forward to this Spring with much anticipation for new beginings and a fresh start in a way. I'm looking forward to sharing it all with you as it blossoms to life in the next few weeks.

xoxo,
Laura

Inspired

In my quest to find more balance in my life I have emerged myself into the blogging community and have found so much inspiration. It is hard to really even know where to begin!

Lilah came home with a beautiful beeswax candle she made at school and after catching up with her amazing teacher Eileen's blog I decided that after a busy week would celebrate Candlemas together at dinner. It was a special dinner for Lilah and she loved having her potato leek soup by candle light!

Following our dinner we read stories and did finger play for a beautiful ending to our week. It is amazing how it melted away all of the frustration from work and gave me more energy to keep up the balanced life.

Our adventures for the weekend will include making Valentines, which is an annual tradition but will be so much fun now that Lilah is old enough to help. I'm also going to make a creative space for myself...once upon a time before Lilah was born I had a beautiful craft room and office. When we transformed it into Lilah's cozy nursery we packed away all of my arts and crafts supplies.

As much as I love our living room...it is for living right? So I'm going to set up my craft station there...when guests come over it may be a bit messy, but I think my beloved friends and family won't mind! Pictures to come...

I'm feeling so much better already just thinking of all the exciting changes I'm going to make...focusing on my family and my creative passions. Enough time is spent thinking of work at work...time to stop bringing it home.

xoxo

Stirring Up Some Fun

After a long day at work, I admit it is hard to muster up the energy to spend quality time with Lilah, of course resulting in terrible mommy guilt. There is dinner to make, diapers to wash, dishes to do and many other things on the never-ending mommy to-do list. Not to mention the hope that there may be a spare minute to relax and unwind, especially after a particularly draining day at the office. I think this is something all working moms struggle with. I'm trying to really stay focused on cherishing every moment of Lilah's childhood and if that means my house is a mess so what.

So Monday I put aside the to-do list to stir up some fun. Although the dishes were piled mile high I decided that what could be more fun than making an even bigger mess! One of Lilah's favorite things to do is help mommy cook so I let go and just went with it, we made butternut squash ravioli from scratch. While the ones Lilah put together ended up just being a big mess I let her do her thing....squash on the floor and all!

We had so much fun that despite the dishes still not being done from that night we cooked together again Tuesday making jello jigglers for Valentine's Day...only this time we cleaned up after (with a little help from daddy). Lilah actually prefers the cleaning up! She just loves playing with the water while we wash dishes and she is not too bad with a sponge either!

Lesson of the week...make an ordinary task extraordinary by just letting go and enjoying.

xoxo